Chapter 34: Fight! Fight! Fight!
"King of the Dragons, eh?" Gwyn laughed while tapping Reynold lightly on his shoulder. She deepened her voice, trying for a male base voice that sounds deep. "All hail the mighty dragon king! May his reign be long and his stockpile be plentiful!"
Reynold could not help but let out a chuckle hearing Gwyn trying to mimic a boy’s voice.
He was starting to be comfortable around her. After all, Gwyn had an easy energy that was hard to resist. And Keeping her as a friend would not be bad. Yeah and it actually felt right.
"Believe it or not," Reynold said as he throw the last pieces of peanut Gwyn gave to him into his mouth, "being bonded to three dragons was absolutely not on my bingo card."
His face tightened as he thought about it, Making his eyebrows to flutter and coldness settled in his eyes. Three dragons. That kind of bond will bring nothing but commitment, attention, and perhaps worst of all, he will be fu*king tie to this Academy and maybe to even the Royal family. And certainly did not come to Wyrmwood academy for that. He had come here for a very different reason; get into the academy, keep a low profile, graduate with a good result and then get posted to a war zone similar to the last war zone his parents were posted and find out whatever happened that day. But this would be a complication he did not want.
He sighed.
Gwyn leaned in, about to say something, but a deep BONG sound echoed across the campus. The twelve o’clock bell.
"Thank the gods," Reynold said, the thoughts immediately shifting as his stomach loudly let out a sound. "I’m starving. Come on, let’s go get some actual food."
Gwyn swallowed whatever she was going to say and grinned instead. "Lead the way, Dragon King."
They then walked toward the academy’s main cafeteria, and immediately, Reynold wished he had not come. Every cadet they passed and every group shifted their attention to them or more on Reynold. The stares was follow by murmurs.
"Look, it’s the Starweaver boy."
"Still can not get over that he is bonded to three dragons."
"You think he is going to like me?"
"Eww! Get hold of yourself you idiot."
Gwyn nudged Reynold’s arm with a mischievous smile in her eyes. "Looks like you are the latest and the hottest topic in all of Wyrmwood, my friend."
Reynold let out a dry, ’ahem’ sound. "I can see that."
They arrived at the front of the cafeteria, grabbed their trays, and found a corner table and sat down there.
As they ate, Reynold’s face suddenly turn into a smile as he decided to ask the question that had been on his mind since..
"I don’t mean to overstep, but... what exactly is going on between you and Nyx?" he asked before taking a bite of his pasta.
Gwyn stopped chewing immediately she heard the question Her cheeks turning into a blush the kind that bloomed bright pink. She quickly took a drink from her water glass before answering.
"Nyx? Nothing.. nothing is going between us." She fiddled with a napkin and avoiding Reynold gaze.
"Well you can tell that to your blush face."
She finally looked up, her expression softening into something genuinely shy.
"okay fine... We are just... taking things slowly. She is the daughter of a menial, I am a daughter of the late Aristocrats and i am currently living with my uncle who happens to be a Minister of Internal Magical Affairs and she thinks she is not good enough for me. But she is kind, and she makes me laugh, and... yeah, slowly." She gave a small shrug.
Reynold nodded, respecting the honesty. "That was a lot..." Reynold swallowed not knowing what else to say to her again. He sucks when it comes to relationship matters.
Soon, they finished.
"Ready to move this party?" Gwyn asked, standing up as soon as they were done.
Reynold pushed his tray aside. "Where to? I was thinking of going to the library. I suck at draconic language."
"No," Gwyn said while grabbing his hand. "Since classes are canceled today after the Ceremony, you need to see the real Wyrmwood. Come on. I want to show you the Pits."
After some hesitation, Reynold reluctantly agreed. "Fine. But if it involves any actual fighting, I am out."
"It only involves watching fighting," she corrected, leading him out of the main building and toward a more narrow part of the campus that was behind the old gymnasium.
As they approached the Pits, the atmosphere changed completely. The air was filled with different roar of voices. And a high chain-link fence was surrounding a wide and dusty patch of ground and a tiered wooden benches were on two sides. The benches was packed with cadets who were shouting.
