Born in Blood

482 Trip

The athletic attire fit Liam perfectly.

Colored black, it was basically a slightly loose shirt which exposed his toned shoulders and arms.

For his lower body, it was just a pair of shorts past knee-length, exposing his calves.

It seemed to be made from some sort of flexible, rubber-like material, but was rigid at the same time.

Surprisingly, he even had shoes on!

They were made just for the occasion, laced up and tightened around his soles.

Liam looked around, examining each person individually.

Seeing a mighty, incredibly powerful vampire king in athletic attire was something Liam didn't expect to see.

But he was seeing it.

Alucard examined his shirt and shorts with interest.

He was probably wondering why the shape and style was so different.

Quite frankly, it didn't look bad on the man!

Eyes of Knowledge looked… well, he looked like how one would expect someone who never ran in their life would.

Skinny and slim, one could mistake him for a charming but timid librarian rather than a genius powerhouse.

The Sage was similar to him in this regard.

They both looked like the two smartest kids in the classroom, who were absolutely horrible at physical education, and were subsequently bullied for it.

'Nerds.'

Kuan, on the other hand, looked like the giant he was.

His muscles burst through his elastic clothing, but he didn't look beefy.

The General's face expressed no annoyance in particular, other than his natural arrogance and superiority.

He was no exception to the change in dress code, but the sports look didn't look bad on him either.

"What… is this?" the Dragonmancer said, confused. "Why have my clothes been shortened?"

Even after his attire had been changed, the Dragonmancer's blindfold hid his eye line.

His shirt seemed to have the trinkets imbued into them, but they seemed to lack the glow that previously emanated from them.

Their power was sealed.

On the other side…

Spirit of Nature looked like an absolute monster.

There was no one better suited for this sport than her, it seemed.

No thanks to her terrifying physique.

Except…

'Yikes… Thyroid and Naomi look pissed,' Liam suppressed a laugh, looking at their unnervingly dark expressions. 'Rin and Shadow Weaver too, haha.'

Thyroid was the nickname Liam gave to Queen Thyress.

Of course, he'd never say that out loud… not now, at least. Maybe once he was stronger.

Their clothing wasn't revealing at all, nor did the Mayor tailor it in a way that could be derogatory or unpleasing.

The Queen still had her glistening crown on her head, and her shorts were more like elongated pants that elegantly covered her ankles.

Shadow Weaver's charm hadn't gone anywhere either… but that didn't mean she wasn't subtly pissed.

A woman's attire was a second skin.

It was no surprise their moods were soured.

Of all the women there, the Adjudicator was the least worried about the change in appearance.

In fact, she wasn't even fazed.

She still had on her chains, though. They were basically a part of her.

Rin looked like a popular school girl with her attire.

…In fact, everyone seemed to look like they had some sort of position in a highschool!

No doubt, the General looked like the strict, authoritarian Principal.

Hand of Light looked like the P.E Teacher.

Spirit of Nature looked like the P.E Teacher's grandmother.

Liam and Rin both looked like the popular students.

The Adjudicator looked like the Disciplinary Dean.

The Sage looked like the Guidance Counselor.

The Dragonmancer looked like the History Teacher.

Eyes of Knowledge looked like the Mathematics Professor.

Shadow Weaver looked like the teacher everyone had a crush on.

And Alucard and Queen Thyress seemed like the rich, dysfunctional couple that owned the entire school.

And this was a school trip.

"Glutton," Queen Thyress said with dark eyes, addressing the Mayor. "Explain."

With so many glares being sent his way, a few droplets of sweat trickled down the Mayor's fat chin.

But worst of all, was the Queen's gaze.

'Ugh,' Liam inwardly groaned with disgust. 'Royalty.'

The Mayor laughed awkwardly, rushing to explain himself.

"Please, calm down. It's for the equality of all the players involved. Otherwise, this wouldn't be fair."

With eyes still contemplating murder, Queen Thyress glanced at the Star Dust for a few seconds, before a stern look formed on her face.

A moment later, she was silent.

The storm had passed.

The Mayor gulped audibly, wiping the sweat off his face.

"Let us not dwell on the minor details and continue, yes?" the Mayor asked, and no one interjected. "Very well."

WHOOM!

Abruptly, twelve circular spots started glowing crystal on the field.

Six on one side, six on the other side, neatly positioned to have three in front, and three in the back.

Each spot was spacious enough for ten men to spread their arms across, side by side.

They looked like indicators for each of the players to go to!

"Firstly, you'll notice that the pitch is divided into two sides," the Mayor explained. "And since we're a total of twelve, minus me, it'll be a six versus six game."

Silence.

A few people frowned, including Liam.

Didn't that mean that… they'd have to make teams?!

Liam sensed a big argument coming.

'A pissing contest of who gets the leading position…' Liam thought. 'You gotta love those.'

"How are we supposed to win the prize when we're playing as a group?" Spirit of Nature asked innocently, slicking back her unkempt hair.

"Do we split it into six pieces, or…?"

Naomi was always the first to ask questions, dumb as they were.

The Mayor smiled.

"No. Touch Ball is very, very concise and quaint."

"In short, all both teams have to do is exchange the Ball over the net, without touching it twice."

"Each of the circular zones, Positions, as I call them, are the anchors to each player."