The Wish Game

Prelude to the Nationals

It was January 6, 1999, and I just returned from my rigorous training program with Mineva. It was a fine day and I had to go full out against Mineva, Rita, and Mira. Three days later on 10th January, the nationals were about to begin.

In October, the second intraclass competition was held. My training in Magic Resistance, Combat, Presence Concealment, and Magic Detection paid off in essence and I scored 4th in survival rank. In the case of point rank, I was second.

The battle of conclusion was again between me and that Paras: the guy who captured me, back in the first intra class competition. He got strong and instead of ice magic now focused on magic reinforcement and supreme elemental magic.

Our battle was largely a strength-based brawl; my magic resistance was powerful enough to dispel anything he threw at me, though he kept up his speed to not let me try any spell myself. He even used his magic staff for close-quarters combat, utilizing its length to keep me at bay.

After hours of battle in the cliff region, he managed to slam me against the cliff wall and used a super strong spell at point-blank. “Your magic resistance is useless if I cast this within that barrier.” He said before casting the super-strong magic draining supreme plant magic.

“Aaah…” I screamed as I woke up in the dead night after reliving the fight with Paras. I breathed heavily and looked in the room, Rita and Mira were my guards but now they were stationed in the guardroom. Because of my supposed good behavior, the warden removed their assignment of keeping an eye on me 24 hours a day.

My last memory of the battle was being restrained to the walls by that magic plant’s vines and it sucked out every last bit of my magic and stamina, causing me to faint. The next thing I remember was waking up in the healing room. There were almost no grave injuries like the other time and after a few doses of magic-boosting mauve, I was all good.

In the washroom, I splashed water on my face as I remembered the incident. “I won’t forget this humiliation. That guy’s gonna be wrecked in the nationals, I swear it by the God of Magic.” I murmured, before realizing what I’d said.

I always cursed my brother like that and in the one year I’ve been separated by them, I used it the first time. ‘What has happened to me? It’s just like Mineva said, ‘I can restart my life here and make new family and friends. No, no, no…I must not think like this. There is only one truth here: kill or be killed.’

Paras was ranked first this time and according to the other competitions we’ve been part of, he excels the most in brute strength and supreme magic while I excelled in ambushes and assassinations. He was like a perfect counter to me and the worst part is that he is the person who foiled my attempts to ace any competitions.

Unable to sleep, I went to the desk and tried to strengthen my magic resistance. “I want it to be so powerful that even the strongest spells at point-blank won’t affect me,” I said to myself as I grabbed the stun spell generator.

It was a gadget given to me by Mineva to practice my magic resistance. It let out stun spells of various intensities and I could use it to test my magic barrier. I set the power to maximum and held the device with its mouth touching my neck.

I looked at the two pages pinned on the wall by my magic. Both of them had the final results of the two intraclass competitions and various other exams. I was perhaps, the most hated member here; after all, I had 7 kills and 40 permanent disabilities to my name.

“Let’s GO!” I pulled the trigger of the gadget. I shock ran through my body as the stun spell pierced the remainder of my magic barrier and hit me. Stun spells are some of the most harmless offensive spells available after light-based spells which at most caused blindness.

I recovered from the shock a few minutes later; the spell’s strength resulted in a mild headache. “I am not strong enough. Maybe…” A thought entered my mind but I shrugged it off as soon as it came, “No, Mineva would never allow me to do something like that.”

I repeated the experiments multiple times before retiring to bed out of fatigue. ‘I don’t know how I am going to deal with this.’ I thought as I drifted away in sleep.

The next day, we were all assembled in the same hall where we were first assembled in the city. The mayor as on the first day came in to address us. There were only 25 people left in the group out of 128 and most of them went out thanks to my courtesy. The mayor began,

“Welcome people.

I thank you all for your efforts. You all came here about a year ago as timid volunteer kids and look at you now; you are now warriors with the highest skills and intellect.

