Chapter 24 – A Challenging Choice

"OK, new blues," Theodore said as he surveyed the ten newly promoted Blue-ranked Contestants before him. "This is where we all part ways; I hope you've learnt something, something you'll remember if you ever get stuck in a position where all you have is a sword and your steadfast determination." He paused. "Now, if you're a Warrior Class, you're going to want to wait right here for the rest of your classmates to arrive. Defenders likewise are going to be using the far side of these training sands. Rogues and Spellcasters, you're going to want to head out of here, and your new instructors will be awaiting your arrival in the hallway, where you'll be shown the way to your own training areas. What, you didn't think this was the only place a Contestant could train, did you? No, you're now all a part of the Blue circuit, and as such, you're about to see a whole lot more action, but nothing as mind-bending as what you might find on a Purple, Brown or Black practice arena."

He let his words sink in for a moment, and then said: "Well, what are you waiting for? Go!"

Titus, Jordan, and Petra all shared a moment in private before they had to disappear to their specified locations.

"I guess this is it for now," Titus said as he realised the three of them wouldn't even be in the same area. "Catch up at lunch?"

"You mean catch up when we watch Henderson get his ass handed to him by some angry croc," Jordan said. "I wonder who he even got to fight with him because if he's anything like he is to us to anyone else, then I don't think anyone would want to watch his back."

"I couldn't care less about who he has to help him," Petra said. "I just hope the gator has friends too. I wouldn't mind seeing that smile wiped off his face."

"Well, wouldn't want to wish him dead," Titus said. "But getting his leg bitten off wouldn't be too far away from justice I think." He punctuated his statement with a smile, and then a moment later, the group had separated, agreeing to meet up later when they would all watch Henderson fight in the arena — the very first new Blue-Ranker to take to the sands.

Titus took the instruction to leave the place and join his new Instructor outside, who was waiting for him as the only new recruit to the Spellcaster Class. When the Instructor led him to their own specialised room, he found himself within more of a classroom than a training arena, and Titus wondered exactly what it was that they were going to learn, if not how to fight and cast spells.

Within the classroom — which was akin to a miniature arena with rows of wooden benches facing the Instructor who had a small patch of stone floor to move around in — were a total of fifteen blue Spellcaster Class Contestants. It was by far the smallest group in the entire arena, with Warriors and Defenders making up the bulk of the numbers.

"Good morning," the Instructor said. He wore a long black robe with a red sash fastened around the middle, and he had jet-black facial hair as well as a few dark ringlets hanging down from beneath the hood that was raised above his head.

"My name is Instructor Torres, and I will be guiding you all to become the very best Spellcasters that you can be. Above all, I will give you advice on your journey, but it will be up to you to take that advice should you wish. I can show you the door, but it is up to you to step through it."

The other Contestants around Titus all seemed to straighten at those words, like they were going to be worth their weight in gold. But Titus could only think that as an Instructor, Torres should be telling them the best way to do things and not just giving them some wishy-washy advice.

"Now, do any of you have any questions? Titus here is new to the Class, and I'm sure you're all going to give him the warm welcome a new Spellcaster deserves."

Titus immediately felt fourteen pairs of eyes staring at him, though he didn't detect any sense of warm welcome, not really animosity either though. It was a strange feeling, like they were acknowledging his presence but were all holding off their judgment until they had more information.

One boy raised his hand, and Titus saw that his name was Jason.

"Last lesson you told us to increase our agility stat if we could — so that we can dodge incoming attacks if we have to? I was just wondering how high you think we should raise the stat, and if it would be better done with equipment augmentations or through stat points?"

Torres smiled at the question. "Don't get me wrong," he said. "Wisdom is paramount for any Spellcaster because it gives you the Mana you need to cast your spells. If you run out of mana out there on the arena sands, then you're as good as dead, take it from me. But I've seen better Spellcasters than me killed or maimed because they simply couldn't get out of the way fast enough. But then you ask the right question about equipment or stat points. My own thoughts were that it didn't make too much difference, but I see in hindsight that assumption to be wrong. Your primary focus within your stat points — which are permanent once allocated," Torres glanced at Titus purposefully, "should be whatever your Class demands, so for all of us, we should focus on our Wisdom and nothing else. Equipment can be stolen, lost, or broken, and that is a risk that we cannot afford to take. There is also the fact that, and you will see this as you all progress, sometimes The God of Balance sees fit to make progress in your other stats more difficult. Sometimes a single point increase will cost you double the stat points that your Wisdom would, and in later levels, it can get worse. To give you an example of this, as you know, I am a Spellcaster through and through. If I want to increase my Constitution right now, it'd cost me four stat points. So is it really worth it?"

"Why?" Titus tried to catch his question, but it just came out.

"Excuse me?" Torres asked.

"Sorry," Titus mumbled. "I meant to ask: why does The God of Balance do that? Doesn't it just make it harder for us all to progress?"

"Ah, I see," Torres said. "Not really. It makes it harder for us to progress along paths that are different from those we walk. It is an incentive to remain on the straight and narrow and become what you were supposed to be."

"So then mixed classes…"

"Are rare because they involve heavy investment in secondary statistics, and are a risk because that mixed Class is not a guarantee," Torres explained. "But we are not here to become mixed Classes; we are Spellcasters and that is what we will do our best to honour."

Titus sat back, wondering how this was all going to work for him, given that he wasn't actually a Spellcaster, and that the only skill he'd been awarded so far had used Stamina as its primary attribute. A part of him wished that Miss Kane would've warned Torres about this fact, but upon reflection, he understood why it needed to be kept secret.

