Chapter 1:
I completed the two required tests. I've been accepted into the academy. But before I go attend class there is one more thing I would like to do. "Just one more battle." The mattress I laid in engulfed my entirety. A marshmallow. I was given a room within the academy, essentially a dorm room. Of course, it came with a roommate. I turned my head to the left and from there I could see another bed, with a boy deep in sleep. I'll properly introduce myself in the morning. Good night.
As morning came, I rose and sat on the edge of my bed. In front of me, my fellow roommate also woke up. "Hmm?" The boy quickly sat up and faced me. "Who-" He cut himself as if realizing something. "Ah, you're Theo Miligram no?" I nodded. He leaped out of his bed and grabbed my hands. His eyes almost seemed like they were glowing. "Oh sorry about that." He let go. "My name is Kent von Eiuagth and don't worry about honorifics, just call me Kent." He's odd but seems friendly. "I'll call you that then." I stood up, grabbed my newly acquired uniform, and quickly changed. "I'll see you later." I left and shut the door. "Oh okay then."
I did believe it was morning, but I didn't expect so many people roaming around. The dorm room I stayed in was located near the main hall in the dormitory. Just by turning left and taking a few steps down a hallway, I was at the entrance of the building. People conversed. Others went in and out of the building. No one seemed to notice me, they were focused on their worlds. To reach the main hall I had to descend a grand set of stairs. I'm not sure what the type of staircase is called, maybe a perron…except indoors. I'll just call it a double staircase. I familiarized myself with the building and its backyard. There were two floors full of housing rooms, the main hall also connecting to the dining hall. Outside to the back of the building was a training ground. There was probably more but I didn't feel like exploring much more. Most importantly, where was I supposed to go? I was given no schedule, so I had no clue which class to attend. No one has even told when the battle against Marcus starts.
I remembered the roommate I had briefly talked to earlier. Maybe he knows more. I walked through the main hall and reached the hallway leading to my dorm room. I opened the door and of course, he wasn't there. I started to scratch my head. There should be other students who I can ask. But with the time I spent exploring the dormitory, most students have already headed to class. I ran through the main hall stepping outside. I spotted two people at a distance at the entrance of the dormitory. I ran over and as I got closer I realized who the two students were.
It was Marcus and my roommate Kent. "Good morning Theo, you've finally shown up." What? They were waiting for me? "Wait, Mr. Blanke-'' He frowned and nodded. "You may be a junior but we are all students here. There's no need for formalities, not for anyone." Ok then, "Marcus, I wasn't notified about anything and I left at this time on a whim." The two boys opposite me looked at each other and started to slightly chuckle. Kent took a step forward. "Yeah sorry about that, the principal had work to do and could not notify or send anyone to do that. Luckily Marcus noticed and decided to head here himself. Just follow us." Marcus and Kent turned and started to walk out of the gates separating the dormitory from the rest of the school grounds.
I followed closely behind. They seemed to be good friends the way they continuously chatted away. I wonder who this Kent guy really is. While lost in thought I noticed a bit more of the surroundings. I hadn't gotten a good look yesterday, but the place looks a lot prettier than I thought. In fact, how much money do they invest in this academy? But if the school has the royal family backing it I guess funds are not at all an issue. The entire academy was essentially a mini city. Many could live perfectly fine without ever stepping outside school grounds.
The three of them continue down a pebble path leading to the coliseum. "Initially, this battle was going to be public, but the principal decided against the idea." Marcus turned to look at me while we continued to walk. "So there's no reason to hold back." He thinks I've been holding back? Technically he's not wrong but I lost all contact with my original powers. Even if I could access them, I'm in no shape to properly control it. "I don't think there's much else for me to show you." He ignored what I said and kept moving. Soon enough, we reached the coliseum and went inside. The Coliseum had only two other people except for the two with me. The two were Elaine and Ms. White who were waiting. "Now that everyone is here we can start the final duel." I moved to one side of the arena waiting for the others to get situated. Marcus soon positioned himself parallel to me. "Are both sides ready?" We both nodded. "In that case begin!"
