Still in the training room sitting on the mats, the students were using their magic away from each other so they don't disturb the person next to them.
The shapeshifting magic Jake had mimicked from Miss Anna was difficult for him to use so he mimicked Max's force field magic. He was focusing on the flow of magic in his body and he was understanding the feeling he felt from it. Slowly but surely, he would learn how to use magic without the need to think too much.
Kevin was also using his possession magic. He wasn't possessing anyone but the students had still moved far away out of fear of him possessing them by mistake. Kevin triggered his magic and his eyes changed colour to cyan, he didn't go ahead to possess anybody but his eyes were still releasing the spell which made made people around him stay still which is one of the reasons why the students moved far away from him.
Smith didn't know he could use his healing magic without necessarily healing something. It was only until he told Miss Anna he didn't have anything to heal that Miss Anna told him he didn't need something to heal and he could use his magic whether he was healing something or not. He was also focusing on the magic flowing through his body, it was easier for him because he had already been practicing it at home.
Diane was using her colour magic by taking the colour out of an object and returning it just to keep her magic active so she could focus on the magic as it flowed through her. She was finding it difficult to focus on the magic and she was already starting to feel mentally exhausted, concentrating on a particular thing for hours was not an easy task for any of the students.
With his force field surrounding him, Max was also putting all his efforts into concentrating on his flow of magic. The magic flowing through him felt like something cool moving round his body. He was trying to get used to how it flowed inside him.
Standing at the side, Anna watched all of them. Their eyes were closed to help them concentrate better and they were all giving it their best. Learning magic was a crucial and very important aspect of living for most of them who wanted to join the Veda army.
The Veda army wouldn't accept just anyone, the person needed to be good at using magic because that's what the soldiers used to defend Veda from any attack. The army didn't consist of only soldiers so they would still accept people for other positions.
After concentrating on the magic flowing through his body for hours, a student could not do it anymore. "Miss Anna are we going to sit here the whole day focusing on the magic in our body?"
"Yes you are." Anna answered. "Understanding the flow of magic in your body is the first step to using your magic without you putting too much thought into it. And it helps you get full control over your magic, if you know how the magic flows through you there won't be any incidents where you mistakenly triggered your magic or anything like that. You guys can take a break, get something to eat and replenish your mana."
"Thank god."
All the students got up and left the training room, some weren't going anywhere specifically but just wanted to leave the training room and stretch their legs.
"Where are you guys going?" Smith asked Jake and Kevin.
"I'm going to get something to eat." Kevin answered.
"Me too."
On their way to get some food, they saw Duke beating up a scrawny looking boy and his cronies were beside him.
When Kevin saw Jake looking in Duke's direction, he told him "Keep walking Jake. You don't have to get involved, just keep walking."
"You know I can't do that." Jake said still looking at Duke beating the boy.
"You can't or you won't?" Kevin asked.
"I won't." Jake answered as he ran to meet Duke.
Running past his cronies, Jake grabbed the arm Duke was using to hit the boy.
Turning around in annoyance, Duke saw Jake holding his arm. The annoyance left his body and was replaced with a smile on his face. "I've been looking for you." Yanking his arm away from Jake's hand, Duke gave his cronies a signal to back up.
They had already begun to surround Jake but after seeing the signal from Duke, they stopped and went away from him.
Walking past Duke, Jake went to meet the boy and helped him stand straight. Taking him away, Jake walked back to where Kevin and Smith were standing.
"Smith, do you have enough mana to heal him?" Jake asked.
"I'm not sure but I can still try." Moving towards Jake and the boy, Smith began using his healing magic to heal the injuries Duke had given him.
"That's a handy type of magic you got there."
Looking at Duke in fear, Smith's hands started shaking. The memories of all the beatings Duke had given him was still fresh in his mind.
"Looks like someone's still a scared little boy. Hiding behind your new friends Smith?" Duke moved closer to Smith but was stopped by Jake's hand on his chest.
"That's close enough." Jake said.
"And if I decide to move closer, who's going to stop me?" Duke asked smiling sardonically.
"How about my fist in your face?" Jake asked as he put the boy Smith was healing on the ground.
"I'd love to see you try that." Turning invisible, Duke moved silently from where he was to Smith who was healing the boy. "Catch both of you losers next time."
Quickly moving to where Duke was after hearing his voice, Jake looked round searching for any indication of where Duke might have gone to.
"Hahahahaha." Duke laughed as he moved. "I can't wait for our fight Jake, I hope you are getting ready for it. Until we meet again, this is my parting gift." Giving Smith a heavy blow on the head, Duke walked away laughing.
Running in the direction the laughter was coming from, Jake was about to throw a punch at the spot where he thought Duke most likely was when one of Duke's cronies jumped at him.
Falling down with Duke's crony on top of him, Jake pushed him away, stood up and gave the him a kick on his head which he won't be getting up from anytime soon. Seeing the other cronies running towards him, Jake used the force field magic he had mimicked from Max to protect himself. Remembering one of his quests which was for him to get beaten up by three or more people, Jake groaned and removed the force field.
Attacking Jake at the same time, the cronies were hitting and kicking Jake from all sides. They took advantage of Jake standing there not doing anything.
Jake was taking the beating they were giving him, he didn't move a muscle to attack them and just let them beat him till they got tired.
They tried to put him on the ground but the one thing he wouldn't do was fall to the ground. If they wanted to beat him they would have to beat him while he was standing.
Watching from a corner, Duke was wondering why Jake was allowing his cronies to beat him up. He knew Jake could beat at least five of them on his own and even his friend, Kevin, wasn't doing anything but watch them beat Jake.
Kevin had taken a step forward wanting to get involved but Jake had shaken his head at him telling him not to do anything.
When the cronies were tired of beating Jake, they left him and walked away. Walking with a little limp in his step, Jake went to meet Smith and Kevin. There were bruises all over him and part of his clothes were stained with blood.
"Jake, are you alright?" Smith asked as he rushed to meet him with blood coming out from his head.
"I'm okay, but you might want to heal that wound on your head. It doesn't look good." Seeing Smith using his magic to heal him, Jake held his hands and stopped him. "I told you I'm fine, you don't have to heal me. Instead use your remaining mana to heal yourself or keep healing him." Jake said, pointing to the boy that was still on the ground.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Kevin asked. "Why'd you let them beat you like that?"
"I didn't feel like doing anything, I'm seriously okay."
"If you say so."
Getting off the ground, the boy Jake had saved from Duke bowed his head to Jake. "Thank you, thank you very much for helping me. I don't know what condition I would have been in if not for you. Thank you very much. If there is ever a way I can repay you, please let me know."
"It's cool, you don't have to repay me. I was just stopping that idiot from having his way with the students everytime."
Turning to Smith with his head still bowed, the boy also thanked Smith for healing him. "Thank you for healing me with your magic."
"It was nothing, really." Smith said.
When he was done thanking them, he left them.
"I think we should go grab something to eat quickly and get back to the training room." Kevin said.