Persevere. Push forward. This is nowhere near the worst you’ve experienced, Kei told himself, forcing himself up the mountain at a pace his body wasn’t ready to take, but he did it regardless. Even four years of strength, conditioning and stamina training didn’t make him used to the strain and burning in his thighs. It was like a constant cramping sensation, causing him to nearly buckle under the attempted speed at which he was trying to ascend the mountain.

Nevertheless, he got to what remained of the summit to see Infrared just lying there, twitching and shaking. In short, vulnerable. Without any trace of remorse, guilt, or thought, Kei rammed the hilt of his lance into his rotating canister and withdrew a lance shaft, before triggering the Lightning Dust concealed within its hollow core and delivering two of the hardest strikes he could muster straight at her face.

Kei’s Stats
● Aura: [████———] 48%
● Semblance: [RECHARGING][20 SECONDS]
● Passive Effect: Fatigued - Damage dealt -3%

Combat Log: Two Dust-enhanced strikes to face, affected by Fatigue (7% x 2 + 3% x2) [Original dmg 10% per strike]

Considering the fact that Kei had instantly booked it down the mountain like a fucking eruption was about to occur (which it did) the fact that a fairly large rock struck him directly on his left shoulder was clearly more than just a coincidence. His “drop and run the fuck away” tactic did mean that whatever Infrared used to redirect the rocks his way wasn’t very effective, as the rest just whizzed over his head like superheated bullets.

Taking into account that he’d just been up a fairly large mountain, done about 30 laps like someone playing ‘ring-around-the-rosie’, then down again like his life depended on it, Kei was beat. Not to mention his spinal implant, which if that rock had hit would have probably killed him, didn’t help his stamina. He was forced to drop to one knee upon reaching the bottom to recuperate and catch his breath, which gave him time to look at both Aura meters. A grin plastered itself onto his face as he realised they were actually nearly on even ground for the first time since the match began.

Now, getting down the mountain was fine and all, but getting back up the damn thing was another story. He was fatigued, his Speed glyph had run out of time, and the freeze-thaw hadn’t done anything to help stabilise the rocks under his feet. Yet Kei pushed on, knowing this was his best chance at ending this fight.

Kei’s Stats
● Aura: [████———] 48% (10% from redirected rock)
● Semblance: [RECHARGING][30 SECONDS]
● Passive Effect: Fatigued - Damage dealt -3%

Actions: Hiking back up mountain

Perhaps Infrared’s reaction meant that she’d already figured out what he wanted to do. But then again, she could just be preparing for whatever he was doing. As Kei kept darting around the circumference over and over, he began alternating between striking the mountain itself with a steel core lance and further embedding the already implanted lances into the rock, until each one was buried more than halfway. It was exhausting work even with the repetitious motions, but the end result would hopefully be more than worth the effort.

Kei’s strategy involved some geographical knowledge - not something many people would come to associate with fighting, let alone a combat academy. But Kei was an old hand not only at adapting, but also strategising, and this trick pulled from knowledge learnt outside of combat training. What he was currently trying to execute was something known in the real world as the process of “freeze-thaw weathering”, which occurs when when water continually seeps into cracks, freezes and expands, eventually breaking the rock apart. The mountain was naturally devoid of water, so the natural alternative was to use Ice Dust, forcibly inserting the frozen water into the cracks being made by Kei’s lance strikes. However, the process would only work if the ice defrosted and became water - which was where the Fire Dust lances came into play.

Making one last circle around, Kei began to activate his lances in order. Firstly came a Ice Dust lance to jump-start the process, forcing cracks throughout. Then came Fire Dust, melting the ice and forming water, which the next Ice Dust activation then refroze and made the cracks wider. Another Fire Dust lance, melting the ice so that there would be less resistance to Kei’s last move. The entire process was a fast-forwarded example of freeze-thaw weathering. Sparing one last glance at the peak, Kei stopped at the last lance to be activated.

Kei’s Stats
● Aura: [█████-——] 58%
● Semblance: [速] [15 SECOND DURATION]

Actions: Triggering Dust within lances (2 Fire and 2 Ice). 1 lance remaining untriggered.

Getting to test his mettle against big beasties like Deathstalkers and King Taijitu? Something Tieren would leap at the chance to do. Having to walk miles to do so while having his ear talked off? Jima sure knew how to dampen a man’s mood.

Judging by the look on the other muscled boy’s face Smokey was feeling the exact same, and that made Tieren feel just that tiny bit better to know he wasn’t the only one suffering. Seriously, judging by the giant piece of metal on his back, who cared about weak spots. Personally, all he’d need to do is just raise his hand and chop, but whatever Smokey’s lugging around, it was heavy and would do a lotta damage.

