Chapter 39.
PART 1.
Shin wakes up in the morning, checking his time on his watch. ‘Six in the morning, just like we agreed.’ Though he is surprised that the rest of the boys are still asleep, including Hatori.
‘Oh well, I’ll let him sleep. I’ll wake him up once I’m ready.’ He decides.
Going to his trunk, he picks up his clothes plus his school dress, and goes to the bathroom for a shower. His moving around in the room wakes up Raven. He expected Hatori to be awake already, but Raven is surprised by listening to his soft snoring.
Meanwhile, Josh is snoring heavily, sleeping like a log, uncaring for what is going on around him.
Freshly showered, and having tied the bells of his hair, Shin goes to wake up Hatori. “You should wake him up from a distance.” Raven croaked from his bed.
“Why?” asked Shin, stopping on his track.
“Because he can be dangerous when woken up.” Explained Raven.
“Nah, at worst, he’s just going to grumble some.” Ignoring Raven’s protests, Shin shakes Hatori.
He promptly receives a punch on his belly, knocking the wind out of him. ”Yawa!” yawns Hatori. “Good morning, Shin.” Said Hatori, after sensing him near his bed. “Ready for the training?”
“Y—yeah.” said Shin, recovering his breath.
Hatori, ignorant to what he just did, goes for a shower after brushing his teeth. Meanwhile, Raven is feeling smug from his bed. “Told you.”
“I should have listened.” Shin agreed.
PART 2.
After Hatori showered and got dressed, they walked to the ground, and found an isolated part near the stream, underneath a large oak tree. Leaving Josh asleep, James and Raven follow them. Raven wanted to keep an eye on Hatori. This Academy is a dangerous place. Sure, they haven’t encountered any, but this is just their first week. He is sure that there will be some trouble, sooner or later.
Meanwhile, James has come as a spectator, wondering about how to approach Shin and Hatori, and get himself involved in the training. Though Raven doesn’t know the real reason for his presence on the ground, he is happy all the same. After all, two are better than one, right?
“So, let’s start by what spells you already know.” Said Hatori.
“Well, Knockback and Levitation.” Hatori twitched, He still doesn’t consider Levitation a spell. “And Disorient, which uses sound.”
“That’s a unique one. mind casting that on me?” He asked.
“Sure. You asked for it.” bringing his foci out, which looks like the staff of an orchestral conductor, he casts the spell on Hatori.
Hatori stumbles hard as soon as the spell connects. He feels as if multiple people have punched him at the same time. Shin grabbed him before he could fall to the ground. “Wonderful.” He is ecstatic. “This spell is wonderful.”
Recovering from his bout of dizziness, he finds some large boulders, which surprisingly didn’t prove to be that hard. “Now, this spell is called Pierce.” Hatori casts the spell on the boulder. A sharp spike of energy comes out of his palm. “Master Zeko could cast this spell just from his small finger.”
Raven, James, and Shin watch this entire spectacle, as Hatori casted that spell without foci. “Look at the hole.” He said to Shin. “It is not smooth as master Zeko, but I’ve gotten quite good with it. It is the sign of improving control over magic.”
“So, do I have to cast it without foci as well?” asked Shin.
“Nah, try to cast it with your foci first. You can then move on to fociless casting, or just ignore it. It’s up to you.” said Hatori. He is not going to train him fully in the ways of Zeko. Mostly because Shin isn’t his apprentice. It is not his responsibility to hand-hold him every step of the way.
“Here’s another spell. This one is called Slice.” Hatori separated the boulder in two pieces, once more, putting his audience into shock, just when they started to recover from the first one. Raven remembers this spell. He fired this spell at Professor Amelia during the first day of their class.
“Learn to cast these spells, and improve your control over them. For now, that is the most important thing.” Shin nodded.
“Now that’s out of the way, let’s duel.” Shin is surprised.
“Already?”
“Of course. I need to know how you react to the pressure.” Said Hatori. “Let’s keep it simple. We will only use Knockback spell, and whoever hits the ground will lose.”
“Sounds good.” Agreed Shin.
“Raven, will you toss a stone?” asked Hatori. “When that stone hits the ground, we will begin.”
Raven picks up a small stone. He throws it, and the stone lands in the middle of them, and Hatori fires his Knockback spell. He kept his speed slow. He reminds himself to practice his casting speed, lest he get slow, and punished by Zeko.
Hatori notes that the movement of Shin is already good. He complains about how unfair it is, because it took him a lot of practice to keep his movement sharp. And yet, Shin already seems to have it, naturally. His reaction speed is also fast. Though casting speed is rather slow. Let’s not even talk about stamina. Unable to keep up with Hatori’s relentless assault, Shin takes the Knockback spell right in his face, and ends up on the ground.
