⭐ HUNTERS ⭐ Urban Fantasy ⭐ IC [Still Open, See OOC]

[Forest State]

Fox Liao and Sieg Kuhn
September 28th

---

“No need for all that formality - you’re doing magical combat, not martial arts,” Sieg said towards Bu after the bows. The instructor, of course, had never been the most formal of people. Bowing, using fancy titles and the like, wasn’t Sieg’s thing really. It did make Bu stand out from the others to an extent, at least. Although Sieg was more concerned with how Bu could perform in the ring and less with the appearances and the like.

The pair of instructors looked at the time, as if seeing how far they were from the time when they were scheduled to begin. Not too long, really. They still had a few more faces that needed to show up, however, based on the list of participants they had. If some of them were too late, they could start without them, but they already didn’t have the largest talent pool so if at all possible, that was something to be… Avoided. “Damn kids… You’d think they would all be here by now,” said Fox, looking back at the doorway where some of the others were expected to enter.

As if on time, Candace Marin and Vivian Shaw entered the picture through the main doorway leading into the arena floor - they were walking together, of course, their friendship ensuring that they had come here at the same time. And they were conversing about something, probably about their chances. Candace would probably be one of the favorites when it came to placement…Vivian, not so much. She did specialize in mental magic which didn’t deal direct damage in most cases, after all. She was dangerous, but in a different way from someone like Candace that could throw firepower at the enemy. They had more of the people they were waiting for now, after they had arrived… It was just a matter of when everyone would be assembled and they could begin.

Tia
September 28th

---

“I’ll find you when I need you,” Tia said with a smirk - of course she would. She was already in Gabriella’s room and already knew things she couldn’t have known about. She was at the least well connected, but it seemed like the more likely answer was that she gathered things using her own magic. Those things included Gabriella’s name and her desires, and it made sense that she would be able to find her location if there was a need for it.

As she spoke, she started back towards the window, moving to open it up as she turned her head back to look at Gabriella. “Anyway, like I was saying… I don’t need your help right now. I will need it later. I’ll be in touch - but right now, I believe you have a cheerleading tryout to get to before you end up late. Wouldn’t want to disappoint Candace… I know you promsied.”

[Lunas Legion]

Gabriella Sara Bianchi-Costa de Inferenza
Santa Marina, September 28th, 2020

"I don't break my promises." Gabriella said, moving to leave by the door rather than the open window that Tia seemed intent on leaving by. Well, if she wanted to leave by the window she wasn't going to stop her, she was confident she wouldn't just splatter on the pavement or something. She seemed the type to make flashy exits like that anyways given how she'd waited for her to wake up rather than waking her up.

Still, she didn't want to be late, even if there wasn't any doubt in her mind she'd get on. One, it was at the same time as the combat team tryouts which lessened the competition for obvious reasons and two, her mother was the coach. Nepotism at its finest, even if it wasn't something she consciously wished for or asked for. Although there was always that she'd be harsher on her because she wanted her to be better and knew what she could do.

"See you whenever." She said as she opened the door, not checking to see if Tia was still there to hear as she shut it behind her. She had a promise to keep first after all, Tia-related things could come afterwards.

[Sraelyn]

Viktor Farkas
Santa Marina Hunter Academy, September 21st

---

Tristan was already sweating as he jogged alongside Viktor. It was clear that Viktor was in much better shape than Tristan was. Of course he is. I never run at all. But it looks like it's good for making friends...

"Oh the person who I checked in with mentioned the team... I'm definitely curious what it's all about, but I don't know if I can make the team... I don't really have many combat skills. My magic is all a lot more general--mental/psychic magic, more specifically. I feel like that's useful support while you're on the hunt, but in a sports match? I don't know if that will float."

The pair jogged past the café. Tristan glanced over at it as they went by. It looked pretty nice. He wouldn't have to worry about what to eat, then, while he was here. That was good. Tristan had a sudden urge to go inside and grab something to eat, but not right now, out of breath and covered in sweat. Maybe after the jog they could come back and grab something.

