I AM READY

4 DAYS UNTIL THE TRIAL BEGINS

All of the applicants were nervous, though some were more so than others. Luciana was torn between wanting to win it all and being unsure. She was well aware that if she won, she would be fulfilling her father's wishes, and she despised seeing him get what he desired. On the other hand, becoming the champion of Ithea was part of her dream, so they'd both receive what they wanted in the end.

She carefully packed her belongings and took her time going over what she would need for the trip. The trials were supposed to take place somewhere else than the school grounds. It was supposed to take place in a safe spot in Sunset City. Sunset City served as the kingdom's trading hub. Most commodities and goods would be manufactured there, and it also held some of the kingdom's most contemporary facilities. The school had rented out a sports complex that could be considered a city in and of itself.

The trials would be held there, and the students would be transported by plane. It was a long way from the school, possibly a twelve-hour flight, so they had to bring whatever entertainment they could for the lengthy journey. They would be accompanied by their lecturers and a few other members of staff, as well as the school's medical team, who would look after them.

Luciana finished packing and returned to the school administration to say her goodbyes to the rest of her classmates and faculty. Norval, as usual, had already finished everything before her and was ready to leave; all they had to do then was wait for Jalon Barr to finish combing his hair.

“Can you tell me where that idiot is? Isn't he aware that the bus to the airport departs in five minutes?” Luciana said, her gaze fixed on her wristwatch. Jalon appeared from the other end of the corridor where the two were standing as if he had heard her call. While two other students battled with his bags, he was carrying a backpack and filmed himself with his phone. He'd brought four suitcases, all of which were completely full.

“Are you migrating? Mr. Starkridge specifically stated that we should only bring two travel bags with us. “What are you doing with four suitcases?”. Luciana had inquired.

“Well, if you were a top-tier model like me, you'd understand. You can't travel with two shirts in one luggage. What kind of animal are you?” Jalon wondered as he paused his live video.

Norval was uninterested in conversing with him. He believed that using his intelligence on a futile conversation with him would be a waste of time.

They boarded the school bus one by one as it pulled up in front of them. Jalon's bags were stuffed into the bus by the kids who assisted him.

“Hey! Be careful with that,"  When he observed how abusive they were with the bags, he yelled at them, "Those suitcases are holding clothes with price tags larger than your allowance!" They finally got them into the bust's trunk and walked back into the school grounds, pleased that Jalon was no longer on their backs.

The faculty was the next to board the bus, and they did so in elegance, greeting the candidate as they took their seats. After everyone had aboard, the engines were revved up and they were off.

Throughout the journey, Luciana kept thinking about how her fellow competitors would react if they knew the tournament was rigged and that they had no chance of winning since all of the judges had been paid off to tip the scales in Luciana's favor. She wished she could tell them, but she lacked the guts to do so. They didn't appear offended in the first place by the king's conduct when he declared her daughter the new champion on live television. Even if her students realized the competition was rigged, Luciana knew they would still give it their all and battle fiercely.

They were at the airport and boarding their one-way flight to Sunset City before they realized it. Jalon was afraid of flying, but he never told the others, so when they found out, they took advantage of the situation to harass him as much as they could until the faculty intervened. Norval made a point of photographing and filming Jalon's fright as the plane took off, laughing his head off whenever Jalon screamed like a girl when the plane hit turbulence.

The plane was finally in the air after a grueling session of battling the winds to stabilize, and it would be simple sailing from there.

As he scrolled through his phone, Jalon observed, "huh, so these are the guys we'll be facing in the first phase of the trials."

Luciana inquired, "What are you talking about?"

“Are you unaware of the first stage of the trials? We'll be competing against students from various kingdoms and schools.” Jalon remarked.

“And how do you know we're going to be up against them?” The trial setup is a closely guarded secret. What do you know about the students we'll be up against?” Norval inquired, coming in closer to examine Jalon's phone.

“That's right, you're not as well-known as I am. It's great to have a fan base because they can tell you anything. According to my inside sources, a few pupils are traveling today, just like us. And Sunset City is their final destination,” Jalon explained.

“And you obtained all of this info from your Social page?” Luciana inquired sarcastically.

“Do you want to know them or not?” Jalon asked.

Norval and Luciana drew closer together to gather information.

“All right, first up is Eadmer Todd. He's known as the "Prodigy from The North." He graduated as a first-class android mechanic from The Seolaran Academy of Arts, where he studies weapon technology. And, get this, he's just fourteen,” Jalon added, feigning surprise. “I'm guessing you'll be pitted against him Luciana,” he said.

She questioned, "Why me?"

He answered, "Well, let's just call it a gut feeling."

“All right, who's up next? Wardric Waller is here. A Yulcite mage who knows the scriptures through and out. He is a devout monk from Yulcite's Holy Shrine of Daebesia. Norval, that will be quite a challenge,” Jalon stated.

“Last but certainly not least, we have Vandrad Stanier. Lorth magician from the sacred mountains in the south, self-taught. That won't be much of a task for me,” Jalon said as he scrolled down the fan page's pages.

“Defeating Seolarans is a difficult task. Especially because Alchemy is very much matched up against their science and technology,” Norval replied, his gaze falling on Luciana's.

“Well, I can assure you that I am not concerned about a sixteen-year-old boy,” she remarked as she sank back into her seat.

Except for Jalon Barr's horrible signing when he got lost in his playlist, listening to his music through his headphones, the remainder of the ride was largely calm. They already had enough to be concerned about. It would be a difficult task for them, especially because they had never fought anybody else during their training except their fellow alchemist. Aside from that, they'd never encountered any other magicians who employed a different type of magic. They consoled themselves by reminding themselves that, just as it would be difficult to combat another magician who wasn't an alchemist, their opponents would encounter a similar challenge because they had never faced an alchemist before. It provided them peace of mind as they rested because the chances were evened out by that one factor.

/...................................................../

The lorth magician said, “Come closer, Mr. Gale, with your hands up.”

Rhaizen Gale carried out the orders given to him. He didn't want anything to happen to Nelanian, so he carried out the commands.

He added, "Don't hurt the boy, and I swear I won't have to kill you."

“Are you going to kill us? You clearly don't believe the odds are on our side, and you have no authority to threaten us,”

The lorth mage answered, his self-assurance growing.

Nelanian tried everything he could to get free from the alchemist's grip, but his hands were too tightly wrapped around his next.

“Gale!  Kill them all! Don't listen to them!"  Nelanian screamed angrily.

“Slow down, kid. Rhaizen Gale remarked, "I got this under control." He approached the lorth mage with caution until he came to a halt.

“OK, that's far enough,” the lorth mage stated. “I don't want you to go too close because you could have some ideas I don't like.” He walked over to the alchemist and Nelanian, closing his grimoire and bowing his head.

“ This child appears to be important to you; how do you know him? Is he your brother or a child of yours? No, I don't believe so; he's far too old to be your child,” the lorth wizard said as he examined Nelanian. He combed his fingers across Nelanian's hair, and his crystallized skin crackled as he did so.

“Hmm, I wonder what his black market price would be if I sold his body parts; a young alchemist heart is quite expensive these days,” the lorth mage mused, eliciting a response from Rhaizen Gale. He reached into his sleeve and drew out a vial. He'd kept it under wraps for a long time. When he threw it to the ground, a similar blast of green smoke erupted, blanketing the entire field in a thick green haze.