A/N: Alright now that my little break is over. Time to get back into the swing of things. Let's start off with some more fighting!
The large screens blinked as the pictures began to scroll. The images sped past each other until it slowed down along with a countdown. The announcer grinned as he pointed at the screen. "Match number four is! Sky Lark versus! Sun Wukong!" The two pictures appeared on screen and both contestants stood at the center of the arena with their weapons at the ready. "Begin!"
The two contestants ran towards each other and clashed which caused them to knock each other back. They winced as they circled each other. "So It seems we both are evenly matched in this little confrontation." The blonde monkey chuckled as he split his staff into two which caused the halberdier to raise an eyebrow. "I like medieval weapons but I prefer these guys much much more." The monkey grinned as he charged in and clashed with his opponent and followed up with a quick shove.
The halberd user growled as he spun his weapon and unleashed a torrent of wind which caused the monkey to combine both halves of his staff in order to stop the blade of wind from hitting him. "Wow that was pretty cool." He grinned mischievously as he began to move around as fast as he could in order to keep the wind user from pinpointing him for another attack. His speed was more than enough to keep him off of the offensive until he heard chanting coming from the halberdier. "that's not good."
Lark smirked as he charged into the monkey which caused him to slide backwards before he was engulfed in a large cyclone which kept him in the air. "Out of the four of us. I'm the only one who has mastered their semblance." The vortex intensified as he spread his hands. "On the other hand. My teammates have either barely found it or are in the process of learning the deeper intricacies of using such powers. Now." He spread his arms causing the vortex to expand and engulf them both. "Begone from my sight!" The second those words left his mouth, he thrust his spear upwards causing the prison to enclose once more. With subtle movements, he begun throwing the faunus from wall to wall while the golden monkey had no way to stop the relentless assault.
The crowd stared in awe as the large cyclone tore up the arena while damaging the trapped monkey at least until the halberdier swung his lance downwards into the ground. The following concussive force was enough to keep the money on his back which caused the crowd to cheer for such an amazing display. "That's why you faunus should learn your place. At my feet." The announcer whistled as he was about to call the match when the beaten monkey stood up with a fire in his eyes that wasn't present in the beginning of the match.
"You talk down to us like its our choice. Like we decided to be born like this." His hair covered his eyes as he staggered over to his weapon and picked it up, "There's some of us who have no choice but to become the demons you people make us out to be!" He split the staff into two once again but this time, the two halves shifted once more which caused some of the people in the crowd to stare in awe. "Although I guess I took it easy on you since this is a simple tournament. I won't make the same mistake twice." His body began to glow with a yellow light which soon faded as his injuries were fully healed.
Both charged at each other and exchanged blows which caused both to slide back until the blonde faunus closed the gap and begun unleashing a torrent of pellets from his shotgun nunchucks which stopped harmlessly in front of a wall of wind which seemed to catch every last pellet. The barrage seemed to have ended when he swung at full strength which caught the halberdier by surprise as the large round went through the wall and impacted his shoulder causing him to cry out in pain.
"Curse you!" Lark growled as he unleashed torrents of wind which the monkey nimbly avoided until another cyclone had begun to form around him. "This time I won't stop till you're done!" Upon the cyclone completing its formation, the halberd user swung his halberd to the side causing the mass of wind to crash into the far wall followed by being shot up as high as possible before being slammed into the cold hard ground. When the dust settled, the monkey was nowhere to be seen and instead, he turned and took a point blank shot to the chest which caused him to land on his back. "Damn...ngh..Faunus."
Sun stood there until he looked at the blue armored man stand up and clutch his chest which thankfully was still in one piece. "Why do you hate my kind so much?" The monkey waited for him to respond only to be greeted by a gust of wind which caused him to stagger back harmlessly. "Answer or I'll just end this now."
"Want an answer." The halberdier spat at the ground and glared at the golden monkey who simply nodded. "My uncle. A former Schnee dust corporation stockholder. Was killed by your people!" He held the lance out and it began to glow an eerie green light which in turn formed a glyph in front of it. "He was executed in front of his family!" He then pulled it back and focused. "They let the children survive just so they could leave an impression of mercy." He narrowed his eyes at the golden monkey. "Mercy. How Ironic." He grinned maliciously as he spun his lance around before unleashing a surge of aura. "That's what I'll make you beg for when this is over!"
