Nick groaned, turning off his alarm as he sat up. "God, it's gonna be a bitch to find where I was in that book..." Nick stood up and made his way to his bathroom, taking a quick shower before brushing his teeth. Afterwards he got dressed in shorts and a t-shirt and used the gym until 6:30. He had a lot of stamina now, so his workouts took a bit longer. His mother came by at around 5:50 to ask him when he would like to have breakfast.
Breakfast was two bacon and cheese omelettes, something he did not have often but enjoyed. The thirty minutes of breakfast was filled with small talk between Nick and his mother, as it usually was. Once Nick finished he got up and went to him room to get changed. "Ah!" Nick turned around to look at his mother.
"I completely forgot. Did you get that bike we talked about?" Nick asked.
"Ah, yeah, it's in the back of my car... Come to think of it, you never learned how to ride one." Faith pointed out, Nick wasn't even aware it was something that would be that hard to learn.
"Eh, how hard could it be. I'm sure I can figure it out. I'll try it out after I get dressed." Nick turned around to head to his room, though was stopped by his mother.
"No, you will now if you are going to. I don't want you messing up your uniform."
"Ugh, fine." Faith unlock her car and he got his bike out of the back, it was a nice looking gray mountain bike. Faith was watching from the doorway as Nick sat on his bike and began to look over it. "Alright, here goes nothing." Nick pushed on a pedal and tried desperately to keep his balance as he moved forward.
It took a couple attempts, but Nick quickly got the hang of it. Nick looked to his mom with a large smile as he rode the bike around their driveway. Faith was smiling as well, she seemed proud. "Alright, now that you got the hang of that, you should get ready for school. If you get ready now you should be able to get to school at around 7:50."
"Ah, alright." Nick quickly got ready and got back on his bike, he was able to get going with relative ease. This was the first time Nick was actually travelling anywhere on his own. Even in the other world he had not left the castle once he arrived. It was a big moment for him. Nick took a deep breath and looked around, he felt a sense of freedom.
It took around thirty minutes for Nick to get to school, and another five to lock his bike up with the bike lock he had in his backpack. Once he got inside he instant saw Mark, he was talking with one of the teachers near the entrance. Was he waiting for me? Just as Nick thought that, Mark turned around and smiled as he saw Nick enter. Mark quickly finished up his conversation with the teacher and made his way over to Nick.
"Hey, bro." Mark seemed especially cheery today.
"Hey... What's up? You seem happy."
"Ah, a new video game is coming out today and I'm hyped to get it and play it when I get home."
"Ah, I don't think I've ever played a video game..."
Mark's eyes grew wide. "What?" Mark nearly shouted in surprise. "Bro... I gotta invite you over some time to play. I could even give you some of my older consoles. In fact, I'll bring one and some games tomorrow. I don't play it much anyway."
"Ah... Are you sure? Wouldn't your parents get mad?" Mark's generosity was a bit strange to Nick, but maybe that's just how he is. He seems to be friends with almost everyone, after all.
"Ah, my parents don't give a shit what I do with my stuff as long as I bought it with my money." Mark shrugged.
Huh, his money... Does he get an allowance or something? "Alright, in that case... Thank you for your generosity."
Mark furrowed his brow in confusion for a second before his smile came back. "We're friends, you don't have to speak with me like you just met me."
"Ah, sorry..." Nick said, looking down in embarrassment. Mark just laughed.
"It's going to interesting watching you change over the course of this year." Just as Mark said that the bell rung, signaling that first period would start soon. "Ah, we should probably go get ready for class."
Once the bell rung signaling lunch rung Mark and Nick went back to their lockers to put way their stuff. "Alright, I gotta piss. Wait for me here." Mark said, jogging off towards the bathroom that was a ways down the hall.
Man, he is so different from everyone I've ever met... Nick leaned up against his locker and waited, though it was like déjà vu . Those three kids from the day before were walking up to him. "Hey, you got our money?"
"Uh, excuse me?" Nick contorted his face in confusion. He didn't remember saying he would give them more money. He just gave them money yesterday because they didn't have any.
"Our money, twenty bucks." The middle one said, as if Nick was obligated to pay them.