“Ug. Your spell hits harder than I thought.” He picked himself up from the ground.
“I’ve learned to adjust the force as my control has improved.” Noticing James watching from the distance, Hatori decides to invite him. “James?” He’s startled at his name being called suddenly. “Why don’t you come here, and show us what spells you know?”
“Well…” he makes his way to the clearing hesitatingly. “Sure.” He decides to be confident. After all, Hatori called him, didn’t he?
Finding another boulder for James when he requested it, Hatori expected some damaging spells. And he is not disappointed. “Shatter!” This spell caused a line of cracks to appear on the boulder. “Disable!” Some dust falls from the boulder. “Paralyze.” That spell did nothing.
James flushed in embarrassment. “Looks like that last one shows its effects only on humans.” Judged Raven.
“Yeah. You can’t paralyze a rock, now can you?” said Shin.
“Good. Some truly unique spells.” praised Hatori. “Mind explaining them to us? Unless they are secret.” Added Hatori quickly.
“They’re not secret.” Said James, now recovered from his embarrassment. “The first one is for breaking bones within a body; that’s why you see a crack like that. The second one is supposed to disable them, making it impossible for the opponent to move. The spell works internally in the body; that’s why you only saw some dust. The last one is suppose to paralyze the opponent. The paralysis can be controlled depending on the force of the spell, ranging from a complete paralysis to a partial one.” They all see James in a new light. “How did you learn these spells?” asked Raven.
“I just kind of picked them up from books.” He said evasively.
Seeing he is not ready or willing to share more info, Hatori decides to duel him. “Let’s duel. Same rules as before. I assume you remember them?” At James’s nod, Hatori continues. “Though please don’t cast those spells on me. None of us are ready to handle a duel of that level.”
James smiled. “Wouldn’t think of it.”
Once more, Raven tosses a stone, making it land in the middle of them. Once more, Hatori is able to keep his initiative, firing the first Knockback of the duel. Though James is not as fast in movement and reaction as Shin, his stamina and accuracy are better than his. He also managed to clip Hatori with a few Knockback spells of his own. But Hatori has trained with the likes of Neshma and Nandan, so his experience prevailed, and James falls to the ground, unable to keep himself standing.
“You know, I only won because we restricted ourselves to the Knockback. I doubt I would be able to beat you if you decided to use those other spells against me.” said Hatori.
“That is of course, assuming you don’t slice me in two.” They both laughed together.
Hatori decides that James could be quite deadly in the future. Already he can subdue anyone from their year if he wants to. If he continues to work like that, he can be quite dangerous.
“Say, since you’re so good, why don’t you fight against us?” challenges Shin. “What do you say buddy? Should we bring him down a peg or two?”
“I don’t think that’ll work.” Said Raven.
“Nah, I’m sure we can beat him together.” Shin is quite confident.
“Fine. Let’s go already.” Raven sighed. After Hatori agreed. He already knew what was coming.
After all, he and Josh tried beating him together in the castle, and that didn’t turn out that well. And today, Raven gets to see a glimpse of why. Maybe he should come with them to practice in the morning as well. He doesn’t want to be left behind.
He tosses the stone, and it lands between the three duelists. Hatori was on one side, and Shin and James were on the other side. Despite their advantage, they couldn’t seas the initiative, and Hatori still casts the first spell.
Even two versus one odds are not enough to make Hatori use his foci. Instead, he used both of his hands for firing spells, while he used just one hand against James and Shin earlier. They are unable to handle the increased volume of spells as a result, and they both end up on the ground, having lost the duel.
Raven just shakes his head. It is a good thing that the soil is soft here. They would have been badly injured by their repeated falls by this point. He knew this would happen, having already fought with Hatori together with Josh.
PART 3.
After the handicap duel is concluded, clapping echoes in the clearing, putting Raven on the guard. ‘They must be exhausted. I hope they have enough energy left to run.’ He thinks, while observing this stranger.
He appears to be a fifth-year student. Judging from his build, he is not a stranger to physical exertion. From his clothes and ornaments on his person, Raven concludes that he must belong to some high-class family.
“Wonderful performance, bravo!” He praised Hatori.
“Of course, you two aren’t that bad either; he just has more experience than you, along with training.” He said to Shin and James.
