Jokes about putting a leash on Aiden or turning Jax into a fur coat seemed to be Liora's favorite ways of expressing anger toward the two.
However, as the seconds went on, it seemed they were in more and more danger.
Selene's attempts to calm Liora were slowly crumbling under her own worry, while Liora's anger continued to build.
Her threats were starting to resemble promises.
"There are only two minutes before our round!" Liora shouted as she paced back and forth in the hallway. "WHERE ARE THEY?"
They did not have the first round of combat, but they were supposed to arrive, meet the team they would be facing off against, and learn what kind of event they would be subjected to.
A distant sound of running feet echoed down the hall.
Everyone turned.
They were greeted by a horrendous sight.
Sure enough, Aiden and Jax were sprinting toward them.
But they looked like they had rolled around in a trash pit and then run a marathon immediately after.
They were soaked in sweat and covered in bits of dirt and filth.
And then there was the smell.
"Attention, teams," a voice said over the speaker in the corner. "Your step-out time is in thirty seconds. I repeat, thirty seconds. Get ready."
Thalia turned toward the two charging idiots and made an executive decision.
She grabbed the large water container filled with ice water using her strings and whipped it at them.
The water splashed over Aiden and Jax, washing away most of the visible dirt and masking some of the smell.
Liora threw out one arm.
A small tornado formed around the two.
There were sounds like someone screaming as they were spun around a frankly unnecessary number of times.
Thalia was aware that water affected people's hair differently when it got wet.
The result, however, was rather strange.
Aiden, wearing soaked clothes with his hair slicked down by water, was strangely alluring.
A quiet guy in glasses wearing a trench coat, his shirt clinging to newly defined muscles formed over months of training.
The visual was broken by two factors.
The first was his bewildered expression and windmilling arms as he tried to steady himself.
The second was the ball of statically charged hair with a snout sticking out of it, once known as Jax.
Aiden turned to look where everyone was staring.
Then he saw Jax.
"Dude," Aiden said, with an amount of pity in his voice that made Jax bite his lip to stop himself from saying something back, "your hair."
"We're out of time," Jax said. "Let's just go. We'll deal with it later."
As if on cue, the door opened.
Everyone quickly lined up and stepped outside.
The moment they did, they were practically pushed back by the rush of noise.
The coliseum was massive.
The stands were packed with people of all types, with sections cut off for officials from the different guilds watching the field.
Fifteen other teams stepped out with them onto large podiums.
As if on cue, different figures using magic caused the pillars they stood on to rise.
Standing in the middle was a man with what seemed to be an overexaggerated haircut.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the man shouted. "The day you have all been waiting for has finally arrived, and the teams are assembled for the week-long PLATE GAMES!"
The announcer paused.
A roar of cheers echoed from the crowd.
Then he turned and held out a hand.
"And I have even better news, folks. For a team has volunteered to act as judges, representing the best of the best of Omnimagic Academy and those personally selected by Red himself."
His voice rose.
"THE STUDENT COUNCIL!"
Cheers echoed through the coliseum.
Everyone turned toward where he gestured.
A large, ornate purple viewing box floated over, a pulsing magic circle beneath it.
Five figures stood inside.
From this far away, Thalia did not recognize them.
But Liora and Beatris both seemed to be watching them as if they could feel something the others could not.
"Those two on the ends are giving off serious elemental power," Liora said, taking an unconscious step back. "I'm talking impossible levels."
Beatris stared.
"The one in red with the white hair," she said quietly. "He's giving me a bad feeling."
"Wait," Jax asked, turning to Aiden. "I thought Omnimagic Academy was destroyed."
Aiden shrugged.
As if hearing their curiosity, the announcer continued.
"On the left, standing as the melee powerhouse said to be a descendant of Hajnal herself, the pope's disciple, and queen of cold herself…"
He swept one arm toward the viewing box.
"SHURA MERCIA!"
As if to punctuate the introduction, Shura took a step forward.
A wave of cold fanned out.
A shiver passed over everyone.
A layer of frost covered the arena, and ice sculptures formed at different points.
In the middle, a massive statue of the goddess Hajnal rose from the frost.