"I have twenty bucks, but I'm sorry... I'm not going to give it to you. I can't just keep giving you guys my money." Nick may have been wanting to make a good impression on people, but he wasn't going to give these rude kids any more money.
"Excuse me, mother fucker?" The kids began to get closer to him.
"Look..." Nick pushed off of his locker so he was now standing up. "I would appreciate it if you would stop being rude and just leave me alone... I'm not giving you guys any more money."
The middle one's hand shot out and hit Nick in the chest, pushing him against his locker. It's hurt, it was the first time he had ever been roughly pushed against something like this. But... Nick felt weird... His heart felt like it doubled its speed. "Give. Us. Our. Money. Bitch."
Nick looked around, kids were standing around and looking at the scene cautiously. "As I said..." Nick regained his composure. "I'm not giving you any more fucking money." Even Nick was surprised he said that, he had no idea where that came from.
The man's eyes widened and he grabbed Nick by the jacket, turning and throwing him into the center of the wide hallway. Nick tripped, fell, and rolled, but quickly got back up. "You're fucking dead." The kid said, removing his jacket. Everyone in the hall began to gather around in a circle.
Shit... Was all Nick could think. He knew what was happening, this was going to be a fight. After a quick look around he didn't see any teachers. At that moment, Nick felt something. It was similar to what he felt when healing magic was being used on him, but it was much more intense... Adrenaline.
Nick could feel his body trembling, but he wasn't afraid. This kid was not intimidating, he was about the same height as Nick and was chubby. Capt. Draper and Kane were intimidating, even Mark was, but this kid... He didn't scare Nick.
The kid walked towards Nick, and without any warning he threw a punch. Nick wasn't expecting this. Whenever Nick saw a school fight in a movie or on TV it was usually a lot of pushing until a teacher broke it up. The kids's fist impacted Nick's left cheek, Nick stumbled a bit but was able to stay standing. He had never been punched before...
It didn't hurt. The force threw him a bit off balance, but there was no noticeable pain. Something got into Nick, he didn't feel like himself... It felt intoxicating. "Is that all you got, bitch?"
The kid ran forward and they another punch, Nick's pupil dilated and he felt another wave of adrenaline rush over him. He could see the punch and was able to side step out of the way. The kid stumbled a bit, he obviously expected to hit Nick, so when his fist didn't connect it threw him off balance. Nick couldn't help but laugh.
The kid seemed to growl as he turned around. This time it was Nick's turn. Originally he never planned on fighting back, but this adrenaline was telling him to fight... Fight hard. Nick took one step forward and cocked back his fist, throwing a devastating punch towards the center of the other kid's face.
With the impact came a sickening crack. The feeling of his fist impacting the other kids filled him with both the feeling of guilt and a overpowering feeling of release. The other kid was lifted off the ground from the force of the punch, when he impacted the ground he was bleeding from his nose and was visibly unconscious. Nick felt a feeling of lightheadedness come over him, though he quickly steadied himself.
The small crowd around them began to cheer, obviously pumped from the fight they saw. Nick noticed a couple teacher running out of their classrooms and pushing through the sea of kids. Two teacher ran over to Nick to keep him from moving closer to the kid who was knocked out, the other two ran over to the kid on the ground to check if he was okay. "Everyone break it up! Disperse or get detention!" One of the teachers near Nick said.
Nick just smiled as his adrenaline started to wear off. As the crowd disperse Nick noticed someone coming through the crowd. "Holy shit, what happened?" Mark said, looking towards Nick and then towards the kid on the ground.
"Language, Mr. Wolfe. Since you are here, go get the nurse." Mark stood there for a second, looking between Nick and the other kid with a bewildered look. "Now! Mr. Wolfe." The teacher shouted, Mark quickly making his way to the nurse. "And you, Mr. Anderson..."
Nick was escorted the office, they told the receptionist about what had happened and told her to notify the principle. The Receptionist instantly got on the phone. A few minutes passed, a teacher left and brought back an ice pack for Nick's swelling face. "Nick Anderson." A booming voice said, it was the principle.
Nick felt another feeling wash over his body, this time it was nervousness. Nick slowly walked into the principle's office, the principle motioned to the chairs in front of his desk as he sat behind it. Nick sat down, looking at the floor. "A fight on your second day... That is a record." The principle was obviously displeased from his tone.
