Compared to the other buildings on the street, the Hunter's building was simply far busier. And it made sense, given how much of a hub it seemed to be for many people. But… knowing this didn't stop Suna from cursing in her mind as she squirmed between groups of well-equipped hunters, who were, of course, all multiple inches taller than her at the very least. She felt if a dangerous situation were to arise, she'd be helplessly consumed by the crowd, which she was willingly wading through at this moment.
The deeper interiors of the building were thankfully quite spacious; she wasn't being squeezed, but she still struggled to make out any accommodations or staff. She felt like she was caught in a river, as those behind her started to gravitate towards their destinations. Everyone knew this place… except her. Suna gulped. She had underestimated this place.
She ended up waiting in a line, one of many, its purpose a complete mystery to her. She hoped it was a general line, but she was worried she'd have to wait awhile just to be told to wait in another line. So she worried. She looked around her. Maybe the people in this line were visibly different than those in the other lines? Maybe there was some clue somewhere. She couldn't really tell – the people were simply too varied, and she couldn't see very much due to the crowd's density. She wore a worried frown.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
Suna immediately reacted to the comment she calculated was directed at her. It was a young woman, her high ponytail swaying as she had just bent down to talk at Suna's level.
"O-Oh, um, uh…"
"Are you lost?" The young lady queried gently, and patiently.
"Um…" The people here are too nice! She resisted the urge to dart out of this building. "Um, yes." Suna barely squeaked out her affirmation, which was practically inaudible amidst the surrounding babble. But the lady understood Suna's intention, and pat her on the head.
"That's okay, what is it you're looking for?" The line moved, so they awkwardly shifted their positions.
"The, um, I was, looking to get an evaluation." Suna gazed to the side.
"Oh, those are in the back. The lettered evaluations are going on right now, you don't wanna miss it! Otherwise you have to wait a whole week! Here," The lady placed her arms under Suna's armpits and lifted the small girl above her head, oblivious to her surprised and panicked cries. "You see that big hallway there, on the right?" The lady lowered her back down onto the ground, Suna almost about to cry. "You take that to the back of the building, and there's an open area in the back. They should be happening now, out there. Got it?" The lady's smile… it was clear. She had derived pleasure from picking her up. But Suna hadn't the composure to voice her objections of her mistreatment, only being able to somewhat convey a semblance of a nod with her head. The lady's smiled widened, and she pat her on the head again. I-I'm not a kid! She kept this thought to herself as she walked away from the lady, who seemed to be basking in a joy that she relayed to her companions. H-How dare she! Suna pouted.
She followed the simple directions, passing by various kinds of rooms, a stairwell, and some facilities. She saw other people, kitted with standard weaponry, but also things she had never seen before. Unusual garments she couldn't comprehend, tools and bottles with unknown purposes; some even wore or carried really outlandish objects that bent at weird angles and made weird shapes, or in one case, even floated. She remembered the mystical enchantments of the very robe she was wearing, it was clear their extent was far more than a few simple effects. She was a bit curious, how all these things worked. Perhaps it was rather important for her to be knowledgeable about such things, they could become critical to her survival at some point. So she felt completely justified in granting herself an indulgent, extended visit to the library. Wait. I… I can't read. Suna could barely hide the dismay on her face, as she walked through a clear doorway, one exiting the building.
She walked up a couple steps of the modestly-sized, outdoor semi-amphitheater, and she sat down. There was what seemed to be an instructor sparring with a hunter. Just off a few glances… she wasn't very interested. The hunter seemed to be of a similar caliber to the ones she rescued in passing. His movements seemed uncoordinated, his intentions laid bare, and he exuded an overall sense of panic and stress, resulting in a sort of clunky, haphazard sense of conduct. It was no surprise that the instructor experienced no difficulty when maneuvering around his thrusts and the occasional basic spell. After a certain time passed, the instructor stopped the spar.
"You're usage of spells is commendable," Commendable!? ", and your thrusts have decent weight and speed." Suna rolled her eyes. "I'd say you're biggest priority is to work on your footwork. You're body needs to be centered at all times – if you're unbalanced when you face retaliation, you'll be knocked over, like earlier." The recipient listened to the advice earnestly, nodding his head. "So, if you build a strong fundamental base for your movement, you'll not only move faster but you'll be less telegraphed. Try and observe others, how they move, especially the movement of their feet. Any questions?"