His mind returned to the conversation as the café disappeared behind them. "So what about you, Viktor? What kind of magic do you specialize in? Something useful for the magic combat team, I'm guessing?"

“That’s good to know, a skilled support mate can change the tide of a hunt.” Viktor realized that his jogging partner was struggling a bit and lowered the pace.
“I’m more of a biological mage, and I think I can do well in close quarters. In terms of combat I can summon some pets to fight as well as modify my body, grow claws, become faster, that sort of thing. I’m quite good at tracking as well, but that isn’t very useful in an enclosed arena. Anyway, I saw you eyeing that café when we passed it. Let’s grab something to eat once we are done with the jog.


September 28th

---

It was finally the day of the tryouts. The first chance to do something actually different and immerse himself into this this place he would attend the next four years. From what he heard last week, being in the magical combat team carried some sort of status and prestige in addition to the already good chance to travel around and battle some of the most promising mages around. If the Farkas family was to come out of its isolation, this was as good of a chance as there was.

Waking up early, Viktor got ready for his usual routine on important days. First, a quick jog outside the building and 30 minutes of calisthenics, followed by a 20 minutes long scalding hot shower and getting dressed in appropriate attire. Once ready, he made his way to the café for some breakfast; a large cup of black coffee, some bread, and an overfilled plate of eggs, sausages and bacon. They left quite to be desired in comparison with the sausages back home, but he was still glad that he could start the day with this amount of meat as usual.

By the time he finally entered the arena, he could see quite a few others already there, including the two that looked the part of the instructors, and a bald Asian guy in a tie, probably some administrative faculty member.

“Hope I’m not too late to join.” He approached the woman that appeared to be in charge, carrying a clothed bundle on his shoulder. “Are enchanted weapons allowed? I wasn’t sure, so I brought mine in anyway.”

[Recuecn]

Tristan Glesbecht
Magic Combat Team Tryouts, September 28
Tristan glanced up at the clock tower. Already 1:05. Perfect, I'm showing up late. So much for a first impression. He hurried towards the gym building.

Sure enough, walking through the doors of the gym, a group of students was in one corner around a couple people Tristan recognized as instructors. Although the group was decently sized, Tristan had expected more people... perhaps others were late as well.

Tristan set his jaw and walked over to where the instructors were already beginning to address the students. He'd only convinced himself to come by telling himself that he just wanted to come to check things out, he didn't need to try out or embarrass himself. He knew that his magic abilities were most likely not well fit for competitive combat, and that he was very unlikely to make the team. He also knew that he had to try out for it anyway. That was just who he was. Now that he'd gotten himself here, he knew he could follow through with that. Failing in front of all his new classmates might be tough to deal with, but he'd seen failure before.

Tristan sidled in to the back of the ring of students surrounding Liao and Kuhn. The latter caught his eye, and Tristan gave him a little nod before lowering his eyes, as if in recognition of his guilt in coming late. He stood =behind two girls who looked like they, too, had just walked in, as if to hide himself. But as he glanced around to see what was going on and what he had missed, he realized they hadn't really started yet. Maybe the instructors were waiting for still more students to show up?

[Lessoni]

Bu Liao
Santa Marina Hunter Academy

---

Bu was happy to see Jack approach him. It seemed hanging with the bald Chinese dude didn't bother the American at all and that was a good thing, to see past one's exterior and make a judgement from who they actually are and not who they appear to be. He'd harbored a feeling that he would've been ignored but that went away as he was greeted by his disciple and now friend.

But he saw the tension in Jack's face, the way his smile creased and his eyes glanced around at other contenders for the team. Placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, Bu smiled, "Of course you'll get in. Your a 1st-degree black belt aren't you? Trust in your training, both my lessons and your own magic, and you'll show the coaches that you have what it takes to make their team."

Jack Dredd

Jack gave a smile at the words of his friend and mentor. Sure, he was still 90% certain that those with more practical spells beyond hitting something really hard stood a much better chance at making it on a combat team than him, but the thought that such a capable warrior as Bu was confident in him was a comfort.

