A blazing burst of noises pierced the surrounding as ripple effects were appearing from the water a couple of meters away from me.

I sighed in exhaustion, "This is tiring…"

Hinako was sitting peacefully as if the sounds she heard didn't bother her at all. She held her staff with a passionate gaze as she pointed it towards the water canal in front of her.

"Levitate… aim… and shoot!" Hinako posed with a wink while a metal object resembling a handgun floated around near her. It was the DI42 she used yesterday, Hinako managed to levitate it with her magic as it took aim towards the water canal.

With a loud bang, the DI42 shot a round by itself without anything touching it. Hinako proudly grabbed it as she smiled at me like a child looking for validation, which was replied by a head pat from me.

I was holding a heavy looking assault rifle. Alongside its low recoil, the rifle is equipped with silencer to protect our ears. Even then, it was still too much for me to use without any practice, which was why we were practicing our skill and aim in a huge water canal, just in case more monsters came by.

The assault rifle resembled the AR-15 from the previous era before the technological revolution exploded, its known as the Silent Golden Rifle 6th, or SGR-6 for short. It can hold up to 40 rounds with .223 cartridges, which made it deadly.

Even then, It took all of my strength to fire it after a half hour of practice. I decided to sit down at a nearby bench while Hinako kept on practicing her magic to fire DI42.

I was looking at her with a slight envy, until suddenly Hinako turned around and caught a glimpse of my expression. She smiled at me while handing out her magic staff to me, "Do you want to try?"

I awkwardly nodded as she smiled, I gently grabbed the magic staff that Hinako had given to me, its texture felt like it was made from a soft wood. Hinako seemed a little too excited as she grabbed a random rock and a leaf.

"Um… How do I use this thing?" I asked shyly.

Hinako's tone seemed a little different than usual as her teacher-like demeanor appeared, "It's very simple, all you have to do is draw the mana from your body!" answered Hinako as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

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"How do I do that, Miss Hinako?" I asked teasingly, addressing her just like how a student would to their teachers.

Hinako's eyes were shining after she heard me calling her 'miss', "Worry not my adorable student! I shall teach you the way of sorcery. Firstly, magic is something we borrow from another dimension with exchange of our mana. Second, we need to learn what elements you could use, usually it corresponds with what kind of personality you have. if it were wind, or fire, you can do stuff like this."

The piece of leaf on Hinako's hand was completely cut in hundreds of pieces while the rock she held was engulfed in a blaze of fire as it dissipated slowly.

I looked at Hinako with an amazed and impatient expression, "How can I know which element I can use?"

"You can simply just let another magician intervene your flow of mana, and usually they could tell which attributes you have, and make you feel your own mana flows," Hinako explained.

I was too caught up with her explanation of magic, I didn't realize I was walking closer and closer to her, "Please Miss Hinako! Observe my inside! Tell me my deepest desire called mana that I didn't know I had!"

Hinako was caught by surprise by my outburst, however she simply smiled and gently touched my hand. Her warm fingers engulfed me with a sense of comfort and familiarity.

"Listen to your heart beat, blood flow, and focus on your whole body. Find a warm or cold sense of feeling."

I closed my eyes and focused.

I could feel a warmth sensation from Hinako's fingertips as it touched mine, until suddenly a looming shadow enveloped me. I couldn't feel Hinako anymore, as I opened my eyes, only darkness and void filled my entire body.

I realized I no longer had a sense of warmth, touch, or hearing. Everything around me felt scary and terrifying. It felt like being stranded in a faraway galaxy.

"Everything feels empty," I muttered.

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"Please, Help me."

Suddenly, I could feel a lick from my neck.

"Sayoko, you're back!" Hinako's eyes were tearing up as she hugged me. All senses appeared as I was able to see the structure of the water canal we were nearby at.

My mind went dizzy as I asked, "What… happened?"

"I wasn't able to determine your element. Usually I would be able to tell whether you have an affinity for fire, water, earth, or wind. In rare cases, someone could have light or dark affinity, however, your mana was… void. I wasn't able to find a single trace of your mana, no, it's more accurate to say that something was blocking me from doing so," explained Hinako in a lengthy amount of words.

Hinako kept on hugging me tightly as I felt a little but suffocated, "does that mean I won't be able to use magic?"

Hinako simply replied, "I don't know."

Finally, Hinako let go of me. She also seemed curious about my situation, so I asked her whether it's okay for me to learn magic. She agreed to teach me a spell with the darkness attribute.

A few moments later.

"Void bullets!" I yelled on top of my lungs with an embarrassed expression while aiming my staff into the water canal. Despite my efforts, nothing happened. I sighed in disappointment after trying it for more than ten times.

Just before I gave up, a portal loomed from the distance as its overwhelming presence was enough to scare us. I quickly returned to Hinako's staff as I reached for my new SGR-6.

This time, the portal appeared in the sky in the distance. I could see something coming out resembling a shark floating as it stared at me and Hinako. The shark's massive size was comparable to a bus. There was a beautiful tiara above its head.

Hinako held her staff while muttering, "Shark Queen…"