╚╩╩╩╝ Malcolm Kiech ╚╩╩╩╝

My week of incarceration went by very quickly, especially with Karst coming by to chat and bring me to the training room. The man had been a welcome distraction from the tight space of my cell. I was losing my mind, being stuck in my tiny room for most of the day.

With Karst’s help, I had managed to grasp a very small amount of my abilities. The man had a blue aura with an affinity toward metal. In truth, he was the one who had saved Warner from being electrocuted and dispelled my own magic. He had helped me feel out the elements and how I could use them. This was normally a hard process, as he’d told me several times, but I was able to grasp it in just a couple of days. It was like a slight tingling sensation at the back of my neck, like a muscle that had begun forming from sudden use. If I wanted to use metal magic, then I had to focus on that feeling and flex that new muscle. This feeling wasn’t actually a muscle, I’d found. I couldn’t feel it unless my aura was active.

I’d been able to find this so quickly as I had already used it subconsciously. With the other eight elements, I would have to discover these triggers the hard way. The lightning element was the first one I’d found by myself. I figured that it was because I’d also used it before, though less than the I had the metal. The tingling sensation formed on the back of both my hands this time.

It was two weeks ago that I had been released from that facility. A part of me was sad that I wasn’t going to be able to work with Karst like I had during that short week, but I now had other things to worry about.

My schedule, which had once been full of free time, now became so busy that I often missed meals. Avery would wake me up in the early morning to eat and work out like normal, but he had kept on with training me during that time as well. After those long training hours, I had early Magical Engineering classes that I had to be a part of where I would be forced to construct anything that they asked out of my metal magic. Most of it was simple, but I was often bombarded with a dozen commands at once. Unfortunately, even most of the simple stuff they wanted I couldn’t do because of how metal was more of a brute force than something delicate.

After the Magical Engineering classes were the Practical Magic where, just like with the previous class, I was forced to do whatever the students commanded me to. This class, however, was much easier to follow. Practical Magic was a class that focused on using magic in easy ways to achieve a goal that would provide some kind of ease for people and, unlike with the tasks I had been given the Magical Engineering classes, these were things I could do. The metal that I could conjure from the ground could do a lot, but shaping it was another task entirely; that was the main problem with the previous task.

Currently sitting in the last of the Practical Magic classes I had to attend for today, I listened as the teacher prattled on about one of their projects. It was something about using earth magic to stimulate plant life in a desolate land. Specifically the area around the war-front which had become something of a desert due to the excess use of magic on the landscape.

After a few more minutes, the topic changed.

“Could anyone tell me why such an emphasis is placed on Elementalists?” The teacher asked, turning to look at me, an eyebrow cocked.

This was a very pointed question.

“They can use all of the elements early.” One student suggested.

“True, but so can you. If I asked you to make a fireball, can’t the both of you do it?” The teacher continued.

The entire class went silent for a time. Nobody could think of an answer, or they didn’t want to answer. Not even I could think of an answer, and I was the topic of conversation.

The teacher shook her head and asked. “What is the motto of Practical Magic?”

“Ease and efficiency!” The class spoke at once.

“Thus is the benefit of being an Elementalist.” She stated, turning to the class. “If I asked Malcolm here to make a fireball, and I asked one of you to make a fireball, there would be a major difference between the two. The benefit of using your elemental affinity in magic is that the mana cost and time required to cast it are both reduced greatly. Not only that, the power is also greatly increased.”

Most students in the class then took out their notes and started scribbling things down. I wish that I had something to take notes on too. Karst had not taught this point, but it was very important to know.

“This is a major part of practicality itself.” The teacher continued. “Why use more mana and time when you don’t have to. You won’t have to worry about this unless you manage to get a blue colored aura, but it is very important to understand these kinds of things.”

The rest of the class continued without anything notable, much to my disappointment. I had grown curious during that short lesson that she seemed to have focused on me.

With the class over, I stood and pressed against my back, cursing the bad posture I had developed inside my cramped cell.