"I don't know what got into me, once he punched me I just kind of lost control." Nick voice was quiet, he was shaking. He had never been in this kind of serious trouble before. He didn't know what was going to happen, for all he knew he could be expelled. The principle let out a deep sigh.
"I'll be honest with you. The boy you hit, Dan Kerman, has started quite a few fights in his day. Had you not hit back, he would have probably been expelled and you wouldn't have been punished. However, you knocked the poor boy out. Not only that, but it seems he could have a concussion."
Nick closed his eyes and took a deep breath, this wasn't good. "Honestly, I'm shocked." The principle continued. "He seems to have a pretty bad concussion and a broken nose. From what I heard you just punched him once in the nose, that shouldn't have caused a concussion. You would have to have some serious power behind that punch for that to happen. transport to a hospital is being prepared for him as we speak."
"Oh, no..." Nick said, resting his head in his hands and a feeling of dread came over him. He lost control and sent someone to the hospital. And it only took one punch.
"Don't worry, he is in pretty bad shape but he should be fine. It was also a clear case of self defense, so you shouldn't have to worry about any legal troubles. Seeing as this is your first offence, and it was self defense, I am giving you a two day suspension. I'll call your mom and she will come pick you up. Wait at reception."
Nick slowly walked back to his seat at the reception area. As he waited all he could feel was a sense of dread. The next hour was a crawl until his mother burst into the reception area. Before Nick could even react or apologize his mother was holding him in a tight embrace. "Oh, my baby, are you hurt?" She asked, now holding him at arm's length and looking over his face.
"Mom, I'm fine... I only got hit once." Nick was surprised he wasn't getting yelled at, though his mother hugging him in front of everyone in the office and everyone who could see him from the windows was just about as embarrassing.
"I heard you punched the boy so hard he had to go the hospital. Haven't I taught you better than that?" Faith was clearly upset and had tears in her eyes.
"It was self defense...I just punched him as hard as I could out of instinct..." Nick wasn't really lying, though it was actually a bit more than just instinct.
Faith sighed and hugged him again. "If this ever happens again you are so grounded..."
"Excuse me, miss, you need to take this. It details why your son was suspended and how long he was suspended." The receptionist said.
"Ah, yes, of course." Faith took it, though she was already told about the suspension over the phone so she didn't need to look at it. "Let's go, you need to get some rest in order to heal."
Nick was surprised his mother wasn't furious, but he wasn't going to try to persuade her to be angry at him. "Alright..."
Nick put his bike in the back of his mother's car and they drove home. Once they got home Nick explained anything and his mother had calmed down. The rest of the day was business as usual for the most part, Nick tried his best to make the swelling on his face go down. By nine o'clock he was once again asleep, he still had to keep his schedule. Even if he was suspended.
Nick opened his eyes, his head was resting on his open book. As he lifted his head up he looked at his book, just as he thought it was on a completely random page as evident by it being on page fifty when he knew he would at least be somewhere near 200. Nick changed into a different but similar pair of clothes and put the ones he had left out to be cleaned away in his closet. "Well, it's a new day... Sort of."
Nick quickly took a bath and ate his breakfast before heading to the medical ward. Once Katrina was told he had arrived she went to see him. She was visibly surprised by Nick's face. "Yikes, you get into a fight in that other world?"
Nick couldn't help but laugh at her reaction. "Yeah. Think you can fix that too?"
"It shouldn't be a problem. Just lay down."
It took around fifteen minutes for Nick to become mostly healed, she was able to completely heal his muscles but Nick still has a noticeable bruise on his face. After being healed Nick jogged to the gym, he stopped his healing early so he wouldn't be late again. This time he was ten minutes early. Hmm, guess I could have stayed a bit longer...
Nick entered the gym, Kane was already waiting inside. "You're on time today."
Nick furrowed his brow. "I'm early..."
Kane rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Let's just... What happened to your face?"
"Ah, I got into a bit of a fight at school in the other world."
Kane's eye grew a bit wide and the news. "Well... what happened?"
"Ah, some kid tried to get money from me. And then he punched me and I got this. He tried to punch me again but luckily I was able to dodge and I paid him back. I hit him square in the nose. I broke his nose and by the sound of it also gave him a bad concussion. Apparently I'm stronger than I think if I can give someone a concussion from punching them in the face once."
