Twist of Fate

Chapter 22: Round Two

The stage for the second round was decided seconds after Tenran declared his challenge. Our dear Headmaster Kaelon had a suspiciously ecstatic smirk on his face as he called everyone to attention. Even Seíren had a strange look of apprehension when the Headmaster announced he'd need a few more minutes to prepare for the next stage.

  "Where in the world is he going to have us go now?" Kei mumble. He even sounded exasperated over the Headmaster.

  There were four diverse terrains of nearly equal expanse that the tournament would occur in this year. I'd seen them all first hand when I first arrived in Palej. The first was the Barren Field, which had already been used, so it was out. The other three terrains were the Carnivorous Forest, the Raging Plains, and, the least exaggeratedly named, the Rainylands. The Carnivorous Forest in the south, Raging Plains in the north, and the Rainylands in the east.

  The Barren Field, in the west, was the hottest and hardest land to be in for extended periods of time, but it wasn't the worst terrain to battle in. All the terrains were difficult to live in, but they were all different, providing many challenges that could either make of break you.

  "I've decided!" Headmaster Kaelon suddenly said, voice echoing loudly around us. "The stage for the second round will be..." He paused dramatically. "The Carnivorous Forest!"

  Our spectators went wild at that. The Carnivorous Forest was almost exactly what it sounded like. It was a forest that devoured whatever dared enter it. Metaphorically speaking that is...in most cases. The forest was a cluster —a sea more like it— of thousands of huge trees that shelter thousands of species of animals. Mythical and ordinary. The forest itself was huge, so there was lots of hidden and hard to spot places that'd be good to have a match in. But there were problems as well. The forest was too big. It hadn't even been entirely searched through by the Headmaster.

  The Carnivorous Forest was, by far, too dangerous a place for students to battle, but this was a tournament, it had to be dangerous. Because it was possibly too much of a risk to the students, Headmaster Kaelon prepared extra measures to ensure safety and his entertainment.

  During the time before the second round commenced, the Headmaster sent out instructors to clear the area we would be battling of "highly dangerous" creatures and sent out four more oculus, creating four more dust screens that showed the entirety of the Carnivorous Forest. I saw the complete expanse of the forest for the first time and was stunned by how similar it truly was to a tropical rainforest back on Earth.

  "Oh, boy," I moaned under my breath.

  "Afraid?" Rolen asked, arching a brow inquistively, a hint of a smirk appearing.

  "Don't patronize me," I half-snapped and his smirk widened. "I've never been anywhere like that before."

  "I'm not surprised," Rolen said. "The Carnivorous Forest is the only one of its kind in the world. It's sort of like the Forest of Snow in terms of strangeness."

  I felt my eyes narrow involuntarily. The Forest of Snow? I hadn't heard that name in a while. The Forest of Snow was the place I'd first arrived in this world. A forest of golden trees and snow white grass. A very majestic and strange forest indeed, especially since it was the place where the legend prophesied of my coming.

  "I'll be of even less use than in the Barren Field," I commented dully.

  Rolen laughed. "If you say that, you probably will be of no use."

  I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. "What's that supposed to mean?"

  Rolen sighed. "I mean, if you believe you can't do something, you can't. A person's mind is a very strong thing when you think about it. Just by believing, you can do most of things you set out to do."