Though many of you are not present and are unable to compete, but don’t take their absence as a hurdle. Your loved ones are watching you and are praying and blessing you, even if it’s from above.

It’s now time to test you for the final time. The representative from India shall be the one who wins the national competition day after tomorrow. The nationals will be held in the city of Solaris the day after tomorrow.

The carts leading to Solaris will be leaving in an hour. Your teachers and mentors will also go with you. May the God of Magic bestow you with luck and success!!!”

After the mayor’s address, all of us got out of the complex and saw the carts lined up to go to Solaris. Mineva approached me from behind and asked, “What were you doing yesterday?” “Nothing…” I said, my arm unconsciously reaching for my neck to hide the marks left behind by the stun spells.

She removed my hand and looked at the place before continuing, “I thought we had an agreement that we won’t lie to each other, right?” I felt guilty and apologized, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to lie but…” I looked down and continued, “I was trying to strengthen my magic resistance so that the strongest of the spells won’t penetrate the barrier at point-blank.”

“So, you used the stun spell generator to hit yourself with maximum level stun at contact range.” She asked me as both of us boarded the cart. I nodded in agreement and said, “I had to…That guy has always managed to find a counter to all my strategies and skills. So, I had to find a way to nullify his advantages.”

Mineva laughed and said, “That’s why he gets an upper hand every time. You try to match him the way he is, while he does his best.” I scratched my head unable to grasp the context, “What do you mean? What should I do?”

“For starters, be yourself. You are adept in sneak attacks and ambushes, don’t let them go. Then instead of depending on resistance completely, try to use evasion as well. Most of the supreme and advanced spells are extremely slow, so use them to your advantage and engage in close quarters.”

“But I failed in close quarters. Not to mention that everyone now tries to group up, leaving me mostly as a lone wolf.” I whined and Mineva nodded, “You too know some powerful spells, how come you didn’t use them?” I thought for a while and answered, “Mostly, I didn’t need them and in the fight with Paras, he didn’t give me time to cast one.”

Suddenly, I realized what she was trying to get at. “You mean to say that I shouldn’t give him the time to cast the spell.” I added and she winked giving a tap on my forehead, “Always remember, you’re more brain than brawn. Use that to your advantage.”

It was late in the evening till we reached Solaris and I spent most of the time in the cart strategizing about my course of action in the nationals. The twenty-five contestants were allotted special rooms in another mansion with our mentors, though that was perhaps a special provision for me only.

I worked on the strategy and made a plan for almost every terrain I could imagine. Mineva came to me and closed the notepad I was writing on. “Before you continue, there is something you should know about the nationals!!!”

I wondered what it would be as she continued, “You do know that in the intra-class competitions, the teachers were watching the

match through various transmission crystals that were set to follow each of you.” I nodded in agreement and said, “Yes, you told me that before the intra-class competition and said to ignore it.”

Mineva gave a weak smile, “Well, listen carefully. The nationals are a bit different; this time too, the crystals will follow you but…” I repeated, “…But…” She continued, “But this time, the entire nation will watch you fight. That includes…”

“My family as well…” I said as she paused and she nodded. “I want you to not fall under any kind of pressure and do whatever you do the best and remember you are better at this.” She said while tapping my forehead. “Then wouldn’t it have been better that you hadn’t told me this in the first place,” I said.

“They would tell you this just before the event, so I thought it’d be better to let you help cope up with the stress.” She said, making me release some of the stress and tension I built up. I smiled and assured her, “Don’t worry. I’ll use my brain and come out victorious.”

That night I refused to sleep as I had many things to consider for the grand event but Mineva forcibly put me to rest by using a sleep-inducing spell and kept it constant for the entire night. In the morning, the contestants assembled in a giant hall for breakfast.

It was the first time I had a meal with others so easily. I mostly preferred solitary meals in the room while Rita and Mira would fetch them for me. But there was no such provision for me, so I had to go along. I took a seat in a corner of the hall trying to stay away from the crowd.

