“...and that is how you create a basic shieldspell,” Daniel stated. After a final practice round, we were dismissed into the weekend. Throughout the week, Sun Jie and I mended our Relationship. At least so far, that she didn’t despise me anymore. Following her out of the classroom, I asked: “How about we visit Euraidd instead of reading the ton of books, we got?”

“Hmm, should we really? We only have three months until the test and I don’t want to fail!” the girl looked uncertain at me, then at the classroom and then back at me. “Oh come on...Just one afternoon,” after some more pestering, she finally accepted and we met back at the academy entrance half an hour later. Before we left, Mr. Rank called me back: “Wait Theo, I’ve got something for you. You should be able to understand the people if you want to go outside.” He gave me a ring. “This ring enables you to understand others and translates everything you hear and say.”

Thanking him, we finally left for the city. While we ambled down the hill, Sun Jie recalled my promise and asked: “So, we never got to talk about it after our first day. But I believe you are from the mortal world, right? Tell me about it.” Sighting, I gave in and began to tell her about my world.

“So planes are made from metal and fly through the sky? How can they stay afloat without magic?” the girl asked confused. Laughing, I explained the underlying physics. Fortunately, I remembered enough from university to do so. I know they have basic courses like math and physics in school. But I wonder how much they really learn.

We finally arrived inside the city and it was a mixture of wild architecture. While some buildings looked normal to me, others were as alien as it gets. One house had a small, tower-like base and expanded at the top. It reminded me of a mushroom but made from stone and glass. Another one floated three, maybe four meters above the ground and had no obvious way to access the door.

Okay, now I know why the schools don’t teach much about science. If you can ignore the physical laws like this…

Awed I checked every building on our way and nearly missed it, as Sun Jie turned into a side road. “Where are you going?” perplexed I followed her. “I don’t know yet...There are dogs somewhere in front of us and I wanted to pet them,” she answered.

Shaking my head, we wandered through the narrow street. Some minutes later we found a pack of five dogs, fighting for their meal. I hoped it was leftovers from the nearest butcher. One of the dogs snarled and turned our way. His hairs and tail raised, he got the other dogs' attention. Slowly I walked back and tried to grab Sun Jie to pull her with me.

The last thing I wanted, was to fight a rabid pack of dogs in the middle of Euraidd. “Sun Jie, let us go back,” my voice quivered a little bit. I didn’t fear normal dogs, but these were as big as a great-dane and had definitely more wolf in them than possible. “No, if we walk back now and show our fear, we lose. We need to show them who the alpha is.”

The girl took a fighting position and waited for the dogs to attack. Meanwhile, I struggled, as I didn’t want to leave her alone, fighting. On the other hand, I hated fighting and didn’t get the same formal training as the girl did.

The Wolfhounds decided for me and the first jumped at the girl. Sun Jie gracefully stepped aside and before the dog could turn around, she hit it. I expected the dog to yowl, as her hits were pretty hard. But the warrior-girl seemed to glow, a second before her fist met her target and the dog slid back and against a house wall. A loud crack was audible and something must have broken.

The pack withdrew a few meters, but suddenly three dogs attacked at the same time. Sun Jie grabbed the foremost by its muzzle and threw the wolfhound against its partner. Sadly the third dog got around the girl and before he was able to attack her back, I gathered my courage and kicked it in its hindleg. The wolf staggered for a moment, but my hit didn’t do anything more.

Snarling it turned and I stood alone against the hound. It seemed to grow bigger with every step it took in my direction. Sun Jie was engaged in a three on one, as the second last wolf also attacked her. Gathering my thoughts I raised my arms and the wolf jumped.

Too slow...The moment I saw it jumping I knew it would get me. Fortunately, my dumb reaction saved my hide, as instead of going backward, I took a quick step forward. The dog, not expecting the reaction, didn’t sink its teeth into my arm but hit me broadly in my chest. Falling backward, I soon sat on the floor. On the ground and defenseless I threw a quick glance at Sun Jie, but she was still fighting and not able to help me.