In any case, though it was nowhere as large as Smokey’s weapon/workout routine, his own sword could only be carried on his arm and it was beginning to smart, so actually being able to see their destination was a relief and a welcome break from nothing but greenery for an hour. The colosseum was impressive, to be sure - but something about it seemed off. No way a stage this big was only discovered by like one person - especially if it still attracted Grimm like Jima claimed.

For some reason, Tieren expected the stadium to be larger. Not to say it didn’t trump whatever Beacon offered, it was just…slightly underwhelming, nothing ageing well at all. ”Yeah, all that talk about Grimm being attracted to this place and lookie! Nothing here.” he said, leaping from the broken stairway and landing heavily on the floor. ”Or if there are Grimm, maybe they just need a little emotion juice to get them going.”

If a 4th year like Infrared could ascend a mountain merely by jumping from rock to rock with what Kei suspected to be some help of her Aura, then another equally trained student with a speed-boosting Semblance could logically do the exact same with much more ease. After all, while he freely admitted that he didn’t have as much stamina as his other peers, his diverse Semblance allowed him to square up against the best of the lot - for a short while, at least.

Still, it wasn’t easy closing the distance against someone who knew the tricks of the trade. For someone who held a rocket launcher, Infrared knew the drawbacks and knew them well. Vulnerable to close-range, as with all ranged weapons, and the blast radius meant even short-to-medium was normally out of the question. For that she had her sword, covering her weaknesses. She’d already proven herself more than capable, a top-tier representation of what a 4th year could do.

Yet for all that, he was a 4th year too. He knew the trade as well as she did. And while she could specialise in one or two parts of fighting, he could adapt. And what he had in mind would quite dramatically level the playing field - literally. And if Infrared chose to assist him by blowing stuff up, the more the better.

Immediately turning right and ceasing his chase, the fencer begins a very fast circle around the mountain, drawing and embedding lances around the circumference. It’s worth noting at this point that Kei is around halfway up the mountain, where it isn’t as wide as below, and the speed at which he’s working makes him somewhat hard to track, though not impossible for a trained person of good caliber.

Kei’s Stats
● Aura: [█████-——] 58%
● Semblance: [速] [20 SECOND DURATION]

Actions: Drawing and embedding multiple lances around circumference

Thanks guys! Not really sure how to respond to this, uhh...

definitely not because i always spend my bdays alone

Kinda weird how it's been more than a year now and somehow I've still retained interest in the site. Glad I did cuz' it meant meeting y'all!

To say that Setsuna was knocked senseless wasn't too far from the truth. One second he was close enough to reach out and slap Smokey across the face to knock him out of the fight. The next he was flying away from the fight, crashing into the floor close to the frozen lake. His upper body felt like it'd been given a bathe in dry ice whilst he was soaked, and being hit so hard it felt like his physical body was left behind could only mean his Semblance had forcibly ended.

Trying to get up proved more difficult than just feeling groggy. Smokey's last gasp of glory had left Setsuna's entire upper body coated in a gleaming layer of ice, covering everything but a single left eye. It was a perfect living ice sculpture. He tried to growl in annoyance but all that came out of his sealed lips was an unintelligible mumble. This is going to hurt, he told himself. Staggering to his feet took the better of ten seconds, but once he got his grip he almost fell over again since his entire body was still off balance from the intended sword strike.

No other way but forward. With his one free eye Setsuna ran headlong for the closest pillar, closing his eyes the moment before impact. Normally he'd have taken worse, but his Semblance shutting down meant slamming into something the equivalent of a brick wall actually felt like it, Aura or no. With a pained groan he fell backward, the hand holding his sword opening and dropping his weapon. He'd have to see his sister later for the concussion he was sure he just gave himself, but for now there was some after-battle pleasantries to tend to. Whether that actually was Prism hovering above the stands cheering her lungs out or just his brain acting up he couldn't tell.

"Hey. Billy." Setsuna called, limping after his former opponent as she dragged a unconscious Smokey off the stage. "Thank you for the match. I'm sorry I tried to drown you." Shards of ice fell off his clothing as he extended a shaking hand toward the girl, already stumbling and wobbling from the collision.

Setsuna's Final Stats:
  ● Aura: [███-------] 39% [46% from Matchstick Volley, 10+5% from wall collision]
  ● Semblance: FORCED RECHARGE - 30 SECOND DURATION REMAINING - Damage taken + 50%, Damage done - 50%