"Thanks, Bu. I'm just hoping I don't get smoked by a dude who drops me before I get close. That'd suck," he said, worry slightly infecting his grin. Still, he'd try his best. After all, that was the most anyone could do.

[Durmatagno]

Victoria Aurelius Fawn
September 28th

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Victoria had taken a light workout today before the tryouts, she didn't want to tire herself out before the real tests began. Still, she was looking forward to them, and wondered if Freya would be there. Wiping her face, she checked the time and realized she would be late if she didn't leave now. Packing her things, she jogged over to the workout building. Stepping inside, she blinked for a minute on seeing Fox, but then ignored it. She'd seen people that looked like her before, no need to stare. Setting her bag down, she pulled out a bottle of water and took a look at the rest of the possible team around her. Some looked good, some didn't, she'd need to see how they actually performed to know. She didn't see Freya, maybe she'd decided not to join. It was possible, regardless, she'd need to be careful, and not let her guard down while in here. For all she knew, they'd be dueling each other during the test. She stretched a little, still wearing her workout clothes. A light workout for her was moderate or intense for most other people, barring physical mages, so this would be interesting. She wasn't exhausted, so she'd probably do well.

[Forest State]

Fox Liao and Sieg Kuhn
September 28th

---

Looking over the group, Sieg was somewhat sure that they had enough to start with. Maybe some others would show up late - but if they showed up late and their position was worse because of it, they could only really blame themselves. The key players in this were here and that was enough for now. “Alright everyone, I think we can get this started. The short story is that we’re holding tryouts for what we consider an elite team - the team is new, but that doesn’t mean the standards are any lower. We’re expecting top level performances from the talents we have here. We’ll also be grading various things - current talent, potential, effort, and intelligence. It’s possible to make the team with any of them. Combine all of them, and you’re sure to find your place,” the instructor said, looking over the group before turning to Fox.

“We’d like to see your individual combat skills before we see anything else from you. Because of that, we’re going to start things off a specific way - in the center of the ring will be a construct controlled by my partner here. Not the real deal although it looks like a demon, but it’s designed to move like one… And getting hurt by it will still, well, hurt. One by one, you’ll have exactly one minute to go toe to toe with this thing inside the ring. The barrier, of course, will be active. There’s no running during this minute. Staying on your feet is the main goal. Winning is a secondary goal. Part of our judgement will come from your performance here,” Fox explained before stepping out of the ring, followed by Sieg, who channeled mana into the middle of it to create the construct Fox had referred to.

It was indeed a fearsome looking one, humanoid but with skin that seemed like it was made of glowing magma, and the horns of a ram extending from the head. Very much demonic in appearance, even if the power level wasn’t the same. Though, they hadn’t been told just what the power level was in reality. It could very well be stronger than they were expecting. It seemed like the kind of thing they shouldn’t discount, at the very least. “With that, I ask which one of you would like to have your trial by combat first?” asked Fox, gesturing to the open entrance to the ring, the being standing idly inside for now.

A tall task, especially since no one had gone before to test the strength level out...

[Kaziimar]

Cadenza Cavolfior
Cadenza was currently in her dorm room, setting up her stuff for the new year. This room by now had become nearly as familiar to her has her own set-up at home, minus the huge library and attic full of magical items. Her mom wanted her to call soon as she arrived just to let everyone know that she was safe, so that was next on the list. Who would she be rooming with today...she really didn't mind, as actually she preferred company. Hopefully they were neat and liked conversations, or maybe she'd have the same roommate from last year.
“Alright, everything looks nice and set-up, I’ll crack open a tome and I can get studying...shit! Shit, the tryouts! I’m gonna miss them!” She was a second-year, but that didn’t make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. “I am so screwed, I wasted way too much time fucking around up here, nice going Cady! What if your mom hears about this?!” She mentally berated herself even as she raced to the gym, swearing lowly underneath her breath. Hopefully she didn’t miss too much.

