How unfortunate for Dravus to start another day with another drag across the dojo floor. Since I'm determined to help Dravus in his current predicament of miraculously improving his magical ability to the level of everyone else here. The tricky thing right now is to plan out a proper schedule. I have no way of knowing when he's going to get expelled since realistically, the closest person that knows is Ruikan. In the years that I've known him, he's never cracked under my pressure. Of course, trying to weasel the answer out of Dravus would be the next best option but he's surprisingly headstrong. Either that, or he really doesn't trust me in the slightest. 

Dravus slowly gets himself up again as every other student watches his continued downfall. At this point, Dravus getting expelled could be guessed by anybody. Ruikan has made it a point for him to spar someone else in this class every session. I can only guess it's to judge his Dravus' magical ability but Dravus' exhaustion keeps taking a hold of him. His stubborn nature doesn't let himself stay down until he's completely spent. By then, his condition becomes much too damaged for him to fully recover the next day. That's the first thing I have to address. 

Dravus suffers another knockdown before Ruikan snaps his fingers, summoning a bolt of lightning between Dravus and Poen. "That's enough. Help him up Poen," instructs Ruikan. Poen tiredly moves to Dravus and pulls him up as Dravus' black armour crumbles and disintegrates to the smoke it originally was. Of course, Joel doesn't stay by Dravus' side for long, immediately returning to his clique. One final scoff from him and Dravus is left sitting alone in the middle of the makeshift arena, bruised and bloodied. Before Ruikan can even begin his next sentence, Dravus stands up and walks out of the dojo. For his daily visit to the infirmary, I assume. 

Ruikan dismisses us and I'm careful to stay underneath everyone's radar as they start leaving class for their long-awaited meal. However, Dravus and I have agreed to eat after our training so as to not complicate things. After keeping a close eye on Dravus' performance today, I can get a rough estimate of what Dravus needs to improve on when compared to everyone else in 1-A.

Sure enough, Dravus is far behind. His magic control is decent but lacks the refinement that someone with his magic type needs. That is, of course, another problem we need to solve. Not only is Dark magic the most complicated type, but Dravus' starting magic shape as black smoke makes everything loose and hard to modify. I'm surprised he got as far as he did. It would take years of training for someone to fully master something so advanced. Luckily for both of us, Dravus doesn't need to fully master his magic. And luckily for him, he has the best tutor he could ever have.

Dravus walks back into the dojo sooner than I expected and walks over to me.

"Well, Ritz, I have a plan," I announce. Dravus tilts his head slightly and simply nods as a response. "First of all, you do know about the magic spectrum do you?' Another nod. "Well, not only is your type of magic all the way at the end, but your shape is also-"

"Just as complicated, I'm guessing?" Yes, it would be concerning if you don't. "Of course. So, the best course of action would be to refine your magic instead of strengthening it's power specifically. We would also need to work on your combat style with this magic. Your current combat style is, wholly ineffective. Everyone here is physically stronger than you so you need to be more nimble instead."

"Well, thank you for telling me straight up that I'm weaker than everyone," Dravus says with a smile on his face and a little laugh. It's a bit...odd, for such an informal sentence to come out of Dravus but if it means that it will help him cope with the uphill battle he's facing, I'll tolerate it. After all, this is very much his own arduous project more than it is my own. "Well, let's continue your soul strengthening."

<...............>

Another six hours go by of Dravus doing nothing but his soul strengthening. I'm biting my lip watching as Dravus pushes himself even further to control his magic. He's getting better but it's taking too much of a toll on him. I need this to be a continuous process but his condition won't allow for an increase in difficulty every day. I need to take this slowly. Dravus continues to go through the training. His hands are clenched in tight fists as sweat continues to stain his black undershirt. His eyes are closed and strained as if his magic will just tear through his eyelids and burst out at any moment. While that is a possibility, I make sure to shove that thought to the deepest recesses of my mind.

There is progress being made here. His magic is not leaking nearly as much as it was before. Soon enough, his magic won't be leaking at all which will allow us to move on to combat techniques and stratagem. I take a glance behind me and catch Relqis looking again before she hurriedly goes back to her own training. With yesterday's event in mind, it's hard to tell exactly why Relqis is so interested in this. Is she worried about Dravus' safety or is her competitive side showing? Trying to ensure she's still ahead or readying another loving slap? One study at a time, Malik. 

I turn my attention back to Dravus who's faltering again, but this time out of exhaustion rather than out of incompetence. "I think I'm done for today. Are you sure you're pacing me correctly? I mean, not to disrespect you Malik but that was fucking exhausting." He must be really exhausted if he swore like that in front of me. Why is there such a change in his behaviour now when he was given ample opportunity to do so previously? Is his expulsion soon? Is this some kind of way of showing he's given up? I sigh and shake my head at his words. "There is still a lot of work to be done here. It will only get harder from here so I suggest you make sure you're ready tomorrow for our next training session." Dravus gives a little nod as he slowly goes to gather his things. We agreed to eat our dinner after our training to ensure we don't slow down our progress. Relqis conveniently stops her training at this exact moment and wipes herself off. Her muscular body on full display to impress or intimidate anyone who enters the dojo.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Relqis turns to glance at Dravus as he cools down near his things. His hands are trembling but he's slowly getting a grip on them. I have an idea. I walk over to Relqis and she looks up to me as I approach. She stands up in a rush and clumsily tries to regain her bearings before standing at a more relaxed position. "Hello, Leyna. I noticed you were sneaking glances over here. Interested in me?" I say with a laugh. A small blush creeps on her cheeks but she stands her ground.  Normally I wouldn't approach a girl like this but in this situation, I have ample reason to. "Why don't you follow me and Ritz for dinner? It'll be nice." Relqis' eyes open wide as she looks up at me. "Uhm...I...that would be...an excellent opportunity." I smile and shout at Dravus to hurry it up. Soon enough, Dravus, Relqis and I are walking down the long hallways of the academy to the dining hall.

