Chapter 496 – Battlegrounds of the Future

As Irelia and Asterios began their practice spar with some warming up testing swings, Grea fiddled with the control pulpit and adjusted the enclosed arena. With just a little bit more input, the see-through barrier turned almost completely transparent, allowing the spectators to view the fight without any obstructions save for the slightest blue tint. Meanwhile, the defensive properties of the magical layer remained just as effective.

But, while the inspectors seemed already fairly amazed by the arrangement, peering down at the duo exchanging prodding swings, this was barely the tip of the iceberg when it came to innovations.

Smiling to herself, the crimson-skinned headmistress flicked a bunch of runes with her finger, evoking a heavy stone click somewhere above them. Everyone’s attention shifted upwards soon after, and they watched as part of the ceiling detached itself from the structure. No one had deemed it worthy of any additional thought before, as plenty of similar shapes dotted the ribbed vaulting, but a few of the gathered began to realize that their placement might not have been purely random, noticing that the number of those gorgeous adornments matched the number of arenas spread throughout the spacious hall.

The one above them descended towards the pit that they surrounded. It took the form of an upside-down pyramid with a glowing tip made of gleaming crystal. About halfway up the height of the side walls, its surface changed from the white marble that made up the majority of this academy into shiny reflective screens of silvery metal. The mesmerizing mirrors captured everyone’s gaze as the curious cone halted slightly above their heads.

With another wave of her fingers, Grea tapped more control runes, causing the smooth surfaces to shimmer. In just a few seconds, they stabilized and displayed the fight beneath the flying structure, capturing it perfectly from the sides. Now, the audience was able to witness the duel both from the top and all around.

“As you can see, our facilities are equipped with the latest technological innovations that aim to further enhance the learning experience,” the demon lady exclaimed proudly. “This is just one of many already introduced features, not even counting the planned ones.”

The fascinated and intrigued expressions she found on everyone’s faces were worth the show off. Besides, Grea could honestly admit she was just eager to play with the magical improvements they kept adding to Glimmervale and its academies.

While Asterios and the other girls had been off on their little adventure, she and Bryn weren’t slacking off. Having the help and guidance of Atra, Bryn’s archivist and researcher friend, they had been able to go through an unthinkable number of journals, manuals, and other texts hidden deep in Brage’s collections or the freshly discovered libraries of the Descending Spire. Their efforts brought forth a multitude of improvements that were going to be gradually presented to the residents and then the whole world.

“How does this work?” asked one of the male instructors. “The image is so much crisper than what the best Illusion Magic can produce.”

“And I don’t see any mages watching the battle with us and projecting it onto the panes,” his female colleague added. “Unless there’s one trapped inside that cone, which would be a rather cruel fate.”

Grea chuckled mirthfully, shaking her head. “No one is being abused for the sake of this feature. We value all our staff too much for that. Did you notice me turning on the artificial lighting in the pit even though it’s still quite bright inside? That’s a crucial element of our displays working as intended. As much light as possible.”

She then turned to direct their attention to the buried coliseum.

“There are light-sensitive crystals embedded into the walls of the arena. They are what captures the scenes before them, catching all the bouncing rays into their cores.” The instructors’ eyes lifted along with her finger. “There’s another set of those behind the silvery panels, connected to the group below, their role opposite. Instead of capturing the light, they emit it just the way it had previously been captured. The unique consistency of the metal windows provides the ability to turn that light into a moving image. This way, we completely skip the need for any human or non-human involvement.”

This particular piece of tech had taken them nearly a month to develop fully. The elven mirroring magicians who had displayed the award ceremony to the entire city served as the initial inspiration. Amongst the hurdles Grea’s team stumbled on along the way were issues like weirdly flipped projection, uncomfortable delay, unstable connection between crystal sets, various magical interferences, and so on.

However, they had succeeded.

Even staying back at home, they could be useful to Asterios and the others.

Plus, the eccentric pair of a demonic and angelic woman had much more fun advancing the nation than they would care to admit.

The slowly recovered lost technology of Bryn’s people was of immense help with that.

“Are we sure this is a good idea?” the female dwarf of the group asked, bringing Grea out of her musings and back to the pit. “With the difference in weapons that large, there’s not much of a challenge here.”

And most of the other instructors seemed to agree.

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t think you can find Lord Asterios’ match in the entirety of Kraedorion, no matter which weapon he is wielding. If any.” Ast’s beloved ex-professor smirked knowingly. “Though, maybe the upcoming celebration will prove me wrong. Nevertheless, that’s not what you should be focusing on. I might not be privy to all his plans, but I know him well enough to understand that he hadn’t advised you to study the fight closely for no reason. So, better pay attention. It’s getting to the good part.”

