"Come on..No need to be hostile. We are all fellow students here." Sky raised his hands playfully and slowly backed away, a smile gracing his face.
"Don't move! Surrender yourself Scoundrel Theobane!" They shouted, pointing their blade and spells at him.
Embers lined the edges of the room, blocking escape. The air felt thick and heavy, ready to crush him at a moment's notice.
"Ok! Ok....wow, how proactive..." He muttered, then hastily moved his right hand towards his bracelet on the left. The bracelet was his dimensional pocket.
They all tensed up, expecting Sky to pull out a weapon or an artifact. It was within their expectations that he would retaliate.
There was no weapon or artifact. Just a single normal, plain-looking wooden chair...
Sky plopped his buttocks on the chair and stretched his right hand on the back support, making himself as comfortable as possible.
"So who wants to claim me...of course not in that way."
When he said that, their confused and baffled faces stiffened.
Indeed..who?
They planned to kill Sky Theobane and claim the merit of doing so.
Though the rules will protect his life, they only apply when it counts as 'Fatal'. So as long as they break him correctly, he won't survive long after the trial finishes. With conditions like that, running away or even surviving the 2nd Trial's duration will be impossible.
Trials grant immunity to most murder charges, it's a universal law grafted by the power houses outside. So that people won't be hindered by the fear of murdering or direct wars against them because of them killing someone to clear a trial. With three of the four powerhouses on their side, House Theobane can't do anything. They will have direct protection!
But the merit will go to the one who is mostly responsible for killing him.
Suddenly, all people in the room became conscious of each other, like a teenage boy being conscious of his childhood female friend who has grown assets.
They eyed each other, distrust blooming amongst them.
.. should they wait for their 'superiors' to arrive and let them claim the merit for their own, being just a side character that was not mentioned in this act.
Or
Should they take the chance and be the one who contributed the most in taking down the Blasphemer, Sky Theobane, and be promoted high in the social ladder?
Greed
Sky watched their dilemma and greed with great interest, sipping on the cup of orange juice he took out from his stock. He was enjoying every moment while it lasted.
Who knew one sentence could do so much magic without actual magic?
People hunting him are not a huge movement but a micro movement of various interests. That is how politics is in the end, a bundle of various interests.
For various political reasons and not to publicly antagonize Theobane further, the powerhouses didn't officially put the Bounty but rather spread rumours, word of mouth, and unofficial channels to do so. Furthermore, those loyalists always needed a reason to hate him, so they fueled the fire.
There biggest mistake was that they set it up as a free-for-all. And we all know that only the most contributor or the first one to kill gets the spotlight. Faction name comes second, and the secondary contributors are left in the shadows of history.
If it were a unified team like before the trial, they would have had no choice but to let the leader act. But unfortunately or fortunately for sky, the random postion switch scrambled everyone.
Right now, everyone in this room belonged to different factions with same goal, But only one can claim the golden goose.
It became a game of who claims the golden goose safely.
"Uhh...damn it! Fuck you Theobane-!!" Someone couldn't take the tension anymore and broke into a sprint towards sky.
Sky didn't flinch, rather he looked excited by this development.
The assaulter didn't make far before getting shot by another.
"I-I am sorry..but my leader will kill me if I don't!" An fragile looking persurer wispered out an apology with trembling voice, he then pointed his gun at sky and pulled the trigger.
The bullet stopped half a meter away from sky, the air folding on itself to slow it down.
"In the name of Star of Life and Abundance! I shall deliver judgement to this heretic myself!" Priest belonging to Principalities protected sky.
The priest was inturn attacked. In seconds an all out brawl broke out amoungt them.
Seeing them all brawl while also protecting him, sky had a intresting realisation,
'Is this how women feel when men fight for their attention? Its pretty good, no wonder.'
Maybe it's the feeling of being valued or having control. Who knows, sky isn't a women. Maybe he should ask his older sister....
Sky was busy with such blissful thoughts, bathing in this 'peace', if only he had pop corn at his side...oh wait, he does.
But sadly nothing last long, every good birthday party comes to an end. A party pooper always ruin it!
Booooooom!!
The entire roof of the bar was suddenly blown away.
The actual hunters are now here.
Sky didn't wait, he booked it. Tearing through the damaged wall, he jumped out into the alleyway. But before that, he threw them a explosive parting 'gift'.
"Enjoy!"
Gun shots, screams and explosions sounded behind him.
As he navigated through the alleys, suddenly one ahead got covered in shadows.
Sky ducked, narrowly avoiding a knife on his neck. An assassin walked out of shadows.
Booooom! Boooooom! Booooom!
The poor shadow assassin didn't get much time has something or someone was buldozing through the buildings like a Juggernaut towards them.
"Raaaawwwwwrrrr!!" The juggernaut hunter screamed out while emerging from the smoke and rubble.
He stepped forward only to fall into a pit of mechanical spikes set up by the shadow assassin and 'Die'. Ofcourse taking the novice assassin down with it.
'The alleys are not safe!'
Sky abandoned the alleys and perched himself on top of the roofs, he was open to all eyes but so were they.
Sky jumped roof to roof, heading westward.
Whssssstt!
An arrow shot past his left ear. It's tip was red hot, while the wind folded around it.
More shots came from north, sky took cover.
'Is someone snipping me?!'
If they are, they were good at it. Two elemental laws simultaneously maintained from long distance means they are no novice like before.
Sky could only sigh in relief that there is no sniper rifles or any automatic weapons developed in this world yet. They only got flintlock and magic circuit powered guns.
Imagine dealing with magic snipers.
As he was finding relatively safer routes to avoid confrontation, an arrow embedded itself before him.
It was same as any arrow before, but his senses forged through experience and inherit trait said otherwise.