“Could you stick around for a minute?” The teacher suddenly asked, stopping me from leaving the room.

“Sure.” I turned and leaned against the wall as she came forward.

“I wanted to make sure to thank you for being a part of my class. Even if it isn’t your choice.” She spoke.

“It’s nothing too big. I should be grateful that I got off this easy after what I did.” I replied, acting sheepish.

“I definitely understand.” She muttered. “Anyways, I’ll see you again in my other class.”

“Other class?”

“I was informed that you’d be joining my Mythological Studies class today. I know ours is low on the list of importance, but we’re all excited to have you.” She smiled before excusing herself.

I paused for a moment before leaving in the opposite direction, hoping to get some food before my own Battle Magic class.

Once inside the cafeteria, I was bombarded by hundreds of loud voices, each competing with the rest to be heard like some kind of violent debate. Though I knew that any debating they were doing was more about violence than it was violent.

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Exactly one week ago, the tourney started. I had panicked from my obscenely dense schedule, but quickly found out that the event was split into several parts. What would end in just over an hour from now was the seniority bracket. Students who will graduate from the Battle Magic class were participating for a title of nobility. If a person were to win, they would be set for life. It was an event that invited in hundreds of guests from the outside to watch in a special coliseum of sorts. Half of the enormous construct was outside of the barrier, while the other half was inside.

Students in the cafeteria were all excitedly chattering about which of the two finalists they wanted to win. One was a woman named Regina, the other was a man who had not given his name. He went under the pseudonym “Kane” and wore a mask. This was, unfortunately, all that I knew about the even so far. My last class of the day was scheduled during the time that the fights would happen. There was a short time where others had ridiculed me for this, but I soon found out that a decent percentage of the student body didn’t attend either. These generous few came to my aid at that time and the tables quickly turned. I vaguely recognized some of the students who had done this, so I may have been in some of their classes.

Sighing in relief as I sat down with my food at a lone table. This was the first time that I’d been able to eat my supper at a good time in all of this week.

A few tables over, I happened to hear as a few students spoke on taking bets on the fight. Gambling on the fights wasn’t against the rules, but it wasn’t explicitly allowed either. This group in specific all talked about how much they had bet on this “Kane” character. I had not seen any of the fights, so I had no reference to either of their abilities, but the way that these students acted started pissing me off, so I started rooting for Regina.

Ignoring this group, I dug into my meal, relishing the feeling of a full stomach. It was a nice feeling that I often took for granted.

“Here you are.” A voice called out from close by, causing me to panic for a moment before I recognized the voice.

“Oh, hey Hazel.” I greeted her as she set her own food on the table beside me.

“I’ve been trying to talk to you for two weeks now. What the heck is going on?” She asked, frustrated by my absence.

I had been meaning to talk to her, but I was constantly getting dragged back and forth that I had no time to even think about her. Guilt washed over me, realizing that I had not come back to get her when she was in the infirmary.

“I was super busy.” I answered, avoiding her gaze. “I got into a lot of trouble and am paying for it. You were ri-” I started to apologize, but she interrupted me before I could finish.

“Don’t worry about that now. If people want to start trouble with us, then we need to fight back.” She spoke, firm in her words. Completely aghast, I sat silent as she continued. “I think I’ve found a lead toward your sister.”

Reeling back in, I was shocked. “What? Who? How?”

Unaffected by my behavior, she continued. “Something your sister said before got me thinking. I remembered talking to her about the plumbing stuff that they put in the castle and she told me that she had made sure that the castle got it first. So, I went to the library to see if I could find the record of everyone involved with inventing it. I was expecting a whole team of people, but it was just two people: your sister, and some guy named Aaron.”

“My sister?” I was stunned. “Who is this Aaron?”

“I had to do a lot more digging for him, but I was only able to figure out a couple of things. He’s a graduate of Magical Engineering, Non-Magical Engineering and Artefacts, and he’s still here somewhere.”

“Did you find out where?”

She looked away for a moment, her eyes dropping. “I couldn’t. It’s like he’s hiding.”

