Chapter 17: The Comeback King

  The problem with drinking for half the night with friends was that the duels still waited for them in the morning. Ambrose was lucky enough to not have to worry about his fight until the end of the day again, but poor Jessica had to go up against Luthor mid-morning.

  True to his word, Luthor hadn’t gotten sloppy, and was fine to fight. He’d actually looked better than Ambrose had seen him in weeks, but that could’ve been because Jessica was hungover and not as coordinated as she could’ve been. It could have been the first match of the tournament jitters for her, but it didn’t end well.

  While her signature spell [Weakness] was perfect for making sure the warrior didn’t get any clean hits in, she had no way of getting through or around his shield. It came down to their creatures. With the [Astral Viper] now in her deck, she had two heavy hitters, but Luthor knew how to work with his summons better than her. They took out her viper before it could get through his defenses, and then distracted the [Whirlpool Cephalopod] so Luthor could slam his warded shield into Jessica’s face.

  The ward detonated on impact and knocked her clean unconscious, and Luthor picked up the win. It ended up being the longest, slowest match of the day.

  Others might have considered Ambrose a bad friend for it, but he expected the results, and had a bottle of water and a blueberry muffin waiting for Jessica when she came back. She gratefully took the snack in sullen silence. Even if she expected to lose, it must’ve stung. Possibly even worse than if she hadn’t expected it.

  The fourth year match between Neferi and Donna was explosive and over quickly, and then it was time for a break before the next round. Ambrose took a short walk around the campus. As she also had a match that day, Raeva joined him. At first surprised, he didn’t complain.

  “How are you feeling? Confident?” she asked him as they drifted toward the library.

  “It’s Kim. I went from the hardest possible match to the easiest. Someone is laughing at me.” He smirked, and even she couldn’t help but grin.

  “You know, I think I’m going to do something cruel to you, Ambrose.” She stepped in front of him and turned fast. He loved the sound the beads in her braids made, and the way her lips turned wicked when she plotted cruelty.

  “And what’s that, Princess?”

  She rolled her eyes at the title. “I’m going to agree with you, but I’ll never admit it to anyone else. Kim is not coming back next year, and I don’t think Girard is either. Jessica, I’m on the fence. If she can get at least two wins, I think even her sour-ass grandfather will let her in, if only to avoid the embarrassment of failing family.”

  “I think you underestimate how little Vanderborn cares about Jessica. For being a national hero, he’s kind of a vain prick and doesn’t like people associating her with him.”

  “Coming from an expert, that means something.” Raeva’s smile faded, and she looked down, into her crossed arms. “I don’t like admitting this, but…I don’t know if Jessica’s cut out for this. But what else could she do?”

  Ambrose didn’t like questions without any easy answers. He stroked his goatee thoughtfully, leaning against the side of the grand, oversized library building.

  “I really think that once she gets an Enhancement card, things could change. She’s honestly fast as hell and sneaky, but…” He shrugged helplessly. “I think she could probably beat Girard and Kim, so that might be enough.”

  “Girard? Really?” Raeva cocked her head to the side like he was crazy.

  “He’d have to catch her first, and he’s got garbage stamina. He’ll be huffing and puffing in minutes. Then she’ll just poke him and he’ll keel over. But if you’re so worried, you could always take a fall…”

  “Hah! You’d love that, wouldn’t you? If we both end up with only one loss, we’re guaranteed a rematch.”

  Ambrose pushed off against the stone wall. “We are? Huh. Never knew that. That would certainly be a perk. If not you, then maybe your brother could take one for the team.”

  Raeva rolled her eyes again and turned away. “I think the kiddie fights are over by now. I’m going to get ready. You better cheer for me!”

  “I’ll cheer for our fateful rematch,” he said.

  “Ass.” She blew him a kiss over her shoulder and sauntered back to the stadium.

  He watched her go, enjoying the quiet and shade on the warm spring day. He had no doubt she would win, but so would he. Today was mostly inconsequential…except for poor Jessica. There might not have been much he could do, but he considered sabotaging Girard, or maybe Molly. Maybe if he broke them up, they’d both perform poorly…But Jessica probably wouldn’t want that.

  Ambrose made it back with a minute to spare. Raeva was in her armor again, while Girard did his best to look intimidating with a wannabe-heroic look in white and gold. He strutted with his chest puffed up while his opponent bounced from foot to foot, eager for the battle to start.