The monkey grit his teeth as he combined his two halves into the staff once more and spun it around before pulling back. "What you went through." He channeled his aura which caused a series of inscriptions on his staff to glow brightly as well as form what looked like a crown on his forehead. "We go through daily!" The two immense auras covering the fighters caused everyone to brace themselves for the inevitable clash. "If your power is from your despair then mine is from hope! Hope that we'll all be able to walk as equals when the time comes!"
Lark grit his teeth as he fully unleashed his aura. "Fine then. Let's see how your hope holds up against all the pain! The pain of seeing my family getting killed in front of me!" The halberd began to surround itself with a vortex of wind which compressed itself until it looked like the weapon itself was made of wind. "Open the gate to eternity. Awaken, Dragon of the winds and Unleash your wrath! Dragon's Tempest!" Upon launching the halberd, it took the form of a large dragon which was about to impact when the staff Wukong held grew multiple times its size and met the dragon head on. "Break through!" Once the dragon was about to pierce, the wind disappeared and instead he looked down as the large staff extended. "How..." His eyes closed as he crashed into the wall behind him which caused him to collapse in a slump.
The monkey coughed out blood as he felt his aura dissipate. "How funny... I'm not the only one.." He used his staff to keep himself up as he looked up at the screen which declared him the winner. "We'll fight again. We'll see whose stronger." He muttered as he collapsed and lost consciousness.
The announcer chuckled as he jumped down from the balcony and begun to play up the crowd who cheered as he continued the announcements. "So now that the first four matches have passed. We shall be taking a brief intermission while the arena is cleaned up and prepped for the next one. So go buy some snacks. Stretch your legs and get ready!"
Ike took a deep breath as he spun his sword around while slashing at the air. "Ha! Take this!" He continued his training until he slammed his blade into the ground which caused a small burst of blue flames to surround him before he stopped and held the weapon over his shoulder. "Phew that was a nice workout." He sat down on a nearby bench and removed the bracer as well as his shirt before allowing the cool breeze to hit him which caused a couple of female students to swoon. "Go to class." He sighed as he picked up his sword once again and began swinging it at full strength until he jumped out of the way of a large icicle. "And you are?"
A man with white hair and beard chuckled as he pointed a rapier forward. "I am Wesson Schnee. I would like to face you one on one." The bluenette grinned as he put on his clothing and bracer before readying himself. "Now then let us begin." He dashed forward as multiple glyphs formed on the ground while he ran, allowing him to move faster than he already was.
The vanguard grit his teeth as he avoided a thrust and countered with one of his own which caused the head of the Schnee family to jump back in order to avoid being impaled. "You're fast." The man grinned as he charged once again only to end up feeling the flat of the golden blade which launched him a couple of feet back. He followed up with a series of slashes that would have taken down most enemies but all except one were blocked. "Formal training?" He quickly jumped back in order to avoid a series of ice glyphs which were attempting to freeze him.
The white haired man spun and unleashed a frost which caught the vanguard's arm and froze it. "Yes. I learned from the best and I defeated the best. You're no exception." They exchanged multiple strikes until they entered a sword grind. "Ah the rush of battle." With a grunt the bluenette launched the man a couple of feet before slamming his golden blade into the ground which immediately set the area around him on fire. As the battle raged, a certain green haired mage walked towards the training grounds where his friend was, only to see the two locked in combat.
Ike grit his teeth as he unleashed a torrent of blue flames which the white haired man side stepped to avoid until he noticed a large flame erupting from the ground where he stood. "That was a close one." He quickly spun his rapier and unleashed several shards of ice which harmlessly deflected off of the bluenette's sword until he sped forward and launched a horizontal slice which was parried before a white glyph formed under the vanguard's feet. "Checkmate." Before he swung his blade down, another blue flame erupted and destroyed the glyph which kept him planted to the ground.
