I began to drift into darkness. All of my senses were quickly dissipating. The only thing I could do was watch and listen to the waning sounds of the fight between Arthur and that woman.
"It seems your little underling wasn't able to hold out. You were a fool for bringing him along. Though I have to admit, that attack he used was quite unique. I just may have to make use of him."
"Enough talk! Right now, you're opponent is me and I won't let you lay a finger on him!"
"We'll just have to see about that!"
She changed a spell, unleashing another earth attack at Arthur. He quickly dodged to the side, blasting a dark arrow at the two goons closing in on me. The woman turned to the two.
"Leave him be for now. We'll handle him after I take care of this stray cat. Earth fragment! Vine frenzy!"
With that she summoned a massive cluster of vines in such a speed, I could barely see them, entangling Arthur.
"Beast blood, Rage!"
Arthur began to gather a red aura around him, giving him a huge amount of power allowing him to tear out of the vines with ease. I've never heard of such a power. Beast blood? Is this what allows him to turn from cat to human?
The battle played on with each exchanging spell after spell. It was a stalemate. The power of these two was incredible.
"Enough of this! It's time I brought this to an end. Dark arts! Magnus fist!"
The woman summoned a thunderous fist out of the sky, crushing Arthur beneath it, emitting a huge cloud of smoke. This must be the power of the dark arts. As the smoke cleared, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Although battered and in a bloody mess, Arthur was holding up the fist, resisting from being crushed. He turned to me.
"I'm sorry, Soren. Endure whatever they put you through until I can find you."
After these words, the weight of the fist came crashing down on him. Under the anguish, I tried to muster up the strength to get up but was met with a heavy kick to the head by the woman.
"Take him."
The last thing I felt before going unconscious were the goons binding my hands and throwing me in the back of a truck.
"Hey, Kora you ready to leave? You're done for the day right?"
Why hasn't he come yet? Usually he's here studying. I wonder where he could be?
"Kora?"
Now that I think about it, did he even show up to school these passed few days? Maybe he's been sick.
"Hello. Earth to Kora."
"Oh! Hey Jenny. Sorry, I must have spaced out there for a bit."
"Yeah, no kidding. You ready to go?"
"Sure, let me just grab my stuff."
I guess there's no use worrying about it. Soren is a pretty capable guy. A little ditsy but capable. I grabbed my bag and Jenny and I made our way to our favorite little coffee shop a little ways down the road. We took our seats and began to look through the menu. Not that there was really a point being that we usually get the same thing anyway but you never know.
"So, what has you in such a daze lately?"
"Huh? Oh, it's really nothing."
"It's a boy, isn't it? It's got to be a boy. Is he cute?"
"No, it's really nothing, don't worry about it."
"If you say so."
As we ended the conversation, the waitress came up to our table.
"Shall it be the usual, ladies?"
"Yes ma'am."
We closed our menus and handed them back to her. Jenny turned back to me.
"I can't believe summer break is right around the corner. I am not ready for the mage exam."
At the end of each year, the students take what is called a mage exam. It's an exam that tests the students abilities and everything they have learned throughout the year. The first half of the test is the written portion. This tests us on what we learned in class and how much we retained. The next half is where it gets exciting. Each mage is broken up into their elements and are tested on there spells including, range, control, mana capacity, etc. after this, the top four students of each element are selected and put into the dueling tournament, starting with those of our own elements. The winner of that then goes off and faces the students of the other elements. The overall winner of the tournament is said to get a magical item as a prize. And as it just so happens, our test is at the end of this week.
"As long as you study your spells and practice, I'm sure you'll do fine."
"This coming from a practical prodigy. Why couldn't I be born with such natural abilities? Working for things is too hard and annoying."
"Hey, I had to work hard too, you know."
"Yeah, yeah, blah blah blah."
She gave me a sarcastic look before we both started laughing. Jenny was an earth mage. She's usually super sarcastic but that's what gives her personality. She may come off as apathetic but she really cares for her craft. It may not seem like it but she is a very hard worker. As for me, I'm a water mage. I'm nothing special but I'm quite proud of my progress thus far. I wouldn't go and call me a prodigy as she did, especially when looking at the top students like Soren or Alexis. Between them, I pale in comparison.
As the day came to an end, we finished our meals, said our goodbyes, and headed our separate ways home. As I entered my room, I tossed my bag onto the floor and flopped onto my bed. Going out with Jenny was a good distraction but I just couldn't shake this bad feeling. I assume it's just nerves for the upcoming mage test. Now that I think about it, knowing Soren, he's probably taking all these days off to overly prepare. As I thought about it, I got this random inspiration to put my all into studying. I shot up out of my bed, grabbed my textbooks, and began to study different types of spells. These next few days I'm going to put my all into practicing and studying.
Before I knew it, the week went by in a flash. Just like that, tomorrow was the day of the exam. I have been putting everything I had into studying spells and increasing my abilities. However, I can't slow down now. After today's classes, I immediately went back into predator mode and went right back to my room to study. Book after book, spell after spell, technique after technique, I'm going to show Soren that he isn't the only one who's been working hard. Tomorrow, I'll become his rival.
"Beep! Beep! Beep!"
The gut wrenching noise of my alarm clock forced its way into my dreamland. I peeled open my bloodshot eyes, still feeling the effects of sleep paralysis. Perhaps I studied a bit too hard last night. I forced myself out of bed and groggily made my way downstairs into the kitchen.
"Good morning, honey! I know today's a big day for you, so I made you a nice hardy breakfast."
Before me were mounds of pancakes, along with eggs, bacon, and toast. It's as if she was trying to feed a hippopotamus. My mom was always like this when I had a big event coming up. She goes a little overboard but I always appreciate it. It's something that always helps me calm my nerves.
"Thanks, mom."
I sat down at the table and began to feast. After I swallowed down all that I can eat, I kissed my mom goodbye and ran out the house. Just you wait Soren, I'm about to show you my true abilities.