Chapter 2:
Marcus made the first move, parts of the ground started to form pillars and launch at me. The amount I had to dodge was ridiculous but not impossible. I think Marcus was trying to waste my stamina, and magic and restrict my movement. I have to get out of this trap!
I dive in between the pillars going through small cracks where the other rocks can't reach me. On second thought this might have been a bad idea. I found myself in a maze-like construction. I could escape through the air but then I'd be vulnerable. At the very least he can't see or attack me quite yet. So I have to approach him without getting noticed. I'm not sure if he can sense magic but I'll try it anyway, "magic sense".
Interesting. I sort of thought I would see magic essence everywhere but, There are strands underneath the ground, probably supplying the rock formations and they all lead to a single point.
I make my way through the rocks, breaking through some. I made sure that the ones I destroyed weren't attached to the magical strands. Otherwise, he'd know exactly where I was. I peek through a crack in the walls and I notice a decent amount of space, but I found it unoccupied. Suddenly the ground started to shake, and the pillars started to collapse one by one. I have no choice but to leap upward to avoid getting crushed. I leap off of the ground and then the remaining pillars before making my way out of the structure. From above I could see the cobweb of pillars slowly breaking apart. I slowly hovered down, but before I could reach the ground, the debris started to vibrate before flying directly toward me. I deflected the small bits by pushing them away with wind magic, but the large rocks I had to quickly propel myself to the side to avoid them. I eventually made my way to the ground, and at that point, the debris seemed to disappear. There in front of me a mere 5 meters away stood Marcus.
"You enjoy the little charade I had planned for you?" That jerk. He's completely playing around. But I can't complain because he's truly, much stronger than me. "Ground-based attacks are actually my weakest, but they have some versatility that I forced myself to use. For example, I could combine it with water." At that moment, the ground became liquid and I started to slowly sink into the ground. Is this quicksand?! I strike the ground with a strong burst of wind hurling me back and out of the mud. I tumble a little before stopping. I looked at my hands, they got tattered from the high-speed wind. Yeah, he's just too strong. He could've ended the fight from the beginning. I might as well show him my strongest attack.
"Wind Drill."
A large burst of wind formed in front of me. I slowly molded the winds into a triangular cone resembling a drill. Then I corrected the rotations of the different wind velocities, making them all rotate in the same direction. I made the spell after Arthur demonstrated how you can control the wind's different properties. For example, you can control the speed of the wind and the direction. In that case, you should be able to make the wind stationary but also force the wind to cause multiple circular rotations.
In conclusion, the spell is capable of piercing through large rocks and iron. I shot out the spell with my two hands and the spell flew at Marcus almost catching him off guard. The spell itself doesn't take long to create, it's just the amount of meticulous control you would need beforehand. Marcus creates a barrier of rock, which is broken easily. It was about to hit him directly but suddenly the drill stopped in its tracks. What?
The spell was still active but it stopped right in front of Marcus. I noticed something reflecting the light from the sun, next to Marcus. I looked closer and saw a small transparent wall. Is that a barrier? Magic barriers are created by surrounding the user with a small layer of Magos. From my early knowledge, I was led to believe that using Magos without filtering it was extremely deadly because it can cause multiple illnesses. But I later learned that you can use Magos by using a technique called sublimation. Instead of trying to absorb the Magos and forcing them into a magic core, you skip the process by turning Magos into a physical substance. When turned into a physical substance it becomes a catalyst allowing you to use special spells. But even then, magic barriers have a deceptive weakness. It can block magical and physical attacks, but it has to let some particles inside, otherwise, the person using the barrier would suffocate. Another reason why wind magic is useful is it can go through magic barriers. Unless he purposefully made his barrier completely airtight. Meaning he's holding his breath…
You made the wrong move Marcus. I can keep the spell going for as long as I need, at the very least enough before you have to disable the barrier to breathe. Marcus had a small smirk. Then mouthed something.
"Today is my victory."
Huh?
Suddenly a pillar appeared behind me striking me on the head. I almost immediately fell to my knees before everything went black.