Sky hastily jumped towards another roof, while the arrow imploded behind him.
Boooom! The building he was previously standing on turned to rubble in matter of seconds. Sky's back tingled.
"Δράκος αμπέλου!" A voice coldly resounded behind him, speaking in ancient language of divinity.
Sky grimaced, 'Vine....dragon?' He translated inwardly, trying to decipher the spell and it's intent.
Green vines sprouted from concrete walls, stone pavement, alleys and who knows from where, intertwining and amalgamating in form of a Gaint serpent reaching as tall as fifty meters!
It's maws were big enough to engulf Sky and the building he stood upon whole.
'.... that's a serpent..a discount chinese dragon perhaps?' Sky mocked it, he did not try to Dodge, how can he Dodge something that can effortlessly catch up to him in seconds. Running away will be a waste of energy, not that they will kill him instantly or anything anyways.
'So the high rankers finnally make a move.' He was starting to wonder where they were.
The 'Dragon' that now grew up to almost hundred metres starred him down.
"Soo....can you eat me gently?" Sky requested respectfully with his hands up, negotiating for a peaceful kidnapping method.
The 'dragon' responded by diving towards him head first!
"τοίχος πάγου!" The dragons decent was abruptly halted. As it ran headfirst into a colossal wall of ice.
A person wearing a blue long overcoat stood on top of the wall, pointing her sword towards the dragon.
"Don't even try!" She shouted, while crystalizing multiple sharp chunks of glacier, hurling them towards the 'dragon'.
The dragon bit into the glaciers, stattering it into smaller pieces, raining death on those below.
Frost, vines, debris and screams filled the area. Those who came to hunt Sky became the victims of two colossal's clash.
Infact, sky himself was currently trapped inside a hollow cube of ice created by that ice women.
"Achoooo!" He sneezed out aloud,
"D-Damn it, I-If she wanted to contain me atleast should have not contained me in I-Ice!"
Complaining, he took out another chair and sat down to wait for Chaos outside to subside.
[30 minutes over! The throne will descend in East!]
"A-Ah!" Just a few minutes in, the throne descended.
'Hope Aeon got the memo.' He had intentionally told him to "go for the sky". Well...he will go regardless, but showing my support was important.
There are many iteration of First Trial in the game, it's always hunt and conquer if you choose central comercial district. It's always survival if you choose chaos harbour.
The game liked randomness but it also followed a pattern. Sky had intentionally wasted time in the bar.
If no 2nd event triggered within first ten minutes of random switch, then the throne will fall east and a specific event will trigger alongside it.
He attracted most attention towards himself to give Aeon a clearer route towards throne. Aeon always makes it towards the throne but the dificultly to reach is always high. Sky hoped that he made it easier.
As for the event, it would be his way to escape this chaos.
Sky traced his finger against the cold ice incasement.
'Quite solid, probably meant to withstand explosion and cutting from both sides.' he analyzed, it was truly a masterpiece. His finger stoping at a particular point
Sadly.....
Booooom!
It met him.
Sensing her incasement break, the ice women breafly held an expression on her formerly inexpressive face.
She was about the charge at his location when a gylphs arranged itself in corner of her eyes.
[Chaos Switch! Rolling cake!]
"Rolling what?!" They all thought the same, it was answered immediately.
The land beneath them titled like a ship riding up a Tsunami wave.
Debris and rubble slid eastward, as the land rose from the west, rolling like a Swiss roll.
Half the houses broke apart due to the shifting land and gravity, whole others were stuck to it, denying natural laws.
Sky and the two colossal were very westward, so they were the first to be implemented in its snare. It approached them like a Tsunami of houses, slowly reaching for the sky.
While the two colossal were busy being awestruck, sky used this apportunity to quickly escaped further west.
He used his hands to get around the almost vertical streets, dodging debris rolling down, as he would only fall if he used his feets.
"Ha-...ha, Found you you motherfu-!" Some idiot had followed sky, also hanging like a monkey.
Seeing a debris heading in a particular direction, sky panicked and warned the idiot.
"Dodge! your bal-!"
Crack!
He was too late, a debris hit that idiot right into his grone. A sickening cracking noice reverberated in sky's ears.
The hand of the guy slipped as he fell down, his pale horror filled expression flashing in sky's eyes.
Sky felt phantom pain in his lower half, he muttered in a weak voice
"I told you...."
Wasting no further time sky located a shelter not falling and unaffected by the rolling.
It was a carriage used to carry important figures like wealthy nobles or merchants.
He navigated towards the carriage, jumping into it.
He wasn't alone, a guy was crying like a child, crouched in one of its corners. His hands protecting his head.
"Hic! I-I shouldn't have came here-! Hic- The church was better! Hic!"
He noticed sky and looked up, immediately terror filled his eyes.
"A-ah! Ahhhhhhh! Please don't hurt me! Hic!" The man was broken, this is what happens to the weak and unprepared that were never exposed to madness of StarStrek Realm.
'But isn't he broken too soon?' sky wondered, scaning the scared man.
He got the answer, the man lost his brooch - the insignia of StarStrek that protects them.
With a pitying look, sky grabbed the broken student and chucked him out of the carriage that was now ridden high up in the sky. For this was the mercy he can give.
"Haa~" wind gushed into his face has he leaned against the broken door frame of the carriage.He was now above the clouds. sky surveyed the ground far below.
In a distance, eastward, a Gaint anchor sizing in kilometres laid. It was were the throne laid.
[The process of claim over throne as started! Conqueror candidate: Aeon!]
[5 minutes before full capture! All participants, be warned!]
[4:59:59]
Right on time!
[A/N: Not the best piece of fiction, I know....kinda rushed. The pace is fixed next trial.]