Turning to Raven, he continued. “Be at ease. I’m not here to harm any of you.” He assures. “If anything, my presence is likely to keep you safe from other students' interference, especially from the second years. Though the older students aren’t allowed to touch the students in the first to third year, the same rule doesn’t apply to the students of that year. Meaning, you can end up in a fight with a second or a third-year student.”
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if someone decides to use them as a proxy.” Hatori deduces.
Raven agreed, having already arrived at the same conclusion. “Oh? How do you know that?” asked the unknown youth.
“Because that is what I would have done.” Answers Hatori.
“I believe some introductions are in order, if we’re going to have a long discussion.” Said James, feeling none of his meekness right now. “I’m James Flora; he is Raven Arora, Shin, with whom I worked against Hatori Eagle.” He pointed everyone in order. “Now, what about you?”
The teen’s face lights up, as if someone brought him a birthday gift early. “I’m glad you asked. I am the all-consuming, ever-changing, full of mysteries. Wherever I go, I am the life of the party. I am the all-knowing, sometimes kind, sometimes wrathful; the younger brother of Surendra Sharma Junior. I am. Samudra Sharma!” He finished his bombastic introduction with a large thumbs up, complete with a shining spotlight focusing on him.
The boys decide that he must be using some impressive bit of magic to achieve those effects. James is weary. The Sharma family is split into a total of 36 branches, and it is spread out all over the subcontinent. They are difficult, and sometimes infuriating to deal with. He thought he would get away from family politics, but clearly he won’t get any peace from it here either.
“The name suits you, given your personality.” Complimented Hatori. “Mind telling us why this place is so hostile?” He asked. He already learned some of this from Zeko.
But having a source who is currently experiencing the same thing is better than listening to someone who actually completed their schooling around seventy years ago. Hatori shivers at the thought. It is a good thing that Zeko doesn’t take offense when Hatori mentions his age. He would be in a world of hurt otherwise.
“Simple. To weed out the weaklings. Now, you’re young kids. But I’m sure you know how the bulk of power rests in the hands of the various mage families on the subcontinent. Aside from the king, they are the most powerful entity around. But when you get so big, you need to compete a lot. And this Academy serves as a purpose for doing exactly that. The children of the powerful family try to eliminate each other here, and anyone who could pose a threat to them in the future. Younger students are, of course, easy targets.” He explained.
“You should consider learning this stuff from your friend here.” Said Samudra, pointing to James. “After all, he himself is from a powerful family. I’m sure he can give you enough basics to find your feet here.”
“Now, let’s get back to fighting. I suggest you hone your skill in that, much like Hatori. And learn some shielding or defensive spells. It is not possible to dodge all the time. And while a Knockback spell doesn’t hurt that much, I doubt you would want to take landing blows of Pierce or Slice, which are the most basic damaging spells. That, and offensive spells won’t win you fights by themselves.” After giving them that advice, he turns around and walks away.
“That was strange.” Said Shin, having remained silent during that whole exchange.
“True. Though his advice isn’t wrong.” Said Raven. “If you don’t mind, I would like to practice with you every morning as well.”
“It’s not like a club or something.” Said Hatori. “Just come here, and join us.”
Raven decides that it is in Josh’s best interest to come here and practice with them in the morning for dueling, whether he likes it or not. From tomorrow, he’ll bring him here, kicking and screaming. He also decides that he’ll at least master some spells fociless. He is sure that would come in handy some day.
PART 4.
Avinash doesn’t have a problem in the Academy so far. He is happy that the coat hangers of the castle are left behind, and there are actual powerful friends he has made, who can help him become the king of Subcontinent in the future. Though this dream has been a cause of a headache for his father, Avinash refuses to abandon his dream.
Let’s take a look of his friends, shall we? I’m sure the author will be happy to pad his wordcount.
The first friend Avinash made was Sagar Patel. His father is an owner of massive amount of land, and has a large business. Avinash likes his sense of business. This guy is able to find the opportunities of making money anywhere, even at his young age.
Akshat Patil, a boy from a rather not-so-impressive family. Avinash took him in his group just for variety at first. But in just a week, he is proving to be quite a strategist.
Tom, with no surname. His parents abandoned him; that’s why he has no surname. Avinash found him in a brawl, where a bunch of second year students were bothering him. despite that, Tom wasn’t scared, and actually ran them off. Despite his combative nature, Tom proved to be quite easy-going, once Avinash calms him down.
His first two friends also didn’t mind his inclusion on their group.
And yet, despite that, he can’t shake off this feeling of annoyance. Meanwhile, his friends are puzzled regarding his sulky mood. Until he finally managed to pin the reason for his bad mood down, and jumped in realization.
“Got it!” He screamed, making all three boys stare at him.