They were cheering and also stamping their feet, and some were even exchanging coin, more like they were betting..
Reynold eyes widened. He did not know that somewhere like this existed inside the academy.
He look around scanning the environment to that there was also a different arena in the center, and around the the arena, cadets were gathered in small groups. Some were gathered over a wooden board playing this chess game. He looked to another end to see another center and people were slapping cards down on barrels. And people were exchanging small wagers.
The students were so completely occupied with their games that not even a single person spared a glance or even recognised that Reynold was there.
Reynold turned to Gwyn. He was shock as hell how Gwyn had managed to know this place.
He leaned toward Gwyn and bringing his voice low. "How the hell do you even know about this place? And I been here for the same week as you and I never knew it existed."
Gwyn chuckled. "Oh, Reynold," she said, shaking her head. "If you had actually step outside your nice and safe little comfort zone and stop locking yourself up in your dorm, you’d know about a lot of things."
Reynold made a small an ’uh-oh sound. She had a point though.
Just then, the cheering became more loud as the next fight was about to start in inside the central ring.
It was two male cadets, both Magic-users. They faced each other across the circle. One, with close-cropped black hair, was standing defensively with his arms slightly out. The other one was taller and lankier and he had a red hair.
"Place your bets, people! Five more seconds before the first spell!" shouted a cadet who was the referee. It was a stout girl with a whistle dangling around her neck. She blew the whistle and the fight start.
The red-haired boy was the first to make a move and a a low-level burst of flame was shwoing his his palm. He shot it toward the black-haired cadet’s feet.
"Fire Laceration!" he roared.
The black-haired cadet was quick. His hands moved as he squeezed it. He did not even try to block the flame, instead, he summoned his own element. The air around him changed and a thin spinning disc of wind appeared an inch above the ground, catching the small flame and swirling it upward where it stopped the fire.
"Wind Barrier and Redirect!" shouted a cadet from the crowd.
The fight was nothing serious but more like an entertainment.
The black-haired cadet, having defended, went on the offensive side. He stomped his foot, and the dirt at the red-haired boy’s boot solidified into a small earth spike. It was not sharp enough to hurt the boy but strong enough to trip him down.
The red-haired boy hopped back, just avoiding the attack. He countered by cupping his hands and generating a stream of steam name was a a ’Mist Blind’ and aimed at his opponent’s face.
The black-haired cadet stumbled and the red-haired boy took his chance, moving forward to try and tackle him out of the ring.
But the misty cloud was a distraction. Just as the red-haired boy broke through the steam, the black-haired cadet was waiting and he drove his elbow into the boy ribs while also slapping the ground with his free hand. A small Earth Binding spell wrapped around the red-haired boy’s ankle, locking him in place for a crucial second.
The black-haired cadet shoved him hard and the red-haired boy stumbled, broke the ankle binding with a quick burst of heat, but he could not regain his balance, and he fell out of the circle while groaning.
The crowd erupted.
"He wins! Matt takes the pot!" the referee screamed over the din, throwing her hands up.
Matt, the black-haired cadet, gave a bow, panting slightly. He shook his opponent’s hand as he was helped up.
The referee then stepped into the ring to announce the next match.
𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦
"Alright, who is next? We need a challenger!"
A new figure jump over the chain-link fence. He was visibly older, maybe a Second-Year cadet. He is lean and muscled, with the look of someone who had won here many times before.
"I will take the next challenge," he announced, his voice kinda lace with arrogance. He scanned the crowd before he pointed directly at Reynold.
"I challenge Reynold Starweaver," he called out. "the boy who apparently bonded to three dragons. Let’s see how he will do."
The sound in the Pits completely died. The cheering stopped and every single person, from the card players to the chess players, turned their heads. All eyes were suddenly fixed on the corner where Reynold and Gwyn was standing.
Gwyn’s hand immediately grabbed Reynold’s wrist.
"Okay" she hissed, pulling at him. "Maybe bringing you here was a bad idea. We need to leave now."
But the crowd was already turned into excitement.
"Starweaver! Starweaver!" a few voices chanted
"Fight! Fight! Fight!"