Chapter 7: Magic/Center Recreation

In an abandoned cave were two people: a masked-man on a poor quality chair and a figure, covered in a black cloak, genuflecting. The white mask was decorated with six circles that echoed outwards from the center of the forehead. An old style cane rested on top of its owner’s lap.

“Soon… After all these years, the time will soon arrive…” the masked man mumbled.

“Shall I begin preparations?” the cloaked figure humbly asked.

“No, it is still too early. Just a little longer… Just awhile more for the stars to arrive… Patience is key, until the stars have aligned...” his voice trembled with excitement as he thought of the destined future.

“Understood.” The cloaked man completely merged with the surrounding darkness and disappeared in a matter of seconds.

Kingdom of Highborn, Highborn Academy…

Yin wandered the north side of the academy, searching for a particular building. After being appointed as an Enforcer, he asked for directions to facilities that allow magic practice. It was then that Highborn’s ‘Combat/Magic Recreation’ was recommended to him.

“It should be around here…” Yin said as he recalled Drake’s direction.

After walking ahead for a few more minutes he stumbled upon what seem to be his destination. The sign ‘Combat/Magic Recreation’ was written on a large, outdoor signed stationed ten meters in front of a three-story building.

Yin entered the building, following behind other students that funneled into the entrance.

The left and right side had elegant, cushioned chairs aligned with the glass walls. High tables and chairs were formed further in, between the various stores that sells drinks, foods, and tomes. A line was formed to the gated entrance of the stairs.

It was impossible to escape the sounds of students training from the second floor. Cries of laughter mixed with disappointment, sounds of wooden sounds clashing -- it was like a mock battlefield up there.

Gazing to the front of the line, Yin felt like he should make better use of his time. There weren’t many people behind him either, so he didn’t mind stepping out of line.

Browsing the various foods and drinks stores opened his mind to the kind of dining that was common to nobles. He wasn’t a food connoisseur, but their fancy names and the high price made him drool from ear to ear. His empty pockets soon snapped him back to reality, and he left to his last detour: the tomes store.

There were two tomes stores, and it resembled a lot like a library. Rows and columns of colored covers were stored on wooden shelves. Signs hang from the ceiling, representing the section’s element. Yin walked into the left one and explored their wares. Much to his surprise there weren’t any non-elemental tomes on display. His hope to expand his repertoire dwindled, but it didn’t extinguish.

One of the workers saw his puzzled state and approached him. “Can I help you, sir?” the girl asked.

Her young appearance, maybe a year or two older than Yin, matched the youthfulness of the average student, so being called ‘sir’ surprised him. Formality wasn’t his strong suite, at least not compared to nobles with such an upbringing. Yin found the name ‘Rain,’ from the white nametag contrasting her red work uniform.

“Actually, I could use your help, Rain. Are non-elemental tomes in stock?” Yin asked.

A tanned index finger rhythmically tapped her forehead as she pondered the store’s inventory. “I think… we do.”

Rain opened a door to a box-filled room. It was amazing that she could navigate through what little tiny walkway there was. She returned with a grey tome that had an unnatural symbol compare to the other elemental tomes. Fire tomes had an easily distinct flame for its symbol, and similarly the other elements had their own distinct symbols.

The book she handed Yin had a grey cover with a dark, swirling circle at the center. It was his first time seeing such a tome. Much of his spells were taught by his uncle for self-defense, so he was excited to be able to learn other spells.

“Are you really going to buy this? People rarely study non-elementals these days.” Rain was intrigued by him. Since she started working here, she never had a customer who bought a non-elemental tome.

Yin nodded. “Could you reserve this for me? I’ll come back for it later.”

Rain noticed his non-bulging pockets and laughed. “Reserved? I don’t think anyone would buy these in a hundred years! Just take it, it’s on me.”

Yin, astonished by her kind nature, asked, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It’ll be years before my manager notice we’re missing one of those. Take it and leave before my manager gets back.” Rain smiled.

“Thanks. I’m Yin, I owe you one!” Yin smiled back and walked away.

Exiting the store, he noticed the line shorten to three people. By the time he walked there, he was already next in queue. Both Yin and the stationed worker stared at each other.