Kane listened intently until Nick finished his story. "Huh... That's strange."
"I know, it looks like your training paid off if I can do that with just one punch."
"No, it's not that, you should be able to break his nose, but you are nowhere near strong enough to cause a concussion from just one punch like that... Shit, unless..." Kane got a surprised look on his face and then began to think.
"Um, unless what?"
"Shock magic." Kane said, Nick eyes grew wide at those words.
"What?"
"Shock magic. Tell me, what did you feel right after you punched the kid?"
"I felt a bit lightheaded, I think it was the adrenaline wearing off..."
"No, that's not the adrenaline... That was you using up your mana. I think your affinity is shock."
"Shock? What does that do?"
"It's the ability to generate shock waves from your body. Though most of the people who use it find it easiest to use from their hands and feet. It makes sense that it would show itself when you threw a punch at someone..." Kane grinned. "This is great news."
Nick was having a hard time wrapping his head around this. He waited so long to figure out his affinity, and how that he has he didn't even know how to react. And shock waves? How could that be useful? "How is this great news? It sounds kind of lame..."
Kane's mouth dropped open. "Are you joking? Shock is the rarest affinity and easily the most lethal at close range..."
"Most lethal? Shit I could have killed that guy..." The guilt that came over him was so intense he was unable to even be hyped about the fact he seemingly hit the affinity jackpot.
"There are only forty three people in the entire Kingdom of Asterra that can use Shock Magic! Well, forty four now... And that is a kingdom of five million people, and you are one of forty four who can use this magic... Do you have any idea how amazing this is?"
"So, I'm what? Like one in a quarter of a million or something?" Nick was good at math, but right now he was a bit shaken up so he was unable to accurately think of the odds. Nick sighed deeply. "Man, I was hoping I would get fire or healing or something... Is it possible to have more than one affinity?" Nick asked.
"Of course. Though it is most common for people to only have one. Out of all magic users, 90% can only use one affinity. However, 9% are able to use two. And most rare are those who can use three, at only 1%. If you get a affinity like water or fire, it is less likely you will be able to naturally use another element. Those who can use water can some day, with enough training, learn to use ice while those who use fire can some day use electricity with enough training. And vice versa."
"I see. Is it possible to have four?"
"I don't think so. If it is possible it hasn't happened for thousands of years. There was a story I read about a man who supposedly existed five hundred years ago that could use water, ice, fire, and electricity... But I don't believe it. All other stories of people who had four affinity are from more than two thousand years ago. Nobody knows enough about them to be able to claim if they are true or not."
"Wow... I hope I have three affinities, that would be cool." Kane laughed.
"It's doubtful you will even get one more. You hit the jackpot with shock magic."
"Hmm... Can you teach me to use it?"
"No, unfortunately. I can teach you mana control, how to fight, and how to train your body. However, you will need to find someone who knows shock magic to teach you how to use it. I know a couple people so I can ask around. For now, let's focus on your training. I'm going to work you extra hard, It would be disgraceful for a student of mine to be beaten up by some average Joe."
Kane did exactly as he said, he worked Nick extremely hard. Pushing his way past the point where Kane would usually tell Nick to get healed and return. After the four healing and several hours of intense training when he returned Kane said: "It's time for something different."
"Something different?"
"How interested are you in learning to fight?" Kane asked, standing up and walking over to Nick.
"I don't know, it was pretty fun to fight that kid in school but I'm pretty sure that was the adrenaline. All I feel now is guilt because I could have killed him."
"Oh, please. Life is kill or be killed. You wouldn't last a week outside this city."
"Tell me about it..."
"I'm going to teach you at least the basic of fighting, and after that we will spend on hour on mana control. I'm gonna have to ask for a raise."
Nick chuckled as Kane walked into a connected room, coming back out with what looked to be a punching bag. He hung it on a hook that was screwed into the ceiling. "For now we will practice hand to hand combat striking techniques on the bag." Nick sighed. He wished he could go back in time and avoid the fight, even though he would have to wait another week or more to meet the person who would tell him his affinity.