“Hey!” I called out, leaning forward, drawing her attention. “Why are you looking so down? You managed to do all this, while I’ve done practically nothing.”

I explained my situation to her and all that had happened. To my surprise, she knew about the fight and that I had gotten dragged off.

After hearing all of my explanation, she tilted her head, gazing down at her untouched meal. “We can use this.” She spoke quietly. “We can definitely use this!” She looked up at me, her eyes bright.

“How?” I asked.

“You take part in most of the classes on campus, so you could ask the teachers about him. See if any of them are willing to point us in his direction.”

Nodding, I worked everything out in my head. At this point, however, I had the slightest feeling that some of the teachers didn’t like me. I was supposed to be this great teaching tool for them, but I wasn’t able to do much at the moment. But with the teachers who did like me, I could try to get it from them.

“Yes, this definitely works!” I agreed.

Hearing this, Hazel beamed and started to eat her food. I had also started eating, though I noticed that my food had gotten cold. Then I realized just how long we had been sitting here.

Snarfing down my food as fast as I could, I got up and told Hazel that I had to go as I ran out the nearest door.

My destination was nearby, luckily, though I still barely made it in time.

Sitting in my usual spot, seated facing the students in the corner of the room, I watched as the same teacher as before came in. With a new goal in mind, I committed her to memory. Due to the nature of how my situation was, I never bothered to try and get close to anyone in these classes, but that had to change now. She was an average woman, though beautiful in her own way. Her long, straight hair was a dull beige and her eyes were a deep green. She wore a simple, straight, plain colored dress and wore a headdress of a similar color that covered most of her head. If I remembered correctly, the students called her Miss Calli.

Thus began an incredibly strange class. The topic of study was vague and unsure, taken from ancient books that were hard to read, especially if it was written in the old language. Everything talked about was either written in code or riddle, both being extremely vague.

Closing the thick tome that she had been pulling these riddles and codes from, she pulled out another, smaller book. This one seemed to be far older than the tome. Opening this book, Miss Calli began speaking on the topic of beings known as Nasii. A Nasii was a being of pure mana formed by the world itself. These Nasii were all capable of feats that humans could only dream of. Each Nasii was an embodiment of one specific aspect of the world, including the elements. One such being, Miss Calli pointed out, was the embodiment of human emotion. This Nasii was named Emora and had strength not unlike my own, but amplified to an extent that it was said to have destroyed an island just below half the size of Teleth in anger. What was left of that destruction became the Northern Isles. Her lessons went on for some time before ending.

While the subject was odd, I was enthralled by it all. The idea that some of these could very well exist filled me with wondrous ideas.

Before I could ask anything, however, Miss Calli spoke. “It seems like the final duel is over. And it looks like Regina has won.”

A mix of cheers and groans came from the students as they left the room. I stayed behind and waited for Miss Calli to pack up all of her stuff. She looked surprised to see that I stayed behind.

“Is there something I can do for you?” She asked, sliding the last book into her bag and slinging it over her shoulder.

“Yes.” I quickly replied. “I was wondering if you knew a past student named Aaron?”

Seeing her eyes widen slightly, I knew that I had found just who I needed to.

“Yes. I knew him.” She replied slowly.

“I wanted to meet him. I heard that he was still on campus.” I pushed.

“A lot of people have tried meeting with him.” She explained. Turning her, she tilted her head slightly. “How about a deal?”

“What kind of deal?” I asked.

“Aaron isn’t the kind of person that you can just talk to. Dozens of people try to find him daily, but nobody ever does. He’s a very important person.” She explained. “I want to help you, but you need to do something to make yourself worthy of seeing him.”

“What do I need to do?” I asked again.

She reached into her bag and pulled out a letter and handed it to me. “Next week, you’re going to win the your tourney bracket. If you manage that, then I’ll let you meet him.”

Hurriedly, I opened the letter to see that it was from Madam Luce. It explained how I was excused from my late day classes for the rest of the tourney, as well as a wish of good luck.