“So… how does this work?” Yin asked.

The worker noticed the red armband labeled ‘Enforcer,’ and pointed to the entrance on the right.

‘PERSONNEL ONLY,’ read the red and white sign on the gated entrance.

Yin pushed the gate and proceeded up the stair.

The second floor mostly consisted of training mats. Weapon racks were found along the walls, and the entire room was one big training ground. Training dummies were on the left side of the room for solo practice, and the right side of the room was free of obstacles.

It was there that he found the source of the ruckus he heard all the way from the first floor. Vega, equipped with a bamboo sword, stood triumphantly in front of disgruntled students on their bottoms. That grin on his face was like a tyrant looking down on his villagers.

“C’mon! Is that all you guys are good at? If you can’t beat me one-on-one, then attack me at the same time. Duh!” Vega shamelessly provoked. He circled the group of injured students with the attitude of an undefeated warrior. Their wounds weren’t life-threatening, but they were light either.

One of the defeated students, bursting with anger, waited for an opportunity to strike him when he wasn’t looking. The student tightly gripped his wooden sword with both of his hands, shouted with all his might, and viciously strike Vega’s back.

“No.” Vega’s strike was at a far greater speed than the student’s sneak attack, and he sent him flying off the training mat. The sound of the student crashing into the weapon rack caught the attention of all the students on the second floor. Students from the left and right side of the room were worried for their fellow peer and immediately went to check on his condition.

Vega clicked his tongue. “So weak.”

A student noticed Yin wearing his armband and shouted, “Hey! Do something about this!”

Another student noticed Yin and laughed. “It’s an Enforcer! That kid is in so much trouble now.”

In a matter of seconds, the commotion soon turned towards Vega, as if he was going to suffer a death penalty.

Yin, dumbfounded by all of this, didn’t know how to react. He let out a few fake coughs to give himself time to think. But those few seconds only last so long. Running out of time and option, the only thing he could think of was to improvise his way out of it.

Yin awkwardly strutted his way towards Vega.

Vega noticed another student emerging from the crowd, but this one wore a red armband. Upon realizing who the student really was, Vega wanted to greet him, but Yin’s eyes suggested otherwise.

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“Come with me.” Yin demanded in an unfamiliar tone.

Vega immediately picked up on his hint and annoyingly said, “Bunch of weaklings that can only rely on someone else.”

Shut up, Vega! Yin internally screamed while keeping a composed face.

“Wait! What are you doing?” An injured student shouted. “Look what he did to us! You’re just going to let him get away unharmed?”

Yin racked his brain, trying to find a way out of this. The memories of his uncle on that day came to mind, a day when Yin was still a child.

Yin’s calm face gradually transitioned into his ugliest mugshot. Those unrelenting eyes and pissed-off look made all the students in the room disconcerted.

“You tryin’ to tell me how to do my job? Huh?! I’ll write you up for disturbing my work! Come with me!” Yin demanded in his attempted annoyed voice.

“Uh… No, not at all… Please continue!” The student cried and back-pedaled his way out of their sight.

“Good. You, come with me, now!” Yin demanded as he turned around.

Not even Vega knew who he was talking to anymore. This was an entire side of Yin that Vega never seen before. This sense of unfamiliarity made it easier for him to act defeated.

“Yes, sir.” Vega closely trailed from behind.

Yin led them outside and behind the building, making sure no one was around them.

Vega couldn’t hold his laughter in anymore – it all came spewing out.

“Hey, hey, what if someone hears you?” Yin chuckled.

“What the hell was that! That hideous face and… the hell was that voice?!” Vega clutched his stomach.

“I could say the same to you. I almost exposed myself when you called me ‘sir.’” Yin laughed.

They both calmed down after a minute of air-gasping, tear-jerking laughter. Sitting side-by-side, the two

“So what happen? It’s not like you to beat up innocent people.” Yin inquired.

“They were far from innocent. I saw them bully a few new students I recognize from the entrance ceremony. Me, Vale, and Melody happen to be there while we were eating lunch. I wanted to teach those punks a thing or two, but Vale quickly stopped me. Warning me to calm down and stay out of it, otherwise I’ll end up in a situation similar to you.” Vega explained.

