Third Trial Collab - Part 1
Ludo drifted down to the arena floor at the behest of the old man proctoring the exam, along with the rest of the contestants. While he felt no need to go to the tents to receive treatment for what only amounted to just some bruising, he appreciated to have a moment of peace to recover his mana. To get away from the crowds, Ludo hung around the edge of the arena with his back pressed against its walls while he glanced around the crowds of happy and disappointed faces. However, he tried his best not to think about his rivals. The only thing he needed to focus on was himself and on what the next would be.
Meanwhile, Solveig got herself checked by the medics first thing of all, just in case the alcohol still lingered in her. She received a bottle of water and two energy bars to help with her exhaustion, but was otherwise deemed alright. She wandered the testing grounds, looking for somewhere to sit when she spotted a familiar face.
"Oh, hello!" she greeted Ludo, jogging closer.
"That was an awkward way to part ways before," she admitted with a lightly embarrassed smile. She soon perked up, however, when she showed him her meal.
"Hey, look! I got a snack! Want one?" she offered him one of the bars. It appeared awfully dry, like someone had compressed oatmeal and bits of dried fruit into a small cuboid. She bit into one to demonstrate, chewing thoughtfully.
"Sourer than I thought," she commented,
"but not too bad."Ludo's eyes glanced down at the thing that she called food and then gave her a once over.
Armor, a sword, and enough magic power to conquer a village. Definitely a noble. He thought to himself though he also felt perplexed by her. Every interaction he had with a noble had always been an unkind one to put it nicely and yet there was no condescension with her, only kindness. Ludo was not entirely sure what to make of a friendly noble though perhaps it was only proper to treat kindness was with kindness in return,
He returned a smile and took bar she offered him.
"If it's any consolation, I distracted you. Sorry about that." Ludo bit into the bar with a crunch and immediately felt the moisture in his mouth sap away followed by just sour with only enough sweetness that kept him from spitting it out. Or maybe it was just glued to the inside of his mouth? After a forced swallow, he said,
"Yeah, that definitely tastes like it's good for you." It definitely counter-balanced the fried pie on a stick from earlier.
Solveig chuckled.
"That it does." She waved away his apology though.
"Don't worry about distracting me. It's like my father says, you can't fault someone else if you're not paying attention." She ate the last of her energy bar, drinking water immediately after it.
"You should get a bottle, too." She wouldn't share
that with him, it would be much too intimate to do with someone she had just met. Speaking of.
"I still don't know your name," she pointed out with a smirk.
Ludo mirrored her smirk.
"And you never finished introducing yourself," he pointed out to her lest she forget that her introduction was interrupted by getting rocked by that noble with a sword.
"But it's Ludo, Ludo Liszt in case you were wondering." He flashed her that charming, snarky grin that was a trademark of his at this point.
"Fair," she smiled wryly.
"Solveig von Brandt," she introduced herself properly this time. Not noble-style properly with any curtsies or the like, but she wasn't getting thrown off a broom midair either.
"Pleasure to meet you, Ludo."Introductions done, she stretched, and suggested,
"Shall we find somewhere to sit? I would rather not stand around for the whole break." They did; one of the proctors had been tasked with creating benches, chairs, stools, and a stray table here and there. Once they were settled in, she asked,
"So, how did you fare in the last trial? Conquer all with the venom snakes?" she guessed, wriggling her hand in a serpentine motion.
Cute, was the single word that went through his mind when he watched her wriggle her hand like a snake.
He leaned back on the bench and shrugged.
"I passed, but can't say it was smooth sailing. Some slimeball was able to get the jump on me and was able to keep up with my own mana, which is a first for me. A wildcard helped me out and I ended up helping her to return the favor." There was a bit of a bitter taste left on his tongue when he thought about Edward and that perverted grin of his. However, his focus was on Solveig.
"What about you? Did you raze the competition down to the ground?""Oh, I had my share of troubles," she admitted easily.
"I fended off Dawnthorne - that's the guy who knocked me off - and honestly even impressed myself with an aerial maneouver," she chuckled.
"Then, an alcohol mage of all things got the better of me...I crashed into another girl, Nephertys Setet, and things ended up working out." She eyed the crowds, but despite the star mage's unique look, there were too many people to easily spot anyone.
"I don't see her right now, but I would say she and I are friends. Or on the way there," she nodded. The noble heiress seemed done with her recount, then threw in as an after-thought,
"Oh, and there is actually one royal in the mix, did you know? We ended up teaming up with him for the last stretch." Solveig said it more so as a potentially interesting gossip tid-bit, but wasn't all that interested herself.
