The arena floor shimmered with concentric lights, brightened the light of the night.
Above the arena, at the very apex of the floating structure, a separate platform had manifested from condensed runic light.
This was the Rank 3 viewing platform and three different figures stood upon it.
At the center was Ozpin who was directing the tournament.
On one side of him stood a man who was… quite large.
He was heavyset and round in the way of someone who seemed more immovable than slow. His torso was bare despite the altitude winds, revealing skin that was faintly etched with ember like veins beneath the surface. His orange locks spilled wildly down to his shoulders, shifting as if stirred by a heat that didn't match the chill of the atmosphere.
On Ozpin's other side stood an elderly-looking man.
He looked thin and frail, having soft eyes and kind features. His face was carved with wrinkles that were set by time rather than hardship. His long gray hair was tied loosely behind his back and his clothes were simple and modern. Modest.
The man gave off a very grandfatherly vibe.
Unassuming.
And yet the faint feeling of reality bowing to them, made itself known to Jaune.
He swallowed lightly.
Rank 3.
It was odd. Every time he had seen a Rank 3, he was unable to discern any form of weakness from them from his special sense. As if they were still water within the ripples of a sea of fishes.
This phenomena had made itself known that there was something fundamentally different about Rank 3 bodies as a whole.
Or perhaps it was just the fact that they were Rank 3's. A whole two rank higher than him that made his rune unable to measure them. Jaune supposed that pondering about it was meaningless. If he managed to get to Rank 2 without dying, he'd probably come to understand.
His thoughts were interrupted when Ozpin stepped forward.
His voice boomed across the coliseum without amplification, carried by layered runic resonance.
"Awakened from all Kingdoms. Welcome to the Vytal Tournament."
The crowd erupted into claps and cheers. While it wasn't technically supposed to be a grand affair for fun, the atmosphere couldn't help but be charged in anticipation.
Hundreds of Rank 1 signatures flared in excitement and the noise rolled like thunder across the floating arena.
Ozpin raised one hand and silence fell almost instantly.
"This tournament will proceed in squad based 2v2 engagements."
As he spoke, luminous brackets formed in the air above the arena, projecting in grand scale for all to see.
Kingdom insignias appeared beside each name.
The initial bracket stabilized.
===
Opening Brackets
Round One
===
Vacuo vs Atlas
Mistral vs Vale
Menagerie vs Vacuo
===
Murmurs spread through the stands and even Jaune's eyes narrowed slightly at the sight. Vacuo was fighting twice in the opening rotation.
Interesting.
The bracket shimmered and shifted again, with lines weaving into new configurations.
===
Rotational Brackets Preview
===
Atlas vs Menagerie
Vale vs Vacuo
Mistral vs Atlas
Menagerie vs Vale
Vacuo vs Mistral
===
The system would rotate until each kingdom had fought the others. This promoted a balanced system which was both comprehensive and deliberate.
Ozpin continued.
"All participants have been marked."
At that, faint lines ignited across the arena floor as the first teams stepped forward from opposite gates.
Each competitors bore some type of glowing runic seal over their sternum. It pulsed once, then dimmed to a faint imprint.
Ozpin gestured subtly toward his two fellow Rank 3s.
"This safeguard," he said calmly, "is the product of a Rank 3 rune."
The large, bare-chested man scratched his jaw lazily, orange hair flickering faintly as if stirred by invisible flame.
The elderly man smiled kindly at the crowd.
"The seal will negate one fatal strike," Ozpin explained. "Upon activation, the marked individual will be considered deceased and immediately teleported away from the arena."
A ripple passed through the stands.
"Combat will remain lethal in nature and hesitation will not be rewarded. However, true death will not occur, so do not hold back and fight to your heart's content."
Jaune hummed at that.
That explained the tension in the air. These would not be restrained sparring matches but a true simulation of real battlefield lethality.
It was safe, but not forgiving.
Ozpin lowered his hand.
"First match."
The gates on opposite sides of the arena opened fully.
===
Vacuo vs Atlas
===
Two fighters from Vacuo stepped out first.
Their skin, confirming the Vacuoan descent was dark and rich in texture. They had loose stances and relaxed countenances, clearly refined from years of combat. Their rune frames designs were slightly different, adapted for desert and deep forest environment. Well, mostly desert considering that living plants didn't exist in the dream realm.
Their rune frames were lighter and looked more mobility focused. One of the combatants carried twin curved blades and standard LUCID handguns. The other combatant had some very interestingly styled gauntlets with bladed edges that crackled faintly with compressed kinetic force.
Jaune couldn't help but poke at Yang.
"Looks like he and you share some similarities."
