Chapter 46 - First Draft

Chapter 46 - LOT

“Okay!! I’ll see you in the tournament! But if we meet, I’m fighting for real!” Arial’s voice carried across to Jack’s ears as he went down to the dock, glancing behind him and giving her a half-hearted wave.

After ‘tieing’ with her, Arial had unloaded dozens of questions about his technique. Jack ended up answering a few, though only on things that wouldn’t give himself away. In return, Arial had talked a great deal about her insights into the Meteor Sword lineage and Spirit. Eventually they had both gone back and forth the entire hour, exchanging pointers on practice, accuracy, and training.

Jack had actually managed to learn quite a bit. He had sparred with warriors in the Space Clan that used swords before, but there were no Swordmasters there. Even the best sworduser was already someone Jack could defeat in terms of pure swordplay.

It was an enlightening discussion, and helped him discover some new insights into the technique he was currently still mastering, his Unceasing Strike, as well as his own use of Spirit.

He was able to operate the technique now, on his own, but the Spirit Energy he had to expend on it was enormous. He could only safely use the attack two or three times at most before he would be completely drained.

Part of it was simply because the attack required a large amount of Spirit Energy to operate. The other part, however, was because of his own lack of insights. It was a very intrepid technique, and required very precise folding and use of Spirit. The more precise his control, the less energy required.

To achieve full mastery of his Unceasing Strike, he would not only need to be able to apply the technique to practically anything. A stick, a rock, a leaf, even his own hand, without damaging or destroying that tool.

Right now, Jack could easily achieve it with his blade, Wyrmblight. He had yet to successfully test it with a stick without breaking the stick, however, and not even attempted using it on his own body.

According to Arial, it was very normal for swordusers under one of the Seventeen to challenge each other for spars. While she was a bit abnormal in that she was known for challenging practically anyone that caught her interest, it was very likely that other swordusers would challenge him upon learning of his skill with a sword.

He looked forward, however, focusing on the sight before him.

The Forinth Stronghold.

Or, rather, the enormous wall of the Forinth Stronghold, with a few quite tall palaces barely visible over the wall. As Jack looked left and right, he could see the large, thirty meter tall black walls stretch all the way out of sight, along the coastline of the Magma Lake.

Walls like this were especially important for this location, due to the beasts that dwelled in the Magma Lake. It was only during the Clan Tournament and Recruitment Drive that the travel here would be so safe.

A large, ten meter wide iron gate stood raised directly in front of Jack, from which a steady line of people constantly moved in or out. He was standing on a scarred stone dock, where the oppressive heat of the Magma Lake was especially irritating. If he didn’t have his Spirit constantly protecting him, it would be horrendous.

The Magma Clan members he could see, however, all seemed to be enjoying the heat. It must be something to do with their Natural Ability.

“Recruit champions! Over here please!” An official wearing a set of black robes, with a red outline, came forward, motioning with a small badge in his hand. It was identical to the badge Jack had been given after winning his royale.

He joined the stream of new recruits as they walked over and met with the official. After having their identities conformed, the official led Jack and the rest into the fortress.

Inside Jack looked around in astonishment. There were simply too many things going on at once!

To his left, he saw several large palaces, some decorated ostentatiously, others bleak and foreboding. Each one towered high in the air, made of dark stone, with outcroppings, towers, intimidating walls, and various other structures. On every tower, he could see guards moving about, patrolling even now. It seemed the Magma Clan’s vigilance was never lowered.

In the distance he could make out several large mountains, one in particular that loomed above the others. The Sacred Volcano of the Magma Clan. He glanced away after a moment, trying to act like the rest of the recruits. He made sure to stay away from Bale and Evan, not drawing attention to each other.

They followed the official past several large buildings, and a few training grounds, where hundreds of warriors could be seen practicing. Off to his left, Jack saw what looked like a huge collection of houses and shops, built out of dark black brick, with bright red roofs. It seemed the Forinth Stronghold was a small city in its own right.

They soon found their way towards a large coliseum, which seemed partially set into the ground. It was prohibitively large, stretching more than a thousand meters wide, made out of some bright, white stone material. Jack could see several other groups of people filing into the large building.

He, and the other new recruits, were all filed into a door in the side of the coliseum, into a large chamber.

The chamber was filled with tables and chairs, and a large assortment of weapons on the side. A raised platform was set at the end of the roughly forty meter long and wide chamber, where a large iron door sat.

Atop this platform where several elderly men, and a younger man that looked like he was in his early 30s. The elderly men all wore beige or white gowns and had long white beards, while the younger man wore a sharp suit of black and green leather, with a small leaf on fire emblazoned on the front.

“Greetings, new recruits of the Magma Clan!” The younger man said, giving them all a warm nod as the rest of the recruits finished filing in.

“All of you were invited here today due to your extraordinary strength and talent. Today, you will have the opportunity to show off that talent to the best of your extent. The more skill and strength you show, the better your treatment will be in the Clan!”

“I am General Buro, and am in charge of helping you prepare for the Clan Tournament!”

Several minutes passed as the General went into depth on the Clan Tournament. The structure was exactly what Jack had researched before. A series of 1 on 1 competitions, each one on a field filled with random terrain.

