The Fire King || Ardere's A-Rank Exam

Giving a slight bow to his guild master, Ardere tightened his headband. Sorry to keep you waiting. Awaiting her instructions, he watched as wind began to swirl around the tower. It felt as if a hurricane was occurring in the area, his hair and cloak flapping intensely in the wind. Something was being summoned, he could feel the presence as it got closer. Standing behind his guild master as some large orange figure appeared, a bit of fear jarred through his veins. It felt as if every vein in his body jolted, and throbbed from the sheer shock. Widening his eyes a bit, it was a giant snake. Frozen for a moment, he seemed out of it barely hearing what his guild master said. Yeah yeah, see you on the other side. As she disappeared he drew his shining red blade. Gritting his teeth, a black aura burst around his body as the ground beneath him cracked from the force he was putting into it. It had to be a snake. Kuso ttare! Cursing loudly in his native tongue, he would leap backwards as the massive beast struck down towards him. He was quite fast for a mage of his rank, easily out running most other mages of his rank, but he barely moved out of the way from this snake. It seemed to be testing him, stalking him like prey. Unfortunately even with fear pulsing through his veins, the fire mage would not be prey today. Looking down at the ground, he saw a massive hole that lead down to the next level in the tower. Gazing into the piercing eyes of the snake, he gritted his teeth. You can eat it you scaly bastard! Sliding down into the hole, he narrowly dodged a bite from the massive serpent. What irked him most was the fact that this thing could fly, a flying snake. It certainly was just his luck that he would encounter a snake wasn't it? Ever since he was eight years old, he had been afraid of snakes.

When he was young and still with the bandit guild, living in Midi, the fire mage was bitten by a snake. The snake was not poisonous, in fact it was the kind that would strangle and eat him. Luckily his best friend had come to the rescue, and saved him from the snake. If that had not occurred, Ardere might not be here anymore. He had made it to this point, and he had been saved for a reason. There was only one way to survive this, and that was to revoke his fears. No, not to revoke them. He had to accept his fear and overcome it. Still shaking from the sight of the massive snake, he took a deep breath. Tentacles burst through the walls attempting to hit him, dodging the tentacles, he knew the snake could not see him through the wall. Lifting up his sword and bring it back down, green blood spurt across the floor as he chopped one of the tentacles off. Gritting his teeth, he pressed his hand on the wall. Flame God's RAGNAROK! Transferring black fiery energy from his god slayer magic into the wall, the wall began to turn black as more tentacles came through it. Causing a massive explosion to occur from the wall outwards, thick black flames and rubble burst out, hitting the snake directly in the fact as it was quite close to the wall. Luckily not only would his enhanced flames deal damage, as the flame tattoos appeared on his face, but the rubble as well. His tattoos used to be permanent, but he had decided against that and had them changed as such to only appear during battle. Glowing red flames across his face, to his neck, to his right pectoral. Ardere stared out towards the snake as several of it's tentacles had been severed, burnt by the flames a bit and hit by the rubble, it did not seemed heavily damage, but rather slightly damage and significantly pissed off. Staring into the snake's eyes, he seemed lost in thought. Flashes from his childhood occurred as a tentacle wrapped around his body. Squeezing tight, he could feel his muscles and bones constrict. No. No. NO! Yelling out at the snake, the blade in his hand burst into flames. The flames on his blade expanding to be wide enough to catch the entire tentacle, causing it's grip to be loosened. Slicing right through the tentacle with not only his physical blade, but the flames as well. Severing the tentacle, green blood spattered across the floor as he fell back down to it. The constriction had hurt, but he was far from done in this battle. His massive flame blade was long enough to prompt a hiss and screech from the snake as tentacles soared towards him. He knew he was not fast enough to dodge them or continuously cut them, so he held his blade in front of himself. Twirling it as fast as he could, his increased speed was enough to make a fan of flames. The red fan of flames deflecting the tentacles for a few moments, he was knocked backwards across the floor.