[Forest State]

Santa Marina Nighthawks Tryouts
September 28th

---

The entire arena - or at least the students that were filling the place for now, would all be watching as the first competitor stepped up and the door to the ring was shut. There was a less visible barrier which would soon extend up towards the ceiling from the barriers of the ring, acting as a means of containing flying magic and keeping any attacks in the ring rather than outside of it. It’d take considerable force to shatter this protective barrier - something that would result in the match being stopped. It was unlikely that happened, though. This was going to be a fight on the ground.

It didn’t take very long to get underway with the demon being puppeted to an extent by Sieg, someone experienced enough in dealing with the real supernatural enemies of the world to make it move somewhat accurately. The demon, or the replica of a demon anyway, seemed to move with enhanced speed and reflexes - that was normal for a demon, of course, and one of the characteristics that made them as dangerous as they were. The replica bounced around, moving back and forth for a few paces before coming forward.

It’d take a swing with this enhanced speed that aimed for the head of the opponent, the swing coming in particularly wide from the left side from Bu’s perspective, claws present on the hand of the demonic replica just like the real thing. Supposedly it didn’t do full damage but it wouldn’t be fun to be the one to find out just how skilled it was. The move wasn’t complex. It was wonderfully simple in a way, just a wide swipe at the head which in a normal fight could end things quickly - the simplicity, though, was why it was a go-to attack.

How it was responded to would have consequences for how the training bout ended up turning out.

[Forest State]

Santa Marina Nighthawks Tryouts
September 28th

---

As it turned out, the moves that Bu had picked were a good way to get, in proverbial terms, lit the fuck up - trying to beat a demon, or even a replica of one, in a contest of speed and footwork was hard for the best of mages. For someone such as Bu, it wasn’t exactly the best gameplan to run with. Some of the blows were ducked and weaved by the demon while other ones didn’t have too much of an impact against the somewhat hard layer of skin - and when Bu turned around the creature's body, the demon turned with him to match his pivot, throwing a low kick which would strike the knee of the competitor, the impact causing a considerable amount of pain.

Wasn’t the same as a strike like this from a real demon, though. Depending on the strength of the demon, there was a chance the leg would be gone altogether if that had been from an actual demonic strike rather than a training construct. As the timer continued and dipped under the thirty second mark, the demon stepped up the pressure in the hunt for a finish before time ran out, bursting forward immediately after deflecting one of the punches from Bu, and slamming a fist into Bu’s torso on the opposite side from his power arm.

It was a quick counter that had been facilitated by the fighting style that Bu chose to use… One that was hard to outshine a demon with, considering the tendency for demonic beings to be superior to humans in the physical categories, including both raw speed and reflexes. But the thing was, the demon was still coming even after the punch, looking to wrap the opponent up by running into the chest before slamming said opponent into the ground. Which would likely be enough to hold out and get a “win” in this one minute long fight...

[Lunas Legion]

Gabriella Sara Bianchi-Costa de Inferenza
Santa Marina, September 28th, 2020

Gabriella was silent as she made her way out of the dorm block. She'd made her deal, and it seemed reasonable enough. From the lack of bloodstained pavement as she walked, she assumed Tia had made her exit without getting herself killed or otherwise injured. As amusing as it would have been, she doubted an entity as powerful as Tia would have been quite as careless.

Still, she had tryouts to keep to. They were being held slightly later than the combat team's, but at pretty much the same time. It made sense, since it wasn't like someone could be on both the magical combat team and the cheer squad at once. She changed in silence, glancing at the others. She knew the names of some, others must've been freshmen since she didn't recognise them at all, others were half-remembered names. She was still confident in herself, even if Tia had bothered her a little.

---

Olympia Galatas
Santa Marina, September 28th, 2020


Olympia wouldn't lie to herself, she'd briefly considered volunteering to go first. Maybe she would have, if this was the her of last year, but it was not. She was... Slightly less reckless, than she had been before she'd been all but torn to pieces in a fight and only that they had a magical healer on their team of amateur unofficial hunters had saved her life. So she'd waited for someone to volunteer instead, and someone had.

