Fallen Mage Regressor

Mal stood on top of the rowboat seat. Each of his teammates gripped two oars each. Lusia remained perfectly seated, waiting for the sound of a signal to go. Philo was reading through a book that he'd hidden inside of his robes.

And the third person—Emerald.

"Philo still doesn't understand how Norin ended up on our team," Philo said.

"Because Rolam disappeared and we needed a fourth person," Mal said.

"Yes, but where did Rolam go?"

"I have no idea," Mal said. "I don't have tracking spells attached to you people. How would you expect me to know that?"

Philo grunted in response, apparently unable to say anything meaningful.

Emerald shrunk into himself. "I'm sorry, but brother already had someone else, and I didn't know what to do, and—"

"Shut up, I literally have no idea who you are," Mal said.

Lusia looked over to the left and narrowed her eyes.

"Target located," she said.

Mal followed her gaze to see Rolam sitting with Hypode and the rest.

"What is he doing there?" Mal asked.

Hypode clapped Rolam on the back, and Rolam let out an awkward laugh, visible even from a distance.

Mal shook his head. "It doesn't matter. We'll just have to take them out all the same."

Among the fifty who had passed the previous event, they had been divided into teams of four, creating twelve teams. All of them were scattered randomly across the arena, where it seemed that the entire greater student body, including those who had been eliminated, had shown up to watch in floating pews. There was a shimmering barrier around the entire stadium, marking the boundary beyond which a team would be disqualified.

Emerald Rient was thinner than his relative. His arms were long and willowy, and his face was visibly more pale than Hypode. He looked at the bag at Mal's feet and poked it with his toe.

"What is that?"

"Stuff."

Mal hadn't been able to carry everything inside of one satchel, so he'd brought along a second one and laid it at his feet.

Emerald scratched his wrist. "I'm not here by choice, either. I don't know what brother is thinking."

"He's your brother?" Mal asked. "Oh, right, you mentioned that."

"Yes, though he likes to pretend I don't exist, most days."

Emerald's voice quivered at the end of that statement. Mal found himself completely uninterested. He did not care in the slightest about whatever family issues Emerald had with Hypode.

There was a long whizzing noise, and Mal's head snapped around in its direction. A firework had erupted directly into the air. It went up, up, up, then—

It erupted into a flash of flame and light.

"Move."

The group of mages started rowing and the black sphere in the middle of the boat lit up with a light glow. The boat floated into mid-air and Mal nearly lost his balance before he caught himself at the last second.

"There they are, circle turkey!" someone yelled.

Mal turned to his right to see a boy with his arm outstretched and an Arcane Sphere already forming. Mal reached down, pulled a long item out of his satchel, then pointed it at the boy. He squeezed the trigger and the shot flew out and impacted against the side of the boat.

Yellow spores erupted against the side and coated the boat and got all over the students' skin. One took a gasp of shock, a few bits of pollen went up his nose—and he instantly fell asleep. Another one took a sniff, then fell backward and straight off the boat.

With only one person left awake, the outcome was inevitable.

The boat crashed back into the ground with a thud, and the boys spilled out and over the side.

"Philo is impressed!" Philo rowed the oars. "The ape has excellent aim!"

"Thanks." Mal exchanged the Mana Stone along the bottom for a new one. "I had to make some modifications for it to work for me, but it seems to be doing well."

I'm so glad I managed to convince that guy to let me rent it—though it cost a pretty penny, and it's only temporary.

Mal knew he didn't have the mana to run the gun entirely on his own. So he'd gotten in touch with Hemp and managed to get a hold of Mana Stones from the church, and they'd been more than happy to oblige. From there, he'd made some modifications, and the end result was a gun capable of blasting packed bullets full of sleeping Sleepleaf Pollen.

"First blood goes to Malfrasius Patoal's team!"

Mal pivoted to see where the voice was coming from and was shocked to see Igna and Puck floating in mid-air atop a stone pedestal. For some reason, Puck was sweating bullets, while Igna had leaned forward, an arcane sphere in front that Mal identified as a volume increasing spell.