"That's my line" The vanguard grinned as he spun his sword and sheathed it on his back. "Well then. Now that that's over, what do you need?" The man chuckled as he sat down at the nearby bench and opened a tablet. After a few minutes, the three sat at the bench while the head of the Schnee corporation explained the situation to the two mercenaries.
"So if my assumptions are correct. You want to ask us for any technology or advancements we brought with us." The green haired mage stared at the tablet as he let the white haired man speak. "Well if that's how you wish to see it then yes. I need to make advancements in the refinement of dust as well as any ways to better use our refined dust." Soren sighed as he reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small book which was black. "If that is what you need help with, then this book will help you."
Wesson raised an eyebrow as he grabbed the book and opened it. He scrolled through the pages and he instinctively began to read the words which began forming a glyph in front of him without him even knowing. "Elfire." Upon the words leaving his mouth, a large pillar of flames erupted and then subsided leaving behind a large scorch mark. "Impressive but the time of chanting spells has passed don't you think?" The green haired mage snapped his fingers as a small orb of wind circled his hand. "But if learning these allows me to give my people that type of power..." He stood and placed the book into his pocket before holding his hand out. "If you can show me how to control such power then you will have my eternal gratitude as well as the support of the Schnee corporation."
Soren looked at the man and stood before a small smirk appeared on his face.
The current match was nearly finished as Nora avoided a series of throwing knives followed by a high impact crash which caused the orange headed hammerer to slide back. "Phew you're pretty good." She spun Magnhild which transformed into a grenade launcher. Russel raised an eyebrow at her antics until he felt a grenade impact his chest, causing him to fly back quite a distance before hitting the ground. "High caliber, High Impact grenades for my little Magnhild" She grinned as she launched a couple more grenades before swapping back to her weapon's hammer form.
Russel grit his teeth as he dove out of the way of the first grenade only to get hit by the second one before he felt a heavy impact in his chest. Before he could realize what happened, he was already on the floor without any sort of memory as to what he was doing there. "The winner of the fifth match! Nora Valkyrie!" As the orange headed girl celebrated her victory, Cardin grit his teeth as he realized two of his teammates had failed to advance. "On to the next match!"
The pictures began to spin as the announcer played up the crown with random comments about the last pair of battles. "Now then where will it stop! Nobody Knows!" Once he finished speaking, he chuckled as he pointed at the screen. "Now let's welcome our next two contestants! Ran from the mysterious trio and Dove Bronzewing from team CRDL!"
Once the two stepped up it was business as they both entered their battle stances before the announcer signaled for the match to start. "Another Faunus. They're letting you people in too quickly." He held his arm out as his gauntlet separated into two blades which formed his arm mounted bow. "I guess we should put a stop to that now." Before he could say anything else, Ran had closed the distance and unleashed a devastating punch to the archer's face which caused him to tumble to the ground.
"You should really shut your mouth and fight." He lowered his stance as he reached for a dagger which was hidden in his belt. "Or would you rather waste my time." Dove growled as he stood up and unleashed a series of arrows which the blue haired man avoided until he looked up and rolled to the side in order to avoid a series of arrows which came from the sky. "Better." He disappeared as he closed the distance once again only to be sent spiraling backwards by a large arrow.
"Ballista shot." He pulled back once more and unleashed a volley of arrows which the agile bluenette dodged with relative ease until he felt a series of arrows impact him from the side. "Cyclone shot!" He grinned as he ran a circle around the stunned cat before snapping his fingers which unleashed a series of arrows which were being held in the air with his aura.
Ran grit his teeth as he hissed before disappearing and appearing in front of the archer who stared wide eyed until he felt a series of slashes get past the exposed parts of his armor. He winced as he kicked the feline away until the pain from the cuts caused him to use his aura to heal himself. "you're good." He quickly matched his sight with the running feline until he unleashed a large wave of energy instead of a normal arrow which caught him as well as the crowd by surprise as the feline stopped the energy wave with his dagger alone.
Upon the dissipation of the energy wave, the archer decided distance was key so he began firing shots at the feline who easily avoided the clumsily shot attacks. Once Ran closed the distance once again, he wasn't going to let it extend again as he charged the archer and began to land a series of hits which struck the exposed points of the armor. After a series of strikes, the archer collapsed and let out pained breaths as the feline stood over him with a glare. "You're too confident. Learn to fight effectively before attempting something like this. Turns out you were a waste of time."
