After setting foot into the arena, the silence was deafening for him. The crowds had dulled to a volume similar to that of a purring cat; quiet, but noticeable. It felt like an age before Markus spoke up.
‘Hey, Kiddo, you good?’ He yelled across the arena, which made Reiki’s arm hairs rise at speed right before a full-body shiver in surprise. ‘You sure you don’t need any weapons?’ He added as they approached each other, his voice getting deeper and more serious.
The air around the adventurer-turned-bodyguard filled with an aura that seemed to make the view behind him distort. Like the way heat rose from a fire.
‘N-Not for something like this.’ Reiki tried to yell back, but his voice caught when he started speaking.
Hn! Markus made a noise as he pulled his sword from its scabbard, his eyes closed by a margin as he held it out to his side, both hands clasping the handle.
‘No way… That’s the third form of the Braunfel Style!’ Sapphire’s friend said as they saw him lower the blade away from in front of himself, down towards the inside of his forward-placed right foot with the dull edge of the blade pointed away from Reiki.
He was a bit surprised to see the dulled edge, then he realised that both sides were dulled enough to look like the real thing from earlier. It wasn’t until he got down into a pose that the adventurer charged at him. However… He appeared to vanish just before Markus’ upward-moving sword could make contact. For a brief moment, nobody could perceive where or how he had vanished. A few whispers near Sapphire wondered if he was using a rare chantless spell to teleport, but she knew better.
Her lips curled up as her cheeks glowed rosy, and she cheered him on. Right as she started to cheer, the flow of time started to slow down in gradual increments. The sword was moving much slower now, but still faster than her movements from her cheerful bounces on the balls of her feet.
Over to the right side of Markus, was Reiki, slowing his speed by a push from the back of his feet into the stone ground to slow down. He turned to see his arena opponent already starting to turn the opposite way from him.
‘That’s probably from the momentum he was carrying into that swing.’ He thought, then got the chance to have a look at his surroundings. ‘I think I’m moving a bit too fast.’ He said aloud, right before his eyes widened.
For a brief moment, his eyes connected to his opponents as the air around his dulled sword started to distort while speeding up. For that short moment expanded to a long time relative to him, he knew one thing. Markus was getting faster. With a bit of luck on his side, he noticed that the adventurer had started to move physically, but his reaction time was still at a normal human speed.
‘Well, nobody can hear me if I’m both moving and thinking this fast. This will probably look better if I slowed down for them, but if I sped up in vital moments, I can catch him off guard with all of his swings.’ He mused to himself, as ideas began to form in his mind’s eye.
However, a problem arose. Despite knowing how to shift into this state, he didn’t know how to manipulate it. It felt like his ability was a toggle switch; On, or Off.
‘What do I do now? It’s not like I can control it like… wait, maybe… I can?’ He questioned himself, before changing his perspective on the ability; from a light switch to the trigger on a controller. ‘I also don’t know many martial arts, but some forms I remember from a TV series do come to mind.’ He added, performing some poses.
These poses, if performed during a fight in his previous world, would have given him a very embarrassed sensation. However, being in an actual arena, with an opponent bearing down on him, he knew that he could get some use out of the poses. He didn’t notice until too late that a ripple through the air was headed his way.
Performing a backward walkover, he missed being hit by the strange distortion flying through the air. It didn’t stop the sleeve of his red shirt from being ripped. Whilst at high velocity, he misjudged his feet and with his momentum, he had an unintentional slide down to a low crouching position. The angled ripple in the air sped up and slammed into the wall behind him, eliciting a roar of surprise from most of the people watching.
To the rest of the audience, all they saw was Markus launch across the arena’s floor and feint an attack. A second later, they see Reiki at the other end. Crouched down with a legs straight out from his left side as his left hand and right knee are touching the floor, before they both vanished again.
With his opponent knowing how fast he could move, Reiki took it upon himself to figure out what type of technique he might use, but with the rush of adrenaline, nothing was coming to mind. The gap between them was once again reduced.
‘Why can’t I think of anything?’ He said, his chest felt like it had tightened after feeling the distortion that had ripped his red shirt.
