“Nice to meet you! I’m Kokoro” she said, pulling up a chair and sitting across from Kova “Kova, right?”
“Yes!” He promptly replied.
“Perfect! Today I’ll be your proctor for the written exam. Here’s the packet - I want you to fill it out for me. Take as long as you need.” she said.
When the thick packet was slid in front of Kova - Nearly three hundred pages, his eyes widened in shock.
“Damn… all of this??” he questioned.
“It isn’t too bad! Just read through it slowly, and understand each question it asks you.” She said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice..
However - Kova wasn’t sure what exactly there was to be sarcastic about. Then upon further inspection - as he flipped through the pages, he realized something.It was all blank.
“Uhhh… O…kay..?” He questioned.
He tried what he did with the last book - Redirecting Magic output to his eyes, focusing as hard as he possibly could. He sat there for a while - Just staring at blank paper, breaking a sweat as he was straining, trying to replicate the feeling of a magic network flowing through his body.
“Kova, a word of advice.” Jordan said after a few minutes “You’re straining too much. It should be completely effortless. How do I explain this.. while you might be trying to establish the feeling of a moving network yourself - It’s already there. Rather than pushing in order to spark it up yourself, you should feel for the network’s natural flow within your bloodstream passively, and manipulate it from there accordingly.” Jordan concluded
He thought about it for a moment - then tried it out. “Fuck it”, Kova thought, there was nothing to lose in this situation. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, meditating on it for a moment, feeling for something, figuratively searching throughout his whole body until he was able to find a radiance of energy. Within the inner search - He could feel a pull in his core, one that was redirected up and to the left, down the left arm, back up and to the head, flowing like water back down through the right arm, and slowly dribbling down to his feet - a constant stream of energy which circulated one:one with his blood flow naturally at a resting stage. He tried his best to manipulate this flow. In fact, once he caught wind of how it felt, his eyes snapped open and he forced it to the surface. His eye color changed, the colored contacts dissipating in the air, evaporating to make way for the entirely crimson orbs which replaced his eyes, with thinned, snake-like pupils. He savored this moment - He wasn’t able to enjoy this during his time at school. He was genuinely excited as the words fell on the page like a magic marker. He was sort of disappointed, however, when the only question on a packet of three hundred blank pages was:
“Can you read this?”
He never waived his focus - Reaching his hand to the corner of the table and grabbing a pen out of the holder, checking the box which said Yes. He flipped through them as his focus was held just to make sure that was it. When it was confirmed - He smiled and nodded, closing his eyes and cutting off the mana flow to his eyes. They changed back to a resemblance of when he got out of the hospital, entirely golden with black sclera.
“Thanks, J, that shit was great!” Kova said excitedly.
“Of course! I’m glad I could help.” Jordan jokingly reassured
“Well, Kova - That concludes your written exam! Thank you for coming to the academy! Jordan - Take it from here.” Kokoro stated
“Right, then, your practical begins right now! Follow me!” Jordan exclaimed as he started a light jog towards the elevator and passed it, opening the stairway and busting through the doors. Kova followed closely behind, beginning to climb down the one-hundred flights of stairs that it took to get to the top of this floor.
At around the quarter mark, he was winded - and by the halfway mark, he was breathing heavily and starting to lose balance on the stairs.
“You’d better not give out on me now!! Let’s go!!” He yelled
“This run is making my dick hurt!!!!” Kova yelled between breaths
They made it to the 50th floor - And Jordan busted through the doors, which led to a long maze of a hallway. From there, as quick as he went through, all it took was a blink - he was gone, out of Kova’s sight, moving so fast that he couldn’t keep track with his eyes alone.
“The fuck did you go?? Dammit this wizard shit is getting out of hand!” He called, stopping and leaning on his knees, thinking that this was it. That he wasn’t good enough - and he failed. The Fear of Failure dug deep into his soul - and in a split-second timeframe, the feeling of Jordan’s extreme magical prowess popped into his head.