The hound rushed forward and while panicking, the time slowed down around me. I remembered my lessons last week and faster than ever, build a mandala in my raised hand. The dog jumped, but before he could go for my throat and kill me, a shield popped up in front of me. As the hound hit it, I slid a meter back. Slowly standing up, palm still raised, I created another mandala in my other hand. Before the dog was able to flee, a surge of fire surrounded it.

Its fur caught on fire and yowling the dog run back, snapping at the others. Before my magic spluttered out, I pointed my arm at the last dog still fighting against Sun Jie. “Duck,” I screamed. And the girl let herself fall to the ground. The last spurt hit the hound and as before, it ran, yowling, away.

Lowering my arms and surveying the scene, Sun Jie had quite the body count. Three downed dogs, possibly broken limbs or ribs. Two dogs on fire and running away. I wasn’t proud, hurting the wolfhounds, but happy that we didn’t get hurt and that my magic worked.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Did you walk into this alley to get a fight,” accusing the girl wouldn’t help my mood get better but I was pretty angry at her carelessness. We could have gotten really injured or worse. “No, I just wanted to pet some dogs. At the temple, there were always a few and I kind of miss them. The dogs apologized for their unwillingness to be petted by fighting. And to be honest, I needed to get some exercise...Our last practice fight wasn’t that exciting,” the girl answered grinning.

Sighing, I turned and walked back to the main street. No use to further care about this situation, as I couldn’t change anything. At least I couldn’t change the girl and her love for fighting, so quickly.

“By the way, congratulation. That was your first use of magic in a fight!” she slapped my back and laughed. During our stroll back, we bantered and soon the whole fight was forgotten and my mood was back on top. The only downside was my headaches, which came back soon after.

“What do you think about the other magics? I grew up in this world, but aside from the internal way, I never knew about the others…” the girl started, possibly to disrupt the silence which had built up between us. “They are pretty diverse and I hope to learn some Shamanism in the future. To connect and command nature, creating massive rituals…But your Cultivating system seems pretty awesome, too. You may not be able to use your powers outside your own body, but the power you can generate is awesome!” I answered, happy to finally find a topic to talk about.

She glanced at me and continued, “Yeah, I am not so sure about that. While I have never seen someone using it outside, theoretically it should be possible, as it is just another way to use our soul-power…Maybe learning more about mandalas and spellcasting will help me to find a way.”

We walked on and fell silent again, missing the last art of magic. Ancestorinvocation...just call it by its name...necromancy

A few minutes later we arrived at the main plaza, the market. Some stands, with people shouting out their different wares and the different shops on the border of said plaza, made quite the beautiful picture. Full of life and action. Children were running around, playing catch. Some were begging their parents for sweets, some were pickpocketing. For safety, I pulled my purse outside my pocket and put it somewhere safe. I wasn’t wealthy, but the allowance we got from Mr. Rank should be enough to last a few months if you spend sparingly.

Before I could warn Sun Jie, she was in the middle of the crowd and gawking at the different offers, the shopkeepers had. It didn’t even take a whole minute and she had a stick with some unidentifiable meat. Catching up to her, I asked, “Do you want anything specific? Because I would like to visit the bookstore and maybe a few other shops.”

“No, not really,” and before she said anything more, she cried out and ran to another stand. Laughing and shaking my head I followed. This could take a while…

Finally after, what felt like hours, she was full and I pulled and nearly carried her to the bookstore. It got late and I wanted to look at their offer before they closed. Sadly the bookstore wasn’t as equipped as the academies library, but that had to be expected. I bought a History book and one about the different creatures living on this continent. At least a little bit satisfied, we walked back out on the street and I let my eyes wander.

