“Well, well, look who's still in this,” Havel said, almost sneering as he arrived at the larger crystal arena that had been brought in. “The Academy’s favorite nobody. Tell me, Levi, ready to lose?”

  Levi ignored the taunt from the blond-haired, blue-eyed golden child of the Radiant Order. He was everything one could hope to be or look like when sponsored by one of the prominent groups affiliated with the church. His muscles and intellect weren’t just for show, as Levi had often considered Havel to be one of the smarter students in this tower.

  “If I lose, so be it,” Levi replied. “The only difference is I’ll still be me, and you’ll still be a pompous ass.”

  A chuckle came from Havel as he rolled his eyes. “You and those petty words… I’d have believed you’d rise above those by now, but then again, without any real physical aptitude, you’re stuck using insults as your only weapons.”

  It was true that Levi was not known for his physical prowess. If two broomsticks got together and had a child, he would be their offspring, as his legs and arms didn’t carry much meat at all. Anything he ate was somehow never able to add mass. Then again, the sheer amount of time Levi spent in the labs or in the library poring over books and doing research didn’t help his current physical state.

  Tired of the insults as the other students gathered around their four-foot cubes, Levi studied the newest addition to the arena. Inside the arena their creations would fight in, there were four, four-inch wide columns that rose halfway up the fighting area.

  Professor Thomas had mentioned that things would change after the third round. I guess this is a new addition. Makes me wonder what the final two rounds will hold.

  “You’ll have to be smart here, Arin,” Levi whispered to his slime. “Remember the training we did with the mazes.”

  “Oh my gosh!” exclaimed Havel. “You did name it?! I heard that you did, but I thought Bram was just being a sore loser. You realize that this is nothing more than a test, don't you? Even if you somehow won this tournament, Professor Thomas is going to destroy every creation.”

  Sighing, Levi shrugged. “Does it matter if I named it? I’ve already heard about what you have, and you’re one of the few I believe actually helped make their own creation.”

  A scowl marred the otherwise handsome face as Havel glared at him. “I’m not like others, and I don’t take shortcuts. It is why I’m going to win this whole tournament. How can I fail when the head of our order is present to watch my victory?”

  Levi had already noticed the middle-aged man who wore an ornate robe with the hawks and sunhound emblems decorating his collar. A shaved head that glistened in the room's light was easy to spot, especially when there were six other members of the Radiant Order, all wearing the same white and red robes, standing next to each other in the stands.

  “Well, good luck,” Levi said. “I’m looking forward to seeing your creation and how Arin handles it.”

  A groan came from Havel, but the boy said nothing else, moving to stand beside the staging area and taking a six-inch gold sphere from a pouch, twisting it and depositing his creation on the crystal area. It looked like a clear coin, almost as if made of living glass, with two plates that surrounded some ribs and a geometric shape pressed inside. Levi saw what appeared to be a golden pulse of some liquid in the very middle of the creature, and the two plates began to spin slowly in opposite directions.

  “Is that a Radiolumen Diatom?” Levi asked.

  Havel scoffed but nodded. “Seems you do study all those books after all. Then you’re aware of what it does?”

  “I guess we’ll see if I am,” Levi replied, dumping his slime into the staging box on his side.

  “You two ready?” Abigail asked.

  “I am,” Levi said, smiling at her.

  “As am I,” Havel stated.

  She nodded and motioned to Professor Thomas, who checked in with the other three groups. “The quarterfinals will commence in thirty seconds,” he said. “After this we’ll take a quick break and prepare for the semi-finals.”

  Levi could sense the energy in the room as everyone in the stands paid closer attention to the fights that would be taking place below. Part of him was sad that he couldn’t watch the other fights, as he wanted to learn and see how their creations performed against others.

  The bell sounded, and the protective doors opened for the two creations to move.

  Levi’s red slime rolled out, staying behind the pillar that was about six inches outside its entrance. Havel’s Radiolumen Diatom began rotating faster, gliding across the crystal floor, leaving its staging area as well.

  As the pair of creatures emerged from behind their respective pillars, Havel’s diatom chimed, then suddenly stopped spinning for a second. A tooth-like object flew out of the two plates. The projectile tore through the exposed section of slime, sending a spray of Arin’s body against the crystal wall.

  Levi hissed as his creation retracted behind the pillar, attempting to move the other way, and found a second projectile removing another section of slime.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “This isn’t going to go well for your pet,” Havel said. “Want to bet how fast mine kills yours?”

  Ignoring the other boy, Levi bent lower to the crystal glass. “Adapt, Arin. Figure out what you can do. Don’t let it pick you apart.”

  “Seriously? You think it can listen and change?” Havel scoffed. “They're mindless creations with limited instinctual programming. None of these things are more than simple alchemical and magical creatures. They don’t have souls or feelings.”

  Levi almost said something, but stopped himself, trying to think about how he could help Arin while obeying the rules of the tournament.

  As he considered options, the diatom began to move, sliding across the arena floor, seemingly searching for angles to continue its assault on the slime.

  Arin shifted when another chime came, followed by a tooth that glanced off the pillar from a different direction and ricocheted into one of the walls. The red slime adjusted, and Levi watched, trying to see what it might do to help close the distance without exposing itself.