He closed his eyes and leaned his head down, deciding to try something new, Mana Sensing. He could feel it from up close, so needless to say - there had to be a way to get a lock on someone’s location from far away. He focused hard, so much so that any and all actions around him had been taken out of focus.
And that’s when he felt it.
Kicking off the ground, he sprinted down the hall and took a left at the first possible hallway, sprinting for the wall ahead. He didn’t know what was going to happen. It was a dead-end, but he felt Jordan’s power signature behind it.
Picking up speeds at an enhanced rate than what was previously possible when not using Mana - He kept a lock on exactly where Jordan was, and closed the distance of the long hallway in a matter of two seconds. He expected to slam into the wall, throwing his shoulder in front of him in order to cushion the blow; he couldn’t stop himself at the speed he was moving at. He was surprised to find out that he phased through the wall entirely and began freefalling, closing his eyes; expecting to smack against the wall at full force.
But when he realized this wasn’t the case, he opened his eyes, and practically started screaming his head off.
“oh MY GOOOOOOD!!! I’M GOING TO DIE!!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!!”
“Calm yourself.” Jordan prompted
Kova’s gaze snapped to his left and he noticed Jordan was… Floating.
His eyes widened, and he was practically screaming at him in anger.
“You idiot, I can’t fly!!! What the fuck were you thinking!?”
“I’m thinking you need to find a way to stop yourself before you smack against the ground” Jordan replied.
Kova was contemplating his mortality as the ground approached closer, faster, he started screaming in anger, refusing to die.
“AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!”
Much like last time out of anger - except this time, it was in desperation - a burst of energy shot out from his body and towards the ground, this time transparent, it couldn’t be physically seen.
But the energy carried him to a slow descent, closing in the last five feet of distance from air to ground in a slow fall, breathing heavily - shocked by the whole experience. He couldn’t bring himself to stand, he was so shocked. But he was forced to:
“Oh come on now you little pansy, DON’T TELL ME YOU’RE GIVING UP YET!!” Jordan yelled in sheer excitement, with a smile plastered across his face, wide-eyed “We’re just getting started!” He stated, as he took off running toward the west.
By sheer instinct from getting yelled at - triggered by his flight or fight response - he snapped to a standing position and took off, following behind once again.
Panting, pushing off against the ground with each foot - it wasn’t until now that he realized that he didn’t have his blade.
“Jordan, wait, my sword!!!” Kova called out
“Don’t worry about it!!” Jordan replied “Just don’t stop running!!”
“Easy for you to say..” he mumbled under his breath
-
After about an hour and a half of running in a single direction, Kova finally gave in, and fell face first on the ground.
“hah… hah…” he panted “is… it over..?”
Stolen story; please report.
“Nowhere close, Kid. We’re just getting to the best part of the test, now!” Jordan exclaimed
“Oh come onnnnn!!!” He groaned “We run for god knows how long, in the same fucking direction, for a distance I couldn’t even keep track of, and we’re not done?”
“Twenty Miles, to be exact. And that was the easy part!” Jordan commended
“Twenty..” he looked back, only to realize that the school was nowhere in sight.
He couldn’t believe his eyes, the establishment of a mana network raised his endurance and speed to a point he never thought he would have reached before.
“..Miles?”
He let out a long, deep sigh. He was beat already, he wasn’t sure what more there could possibly be?
Jordan stomped his right foot on the ground - and the same starry transmutation circle popped up. Due to the weapon being originally his, he had its location locked to his person at all times with a spell he put on it - and through the circle came the massive greatsword that Kova left in, which he grabbed effortlessly, swinging it from left to right, and back over from right to left with one hand, and spinning it in his palm before tossing the blade to Kova.
Kova quickly got up, attempting to replicate that same feeling of a burst of energy - this time acting as an updraft of wind, carrying him up to his feet - to where he could grab the blade. A test of endurance and reaction, completed and passed.
He was able to grip on the hilt of the blade, however the weight practically took him back a few feet as he tried to get his balance. Like the last time - He felt a shock up his spine, and for a moment, the blade was light as a feather, before it became extremely heavy once again.