  It took Raeva all of one minute to cook him. This time, she managed to copy her strongest spell, [Combust], and they had to bring Girard out on a stretcher.

  It was about what Ambrose expected.

  “Damn,” he said, making sure he was heard over the crowd, “I’m going to have to win even faster.”

  Kim shrank in her seat.

  By the time their match came up, she’d already lost in her mind. Kim Talios was honestly smart as hell, but was even worse than Jessica in a fight. She learned enough that he figured she could be a researcher or conservationist, but the wild wizard just wasn’t a threat.

  “F-fight safely and fight well,” Kim said, as Dietrich left the arena.

  Ambrose just flashed a predatory smile. It was the last thing she saw before the Pause.

  Round 1

  Cantrip: [Vampiric Kiss], Spell: [Shred Mind], Spell: [Sleight of Blood], Creature: [Night Terror]

  Oh, this was going to hurt.

  To his lack of surprise, they both started the match by summoning a creature. Hers came out first by a good two seconds. It was a big white goat, with a luxurious beard and twin horns that probably could’ve impaled him if he let it.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  [Herd Hero: A tough, gruff alpha male, willing to fight off demons and dragons if it would protect his family.

  Strength: C. Defense: D. Speed: C. Magic: D.]

  Ambrose’s grin widened. The purplish-black summoning circle of his was much bigger. One long, spindly arm reached skyward, and then another. Both hands clutched the edge of the circle and pulled out a body made of shadows and malice. Malevolent yellow eyes peered out of a featureless face. The creature finished dragging itself out of the void as the spell finished. It had no lower half, just more darkness that tapered off into wisps.

  He faced down Kim and her goat, with his [Night Terror] between them. She paled, but let out a yell. The [Herd Hero] charged straight at Ambrose’s creature, only to go right through it. The goat stumbled, but continued on to Ambrose, who caught it by the horns. It pushed him back, feet sliding against the stone arena, until he was up against the barrier.

  Meanwhile, his [Night Terror] floated forward, almost casually, until Kim lost her nerve. The moment she moved, the creature put on a burst of speed and slashed with long, dark claws.

  They went right through Kim’s head and out the other side. She let out an agonized scream as two cards went to the discard from the top of her deck.

  “Come on, lambchops,” Ambrose muttered, before casting his cantrip. The [Vampiric Kiss] took a bite out of the [Herd Hero]’s life force, and made it buckle. With all of his strength, the Shadow Wizard twisted the horns. He felt more than heard the snap, and then the goat faded into nothing.

  He looked up to see Kim still running away while looking over her shoulder. Ambrose casually positioned himself and then stuck out his foot. His opponent tripped and landed hard. Her hands went to catch her fall, but it did nothing to save her nose.

  “Ouch,” said Ambrose with a dark smile. He cast [Sleight of Blood], and felt his vision darken as his body fueled the magic to cast his final spell: [Shred Mind].

  With no cards left in her deck, it ripped her last remaining spell out of her hand. It was not a pleasant experience. Ambrose planted his foot on her back and kept her down. She didn’t fight to get up. Professor Dietrich blew a whistle and the match was over.

  “The winner is Ambrose Adams,” she said with no pleasure in her voice.

  Kim was luckily able to walk to the infirmary herself, head hung in shame. She’d barely managed to squeak by last year’s tournament, and now this happened. It was almost enough for Ambrose to feel bad about the victory.

  Well, not really, but he briefly considered feeling bad for her, and that was close enough, right? Ambrose enjoyed the final match of the day without an iota of guilt or shame.

  The next day was more of the same. The opening fight was Raeleq against David. Ambrose was disappointed at first, since David was a light wizard like Luthor, but they couldn’t have been more different in the arena.

  While Luthor whittled his foes down after outmaneuvering them, David tried a full blitz against Raeleq. He cast a torch spell, powerful enough to make the crowd and his opponent cover their faces. When the after-images faded, he had already closed the distance and swung a mace he’d summoned on the run over. Raeleq barely managed to block in time, and it cost him the use of his arm.

  That put the wild wizard on his back foot, but Raeleq summoned a [Pack Raptor] to buy him time. The second round of spells found David trying to channel the sun to burn his foes, but it didn’t do much to Raeleq. It bought him time to summon [Reggie], and then the battle ended in a big chomp and thunderous applause.

