Rain sat upright on the bed with a beautiful draconid nestled up against his chest. She yawned as the morning sunbeam descended on her porcelain skin, waking her up from the little sleep she got this night.
He couldn't help but share another kiss before he made his way to the mana gathering formation. This time, he didn't try to hide anything when injecting his own dark mana directly into Aurora's body. In fact, she took it with glee, sucking it up through his lips like it was the sweetest nectar.
Aurora drowsily licked her lips afterward before dozing off back to sleep.
**********
A few days would pass by and the competition would begin.
Eve had returned from her expedition with mild success, needing to spend a few days in the infirmary before returning to her dorm.
Rain had fashioned himself a short tanto as to blend in. Due to their naturally weak nature, humans almost always used cold weapons in close-combat as their bare body could not withstand the force of such fights. Only a handful of bloodlines such as the indigenous Northern tribes had body tempering arts in conjunction with the innate talent to conduct such ways of combat.
And especially for someone with such a fragile frame, he needed a permanent weapon to protect himself from the more cunning style of humans as opposed to the brutal nature of beasts.
The crowd was lively as both first years and beyond came to watch the spectacle. It wasn't often that tournaments like this occurred, so most students simply wished to have a change of scenery from the day to day training.
Rain came with Eve and Aurora, who had begun to stay more frequently at the dorm. Eve had thought something was up between the two but she didn't mind it seemed.
A few stares were sent their way amongst the crowds of people as it seemed both Eve and Aurora had a sort of reputation within the academy as second years. They were known friends, and of considerable power and status, yet this new man who had followed wherever they went peeked the interest of some and irked the jealousy of others.
"Who's that lucky bastard?" A stranger murmured to his friends amongst the sea of people.
Similar comments were tossed around, some simply ignoring Rain and complementing the two ladies instead.
It was human nature, it would seem. That was the worst part of the human race–they often forwent the blessing they had and dwelled on their misfortunes. It was a symptom of their intelligence. To be able to study the esotericism of ancient magic left behind by gods and the universe beyond, to be able to understand the infinite complexities of mana without being mana-borne creatures, it all had a cost.
A few short minutes later, Rain arrived at the gate of the arena with Eve handing in his registration number for him–she had signed him up for it as her servant.
"Your number is 109."
"Thank you." Rain nodded before slipping into the waiting room while Eve and Aurora left to find seats.
Within the waiting room, there were approximately 200 people. Rain spread his senses out tacitly, scanning the room for potential threats to his ascension.
Only a few stood out. There was a red-haired girl that exuded a vicious fire mana; a bulky man with stalwart earth mana and a towering shield that seemed comical in a way; a noble, blonde haired man in fine noble attire with a rapier at his side; but beyond them all, in the corner of the room alone sat a dark clothed lady with raven black hair. She had daggers at her side, and what caught Rain's attention was that he couldn't exactly sense her energy.
There was a veil of darkness surrounding her that made her mana signals foggy and weak.
Out of curiosity, Rain took a seat at her table, which evoked a slight response from her. It seemed she had intentionally wanted to not draw attention; it had all been going well until this pale, boyish man put a hole through her plans.
"Hey," Rain started.
No response.
She simply sipped her tea and stared as if nothing was there.
Insistent on getting her attention, Rain went again.
"Hello?" This time waving a hand in front of her face.
"What do you want?" She turned her head slowly to face Rain.
She had purple eyes, a shade darker than his own.
"You looked lonely, and I just wanted someone to talk to."
"Wrong person," she replied coldly.
"Come on, at least tell me your name. You know, talking can calm your nerves before the fights begin."
"..."
"Tell me something at least…" Rain pestered, and for the next minute, he annoyed her until she finally broke.
"It's Edora, now can you leave me alone," she sighed.
He did not leave her alone.
"I'm Rain." He introduced himself after the fact, and began talking about all sorts of random things like a fly that she couldn't kill.
But it wasn't long until a group of big, gangster looking men arrived at their table.
"If you concede your battles to us, we will pay you 100 gold for each."
"Fuck off"
"No, thank you."
Rain and Edora said in unison. They both hated these people the most, and it was obvious they were working for someone else. It seemed that both of them did not have the greatest backgrounds. They had to climb each step of the stairway to power on their own, and naturally built up an intolerance to this type of behavior.
Edora was more blunt about it than Rain.
"Hey listen here, kids, don't make an enemy out of us. These are young master Adelbert's words. Don't make an enemy out of us."
"You look like grown men, yet you're kissing the boot of a second year. I'm assuming you are servants, right? Don't let me see you again, or I'll break your arms if I meet you on stage."
Rain had dropped the happy, aloof personality now, letting his devilish nature take over.
Edora was surprised that this happy-go-lucky fellow could formulate such a threat, which had irked a sort of curiosity within her.
"I'll remember your face, boy. Be careful where you step. Our grievances won't go unanswered." Then the men walked away, silently seething that their 'authority' was disrespected.
"Who's Adelbert?" Rain asked, turning to Edora.
"That guy." She pointed to the blonde haired youth.
Ah. I see.
Rain would make sure to crush him if he ever got the chance. He had never interacted with him, but just from that short confrontation with his lackeys and the way he carried himself, he didn't like him.