"How disappointing," she said. "I'd been hoping that somebody else would get the honor." She turned and faced toward Puck. "What are your thoughts on this?"

"I..." He gulped. "It's rather high up here, isn't it?"

She tilted her head, visibly confused. "It is, but that's no danger to us."

"O—of course," he stuttered. "Of course, it's not."

Mal turned his attention back to the field. Two teams were taking strafing runs at each other, while the others loosely circled around in a swarm, careful to avoid running into each other or inducing aggression.

He noticed that multiple of them were looking directly at him. Quick glances, not so fast that their intent was fully signalled, but Mal was smart enough to tell what was happening.

The consequences of being first, he thought. It makes you a target for everyone else.

The wood cracked underneath them and a spear ripped through a chunk of the floor. The spear traveled onward, shaved Mal's nose, then dissipated into the sky.

"Missed, damn it!" a voice shouted.

Emerald squeaked and looked down through the hole. "Brother, what are you doing?"

"Playing the game, what else?" Hypode's voice trailed up toward them."

The smell of mana charging filled the air. Mal, with his Total Awareness, could make out the exact direction of the man's aim.

"Bank left," Mal said.

The team followed his instructions and the rowboat shifted in midair. A split second later, the Arcane Sphere cut against the wood, shaving the wood.

Mal caught sight of Rolam's eyes past the rowboat edge. "What are you doing over there?"

Rolam looked away and clenched his fists tight around the oars.

"I made him an offer he couldn't refuse," Hypode said, smug smirk tugging at his face. "You see, I'd heard how desperate he was, and that he could use something to close the distance. I told him that if he followed me, I would grant him an artifact from my family's treasury."

Rolam gulped and looked back up at Mal. "I'm sorry, Mal."

The poor guy looked completely torn up. He was pale. The knuckles around his skin were pure white from how hard he was clenching the oars. And his voice quavered in a way that Mal had never heard before.

"No, that's fine. That's a good idea, actually," Mal said.

Hypode blinked and his eyebrows furrowed together. "What are you talking about?"

Rolam's jaw opened and shut.

"It's just a sports festival event," Mal said, "and it's not like you're going to stick by him after the event, right?"

"W—well, no, but—"

"Then it's fine. Make sure to fulfill the terms properly so that he gives you the item."

Rolam didn't look better, per se. It seemed more like his frustration had transformed into confusion.

"Okay?" he said. "Whatever you say, honorable leader."

Hypode grunted. "Your laissez-faire attitude isn't fooling anybody. I know that you're seething."

"I'm really not."

Rather than respond with any words, Hypode held out his hand and an Arcane Sphere crackled to life in front of him. Small bolts of lightning traveled along the exterior, and Mal could recognize it on sight.

He's using a lightning effect, Mal thought, but he's not using it with the bolt method, because it's a bit too high level for him.

Mal would have been worried had it been a Bolt and Lightning combo, but as it was, they would easily be able to dodge it.

“Move up,” he said.

The rowboat wheezed and groaned, wood bent and flexed to accommodate Mal's command. They moved up, and the Arcane Sphere shot wide by a mile, then hit a random other boat and electrocuted all of the inhabitants. The boat went down like a particularly large raindrop and smashed into the dirt.

“And another team down, in this case by the young nobleman, Hypode,” Igna said.

“It seems to me it was unintentional,” Puck muttered. “His aim was directed at the young Patoal.”

Mal looked up ahead. To both his left and right, two boats were closing in on him.

“Down," he said.

The boat shifted and they turned downward. But there were two more that had come out of the woodwork. Not only that, but the other two they'd initially avoided had turned about and were directly on their tail.

We've been marked, Mal realized.

He grimaced and pointed his gun in the direction of one of the ones chasing him. He squeezed the trigger and the magical bullet whipped through the air at impossible speeds, then—

It struck one of the hands of one of the students.

Mal prepared for the entire boat to go down, then he saw that they'd held their breaths, cheeks popped out, and eyes locked on Mal.

They'd already figured out what he was doing? This was what it meant to be among the elite of Exodi Academy, he supposed.