She was going in at even more of a disadvantage than she'd thought; the vast majority of her arsenal depended on having pre-existing dirt to work with and that was a floor, which drastically reduced her options. Still, she had a few tricks left. She hadn't been confident in the first place, but now she was mildly sure she was going to get her ass handed to her.

Judging by how the guy who'd gone first, she was most likely going to get her ass handed to her greatly.

Ah well. It'd been worth a shot. She'd see how it went, not that she'd ever allowed herself to get her hopes up.

[Forest State]

Jordan Liao
September 28th

---

There was someone unexpected waiting for Gabriella when she showed up to the cheer tryouts, where Chelsea was getting ready to go through whatever it was that they had set up for the competition. Probably wasn’t too intensive. Not as intensive as the tryouts for the team itself, at least. Was more a matter of making sure that everyone on the team could run through the routines properly, and things like that rather than extensive physical competition. So why… Why was Jordan there? Wasn’t like she was trying out. She didn’t even go to this college, or any one at all for that matter.

She was a bit too much of a free spirit for that and right now she was demonstrating that once again, hanging out here even when it didn’t seem like it was a place she belonged per say, wearing a leather jacket and resting against the wall as she looked at the approaching Gabriella and offered a wave. “Ayo, Gabriella,” she said, getting her attention. “Tryin’ out for the team, eh?” she added, her English accent bleeding into her speech quite noticeable as she spoke.

“Didn’t think dancing for the masses was your kinda thing,” she said with a shrug, looking Gabriella up and down before furrowing her brow. “You look different, though.”

[Lunas Legion]

Gabriella Sara Bianchi-Costa de Inferenza
Santa Marina, September 28th, 2020

"Dancing for the masses as you put it is not my thing." Gabriella said, rolling her eyes and waving as Jordan approached. "I got bribed or persuaded into trying out by Candace, depending on how generous one is with the wording, otherwise I wouldn't be here. That and her and Vivian are both trying out for the combat team, are both fairly likely to get in, and dancing for the masses is a tiny bit more dignified than slugging it out in front of the masses. Don't feel like being alone while they're rushing off to whatever far off team they're to play next."

Well, there was the confirmation that whatever Tia had done had actually stuck. Her and Jordan knew each other extremely well, so of course she'd notice if there was anything different. "Thanks, paid slightly more attention to my appearance than I do normally, and I've been experimenting with minor but long lasting illusions. Cosmetic, mostly, don't think they'll be too useful in combat. Wasn't quite sure how well they worked but I like to think the results speak for themselves." It wasn't a complete lie, more an extremely cannibalized truth, but given how Tia had approached her she assumed discretion was very much the name of the game. "Any particular reason you're here? Not like you expected me to show up." She could hazard a guess at why, but, well, she might as well ask. Wasn't like she didn't enjoy Jordan's company.

[Forest State]

Jordan Liao
September 28th

---

“You look… I dunno, I was going to say hot,” said Jordan, looking away as her face turned somewhat red and she realized just how awkward the statement she’d just said was - especially considering it was still around the rest of the tryouts as well as Chelsea. She shifted on her heel, looking to the other side but still avoiding looking directly at Gabriella, perhaps because her new passive ability to charm was somewhat distracting… Once someone looked at her, it could even be said that it was hard to look away.

And it was enough to get Jordan to flush and start speaking quickly as if she was trying to quickly shift the subject from what she had said, and from Gabriella and her new appearance. “I don’t need a particular reason to hang out and watch cheerleaders, dummy,” she said with a shrug, looking back to the group that was gathering up around Chelsea. “Although I think you’re going to be the most eye catching of ‘em all, really.”

Santa Marina Nighthawks Tryouts
September 28th

---

“Bloody hell…” muttered Fox as she watched the scene that was unfolding in the ring - perhaps it was expected that the replica demon was going to go for a ground and pound approach on its opponent, but rather than do that, the thing simply backed up off of Bu and stood up over him now that he was on the ground… They had all been told to avoid getting taken to the ground and for good reason. The thing reared its head back, opened up a mouth full of fangs, and directed its head back towards Bu.