She wasn’t completely truthful there. With their pretty much unrestricted connection, she had already grasped the idea behind this test. And she was all for it.

Down in the separated battleground, the pair of combatants found themselves back in their starting positions, facing off against each other once more.

“You’ve progressed well.” Asterios offered his opponent a warm smile. “Even though some of those moves can’t be considered knightly anymore.”

“I’ll save elegant and respectful techniques for the public, My Lord.” Irelia appreciatively lowered her head. “When it comes to protecting your companions and allies, only effectiveness counts.”

“I have faith that you will be able to combine the glamour and efficiency of your moves not that far into the future.” He started circling her, to which she responded with the same. “Kathy and the others taught you a lot about the real battles. I’m going to ensure you can learn the more proper ways of a Knight through our academies. Granted, you still want to join. With your prowess, I doubt any institution will be blind enough to ignore you again.”

“I eagerly await the day when I can boast to my peers that this is the academy that I’m part of, My Lord.” The young Knight tensed slightly. “Therefore, let me prove that I’m more than qualified to apply.”

“If we use you as the example of a required skill level, we’ll end up with barely any satisfactory applicants.” Asterios snorted lightly. “But, be my guest. Let’s see it.”

Briefly closing her eyes, Irelia’s face grew serious. He knew that thanks to his sharp draconic eyesight, which worked its way around the obstructing parts of her helmet. The others most likely didn’t notice any substantial change. Unless they were able to perceive the sudden concentration of mana around the young girl’s sword.

Soon after he spotted it, a red flame burst over the blade’s length, evoking a few surprised gasps from above. It burned hot, the evidence clearly visible in the air around it. The intense heat disrupted the space by the sharp edges, and the flames glowed so brightly they almost fully swallowed the metal, hiding it from sight.

Bringing her weapon to the side, Irelia reaffirmed her grip on it and made a horizontal swing. An arc of fierce crimson shot forward, traveling across the arena at a decent speed. It wasn’t fast enough to be considered a valid surprise attack, but any ranged abilities expanded a frontline warrior’s list of available strategies considerably.

And that was what Irelia’s attempt had been.

A strategy.

Because as soon as Asterios effortlessly swatted the slim projectile away with the flat side of his greatsword, another one was already coming at him again. This time, however, it was twice, if not thrice as big, completely obstructing the view with its angry scarlet flame. It whooshed loudly during its flight, certainly capable of frightening not just one monster or man. Meeting a wall of red death face on was a scary thought.

Yet, it had chosen the worst possible opponent to threaten with its intensity. To keep appearances, Asterios sharpened mana around his greatsword and swung it vertically upwards, slicing through the incoming cloud of magic just as easily as before. He could have simply dismissed the fire with his superior control, but that wouldn’t be fun and appropriate for the practice duel.

When the tip of his weapon reached the apex of its arc, revealing the rest of the arena to him once more, his slitted pupils narrowed slightly. It turned out that the noise from the second flaming projectile had masked Irelia’s quick approach, who was now just a third of the previous distance away from Ast’s position. The short girl was mid-sprint, the soles of her boots leaving fiery footprints on the marble floor. They must have had something to do with her improved speed.

Shelving the compliments for later, Asterios hastily brought his other hand to the hilt of his sword and guided the blade to the side, readying himself to strike in defense. Shortly before his attacker came in range, he sliced at her horizontally, dulling the edge just in case he went a bit too hard. He trusted the armor his elven friends had gifted to his young Knight, but better safe than sorry.

The worry was unnecessary as Irelia proved that she hadn’t put her everything only into blade and fire techniques. Her senses grew sharper since their last spar, and she reacted just in time, dodging the blow completely. How she did that, however, impressed Asterios once more. He might have expected her to perhaps slide underneath his attack or maybe attempt to block it, instead she… suddenly shot into the air.

Jets of crimson fire streamed from under her feet as the little warrior soared above the moving greatsword. It was now obvious that the footprints she had left in her wake were in preparation for this. As for her speed, it must have come from Physical Strengthening or something alike, possibly shared from Ast’s draconic bond she was now affected by.

Still, as unexpected as Irelia’s sudden move was, it put her in an extremely vulnerable position.

Unless it wasn’t a first-time trick and she was capable of fine control when it came to this fiery propulsion technique.

Which, as it turned out, was true.