A stranger suddenly came in and went to a small podium-like space behind me. “May I have everyone’s attention please!!!” He said and everyone gathered around. I too, stood up growing uncomfortable with the crowd. As everyone finished gathering he continued,

“Congratulations on making it this far. I am your host as long as you stay in Solaris. I am making this announcement that some important rules about the day after tomorrow’s nationals will be tomorrow and tonight there’s a banquet to celebrate your success.

I am looking forward to seeing you there and we can get acquainted with each other. So, we’ll meet tonight.”

Saying this he left the podium. ‘What a weird guy? He didn’t even tell us who he was?’ My thought process didn’t complete as he returned and said, “Oh, sorry. I think I forgot to introduce myself. I am Harsha Silvia, heir and son to Krishna Silvia: the administrator of Solaris.”

Then he finally left and the room was left in clatters. I sat down and continued the breakfast, thinking ‘What is this all about? Is it all for entertainment?’ After quickly coming back to my room, I took a warm and long shower.

I came out to find Mineva waiting. “Never thought, you’ll take much time washing up. What happened?” She said in a teasing tone. “Nah…It’s nothing. Having breakfast with those people gossiping around was difficult and ignoring them was even more tiresome.”

“I see you aren’t good with crowds. Right?” She asked and I replied, “Not necessarily. Actually, I don’t have a good experience with most people so maybe that makes me anxious near others.” Mineva was perhaps impressed by my answer or my ability to divert the topic, her face was awe-lit.

But it returned to normal almost immediately and she asked in a teasing tone, “What’ll you do in the commemorative ceremony tonight?” I thought for a while and replied teasingly, “I’ll have you go in my stead.” Her face flustered, “It’s not funny to tease your mentor.”

“But you’re the only one here who isn’t trying to kill me?” I teased her further but then refrained from continuing as she showed signs of annoyance. “Can’t I skip it?” I asked and she replied, “No. He’s the heir to the administrator. Someone of such prestige is expecting us, so we shouldn’t let him just wait.”

The night came quite soon, and soon I was at the ceremony location. The ceremony was held at a palace located on the outskirts of Solaris. The banquet had more than fifty people apart from the twenty-five contestants.

I went inside as a guard welcomed me, “Thanks for attending, Miss Aadhya.” As I entered, there were a lot of gazes on me. I almost panicked by the attention but managed to calm down; I silently went to a side and watched the event unfold.

My robe was chosen by Mineva as she said I had no sense of clothing. Maybe it was true, I only wore two distinguished sets of clothes: one for battle and the other for anything else. “Grab some sense of clothing. Different events require different sets of clothes.” She said as she told me to put the robe on.

I must admit though, it wasn’t that bad of a robe apart from the attention it is giving me. It was a blue and white dress going to my ankles along with a similarly designed overcoat in navy and light blue. “It’s still far better than the one you were going to wear,” Mineva said smiling as she offered me a drink.

I took the drink and thought of my selected dress – a black kimono-style shirt with bland grey stripes and dull grey pants. “Yeah, now that I think about it. It’s better this way.” I took a sip from the drink.

“This is good. What is it?” I asked her and she replied, “I don’t know. It was the best they had.” The drink was non-alcoholic and tasted like a brawl between spiciness and sweetness. We finished the drink and as I gave the glass to a waiter, a man approached me and Mineva.

“So, you finally found a disciple, Tigress of Choire!!!” The man said to us but I knew that he was clearly referring to Mineva. She laughed uncomfortably, “Yeah, a very strange choice. Won’t you agree, Administrator of Solaris?”

The two bumped fists after this seemingly unofficial greeting. “Tigress of Choire?” I whispered in her ear and she gave a silent sign. The man turned towards me, “You must be really special if you managed to catch her attention.” He let out a hand towards me.

