Power Overwhelming

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Despite the grand entrance of the various institutes of learning, the gathering itself wasn’t that large. Since the whole thing wasn't open to the public, the number of people involved was relatively limited. With each institute bringing around a dozen students and a similar number of teachers for security, the whole number of participants was less than five hundred. The hosting institute, aptly named the Frostpeak Institute, of course had more people present than any of the others, as their delegation was almost twice as large even when not counting the servants.

The building the event took place in had a very wintry theme and was made of white stone with snow motifs. The main room for the event consisted of a large balcony circling the center of the room that looked like a relatively small arena. It seemed likely that the room had been constructed for this very purpose, as all the delegations were seated at tables all around the balcony at equal distances, giving a great view of the arena below. It was likely that the fights and events were to take place in the arena. The institutes had been grouped according to their previous success in similar gatherings, which left the Academy at the most prominent place, along with the hosts of course.

Tsumi had explained to the students during the journey that while the whole thing was called a tournament, the process wouldn’t be as rigid as the word implied. The whole thing was just an opportunity for the various institutes to show off their most talented students. The process would take place over several days but essentially the entire time the various institutes were allowed to use the arena to show off. The first few days were dedicated to displays of skills outside combat, while the last few days would consist mostly of duels between students. Aside from the time reserved for the bouts, there were no strict rules about who could and would fight. The whole thing could just end up being a series of challenge matches between similarly aged students, or it could turn into something more exciting like a battle royale or even a kind of king of the hill type of situation. The winner would usually be clear by the end, no matter which format the fights ended up taking.

It was clear that the purpose of this gathering wasn’t just for the sake of the tournament. It was also an opportunity to make connections and socialize with promising young people from other institutes, as well as an opportunity for the leaders of the institutes to discuss some matters now that they were all present. It was likely that the most important topics would be handled behind closed doors, but there were many lighter matters that could be discussed in the open. It was expected that the students would mingle and make friends while the teachers discussed the more serious matters. The teachers or teacher equivalents of each institute were of course also eager to form connections, so they’d spend time mingling as well.

Many of the adults as well as the students that had experience with similar gatherings quickly moved between the tables to greet old acquaintances and to make new ones. The servants had purposefully served food that was easy to bring with you as you moved between the tables. Karna kept her eyes open and quickly spotted the two other reincarnators she had sensed before. The more inexperienced of the two was a relatively young girl that sat demurely among the host delegation. Karna could sense that the girl was a fourth circle mage, and probably wasn’t more than a couple of years older than her. She seemed to have some sort of ice-demon lineage, although not one of a pure Yuki-Onna or a frost Oni. Likely a mix of some sort.

The other one was an older boy of some sort of Djinn or Efreeti lineage that eyed the first girl with a slightly predatory look. It was quite clear from his look that he had also somehow identified the girl as another reincarnator, which wasn’t all that difficult considering neither of them could hide their souls from such scrutiny. It seemed that neither of them had learned too many soul related techniques, although the boy at least had learned to spot others like him, even if he apparently had not spotted Karna. He also seemed like the type to take out any potential competition early. Some reincarnators were like that. They attacked others of their kind almost on sight.

The guy was much better at hiding his level, but Karna could still identify him as a late-fourth rank warrior and a third rank mage. He’d obviously been busy as he wasn’t much older than the girl. Karna got the sense that the guy had lived at least a dozen lives. He clearly had some of the confidence that came with living repeated lives. The girl on the other hand felt like she was unsure of herself and somewhat lost. None of that showed on her face of course, but Karna had seen those like her quite often. Being reincarnated could be very disorienting, especially if you were reborn into a universe that was very different from your original life. You didn’t know what was going on, or any of the rules. You also couldn’t even talk freely about the situation with others, which made it harder to find out any details. That sense of confusion would eventually go away as you got a handle on things, which usually happened by the third or fourth life. By that point, you knew enough to start taking advantage of the situation.

The guy was a good example. He likely felt invulnerable, as he would just be born again if he died. He also had more experience and knowledge than others of his age, which made him appear more gifted than he truly was. A combination like that easily inflated one’s ego and gave false confidence. There was one thing Karna realized though. This guy most certainly wasn’t one of her targets. Someone that could draw power directly from the elemental planes would likely have a True Name associated with that ability, and that meant they’d likely be much older and more experienced. Someone who had lived a hundred lives, and not a dozen. Certain True Names carried power, but they also weren’t easy to acquire.

“Not going out to socialize?” Tsumi asked as she was seated next to Karna.

“There’s little point yet. To everyone gathered here, I’m currently one of the weakest people at this gathering. Even if I’m young, my current level isn’t so high as to raise any eyebrows among the level of people gathered here. Especially since they don’t know how young I really am. If I were to approach people now, I would be doing it from a position of someone inferior. I’d rather give it a bit of time and see how the situation develops. Who knows? Maybe they won’t be thinking so little of me in a few days.” Karna explained her thoughts. It was clear that no one present thought very highly of her just yet, and no one had even tried approaching her, though the other crowned students of the Academy might have something to do with that, judging by the looks she was getting. That suited her just fine for now. She’d rather counter any rumors with her actions anyway, and spreading false rumors would make them look unreliable.