The young swordsman with blonde hair caught his breath, before bowing. "Thank you!" The instructor gave a nod of his head, and gave him a slip of sorts, before yelling, "Next!"
No one seemed to respond, or move in response to the instructor's shout. He pulled out a sort of device from his pocket, and walked to the edge of the arena. "Bronze eval is in 15 minutes, but we can start early, if no one comes down." He walked over to a seat off the arena, drinking from a bottle of water.
It was… likely her turn. She didn't want to miss out and be forced to wait an entire week just to make money. That was not an option. But, there was undeniably a part of her that wished to simply return to the forest, away from all of these uncertain things. She realized, she was going to be judged, in the same harsh way she had judged that blonde swordsman. She wasn't sensitive about her combat capabilities, but having so many eyes on her, all on her… it made her uncomfortable, and worried. But, not wanting to waste a whole week for no good reason, she stood up, and jumped down the large steps, one by one.
She reached the center, garnering the attention of the instructor. He was a fit man with light skin and dark hair. He ruffled a hand through his hair, glistening with a faint amount of sweat, and started walking back onto the stage, towards Suna.
"Your card." Suna handed him her Hunter's Card, which she pulled from her pack. It was a sturdy-seeming card, made of a smooth, light material, one which was handed to her as she finished registering in New Vall. The instructor gave it a glance, before handing it back. "I see this is your first evaluation, Suna. I doubt you need to be told, but Hunting is a serious occupation, one with a lot of incurred risk. People die." He looked at Suna, who seemed small and fragile. She looked back, resolve in her eyes. "Haha, good, glad to see you're serious about it. Well, before we get started, can you tell me how many spells you can use in combat?"
…Um.
Suna looked to the side, away from the instructor. She stayed silent.
The instructor wagered an uncertain guess. "Uhhh, none?"
Suna gave no response.
The instructor was a bit baffled. "...I mean, uh… don't you think you should learn at least, like, one spell, before becoming a Hunter?"
Suna thought about adjusting her answer to 'one', but she knew. She couldn't replicate that spell right now no matter how desperately she wanted to, so she saved herself the embarrassment.
"Sigh, well, alright, but just know that's going to affect my evaluation, alright? Spells are versatile and virtually everyone has a set they rely on, one which compliments their strengths and weaknesses. They're very important to our survival, and for helping others in a variety of situations. You shouldn't neglect them, you know?"
Suna looked at the instructor, trying to signal that she was ready to get on with the evaluation.
"...Sigh, alright, we can start now. I'll give you a maximum of 3 minutes, so show me what you've got." He readied himself. "Alright, whenever you're ready."
Immediately, Suna dashed low to the ground, making a beeline for the instructor.
But he started waving his hands in front of himself. "Wait, Wait! Stop! Stop!" Suna came to a halt.
"You, you're not, like, pranking me or something, right?" He looked incredulously at Suna, who was confused by the situation. "Like, one spell? You don't know one spell? Yet you're this strong?" He laughed to himself, as if the situation was simply ridiculous. Suna didn't know how to respond.
"Haha, alright, here you go." He extended a slip. Suna walked up and took it. "Show that referral to the Silver evaluator, those start at 4:00. They'll probably give you Gold. Sorry for the lecture, you clearly know what you're doing."
Suna was confused. "Why'd you stop the evaluation?"
"Hm? Because it wouldn't make sense for me to evaluate you if I wasn't at least a certain, definite amount stronger than you." Suna noticed. The eyes of the people sitting down. They were all on her. But, all I did was run, though?
"Anyways, I'm gonna start the Bronze evaluation, come back in a couple hours and you can get a proper evaluation."
After giving a slight bow to the instructor, Suna walked back to the bare steps of the amphitheater. She tried her best to ignore the glances and gazes thrown her way. She didn't really understand what just happened, but she'd have to wait, it seemed. She absentmindedly spectated the evaluations that unfolded in the arena, not impressed or surprised by anything she saw. She thought back to the eye-catching gadgets and weapons, wondering how they could possibly work or function. Unfortunately, no one present seemed to possess anything like that, only bearing simple weaponry and conjuring relatively basic spells. Sigh. Suna looked up at the sky, at the Sun, and the time passed by.