Once Ran began to walk away, Dove growled as he stood and pulled back on his arm mounted bow. "Go to hell! Break Shot!" The large arrow flew forward and impacted the feline's dagger which caused him to slide back about ten feet before the arrow dissipated into nothing. "Impossible..." He winced as he felt a heavy thunk in his armor. When he looked down, the dagger the feline used, was now embedded in his chest which caused him to fall back from fatigue.
"Winner of this match is Ran!" The announcer grinned as the picture of Dove disappeared and instead was replaced with the word victory. "Get ready for the next two matches as I think they'll be the most interesting of this whole tournament!" He grinned as he pointed at the board which began to spin rapidly.
Ike paced around the room as he listened to Wesson and Soren speak about the terms of their deal. "I will only supply you with my knowledge of the spells leading up to the A-Rank magic. Anything above that I will not teach." The white haired man frowned at the suggestion and placed his hands on the table before speaking. "I understand that there is magic you think we won't be able to control but you must allow me access to those spells." The green haired mage scowled as he shook his head once more. "And I have told you no."
The man sighed as he placed two vials on the table. "These are very potent dust canisters. If diluted properly, they can be turned into ink that will never fade as well as giving spells of the same element a small power up." He then slid a piece of paper next to the vials. "You can have as much as you need but you must allow me access to at least the S-Rank spells. I need the magic to protect my employees as well as my family."
"Why do you fear for your family so much sir Wesson?" The man placed a letter on the table and allowed the mage to read it which caused him to shake his head in disgust. "I see. They threaten Weiss if she were able to leave Beacon." He placed the note on the table and thought about the possible consequences to his actions. The special dust ink would be nice to amplify his spells but the risk of having high level magic, high enough to demolish a small army. In the hands of a corporation that makes their living off of the Faunus by announcing to the world how dangerous they are might be too risky.
"I refuse to let my daughter be in harms way. If I can create machines and soldiers that can harness this much potential. There would be no more need for hunters or things of that nature. Would you honestly not fear a machine that could end your life in a matter of seconds." He sighed as he stood and placed the tome into his pocket. "I'll let you and your friend think about it sir Soren. I will come back in a week and I expect an answer." As he walked to the door, he stopped. "I would not mind seeing you at my headquarters some time." The two nodded as they saw the man leave.
The announcer grinned as the two opponents looked at each other with determined looks on their faces. "Yang Xiao Long." The blonde nodded as she got into her fighting stance. "Ruby Rose." The crimson reaper nodded as well as she spun her scythe. "Get ready to battle! In Three!" The two stared at each other as they sized each other up. "Two!" Yang grinned as she readied herself for a dash. "One!" Ruby adjusted herself as well when she heard the crowd. "Begin!"
Dust Net Codes - Magic: Tomes
Tomes are used to channel magic and unleash devastating spells. Spells range from a small fireball all the way to creating a crater the size of a rather large boulder or city (take your pick). Magic is ranked according to its power. D being the weakest and SS being the strongest. A basic rank up of the fire element would be Fire, Elfire, Meteor, Arcfire, Bolganone, and finally Rexflame. Similar classifications exist for Wind, Lightning, Light, and Darkness.
Spells can be used without tomes but one must memorize the chant and be able to chant it. In some cases, if one masters a spell they will gain the ability to use said spell without the need of a tome or chant. The only mage at this moment with knowledge to this degree is the Arc Sage Soren.
A/N: Okay so this update may not be enough to make up for a near month (I think its close to a month) of no updates. I do assure you that the next chapter will be the one to get the ball really rolling on one of the major storylines of this first arc. In a side note of sorts, I do have the poll up and running so if you haven't cast your vote for the pairing for Ike then I suggest you do that ASAP as that poll will only be up for the next few chapters since the first "flag" is approaching (fairly quickly I might add). So I hope you guys enjoyed this chapters like the others and if you guys have any questions I'll answer whatever I can.
Cya on the next chapter!