He was practically dragging the tip on the ground as he tried to get some sort of momentum in a swing, successfully bringing it from his left side to the right - however, in an uncontrolled manner, spinning 180 degrees due to the uneven distribution of weight all around.
Jordan watched, contemplating this for a moment. Trying to figure out what he was doing wrong,
And that’s when it clicked.
“Have you tried infusing the blade with your Mana?” He questioned
Kova thought for a moment - relaxing his muscles, letting the tip of the greatsword rest on the ground as he spoke.
“Come to think of it, that never came to mind before. Let me try..”
He closed his eyes, concentrating on the flow of mana within his body once again - visualizing it, a one:one ratio within his bloodstream with the red blood cells - the ocean of Magic within his reservoir taking primary concentration on the arms, shoulders, hips and core, distributing itself primarily through his upper body.
He swung the blade. From the right to the left, from the left to the right, diagonally directed, and finishing with a 360 degree spin.
“Hey, no way, it almost feels just like throwing my body weight around.. It’s nothin’ at all! But.. I still need to put some thought and motion into it.” He stated with surprise
“Precisely. It should almost feel as if - as cliché and outdated as this sounds - it’s a literal extension to your body. Because you chose to wield a greatsword, think of it as if you were consistently attacking with hammer-blows. Fingers interlocked, fists balled up and such. As you throw it around, you need to regulate exactly where you’re throwing your bodyweight around. You need good footing, a solid center of gravity, and exemplary core strength. I’ve been working with blades since I was young, don’t feel like you need to rush.” Jordan responded
“I see.. Well, I guess I shouldn’t exactly be comparing my skills to a seasoned vet, I just kinda started.” Kova admitted.
Jordan reached back with his right hand, gripping on the golden blade’s hilt. He pointed towards Kova, and exclaimed,
“The Final Test of your Practical Exam begins NOW! Kova - Draw your sword, and stand face to face with your Teacher. For the next Two Years, You will be learning DIRECTLY under Me. And I expect not a damn thing but perfection. And you’re about to show me EXACTLY what I saw in you when I passed you on the street!” Jordan spoke with enthusiasm, his voice booming throughout the atmosphere - he was adamant about this.
Kova hesitantly tightened the grip on the hilt of his blade with both hands. This would be the first time he’s ever fought someone experienced, most of the time it was just petty schoolyard scuffles, but this was entirely out of his league.
Even so, he faced Jordan with wholehearted passion. He wanted to, nay, had to learn what was going on.
He gritted his teeth, breathing shakily, before calling out,
“But why this early!? I don’t even know how to run fast, or fly, or punch really hard!! I’m going into this with my dick ou—”
He was promptly cut off, Jordan took off - his right hand drawn back as his feet pushed against the ground, spinning the blade within the base of his palm to change the forward-grip to a reverse. He closed the distance relatively quickly - However, still gave Kova some breathing room to react, intentionally holding back. Within two seconds, he was face to face, swinging his blade with great speed and force - bending his elbow forward to push the blade.
Kova reacted by shifting the weight of the blade up and in front of his body, presenting the flat side of the greatsword to Jordan’s blade, allowing it to glide against the edge - intending to redirect it to the side and throw Jordan off his body weight - but as the blade was redirected to one side, his left fist came speeding in to crash against Kova’s nose.
He threw his head back, trickles of blood dripping down his upper lip as he exclaimed,
“FFFUCK!!!”
“There’s no time to contemplate pain in real battle” Jordan stated as he threw a left knee to Kova’s right side, colliding armor plates with ribs. “You have to push through!”
“I’m…” Kova stated, as he was slightly bent to the side from the force of the kick - nearly rearing over in pain as he felt a crack beneath the surface of his skin. “TRYING!!! HAAAAAAAUGH!!!”
Anger fueling his movements to a point where they were enhanced, the shock returned to come up his arms and up his spine as he tightened his grip even further on the greatsword - infusing his own mana into the blade as best as he could, while paying attention to Jordan’s current position and movements. It almost seemed as if everything slowed down in front of him. He could see Jordan’s right hand coming to swing once more - this time to hook, with the blade reverse-gripped.
