> Nine four o'clock, preparation room
The simple, modern room was filled with test items. Some wore the typical magician clothing, which consisted of rather light clothing and the often-worn magician hat. Others had more military-like clothing which was more practical. Some cyborgs also mingled with the group, their modifications were limited to limbs such as legs or an arm. More advanced augmentations were strictly regulated by the government and were, therefore, less common.
Screens were hung on the walls that showed the interior of the underground arena and the filled stands. A holographic projection of an A.I. was in the middle of the room and a holographic information board was floating around it, where some of the test subjects already seemed to be getting information.
Zane entered the preparation room a little late and the other examinees were already chatting with each other about the upcoming exam. It had taken him a little longer in the locker room because he had double-checked everything, which was probably due to his nervousness. The only difference, however, was the protectors he wore on his knees and the empty gun belt that he had strapped around his right leg. Everything else was hidden under his clothes, for example, he wore shin protectors under his pants. He also wore a thin, bulletproof shirt under his actual shirt. The ammunition during the test was only training ammunition, but it was still quite painful to hit. Zane was looking around the room when another candidate came up to him. "Ready for the third part of the test Zane?"
“Sure, I worked hard for today! And you Nathan?” He greeted Nathan with a handshake.
Nathan was at the same level as Zane and Zero. "Of course!" He replied with his light, cyan-bluish hair hanging low over his face. "You're on time for once," he laughed.
"Surprised?" Zane laughed too.
Like Zane, most of those who attended the academy were magical. The purely military training, such as basic training for soldiers or the control of an ATBS, could be carried out at almost every military base of the Alliance. But it was different with magic. Since the military only had a few training centers of its own for magicians, the academies usually took over the training in the more remote areas. The students came from all adjoining areas to be taught the various subjects. These included basic magical knowledge and adventure training such as survival in the wild. However, the academy also often took on regular school training, which meant that the proportion of magicians at the academy was relatively small.
While Zane was an all-rounder and attended both magic and combat classes, Nathan was a pure magician and only took the corresponding subjects at the academy. Zero, on the other hand, only attended regular school classes with Asagi and Carol and only took one or two extra subjects, including his paramedic training.
"Barely", smiled Nathan when the door opened towards the arena and a man dressed in military green entered: the badges on the chest of his jacket indicated his officer rank within the Alliance’s armed forces. Although the Academy stayed out of all political affairs and did not enter into alliances with any faction, it was not uncommon for local forces to teach and support training, as the work of the Academy also contributed to the security of the region. With a gun on his leg and a cap on his head, he exclaimed: "OK, watch out people!"
"Today's combat test marks the end of your military and magical training at the academy," he demanded the attention of the examinees, his left hand on his hip and a tablet in his right.
“Today's third part is a one-on-one fight that is supposed to simulate real combat operations. So you will fight against real opponents. Even if it's only training ammunition today, don't be reckless. Understood?"
"" Yes SIR! "" Answered the crowd unanimously.
"Glad to hear. As you know, the exam is streamed live today and your performance has a direct impact on the academy and its teachers, so don't mess up my reputation and do your best! "
"""Yes, sir!"""
"OK then! You will receive your rating within the next couple of days. Any questions? No? I thought so ", he didn't give them any time and continued. "Then we can start! The first is..."
"Ladies and gentlemen, the next fight is now almost imminent!" Echoed the voice of the commentator, who was with the referees and paramedics in the lounge area, through the stands through the arena.
The arena was divided into three ovals. The spectator stands were above the fighting area, in the outermost oval. The second oval formed an empty space between the arena itself in the third innermost oval and the auditorium. This second middle area served as a buffer to the spectator stands, as well as the referees as a lounge area during the fight. In addition to the buffer, the grandstand was shielded from the arena by a shield to prevent damage from possible ricochets.
“And here is our first participant, Kouji Leander,” echoed the commentator's voice as the first shadow stepped out of the tunnel that connected the arena with the preparation room.