Dravus is the first one to speak, asking me about my current plans with the training. "I'm sorry if I'm too much of a burden. I know that you probably also need to study and train for yourself." I don't but at least he's considerate. Relqis is still awkwardly walking on the other side of me but she manages to keep her facial expressions in check this time. Dravus walks a bit further ahead and opens up a question for Relqis, to my surprise. "Leyna, what kind of training were you doing back there, I've never seen it before." Relqis looks directly at Relqis and her expression softens a tiny bit before she sighs. "It's a military combat style. It's called Kuvat. It's uh...made specifically to counter the more..Uhm... 'pronounced' magic types" 

Ah, Kuvat. What a complicated yet beautiful style of fighting. I look to Dravus and his eyes are wide open in shock. I crease my eyebrows slightly. Isn't this the first time you're even talking to Relqis? Why show such an expression already? No blank starter? Dravus looks up in thought for a moment before opening his mouth to speak again. "Something like that would work well with your mind magic, wouldn't it? Mind magic practically counters everything as it is," he says, slowly and calmly, like testing the waters of the storm that is Leyna Relqis. Relqis face brightens up a tiny bit as they enter an intellectual, yet completely harmless conversation. It's so easy for the two of them to just start talking. Dravus is no slouch when it comes to social situations. That scuffle I saw before the orientation was a good example. Shame that he's not using that skill when talking to me.

I'm not annoyed, I'm disappointed. The three of us reach the dining hall which was thankfully almost empty. We complete our dinner without any fuss and, despite the conversation they had on the way here, Dravus and Relqis stopped talking to each other for the rest of our dinner. We make our way to the dorms and separate in silence, the three of us evidently tired due to our endeavours. I collapse onto my bed and sleep snugly for the first time in a long time.

<...............>

Four days have gone by with Ritz's training and I'm proud to witness his progress. Since he completed his basic soul strengthening two days prior, we have moved on to physical training. Ritz has been given exercises to work on his legs and arms while also learning some basic techniques to go in tandem with his magic shape and style. Every so often, Relqis would walk in and criticise Ritz before offering alternatives in her own, passive-aggressive way. Of course, they also go through heavy vetting by me but she evidently has an eye for combat. Looking at Ritz practice these techniques now is giving me hope that his eventual retests would go smoothly. I really shouldn't have hope while he's still so far behind but...he's making progress.

Ritz stops his current sequence and drops to the ground as our current problem rears its head again. Dravus is getting increasingly fatigued after every session we have. I didn't expect it to be so bad but it already feels like he's pushing himself far too much than he should. From the look in his eyes, he's also losing sleep which doesn't make any sense. Why would he stay up late at night?  The dojo door opens but the person that steps in is...problematic.

Ruikan walks up to Ritz and Ritz looks up to him, Ritz's blank expression at the ready. "I see in our classes that you have improved. You're making good progress." Ritz nods in response. "I see you've also been catching up in your magical theory. Good work." That solves that mystery. "I hope you're ready for your retest soon." 

Did he really say that? Why? Why reveal Ritz's status so soon? Ritz nods his head solemnly and looks up at me. "I think I'm going to stop for today. I'm exhausted." Ritz stands up and collects his items, leaving me alone with Ruikan. I walk over to Ruikan but he stubbornly stands his ground. 

"When are his test dates, Ruikan?" I ask in a furious whisper. "My Prince, I'm not supposed to-"

"When are his test dates, Ruikan ?" I demand again. "You have one week till his magic practical retest." One week? One fucking week. "Get out of here Ruikan," I politely demand. "Look, my Prince, I'm letting you off the hook because of our past together but you shouldn't take that tone with me. What would Kalim say if he were to know?" I don't fucking care what Kalim thinks. "Fine. Would you please leave right now?"

"As you wish." Ruikan leaves the dojo as Dravus walks back to me. "So, now that you know about my expulsion, are you still willing to help me?" I look at Dravus with my first real expression to him. An expression of surprise. It doesn't phase him in the slightest. "I know you haven't been entirely so keen to help me but I am entirely grateful for everything you've done so far."

So he knew. He knew my plan from the very start, didn't he? Even as he said the things he just said, he kept such a straight face. Now he's looking at me differently. He's looking at me with what I would expect from someone who knew my intentions. He looked at me like he knew.

I've made too much progress to quit now. "I'll continue to help you, Ritz. You don't need to worry. When are your retests? I need to make some changes to the plan."  He relays the information that I already found out from Ruikan to me. "Shall we head to the dining hall now?" he asks. It felt like another question to test the waters but I know that's not the case. He's testing me now. He's testing my loyalty to him. My drive to help him. I know why I help him and it looks like, so does he.

Except he's wrong. Knowing what I know now, my reason has changed. I know this. He reminds me too much of me. Being given such a hard magic to really master and shape and being disadvantaged because of it. Being ridiculed for something you couldn't possibly have controlled. The difference is that I had help. Torturous and painful help but it allowed me to survive in the environment I was thrust in. Ritz never had that help and he's still striving to be so much better than he is. He could have excelled at any other academy but he's here. While I may never know his purpose, I know his drive. I know his desire to be better. 

I will help him because I want to.

I will help him because I can.

"Sure, let's go," is my reply.