  Havel chuckled as his creation moved back the other way, keeping the advantage of the distance. As it moved, another tooth was sent flying and it bounced off the wall behind the red slime, this time striking the gelatinous body from the back, burying itself inside but not hitting with enough force to damage it.

  “How much help can I offer?” Levi asked the attendant.

  “As long as you don’t put anything in the crystal arena, you’re able to talk, move around, tap on the outside or whatever you desire,” Abigail replied. “Basically, you’re able to do anything that doesn’t directly physically affect the two creations inside.”

  Nodding, Levi pulled out a piece of moldy bread and then took a second one, setting both on top of the crystal cube right above one of the pillars. “Arin… treat,” he said, tapping the roof of the arena. “Come and get it.”

  “You really think that…” Havel went silent as the red slime began to wrap its body around the pillar, slowly climbing upward toward the bread on the outside of the cube. “That’s cheating!”

  “Actually, it isn’t,” Abigail replied. “He’s not putting anything inside the box nor touching the creations. You could do the same if you desired.”

  “But… how…” A grunt came from the Radiant Order’s chosen student in this class, his face turning red. “What is that going to do? Hide on top of the pillar? You know–”

  “Shut it,” Levi snapped. “Deal with your own creation and let me handle mine!”

  Ignoring the blond-headed student, Levi turned his attention to his slime. It had now reached the top of the pillar and was almost bouncing as it tried to get the food a good foot away and on the other side of the crystal.

  A tooth was sent flying by the diatom and yet it couldn’t go any higher than six inches off the floor, not a threat at the moment to the slime at all.

  “Ok, Arin,” Levi said gently. “Remember the training. Reach the bread. Stick to the ceiling. You do this and I’ll give you four pieces of bread when this is over.”

  The slime began to bounce faster, almost appearing excited as its body flowed up and down the pillar occasionally, before it suddenly threw a tendril of slime upward at the ceiling. The inch-thick strand stuck and then more of the slime began to flow up toward the area right under the bread. In less than ten seconds, the entire body of Arin was now hanging from the ceiling.

  “How… how can it do that?” Havel asked, eyes widening.

  A sigh came from behind the boy, and Levi looked up to see Professor Thomas smiling, one of his hands stroking his beard. “That comes from training and practice, Mr. Deren. If you recall, I mentioned this almost two months ago during our lecture on creations and the ability to teach them things. Out of all the students in that lecture hall, only Mr. Wilson here asked questions on how to do such a thing.”

  “But… they’re mindless things,” Havel protested.

  “Ignore him,” Levi said, a massive smile plastered on his face. “Now then, Arin, follow the bread.” Slowly, he slid the moldy substance across the roof of the crystal arena, guiding his slime toward the diatom, which had halted its rotation and was no longer moving along the arena floor.

  “Do something!” Havel shouted, smacking the crystal wall with his fist. “Don’t just sit there!”

  “It can’t detect its enemy,” Professor Thomas stated before he turned and moved toward another one of the fights. “Your creation is deadly in a straightforward match, but I’m afraid you’re about to see why many people, creatures, animals, and even monsters can lose to someone smarter than their limited focus.”

  “But…”

  Levi ignored his opponent’s protest as he continued sliding the bread until it was on top of the area where the diatom was.

  Havel reached out his hand, about to smack away the bread, when his wrist was grabbed by Abigail.

  “Do not touch that,” she stated, her voice carrying a hint of danger. “Doing so would be a surrender. You cannot touch your opponent or anything he is using for the fight.”

  “What am I supposed to do?” Havel asked, his confident facade gone and a look of confusion mixed with frustration taking its place.

  “You lose,” Levi said bluntly. “Now, Arin. Bucket drop and win. I’ll even toss in a piece of meat.”

  When those words were spoken and Levi removed the bread from the outside of the crystal arena, the red slime detached from above, falling upon the diatom, which tried to spin and escape the splattering slime.

  The Radiolumen Diatom managed to get one tooth sent from its body but the slime appeared to be compressing, slowing down the rotation until it stopped moving.

  Levi watched, his grin growing by the second as tendrils of slime reached in between the plates, making their way toward that golden light.

  “No…” Havel said, his voice barely a whisper.

  A few more seconds passed and then the light vanished, and bubbles began to rise from the diatom as the slime started to consume it.

  “The winner, Levi Wilson,” Abigail announced.

  Clapping came from the stands, and Levi smiled, waving at them. His eyes found his grandparents, who had tears in their eyes. Their hands were making the most noise as they cheered for him.

  A growl came from Havel, who moved until his chest and Levi’s were almost touching. “I swear to you, you’ll pay for this.”

  “Mr. Deren!” Abigail snapped. “If you are making a threat, you will find yourself wishing you hadn’t.”

  “No,” Havel grunted. “Just telling him that a time will come when he’ll wish he wasn’t a know-it-all who doesn’t have any friends in real power.” With those words spoken, the blond-headed teen strode past Levi and toward the stairs.

  Ignoring the sore loser, Levi moved to the staging area where the diatom had started and dropped four pieces of moldy bread and a small piece of meat from a different pouch.

  Faster than the slime had moved all day, it dragged its almost dissolved meal with its mass toward the open door of the staging area, making its way toward the treats it had earned.