Jace the Elemental

Later that day, after classes, the group made their way to the training building, curiosity driving them forward.

Jace arrived first, deciding to take the opportunity to explore. Up until now, he had only really been on the first, fourth, and teachers' floors.

He stopped in front of the directory, scanning over the layout.

Floors one and two. Were both purely training floors, a combination of solo, team, and duel rooms. 

Floor three. Appeared to be the resting area, including a restaurant and showers.

Floor four. A restricted section, only accessible to those ranked 5 or higher. It contained dense mana training rooms and other specialty spaces.

Floor five. large strategy rooms. All kinds of tablets and other equipment for planning anything and everything.

One thing was missing.

The sixth floor, the one Lord Severian had taken him to the previous day, wasn't listed anywhere.

"That's intentional," Jace thought. It couldn't be a complete secret, after all, Lord Severian had brought him there, but since students couldn't access it freely, it made sense that it wasn't on the directory.

Shrugging off the thought for now, he headed up to the third floor, deciding to wait for everyone in the restaurant. He sent a message to the others, then sat down and ordered something to eat.

He hadn't been waiting long when the first arrivals appeared, Astra, waving cheerfully, and Elias, offering a silent nod.

Jace had expected them to show up early, but the next group to arrive caught him off guard. Aurora, Felix, and Lyra entered together. Considering they were supposed to be researching their opponents, he had assumed they'd be the last to show.

"I'm surprised you're here already," Jace said as they ordered their food.

Aurora finished placing her order before replying. "It didn't take as long as we thought. Since they're a higher ranked team, people have been paying attention to them."

She turned to Jace, her expression serious. "And it looks like someone's been pulling strings. Their team has a couple of prominent nobles."

Jace raised an eyebrow. "So you think someone arranged for us to face them just so they could take me down?"

Aurora nodded. "I do. Elena Moon is on their team, she's from one of the lesser families associated with House Dusk. And more importantly, she's a very accomplished duelist."

"Are you going to be okay facing her, Lyra?" Jace asked.

Lyra waved him off. "I'll be fine. Apparently, her nickname is the Living Artillery. Looks like they wanted to match you against someone with a similar fighting style to crush you." She smirked. "But unfortunately for them, our little strategist saw that coming."

She leaned back, crossing her arms. "Besides, I wasn't in the last contest, so they don't know much about me."

"That's true, they have no way of knowing we have another capable solo duelist." Astra said, grinning.

"Exactly," Aurora replied simply.

As they spoke, Orion and Lucian arrived.

"Hey, hey," Orion greeted as they both took their seats. "Sounds like you're all having a fun conversation."

The others quickly brought them up to speed.

"So, from what you're saying, it sounds like we've got the one on one in the bag then." Orion said, casually ordering his own food.

"They're still a Rank 3 team, we can't underestimate them." Lucian reminded everyone. Though, even his voice lacked any real concern.

"And once we finish the first two rounds, we should have a pretty good idea who they'll use in the group duel." Felix said between bites.

"Sounds like we have a solid plan," Aster said, leaning back in her chair. "Now we just have to wait until Ethan and Selene show up, for we can hear this little secret that Jace has for us."

Aurora glanced up. "Looks like we won't be waiting long."

Ethan and Selene had just entered the restaurant.

"Sorry, everyone!" Selene said, bowing slightly as they approached. "We got caught up in practice."

As they sat down, Jace noticed Astra handing Elias some money, shaking her head.

Catching his confused expression, Astra laughed. "Elias and I had a bet on who'd be the last to arrive. I guessed Aurora, since she was researching, but he insisted it'd be Ethan." She shook her head, still grinning.

Elias gave a pleasant smile, offering an embarrassed Ethan a thumbs-up.

The rest of the group burst into laughter, even Aurora allowing a small smile.

Jace took a moment to appreciate it all, the easy banter, the way they all fit together. He was glad Aurora had seen him training that day, glad to be a part of this team.

They continued eating, their conversation drifting to nothing in particular, a welcome break from the constant pressures of the academy.

Once they finished, Jace leaned back in his chair. "Alright, let's head up to one of the strategy rooms, for some privacy."

The others nodded in agreement, pushing back their chairs and making their way to the elevator. They rode up to the fifth floor, stepping into one of the empty strategy rooms.

Aurora activated the privacy mode, ensuring no other students could listen in.

Jace took a breath, glancing around at his team before finally speaking.

"Alright," he started. "I discovered something as a kid that might help us."