  It was a fun enough match, but more importantly, it emphasized how much stronger his signature creature was. All combat wizard’s Signature Creatures grew with them, but that didn’t make them equal to each other. If it came down to [Reggie] versus a [Hateful Imp], the imp might buy him an extra second if it got stuck in the dinosaur’s teeth. [Assassin’s Strike] would do it, but it would clean him out of mana to take out something that big, leaving him open to Raeleq’s strength.

  It bugged Ambrose, but it was a problem for another day.

  The midday matches continued, and like the day before, he skipped the first two years’ fights in favor of getting lunch. Some were promising enough, but only tourists and teachers watched every match. He made it back in time to see Molly utterly destroy Kim in the wild wizard’s second loss of the tournament.

  After three days of fights, not everyone remained hyped up. Jessica spent the entire time before their match picking at her fingernails or fidgeting. It was enough to drive Ambrose crazy, but he showed rare grace and didn’t snap at her to knock it off.

  Neither of them were happy to go against one another, but there was no way he would show mercy. Thoughts of how to beat her kept him occupied, and less mouthy than usual. It didn’t go unnoticed, though when Raeva saw the look on their faces, she refrained from teasing the two of them.

  Finally, it was their turn, and they went down to the arena, where Professor Dietrich waited. Sitting in the best seat in the house was Headmaster Vanderborn, who watched them imperiously. Whoever lost was bound to face his disappointment.

  “You two ready?” Dietrich eyed them warily.

  “I’m good to go,” said Ambrose.

  Jessica just nodded.

  The professor retreated, and the barrier went up. The sounds of the audience cut out entirely, and Ambrose examined his hand.

  Round 1

  Cantrip: [Vampiric Kiss], Spell: [Thought Tap], Spell: [Assassin’s Strike], Signature Creature: [Hateful Imp]

  Two free spells and an execution for whatever big creature she tried to call. When the fight resumed, he was ready for her.

  Jessica’s footwork was, as always, impressive. She dashed forward, zig-zagging to dodge the spells that didn’t come. Ambrose took a step back for each pivot on her end. He waved his hand and cast [Hateful Imp] off to the side.

  Still moving, she cast a spell at his feet. The circle on the ground gave him just enough warning to brace himself before her [Lift] spell launched him into the air feet-first. She jumped at nearly the same time and did a flip. Ambrose’s stomach lurched, and then she slammed her heel into it with their combined momentum.

  Ambrose had the wind knocked out of him before, but he never expected his tiny friend to cause that much pain. He folded in half, then hit the ground hard. The loud “oooooh” from the audience hurt nearly as bad as the impact.

  She landed nimbly just a foot away, but before she could capitalize on his pain, his [Hateful Imp] tackled her from the side. The momentum carried them along the stone, where his imp scratched and bit until Jessica screamed in pain.

  Lying on the ground, he was grateful for another second or two to recover before he picked himself up. He was on his feet in time to see Jessica use both legs to kick the creature away from her. It was the perfect opportunity to hold out his hand and suck some vitality from her with [Vampiric Kiss].

  Almost immediately, some of the pain in his gut and bones faded to dull aches. It was enough for him to be able to move, and Jessica didn’t look too good. Her lack of strength also translated to a certain kind of frailty. It was hard to catch her, but she couldn’t take a hit as well as he could.

  And, of course, she couldn’t heal from the damage, unlike him.

  He closed the distance, then feinted a dash forward. Jessica panicked and cast [Weakness], softening the blow that didn’t come. Despair filled her eyes, but only for a second.

  Ambrose came at her one side, and his imp flanked. His creature jumped on her back and bit her neck. Blood poured freely, and the two of them collapsed. Jessica screamed and flailed uselessly. Dietrich blew her whistle, and then it was over. It had been the worst showing of their year so far, even including Kim’s fights.

  “The winner is Ambrose Adams,” Dietrich sighed. “Get a medic in there, and dismiss the damned imp!”

  Ambrose did as he was told. The [Hateful Imp] raised a claw and waved at Jessica, chuckling darkly.

  There it was. Two wins, to his one loss. With half their preliminary matches likely over, he was back in the running. He exchanged a glance with Vanderborn, who didn’t look happy, but gave him a respectful nod. Jessica limped away from the arena, clutching her wounded neck with tears in her eyes.

  He won, but for the first time in a long time, Ambrose wasn’t proud of his victory.

  Patreon is 20 chapters ahead, and is in the second arc of book 1.