With a glance at his shirt, it appeared to regenerate its material at an excruciating pace. A golden glow along the edge of the tear, growing new material. This was new for him.
‘Woah, it’s like the shirt is being repaired by nanotech.’ He said, his eyes widening and catching the edge of another distortion that flew his way. ‘But the magic version of it.’ HMnn! He added with a slight grunt, bending his body as he sprinted away from his opponent once again.
Whilst he perceived the battle with both mental and physical speed, he noticed he had yet to do any physical attacks. With a forward lean down into a cowl, his lips widened into a toothy grin as he started to slam the floor with his feet. The arena floor sinking by just a little to give him that bit more traction in his steps. He was formulating a course of action while he rushed in, when he sensed something.
He attempted to use his telepathy to read his opponents mind, but the connection took ages to register anything of use. Except… this was what gave him an opening. He hadn’t realised it, but that mental ping at his speed caused Markus to step back when going for an overhead swing. With that, he saw an opening and aimed a hook right below the ribs. Although, as his fist got closer, Reiki pulled away at the last second when he assumed he was going in on a feint. His opponent had no idea he had come in for the offensive, until he felt a bit of wind pressure from the approach of the fist.
‘What was…?!’ The adventurer thought, losing focus on his target and looked to his left, where he didn’t register the young teen.
That was when Reiki knew that if he could land a solid hit, he would consider it his own win, no matter what came after. After that, false signals started going off for the adventurer and each time one went off, the teenage boy was in a different position altogether.
‘Where is he getting this accuracy from?’ Markus thought, as he brough his sword in to his hips and used it to block the incoming sensation of fists getting close to his person. ‘This isn’t like how I’d heard of him. This is like a whole other person.’ He racked his mind about the information he gathered from those who had been present around him. ‘Wait, is …’ Something seemed to dawn on him as time
It was like the timid and powerless guy he’d first met at the illegal slave-house they had taken down was gone. Instead, there was this feeling in him that this kid had a tremendous potential hidden in him. As time slowed down to a crawl, Reiki finds himself being so indecisive about what places to land his fists. It wasn’t long before both were becoming equals as he practiced slowing down his speed.
It felt to him not like flicking a switch now, but squeezing and releasing a wall of energy around his body as he began to slow down his movements. His smile returned once he got to a speed that he felt comfortable with and let his fist slam into the back of his opponent. In an instant, Markus slid forward whilst rotating his body. Both were learning how to adapt to this unusual fighting style that no doubt was making everybody look on with various looks.
‘One more time…’ He said to himself as he ran around and went straight for Markus’ chest… when both their fists stopped an inch between them. ‘...Oh??!’ His eyes shone, glad that it didn’t seem to hurt when their fists almost collided.
He released his ability and felt his fist slam into the one of his opponent, who was grinning with a strong passion. A vibrant glint flashed in his eyes, before pulling his fist away from him whilst his opponent, the boy, was in a state of shock. His sword had clattered on the stone floor and stopped him in his tracks, just to get an advantage again and land a fist in his opponents stomach with just enough force that he went sprawling across the arena floor.
‘I-I commu-mand a ss… a Cease to this exam.’ Came an androgynous voice that echoed through the arena, which left just the sound of heavy coughing to echo for several seconds. ‘The st-student is… w-was fi-fit for entry!’ They added, before a flash of silver and blue raced onto the arena’s centre field.
The sound of a few heel clicks over the throbbing of blood rushing through his ears and the harsh tingling in his chest, along with a bold tightness as his breathing became shallower. He felt something tighten within him, and the tightness caused a rush of air to escape; a cough mixed with a very small bit of blood present in his saliva. Saliva that dribbled across his lips and dripped onto the stone floor by his free hand. He felt his body weaken, as the world rotated from his view and ended up with his eyes squinting at a now sideways Markus.
‘REIKI!!!’ Sapphire exclaimed, as she raced towards him and came to a stop. ‘Why did you hit him so hard?!’ She turned back to the adventurer, her eyes thinned, irises almost into slits, and a fang or two exposed from her mouth, while her ears folded backwards and outwards.