I looked at him for a moment and smiled, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I shook hands with him and he gave a momentary surprise before saying, “You’re good. I see, you’re insight is really special.” He said with a strange smile and he turned towards Mineva, “So, you finally found your image somewhere…”

It seemed though that he wanted to continue but stopped. He moved on and met all the other contestants, many of them falling for his stun spell technique. The spell was very weak and almost undetectable by any means.

Only my suspicion had me put up a weak magic resistance barrier near my palm before shaking. Others didn’t seem to notice the trick; maybe they weren’t suspicious of the gentleman. Mineva put brakes on my thought processing by asking me, “How’d you know that was going to try a stun spell?”

I replied without thinking as I looked at the gentleman going to the podium, “He was too kind. So I got a bit suspicious and used a weak magic resistance barrier.” Mineva’s reaction made me realize the weirdness of the answer, “You were suspicious because he was kind!!!”

I scratched my head and replied, “Yes. Kinda…” We paused our chitchat to listen to his announcement:

“I, Krishna Silvia, welcome all the contestants to this ceremony. This is being held to commemorate them for their successes and it won’t take much longer. So, for tomorrow’s event gentlemen you have my good lucks.”

I tried to restart our conversation when another gentleman arrived and introduced himself formally, “My name is Vikas Hermit and I am interested to be your sponsor for the Wish Game.” I was surprised by the offer but before I could react two more came with similar offers.

The three gentlemen waited for a response after their introductions while I looked at them completely unaware of what they just said. Mineva said, “Excuse me, I think she didn’t get what you’re talking about.” And took me aside, asking “What happened? Why were you frozen?”

I responded, “How was I supposed to respond when I don’t even know what they’re talking about?” Mineva scratched her head in embarrassment and said, “For now, tell them that you’re unable to make a decision and you’ll inform them of it after the nationals.”

I went to the gentlemen and politely convinced them of the situation. The gentlemen, however, seemed to understand the dilemma and gave me one booklet of papers and said, “Just fill whichever you like and give them to your warden. He’ll know what to do.”

I thanked the gentlemen and they left. I sighed in relief when an irritating voice came from a distance. “So, you couldn’t find any sponsors. Maybe a brute like you won’t get any.” It was of a guy who teamed up with Paras in the second competition, but I couldn’t remember his name.

The guy stood in front of me as Mineva left to keep those papers in our room. “Who are you?” I asked him and the guy inflated his

cheeks like a pumpkin. “What do you mean who I am? Don’t you know, I was the one who held you back in the competition?”

He huffed arrogantly, “Sure, a rogue like you don’t know how to address anyone superior or any sponsor.” I tried to remember but failed to remember his name. ‘This is a party; I shouldn’t foil the mood here.’ I thought looking at the cheerful environment.

I ignored him and moved away from the place, mumbling “I don’t want to cause a ruckus here.” I barely moved a few steps when he hit me with a spell. The spell was a weak one and didn’t penetrate the magic resistance barrier that I always keep. But any spell hitting my magic barrier gives violent feedback in my mind and I turned around annoyed.

“What’s your problem, i***t? Are you trying to pick up a fight?” I yelled with a very unladylike manner and this gathered even more attention. “You do know we defeated you before. Shouldn’t you be more humble?” He said summoning a magic circle in his palm.

“You and who?” I stared right into the circle. “You’ll know soon…” He released the spell towards me. I stretched out my right arm into the spell’s flight; it seemed like an intermediate stun spell. If my stunt failed, I’ll be knocked unconscious by the spell.

The spell came towards my hand and hit the palm. I closed my palm into a fist, absorbing the spell within me. I looked back at him, this time he looked nervous, “Are you done with your circus, i***t?” Had I used magic resistance instead of this, the spell would’ve dispersed in all directions.

I turned around and began to move away from the guy amongst the bewildered looks of other people including the administrator himself. I went to another place and tried to enjoy the new attention I gathered. Many sponsors came to me saying that the show of power was amazing.

