Emilia's B rank Exam: Earn their respect!

At the Ace of Spades Mashyuu was handed a letter by a lower ranking Wizard, the paper was a plane white and the words written in blood. The brown haired Wizard started to laugh as he read the note. Of course she would write it in blood. Emilia, a Wizard of Sabertooth had finally made it, she could start her B rank Exam but needed an Ace to oversee it.This sort of job normally fell to the Guild Master but with Fred dealing with the Search for Hika, Mashyuu figured he could do it. He took the note back to his room and produced a darker toned sheet of parchment and a pen and started to jot down a note for Emi. After words he got to work on setting up the exam. That note read as follows:

-Emi, It's about time you caught up to me. Consider your exam starting. Go to Thunder Island, there you will be set on a path where your test will begin. As I understand it you will be leaving Sabertooth soon to do what you seem born to do, lead. Well you cant lead without followers and as such I have arranged for a group of men and women to test your skills and push you to what I hope will be your limits. It cost me a lot of Jewel.... They agreed to work for you and show loyalty should you defeat each of them. Good luck, you will know them when you see them and I'll be there at the end to see you off.
Mashyuu-

Details of your test:

Sinbad:

Maria:

Donnie :

Jane:

Orion:

Each fight must be at least 350 words long. These fights can be done in a single post or spread out in five. At the end of the Exam Mashyuu is waiting with a boat to take Emi home.

Emilia had received a notice in regards to her exam not long after she had submitted her request for one. She was somewhat annoyed by the fact that everyone else's magic seemed to progress rapidly, while hers remained far more static. Still, at least she knew that she was far superior in martial skill than most others were in magical. It seemed that Mashyuu had caught winds of her plan to leave and reform the Union and had recruited some mercs to work with her, provided she could defeat them. She grinned as she read the message. It seemed it would be time to put her new magic and equipment to the test. Gathering her things, she arranged transport to Thunder Island, making sure to stay below deck until it was time for the ship to land. As the ship approached the beach, the red-clad warrior stepped out on deck, her armor completely covering her body aside from her face as the mask to the helmet was flipped up. On her left hip sat her blade, Reaver, in the form of a broadsword. On her left lie Trauma, and on her back, the spear Valkyrie.

She climbed up onto the railing on the edge of the ship and jumped off, landing on the sand. The force of her landing left a small crater around her, causing a grin of satisfaction to arise on Emi's face. She walked onwards down the path. The island, of course, was suitably named, as it was plagued with constant storms with frequent lightning strikes. The rumble of thunder was near constant as she progressed down the path, waiting for her first encounter to come. It wasn't long before she saw a young man waiting for her in a rocky outcropping to provide some shelter from the rain. She noted that he carried five swords on his belt and chuckled.

"You compensatin' for somethin'? Or do you just have a bad habit of dropping your weapon?" She teased as she lowered the visor on her helm and drew her blade. She could feel its thirst for blood through the handle. She would have to be careful to hold herself back and not go for the kill. "Come on then, show me what you can do." She said, her voice distorted magically by the helmet. "Your lack of armor indicates either skill, or stupidity." She said, starting to walk towards him. Sinbad waited until she was close before performing an iaijutsu technique, quick-drawing his electrically enchanted sword and taking a swing at Emilia. Gripping her blade in both hands, Emi decided to mess with the kid. She swung at his sword, meeting its blade with the edge of her own. Unfortunately, Sinbad's weapon of choice was the katana, a weapon designed to cut through flesh and lighter armor, not a sturdy broadsword designed to withstand heavy abuse of parrying, stabbing through heavy armor, and even being turned around to be used as a club. The kid's sword stood no chance, bending such that the normal backwards curve was now forwards, effectively ruining the blade. Furthermore, Emi followed through on her swing, ripping the electrically charged blade out of Sinbad's hands and sending it flying through the air. Behind the visor, Emilia grinned, though it was invisible to her opponent. She followed up her disarming attack with a slash from Reaver, giving Sinbad a formidable gash across the chest before stepping up and punching him in the stomach, throwing him back a few feet. He quickly recovered, finding his feet again.

