Chương 69: The Test Before The Test

Arielle got distracted, staring at the teleportation circle for a few seconds before responding. She analyzed its features, noted that it bore only a slight resemblance to the circles she'd seen Telip and Elric conjure. Commander Vittoria hadn't used any runes. It was a constant swirl of Luxa and Vacu, and she had even interspersed them with dancing Vitae orbs. That was interesting. Ari had never seen anyone use Vitae in a teleportation orb before. What purpose did it serve in her portals?

Arielle almost asked, but she caught herself in time. The commander likely shouldn't realize that Arielle could see the orbs.

"Well," the woman said.

"Well, what?"

"I gave you an order, child." Arielle thought about it and shook her head.

"No, I can't go with you. We have exams in the morning."

"Exams?"

"Yes. It's mandatory to remain on campus, and tomorrow is the start of severance. Though I don't have any tests myself, it's Lyra's duel. I can't miss it. Not to mention that I still don't have enough information for our group presentation with Professor Woden, and I was going to spend tonight in the library going over it with–" The portal interrupted her midspeech, rushing towards her and swallowing her up faster than she could stop it.

She barely drew a breath before she appeared in front of what seemed to be a... cottage? No, that wasn't right. It was more of a tower that had been made from twisted bamboo and wood sprouting from the sandy desert, a botanical enclave formed without rhyme or reason.

"Welcome to my home," the woman said, stepping into view with a flourish.

"What do you think?"

"I think I told you I had school." Ari's face was set in a mullish expression as she crossed her arms over her chest."Tomorrow is a very important day for me."

"Yes, yes, I heard that. But it's not more important than what you have to do now."

"Yes, it is." Did she not understand? Perhaps Arielle had to impress the point upon her even more strongly.

"It's Lyra's match. If I'm not there and she loses it, it will be your fault, and I'll never forgive you." The woman seemed taken aback by Arielle's vehemence and crossed her arms over her chest, matching her stance and attitude.

"Did you just threaten me?" Arielle hadn't meant it as a threat, but she supposed she could see how it could be interpreted as one.

"Yes." The mild breeze whistled in the silence, the hissing of the heated sand accompanying it. Sweat trailed down Arielle's neck, and it disgusted her instantly. The Commander's expression shifted rapidly until she finally settled on what Arielle read as an annoyed amusement.

"This Lyra…she is that important to you?"

"Yes. She's my best friend and my roommate. If she doesn't pass severance, she's going to get kicked out of the academy." The commander's look turned more considering than annoyed.

"Fine. I will return you to campus before tomorrow."

"Promise?"

"Obviously." She looked disgruntled.

"I do not say things that I don't plan on doing. Mostly. Now don your disguise." Arielle remained hesitant, eyeing Vittoria with suspicion. Commander Vittoria raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not used to giving orders more than once. And I usually don't accept this much lip from a soldier."

"I'm not a soldier. I'm a student."

"What you are is a pain in my–""Why are you doing this?" Arielle asked.

"Did Elric tell you to kidnap me from school and test me?" Vittoria opened her mouth for two seconds before she gave a clipped nod.

"You caught me. Yes, he did." Arielle narrowed her eyes to be sure.

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"Absolutely not." Vittoria shook her head in a way that seemed genuine to Arielle. Should she check with [Empath Sense]? No. Vittoria would likely notice and might be offended by it. She did not want to offend Elric's friend and potentially damage the woman's relationship with Elric.

"Okay," Ari said. It was strange that Elric hadn't mentioned such a test to her first, though perhaps he had. Perhaps she had not seen the message in time. After all, she had not been as diligent in checking her messenger scrolls as she should have been, mostly because every time she opened up the book, there were seemingly hundreds of messages from her family.

"I suppose if Elric says so, then we can do it."

"You'll comply with Elric's orders but not mine?" Once more, the commander seemed amused and a little annoyed.

"Yes," Arielle answered honestly.

"Seriously? Do you know who I am?"

"You're a commander."

"I'm not just a commander, child. I'm the commander. Commander Vittoria Di Santinael, the Golden Beast, the Savior of the Nineteen Isles, the one who awakens victory, along with several other titles I will not bore you with. I outrank Elric by leagues, and my knowledge of magic laps his by several miles." She shrugged before she added.