"Hmm... his gauntlets look do kinda cool." Yang replied
Across from them, Atlas emerged in synchronization.
Their movements were minimal yet precise—chock full of discipline. One wielded a long spear layered in a glowing field of frost like energy while the other carried a rectangular shield etched with bladed edges.
Vacuo felt volatile and dangerous while Atlas felt disciplined and prepared.
The signal flared and the match began.
The Vacuoan's struck first.
The twin blade wielder vanished in a burst of wind propulsion, reappearing at Atlas' flank. Simultaneously, the gauntlet user launched forward with a powerful kick meant to shatter defensive posture.
Atlas responded well.
The shield bearer anchored himself against the kick while frost spread across the ground in a stabilizing type-field, courtesy of the the spear user. The spear bearer pivoted and intercepted the wind dual blade user mid dash.
Steel clashed and frost detonated outwards in a concentric ring.
The kinetic gauntlet user's kick slammed into the shield with a massive booming sound, only for something weird to happen. The impact was directed upwards in a controlled arc.
The crowd was excited.
Yang leaned forward, eyes bright.
"Atlas isn't budging."
Jaune nodded faintly.
"They're training emphasizes formation combat."
Vacuo adapted quickly.
The wind user shifted angles repeatedly, refusing direct engagement. The gauntlet user began targeting the spear wielder instead, forcing Atlas to split attention.
Minutes passed in escalating exchanges.
Then it happened.
A great feint.
The Vacuon gauntlet fighter intentionally overextended, in which the Atlas spear user lunged to capitalize.
The wind wielder reappeared directly behind him. Twin blades crossed into a killing strike.
The runic seal flared.
A sharp crystalline tone echoed as the Atlas spear user's chest seal detonated in golden light.
His body froze mid motion and he vanished from the arena.
Dead.
Atlas' shield bearer recalculated immediately but was now alone.
Vacuo pressed advantage.
A minute later, later, a kinetic shockwave bypassed the shield user's redirection rune by screwing with his footing. The dual blade user capitalized on the attack and cut at his ankles, forcing him to drop and turnaround to block with his shield. Unfortunately, a bladed gauntlet met his face.
The second seal flared.
Atlas was eliminated and Vacuo claimed the first victory.
The stands thundered.
Above, the large orange haired Rank 3 chuckled, a deep rumble.
"Vacuo is still as spirited, as they have been before." he muttered.
The elderly Rank 3 nodded mildly. "They are indeed quite adaptable."
Ozpin simply observed.
Next was Mistral vs Vale.
The next teams entered.
Mistral's fighters were women who moved like dancers.
One wielded a segmented chain blade that flowed like liquid metal and the other was barehanded.
Vale's duo contrasted them.
Jaune didn't recognize the fighters. They must have come from a different city in the Kingdom. One had a sword and shield combination and the other wielded a mid range gun.
The match began with deception.
Suddenly, four clone copies of the Mistral chain wielder split outward while the barehanded Mistrali seemed to teleport towards the sword and shield user with a punch ready in her hand. The punch carried a powerful force that rang out like a gong, but the sword and shield user was able to block the hit and subsequent attacks with skill and weaves. Finding himself overwhelmed, the man suddenly detonated a light-type shockwave which forced the barehanded user to teleport away.
Vale's gun user fired lightning bullets of some sort into two of the clones that rushed forwards to attack her.
The other two converged on the sword and shield user while the real one struck from above.
Chain blade wrapped her weapon around sword and shield user's arm, yanking him off balance.
Vale responded back with disciplined teamwork.
The rifle user switched to a different elemental round and dispersed the remaining clones in a sweeping arc before they could press the attack on the shield user.
Jaune narrowed his eyes.
"This Mistral team seems to be specializing in misdirection," he murmured.
Yang nodded. "A little tricky to fight."
The fight grew chaotic with Chain blade versus sword and the fist user now attacking the gun user.
Suddenly, the Mistrali Chain blade user made a mistake and the Vale sword and shield user capitalized on a powerful explosion of light which engulfed her.
Seal flare.
Mistral lost one.
The barehanded teleporting Mistrali fought fiercely alone but was gradually cornered by synchronized pressure, however, she was able to take down the gun user with her before her own seal flared.
Vale took the match.
This time it was Ren that commented to Jaune.
"How is it? Feel any threat from the combatants so far?"
"No."
Ren raised a brow and Jaune seeing this had to reply somewhat forwardly. "They're powerful, but these fighters clearly haven't reach comprehension as of yet. And besides, the real powerhouses haven't started fighting, just yet."
"That's fair."
.
.
AN: Advanced chapters are available on patreon