Figment(6)

A simple gesture of hesitation from the opposition was all that was needed to lower the reputation of the board. At that moment, the crowd focused on the high rank rook as he stared down at the confident mid-high ranked Newspaper writer. A collective sense of anticipation filled the auditorium as everyone stopped whatever activities they may have been doing to watch the face off on the stage.

The rook's sweat was unnoticeable as he started to shake from anxiety. The overall pressure to defeat a mid-high rank was astounding as it was, but something did not seem right to the rook. The aura of a weakling was not present around Vale, instead it was replaced by a calm and intimidating energy. Vale noticed the high-rank's hesitation, speaking further.

"What are you waiting for? You are a high rank aren't you?" Vale laughed.

The calm aura that had previously been projected was instantly replaced with a more imposing aura of charismatic dominance like the rook had never seen before. Shivers went down the opposition's spine, lingering for a short moment.

"ENOUGH!"

The rook rushed towards Vale in an uneven movement of unpredictable strafes, causing a small blur to appear around the rook. Vale quickly responded by jumping up into the air and spinning his body as he released his chained hooks, causing a spiral of metal to appear before the rook; stopping the latter's advance.

However, Vale was not finished. He landed back on his two feet and began to spin his chains in front of his body, creating what seemed to be a pair of shields.

"That is not enough to halt my advance." The rook announced as his hammer began to glow a deep blue.

The rook proceeded to approach the confident Vale, leaping into the air before violently slamming his hammer into the ground; causing a localised blizzard of ice to surge from his hammer which rushed towards Vale at an alarming pace.

"Tick tock, tock tock, let the wind be my rock." Vale whispered to himself as he let his hooks use their own momentum to swing.

Suddenly the blizzard disappeared within a split second, causing the room to be filled with startled expressions as people began to watch even more intensely.

"What ability type was that?" The rook asked in a confused tone.

Vale faced the crowd as he witnessed their amazed faces. A mid-high tank had just halted the attack of a high rank, uproar was bound to take place in such an environment.

"Why would I reveal one of my abilities?" Vale rhetorically asked.

"Grrrr..." The rook began to rage as he couldn't understand the ability that had been presented right in front of him. Out of 3 abilities, one was totally ineffective toward the opposing student. With one ability useless, the rook was forced into an aggressive battle.

"THEN LET THIS BE A WAR OF ATTRITION."

The rook activated his second ability, revealing a scarlet cloak of flames. The flames covered him in the same manner that a normal cloak would, imposing a beautiful spectacle of fire. With his cloak at the ready, the rook gave up his hammer so that he could use his two other abilities. On his right hand was a spiralling ball of intense cold, and on the other; was spike of wood. The combination itself seemed to be quite illogical, but that logic was not in effect. The rook knew how to use all three abilities to compliment each other.

"I have no personal grudge against you, but I do not feel like getting expelled at this moment." Vale spoke.

Vale retracted his chains as he outstretched his arms to his sides.

"ENOUGH TALK!" The rook shouted as he rushed towards Vale.

"As such..."

The rush was halted in a instant, knocking the rook back a metre. It was as if the rook had run into an invisible wall.

"What-"

Suddenly the rook's cloak of flames instantly disappeared along with the blizzard orb that he had created. All that was left was the lone wooden spike.

"A nullification ability?"

"No. That is limiting it." Vale spoke as the wooden spike separated into halves.

"The fun thing about writing is the descriptions that you can invent in your mind. The clarity of a description is the definition of your power."

"It's such a shame that you can only come up with a cloak and a stick."

"However, even with this power, I am still no match for an elite rank. So this display is nothing impressive. But perhaps with this I may not be expelled?"

"You are not expelled." Kelvin spoke with a smile.

"Welp, I see that getting defeated by that mid-low rank has really destroyed the morale. I think if he was not as anxious I might have lost." Vale commented.

"True... a mid-high rank can't just defeat a high rank like that." Someone in the crowd commented.

"Nevertheless, you are now a pawn of the Autom High Board. I welcome you to the top of Autom's hierarchy." Julian spoke as he shook Vales hand.

"Will this interfere with my newspaper duties?" Vale asked.

"Don't worry, you can still write as you like."

However, all of this was all but a figment of the rook's imagination. The rook continued to shake as he looked towards his still unmoving opponent, eventually dropping to his knees as he gave up the will to fight. Through a combination of thorough calculations, the rook realised that he could not beat his opponent, even if neither of them had lifted a finger.

The rook let out a pool of sweat, astounding the audience as they were left to ponder about the shocking spectacle of what had just transpired. Not a single ability had been used, yet the rook had admitted defeat. What sort of person is this Vale?

[Heh... you don't seem to be all that much huh?]

[You really are too anxious.]

[I thought the board could at least put up a fight~]