Something crashed into the side of their boat. Mal felt his feet slip out from under him, and he grabbed the edge and pushed. He just managed to stay on, then looked behind himself to see what on earth had caused such an attack.

Another boat had rammed into theirs.

The captain of the boat pointed his hand out and this time a bolt began to materialize.

A second year technique? Damn it!

Mal quickly kicked off his own boat using his Airgrass boots and whipped his other leg through the air for a kick. The hit struck true and Mal's foot snapped against the other captain's temple with a crack. The captain fell off the boat and tumbled through the air before he was caught by some sort of spell and lowered down gently.

The boat that had rammed into theirs pulled out slowly. Mal quickly scrambled back onto his own ship, back onto his position in the center.

“Unfortunately, while defeating the captain was clever, that only earns a quarter point,” Igna said.

Mal suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Of course it does.

The two on their tail had gotten closer and closer. Two more were closing in on the sides.

They needed a change of tactics.

Mal looked over his resources. Philo remained as steady as ever, though there was a definite note of panic in his breath. Emerald was hyperventilating, the useless extra. Lusia remained as steady as ever, her arms rowing back and forth in a rhythmic motion, without any inch of hesitation.

“Emerald, Philo. Pump more mana into the boat and keep us flying for as long as you can.”

“Hold on, what are you planning?”

“Philo doesn't know how much longer he can go!”

Mal ignored them and poked the back of Lusia with his toe. “Switch.”

Lusia glanced back at him, then stood up. Mal passed her the gun and glanced over at the furthest left boat.

“On my mark, make the shot. I want you to aim for their chests or their face. Anywhere that would force them to take a breath. Ready?”

She nodded. “Understood.”

“Furthest left. Aim for each of the rowers. Now.”

She lined up the shot and squeezed the trigger three times in a row.

Three magical bullets shot out and landed against the solar plexus of every single one of the rowers. Before they could even realize what had happened, they all instinctively took in a breath.

The sleep pollen hit them like a brick. One second, they were awake and aware. The next, they'd all drooped over or to the side. The captain frantically tried to shake one of them awake, but it was too late. The boat fell down and hit the ground with a hard thud.

“And that's two points to Lord Patoal's team,” Igna's voice was noticeably muted. “I don't suppose any one of you incompetent fools could do something about this?”

Mal ignored the ridiculous levels of bias emanating from the woman and focused on the coming threats.

“Lusia, get back in the seat.”

She sat back down and took up the oars, and as soon as she did so, Philo breathed out a huge puff of steam. He gasped for air like a drowning man.

“That—that was ridiculous, Mal. Philo can't do that again—”

“Too bad, stand up.”

He stood up. Lusia's arms bulged under her robes. Emerald wheezed and nearly flopped backward before Mal sharply brought his boot down on the boy's toes. Emerald straightened his spine and let out a pained half-scream.

Mal turned back around to Philo. "I don't suppose you've been getting any practice in?"

"Philo has, and Philo thinks he's managed to take the push and pull spells and do some interesting things with them."

"Then show us what you've got."

Philo held out his clawed hands and an Arcane Sphere formed in front of him.

He shot it out and it hit one of the boats, but didn't seem to do anything. And then, abruptly, the boat sped up by a significant margin, getting closer and closer.

Mal tilted his head. "Did you just make them faster?"

"No, I made them lighter."

A second Arcane Sphere came out of his hands and hit the boat once more. Abruptly, it hit the side and the entire boat was pivoted off at an angle. It steered straight into the barrier and passed through wordlessly, before they could do anything.

"And another point for Team Patoal." It sounded like Igna was clenching her teeth. "I'm thinking that everybody here should be failed the next time they walk into my classroom."

"Now, now, Igna," Puck said. "I think this is just a testament to the competency of young Patoal. Also, the spell you're using to suspend us in mid-air is starting to dissolve, I really think that you should fix that."

"Oh, of course, Headmaster."

Despite their best efforts, the other teams had closed in on them. Hypode was at the front, Arcane Sphere crackling with lightning.

Two more teams had aimed at them, seemingly above and below.

They'd closed off their escape routes.

Mal licked his lips.

This just got a little bit complicated.

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