Before Asterios could shoot her down, Irelia twisted in the air and doubled the intensity of her fire. The initial explosion sent her downwards at a sloped angle, while the following force behind the flames caused her to enter a spinning motion. And just like that, a rotating disc of Dragonsteel and deadly inferno descended upon the ground like a merciless comet.

Irelia’s blow crashed into Ast’s swiftly repositioned blade with a loud clash of metal and ricocheted to the side. The arena shook slightly as the remaining strength of the revolving strike was absorbed by the marble foundation. A sizable tear appeared on its surface, the length of about two adult people lying in line. The edges of the shallow crevice were faintly melted, releasing tongues of dark smoke into the air.

Yet, that wasn’t where the spar ended. Asterios could tell that even though this attempt had taken a lot out of the young girl, her legs and arms shaking from strain, she didn’t surrender. The flaming coating around her blade flickered unsteadily as she launched into a series of basic but practical swings, still trying to land a hit on her adversary. He parried and deflected them easily, watching how far she could go. They continued the dance for about three more minutes, when her strikes started becoming sloppy, leaving multiple openings for an easy, lethal counter.

Picking that as a signal to wrap things up, Asterios struck Irelia’s handguard just the way to knock her sword out of her grasp. The gorgeous and deadly weapon flew to the back, clattering onto the ground loudly. Understanding that in terms of a duel, she was as good as dead without her blade, Irelia stopped fighting against the current and dropped to one knee, supporting herself on her fist, breathing heavily.

“I have lost,” she admitted honestly. “This is as far as I go, My Lord.”

He dismissed his greatsword and knelt in front of her. “You’ve come much farther than many adults, Irelia. You can be proud of yourself. That last attack was truly impressive.”

Irelia took off her helmet, revealing a weak smile adorning her red face, flushed from intense exertion. She brought forth a vial with a refreshing mixture and downed it slowly without being prompted to. As one of Ast’s retainers, and as someone who trained in the dungeon occasionally, she was naturally equipped with the best supplies they could provide. The shaking gradually subsided as her body recovered energy.

“Thank you, My Lord. It’s still unpolished and too dangerous to use in a real fight. I know you could have struck me down multiple times in the air. But I wanted to show off a little. To prove that I’ve been doing my best to harness this gift you have honored me with.” Irelia clenched and relaxed her fist repeatedly. “I never thought I would be able to wield anything besides a sword in my life. Suddenly, I can control fire. At least partially. There’s still so much I have to learn about it. But, I know I’ll do whatever I can to grow as strong as my talents will let me so that you can call me your Knight without any shame in the future.”

Asterios gently ruffled through her hair. “That’s what these academies we are raising are for. To help young and aspiring individuals such as yourself develop in ways they are unfamiliar with. I have no doubt that you will master any blade classes within moments of experiencing them, but magic is something new to you, and you could use the guidance of someone more experienced with it. That is the purpose of the Trifecta Institute of Draconomics. Gods, that name is still as horrible as ever.”

His comment drew a quiet giggle out of his youthful retainer. “You might be the only one who thinks that, My Lord. People on the streets often talk about how much they love the names the Ladies come up with. Though, some do believe that you are actually behind all of it, just trying to redirect the blame onto them.”

“Who says that?” He gasped in mock offense. “That cannot stand! My young Knight, I have a new royal order for you! Find out who those vile criminals are and throw them into jail! Effective immediately!”

Some more chuckles escaped Irelia, and Asterios smiled cordially as she tried to hold them in with her gauntleted palm. As mature and dignified as she was due to her past circumstances, she still deserved to act like others her age, opening herself up for some silly fun now and then. Hopefully, that would come more frequently when school started and she found herself amongst many more of her peers.

When Irelia recovered from the fight and her small laughing fit, they stood up together. The protective film covering the top of the arena disappeared. Blocks of spiritual energy of the same shade materialized along the walls, creating multiple staircases leading out of the pit. They took the closest one and emerged near Grea and the instructors.

“Alright. I hope you all enjoyed this unscheduled presentation, because now comes the hard part.” Asterios turned to the candidates, joining his hands at the front. “I want each one of you to submit a proposal of an exercise or any other way you would use to help Young Lady Irelia develop the talents she has shown even further. You don’t need to detail it immaculately if you are worried I might steal the idea and ghost you, but try your best to convince me that you know what you are talking about.”

The silence and blinking stares that answered his request were quite telling. When he had called it a test, the instructors might have expected a few questions or opinions regarding the presentation, maybe even a full review, but designing or sharing an existing lesson tailored to an individual wasn’t on the list.

“How long do we have?” Someone managed to break out of stupor after a while.