“Got what?” asked Sagar.
“I got it why I’m in such a bad mood. We haven’t been able to mingle with each other at all, what with our busy schedule.” Explains Avinash.
“I don’t think that should cause you to sulk so much.” Said Tom.
“Yeah, but I was just unable to see who else can be swayed on our side for our future campaigns.” All of them sighed together.
Once Avinash starts about his future plans, he just doesn’t shut up. “I have decided.” They all looked at him blankly. This will involve a lot of work, they can already tell.
“We’ll organize a meet and greet, and invite everyone from our group.” He said. “I’ll get access to the printing yantra. It shouldn’t take too long. I suspect selection of place and seating arrangement might take longer.”
“I’ll go look for a suitable place.” Said Akshat, having no interest in printing pamphlets.
“I’ll try arranging seats for everyone.” Said Sagar, leaving with Akshat.
“Just tell me what you want to write on the pamphlets, and leave the printing and distribution to me.” said Tom.
Avinash smiled. A successful king needs people who can take initiative around him. “We’ll write something like this…”
After those pamphlets were printed, Avinash gives them to everyone in his class personally, even that arrogant Hatori.
‘And now, we wait for the day to arrive.’
PART 5.
A meeting of fourth year students is called in the dormitory of the older students. It is called by Ishwar Chandravanshi. “So, those priests refuse to show up this time, eh?” He said.
“According to them, unless we take some concrete action, they won’t support us.” Said Ajay Singh, who is aligned with Ishwar.
“Forget about them. Let’s talk about how to deal with Hatori. I hear he has arrived at the academy. Have you seen him?” He asked.
“Not much. The first years have a very busy schedule, as you know.” Said Bhanu, another supporter of Ishwar.
“Hmm. WellWell, my father’s orders were clear. Approach him to align with us, or convince him to do so either by hook or by crook.” Said Ishwar.
“Joshis failed to do that. I’m sure it’ll be a great coup for us if we do that successfully.” Said Ajay.
“Of course they did.” Ishwar has a distasteful look on his face. “My family might be aligned with them, but I just know that they are more trouble than their worth.”
“Also mad.” Added Bhanu.
“That. yeah. Now, let’s approach him nicely for a start. He’s just a young boy, much like how we were once.” They all chuckled. “And if he refuses, then there are ways for us to make his life a living hell, without even touching him.”
“I’ll recruit some third-years for our cause, just in case.” Said Bhanu.
“You do that.”
PART 6. AMRITA’S LECTURE ON HISTORY: THE CREATION OF MAGE DIMENSION.
“As you know, we live in an especially created dimension, different from the world of the other side. And today, we will learn how that happened.” She paced in the classroom.
“Around five-thousand years ago, we freely lived in the same world, with magic users and non-magic users forming mixed communities. But we mages have a different temper than them. We like to research a lot, and we don’t like it when others force us to participate in their own conflicts.” She said. “Though, as we learn later, we do love waging wars of our own.”
“Getting back to the point, the sorcerers of that time were annoyed by the kings constantly requesting them with aid for this or that task. So they planned to create a dimension where all mages could live freely, and do research as much as they wanted, without fulfilling the requests of a non-magical king.”
“This effort took a thousand years to complete, during which countless generations of mages and sorcerers worked tirelessly on the magical system which would allow us to create this dimension, complete with a copy of Earth, completely devoid of everything else aside from the basic necessities of life.”
“And that is how this dimension was created. Any questions?”
“Professor, did they bring in the plants and animals from the other side?” asked a student.
“Indeed they did. Overtime, the species have started to go on a different evolution path as a result of their separation.”
“Professor, what is a sorcerer? You implied it was something different from a normal mage.” Asked Hatori.
“We will learn more about them later.”
“Professor, why don’t other people practice magic like us? Do they lack the ability to use magic?” asked another student.
Amrita’s eyes darted towards Hatori before she answered this question. “No. They all have the capability to practice magic. They just did not choose to use it, either they lacked the necessary sources of educating themselves, or they just didn’t have any interest in it.”
“Do we still have contact with them?” asked Avinash.
“Yes, but only bare minimum. Around one-thousand years ago, we slowly stopped any magical operations there. The historical exploits of magic have been twisted, due to missing or destroyed records.”
“Who destroyed those records?” asked Josh.
“Certainly not us. Mages didn’t want to hide themselves. They needed a place to practice magic, without fulfilling the demands of someone. The records were later destroyed or altered by the non-magic using humans themselves as time went on, and a lot of the records were destroyed during wars of their own.”
(End.)