Yin couldn’t help but laughed.

Vega continued, “So I stalked them and luckily they were going to this place. I also needed practice for the upcoming tournament. Made it a whole lot easier on my end. The rest is as you saw: I beat them up, and they came crying to you. They’re so pathetic. Up until the very end, they couldn’t take it like a man.”

“They are who they are, you beating them won’t cause a drastic change. Anyway, there are more Enforcers now, and I can’t guarantee I can bail you out every time. Be careful in the future.” Yin warned.

“Yeah, thanks for the advice. If the time comes, then I hope you’ll be there to help me out again.” Vega smiled.

Yin chuckled. “Yeah. Don’t really have a choice, do I?”

“So what were you here for? Did you wanted to hit up a round?” Vega asked.

Yin shook his head. “I’m not a battle maniac like you. I was actually here to study this.” Yin held up the grey tome in his hand.

Vega’s sense of aversion activated as he leaned away from the tome. “More spells? Good luck with that.”

“Try picking one up one day. I’m sure there’s one out there suited for you.” Yin commented.

“Been there, done that. It’s too boring. Besides, I don’t need it.” Vega laughed.

“Suit yourself. Anyway, I want to get this book started before it gets dark. See ya around.” Yin waved.

And with that, Yin departed and went towards the third floor of Magic/Combat Recreation. The third floor had large rectangular rooms allocated throughout the entire floor with appropriate hallways. Each room had three white walls that expanded from the floor to the ceiling. A glass wall served as an entrance for any spectators to watch unhindered from outside the room. All the hallways had ground-benches, facing towards its respective room.

Yin entered one of the rooms and closed the glass door behind him. A picture of a padlock appeared on the door handle when it closed. In this closed room, Yin felt a foreign magic installed on the floor. On a closer inspection the foreign magic coated the entire room.

The air was lighter in here, and every movement his body made – breathing, his clothes rustling, his footsteps – they’d echo. Training here was a different experience, and also exhilarating. His methods back home were to train under his uncle’s supervision, so if anything went wrong his uncle would be there to clean up his mess. Yet, now he’s all by himself.

I don’t have much mana left in me, but I should test it out. He threw out a fireball at the furthest wall to test his theory. Upon immediate impact the shielded layer of the wall rippled, and the fireball dispersed as if it’s entire existence had been rejected.

I see… Magical formation that acts similar to [Dispel], but it seems this one is way stronger than mine. With the safety of the room out of the way, Yin opened the grey tome and began studying it. Magic tomes are literature works born since the Age of Mana. Many tomes are an inch thick or bigger, yet they would generally only contain two or three spells. Most of the content in tomes are concepts, applied theories, and general usage. However, basic spells don’t need their own tomes; they can be picked up in a short amount due to their easy-access nature.

While reading the thin pages of the tome, he found himself enamored to it. The author of the book wasn’t stated for whatever reason, but the tome’s concepts and theories aligned with his thoughts of how non-elemental magic worked. As he read further and further, he delved into the realm that he couldn’t comprehend.

Yielding to higher knowledge, Yin closed the tome until the day he would be able to conquer it. But not all was in vain. The first-third of the book explained about a spell called [Magic Missile]. Yin easily understood everything explained, and all that was left was to practice until it’s perfect.

Yin pointed his wand at the furthest wall, then incanted and invoked [Magic Missile]. A single beam of compacted, and condensed grey energy flew towards the wall before completely dispersing, similar to his fireball from earlier. Although it was a success, Yin felt that it could’ve been much better.

This is so much easier to control compare to my fireball. Yin conjured more mana into the spell and launch a bigger energy beam from his wand. The size grew fairly thicker, yet its fate ended in the same way.

Energy beams after energy beams continued to fly towards the wall. Bigger, smaller, wider, longer –  he tested his limits by utilizing the beam in all sorts of ways. They flew in all sorts of directions, curving and making sharp turns at his will. His body gradually grew weaker, heavier, and tiresome – he was running out of mana. Not a dent in the wall, yet with a grinning nod, he was satisfied with today’s progression.

Yin left the recreation center and made his way towards his night job.