"I suppose I could be a legendary mage if I put my mind to it, but I refused to participate in that inane system any longer." Vittoria paused with that, seemingly waiting for a response from Arielle.

"What difference is any of that supposed to make?" Arielle asked. The commander might be all of those things, but, for Arielle, Elric still ranked higher in importance. All this woman was was Elric's friend. And a partial Elf, which would be interesting on its own if Arielle were allowed to explore it.

"How much of you is Elven?" Arielle asked.

"Can you use Elven essences? Do you know any full elves living in this realm?" Vittoria's jaw slackened, and clear surprise flashed in her eyes. Different emotions shifted over her face before it settled in a wry smile.

"It's safe to say, so far, you're not as I expected, Arielle."

"Likewise. Also, you did not answer any of my pertinent Elven questions."

"I'll answer them later if I'm in a good mood. Right now, we must return to the matter at hand. You're going to be interrupting a pirate crew and finding out what their powers are. The main goal is essentially to stop their progress and ensure they cannot continue with their journey. Also, maybe steal whatever gold they brought along with them..." She brushed her chin.

"Yes. That sounds right. We confiscate the gold."

"Why?"

"Because I'm sure they're ill-gotten. The pirates are rotten thieves after all."

"If we steal it, don't we also become rotten thieves with ill-gotten gold?"

"No. We're the heroes here." Ari pursed her lips. That didn't align with all the storybooks she'd ever read on the topic.

"I don't think heroes kidnap students from school and order them to steal from pirates." Vittoria's lip twitched.

"Fine. You're the hero. I'm the... hero maker."

"I see." Arielle mentally ran through her moral dilemma. Stealing from thieves... did that make her as much of a thief as they were? Logic told her no, but her storybooks often had lessons that suggested doing bad things to bad people could sometimes make you just as bad. However, if the thieves had truly stolen coin and Ari took it away from them, it was a form of justice, right? As long as she was not claiming the coin for her own selfish reasons.

For it to be heroic, they would either need to return it to its rightful owners or use it to do communal good.

"We would need to try to find who they stole the gold from," Ari said.

"Alternatively, we must donate it to a charitable organization."

"All of it?" Vittoria asked.

"Yes. That's the only way to remain a hero." Vittoria smirked.

"Fine. We'll be the heroes then. At least, you'll be. I'm not doing anything but observing you."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't feel like it. Now, by my count, there are about fifteen to twenty people there. Most are simply barbarians and rogues, but there are a few mages, a Phasewalker, and one creature whom I cannot get a good read of. That might be a bit of a surprise factor, but I'm certain if you're half as clever as Elric thinks you are, you can manage it." Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Yes," she said. She didn't typically like surprises, but in this case, she was looking forward to something that would actually challenge her. Most of her fights were dull and predictable. This would be different at least.

"One more thing," Vittoria said.

"As you fight, I'll be studying your battle styles and your mannerisms to better apply them. I want you to also mimic some of my mannerisms, particularly with the inclusion of Vitae in some of the spells you cast. Like this one." She sent a sprinkling of Vitae, Luxa, and Vacu orbs to the sand, and it awoke. Just that patch of land pulsed with life, exuded energy, and the grains rose to form the shape of a frog. The frog hopped.

"Wow," Arielle said.

"Yes, it's lovely. I don't have time to go in depth and teach you anything like that, and though Elric tells me you're a fast learner, I don't expect you to incorporate this yet. Though seemingly simple, it's quite complex to master, so we'll learn it later. But just try to use as many Vitae-containing spells as possible."

"Okay," Arielle said. She would simply have to ensure that she didn't use too powerful a spell. Vittora's sand-frog spell could potentially be such if she expanded it, but it would be fine as long as Ari only formed minor sand creatures with it. Could she make something like that for Lyra, but without Vacu and Luxa? Arielle couldn't wait to try.

"Take this," Vittoria tossed her a black battery.

"A reservoir with five thousand orbs. That should be enough."

"Yes," Arielle said.

"Thank you."

"So polite," Vittoria winked.

"Also, since you're representing me, I'm going to give you sort of a grand entrance. You have to remember to stand tall and ooze authority as I do. I'll be in your head, coaching you on what to say while you're there. Understood?"

"Okay."

"Say, 'yes, commander'."

"Yes, commander."

"Good. Let's go."