Seconds later, flames came streaming out, incinerating the contestant instantly.

Or at least, that’s what would have happened if it was a real demon - the flames here weren’t real flames, but they would hurt nonetheless… They were some kind of magic, but they didn’t have the same properties as real fire, didn’t leave burns. Definitely hurt, however. “End it!” Fox said, blowing on a whistle as the barrier surrounding the ring went down. She moved to open up the gate as the demon inside went into an idle state, not moving one way or the other.

“Hopefully, some of you have learned some strategy lessons from that fight,” Fox said, gesturing to the others while she waited for Bu to get up. “Now… Does anyone else want to see if they can do better? I don’t think the bar is too high, but maybe you’ll see now that you will need to use magic to have much success in this.”

[Revlona]

Samuel

Sam watched with interested eyes as the first fight ended, the “demon” was fast, very fast, but he was pretty sure he could beat it, or at least not be utterly destroyed.

“I’ll go next if that’s alright?” He said as he took a few steps forward into the ring with a smile on his face and his hand raised into the air. Already he was slipping the daggers from his hip and laying them on the floor. He took off his jacket and laid it on top of the daggers to mark that they were his.

Quickly he looked to the others to see if they had any objections to him going next, though he had mostly zoned them out as he got himself ready for combat. He already had a sense of a plan in his mind, he wanted to take the Demon out quick before it could do to much damage to him, and if that didn't work then he would have to evade.

[Lunas Legion]

Gabriella Sara Bianchi-Costa de Inferenza
Santa Marina, September 28th, 2020

"That was the plan." Gabriella said, turning her head to look down at the floor to hide her own slight blush. Jordan's opinion meant a lot to her, after all; if Candace had Vivian, the closest person she had to that would be Jordan. She looked up, turning back towards Jordan. "We're likely all to be at the same level physically, which means it comes down to aesthetics and skills and possibly illusions, you know, in case we want to do anything fancy." Gabriella paused for a brief moment. "Although she'll probably do that, she's better with illusions than I am for obvious reasons."

That came down to experience and power, which Chelsea had more of by simple virtue of being older and thus more experienced. Not that she was jealous or anything, she simply hoped to surpass her one day. It was having a measuring stick to measure up to, a bar to set herself to overcome. "Anyways, I should probably head over. Enjoy yourself." Gabriella said, smirking ever so slightly as she walked over to join the others. She wasn't sure how long tryouts here or for combat would take, but hopefully they ended at roughly the same time. She did want to see how Candace and Vivian had fared, after all.

---

Olympia Galatas
Santa Marina, September 28th, 2020

Well the first guy had been, well... Olympia was trying and failing to find a word in English that quite matched her own thoughts on how he'd fared. Honestly, she hadn't seen him use a single iota of mana the entire time. If he was expecting to do well, then either he was an idiot, or he was a pure earth mage with no ability to work around the environment.

But really, the first was the same as the second. Even she had some magic she could use regardless of circumstances There was a reason it was called magical combat and not just combat, magic was an inherent component in the fight. She settled down, crossing her arms, eyes trained on the ring to watch how the next volunteer fared. Maybe this one would actually use magic and not try and get by on fancy but useless martial arts.

[Forest State]

Santa Marina Nighthawks Tryouts
September 28th

---

Samuel was soon locked inside the fifty by fifty foot circular ring, the ten foot tall fence surrounding it and a magical barrier going up to the ceiling again to ensure nothing could go over the top of the fence. The construct, the one that looked so much like a demon, moved to the other side of the ring in anticipation for the start of the fight before Fox blew her whistle to signal that they were starting. And with that, the demon was off, taking a different approach and going with its physical skills for the first action of the fight.

The thing barreled towards Samuel at speed, not as quick as an actual demon but quicker than a regular person for sure, and whatever strategy it was going for… Well, that was unclear for now. The thing vaulted itself into the air, traveling about fifteen feet up, as it altered its trajectory and decided to attack from above rather than come straight at Samuel from the front, something which could backfire as Bu had shown with his overly simplistic fighting style.

