[AKI'S POV]
I was full of awe as I looked at the six magic stones in front of me. Everything still feels like a dream. I have only watched about this kind of world in anime shows. But even then, I couldn't spend that much time watching. Father always had to put me and Akari under intense training. So I never really had a good childhood, if I had one at all.
"Go on, try it!" Alrick told me. I broke free from the trance of my thoughts and smiled back at them. I looked back at Akari and noticed that she looked a bit glum.
As if on cue, a (probably) terrible idea just popped in my head. Of course, I let out an evil grin. My playful head wins this time! Mark my words, Akira Prescott.
"Yoooosh!" I screamed and gathered all of the magic stones in my hand. Without a second thought, I poured my power into all six of them. I felt the cold sensation of my power flowing through my veins and into the stones—kind of like having miniature flexible icicles prick through every inch of my arms.
ARGH! Not a good feeling!
"AKI!" Both Alrick and Akari yelled. I looked at them unapologetically.
"Why? What's wrong?" I played dumb as I continued to pour my power into the stones. Hehehe!
"Aki, why are you doing that? What if you couldn't handle those stones?" Akari scolded me. I gave her a pouting face which of course, lessened her anger. My sister can be very strict but she can't handle it when I give her pleading eyes. She acts tough but is really a big softie who gives in easily.
Despite how she tries to portray herself, I know she's just a big pushover. Mehehe!
"Akari is right, you know," Alrick seriously commented.
I didn't mind any of them and continued to pour my power into the stones. Within a few seconds, all of the stones simultaneously lit up. I smiled when I saw all of the different elements go out of the stones. There was air, fire, water, earth, darkness, and light. All of them formed these thin thread-like energies and swirled around each other. The threads were extending 6 inches upward while tangling and intertwining with each other. It was as if these stones were alive and the elements they released were dancing for us.
I looked back at Akari and saw that she was as equally amazed as I am.
"Pretty," I whispered and smiled to myself. I was about to go call Fia when I suddenly felt a hot, tingling sensation in my hands.
I was about to stop pouring power in but to my surprise, all of the elements combined and formed a strong light. It was blinding—I had to squint my eyes and forcefully look at it just to see anything. My brows furrowed when it stopped momentarily and dissipate into thin air.
"Motherfu—" I said in surprise because a blob of sloshing slime-like material protruded from the stones. I placed it closer to my face to inspect it better.
What in the heck is this thing?
My eyes grew wide in shock and a little bit of my soul died when I saw it starting to move! I was at the edge of screaming when this crap blob started to go down the stones and into my hands as if they were trying to combine with me too.
YOOOO! WAIT! WAIT! HOLD ON! THIS ISN'T WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR!
"AKARIIIII!!! HELP!" I shrieked. I looked back at my sister for help only to find her equally frightened as I am while squealing.
WHAT THE HELL?!
With no allies in place, panic started to burrow into my head. On instinct, I tried to flick the blob away from my hands but its grip was too firm!
Close to tears, I looked at Alrick, Myr, and Fia for help. A horrific expression got plastered on my face when I saw all of them standing at the opposite end of the room. What's worse here is that Akari was there with them too!
"NANIIII?!" I screamed in utter disbelief because of their behavior. I mean, I would do the same too because this blob looks so disgusting but did they really have to move THAT far?!
I grunted as my thoughts got disrupted by the unstable behavior of the blob. I fleetingly felt the elements doubling their power and damage inside of my hands. My hands are now filled with this strange power—giving me the hot feeling of the sun's ever-burning ray. Any moment now, a strong burst could be released from my hands.
"CODE RED!" I screamed. Akari immediately got what I meant and yelled at everyone to get down on the floor.
Before this power goes berserk, I did the stupidest thing of placing my hands on my heart and releasing the power there. I wasn't even sure if it could work. I just figured that the power of this magnitude will blow this house to bits and kill everyone. The best and dumbest thing I thought of is pouring it into my heart so that the power could be pumped throughout my body—hopefully reducing its impact.
Once I saw everyone was already on the floor, I didn't hesitate to press the blob on my chest and release everything to myself.
