Phoenix Flight

One Year Ago…

Lotus City wasn't one of the biggest cities in the world and, in fact, was quite worthless compared to many of Estiria's other populated areas. Lotus existed entirely to send and receive shipments to other kingdoms, countries, and nations out in the world, and most recently, it has gotten overbloated due to the number of citizens from Rossum who have taken up residence in the city, like many other refugees from Rossum were doing.

Because of how small and unimportant Lotus City was in the grand scheme of things, its one and only magic school wasn't given as much funding as other places would have, and in fact, not a single person who went to Lotus's Magic Academy was ever able to become a future Arcane Knight. That didn't stop foolish kids who kept trying.

"You are walking down the street, and then a dungeon opens up. Twelve chimeras all come pouring out." The teacher of the few combat classes Lotus's school did have casually rested on his desk and attempted to wipe his sleepy look away. "Can anyone tell me what you do if faced with so many powerful monsters? Mr. Ash?"

Ash gave a smirk and leaned forward, casually twirling his wand. "Isn't it obvious? You kill them all."

"Wrong. Also, a stupid answer." The teacher took a sip from his mug of coffee, and several students laughed at Ash, whose face heated up a bit.

"That's not wrong." Ash spat out and shook his head. "I'm taking these lessons to get the combat credit I need to become an Arcane Knight. Knights fight monsters, especially ones that come pouring out of a dungeon! It's only natural I would kill them."

"That maybe, but you're not an Arcane Knight, are you?" The teacher asked, raising his eyebrow. "Last I checked, you were still a rotten little brat. Let me make one thing clear." The teacher's eyes roamed over the classroom, and he stared at many of the students who were no longer laughing or talking. "None of you will ever amount to anything great. Even if some of you do somehow make it into the Knights, I know for a fact you'll all serve as nothing more than mere squires, following actual Knights around. These simulations aren't to actually train you for the real deal. A real monster is scary, dangerous, and above all else, strong. The air in a dungeon is toxic and thick, making it hard to draw breath and focus, and it isn't anything like the simulation. These are beatable, but a real dungeon isn't. A real dungeon exists to slay humans. I'm not training you guys to fight monsters, especially armies of them. If it's one or two goblins or hobgoblins, then sure. Kill them, but if you find yourself fighting dozens of other large monsters, fighting them isn't an option, and these simulations just can't live up to the real deal. These classes are here to beat common sense into you all. You shouldn't fight a monster. You should run. Live. Flee with your life. Otherwise, you'll end up dead."

Silence filled the classroom, and no one spoke another word. The teacher kept his serious look and looked at each student who fidgeted in their seats. 

He had been in the same position as them all at one point. Several years ago, when he had been a kid, he took as many combat lessons as he could. He tried so hard to become a Knight and did simulation after simulation. He didn't make it, though.

On the day of the exam, he failed the test.

He hadn't bothered with getting a job since he assumed he'd be a Knight and be able to live off that sort of money, and it didn't take long before he blew through all his savings. Because he only took combat lessons, he wasn't able to get any good jobs since no one wanted to hire him. He could have gone into the military, but that would be borderline suicidal since very few soldiers were able to survive for long due to the war with Mordehim that was plaguing the world. The police force was also out of the question since they were mostly made up of spoiled rich kids who hadn't been able to join the Knights and didn't want to go to the military, so they used their influence to get a spot in a police academy to open up for them.

That left just one job left. Working as a teacher who taught combat lessons in one of the magic academies. It was at this job he truly saw how many kids wanted to become Knights and thought the same way he did, but all of them failed the tests. 

They always did.

Life just wasn't fair like that.

"So," the teacher began. "Does anyone have the right answer for what you do in the situation I listed earlier? 'You are walking down the street, and then a dungeon opens up. Twelve chimaras all come pouring out.' What do you do?" He looked around the room, but only one student raised her hand. "Ms. Lot?"

Olivia gave a grin and casually flipped her hair. "You fight them!" She announced proudly, giving the same answer Ash did.

"Wrong." The teacher pinched the bridge of his nose. "What are you idiots not getting—"

"I think it's you who doesn't get it," Olivia said, cutting the teacher off. "It isn't about if you can or can't. In the situation you listed, we're walking down a street. That implies that we're in a city. If a dungeon opens up in a city and monsters come spilling out, then it's only logical that I would give my all to stop the monsters that showed up at random. Not because I think I can or because I'm strong enough, but because if I don't, people will get hurt. How many people die because they're too slow and can't run away fast enough? I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if I ran, knowing the people next to me aren't going to escape with me. That's my answer!"

"You fail." The teacher said flatly. "Ms. Lot, Mr. Anderson, you both have detention for giving such reckless answers."