She was bored. Most of the bronze hunters were all gone, and what she assumed were silver hunters filed into the seats, passing time idly or bantering with their friends and companions. She sat, alone. She felt alone.
"Are you here for a Silver evaluation, too?" Suna almost jumped in surprise, completely startled by the sudden noise so close to her. She turned her head towards its source, a meek-looking person. They were small, but not in the same way as Suna. They were taller than her, but they were rather thin; actually, it was their presence that mainly made them feel small, or rather, their lack of it. Suna turned her gaze back towards the ongoing spar.
"You see, it's my first evaluation, so, um, I'm a little new to this, haha…" They fidgeted. Their movements were rather feminine, the way they seemed to be conscious of every part of their body, and kept their legs and arms close to themselves as they sat down. Suna didn't really know how to respond.
"Hehe, I'm sorry, for bothering you…" They stood up.
"I'm Suna." Suna kept looking down at the center of the arena.
The person, halfway through standing up, sat back down, their attention fixed on Suna. They spoke softly. "I'm, um, Lilt. It's a stupid sounding name, haha, so, um, I don't mind if-"
"Lilt." Suna spoke the name. The fidgety person simply sat, silent, but they seemed to be pleased by Suna's brief words.
After awhile, they spoke up. "U-Um, are you, um, part of a party?" The shy figure looked around. "Most people form parties. But I just left my parents' house, so, um, haha…" They continued looking at Suna. She found their pestering a bit annoying.
"I was part of a party before." Suna uttered. Lilt was quiet and attentive. "But, we're not together anymore." Lilt looked down at the ground.
The two remained silent. They watched the spars. At some point, another lady walked onto the arena, which was wide enough to accommodate two concurrent sets of fights. Suna eyed her, carefully. She seemed to be a mage, but she had a rapier by her side. Her cape… seemed unordinary. It was bright, even with the glaring sun directly overhead. Those in the audience seemed to react to her presence.
"Silvers! Come up!" Her voice carried. It wasn't forceful or harsh, yet it had a certain presence to it. Those in the audience seats seemed to hesitate, no one eager to take her up on her offer.
Suna looked at Lilt. "Hm, me? Being the first one seems kinda scary, haha, I'd like to get a feel for what it's like first, you know?" They fidgeted. Suna, a bit disappointed in everyone's lack of decisiveness, jumped down the steps. A part of her wanted to examine the fighting style of the lady and prepare countermeasures, but perhaps due to a sense of pride, she felt doing so was disingenuous, cheating. So, she quickly made her way over to the esteemed lady.
She felt her eyes. Assessing her, judging her. Suna had done the same to her, so she didn't mind. She held out her referral slip and her Hunter's Card.
"Hoh, Elrick sent you to me?" The man in question was in the middle of wrapping up a spar. "Let's see… Oh wow, it's your first evaluation, huh? You must've trained on your own…" As she looked at the card, she stopped. She simply stood there, motionless, as if time was frozen. Suna was a bit unsettled.
The lady turned her eyes up at her, her expression serious. "...New Vall? Is this real…?" A look of confusion. "...There shouldn't have been any survivors…" It was a faint mutter under her breath, but Suna's keen ears intercepted the short phrase. She didn't know why, but the sentence just felt wrong to her. But she couldn't determine the root of her unease quickly, it seemed like a fairly reasonable statement.
"Suna, you somehow made it out from Geth territory." She spoke softly, as if not to broadcast her words out into the seats of the theater. "You have my respect. It must not have been easy." She gave a deep nod, which Suna awkwardly returned, uncertain of how to act in the situation. "I look forward to what you have to show me." She gave a confident smile. "I'm Belle. The Blue Blaze. It's nice to meet you, Suna."
After her respectful words, Belle walked further away, near the edge of the stage. Suna did the same. She gave Suna a look, as if asking for confirmation. Suna nodded. The two sprung to action.
Suna dashed. She wasn't surprised when Belle immediately began chanting. Rumbling. Parts of the arena started to shift, quickly becoming an uneven landscape. And soon, walls started to jut up.