"Incidentally, the person we found for you is the one approaching our table right now," Tsumi whispered quietly.

Karna noticed that the person was not one of the two she had sensed to be reincarnators. That wasn't too surprising. A person with the kind of power that she was looking for would most likely also have the ability to hide their presence from the sort of cursory search she had used before. The person Tsumi had pointed out was clearly a senior student. By his attire, he seemed to be one of the oldest students of one of the smaller institutes, and he was also both skilled and powerful enough that Karna could not sense his level, but he was likely among the most powerful students gathered here, if not the strongest. He also showed no obvious signs of standing out from the other gathered students despite his power.

‘So someone who can hide themselves. This makes things more complicated.’ Karna thought to herself. She contemplated for a moment before her eyes flashed with power for less than a second. The person looked sharply around the room, clearly having sensed what just happened. That was also confirmation of sorts. Reincarnators had certain methods to discover the True Names of those around them, which was exactly why Karna had asked the Head Judge of the River of Souls to mask her Names.

The information gained from using abilities like this was incomplete and somewhat random if the target had multiple Names, but the biggest downside was that the target would sense what had just happened. He now knew there was someone at this gathering skilled enough to use an ability like Karna had just used, though he didn’t know who had used it. There were two other reincarnators present though, so Karna had judged the information worth the risk. Having four reincarnators in one room was extremely rare even for this universe, although made a little more likely by the fact that this was a gathering of the gifted and the Higher Planes were the most likely gathering place for reincarnators. It was likely that the person would think one of the two other reincarnators was the likely culprit.

‘So. Stormcaller.’ The Name made it much more likely that he was truly one of the people she was tasked to take care of, since it actually dealt with an element. Karna was satisfied with that bit of info for now. She’d find out more later. In the meantime, she could go bug Siegfried and Shala. Those two were actually going to treat her like an equal at least.

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While the beginning of the gathering was a little tentative in that no one seemed to be in a rush to be the first to step on the arena, eventually the atmosphere came to a point people and institutes started to feel truly competitive. Even though the first few days were dedicated to activities other than combat, that didn’t mean you couldn’t show off your skills in other ways. As the hosts, the Frostpeak institute started the festivities. A young grey-skinned Frostling mage that likely only barely managed to cross the supposed age limit stepped to the platform to give a demonstration of his formidable mana control.

The youngster didn't actually cast any spells but controlled the ice element directly. That in itself was a relatively advanced technique for someone only at the fourth circle. Usually, mages had some elements they were clearly better with than any others. As they learned more about their chosen elements and attuned to it, their control also increased. At first, they would be able to customize their spells, progressing to not needing to use chants or gestures to control their spells, and finally reaching a point where they controlled the power of the element directly. How much they could do with that direct control varied wildly. Some could do small things like the Frostling boy where he created ice sculptures out of thin air, while others would be able to imitate the effects of a spell they wouldn't normally be able to cast due to the spell being of a too high level. The ability had limits of course.

"His control isn't too bad," Tsumi commented. "He still needs a bit of refinement, but he's still good. With that one element.” Her implication was that the Frostling boy probably didn't have near as much control with any other element. That wasn't necessarily a horrible thing. Some mages dedicated themselves to a single element and did great. They didn't have much flexibility, which was one of the main strengths of mages, but sometimes pure output with one element was exactly what was needed. That said, Tsumi’s tone wasn’t exactly complimentary.

“Mmh, the boy is especially suited for the Ice Element. Frostlings in general excel at the element, and his affinities revolve almost entirely around that single one.” Karna could tell with a single glance at the way the boy channeled his mana. She didn’t much appreciate the performance either.

“You’ll probably need to go next.” Tsumi suddenly commented. “Do you have something in mind?”

“I can whip something up, but is there a reason why I should be next?” Karna questioned.

"You'll see," Tsumi said with a small smile. Her words became true as the Frostling boy’s performance came to an end. As the boy returned to his seat amidst small and polite applause, Tsumi stood up, drawing everyone’s attention. “Ladies and gentlemen. As it is often difficult to get these kinds of things started, we have built certain habits that some of the more experienced visitors are aware of. It is quite common that after the host had given the first performance, the youngest students from other institutes will go next. I can say with some confidence that this year the Academy had brought the youngest participant out of everyone.”

“How young exactly?” The Headmaster of the hosting Institute asked while looking at Karna.

“Let’s just say that it’s better if you don’t ask. It’s a good thing we have never been too strict about the age limit when it comes to younger participants.” Tsumi gave a disarming smile to everyone gathered and tilted her glass in a joking gesture of thanks, which elicited some laughs from the older teachers gathered. “With that said, Karna, if you would?”

"So much for keeping my age a secret," Karna muttered just loud enough for Tsumi to hear.

"It's better that they find out this way so that they can't complain later, should they find out by accident." Tsumi retorted as Karna walked past her and seemed to float to the arena below.

Karna spun around and looked at all the other institutes in turn. "I will need someone to name an element. Something other than ice since our hosts already got that covered." She made a small but respectful bow toward the host table. “To keep it fair, I’d like the suggestion to come from someone other than from the Academy students or teachers.”