"You'll have to do better than a simple quick draw to hurt me." She said scathingly. "It seems I have to see if you're worthy to fight for me" Sinbad snarled and grunted before drawing another of his katanas. Emilia bull-rushed him, taking a hit from the fiery blade, but continued on to collide with him with a rather sickening crunch. She lifted the arm underneath him, picking him up into the air and setting off a Force Pulse, launching him further up into the air. He twisted in the air, swinging at her again, only to be parried, but this time she didn't destroy his weapon, at least. He landed on his feet and drew another katana and swing a flurry of blows. Emilia was able to parry some, but not all of the attacks. Still, she wasn't too bad for wear. He swung his katanas at her again. Emi ducked under one and blocked the other before stepping up and headbutting her opponent in the chest, sending him staggering back a few steps. She followed up with a vertical slice from Reaver, carving another painful gash across her opponent's chest. As he hit the ground, her sword plunged into the ground right next to his throat. "Do you yield?" She asked.

Sinbad was trembling a bit by now as he looked at the sword plunged into the ground just beside his neck. He nodded. "Good. You fought... well enough." She said before picking up her blade and continuing on down the path.

((Fight 1 completed))

(Looks good so far, keep it up!)

Emilia was continuing down the path on the island, wary of other challengers when she heard a whistle in the air. She was barely able to react fast enough to create a shield using Juggernaut and block two shurikens flying towards her. The small projectiles bounced off the heater shield harmlessly. There was a small poof before she heard the jingling of a chain and noticed the flash of light off of it as it came hurtling towards her. Raising her shield again, she blocked it, deflecting it to the side, onto the ground before stepping on it. It was spiked, but the ground was far easier for the chain to sink into than her armored foot, which it did, leaving her foot fine. She looked at her assailant, analyzing her. She was lightly armored, holding a few shurikens in one hand, and the end of her spiked chain in the other. The shurikens would probably not work too well on Emi, but the chain might, depending on how well this woman knew how to use it. She took a few steps towards the woman before she teleported again. Emilia just sighed, people like these were always annoying to fight. She knew them well. Her mother was one such combatant.

Emilia inhaled, catching the scent of her opponent behind her. She turned to face the woman, raising her shield to deflect another volly of shurikens. She ran at the woman again. She knew that this Maria would run out of magic power eventually, teleporting as often as she did. Emilia, on the other hand, wasn't using any, and shurikens really didn't do much when striking a metal shield. Another teleport and another charge to no avail. "You're not going to hurt me with those." She said, not even bothering to block one of them as it bounced off of her chest plate. "Good throws, but not enough power behind them. These attacks are pointless. How about you show me what you can do with that chain." She said. Maria spat at her. "You little cowardly bastard, why don't you get out of that shell?" She called out, spinning her chain.

Emi couldn't help but grin at that. She opened the visor a bit to speak without altering her voice. "Bitch, actually." Her lips were barely visible under the visor as she grinned before dropping it into place once more. Her shield disappeared, melding back into her armor. Maria gnashed her teeth and swung the chain, making two strikes at Emilia. She sidestepped the first, deflecting it with her sword at the same time. As the chain came back around, she caught it. The chains stuck into her hands a bit, but she ignored them. Lightning struck the chain, shocking both combatants. Emilia gritted her teeth and powered through the strike, yanking on the chain, using her impressive strength to pull Maria to her. While painful, the shock worked to Emi's advantage, forcing Maria's muscles to contract, giving her a momentary death grip on the chain and disrupting her focus enough that she couldn't teleport. Emi dropped her sword, she wouldn't even need it to finish this woman off. As Maria came soaring through the air towards her, she slammed her face into the woman's jaw, letting out an impressive crack. Her legs continued through the air, but her upper half was brought to a halt. Maria was still mid-air as Emi grabbed her by the collar and twisted around, swinging the lighter woman up over her head, building up considerable momentum before she was slammed down onto the ground. The wind was forced from her lungs, along with a bit of bile from her stomach. She was left gasping, unable to take in air as her diaphragm was temporarily paralyzed. "Not much endurance in you, but you could prove useful in the future." She said, placing a foot on the woman's chest, applying enough pressure to hold her down, but not actually harm her. "Provided you yield, of course, or must I pummel you more?" She asked. After a few seconds of gasping and taking in shallow breaths, Maria was able to squeak out "I yield" "Good. Onto the next challenge, it seems." Said Emilia as she picked up her sword and walked off, shaking the hand that had been stabbed by the chain a bit.