Figuero was on high alert, so much so that when someone brushed against his shoulder, he nearly jumped out of his skin and thrust a spear through their heart. He caught himself in time as Rain put up his hand and smiled.

"Relax," he said.

"You've been jumpy all afternoon."

"How close are we to the bridge?"'"We're almost there, but we're camping for the evening as we're a little early to meet with our associates. After our timeline got messed up, they decided to leave and return later. We'll meet them in a few hours on our side of the rift, and they'll hand us the jewels. We hand him the coin and then go on our merry way."

"You truly think it will be that easy."

"Don't tell me you're still scared she's going to show up."

"Of course, I'm terrified." Figuero looked at Rain like he was crazy.

"Do you remember what she did to us last time?"

"Yes, but last time was different."

"She somehow still disabled our teleportation."

"It's with her illusion magic. It doesn't give us a clear landing spot, which messes up the anchoring of the runes. But it's okay. We took the long route, and we're almost there. It's been three days, and she hasn't even sent anything to us yet. Do you know why?"

"Because she's trying to lull us into a false sense of security."

"No, because she understands that we have a better team now. A Phasewalker, who is essentially her weakness, and the hybrid. Her sandstorm couldn't touch us this time, nor did any of her beasts, real or illusory. She understands our group is now more of a threat than she can handle, and she's better off letting us through so we don't hunt her down."

"You're delusional." Rain only laughed.

"Do you even know who the Desert Witch is?" Figuero shook his head. He'd grown up at the outskirts of the desert himself, and at first, he'd thought the witch was just a myth. Until one day, what should have been an ordinary pick-up became a living nightmare. He had an immunity to most poisons and had faced several fearsome creatures in his lifetime. He'd never faced anything like her. The worst part was that they didn't even know what was attacking them. A mage? A djinn?

Some kind of other non-identifiable creature? It didn't matter. They had been besieged from all sides and did not stand a chance. This time, they were prepared for her. They had planned counters for her attacks, had hidden traps, and had already dealt with three initial waves without losing any men.

"Who is she?" Figuero asked.

"My sources tell me it's the retired commander. The Archmage that disappeared nearly eighty years ago, before either of us was born,""What commander?" Rain tutted.

"Did you never take a class on history or read a book? The commander. Vittoria Di Santinael. The Golden Beast. The Life Giver. She can imbue life into anything, magical or mundane. A portal develops sentience. Sand becomes a living storm. She's turned this entire desert into her pet, who obeys her will. But we have someone who can counter that. And for the worst case scenario, we also have someone who can–" Without warning, thunder rumbled. Not from the sky but from the ground as it began to shake.

Figuero stepped back. His heart began racing even faster as he gripped his spear with all his strength. He only saw flashes of light as rogues sped past him, getting into position, laying cantrips. The Archers, too. The barbarians held their swords and clubs to attack, the mages with their sigils ready. A gust of wind nearly knocked Figuero off his feet as a gale swept the sand into the air, until it typhooned above their encampment.

"Ready yourself," The barbarian leader yelled uselessly, because anyone with half a brain should already be ready. They waited, and Figuero wondered if it would not be smarter to attack while the creature was still spawning. But one of the mages sent out a heatflare that was immediately repelled, and he saw that it was a bad idea. Once the sand cleared, what stood before them wasn't a monstrous creature. It was not a sand serpent or a ghoul. It was… a girl. Somewhat.

A girl in a raven mask with a hood covering her hair. They held their breath as everyone tried to figure out if she was real or if she was a trick. Perhaps she was a monster in disguise; if so, the disguise was a very good one because she looked very much like a young, adolescent girl. She even yawned like one, too.

"Who are you?" Rain spoke up first.

"I am..." she paused as she thought.

"I am the one you've been waiting for. The Desert Witch." She paused on that too, as though it didn't sound right, but forged on anyway.

"This is as far as you will get, evil doers." Her words sounded strange. Rehearsed but not well. Her tone was flat, and it sounded like someone was whispering lines in her ear for her to recite. Or perhaps this was another animated corpse.

"Are you here to stop us?" Rain clarified.

"Yes." She paused.

"And to steal your stolen gold, of course, to return to their rightful owners. Your gold is stolen, correct?" Was she asking them genuinely? It felt like it.

"She's not an animated corpse," the Phasewalker said.