"Way to go, useless Olivia!" Ash let out a growl and stood up, glaring up at the snow-haired girl. "You couldn't have just kept your mouth shut!"

Olivia scowled and shook her head. "I said what I said!"

"Ha! Well, we all know you wouldn't be able to take a monster down anyway!" Ash let out a mocking laugh. "You wouldn't even buy anyone a few seconds; you'd just end up dead!"

"I would not!"

"Would so!"

Olivia growled and whipped her wand out. "Do you want to go?"

Ash already drew his wand, a bit of wind twisting in the air. "You want to be put in your place again? My, my, quite the masochist you've become, huh?"

Olivia felt her cheeks heat up, and the blood in her veins burned. By now several students already had their phones out and were recording the display. "You're going down!"

The teacher pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "I hate kids…"

***

Present Day…

Olivia lost that fight. She lost quite badly. So much so she became a small meme for about a week.

Ash honestly didn't know why he was thinking back to that day. It really made no sense, yet his mind wandered. The answer Olivia gave was one he had wanted to say. Perhaps if he had been the one using the argument, the teacher would have liked it and gone with it, but since it was said by useless Olivia, it was basically brushed off.

Now that he thought about it, why was he even thinking of her? Everything was dark and black, and he couldn't feel his body… Was he dreaming?

He was waking up if so. His mind and body were stirring. Then he remembered the situation and that Oni boy, who was most likely a mutant. That bastard had gotten him knocked out.

Ash had never been a lucky kid. He knew that. 

Growing up, it seemed fate was always out to stop him. He knew he had what it took to go on and do great things if he had the chance, but things constantly got in his way.

Instead of being born into a rich or noble family, he was born as a peasant in some backwater village. Instead of inheriting a powerful magical weapon or tool to help him on his journey, he had an abusive father who had beaten his mother to death and left him with a ton of debt. Instead of adoring fans, he had people who pitied him and looked at him as if he were a scared child, or Nev and Trent, who only followed him because they were both so worthless and could only be fulfilled by helping a superior lifeform. 

It just wasn't fair.

He should have gone on to be able to do great things. He had a powerful type of magic and good stats, as well as having an A grade in both Alteration and Enchantment, yet instead of living the good life, he was a nobody. He wasn't even the strongest mage in his shitty village, since Bruno existed.

He hated it. 

He truly did. Above all else, though, there was one person he absolutely despised. She had shown up one day and was taken in by Rosco. Her magic type was one of the worst ones ever recorded, and her stats were lackluster, not to mention she wasn't adept in even a single school, having not a single A-grade trait or school. She was an idiot, weak, worthless, and, above all else, someone who would never amount to anything great.

She was useless.

So why?

Why did everyone treat her so well? She was best friends with Bruno, she was able to get away with leaving the village the most, and she was the one who had caught the eye of the Ebony Knight, who had arrived in the village.

It wasn't him; it was her. A girl with useless magic, low stats, and not a single good trait was the one being favored by the world.

Several of these thoughts went through Ash's mind as his eyes slowly opened, and he found himself staring up at Bruno's face.

"Ash!" Bruno stared down at the ash-haired boy and looked concerned. "Are you okay?"

Ash tried to sit up, but the world was still spinning. Bruno offered him a hand, and he slapped it away and grunted. After a few moments, he forced himself to take a calming breath and used his lungs to absorb the mana that was in the air. Just as how Olivia healed quicker due to her blood magic, he was able to rapidly recover mana simply by breathing. As the purifying mana coursed through his veins, he finally took stock of where he was.

"Oh, what the hell," Ash grumbled at what he saw. "This can't be real life."

As village kids, they were all often told that cities were places they should avoid. The world wasn't made equal, and things could be unfair depending on what you looked like or where you came from. Most Arcane Knights came from powerful cities or noble bloodlines. There were a few famous Knights who came from towns, and then there were fewer than ten known Knights whose roots started in a village.

Adults often scare kids by claiming that city folks are stuck-up rich people who need to be avoided because they constantly try to take advantage of village folk. Ash had never believed those stories.

Until now, that was.

The ground he was lying on was coarse and rough, being made out of sand. The air that he tasted told him that he was underground, and next to him was Bruno, as well as the oni-masked man. All three of them still had their wands, and in the case of the hooded figure, their spears. The room they were in was large and circular, and the sand itself was stained red, with dozens of bones and other skeletons of people jutting out of the ground, which caused Ash's stomach to flop when he saw it.

They were corpses. Real-life corpses. This wasn't fiction, and this wasn't a story. Wherever they were, people had died in this location, and something told Ash that if he wasn't careful, he too could end up dead.

The room's walls were made of solid stone and looked extremely sturdy. At each corner, massive doors carved into the stone had various chains connected to them, which would drag the doors open, allowing whatever was on the other side to enter the room.