Suna dashed along the uneven and shifting ground. Her quick reflexes stopped her from impacting walls that shot up, blocking her path. But as Suna kept running, the stone surfaces seemed to grow increasingly insidious and unpredictable, feinting one motion only to quickly jut the other way. Suna was really focused on her steps and the landscape, but she found herself appreciating the nature of her opponent's spells anyway; she really doubted Angie could manage so many concurrent movements in such a meticulous, simultaneous fashion.
Because of the many walls that were sprouting up, she couldn't simply make a beeline for the mage. She'd go around a set of walls, only to be greeted by more. At some point, they started trying to corner her, smother her, but she'd narrowly escape, scaling the enclosing walls.
Then, the ground seemed to shake. She was sinking. She saw the surroundings rise as the grossly deformed, shifting floor lowered into the ground, all at once. At the sides of this sinking space, sets of walls rose, aiming to devour her like some sort maw. She blitzed to their sides, ascending the growing walls that began to cave in. Parts of these walls seemed to jut out randomly, aiming to knock her down to the depths of this enclosed space, but she narrowly avoided all these attempts, contorting her body every which way. She scaled the wall extremely quickly, her physical prowess leaving those spectating in complete awe, and she emerged from the clutches of the ground, back on its surface.
Clap, clap, clap. Belle gave her a short bit of applause. "I guess I have to get a bit serious, you slippery little girl."
Suna felt her opponent's intent rise. She started chanting, and as she did so, a blue, flame-like energy seemed to materialize in her hands. It grew, it extended, and she whipped it, a thin blur lashing out at Suna. She dodged the blindingly quick strike, which gave her a sensation that was hard to describe as it passed by. It obviously wasn't a good idea to come into contact with such a thing.
Belle continued lashing out at Suna, her materialized whip making erratic movements that were hard to follow or predict. She came close to being struck by it, but somehow her instincts kept her body safe from harm. It was time for Suna to get a little serious, as well. She breathed deeply, trying to remember what it was like, facing those armored figures. It wasn't the same; this wasn't a fight to the death. But she still struggled, digging furiously at the inner parts of herself, which seemed to withhold these nameless sensations from her. She tried to remember her.
Suna moved towards her opponent. It was calm, it was lenient. Even as fierce strikes came her way, she deftly avoided them all. Suna's mind seemed to leave her, her body coming under the control of her base instincts. She stopped thinking as hard, and simply did.
"Heh, good, good!" Belle's face bore a blazing, competitive smile as she continued her chants. The air… The air seemed to come ablaze. Suna's lungs felt smothered. She held her breath, but that didn't stop the oppressive feeling from weighing down all over her body. Suna dashed, determined not to let this go on for long.
I see… Suna vaguely sensed the oncoming attack. It was not visible. It was a materialization of the blue "flame", right in front of her. She barely dodged. That was only the beginning. Soon, the arena felt like a sea of flame that she was wading through, as random pockets of air seemed to spontaneously light aflame, bright blue blazes that blossomed in the most inconvenient of places for the evading Suna. She was running out of breath. This couldn't last long. She hastily doubled down on her dash, feeling a painful searing sensation whenever she failed to fully avoid the blue flame. Tch… It wasn't looking good. She was struggling to close the gap, as if there was an insurmountable wall between her and her opponent. Belle obviously didn't have the energy or the means to simply flood the entire arena with an all-encompassing flame, but she knew the right moments and locations to impede Suna the most effectively and efficiently. It's not looking good… Suna's calculations were grim. She desperately grasped and reached for the concepts within her, for Magic, but they seemed to evade her, taunting her. Left with no other choice, she decided to take a risk. She delved straight through a tall, wide flame that separated her from her opponent. It was painful, but it wasn't immediately fatal. Emerging through the other side, she drew her knife… But she couldn't move. There was a rapier, aimed straight at her throat, mere inches away.
Suna dropped her knife. The oppressive air subsided.
"Sigh, you can't just waltz through my flames like that, that's not really how you should try and deal with them…" She was being healed, adeptly, by her former opponent. It was strange. She expected to emerge from those flames covered in crippling burns, but the effect they had on her body was minimal, as if the flames were nowhere near as hot as their blazing appearance suggested. Rather, it was some other part of her that was hurt, that experienced that painful burning sensation. But it didn't cripple Suna or anything. They're purpose confused Suna. Were they just meant to inflict pain rather than physical injury? That just seemed ridiculous. Her train of thought was interrupted by the resumption of her benefactor's words.