Directly beside the bookstore, there was an apothecary. Curious we entered and while Sun Jie smelled the different plants, hanging from the ceiling, I read the notations of the herbs displayed on the shelves. “Are you dabbling in Alchemy already? I thought the academy doesn’t offer it anymore,” a clerk joined us. Denying I answered: “No, we were just curious about your offer. You see, the girl isn’t from here and she wanted to compare the plants with those she knows from her homeland.”

I couldn’t tell the man, that I too wasn’t from here and had no idea about the flora and fauna. Laughing he asked if Sun Jie wanted a small tour through his shop and of course, she affirmed after I gave her a nudge. The young man showed us around and they had a pretty big variety of different herbs. Some were behind glass, locked up, possibly because they were pretty expensive. Others just hang from the ceiling or lay in their shelf and the last few plants were secured in a glass bottle, behind a glass window, inscribed with different mandalas, similar to the shield I cast earlier.

“If you see something like those four, take care! They are very poisonous and this one,” he pointed at the leftmost plant, “don’t let it fool you by its beautiful bloom. The red petals are a sign. Its odor can induce hallucinations and you won’t wake up ever again, Dying of hunger or thirst and becoming its fertilizer.”

Stepping back from the window I asked: “And is there a way to escape once you are caught in the illusion?” The clerk laughed: “Of course there is. Some tattoos can help you against illusionspells and some people can train their mind against illusionspells...But I don’t want to intervene in your education. You will learn about them soon enough, at least before you graduate.”

While we left the shop, Sun Jie whispered: “That was quite scary, I hope I will never find such a plant,” clearing her throat, she continued in a normal volume, “how about we visit the smith next? I want to see the weapons they offer.” Raising my eyebrows in defeat I sighed: “Again with your fighting...But yeah, I am curious too.”

Turning towards the weapons-shop we soon stood inside and in front of the smallest man, I have ever seen. He was around 1,30 meters and his unfriendly mien told me, I shouldn’t comment on his hight or he would punch me through the wall.

“Hello Mr. Dwarf, I would like to browse your shop, if that’s okay,” Sun Jie trilled sweetly. What?! Dwarfes? Even the girls’ abnormal reaction didn’t distract me from the dwarf.

I can accept Magic, I can accept beasts and their mutations, powered through magic...But how does a Dwarf come into this equation?! I had to ask Mr. Rank later. That was too weird. Therewhile Sun Jie tested a few swords by swinging them around. Some were glowing in red light, some had a silver sheen to them. Letting my eyes wander, I soon found something looking like a gun.

“Is this a gun?” I whispered to the girl, I couldn’t let my ignorance shine through. “Of course it is, what did you think? Oh...just because we have no planes, we aren’t allowed to build guns?!” she grinned ironically at me. I knew she wasn’t angry and just made fun on my costs.

Just as I picked up on of the guns, the dwarf ran to me and cried: “Don’t touch them!” Startled I dropped the weapon, but the dwarf dived and at the last moment, caught it. “Boy, are you daft? What would happen if the energy crystal exploded?! Energypistols are no clunky sword. They are intricate pieces of technology!” Shaking his head, the dwarf put the weapon back on its rack.

“How do they work?” I asked excited. “You aim them at your enemy and pull the trigger?!” the dwarf answered confused. Somehow he really thinks I am that dumb…”No, how do they work with the mana crystal and with which element do they fire?”

Half an hour later, ears bleeding and on my last breath I interrupted the man: “Thank you, I doubt I can remember everything but…-” The dwarf grinned: “No problem laddie if you have any more questions I am willing to share my knowledge. Very few people are interested in the inner workings of my weapons. Most just want to buy them, without understanding how they work. Shame on them!”

Nearly fleeing the shop, I grabbed Sun Jie and bid my farewell: “Thank you for your time Mr. Dwarf and we will be back some time.” Standing outside, the girl stood with her arms on her hips, “Maybe I wanted to buy something?!” I glanced at her: “Did you really?!” Bashfully she denied. “We should get back to the academy. Those clouds look like a Thunderstorm.”