"She is simply a mage in disguise. You've finally come to meet your doom, Desert Witch." The girl winced again and shook her head.

"Actually, on second thought, I don't like that name. It sounds strange. Call me Tamsy Lous."

"We'll make sure we engrave it on your tombstone," the leader of the barbarians said before he shouted, "Attack!"

Arielle was glad she had taken a nap earlier today because she was alert enough to note and disable the magical traps in the sands. The attacks came almost immediately, from all sides. She silently used [Air Shield] and [Repel] to counter most of the physical ones, as well as a few trajectory reversals. Someone threw a spear at her head, and she sidestepped it, reversing it back at them and skewering their foot to the floor. They yelped in pain, but she didn't have time to even register it.

Roars shook through the air, reminding her of her father's men as they thundered towards her with thick broadswords and clubs in their hands. Barbarians. As she shielded, she tried the new spell she'd learned from Vittoria, raising about a dozen small sand frogs and sending them hopping into the Barbarian's faces. They yelled from the heated attack, though they kept advancing blindly. Arielle perceived Vittoria's shocked inhale in her head.

It was odd how she could hear the woman's voice clearly, as though she were standing right next to her, and feel her emotions clearly too. It was good, so she didn't have to guess if she was doing a good job or not. If Vittoria's emotions were anything to go by, Arielle had a feeling she was acing this test. The magical attacks were coming now. Fire-based mostly. Arielle faced a brief issue of countering those spells while avoiding the physical blows.

Not that she couldn't do it, but she didn't want to carry too many spells all at once. Then she realized she didn't have to. Just like with the jewel traders in Khor, she could simply seize control of their spells and turn them around on them. And thanks to Vittoria, she knew exactly how to do it in an easier way, where it wasn't a tug of war with the owner of the spell. She simply had to give the spell a life of its own, and then the life would be hers to control. Neat.

First, though, she had to take care of the Phasewalker. He was building a giant maelstrom of burning sand that fed, seemingly, on the Vitae in the atmosphere, including the Vitae in already active spells. Her toads were swept away into their shifting forms, between explosive heat and burning sand. Arielle was fascinated once again by the breadth of Phasewalker's powers. She hoped she could talk to him later before he was delivered to the council.

But she couldn't allow him to keep sucking up the Vitae from the atmosphere, so she simply tugged one of them loose from his spell-form, and the spell exploded. However, she provided him with a small shield so that the backlash didn't kill him, only knocked him back for a rough landing several feet away. That earned her a shocked gasp from the onlookers before they came back at her again. Now, she could play.

It was as easy as weaving their spells with Vitae orbs, similar to Vittoria's frog spell, and weakening the caster's control while allowing the spell to come to life. The fire transformed into dancing flamebirds circling and attacking the assailants, much to their confusion and fear.

"What has she done?" one of them screamed.

"She has turned our spells against us!"

"Stop her!" another yelled. One of the rogues had magic and attempted to sneak up on her through the shadows. With Ari's 'livening' spell, he became trapped in it himself as the shadow began to run away and drag him along with it. His screams peppered the atmosphere. Vittoria's shock only grew, and Ari heard her mutter things to herself in another language. It sounded almost like a prayer. Arielle watched as each of the spells took on lives of their own. Not entirely, though.

They needed guidance and focus, or they would go haywire and burn everything down. The spell took a lot of focus, and constant feeding. It also took some effort to constantly overcome the caster's pull, preventing them from ending their own spell. Yet, Ari liked it. Lyra would also love this spell once Arielle made it work for her. As the others ultimately fell or fled, the last man standing was a hooded figure, the only one who had yet to attack.

He was not incorporated into the system, so she couldn't tell what his level was, and his entire face was covered. And then he drew back his hood. His pupils were entirely black, his skin green, and he had webbed fingers of which there were only three on each hand. Each finger had a bulbous tip, too. His nostrils were mere slits in his face, his features reptilian. What exactly was he?

"Arielle," Vittoria said in her mind, the alarm in her voice distracting Ari.

"Yes?"

"Don't let that man out of your sight. But don't let him get close either. Do not engage."

"Why?"

"Arielle? Did you hear me?..." But it sounded like Vittoria's voice was suddenly far away. And when she looked back at the stranger, he was right in front of her. He grabbed her neck before she could utter a scream.