Without a word, the adventurer dropped to their knees and lent forward, their arms passing their head. No words were spoken, but the man’s expression was hidden from the crowd as he left his silent apology for both the Beastal girl and the boy. He took to his feet at a slow pace, then left the arena from where he came up from. As soon as he was out of sight, he started to head for the Guild to make a report about Reiki’s physical condition.
‘But I swear I held back quite a bit…’ The “bodyguard adventurer” apologised out loud, as he was approached by his companion, Sofya, while his brows pressed together.
‘You looked like you were having an issue, though.’ She said, an eyebrow raised as he approached while her arms interlaced across his chest. ‘Are you sure you were restraining yourself?’ She added, to which his shoulders slumped, and his head tilted forwards as he nodded with a solemn look as his gaze focused elsewhere.
‘I’m pretty sure I wasn’t.’ He replied, as a long breath of air escaped past his lips. A heavy conscience that had a visible effect on his self-confidence. ‘Tell the kid, alright?’ He added as they made their way off the academy grounds.
Reiki, on the other hand, could feel less of a rushing in his ears. Since the two adventurers left, he had been attended to in an immediate manner as he had gone foetal on the arena floor. His chest still hurt, but the motes of light flowing from a young student’s hands into his chest were keeping his attention off the soreness he was feeling every time he inhaled. It was like he was entranced.
‘
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
‘
‘
‘I…’ Ngh. He started to say, as he was laid onto a bed with a slight hardness to the mattress below him. ‘Ow…’ He tried to take a long breath, when a soft hand rested on his shoulder.
‘Not do speak. Just take air.’ The other girl said, with a bead of sweat and her mouth widened as her teeth were seen to be gritted. ‘I mean… Breathe. Just breathe. Don’t speak.’ That was when he noticed a reddish-golden pair of ears and her thick tail.
Scratch that, two tails. His eyes widened, before he felt a stab of pain in his chest and lost his visual distraction. A voice could be heard exclaiming something as he felt something leave a light touch somewhere on his shoulders. It wasn’t long before the sensations constricted his breathing and hurt his chest every time he inhaled. After one more cough, he felt his mind slip into a dark space as the people around him began to focus their efforts on healing him. His friend, Sapphire, hung close by his side for as long as she could before being asked to leave him be.
‘Please pull through, Reiki.’ She thought as memories of their escape from the illegal slave trade began to race through her mind. ‘Not just for your sake, but for mine too.’ She added as she ran to catch up with his unconscious form.
< # # # >
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Ungh. Came a groan into a still room.
His groan. It was Reiki who had just woken up. He could still feel a bit of phantom pain in his chest, but his breathing felt strong. Almost like he never experienced the events from the day before. The shaft of light he saw that crossed the room was enhanced by the low angle and how the light danced across everything. His vision blurred the edges of most objects, so he started to reach around the area he was in. He raised his hands as his eyes focused on the environment when he felt something different constrict his movement. He felt a rough material against his skin, with a very rough edge.
‘What is…?’ He thought as he bent his head while leaning on his elbows to look down at his chest.
Before he could focus any further on his own state, he noticed that the room had a few other young teenagers around him. All with their limbs and sections of their bodies wrapped up like his chest. His memory of the exam from earlier came to mind, and he noticed he was feeling in perfect health. Despite the strength of Markus’ punch.
He was tempted to get up and out of bed, when he could feel a few thumps reverberating through the legs of the bed. He lay back and spread his arms as his ears picked up voices coming from the other side of the door he hadn’t noticed.
‘I wonder what’s going on?’ He focused on his skills, closing his eyes as he activated his Telepathy ability. ‘I wonder if there’s a way to see if I can access a visual image of what someone is seeing with this ability?’ He pondered as he felt his connection link to an unusual thought process.
‘I can’t make head's or tails of these symbols, but I can kinda … feel … a warmth? No, it’s not that…’ He tried to keep his ability discrete but a few seconds later the skill dropped out, and his eyes snapped open, speechless in both voice and mind.
