"What's this?" I wondered.
They're uninitiated. These klevonians appear to be here to prove themselves and gain favor for the Berserker Crest, Viraa explained.
In the next instance, the gate began to rise, and everyone in the room with me poured into a large, gladiator-style arena. Across from us stood more klevonians, many of whom gave off fiery auras – likely uninitiated klevonians seeking the Phoenix Crest's favor.
Strange since I thought they were more of a healing faction.
They do have a small force of fighters who Wartru leads, Za'Fia told me, just as I spotted her and Avarice standing among the noisy crowd that looked down from their seats. I also spotted Wartru himself, sitting cross-armed, observing from a dignified seat reserved for the high-ranking klevonians in society. In another reserved area, there was also an unusually dark spot, and I could feel someone watching from within it.
"Hm..." I said, realizing what was going on. They were pitting the teams against each other.
"Oh! What's this!?" The commentator yelled. "I'm getting a report that among the contenders is the only klevonian Crest Head! Somehow, she's appeared in this match-up!"
The commentator lowered until he was floating before me. He sat in an advanced chair and had a big hand with the mark of a bull on it, but that was all I could see of him since whoever he was had the power of darkness to cover his body. It gave him a really ominous look, yet none of my senses rang any alarms about the guy.
I used my biolenses to view his bio card. Whoever he was, his name was Rune, also known as The Syphon. He was a 2.5-star threat with a base EQN of 41,816,480, and possessed two cintracies: one being the Dark Radiance eutierric cintracy, and the other being a temp cintracy called Inherit.
"Do you wish to be released?" He asked me more quietly, but still loud enough to be heard by everyone. "Being a Crest Head, we can't force you to participate."
They may not be able to force you, but this could help you earn some of their respect, Za'Fia sent telepathically. You can show everyone what you're capable of.
Hm. I gave it some thought before responding to the commentator. As I pondered, I noticed the crowd had gone silent in anticipation.
"Well, I'm here, I'm within one of the Minotaur Crest's famous arenas. I suppose me participating isn't breaking any rules," I finally said.
The crowd suddenly cheered in excitement as Rune rose back to the air.
"You heard it, folks! A Crest Head has entered the arena! The weakest by far, but a Crest Head nonetheless, so let's spice things up a bit! The two distinguished groups will still prove their worth to their sponsors by defeating the opposing faction, but both groups have free rein to attack the Crest Head. Can she win against this many foes!? What powers will she display!? Well, we're about to find out now! The rules are the same as usual! You get knocked unconscious, leave the boundaries of the arena floor, or forfeit; you lose." Rune announced enthusiastically as a bell rang, signaling us to begin.
As each klevonian spread out and began to fight, I noted that each of them had an EQN of at least 36 million, but many didn't get the chance to do much since they were knocked out too quickly.
A loud, high-pitched noise rang in my ears before the commentator addressed me.
"I forgot to mention, but do refrain from using your biolenses during the match out of fairness for the others," Rune urged me.
"Sorry about that," I returned an embarrassed smile and rubbed the back of my head.
For the most part, I managed to stay out of the fight and slowly, but vigilantly, maneuvered around the arena grounds. I observed several klevonians being defeated. Some were thrown off the barely perceptible edge of the grounds, thus being eliminated, while others were outright knocked unconscious by a better fighter. Regardless, everyone who was eliminated sank into the ground by an outside power.
Viraa said it was the power of a nearby pneumarian. Those who lost would be checked on by a medical team from the nearest Phoenix Hospital or given a droplet to help them heal.
While observing, I also noticed that most of the Phoenix Crest klevonians present seemed to have limited control over their fire. In fact, they couldn't summon fire on their own and had to rely on the various sources of flames plotted around the arena floor. Oh right! They were demi-sages. I remembered Raina's explanation of the different kinds of klevonians.
"Oh! Lucky me!" Someone called out.
I turned to see one of the klevonians I'd noted to be a zero klevonian. She was dressed in black and was among the klevonians seeking approval from the Phoenix Crest. She also had the strange ability to form powerful barriers and link her target to an indestructible doll.
"You're not much of a Crest Head, but defeating you should still count as something," she said.
Any ideas of what her cintracies are? I asked Viraa.
I am not certain yet. I will need to see more before I can ascertain it.
"You've been walking around pretty confidently," the girl spat in disdain. "You think you're better than us. You think your crest is better than ours because Viraa was the previous Ryfi Theos? I'll show you the difference between us real nobles and nobodies like you."
"People like you exist here, too, huh?" I commented, taking a stance as I resisted the urge to comment about what seemed like bad acting. Instead, I used Heart's Eye to help gauge her true intentions. I saw her current emotions were a deceitful violet."...You know, your Crest Head values saving lives over her status as a royal, right? It's strange that you want to please her but don't know that much."
"Hm... You got me," she shrugged. "I don't care about the Berserkers or the Phoenixes. This little infiltration is my resume to the Gargoyle Crest."
Her eyes glowed, and a barrier formed around her. She held her doll in front of her and placed something onto it.
Was that my hair? When'd she get a piece of my hair?
It seems she followed you and collected a strand that shed in the wind, Viraa suggested.
"I don't know how you got my hair, but you're not the only one who can put up barriers," I said, increasing the power in my Stasis Field and flexing some of my power. "I'm almost three times as powerful as you, so it won't be easy to get through my Stasis Field."
"You think so?" The klevonian laughed as needles made of spirit energy manifested around her doll. "I've taken out plenty of targets more powerful than me before. Here, let me show you how."
The needles around the doll all simultaneously pierced it, and I was suddenly overwhelmed with blinding pain.
What was that? They got through my field?
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