“Since the celebrations are just around the corner and I would hate for anyone to miss them due to this request, let’s say a day or two after the ceremonies wrap up.” Asterios stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“I’ll provide everyone with an artificial memory crystal recording of today’s spar,” Grea chimed in with a grin. “That’s another neat function of our battlegrounds.”

He glanced at her with a raised brow, receiving a shrug in response. Shaking his head, he smirked softly. What even was the point of telling them to watch the duel closely if they were going to see it as many times as they wanted? But he appreciated his lover’s input. He was simply going to have a good, long talk with the sly demon to wring all the new tricks out of her before he made any further plans regarding the academies.

The teacher candidates excused themselves as soon as it was clear that the meeting had concluded its most crucial role. They almost ran out of the hall, rushing back to their temporary locums, clearly to start thinking about their task. Irelia stayed behind long enough to fully recover and bid farewell to the duo, wishing to return to her duties. Promising to take it easy after already exhausting herself once, of course.

And so, it was just Asterios and Grea again.

“Do you think that was too much?” he asked as they walked up to the window.

“Please, we are opening an institution that’s going to employ the best of the best, not some sloppy retirees looking for an easy life in some backwater country.” She rolled her eyes, leaning into his side. “It was a good idea, the test. It will allow us to judge their personalities more accurately. If I’m not mistaken, giving the perfect answer isn’t the only condition to pass that you are looking for, right?”

“As sharp as ever, Professor.” Asterios grinned and stole a quick kiss from his mate. “It’s the will to help guide others even if you yourself are lacking. They are from different fields, yet they received the same task. Swordsmen will have an easier time coming up with something beneficial. But, knowing what you don’t know is important too. And how you are going to handle that.”

“Writing some bullshit completely out of their ass will earn them a quick elimination.” Grea snickered.

“Right.” He chuckled alongside her. “But, if someone tells me that they aren’t sure how to proceed while also suggesting I speak to this or this person, or try to check this and this place, and so on, that proves that they have what is needed the most. Resourcefulness. Without unnecessary arrogance, that is.”

“Ah, now I get it.” She cocked her head back in understanding. “There are so many idiots who can’t accept the fact that there are others better than them at something, and instead of pointing those knowledgeable individuals out to their proteges, they dissuade them from such a path, convincing them that theirs is superior, or even insist on them giving up.”

“That’s certainly a big part of it.” Asterios sighed heavily.

“It does make me angry that you know such things from experience.” Grea’s jaw clenched as she briefly went down memory lane. “I promise I’m going to redouble my efforts and ensure no bad actors make their way into our academies. I swear on everything I love. You will find only the greatest teaching talents in these walls.”

“I have full trust that you will make that come true.” He placed a loving peck on her cheek. “Speaking of which, what about those greatest teaching talents we have been introduced to a while ago? You know, the trio of demon sisters, the elves, the dwarf, and the humans?”

“You didn’t see those three sluts around?” His crimson-skinned lover glanced at him curiously, then lowered her voice a tad. “Looks like Umbra has been keeping his word.”

“What was that?” Asterios squinted at her.

“Nothing you should concern yourself with, love.” Grea spun around and captured his mouth with a passionate kiss, making sure her chest pressed into him with its full might. “Everyone besides the humans has been fully set for a long time already. The knightly pair seemed a little off after you kicked their asses, so we decided to go different ways. Others await the first semester as much as the whole city. You didn’t think they alone would be enough to man all the stations, did you?”

He continued glaring at her even as she barraged him with adorable puppy eyes and the most seductive angles, ultimately giving in to her nefarious schemes. Overjoyed that he didn’t pursue the matter, she peppered his lips with an avalanche of kisses while guiding his hands to cop the best feel of her tight leather-bound ass and other charms in appreciation.

“Enough, damn it.” Asterios laughed at her amorous distractions. “Just be sure not to hurt anyone, got it?”

“I would never.” Grea smiled innocently. “Everything we do is with your comfort and happiness in mind.”

“I’m a grown man. Plus, if I can handle you, I can handle three random demons just as well.” He teased her.

“That what you want?” She looked at him conspirationally. “Three more demons to handle? Can be arranged.”

Asterios groaned and turned towards the view outside. “Let us handle the preparations for the festival. This is going to be the biggest one yet. I have a feeling that it will write itself down on the pages of this nation’s history as the first of many to come.”

“Definitely.” The demon lady rested her head on his shoulder. “In the end, you’ve become incredibly proficient at making things come.”

A smack echoed through the spacious hall as Ast’s palm found his face. Grea laughed throatily, her tail sweetly coiling around his leg.

The worst thing was, Asterios couldn’t even refute that anymore.