[Revlona]

Samuel

Holy crap the demon was fast, it had rushed him attempting to take him by surprise with its speed as it attempted to jump down on him. With a wave of his hand a torrent of flames appeared above sams head as a lesser fire wall came into being above him. Quickly Sam rolled to his right, attempting to get out of the Demons way and get a distance between it and him.

A baseball sized orb of flames appeared in his right hand and he readied himself to throw it at the demon the second it crashed through the wall of fire, in his other hand appeared a whip of fire.

His plan was simple, use distractions and fire walls to distance himself from the demon in order to survive the minute long trial, hopefully he could do just that. With a smile he glanced quickly at the others, wondering what they thought of him, before immediately jerking his thoughts and gaze back to where the demon should appear.

[Forest State]

Santa Marina Nighthawks Tryouts
September 28th

---

The fact of the matter was that the wall of fire didn’t have enough time to work - it wouldn’t be possible to hurt this demon by having it touch the fire quickly, and the creature came crashing down to the reinforced marble floor with no damage. If the floor wasn’t covered in a magical barrier itself, it would have broken under the force most likely. The demon turned about as soon as it crashed back to the ground and sprung forward, making it seem like the attack was going to be a physical one rather than a magical one.

But this being, this false demon, it was also capable of using magic - and once again, there was another illusion of an attack sent forwards, one that wouldn’t damage like the real thing but still looked and behaved enough like the real thing that they’d be able to judge the match as over if Samuel found himself hit. Ironically enough, it was a fireball of the demon’s own creation, which was barreling towards Samuel quicker than the demon itself was, while the demon kept running in the even that Samuel somehow evaded…

Even if that was the case, he’d still have to deal with the demon itself, but right now, the main priority would likely be getting away from the two foot tall and wide fireball which was rushing towards him, not the largest projectile around but one that was quick. At the same time, the demon broke to the right, preparing to attack him if he broke off to his dominant side in an effort to escape.

[Revlona]

Samuel

Sam reacted instantly as the demon burst through the wall of flames unharmed and pivoted towards him. Already he had hurled the fireball at the demon and was on the way of delivering another he had summoned when his reflexes took over and he rolled to his left, barely out of the way of the demons fireball. Seeing the demon following up quickly behind the fireball, Sam cracked the whip at its face and hurled the second fireball at it.

As his hand was freed of the fireball he dove to his right, summoning a large fire wall in between him and the demon. Sam waited half a second before diving unharmed through the wall to the side the demon should have been on. A fireball formed in his hand, though he hoped the demon had already crashed though the new fire wall intent on following him.

[Forest State]

Santa Marina Nighthawks Tryouts
September 28th

---

Both of the fireballs would hit their mark but their concussive force wasn't enough to actually throw the demon off of the path it was on, rather just damaging the hard outer layer of skin and chipping at it in some places to reveal what seemed like a magma like substance underneath, not blood but something different entirely, which glowed orange. Reflective, of course, of a specific subtype of demonic being that this replica was imitating.

The move with the fire wall would perhaps have worked if Sam had kept going to the left and hadn’t turned back right, which would have allowed him to avoid the demon and stay away from the incoming rush - however, he had picked the wrong direction, which would cut his chances of getting out of this thing as the winner of the exercise to about zero. When he turned back right, before he could attack, he would look up to see that the demon was now only about a foot or so away from him, the speed meaning that by the time it could be fully processed, the creature would have slammed into him.

BOOM!

The crack of the hard skinned creature slamming into the boy could be heard throughout the arena, drawing some oohs from the crowd of others that were watching. And causing some cringing from Fox, who watched the scene for a little bit before blowing her whistle - Sam was down after all, and had been sent to the ground by the impact, and hadn’t gotten up yet. While the magic was designed not to injure, the physical part of this training exercise was still very real.