((Second fight complete))

Emilia traversed the path further to be greeted by a large muscular man. She drew her blade, twirling it. "And soon I will have three." She said. Donnie raised his hand, indicating for her to halt. "You must be good with your sword and armor. Looks like you've barely been scratched." He grinned, "But I want to see what you can do without that." Emilia stopped and tossed her sword up in the air, catching it with the blade facing downwards before stabbing it into the ground. She started to take off her helmet. "Hmph, seems fair enough." The distortion on her voice disappeared as she removed the helmet. She dropped it on the ground next to her. Donnie watched her remove her armor. "I imagined you... bigger." Emilia grinned at him. "Size doesn't matter that much. You're about to learn that." She said, removing the last bits of her armor, leaving only the padding she wore underneath. She rolled her shoulders and hopped about on her toes. "Come on then, show me what ya' got, big boy."

He stepped up to her, swinging a massive fist at her that she was easily able to duck under. She gave him a good one-two in the ribs before moving back. He had reach on her, and strength, but she was noticeably faster. He came at her again, but this time she didn't just dodge. She grabbed his arm, throwing him to the ground. He rolled with the momentum and rose up back to his feet. "Looks like you know your stuff." "The hell I do."

She went on the offensive now, throwing several punches and kicks. He avoided one and blocked the others, but Emilia had moved back by the time he was ready to strike. "I think it's time I really show you what I can do." He said before he rushed forward with a flurry of blows. She blocked a few, but still several jabs landed on her, though oddly enough they didn't have much power behind them. She managed to take hold of his arm again, pinning it under hers and delivering one kick to his chest, releasing at just the right moment to send him flying back. "You floated like a butterfly, but you forgot how to sting like a bee." She said as he started to rise, letting out a bit of a chuckle. "Enjoy your taunting while you can. You're already dead." Emilia cocked an eyebrow at her opponent who had barely touched her before she suddenly felt pain rack her body as she felt like she was struck with several massive blows to her body. She tensed for a moment in pain, looking straight down at the ground. Her hair covered her face now.

She simply stood there for a moment, to Donnie's confusion, before letting out a somewhat maniacal laugh. "Already dead eh? Well, good thing that's never stopped me before." She looked up at him, her eyes glowing a pale blue, her face looking withered like that of a corpse. A look of worry appeared on his face as she rushed in faster than he could respond. She landed three punches to his stomach. He tried to swing at her, but she simply grabbed his arm again, twisting it this time until she heard a snap. She spun and threw him, letting out a force pulse to launch him even further into the air before she leaped up, and with another explosion, propelled herself after him. Her feet smacked into his chest, driving both of them further upwards into the air. She purposefully aimed slightly to his right side, causing them to rotate such that she was now atop him. She adjusted her position such that she was just over his stomach as they reached the top of their arc. With another explosion of force, Emilia fired herself straight downwards into his gut, forcefully driving the air from his lungs as she launched him downwards into the ground at high velocity. Now about 30 feet straight above him, she moved to have her back facing the ground as she began to fall towards the stunned man who had already hit the ground. Her arm glowed a soft blue as she made her plunge, elbow dropping this man from 30 feet up with an elbow further empowered by force magic. Donnie stood little chance as her elbow collided with his upper sternum and collarbones, severely fracturing them. She rose to her feet now, Donnie was still lying there, gasping for breath. He managed to force out three words before losing consciousness. "Damn, you're good."

Emilia chuckled and picked up her armor, putting it back on. She had become so familiar with it that she was capable of donning and removing it with relative ease, given the type of armor it was. With the bigger bits attached once more, she was able to move while putting on the remaining pieces, after picking up and sheathing Reaver of course. She had hurt Donnie quite a bit more than the others, thankfully he could take it. Her breaking him allowed her to heal for a good portion of the damage he had inflicted on her. Still, she was left looking somewhat hollow after that fight. She would have to fix it with her upcoming opponents, she decided, as she donned her helmet and secured it, ready for the next fight.

((Third fight completed))

Emi had reached a more wooded area of the island as she continued along her journey, the rain soaking her through her armor, though she barely noticed it. Her eyes glowed more softly after she defeated Donnie, sapping some of his life force to somewhat return to her more living state, but she was still partially hollowed by the injuries she had sustained. There was a crack of thunder as lightning struck nearby. Something struck Emilia's helmet hard, snapping her head to the side with the impact. It hurt, for sure, but at least her helmet stopped it from ripping straight through her head. That would've been more unpleasant, though, not nearly as lethal as one would normally think. She looked in the direction she had felt the impact and caught a flash of movement. A sniper. Now this one could certainly be useful to her, even if their direct combat skills weren't as good as her own. Still, stealth wouldn't work too well against Emi. At least, not stealth from anything with blood in it.

