“Hm.”
“Anyway, what brings you to the guild today?”
“I’m looking for information on the competitors.”
“Really? I didn’t think you were the type to go researching your opponents.”
“Information is crucial.”
Fran loved the heat of battle, but she also considered herself an adventurer. Collecting data on monsters was standard practice. As much as she enjoyed fighting for its own sake, she took the tournament very seriously. She was here to win.
“Of course! Let’s see who you’re up against for your first round…huh?” Elza looked at the roster and tilted her head.
“You don’t know him?”
“No. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an adventurer named Zehmet.”
Whoever he was, he wasn’t an Ulmutt local or a renowned adventurer. Still, the fact that he’d made it through the qualifiers proved his strength.
“Do you know anyone who does?”
“Let me try asking the others.” Elza did just that, but all we got was…
“Zehmet? Never heard of him.”
“Me either.”
“Are we supposed to know?”
None of them knew him. Zehmet definitely wasn’t from Ulmutt. Maybe he wasn’t an adventurer at all. The tournament attracted mercenaries, knights, and mages, all of them strong in their own regard. Phillip Christon was a chief example of this.
Doesn’t look like the guild knows about this Zehmet character. Let’s move on to something else.
“Hm. Know anything about the Dimitris Combat School?”
“Oh? Why do you ask?”
“I might end up fighting someone who knows it.”
“You know someone using the Dimitris Combat School?”
“I’ve never actually seen him use it.”
Elza nodded at Fran’s response. “Oooh, I see. He’s still in training, then.”
“Training?”
“Don’t you know? The Dimitris School is famous for the impositions it puts on its students. They have to reach A-Rank with their energies sealed by a special piece of manatech.”
Other adventurers chipped in with other bits of information on the Dimitris School. Candidates wore Sealing Spheres, which locked away some of their stats and skills. Hitting A-Rank under such handicaps sounded like an impossible task, but it explained the dramatic strength Colbert displayed in the battle of Bulbola. He must’ve released his seal to fight Linford. Elza had teamed up with a student of the Dimitris School once and seen their skills up close.
“The one I knew was still a novice at the time, so they weren’t all that impressive.”
Spirit energy was the basis of the Dimitris School. Spirit was just one form of this world’s magic. When magic was applied to weaponry or used to strengthen your body, it was referred to as Spirit. When used to cast spells, it was Mana. Despite being made of the same thing, Mana and Spirit differed in their applications. You could tell which of the two a person was more adept in by looking at the skills they had.
“The Dimitris School specializes in using Spirit. I don’t know the details, but they can blend Spirit and Mana together to form some kind of hybrid.”
“Spirit and Mana?”
“Yes. They can create blasts of Spirit energy, form shields, and cause massive internal damage with a single strike. I hear the advanced students can do even crazier things.”
So firing off Kamehamehas wasn’t the only trick they had up their sleeves? If anything, internal bleeding sounded more dangerous.
“But I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that in the tournament,” Elza continued.
“Why not?”
“Students of the Dimitris School are not allowed to release their seals for the sake of personal gain. They can only do so to save innocents or crush the wicked.”
Saving Bulbola was a good enough reason to unleash Colbert’s seals, but a fighting tournament was out of the question. We might have the upper hand.
“Hm. I see.”
“Anything else you want to ask?”
We had Identify data on Royce and Gaudartha, and were probably better acquainted with Amanda and Forlund. Which left the question of Radule.
“What can you tell me about Radule?”
“The old man’s strong, for one thing. He’s not as spry as he used to be, but he more than makes up for it with combat experience. He has all kinds of spells up his sleeve.”
“Like what?”
“Land, Ocean, and Storm. To my knowledge, anyway.”
That was impressive. I’d never seen anyone that could use three advanced forms of magic. Royce was closest, with his Moonlight and Timespace magicks. There was no telling how Radule might use Land and Ocean spells together. We would have to be on the lookout.
“What makes him so dangerous is the way he uses all the elements together.”
“What do you mean?”
“The last time I saw him fight a mob of goblins, he used Land Magic to dig a crater in an instant, then flooded it with Ocean. As if that wasn’t enough, then he used Storm Magic to prevent them from escaping. A couple minutes later, their drowned corpses were the only thing left in that hole.”
“I see.”
On top of Radule’s individual spells, we needed to keep his combinations of magicks in mind. Storm Magic could produce tornadoes and Land Magic could amplify it with blades. The combination of Storm and Ocean magicks could allow Radule to cast a thick fog over the arena. The old mage was sure to have thought of even more devastating combinations.
“Anything else?”
“Hm? Not at the moment.”
“Okay. Just come to talk to me if you have any more questions. I’ll tell you all I know!”
“Hm.”
“But I won’t go easy on you if we end up fighting in the tournament. I think it would be awfully rude of me, don’t you agree?”
“Of course.”
“Oh, I knew you’d understand! Tee hee.”
Elza grinned. The two of them looked awfully similar as battle-hungry smiles flashed over their faces. Elza was a blood knight, too! And here I thought she was being honest when Fran’s bloodthirst had surprised her earlier! Was it mandatory to be a battle junkie if you wanted to become a high-ranked adventurer?
Then again, their love of fighting monsters would help them climb the ranks. Maybe they were all like that, deep down.
Aside:
The Beast King
“HOW’S THE TARGET, Royce? Any movement?”
“No, Lord Rig.