"Standing next to her, as the resident musician and charismatic beast of wonder, the howling music maker…"
The announcer pointed again.
"MUUSIKA 'GRIM' ALMAWOLF!"
He stepped forward and struck a pose.
A system notification spread through the coliseum as strange music began resonating through the arena.
Weirdly enough, there was another wave.
This time, several members of the crowd screamed extra loud, as if suddenly infatuated.
"Grim" has used soul skill Rhythm of Rock (S).
The music of the coliseum has become Bankai - Number One.
The crowd cheered as the music filled the coliseum.
The announcer continued.
"On the other end of the group stands the boy who tamed the king of all fire spirits, one who wields flames hotter than the sun."
His voice rose.
"The Battlemage of Blaze, ALASTER CINDER!"
Alaster stepped forward and snapped his fingers.
A wave of heat rolled outward.
The ice, thick and durable as it seemed, melted in an instant.
The arena filled with steam where the frost had been.
Though Alaster seemed distracted.
Almost like he was…
Watching them.
"Next to him, the gilded gambler who flips the fate of battle like a coin…"
The announcer gestured sharply.
"The world warper, FABLE GLAESIMI!"
Fable stepped forward and flipped a coin.
Around him, the air began to warp.
His skin transformed.
A pulse of golden stars and speckled night sky coated the arena, as if night had descended in an instant.
"Finally, last but certainly not least, child of the great Sylrath family and swordsman who once took on someone more than twice his level, taking them down in under six seconds…"
The announcer's voice boomed.
"The Bloody Naturalist, ALEX SYLRATH!"
Alex stepped forward and planted one hand against the ground.
Where the night sky had covered the arena, it was suddenly overshadowed by a surge of nature and life.
Trees, vines, and flowers rushed forward in a forced bloom, like spring accelerated to an unnatural speed.
Cheers echoed around them as everyone's platforms were moved closer.
Thalia noticed Aiden and Jax waving to two other figures on another platform.
Judging by their disheveled appearances, it seemed they might have been involved in whatever situation Aiden and Jax had ended up in.
Maybe that was even how they met.
Yet Thalia found her eyes drifting instead toward Ymer and his group.
She saw Jackson and Emi standing with them.
Gone was the casual familiarity they had shown on the trip there.
Now it had been replaced by a cold stoicism so unnatural that it made Thalia wonder about the meaning of what they had discussed before.
Downtime.
Control.
Players.
"So," a voice said, "you're the stars I've heard so much about."
Thalia whipped her head around.
A small trail of heat and flames hung in the air as one of the five from the spectator box descended for a landing.
The other platforms reacted with clear surprise.
Everyone on Thalia's platform did as well.
"My name's Alaster," he said. "A pleasure to finally meet you."
From a distance, he had seemed like a young man.
Up close, he more closely resembled a child.
He wore a black cloak and linen pants, his clothing similar to many adventurers' outfits, though they were covered in burn marks and ash for some reason.
His face, lined by short black hair with a bit of curl to it, carried an amiable smile.
An intricate tattoo covered his right arm, evoking the feeling of burning flame and searing wrath.
His pose was laid-back and casual.
Thalia stared at him.
The others did too.
"I apologize if this sounds rude," Thalia said, "but how exactly do you know us?"
Alaster grinned.
"People like to gossip," he said. "Especially among the Fateless. You may not know it, but you guys might just be the talk of the town right now."
"O-Okay," Selene said as she leaned forward to stand at the forefront.
Maybe on the off chance she would have to defend them.
Though considering the show of force from before, at best, she could probably delay their deaths for a second or so.
"But why exactly are you approaching us right now?"
Alaster's smile shifted.
"I'm here to…"
He paused.
"Level the odds."
Then he reached out.
"If you know what I mean."
He handed Selene something that resembled a stone of some kind.
Then he handed Liora what looked like three rolled-up pieces of paper.
Liora took them with a confused look.
Alaster turned.
Small jets of flame burst from his feet, lifting him back toward the spectator box.
"Choose a scroll and throw the stone in," he said. "But be careful."
His grin sharpened.
"It might happen that you can't handle what comes out."
With that simple message, Alaster waved one hand and turned to fly away.
"Good luck."