She inhaled deeply through her nose, catching a whiff of the sniper's blood. "You can't hide from me." She said jogging in the direction of the sniper. Another crack of thunder made Emilia duck as a bullet when whizzing over her. "I will simply sniff you out like the hound does the fox." She said, continuing her advanced. She heard the woman rush off to another area. Her scent trail followed behind shortly after. A few more shots were fired off during the pursuit. The sniper didn't even try for stealth as it was obvious Emilia didn't need to track her by sound. Emilia was close now. The last time the sniper ran she had gotten a good glimpse of her. The red warrior drew her spear now, putting away Reaver as she made her final approach. When the sniper went to dart away again, Emilia aimed the spear. With a snap the blade of the spear fired out, spiking the sniper in the leg, bringing her down. Emilia walked casually over to her, lifting the mask of her helm. She kicked away the rifle and grinned down at her opponent. "I have to say, you're pretty good."

"Not good enough it seems. How did you find me?"

Emilia chuckled and tapped her own nose. "The nose knows." She said before heading off down the path. If the girl couldn't handle getting off this island with that spear tip in her leg, she wasn't useful, but she seemed resourceful enough. Now it was time to get this over with.

((Fourth fight done))

Emilia lowered her visor again as she continued down the path. Soon, caught site of her final opponent and grinned beneath the helm. She had never met this man, but she knew of him. He was an accomplished merc and bounty hunter. He would definitely be able to help get the slackers on the team into shape. Drawing her sword, she didn't stop for any pleasantries or taunts. There was no need for them. She simply rushed headlong into battle. He drew his two pistols and fired at her. She sidestepped mid charge to avoid one, but the other caught her on the chest. He drew his sword and swung at Emilia as she simply ran into him full speed, with her full weight of 400lbs. Needless to say, he was somewhat taken by surprise by this tactic, even moreso when his attack simply stopped dead on contact with his enemy. There was nothing he could do to stop the armored warrior from slamming straight into him. As Emilia slammed into him, she unleashed the force of his own attack that she had absorbed against him. For good measure, she also fired off a Force Pulse. The impact was more than enough to send her opponent flying backwards. She swung her sword at him. It glowed blue as she charged it with additional force.

She cut a descent gash across Orion's stomach as he flew through the air. He was launched back a fair distance, but managed to land on his feet. He drew his pistols again, firing once more as Emilia rushed in again, the Reaver emanating a sanguine glow. As she reached him, he drew his sword and swung again, but Emilia blocked his sword with her own, powering through his attack to still cut him with the sword. The wound began to bleed significantly more than it should, and the blood seemed to soak in the blood that was spilled. More clashes of blades as they traded hits. Emilia took another few. The strikes were significant, causing her body to hollow even more, the glow glowing brighter, but she wouldn't be defeated so easily. For every strike she landed, she healed herself, sapping the life from her opponent by her very nature, her sword only assisting in the matter even further.

By now, Orion was bleeding profusely, Reaver's magic compelling the blood to pump out faster than normal. Emilia let out a sinister laugh as her opponent began to slow down from blood loss. He was on the defensive now, not able to get in attacks between Emilia's. He parried two of her blows, but a third sent his sword flying out of his weakened hands. He reached for his guns, but Emilia dropped her sword, reaching for his hands and taking hold of them. She was already stronger than the man, and his blood loss only served to exaggerate that fact. She pulled him towards her, headbutting him in the face, knocking him down before planting a foot on his chest. "Damn..." He let out weakly. "What are you?"

Emilia smiled, but kept her visor down. "Human enough." She said, taking her foot of her defeated opponent as he lost consciousness. "Now... let's find Mashyuu." She said, striding off to the end of the path where she was told the kid would be waiting for her.

((Aaaand done))

Mashyuu stood at the shore of the isle a small ship waiting behind him with his stone Gargoyle Rocky at his side. As Emi came closer Mashyuu smiled and waved her down. He walked up to the soldier and clasped her forearm with his hand, a military handshake. "Took you longer than I expected, still a fine job. Congratulations on passing your B rank Exam Emilia." Mashyuu's voice wavered for a moment while he searched for the words he wanted to say. "If you're really leaving I won't stop you. But I wish you would reconsider. Sabertooth needs Wizards and people like you. Either way...those men and women back there have sworn to help you with your dream. Good luck to you Emi. I hope to see you back at the guild house and that ship there, it will take you wherever you need to go." Mashyuu gave his friend a heavy hug and took a step back, allowing Rocky to grab Mashyuu and take off into the sky, leaving the new B rank Wizard to her thoughts.

(Congrats! You have achieved B rank!)