Four Greats?

"Four greats!?!" I blurted out without thinking.

"Yes," Goliath raised a brow at me, "One or more of the four great earth mages is at this area at all times."

"You're talking about rift city," Veronica called out excitedly.

"Yes I am," Goliath stared at her for a few seconds.

Which was just as effective as him scolding.

"Now rift city is a massive dome," Goliath continued, "Nothing gets out of there without being noticed. The small army that lives on sight keeps all the stronger beasts down to minimal numbers which is why students like you are even allowed to train there. It'll be a good exorcise for all you first year newbys, but just because the area is heavily monitored, and beast numbers are kept down doesn't mean it's safe. You can, and will die there if you're not careful. Even small beasts can kill a man if there's enough of them. Keep in mind that all of you are just students. As far as I'm concerned the whole lot of you doesn't come close to adding up to one whole man yet. Teamwork will be your first priority. If you cannot work together, and watch each others backs than you'll end up watching each other die."

That was followed by solemn silence.

"Now I'll explain the competition in more detail later," Goliath clapped his hands, "Now lets get down to how you'll survive this whole thing." Goliath looked at his clip board carefully, "Wyatt," I stood up in response to my name being called, "We'll be running some simulations today. I want you to stand in as the sniper. So far you have the best marksmanship of the group, and I want you to work on spotting who's truthfully in trouble through a scope. There's a good chance you'll become more of a long range fighter. I want you on the very edge of the room. You get three shots then you have to change position. I will knock you good if you don't. Everyone else will split up into three groups. Two groups of six, and one group of five. You can take any practice weapon you feel comfortable with. If you can't handle the weapon easily then you're not comfortable with it. Wyatt will be practicing as your cover fire." Goliath stared at us for a few seconds, "Well get moving."

I stood up first walking toward the small rack of weapons that had been set up by the control console. Picking up the sniper rifle, and heading for the edge of the room as Goliath set up the scenario we'd be dealing with. The rest of the club was talking about how they wanted to split the groups. Goliath seem to be ready as I settled into a spot.

"Do I need to pick the groups?" Goliath boomed.

Then there was silence again as they quickly split up into their respective groups. The first group consisted of Colin, Savannah, Lisa, Mira, Illium, and Jack. The second group consisted of Harley, Ivan, Amelia, Jason, Heather, and Faith.The third group consisted of Carlson, Christina, Jesse, Veronica, and Aaron. The first group descended down into the arena as I clicked the scope off the rifle.

I could see better without it anyways. There was a spot on the side of the practice gun to clip the scope too so I did. Keeping it out of my way without loosing it. While I was waiting I got to thinking about the four greats again. Would they notice me?

If some kid could notice me how long would it take for a professional mage to catch onto me? I could feel my magic circulating as my agitation rose. It felt weird as my magic circulated, but the simulation began so I didn't have time to think about it too much. I focused on the simulation in front of me. I shot through the trees at the snakes as one went to get Savannah from behind.

85/400 xp until level 6.

My magic swirled again almost painfully as my affinities acted up. It was so far away from them that they probably wouldn't notice the breeze or droplets of water floating around me. Being near one of the four greats wasn't my idea of a fun time. I refocused on shooting as I watched Colin struggling with a snake. Savannah was having trouble with one as well.

Time slowed as I squeezed off a shot to help her out. She was struggling because she wasn't paying as much attention as the others. She was watching me. Not with her eyes, but she was still watching me. My magic settled as a cold feeling sunk into the core of my being.

All the droplets of water froze around me as I tried to suck my magic back in.

"Found you," I whispered as I emptied the clip into the last of the snakes.

100/400 xp until level 6.

The little bits of ice clicked on the ground as they dropped when I finally succeeded in pulling my magic back in. I stood to change position before I got in trouble with Goliath. Ejected the clip as I ran to the next spot. Watching the scenery melt back into flat grey as it changed into blue grassland. I watched Savannah climb the ladder slowly.

She paused at the top turning to look at me, and we locked eyes for a split second. I could see her shiver slightly even from this distance. I broke eye contact, and glanced up at Goliath. Ejecting the clip, and slamming it back in. I was ready for the next round.

Now that I knew who my tail was I could focus properly. I didn't have to worry about finding her anymore. I just watched her for a little while as the next group came in. She kept glancing at me. I didn't think she liked the cold stare I was giving her.

I refocused on the simulation. I was just supposed to help out the ones that were struggling so I didn't try to kill any of them off. Not until they were about to get hurt. They managed to hold their own pretty well. I only ended up killing off three snakes for them.