...Hunh? A voice came from outside the doors, a few heavy huffs loud enough to be heard. ‘
He didn’t recognise her at all, but his eyes did lock with hers after she looked up from the pile of rough-edged paper in her hands. He didn’t have to say anything, as she snapped her eyes away. Not only that, but he had no idea where he was, and he doubted that she would let him know. He looked down and realised he had no shirt or upper clothing. The surprise in his raised eyebrows when he looked and saw a set of abs in place of his previous memory of his body’s physique.
‘The hell happened to my body?!’ He spoke aloud as he started to peel his bandage from his torso.
The woman had made her way over to his bed and grabbed his wrists. It looked to him like her initial reaction had been overcome. Without a word, she glared with a strange expression at him. He had no idea what to make of such an expression. He gulped, then felt an odd sense of confusion run through his mind.
‘I’m sorry, young one. But you must rest.’ She spoke. ‘That injury should be healed soon…’
Her words seemed influenced by an external force, and he felt his body relax back onto the bed as his eyes still held that inquisitive look towards her. But they changed with a glow to them when he noticed her ears. Elven ears. He wanted to ask about her position but ended up not saying a thing.
After a while, he felt bored with trying to analyse her appearance and started to look around the room again.
‘I… I wonder how long I was out for.’ He pondered, as he watched a bird-like creature preening itself on the windowsill. ‘That bird looks cute.’ The bird looked at him then to his surprise, unfurled its wings, showing a set of four. It ruffled its entire body before it took off, away from the window.
‘Woah… I bet Saph sees them every day.’ He thought, trying to recall the details of the bird.
He couldn’t remember much other detail, but he could remember its iridescent back and the long cyan feathers trailing from its biggest pair of wings. The three long hair-like feathers out of te back of its head were just as striking as the colours of the bird, and he was lost in thought about having his own when some more familiar faces appeared by the end of the occupied bed. The headmaster, Sofya, and Markus had arrived as a group.
‘I see you’re finally awake.’ He smiled in response to Headmaster Orinko, who had a sympathetic yet warm glow of a smile in return. ‘Good news, you weren’t out for long–’ Reiki let out a long breath, despite feeling relaxed just seconds earlier. ‘–ybe about an hour or so. I would like to inform you now, before you do anything, that you did pass the entrance exam.’ He raised a finger from his crossed arms as he issued his next words to the teen. ‘However, you might need to do some work on your self-defence.’ He kept his smile, which Reiki could only nod in response to.
The day had been long, so this time to relax was good. But being the age he was mentally, Reiki wanted to see more of this world. He didn’t know what would come next, but it had a definite surprise for him. It also explained how he felt so calm despite his situation.
‘You can release the charm on him, Aulya.’ He said after he turned away from the bed-locked teen, as she did so.
His eyes widened when he heard that. He was ready to speak when he opened his mouth, only for Sofya spoke up first.
‘I also heard about your recovery whilst you were unconscious. You seem to have a natural ability to recover at a speed similar to that of our strongest healers in this empire.’ She said as Reiki registered his words.
A voice he didn’t expect to hear spoke up; Ren Murrows. ‘It’s also hard to explain, but you can perform this healing skill without using magic.’
‘What do you mean?’ Markus asked, turning his head towards Ren while keeping his posture focused towards the teenage boy.
Reiki sat there as he listened to Ren’s “hypothesis” towards his condition. He had assumed he couldn’t use magic due to it reading as zero on their mana and affinity detection device, yet he was able to live and heal a broken rib in less than an hour after having it broken. Despite this speculation, only he knew that it was possibly a sub-ability of his superspeed.
‘I hope my own theory is correct.’ He’d pondered for a brief moment while he listened.
‘I know that I’m probably supposed to stay in bed for a bit longer, but can I leave?’ He asked, as Ren stopped speculating, and they all turned to him.
The woman, whom Reiki had forgotten the name of, had turned on her heel and strides with speed to a desk nearby, out of shot from his point of view. He wanted to check his Skill Window, but couldn’t do that in front of this small crowd.
‘I’m guessing there’s paperwork or forms I have to sign before I am allowed to leave?’ He asked, after seeing the woman’s reaction.