Not only were there new recruits participating, like Jack, there were also the internal and external members of the Magma Clan, as well as several participants from the subsidiary powers controlled by the Magma Clan.

The Magma Clan was gargantuan, and several other large powers served under them. The Roven Continent was simply far too enormous for even the Magma Clan to monitor a third of it on their own.

There were 63 nations on the Roven Continent. The Magma Clan controlled a full 24 of these nations, The Golden Flame Clan controlled 19, and the Impact Clan controlled 20.

Each nation had its own unique aspects, and the rulers of each kingdom usually had their own unique Natural Ability allowing them to maintain their rule. Of the 24 nations under their control, 8 nations in particular were stronger than the others.

These were the 8 Subsidiary Powers of the Magma Clan. Ostensibly loyal, each of these powers was quite strong in their own right, but had no choice but to bow to the overwhelming strength of a Great Clan.

Each of these Subsidiary Powers had sent a representative of their own to participate in the Clan Tournament.

As Jack was in the middle of listening to the General go into more detail about things, he felt more than saw someone approaching him from the side.

A red robed official holding a small pouch gave Jack a small nod. The man had a strong, fiery aura about him, like many of the other Magma Clan members did.

“Are you Jack Henson?” The man asked, looking at him expectantly.

“Yes, that is correct.” He responded, curious.

“Lord Ayalda asked me to send this to you, as thanks for sparring with his daughter.” The man gave Jack a sharp nod and handed him a large pouch. Jack received it and thanked him, quickly glancing over the contents. The official left right after, moving off out of the room.

Jack felt a smile overtake his face as he saw the 200 High Grade Spirit Crystals in the pouch. There were also two small blue pills that glowed faintly, something Jack instantly recognized as the famous Light Pills produced by the Light Clan. Jack had seen them a few times, but was never able to afford them due to his focus on spending everything on strengthening his Spirit.

The pills worked like other healing medicines, but had almost supernatural effects. Taking a single pill could heal a wound so quickly the change was visible. There was a limit to how effective they were, but each pill, on its own, was worth more than the 200 High Grade Spirit Crystals in the rest of the pouch.

He had just started taking his first steps onto the Silver Body stage. Having 200 more High Grade Spirit Crystals would absolutely be a huge boon.

Jack kept grinning as he empties the pouch into his Space Sealed Storage pouch, and looked back up towards the front, listening attentively to what the general was stating. He still needed to make it to the Semifinals if he wanted to go to the Tournament Dinner tonight.

..

The coliseum was a massive edifice. On the inside, it had hundreds of enormous white stands, stands that were currently filled to the brim with tens of thousands of people. Most of those here were members of the Magma Clan, but there were several thousand people from the various Subsidiary powers, or other noble groups.

Along the top of the coliseum stands, there was a long, white platform that circled around the edge of the coliseum. Around a hundred glistening white booths were inset along this platform, each booth filled with luxurious chairs, beds, tables, and more, set apart from the common stands.

In one of these booths, a red haired man stood, leaning against a window that looked out on the coliseum below. The man was extremely muscular, and carried an enormous black great sword strapped to his back. He had a rough, scarred face, with dozens of lines scratching straight down his forehead, cheeks, and nose, the remnant of same dangerous attack.

“Who all has arrived?” His voice was hoarse and gruff, as if he wasn’t used to talking.

Beside him, a slim woman wearing a silver gown stepped forward. An almost opaque veil did nothing to cover the beauty of her eyes, deep, dazzling red spheres that soaked in the surrounding light.

“Ayalda’s new recruits have arrived, and are undergoing final preparations. There are a few strong ones, it seems like this Recruitment Drive’s crop will exceed the past few.” She began, listing off things from a small sheath of white paper she pulled out of seemingly nowhere,

“The Bulgodose Family from the Oriol Kingdom has arrived, bringing their young inheritor. The Divine Phoenix Clan has brought their Second Princess. In fact, each of the Powers under the Clan has brought a representative to this Tournament, unlike the last one.”

“The Light Clan has also brought one of their Holy Princes. Should everything go to plan, our alliance with the Light Clan should be completely solidified.”

The muscular man nodded, looking down at the teeming crowd below. The stands were still filling up as people made their way to available seats, moving about. His eyes locked in on a few random viewers, scanning them carefully.

“What of the Clan’s representatives?” He asked.

“Kenneth has already arrived, as has Arial and Lector. Apart from them, there are 27 other participants from the Clan. Each Burn Lord has sent as least one member forward. The Powers have sent forward 13 members, and the new recruits make up 29 members. Lastly, there are 43 representatives from various other families or kingdoms under our control, for a total of 115 participants in this Clan Tournament.” The woman responded dutifully, her voice clear and cool.

“115… It is more than the last one, but about the normal size.” He muttered, rubbing his chin softly.

“I have a bad feeling about this Tournament, Jasmine. It’s been a very long time since we ever saw any serious Void activity. There were more than a hundred attacks on people traveling to Idglebar.” He stated, his eyes sharpening.

“Send a report to the Empyrean Lord, telling him all the participants have arrived safely, as well as to the other Burn Lords. Make sure you get a response from all four of the others. Oh, inform the Meteor Swordsmaster as well. The Tournament will begin in one hour.”