“Let that be a lesson to all of you that raw firepower isn’t enough to win sometimes… Other times, you need tactics or more complex ways of attacking. Walls of fire, fireballs, they’re very effective against some enemies. Others, not so much,” Fox said, before opening the metal gate to the ring once again as the barrier went down. “So, which one of you would like to try your hand next and maybe get the first success of our little event?”

[Lessoni]

Santa Marina Nighthawks Tryouts
September 28th

---

The move would perhaps have worked if Sam had kept going to the left and hadn’t turned back right, which would have allowed him to avoid the demon and stay away from the incoming rush - however, he had picked the wrong direction, which would cut his chances of getting out of this thing as the winner of the exercise to about zero. When he turned back right, before he could attack, he would look up to see that the demon was now only about a foot or so away from him, the speed meaning that by the time it could be fully processed, the creature would have slammed into him.

BOOM!

The crack of the hard skinned creature slamming into the boy could be heard throughout the arena, drawing some oohs from the crowd of others that were watching. And causing some cringing from Fox, who watched the scene for a little bit before blowing her whistle - Sam was down after all, and had been sent to the ground by the impact, and hadn’t gotten up yet. While the magic was designed not to injure, the physical part of this training exercise was still very real.

“Let that be a lesson to all of you that raw firepower isn’t enough to win sometimes… Other times, you need tactics or more complex ways of attacking. Walls of fire, fireballs, they’re very effective against some enemies. Others, not so much,” Fox said, before opening the metal gate to the ring once again as the barrier went down. “So, which one of you would like to try your hand next and maybe get the first success of our little event?”

Jack Dredd

Jack gave a slight cringe at the sound of flesh slamming into harder flesh. It almost sounded like someone getting hit with a chunk of rock. Not exactly a fun thing, and that was exactly what Jack was about to put himself through.

He knew he was at a huge disadvantage, especially after realizing he couldn't use the floor for his wall or his armor. It wasn't a deal breaker, but things got a good bit trickier. Giving a sympathetic glance at the dude in the ring, he tentatively raised his hand.

"I'd like to go next, if that's alright," he said as he stepped towards the ring.

[Revlona]

Samuel

With a sigh Sam got to his feet, every part of his body aching from being slammed to the marble floor by the demon.

“Damn, is I had continued left I might have won..” Sam thought to himself, his smile disappearing and being replaced with a thoughtful look as he exited the rink. He hoped that he chances of getting on the team weren’t crushed because of his loss.

With a sigh he looked to the kid who was next and stretched out his limbs, “Good luck dude, don’t get close unless you have something that can hurt it close” he said as a tip.

“How do y’all think I did?” He said to the others as the other boy entered the ring.

[Forest State]

Santa Marina Nighthawks Tryouts
September 28th

---

“Objectively…? That was kinda shit,” said Candace, watching and formulating her own plan while they worked on getting things set up for the next fight. The being that was in the middle of the ring healed itself, or rather someone else healed it from a distance, the breaks in the hard outer layer disappearing and getting it ready for a fight once again.

Fox nodded at Jack’s request to go next and the process repeated once again, with Jack stepping inside of the ring and the gate closing and then the entire ring being sealed by a magical barrier which would stretch up to the ceiling. The being backed up to the other side of the ring which would start them off about fifty feet apart from each other. And, with everyone watching, Fox blew her whistle. “Fight!” she said, raising a hand to gesture for the start of the match.

Jack would have the first move, or it seemed like he would anyway. The replica demon came off the fence but wasn’t rushing towards him immediately, the pace a bit slower and more deliberate even though they had a good amount of space between them. Now, it was just a matter of seeing which strategy Jack would decide on taking.

[Revlona]

Samuel

Sam smiled at Candace, not angry at her words because he knew they where mostly true. “Yeah that’s true, I probably could have been more mobile, and it’s good to know firewalls don’t really work against stronger and faster opponents, but at least I bloodied it right?” Sam said, convinced that while he lost, he hadn’t been completely embarrassed.

“I just hope I can make the team with that effort, what do you think?” He said as he watched the new kid prepare himself to fight.