‘Yes, there appears to be.’ Headmaster Orinko replied, as his smile grew once they both made eye contact. ‘Don’t worry if there are sections you can’t quite fill out. I’ll make sure to have your friend help you out with it.’ He added, making Reiki’s brow raise.
‘I didn’t know he could allow that. I thought students weren’t allowed to visit?’ He kept to himself, yet some subtle motions in his expression gave his thoughts away.
‘Don’t worry, it’s not usually like this, but I thought a friendly face might make you feel better.’ The headmaster added after a second of silence.
Just seconds after that statement, Sapphire dashed into the room and raced to the side of his bed. She noticed the crowd of eyes looking at her hasty arrival, she gave a quiet cough to clear her throat. She sat down on a wooden stool with a bit more prose as she rested a hand subconsciously on the bed beside his own. Her face bore two reflective lines that streaked down from her eyes. Of which glinted and reflected the light from the window.
With his new, and only friend by his side, he could feel his heart beating at a fast pace, but it was calm enough to not think too much about. After a while, he was given a warning, but was discharged after the paperwork; which was easy to follow with Sapphire by his side. The bandage above his abs had been removed and there were no signs of any bruising from where his opponent, Markus, had punched him. It was like he hadn’t been in a fight at all.
Luck wasn’t quite on his side yet, but the adventurer did visit him and apologise after learning he was conscious. He could tell that he was sorry for assuming that he could strengthen his body like everybody else. After it was mostly completed, excluding the areas he wasn’t allowed to enter data for, he enjoyed the feeling of freedom that came with getting out of any kind of mandatory bed-rest. It didn’t take long, before Reiki opened what he might call a “Mind Link” connection to his friend as he finally got to walk the halls after the whole situation.
[Hey, Sapphire. Thank you for visiting today, and also for sticking by my side.] He projected, the mental message causing her to trip a little as she walked close by his side.
‘N–’ [No problem, just… ask me if you need any assistance. Your chest must still sting a little, right?] She replied, almost forgetting he could do this.
[To be honest… Maybe a little bit, but it’s so faint now…] He projected, happy to have someone he could share his thoughts with. Literally.
‘So… What do you want to do now?’ Sapphire said out loud, as if to stop it looking weird between them, and just their upper faces reacting in response with their thoughts. ‘If you also need some space, just say. I’ll try and keep some of my friends from bombarding you, now that you’re already set to just come to any of the academy sessions.’ Her ears point straight up and her tail droops to a slow swish; her posture now attentive towards his next response.
‘I may need a little space soon, thanks.’ He replied, a small but tight smile etching itself into his anxious face. ‘Thank you for asking, though.’ He added, which
‘You got it.’ She said, as she bowed forward just a little, before stepping ahead of him and turning to face him as they walk the almost empty corridor. ‘If you prefer it, feel free to call me Saph.’ She added, before turning away and strolled towards one of the doors and vanished behind it.
The action caused him to pause for a moment. He stood there for a brief moment at the sudden action. His awkward moment was cut short when Sapphire came out of the room she entered, but kept a hand on the door. A silent gesture with a large grin and an active tail that swung behind her made him take quick steps to enter the room. He bowed for a short moment, once the Scholar recognised him as a new face beside their regular student.
As they continued up the side-aisle of what looked like an indoor auditorium to him, she sat down by someone who gave her an inquisitive glance. He caught the edge of her eyes squinting from his perspective as they sat down. Without a word and the use of his mental ability, they both got to work trading notes on a single sheet of paper. Almost like they were friends longer than she had been to him.
‘At least I’m learning now.’ He kept to himself, once the other girl handed him what looked like a pencil version of a quill. ‘Wish I knew what this class was though…’
The rest of the session didn’t take long, but Sapphire had confirmed that he would be assigned a private room at an adjacent building to the academy. A place where some students were living due to the time it would take to travel back and forth from their homes. Mainly because some had homes far beyond the city limits. It was the same floor that, to his surprise, Sapphire was also lodging in prior to their kidnapping situation.