"I can only imagine how much more capable and threatening you'd be if you used even just basic spells, I can't believe I had to get serious against an opponent with such a handicap in my favor. Like," She looked at Suna, her face mired in confusion, "Is it some sort of statement? Why aren't you using any spells?"
Suna didn't look at the confused lady. "...I don't know any spells."
"Huh? But, surely learning even a single spell would be easier than the ungodly amounts of training you had to endure to accomplish such physical feats." She let out a sigh and a shrug. "But I guess it's not up to me to decide what you pursue. But, just know I'm factoring in your lack of spells into my evaluation, okay?" She stood up, finished with her healing. She fiddled with a small stack of papers that she took out from her pocket, and she ripped a piece off, handing it to Suna. "I'd like to place you higher, but you'll have to be satisfied with high gold. I don't think I've seen anyone as athletic as you, but athletics can only do so much in certain situations. For example, against a towering beast, or a sea of fire, like mine. I strongly urge you to work on your magic, even if you don't like it." Her words and eyes were sincere. She was perplexed, but she had respect for Suna's unique way of fighting.
Suna took the paper, her gaze downturned. She bowed to the kind, reasonable lady, and walked back to where she was seated, just a few minutes ago. Her gaze was downturned, the whole time.
Defeat. Loss. If her life was on the line in that fight, if her opponent was serious… she'd be dead. Even if she were able to grasp a spell, she still has no idea how her Magic works, she'd just be winning with another fluke. How could she call such a fluke a win, it's just dumb luck. She felt worse, thinking about those armored figures. She just got lucky both of those times. If I actually fought with that flying mage… I'd be dead. She plopped down on the hard stone, oblivious to Lilt's words, oblivious to the many gazes that were being directed her way. She failed. She hated it. She despised the feeling, no, she despised her weak self. She hated herself.
She felt something on her shoulder. "Hey, why are you looking so down? You put up such a great fight!" Lilt's excited mannerisms were a major contrast to his previous fidgety self. They looked at Suna with admiration and respect, with zappy energy, catching Suna completely off guard. "Like, you didn't even use a single spell?? And you almost won, against the Blue Blaze!? Like, that's just, I can't even!" They laughed in pure excitement, leaning their whole body towards Suna. It was a bit close, but… she didn't mind. She was feeling really down just then, so she let herself be distracted from her inner thoughts
"It was nothing. They were holding back."
"Are you kidding me? More like, you were the one holding back! You didn't use a single spell, that's just crazy!"
"No, Lilt, I wasn't holding back. I can't use a single spell."
Lilt stopped, processing those words.
"...You can't?"
Of course they'd be disappointed in her, obviously they'd realize just how much of a disappointing, weak fraud she was, obviously-
"Sniffle."
"Wha- Why are you crying??" Suna was taken aback.
"Sniffle, it's, it's because, you must've not had anyone to teach you… not a single person…" They tried to hold back the wettening of their eyes, but they seemed too… fragile. Suna realized just how fragile this person was.
"Y-, You don't have a group, you don't have a mentor… all on your own, you built up so much strength for yourself… Suna. I, I have nothing but respect for that! Don't look so down, don't blame yourself for your loss! Your fighting was really, really impressive!" Lilt seemed to have gathered themselves, as they genuinely tried to cheer her up. Suna didn't dislike that.
She looked at Lilt. "...Thanks. Thanks for saying that." A slight perk of her lips. Lilt seemed ecstatic to elicit even such a basic, subtle response from her. They smiled.
"Hehe, seeing you fight your heart out… Now I want to fight, too! Will you watch me?"
Suna looked at Lilt. "...Yeah. Yeah, I will."
The two looked down at the arena, which was restored to its original flat appearance after a couple of brief spells from Belle. No one seemed to have gone down since Suna left, the other onlookers seemed to be engrossed in their own conversations, speculations, and gossiping. Lilt stood up, with a resolve that Suna did not see in them before. And they made their way to the steps, and walked down.