Ludo's eyes narrowed when Solveig mentioned a royal was part of the fray.
"Can I venture a wild guess? Light blue hair, gold eyes, somewhat tall, punchable face, uses Gold Magic, probably tried to be very charming in an attempt to impress you? Perchance did he call you an 'Innocent Dove?'" He asked with a knowing grin. It was very oddly specific because there was literally only one royal that Ludo knew of that was taking part of the test.
"I'm very aware of Isvelt. A bit more than I would wish, but alas I am both friend and humble servant to that blowhard." It was better to put it out there the idea that they were friends, but he was certainly not going to go out of his way to paint a pretty picture of his young master.
Solveig's eyebrows raised in surprise. So, she had managed to happen upon someone who actually knew the royal.
"He tried," she stressed, because she hadn't found him charming. Exasperating, more like, and Isvelt's 'innocent dove' remark had rubbed her the wrong way.
"He seems like a difficult person to work for," she remarked. She couldn't help but wonder what sort of friendship the two had. If it even was that.
"Oh, you have no idea. Once you get to know him, you realize that he's so much worse," Ludo said with a dry chuckle.
"You're in the minority. There are so many nobles that eat that shit up because it means that they had the attention of a royal. God the things I've heard. Makes me want to puke." He commented vulgarly, recalling the things he had to witness just by being in the same room as Isvelt putting on his 'charm.'
Ludo took a chunk from that granola bar and forced it down his throat.
"Have to say though, I have no idea what he saw to call you that because I watched what you did in the first round and you sure as hell don't strike me as a dove. More like a forest fire. I wouldn't mind going a few rounds with you." The young commoner looked at her with challenging grin. There was no facetiousness in his tone, only honesty with one desire; to throw down with someone that was strong.
"Well, I can't say working with him isn't useful. And with us nobles, there is always this," she waved her hand in a vague motion,
"social aspect to everything. Because it would be too ruinous if any of us let our grudges escalate into full-scale magical or armed conflicts, we settle it with words...In theory. In practice, a social 'death' can be just as damning," she shrugged. Not because she didn't care - of course she did - but she didn't exactly have a solution.
Thankfully for them both, they transitioned to a pleasanter topic - that of competition.
"Why, thank you, I thought the same of you, Mr. Killer Viper," she laughed.
"How about it - shall we see who comes out on top in the next trial? Oooh, if it is the traditional combat round, I hope we get a match." The prospect of a one-on-one match ignited a spark within her eyes, and though they were blue, it was still easy to see the resemblance to flame.
Ludo could not help, but laugh at the silly nickname that Solveig gave him, his yellow cat-like eyes wrinkled with his grin. He liked the look in her eyes, burning with eagerness for competition, but saw him as a rival than a doormat.
"Well, I like to play with fire. Don't be too down when I come out on top." He declared playfully.
Just in time, the last trial begun. They were handed out bracelets which were clearly,
"Suspicious." "Indeed." Solveig and Ludo inspected it cautiously, but did end up putting it on, of course. After everyone had put it on, they were suddenly transported into another magical space. They had no idea when or how someone could have worked such a large-scale magic in so little time with no sign of anything being cast whatsoever. There was no time to wonder, however, because they'd all been funneled into a trench. In front and above of it, there was a complex obstacle course.
"Oh, my..." Solveig marveled at the sight. Then, their magic was suddenly sealed away, and she sucked in a breath.
"Ooof," she grimaced as she grabbed her stomach area. That had been unpleasant, to say the least. She physically shook herself out of it, and eyed Ludo, who was standing next to her as he had been at the start. The only difference was that now the 300 participants were crowding each other in from all sides. It was suffocating - so much so the young lady didn't want to think of it, and would have preferred not to breath either if she didn't have to.
"Let's go, then," she declared tightly, beginning to clamber out. The tight press of bodies, wriggling around and on top of each other, the multitude of limbs grabbing, shoving, smacking around...It made her nauseous, to be honest. If nothing else, that did give her the extra push to make her way out of the trench as soon as possible, however.
To say Ludo fared better was not an accurate statement. For all of his life he lived blessed by mana with all of the benefits and that was sapped away from his body. It wasn't just uncomfortable; it was a shock to the system. The color in his faced drained as he felt his physical strength leech away and was not helped by being packed together among hundreds of screaming, shouting, and grunting contestants. His stomach churned. However, there was no point in complaining. There was only going forward.
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Lunarlord34