By the time Mineva came back, I had ten more sponsor requests. She was surprised at that and asked, “How’d you manage to do that?” I was about to reply when that guy came back with Paras. It didn’t take long for Mineva to guess what happened.

“So, the mastermind has finally come…” I taunted Paras who said, “I’ve come to apologize for the fuss he created.” There was a strange level of humility in his attitude that had me suspicious. But because of the people present here, I decided to let it pass. “Keep an eye on your subordinates. They don’t even know what they’re facing.”

The ceremony concluded at midnight and after we returned to our room, Mineva asked me “What are you going to do with these?” She showed the fifteen offers sponsorship that I got there. I asked, “What is this sponsorship deal?”

Mineva sighed realizing that she never told me about that. “Well, to begin with…you must’ve realized that the games are a massive commercial event?” I nodded in affirmative as I knew when she told me that the nationals are going to be broadcast nationwide through transmission crystals.

“So, sponsors are people who’ll take care of your well-being after you go out of the country. They’ll support you financially and manage your events accordingly.” She explained. “What kind of events?” I asked and she thought back for a moment and said, “Like the one today. Events help you get in touch with other competitors. You might get some allies or get to know their fighting style.”

The information was useful but getting fifteen offers meant I had to study each of them and leverage them against others. “Mineva…would you mind getting that one done? I seriously have no idea what I have to do.” I asked timidly, knowing that’s quite rude.

She gave a deep sigh and nodded, “All right but you’ll have to get some rest now. You need to be ready to rock in the nationals.” I responded in affirmative, changed my attire, and went to sleep.

The next day, all of us were called in the giant hall for an important announcement. Within minutes, we were assembled there in a five-by-five file. The administrator of the city came in and gave the news. The news made all of us flinch for a moment.

“The national tournament would be an annihilation type battle instead of the elimination type battles you did in your class competitions. An annihilation match would mean that it won’t end till only one of you is left standing…or rather one of you is left breathing. Good Luck…”

He didn’t leave the room but there was a certain level of truthfulness in his voice, I felt it. “So, it is beginning to get ugly…” I murmured and looked around to find the others sweating and almost afraid, except one other.

He finally went out, and breakfast was served. I took my plate and sat at a table. Though I tried to ignore the gossips but still was intrigued by the chitchat.

“Did you see only that only Aadhya and Paras were unaffected by the information?”

“They are the ones responsible for each and every death. So, it’s natural for them.”

“You shouldn’t call that hitch by her name.”

“Can you even go and do 1% of what she did yesterday?”

It was almost true, out of the 103 people missing in our group; ten were killed while another sixty were maimed for life by me. Paras on the other hand had four kills and twenty maims. The two of us accounted for 94 missing people.

I was the most hated being in the group while Paras was the most loved one. We were polar opposites and were ranked second and first respectively. “Seriously, they’re more worried about our reaction, rather than the fact they’ll have to fight to the death.”

“Are you afraid?” A voice asked and I turned back to find Paras standing there. “What are you doing here?” I asked, and he gave a little smile while pointing back, “Everywhere else is occupied.” I looked about and gave a little sign to proceed.

I could feel the stares and hurried up with the breakfast that contained multi-grain pieces of bread, meat stew, curry, and rice. “I was thinking why you don’t try to socialize a bit. You wouldn’t get so many negative reviews that way.” Paras began trying to stoke a conversation.

“Man, you are such a creep!!! Is this another of your flirtatious attempts to get an opening?” I asked and he immediately switched to defense, “You’re insulting my talent if you believe I said all this to get an opening in combat.”

I finished my breakfast and got up, “Say whatever you want. Tomorrow I am going to rip out your heart with my own hands, so make sure you don’t get killed before that.” Giving this last piece of advice, I prepared to leave when he said in an equally serious tone, “Make sure you live to do that.”