Instant Time Mage 1
It was a rather sunny day outside the vast grass field near our school campus. The wind coming from the east was rather cool and breezy. The humidity all around told no rain was coming to storm in and the temperature was great for anyone to relax.
Everything was great, I suppose... Except for a particular problem I have to deal with.
[?:GhaAHH!!]
Right now, I was fighting, desperately fighting against them.
I dodge an incoming attack coming from my left as I slid pass him. I was about to fallback but a flash of light instantly blinded me from the corner and a sudden kick out of nowhere hit me in the flank. Sending me flying in agony to the other side.
On top of the dueling platform, 4 individuals wearing skin-tight combat suits were fighting each other in a mock battle.
Among them, two pairs were wearing the color red while the other pair wore the color blue. Wielding the same weapons in both hands, a metallic baton and a handgun were brandished at each other's throats.
On the red pair, one of them is me. The guy who just got sent flying to the other side of the dueling platform with my face twisted in pain.
Damn, that hurt!
That really hurt, you know?!
I curse in my heart how painful and hot my injuries got even though my combat suit was supposed to lessen the damage. However, I shut my mouth and got to my feet a second later.
Ignoring the pain that was rapidly fading, I took two steps to my right and regrouped with my partner.
My partner was a teenage 17-year-old like me. She wore a red skin-tight combat suit like me. She also had the same metal baton and handgun like me. But she doesn't seem too injured to fight unlike me.
[?: Time Mage, are you alright?!]
[Time Mage: Haah... haah... I think so... What about you, Energy Mage.]
I panted dearly for air and made a quick check for myself for any major damage.
[Energy Mage: You don't have to worry about me. Can you still fight?]
Yeah, but honestly, I just want to give up...
[Time Mage: I think I can still fight... Haah... But, do you think we can still win?]
Because honestly, I'm starting to doubt our prospects.
[Energy Mage: Oh? We'll win. We'll win with flying colors if that's what you want... if you'd just stop fooling around and get serious already! What's wrong with you? Just use your Time magic already and this would've been over in an instant!]
No!
I don't want to use my cheat magic to win unless it's necessary, okay?!
[Time Mage: No, I rather not use it.]
[Energy Mage: Hahh?! But why?! If you need energy then take some from me like you always do! Why are you hesitating around for?!]
Why am I hesitating?
Alright, I'll tell you why I'm hesitating...
[Time Mage: It's because Young Lady made a condition in this round. She said, regardless whether we win or lose, she will pick us to be her attendants when she travels to the nations beyond! Her condition stated that within this round, I must fight WITHOUT using my Time Magic for even a moment! That's why I am hesitant to use it right now.]
[Energy Mage: What?! When did she say that?!]
[Time Mage: Since the moment before this match started.]
Energy Mage was shock to know the truth from me as her eyes landed on the audience seats to our right.
Naturally, when talking about Young Lady, my eyes were also drawn to the audience seats. There, a certain young girl, younger than any of us, sat alone amongst the crowds. She had long, white hair that looked fluffy as clouds. In her hands held a book that caught her entire interest. Paying no mind to our fight as if the outcome of it didn't matter and continued to read the book without a care in the world.
[Energy Mage: Oh pooh, teacher isn't even looking. Does she even care about us winning?]
Why are you even asking the obvious?
[Time Mage: Of course, Young Lady doesn't.]
[Energy Mage: ...Then, wouldn't it be better to give up? She did say regardless whether we win or don't, she's gonna pick us, right?]
[Time Mage: What? We can't give up!]
Exactly!
We barely hauled our asses to the final round! One more win and we will be the first pair of champions in our school's very first tournament!
We're making history, you know?!
[Energy Mage: Well, then how are we supposed to win if you can't use your Time magic?!]
Good point...
But hey, you got your Energy Magic, too!
Can't you win with that?!
[Time Mage: I'll think of something...]
[Energy Mage: ... Are you serious?]
No. Are you serious?
Energy Mage then made her most exasperated sigh yet. She gave this look that said "You're an idiot." and a shrug as if it can't be helped.
She's right about me though. I am an idiot through and through and I'm already tired of this farce.
I should've just given up already...
[?: Are you guys done talking?]
My face suddenly tensed up as I heard him talk. There before me he stood in the open, seemingly unguarded. Holding with both hands a baton and a handgun, he stared at us with wary eyes yet his weapons weren't brandished as if it wasn't necessary.
He was like an open target. A fish in a barrel. Seemingly so easy to take down if I use my handgun right here.
[Time Mage: Yeah, we're done talking.]
Which I didn't hesitate to shoot straight as his smug-ass face.
My handgun made a muffled sound unlike a real gun yet I felt the recoil pushing me back as I pulled the trigger. The shot wasn't a bullet nor an air pellet shot from a toy, but a shot of light that flew at the speed of sound.
This shot of light wasn't deadly like a heat laser or a plasma shot that could kill a person, but it was nonetheless paralyzing if taken at point blank. People who get shot by a round of this will find their muscles heavy as dumbbells as if you ran a marathon that numbed your sense of pain.
And how good would I feel if I could just hit his damn good-looking face that stole my ex-crush's heart?
But sadly though, that was just my wishful thinking as the shot of light slowed down in midair and he dodge it with ease without moving from his spot.
Will you die if don't get shot in the head?! Right now, I was on my way to cursing his face to cursing his Space Magic.
[Space Mage: It's useless. I can easily twist and stretch the space around me with ease and dodge your shots for a whole day.]
[Time Mage: And that's why they call you Space Mage.]
[Shin: ... I'd rather if you'd just call me Shin instead. Why bother calling me something so childish if we can't use our real names? Wouldn't it be better to call me what Master rewarded me?]
No, I won't call you Shin.
Your face is already good-looking enough for me to envy, why bother validating your existence more with a cool name like Shin?
Shin didn't even give me the time to reply as in a span of no time at all, he appeared before me with his baton lunged straight at my solar plexus. But with my swift reflexes, it met my baton guarding me instead.
[Shin: By the way, Master also rewarded you with a name to use, didn't he, Kronosan?]
Tch, how did you know that?!
[Kronosan: ... I'd rather if you didn't use it.]
I was about to shoot him out of anger with my handgun in close range but he noticed that before I could and sidestepped to my right.
Seems that Energy Mage was done watching my pointless struggle and came to join the fray.
She shot 3 lights from her gun at Shin and another 3 lights at Shin's partner who was standing on the other side of the platform.
Shin dodged the lights as usual with his Space magic but Shin's partner neither moved or flinched and scoffed at the attacks coming as she finally displays her magic.
A mirror, as big as my torso, appeared out of thin before her, reflecting the image of Energy Mage and deflected back her 3 shot of light!
Energy Mage didn't flinch as she conjured an energy shield that warded her deflected attacks. Then the two girls stared coldly at each other in menace that Shin and I detected a sense of foreboding.
Hey, hey, hey, why are girls so serious all of a sudden?
It's just a friendly mock battle. You don't have stare daggers at each other, okay?!