Lastly, above, a series of lights shone down, and there was a massive glass dome that formed the roof. Past the glass, Ash spotted what looked like stands and bleachers that were above them. The seats were all filled with various people, all of whom wore fancy suits or dresses, as well as masks that hid their identity. Some of the masks were plain and white, while others were animal-themed or demonic, like the oni man that was stuck with them. Biggie was also above, sitting on a large throne, which made him look even more comically short. 

The tiny man was still wearing his suit and hat. Next to him was a lever, which his hand was on.

"Nice going." Ash hissed and glared at the masked man. "This is your fault."

The masked man silently glanced at Ash but did not speak. Ash growled and held his wand up, about to cast a spell, but Bruno jumped in front of him.

"Whoa, whoa, let's all calm down, bros!" Bruno said, attempting to look calm himself. "We don't need to blame anyone right now; we're all stuck in this situation. Maybe if we ask nicely, they'll let us go?"

"Of course they aren't going to let us go." Ash hissed out. "Take a look around you, you dumbass. This is some sort of arena. I bet those fuckers up there are rich bastards that get off on watching people like us die. There are cameras everywhere that are going to record this."

Biggie had used a form of telepathic magic, which the man claimed allowed him to discover information. The man likely realized that Bruno and Ash were total nobodies from a backwater village that the world wouldn't bat an eye at if they went missing. That's what Ash assumed at least, and judging by the skeletal corpses, he was willing to bet he was right. The guys above were here for a show.

Bruno scratched his chin and winced. "Yeah, you're probably right. I'm pretty sure this is illegal, bro. These guys are bad people."

"Of course they are; their leader is a Magical Mutant," Ash spat out. He glared back at the masked figure. "This is all because you ran your mouth. He only captured us because you made him use his magic. You better not let us die, you bastard." Again, the masked man stayed silent.

Bruno opened his mouth and was about to say something but was stopped by a loud static voice. From up above, Biggie had started to speak, using his magic to make his voice loud and booming.

"How are you three feeling?" His voice came out as if it were made of static, unseen magitech speakers letting it reach the three contestants who were beneath the glass dome. "Are you all wide and awake?"

"Fuck you!" Ash yelled. "When I get out of here, you're dead!" He glared at Biggie and then at the other people who were all watching. "All of you are going to die!"

"Looks like we got a feisty one! What do you say? Should we put these kids in their place?" Biggie chuckled, and the people started to cheer so loudly that it could be heard even through the glass dome. Ash got the feeling they were all nobles or criminals—the sorts of people who got a kick out of dark stuff.

He hated it. More than anything, though, he despised how he wasn't up there, being one of the ones who was watching the show. He was nothing more than a rat. A rat that was smarter and more skilled than most rats but still a rat when it came to the food chain—that was the human race.

"Um, bro!" Bruno began and yelled up to the glass roof. "Can you not?"

Biggie just snorted. "Sorry, no can do. All these lovely people have already paid for their tickets. We've got to give them a show, don't you think?"

"Row Wind Blade!" Ash stabbed his wand up at the roof and blasted out a wave of compressed air. It sliced into the glass but didn't even leave a shallow cut, making his eyes widen. "What the hell? Row Wind Bullet!" Again, his attack bounced off.

"Row Ice Sword!" Bruno thrust his wand up, ice forming at the tip into a large blade, which flew up and shattered uselessly into the glass. "Damn, it's durable."

"Got a buddy who has glass magic." Biggie bragged. "He's a master of Alteration and Conjuration and can create ice so durable it's harder than diamonds. He's got an A+ in both schools. You guys aren't going to be able to put a dent in it unless you have at minimum an S grade in Destruction or Conjuration."

Ash fired another three spells up at the roof before he finally gave up and huffed. "What the hell do you want?"

"I already said it. I want to put on a show." Biggie stated. His voice was loud and booming, despite how far away he was, as if he was speaking directly into their heads, which, due to his type of magic, he likely was. "Mages like you guys are all over the place. Young upstart kids that get cocky and think they can take the Knights exam. You ran away from home without telling your family, and nobody important knows where you are. If you all die here, your families won't find you and will eventually assume the worst and think you were eaten by a magical beast or killed by a dark mage. I always hate it when dumb brats like you get it in their skulls that they can go on to do something great. You can't, and I'm here to prove it." Biggie grabbed the lever, and his grin grew. "Let me show you the real world."

"Wait—" Bruno tried, but there was no talking to people like this.

"Try not to die too quickly." Biggie's smirk just grew. "Suffer. Flail around. That's what your kind is best known for, after all. Oh, and make sure to put on a good show."

And with those words, Biggie pulled the lever.

"It's showtime!"