Tumbling across the floor, he fell through a hole made by the tentacles. Letting out a slight yelp, he slid down the hole onto the stairs. Tumbling down the stairs, he quickly regained his balance. For the moment, it seemed he was safe from the beast. Then, he heard the cracking and hissing. The beast had maneuvered itself through the hole he made from the spell, and tentacles came rushing down the hall of stairs. It was frightening to see the yellow tentacles come down the hall, and that was his source of motivation. The pure adrenaline pulsing through his veins was enough to get him moving. Sliding down the stairs, he found himself on the next level. It was an ancient library of sorts, perfect for him to move around in. Unfortunately the massive flame blade in his hands was a dead giveaway, but he came up with an idea. Running his blade atop the ancient shelves, it lit them all on fire. Dashing through the flames, he hid behind one of the shelves. His flame blade hard to see amidst the flames surrounding the area, it would be hard for the snake to tell where he was. He heard hissing, loud and frightening. Breathing heavily, he put a hand over his mouth. The snake could not move much due to the flames, but it spread tentacles out across through the aisles. Tentacles passing him, he stopped breathing for a moment. It was like some scene out of a horror movie, and he was the protagonist. A tentacle was getting closer, and he knew it was time to be the man and Samurai he was. Bursting from the shelves, using the flames as a guise, he struck the snake repeatedly with his gargantuan sword of kings. The flames repeatedly hitting the snake, it hissed and pushed him back with it's tentacles. Blocking with his blade, he flew through the flames. Luckily he was resistant to his own flames, but his clothes weren't. Patting out the flames, he was a ways away from the snake that was now slithering towards him. Kuso. He had to go for it, it was risky, but he had to do it. Running away from the snake, and towards the wall, he whistled loudly. CELICAAA Yelling the name of his companion as he ran, he dove out the window. Falling through the air for a moment, everything seemed to move in slow motion. He felt the free fall and fear running through his veins with tentacles right behind him, until he landed on the back of his phoenix. Gripping her collar tightly, the fire mage held his massive flame sword away from her as she soared away from the massive snake. I'm always saving you aren't I? Rather than retorting, he looked back to see what his enemy was doing.

Cracking and splitting apart, he saw the massive snake beast burst through the wall. Rubble shooting across the area, tentacles and all it burst through the tower. Taking to the air, the beast hissed and screeched. What in the hell is that?! Narrowing his eyes at the beast, it obviously did not like the presence of his phoenix. It's the enemy, now let's get rid of it partner. Celica soaring upwards, she was above the snake. Ardere looked down at it, and chose to jump, falling downwards the snake with his massive flame blade. His phoenix would circle back around the tower to get out of view of the snake, while her owner was falling towards the snake. Slashing at it's tentacles, he landed with his blade piercing the snake's thick hide. Screeching and hissing, it could not bite him from this angle, thus it sent what remaining tentacles it had at him. Twirling his blade around, battered a bit by the tentacles, he swung his blade around, then quickly repierced the snake's hide as it tried to shake him off rapidly. It was at about this time that his phoenix partner crashed into the snake, repeatedly burning and tearing at it with her claws. The snake screeching and flailing what little tentacles it had, was gushing green blood all over the place. It swiftly and surely moved back to the platform of the temple to try and crash the mage into it. He leaped off of the snake and rolled across the platform to soften his landing, unfortunately the tentacles hit his phoenix repeatedly, prompting her to fly away. Don't hurt my friend! While the snake beast was preoccupied by attacking his phoenix, a memory shot through his mind. His best friend telling him where the heart of a snake was, and he instinctively pierced his blade between the thick scales. Piercing the flesh of the snake, his blade was not long enough to hit the heart, but his flames gushed throughout the snake's insides, burning them. Screeching and hissing in pain, the snake let go of his phoenix as it moved on to the next world. A flash of light, and the serpent was gone. Panting and covered in bruises, Ardere found himself upon a gem. Celica, this fight isn't for you. Thank you my best friend, but I gotta do this one on my own. The injured phoenix nodded. Don't get yourself killed. Smiling with a bruised smile, the fire mage grabbed the gem. Appearing in a dense forest, the sensation of being teleported across space made him feel a bit uneasy. Shaking his head and rubbing it, he looked off in the distance. He could see Hikari standing off in the distance, near some sort of entrance. Rushing over, it was obvious he had a rough time with the snake, covered in bruises. What's next boss?

Word Count: 1,827/1,500

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Last edited by Hikachu on 24th September 2015, 9:39 pm; edited 1 time in total