“Qhaysh.” Someone shouted from behind Karna. She wasn’t sure who it was, but that side held both of the male reincarnators, so she had a suspicion. The voice had also sounded much like the Djinn boy’s.

“An excellent choice.” Karna agreed with a nod.

A long but thin blade made of hard light and pure Qhaysh materialized in her hand. A small glow of light started shining at the tip of the blade. Then to the surprise of everyone, she started moving to the beat of some unheard-of song, as the brightly shining blade started to gracefully spin in her hand. Those watching could immediately sense that she was at the same time fighting against some imaginary enemy, as well as performing an intricate and graceful blade-dance.

The tempo of the performance started off slow and languid but started to soon pick up pace as everyone started to catch on to what was going on. Everyone could almost see Karna's invisible enemy in front of her, as she dodged and weaved an exquisite net of blows, parries, and dodges. Despite there being no actual enemy, they could all 'see' with perfect clarity as Karna sometimes 'dodged' with a hair-thin margin, or delicately ‘guiding’ away the heavy invisible blows. It was clear that both Karna and her imaginary opponent were extremely skilled with a blade, and the fight was at much higher level than her rank would have others assume.

The dance was so breathtaking that it took a while before they all noticed something else. The bright light at the tip of Karna’s sword drew symbols and lines of light in the air, and sometimes those symbols and lights didn’t disappear. Many of them lingered, and as the blade-dance progressed, everyone started to realize that they were building up to something. As enough symbols gathered, they all noticed that the lights were slowly building up magical circles around Karna, and it was clear that the number of circles was much higher than her level as a mage.

As the fight came to a crescendo, with a beautiful flourish, Karna gave a ‘decisive blow’ to her enemy, and at the same time her final blow finished the magical formation. As the formation glowed, forming a spell ready to be cast, they all could sense that the spell only required enough mana to power it for it to be unleashed. With another flourish, Karna drew out a magical gemstone designed to store magical formations or inscriptions. The spell surrounding her was then sucked inside the gem.

After a moment of quiet, most of the teachers and many of the other students stood up and clapped with genuine enthusiasm. Even with the spell incomplete, the performance had been exquisite. The headmaster of the Frostpeak Institute raised his voice to ask a question they were all wondering. “Young friend Karna. Pray tell us what spell that formation would’ve cast had it been completed?”

"Feel free to judge yourself," Karna stated and tossed the gem towards the headmaster.

The old man easily caught the perfectly thrown object from the air and allowed his mind to study the spell inside. “Hmm, I have to admit that Qhaysh is not my specialty, but I’m quite confident that this spell is the eight circle spell ‘Unmaking’, although the spell has been modified.”

“Excuse me, can I take a look at that?” The leader of another school, a female of a race often called the Aasimar interjected. Everyone present could sense the older woman’s heavy affinity with the same element Karna had used during the performance. Most of her students had a very similar aura and were clearly specialized in techniques focused on light, holy, and some Ki techniques that while not religious, carried certain elements of holiness and drew on religious philosophies.

The old headmaster obliged, and the gem floated towards the Aasimar woman. The woman studied the gem in great detail and was clearly both shocked and surprised by what she saw. “This is excellent work. I don’t think I could’ve cast the spell better even had I done it myself. Can I ask, how does a mage of the third circle know a spell this advanced?” Knowing and being able to perform spells of higher circle was possible, although extremely difficult. Even Karna with all her expertise had been forced to draw out the entire spell, and the process had taken several minutes, only a small part of which was due to the theatrics. And she certainly didn’t have the mana to power the spell despite how pure her mana was. Someone of the right rank only would’ve had to spend a fraction of the effort to achieve the same results. That was the difference between higher and lower ranked mages.

Karna had already prepared an answer for the inevitable question. “My father is a Grand Medjai with good prospects of Ascending. His libraries are rather extensive.”

“You asked for a random element in the beginning. Would you have been able to do the same with the other elements, or did you just get lucky?” The Aasimar woman asked a very good question.

“I’m afraid that’s for me to know and for everyone else to find out. Perhaps I will get the opportunity for a repeat performance at a later date. Should that opportunity come, I encourage those curious to pick another element.” Karna said playfully, while giving a small bow and exiting the stage.

Tsumi had to grin at her audacity. Not only did Karna just refuse to answer the third most important person in this room, she did it in a way that left everyone curious for more and not offended. The girl had flair! “Nicely done.” She complimented as Karna sat down next to her. Now it was obvious to everyone why she had been brought along, and no one doubted that they’d see more of her during the whole event.

As she sat down, Karna sensed someone using the same kind of ability on her as she had used on the reincarnator Stormcaller to find out his True Name. She looked straight at the older boy and noted that his eyes had suddenly widened with barely contained fear. ‘I wonder which Name he saw?’ She thought to herself. She honestly didn’t know which one the Head Judge had left visible. Judging by the fact that the boy was now whispering to his master and Karna could clearly read the words ‘we need to leave right now’ from his lips, likely one that he was at least somewhat familiar with.