*SLOSH SLOSH SLOSH
More bits of my soul said their goodbyes as I listened to the squelching sound from the blob. This is very disgusting and uncomfortable! But that's okay. It doesn't matter...a bit. Well, if I'll die, at least I died in a cool way. Yeah—kind of like a hero saving the world. But this time, the world is made up of only like 4 people.
I closed my eyes and waited for my body to explode. But instead of that happening, my left shoulder was met with Akari's punch. After training every day of my life with her, I already know how her punch feels like even with my eyes closed.
I opened my eyes and frowned. "Hey! You guys left me behind. You can't hit me like that!"
"Uh, yes I can! We stayed away from your dumb stunts. Your foolishness resulted in you pulling a code red on us! A. CODE. RED. AKI!" Akari said in anger and worry.
I gave her a peace sign. "That's why I have you here! To save me and clean up after my mess!"
"Tsk! You're unbelievable. Isn't that supposed to be the other way around?" She asked. I just stuck my tongue out and shrugged it off.
Akari could be too serious sometimes. So I took the liberty of being the playful one between us. Just so that she could let loose once in a while whenever I drag her to whatever scheme I have.
Man. It's not easy being the older sister. Thinking of dumb schemes could be exhausting too, you know!
"Is everyone alright?" I asked. Both Myr and Alrick said yes while Fia gave a thumbs up.
Alright, now that everyone is unharmed, I can just sweep this incident under the rug and forget it ever happened! A good way of avoiding responsibilities, am I right?
"Looks like Fia already picked up one of your habits." Akari commented and face palmed herself.
After regaining his composure, Alrick approached me. "Speaking of habits, I heard you say 'yosh' and 'nani' a while ago. I'm not familiar with it. Is it a powerful spell?" He asked.
Huh?
HUH?
Do I look that smart to be making up spells on the go?
I pinched my arm to force myself not to laugh. "A-Ah no. That's a word from our country. Y-Yosh means 'okay, I'm going for it,' while Nani means 'what'" I answered while desperately trying to keep all of my laughter down my throat.
Well, 'yosh' and 'nani' are Japanese words. Akari and I are half-Japanese and half-Filipino. My dad's Japanese while my mom's Filipino. For our surnames, we had to take my mom's. The reason why? Well, I don't know. My parents' relationship was a bit hazy and unstable. Both of us grew up in the United States but moved to Japan when we were 10 years old for our training. That's why Akari and I are more comfortable speaking in English since it was our first language. But of course, we're also fluent in Japanese and Filipino as a tribute to our heritage.
Perks of living a diverse life I guess.
Akari nudged me. "In all seriousness, don't do anything stupid like that again. I'm not gonna bother trying the stones with you anymore. I'll just do it in my own time. Who knows, you might pull one of your pranks again. I don't want that to happen. It's just going to be another headache," Akari said before flicking my forehead.
I held my forehead and pouted. That flick hurt! Sometimes, I wonder if she is the older sister here. Gosh! So mature and serious. She'll get wrinkles with that kind of attitude.
Once the commotion has died down, all of us ate our dinner. No one stayed much to chat. Probably because they're all still trying to process what happened. I mean, it's understandable. They were (possibly) almost at the brink of death. Sooooo, I get why they're still a bit traumatized now. Mehehe!
After dinner, I went back to my room and checked my status ring. The same small holographic screen popped up from the emerald stone.
STATUS
NAME: Aki Montenegro
LEVEL: 2
SPIRIT: Yet to be chosen
GUILD TIER: No data
RACE: Lower-world Human
HP: 50/50
SP: 10/10
MP: 50/50
ABILITIES: Magic Manipulation
I noticed that I'm a level 2 now, probably because of the stunt I pulled a while ago. My health and mana are at a full 50 while my skill points were at a full 10.
I raised my eyebrow when I saw I gained my first ability.
"Magic manipulation?" I whispered to myself before noticing the icon that represented it—a blob.
A blob icon.
A. Blob. Icon.
Are you kidding me?
I plopped on my bed as I remembered the sloshing and squelching sounds of that blob. I feel like my soul just left my body because of that icon.