Ashton struck his right foot forward a bit urging Alden to charge first and the latter did. Alden sighed and dashed towards Ashton in haste. Ashton strucked his right hand forward to attack Alden but the latter caught him by the arm while swerving Ashton's arm behind him at the same time. He cupped his arm dangerously with his other hand and stretched the hand backwards.
"Argh!" Ashton flinched in pain at how far stretched his hand had been while trying to tap out of that scene but Alden wasn't going to let him have it easy.
Ashton finally managed to set himself free by kicking one of Alden's leg and he tried to manipulate a blow to get in contact with Alden's face but Alden was quick enough to dodge the attack by swerving backwards and he tried to grab Ashton's arm again but Ashton was quick this time as he ducked being grabbed by his opponent by slamming the grasping hand away with a kick.
Ashton kept trying to make a solid kick on Alden's face with his leg by jumping and turning mid air and slamming his foot against the gush to hit his opponents' face but all attempts kept failing. But Ashton finally managed to grab Alden's arm and bent him over making his back hunch as he stretched his arm behind him just the same way Alden had done to him.
"Argh!" Alden grunted in pain, his eyes twitching sporadically. He strained himself to turn at Ashton while leveling his free hands along with his painful but wistfully turn. This time, Alden's fisted palm met with Ashton's face in a sickening crunch which sent Ashton reeling backwards and setting his other arm free at the same time.
"Ah! That hurts!" Ashton yelped holding his fisted cheek but he was at the verge of giving up yet. "We're yet to finish this Alden!" Ashton smirked, badding Alden to come closer for more.
Alden responded to Ashton's call with a small smile and he charged forward at full speed and as he moved, he folded the fingers on his left hand and raised it at Ashton as he charged earnestly towards him. As he got closer, he unleashed his thumb, index and middle finger systematically as they emitted a soft glow leaving Ashton in an ethereal shock.
"Huh?!" The boy panicked. "What is this magic?" He finally managed to say before a strange gust of manipulated wind swept him off his feets suspending him in the air and landing him against the bark of a tree which was like a hundred yards away from the field.
"Oh shit!" Ashton mumbled to himself as he wretched in pain. He could hear Ulysses laugh wildly a couple of yards away and this only peaked his anger and made him feel more embarrassed. He had won the fight against Ulysses but the defeated cat had just watched him get battered up by someone else.
*Sigh!*
"That was quite a lot of skill for a newbie like you." Marcus said striding towards where Ashton had been knocked into.
"Oh please!" Ashton groaned, managing to get up on his feets alone, without help. "You didn't tell me we could attempt to use magic." He sneered.
"There were no rules." Marcus subtly replied.
"Why didn't you say so?"
"Well…it's because you didn't ask."
"You could have just announced it in the first place! Big deal?!"
"You could have asked if there were rules too."
"Whatever!" Ashton grunted, walking away from the tree back into the field in an attempt to join both Alden and Ulysses in the fight they had started. "What am I learning next?" Ashton asked.
"The basics of magic." Marcus announced trailing behind Ashton.
"Huh?"
"You cannot try to wield magic without knowing the basics or its origin Ashton, all these little details will help you better yourself into a great Sage or rather still mage."
"Hmm…hit me!"
"There are eight types of magic…'' Marcus started walking in circles around Ashton.
"Not again! Some boring lectures?!" Ashton said under his breath. He tried to lose focus from Marcus' words by throwing punches in the air. "I think what I need to learn is how to fight back better rather than some boring talks." He shrugged.
But, Marcus was not paying attention to his words as he continued with his speech. "...the eight types of magic are; appearance, levitation, penetration, prediction, restoration, transformation, transposition and vanish. Each type had a different approach, difficulty level and expertise." He stopped checking if Ashton was listening or not.
He cleared his throat then continued.
"The more grounded you are in wielding magic, the more vast and versatile you will be even without the help of your spirit guide. You…"
"Spirit guide?" Ashton asked his questions, cutting through Marcus' words abruptly, the 'spirit guide' peaking his interest. "What is that?"
"It's a powerful spirit which had leveled up and attained the peak stage during their past life. Their spirit cannot transcend into heaven not until they have helped with guiding young mages to level up and overcome battles."
"What do they look like?"
"They take different forms when they are attached to their hosts and no other person can see your spirit guide except you."
"Cool…what exactly do they do?"
"They are like your foresight…they tell you how things are to be and if you're in a battle with an enemy, they give you real time update of how you are be it strength, dexterity and all sought of things, after winning a battle with the mutants, you gain power points and spirit points which aids you to level up."
"Sounds interesting. How do I get my spirit guide?" Ashton asked "I want one now!"
"You have to pass your final tests first, Ashton. Then after that you will be guided to the old chapel where your system guide will be bestowed to you and after that, you will have to attune with your spirit guide. If you're lucky enough, you will escape death; if it does choose you as its host." Marcus explained further.
"And if it doesn't…I die?"
Marcus nodded in response and hummed a yes as well. He continued from where he had stopped his lecture again.
"All magic in the world draws upon the six primal sources…"
"Not again!" Ashton mumbled, rolling his eyes.
"... enormous, powerful entities of the natural world: the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the sky and the ocean are emitters of the elemental powers we have been bestowed with…"
"Marcus!" A voice called from a distance making Marcus stop his lecture. Everyone looked behind to see who was called and the figure approached them.
"Aurelia!" Marcus called back with a smile smudging on his face. Ashton smirked at the sight before him. He could have thought Marcus could falter his cold demeanor when a girl arrives? And it was Aurelia?!! The girl who had piqued his interest as well???!
'Shit! A triangle working here!" Ashton thought to himself a small frown etching on his face but he quickly faltered his resolve as Aurelia finally arrived amidst them.
"Got any news?" Marcus said with a calm tone while slipping his hands into his pockets.
"Yeah…" Aurelia replied to him with a smile. She turned at Ashton and mumbled a small 'Hello Ashton's before she continued with the information she had brought. "There has been a breach in the eastern part of the city by some mutants so the test will be fastened up." Aurelia broke the news.
"Huh?" Ashton shrugged. "How does that affect us?"
"The tests have been shortened. You all have one written test and one last physical strength test!"
"But why?" Ulysses broke in with a question as he and Alden had both walked up to the trio.
"More Mages are needed to relinquish the attack. This might be the first mission you guys will be going for." Marcus explained in line with Aurelia's words.
"Wait, what?!"