"So to answer your question, Jason, my advice is to focus on your Wisdom stat. This will increase your Mana pool and the rate at which your Mana recovers, meaning you can cast more spells and last longer in battle. My advice to gain some Agility is to use equipment where you can — but the question is again raised of whether you should wear equipment that raises your Mana or your Agility. Now that is something you should experiment with for yourselves, because the advantage of equipment is that it can be changed to suit the battle in question. Just… don't try to carry lots of equipment into battle with the hope of switching it up while you're out there because, trust me, the last thing you want is extra distractions and or weight. Make your decision before you enter the sands, and stick by it. Be confident in everything you do."

Then Torres looked at Titus, and his eyes sparked. "You've only just got your Class?" he asked.

Titus nodded, hoping that Torres didn't know more than he was letting on.

"Then I presume you haven't accepted your first ability of the Class? Your free ability?"

Titus' heart sank. If he told Torres that he'd picked a spell then he was no doubt going to have to prove it at some point, but if he said he hadn't accepted it yet, then Torres was going to want to push him to do so.

"I uh… I'm saving it," Titus said, deciding at that very moment to take the latter route. "I want to make sure that I make the right choice rather than rush into anything."

Torres frowned. "The first spell is free; you don't need to spend your ability points on it. And if you don't take it now, then you won't have anything to use in the arena until you've leveled up. There's no reason to have to decide on anything because once you see any other spells you're able to learn, they won't be offered to you for free."

"Still. I… I just don't want to make any mistakes," Titus replied, hoping the Instructor would drop it.

Unfortunately for Titus, many of the Contestants were now staring at him, and they didn't look happy.

"I understand your desire to want to get things right, and in many cases it's the right thing to do. But this is not one of those cases. This is one of the times where you should do exactly what you're told and nothing else," Torres said.

Titus opened and shut his mouth a couple of times, searching for something, anything he could say that would make this conversation go away.

"What spell have you been offered?" Torres asked. "It'll be good for the rest of us to understand why you seem to be struggling with such a basic concept."

This time Titus didn't need to think. He simply recounted one of the only spells he'd actually seen in a fight.

"It's the fireball spell," he said. "But I don't know if that's the route I want to take. I mean, what if I wanted to do other kinds of spells, like…" he searched his memory for the girl's name, "…Sophia. She had a spell that could blind the enemy. Maybe that's a better fit for me."

Torres placed his hands behind his back and gave a half-grin.

"That particular spell is not something you will be able to learn at your level, nor the next. That spell is a part of a pathway that becomes available, IF it becomes available, after at least a handful of fights as a Contestant."

"Right. I guess not that one then," Titus said with an air of finality, hoping that the conversation could be left right there.

"So what are you waiting for? You're going to accept the fireball spell, right?" Torres practically growled.

Everyone was now staring at Titus, and more than a few looked like they wished him actual harm. He only wished he knew why.

"And this is the only spell I'll ever be offered for free? Ever?" Titus asked, buying a little time.

"Yes," Torres answered.

And then Titus had an idea.

"Well… what do you think my chances would be if I went out into a fight without a spell? With nothing?"

"It would be a foolish mistake," Torres answered. "You would be reliant on your teammates both keeping you alive and dealing all the damage in the fight."

"So it'd be a challenge?"

"More than a challenge."

Titus' plan had worked, and he opened his mouth to deliver the coup de grâce.

"Miss Kane said more than once that The God of Balance rewards those who accept more difficult challenges. Do you think if I went out onto the sands without a spell and accepted that as a difficult challenge, it could be something seen as worthy of a reward?"

Torres stared at Titus for a moment, and Titus got the distinct feeling that if looks could kill, he'd already be dead. Though technically speaking, that was something that was possible in The Arena.

Eventually, Torres spoke. "Stupidity and challenge are not the same, Titus. But I'm not going to force you to be smart; that is something your parents should've taught you long ago."

These words reminded Titus of his father, then of his stepmother, and how he'd come to be here in the first place. He had to frown to keep his anger from showing.

"Now moving along," Torres dragged his gaze away from Titus, and his body language softened somewhat. "I am going to demonstrate a spell for you today. Now this spell is called Fog of War. It is used to create a fog that makes it hard for the enemy to find you. That is, of course, unless you think that having help from an Instructor makes all of this less of a challenge, Titus?" He added like he'd been planning to ask this question all along. There were a couple of sneers from the other Contestants, though most still seemed intent on staring daggers at Titus.

Titus didn't answer, knowing the question had been sarcastic, but he did sink down into his wooden bench a little lower. In terms of how well a first lesson could go, this was pretty much one of the worst ways.

"Alright, now watch closely," Torres stated. "And you might just learn something."

The Fog of War spell was fascinating. Torres conjured a thick mist with his bare hands. It snaked up and enveloped him, obscuring his figure from view. Even Titus, who was sitting just a few feet away, could barely make out the Instructor's silhouette. It was a spell that could be incredibly useful for a Spellcaster in battle, providing both cover and a means of confusing the enemy. Perhaps even escape.

The thought occurred to Titus after watching Torres cast his Fog of War spell that the Instructor had actually been right on the money with his sarcastic question. Titus didn't have an Instructor, not one that understood what he needed to be taught, and as such, his time in the Arena was going to be much harder than any of the other Contestants. Well, as far as he knew anyway.

As the demonstration concluded, Torres looked around the room, his gaze lingering on Titus for a moment again before he continued. "Now, have any of you been offered the spell?"

Three sets of hands raised into the air, though Titus' weren't among them. He knew he didn't want the spell, let alone afford it, having a grand total of zero ability points to spend. Instead he sat and watched the others as they deliberated on whether or not they thought the spell would be useful to them and if they should purchase it.

The last thought that occurred to Titus before he realised how out of his depth he truly was, was if this was how spells were learnt - through repetition and some show and tell, then how was he ever supposed to learn anything?