After almost an hour of hitting the bag Nick fell down exhausted. This was a much different type of exercise, so he couldn't keep going as long as normal. "Damn... I'm exhausted... And hungry..." As if Kane had read his mind he threw Nick some bread. "Eat up, we aren't leaving until he make progress on mana basics."
"Why did we wait until now to learn about mana?" Nick took a large bit of the bread. It tasted good, but it was still just bread...
"It's a lot harder to get handle on mana until you have used it for the first time. It's possible, just annoying and time consuming."
"Ah..." Nick watched as Kane sat cross-legged in front of him on the floor.
"Sit like I am and hold out your hand."
Nick readjusted himself to be sitting cross-legged and held out his right hand. The left hand was holding his bread which he was eating. Kane reached out and dropped a small piece of paper in Nick's hand. Nick furrowed his brow and looked from the paper to Kane. "What am I supposed to do with a small piece of paper?"
"Mana, like all other things, has mass. Mana, in its pure form, acts much like a gas. The paper moving or floating will indicate you actually bringing forth mana."
"Ah, I see, so it's just a way to see if something is actually happening."
"Essentially. Now, mana comes from your core. Put down the bread and close your eyes." Nick took another bite and set the bread down beside him. "Focus on your core, it might be faint but you should feel something. Focus on that and try to bring it out through your palm right under the paper."
Nick began to focus on his core, though he was not sure exactly what he was looking for. He tried many things, though he found that most of what he would try would just be him flexing different parts of his abs that he wasn't aware he could even flex. And then Nick thought of the fight, when he threw that punch. That feeling when his fist hit the kids face. He focused on that feeling, and focused on bringing that to his palm.
"Good job." Kane said.
"Huh?" Nick opened his eyes and look at his palm, the paper didn't look like it moved.
"The paper lifted up, it was slight but this means you were able to pull mana and expel it through your palm. This will be an essential skill later, and one that should feel completely natural with enough practice."
"Why don't I just practice shock magic? Why do I need to focus just on my mana?"
"Learning the basics of mana is important for magic use, but not only that. Mana itself is great for magic defense."
"Really?"
"Yeah. As you probably know, mana is like a fuel that you use when you want to use magic. However, your mana will also dampen the effects of other magic. If you coat a body part or your entire body in mana it will lessen the effect another person's magic has on you. How concentrated the mana is and how much you use plays a big role on how much you are effected, but it is an essential skill for magical defense."
"So I can use it for armor, basically?"
"Yes, though mana will have no more effect on stopping a physical attack than air. Nor will it help you against non magical attacks. For example, mana won't protect you from a camp fire but it will protect you from fire magic."
"Huh... Interesting."
"Now, try again."
For the next hour Kane made Nick do the same thing over and over again, eventually Nick was able to move the paper a noticeable amount, even making it float for a second at one point. Nick was exhausted, lightheaded, and nauseated by the end of the training. He assumed that was the effect of being low on mana. After the training Kane congratulated Nick on learning his affinity and winning his first fight, which felt weird. He had never really gotten praise from Kane ever before.
After the training he made his way to the cafeteria and ate more than he ever had before. Even after eating a lot of bread, which he had already seemed to have used up the energy from. Nick didn't think he would need to stop by the medical ward, so instead he went straight for his room. After all, he still had that book to finish. One he was in his room he changed into his now clean pajamas and sat at his desk and began to look through the book to find his place.
When he was looking through the book he began to think, he could now defend himself in this world. He was no longer completely helpless. He had one of the strongest forms of magic and was slowly learning hand to hand combat. He was also learning mana control so he might one day be able to protect himself from magic. He felt like he might one day actually be able to go on some kind of adventure... and maybe that day was not too far in the future.
Nick read for a few more hours, when he looked at the grandfather clock he had put in his room a when he noticed that clocks existed in this world he found out it was already nine at night. Huh, another hour to kill... I could start a book... Or...
Nick took a piece of paper from his desk and tore off the corner, placing it in his palm. He began to practice his mana control, after all it was essential in this world. He got lost in his practice, eventually he was able to get the paper to hover in his hand for a solid ten seconds before becoming unable to hold a steady mana stream. Over and over again he practiced, until he was ripped away from his practice through the beeping of his alarm clock.