“This could be bad.. getting punched, and cut..” he thought to himself.
Without much time to react - He purely let his instinct take control. Bringing the blade once more up above with the flat side - this time to create a barrier between his face and Jordan’s fist, he successfully was able to redirect the blow to the blade itself.
His abdomen was open from the right side, however - as the tip of the blade was pointed toward the left, meant to guard Jordan’s right side where his sword was drawn - and Jordan took full advantage, bringing in his left arm to strike against the stomach.
It was through his peripheral vision, but he caught it, tightening his core muscles in order to pillow the blow - at the least, enough to where he could take the blow and react directly after. Sliding back a few feet from the force, he repositioned himself and gained better footing - turning his stance so that the left shoulder was back, and the right towards Jordan.
He kept his arms close together and bent at the forearm, the blade close to his chest, and attempted to jab it forward to stab Jordan with it, completing this movement extremely fast.
Jordan didn’t see it coming. So much so that the blade started to carve through his armor, and he had to quickly wrap his hand around the edge and push away, gritting his teeth down, smiling and laughing.
Kova was shocked, and dropped his sword, which made Jordan laugh even harder. He was almost to a point of gripping his sides and rolling on the floor.
“What is so funny!?!? Are you okay!?” Kova shouted at him
“HahAHAH!! —AAAHAHAHH!! Yeah, Kid, I’m fine. That’s the fastest anyone has ever won the single-strike duel test with me. Usually I push on up until I feel it’s right to just LET them win, but Kid, you caught me off guard!!” Jordan replied
He walked up to Kova, and placed his right hand on his left shoulder, meeting him eye to eye.
“You’re going to do amazingly. Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing. You said you wanted to stop by the house before moving in, right?” Jordan said
Kova was still shocked.. he really didn’t know how to respond. But, for now - as he was processing what exactly happened, he replied,
“Uhh.. I.. well.. called my sister and broke the news to her and them already. I just need a mailing address to get some clothes..”
“Then let’s get you back to the dorms, I need to get your measurements for some armor.” Jordan offered
They called it a day from there, and headed to the dorms - Jordan was to situate Kova in a room and get him ready for the next day.
-
“Aaaaand we’re done! Thank you, Kova!” Jordan stated whilst straightening back out and rolling up his tape measure, holding his hand out to shake Kova’s “That’ll be it! You get some rest, now, ya hear?”
“Gotcha!” Kova said, excited for another day.
He got into his new bed, which was a little stiffer than the one that he had at home - but he wasn’t complaining. He had a closet, a dresser and mirror, a bathroom, all the essentials. He was basically set up with his own place, and he was happy about it.
He didn’t change clothes as he didn’t have any new ones, but all the same - comfortably fell asleep, pulling the covers over him and closing his eyes.
He drifted off into the world of dreams once more.
-
This time, he was in a never ending field of grass and flora, fogged in mist.
This time, however - with the new training completed with his Magic Network - he was actually able to sense a presence there with him, a lot better than before. It was warm, welcoming, and carried no malice
“Fate brings us to cross paths, once again.” The woman said “Have you finally learned?”
“I’m… starting to” Kova replied “As hard as it is, everything’s starting to become a little more clear to me.”
A white Raven came from the sky and landed on his shoulder, clicking its beak and searching around. It spoke to him.
“I see. So you still have trouble grasping the concept of Mana and Energy. Very understandable.. You only just begun your journey through the sands of time, and the ocean of space. I beseech you - Child of Time - Will you grasp the knowledge presented before you in time for the Universe to progress?”
“You speak in metaphors and figures of speech.. It confuses the shit out of me, to be honest. And why don’t you have any resentment against me? Haven’t I been sort of.. mean lately?” He questioned.
“I have no reason to go against someone who I will need within time. Make allies, not enemies. Be good out there. We won’t speak for a long time, Kova.”
“…”
Nothing else was said, the Raven faded - and Kova’s dream turned to white. The first day was over, but he had a long way ahead of him.
-