"Mr. Magmal!" Tarnisha Smithdottir ran through the spectator seats, bumping and struggling through the crowd to get to where the guidance counselor was. "You must stop this match!"
Pearl Magmal sat with his back resting on the stadium seat and both hands on his thigh. "You know I can not do that."
"But Ash is going to die at this rate! She's too thick-headed to give up!" Tarnisha exclaimed.
"She agreed to an honorary duel. Per the rules of the wizarding world, a match only ends if she is either rendered unconscious or verbally expresses her will to forfeit." Pearl fixed his glasses, glancing over at Tarnisha, "I can try and make sure she doesn't die, but it is a very thin line… And it would not be fair for Tanya, who could expect an ambush from Ash pretending to be defeated."
On the other row, Luciana sat on an empty seat and observed with great interest. He licked his lips when the fight began to pique his interest.
While down on the battlefield, Ashrosaliera drooled blood from her lips, her head dropped low while she knelt with both hands behind her back.
She wanted to fight back, if she just cast a [Fireball], even with both hands aimed away, it would probably be enough to subdue Tanya, but whenever she tried to cast her spell, he'll cast faster and hit her in the gut, which brought fear to Ash, a fear unimaginable.
Tanya Nrägèjmul sat across from her. He took a deep breath:
"If you listen to everything I have to say, I'll remove the restraints and let you cast a spell on me without interruption. Agreed?" He offered.
Ashrosaliera immediately raised her head up at him with hope in her eyes, and she nodded weakly.
"Alright, here goes." Tanya interlaced his fingers together. "You are oblivious, pathetic, and obliviously pathetic."
"Your ego is so over your head that you can't see everything we tried telling you. I watched your early morning match against Luciana. He told you how you're not properly utilizing your skills, and how was your reaction? You brushed him off and never asked for elaboration."
He took, yet, another a deep breath.
"It's an honor for any mage alive to face off against someone stronger, yet you don't seek knowledge and improvement, you seek validation and a stroke for your low self-esteem."
Tanya stared into Ashrosaliera's soul as he continued.
"The prideful block of power and ambition you boast about is actually just layers of fragility. It doesn't turn you into a warrior, but it drives you further and further away from the true nature of us humans."
"You are too short-sighted. As time passes, we get wiser and older, while the painting of magic only gets bigger. To have a clear look, you have to stand further away. Only then can you feel the depth, and only then can you see the composition, even if it's a tough job."
"But when you stand too close, it'll be a bad image, all of your perceptions will be wrong, and nothing more than just excuses. Focusing on one detail and you will never see the whole image, while of course, just one detail will never be able to represent the whole truth."
Tanya stood up and turned around, looking to the sky.
"Do you remember how I laughed at you, you got mad and apologized this morning? That was just a small test to see if you acknowledge your shortcomings and how you would react and think when you walk half a step in someone's shoes. Yet when I asked if you had someone you needed to apologize to, you said no. Do you know what that tells me?"
Tanya paused, to the amazement and confusion of the audience, who couldn't make out what he was saying, he bent down in front of Ashrosaliera.
He pushed up her bangs, getting a better look at her entire face. Who was tearing up and biting her own lips, so much so that blood started seeping out.
"It tells me you still don't realize what Luciana was trying to tell you. You are friendless, untrustworthy, and don't know where or how you're wrong when you laugh at someone. You will be alone for the rest of your life. Anyone who comes to you will either be using you or pitying you, or they're your parents."
"You are, and you will continue to suffer, because you're still attached to your illiberal thoughts. I assert that the path you once firmly walked has gone astray. Because material hinders your ideals, and fragility obscures your aspirations, your ideals cannot reach the skies."
"If I were to have Zofia Adinberg—with her impressive casting speed, eagerness for knowledge, and good form—I could easily train her to humiliate you even if you got an S-Rank, high-level [Fire] skill, after just three days of training."
Tanya saw Ashrosaliera start tearing up. The Poet looked around the stadium, carefully pushing her head down to avoid spectators' attention, before he sighed and patted Ash on her hair.
"Just light your torch and tread; for the path of cessation will be a wonderful journey."
The audience was confused, they didn't hear anything, but they saw Tanya give his five minutes long speech, they saw Ashrosaliera's body begin to shake violently, as if something was rising from within her.
Then they started cheering when the two [Advanced Pillar] grabbing Ash's wrist was deactivated. The cheers erupted louder when Ashrosaliera stood up and aimed both hands towards Tanya again, this time he had his back turned.
Then, the cheering died down when Ash fell to her knees and elbows, hands over her mouth as water came rolling down her tearducts, the little girl seethed in agony, scratching and banging on the sandstone floor.
"SCREW YOU… I'm not a freak! I'm not weird! I'm not… I'm- Uwaaaaaaaaaa!"
Ash began to cry and screamed, her mouth gaping open while she screeched and shrieked, breaking down into tears.
The match was over, with the apparent loss belonging to Ashrosaliera.
The students spectating began to leave, having satisfied their curiosity.
Tanya went over to help the girl stand up and led her to somewhere more private for Ash to let her emotions out.
Tarnisha and Cinderella were worried; they immediately jumped to the stadium to try and comfort Ash.
Luciana licked his lips, also flying down to check up on them. "Another good haul…" He said.
Pearl Magmal sighed, looking at the necklace on his hand.
===
Ongoing Quest: The Long Way
Details: Defeat a Fourth Year student, an extra reward shall be granted if the user challenges [The Poet]
Reward: 0.30 System Points (0.60 if defeated [The Poet])
Status: FAILED
===