Ok, it’s about time now, Zane thought, who was still standing in the tunnel. He shivered and clapped his hands on his cheeks to dispel his nervousness.
“And his opponent is Zane Seranis. Say hello to both of them and we wish them good luck!"
When he heard his name, Zane stepped out of the shadow of the tunnel into the arena. The crowd of students and adults clapped and cheered. He nervously ran up the stairs to the combat area, ignoring the crowd. He was already nervous, and the crowd of people didn't make it any better. When he got to the stands, he looked nervously through the stands, hoping to find a familiar face.
"Nervous?" Laughed Kouji at Zane when his gaze fell on him. Kouji stood fluffed up in front of him, his piercing, ocher-colored eyes fixed on Zane. He enjoyed the attention, unlike Zane.
"Don't worry, I'll send you on the boards right away, then your nervousness will be gone," he laughed.
"We'll see!" Zane growled at Kouji and forgot his nervousness for a moment.
"Ready?" The referee signaled to both of them to get into a fighting position. The two went to the positions marked by a line on the floor.
“The participants take their places, what can we expect from this fight?” The commentator fired up the crowd for the fight, while Zane's nervousness rose again.
"Zane is nervous," commented Asagi, who was sitting in the stands with Zero.
"Yeah, you can see it on his face, hopefully, it won't affect the fight," Zero was worried.
The battle would be broadcasted on the city's big screens as well as on the academy's channels Galaxynet.
Carol, who was waiting in the hospital waiting room, also starred spellbound on her PDA and followed the broadcast on the live stream. When a voice diverted her attention from the PDA: “Carol? It's your turn now”, one of the nurses addressed her.
"Ah yes! Here I come”, she replied frantically. "Good luck Zane," she whispered to herself as she turned off the PDA and put it in her bag.
Oh, why right now! Now it would have been Zane's turn, thought Carol, who followed the nurse somewhat reluctantly.
At the same time in the ATBS hangar of the military base, a mechanic called across the yard: "Hey Tyler, I fixed it."
Tyler sat outside the hangar, on one of the enormous boxes of ammunition for the ATBS rifles, with his PDA in his hands. He had also opened the academy's Livestream. "Ah, thank you man, I owe you," he said as he straightened up and walked to the hangar when his PDA vibrated and he glanced at it.
"Good luck, Zane," Nathan said to himself who was watching the exam in the preparation room with the others.
The referee dropped his arm. "Begin!"
“And the fight begins!” It rang through the audience and the cheers intensified again.
Kouji stretched out his arm, magic rings with runes, so-called compasses, formed around his arm immediately. A compass formed in front of his extended hand, but in the form of a round disc. The disk was surrounded by a ring with simple runes when Kouji shouted: "Diruptio!"
As if evoked by his words, a complex shape formed in the center of the circle, a rune.
"Duplicare!" Another circle appeared in front of the first and again a rune formed on the circle.
“Area!” And another circle emerged in front of the other two.
Zane's nervousness was so strong that he hadn't noticed the referee's signal and stared in Kouji's direction.
Huh? A triple spell? Is it starting already? Zane thought while Kouji activated his spells in a split second.
The confirmation came directly through the voice of the commentator, which echoed through the audience: "And Kouji starts strong with a triple spell!"
In the next instant, circles of the Diruptio rune formed all around Zane.
"Shit!" They surrounded me, I was too slow! Damn! Zane looked around, the runes all pointed at him. And I haven't even put up my shield yet!
"I'll end this in one swoop!" Kouji mocked him.
“What will Zane do now? Is that the end already?” Asked the commentator.
"He was too slow ..."
"Do you think he'll make it zero?"
"Kouji doesn't hold back. Zane trained hard, but he'll have to come up with something, otherwise, it'll be over in a moment", Zero took his arms down, which he had just folded behind his head.
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