Aida nibbled on the multigrain bar and washed it down with a glass of green juice (they were uninspiringly named Varinut Pastry and Herbal Milk, respectively) as she looked out over the combat field. She was the first one out, since she didn’t want to eat in the dining hall with everyone else’s mana exuberantly swirling around her.
After Ezra’s analysis yesterday, she had attempted the Mana Cycle-while-exercising exercise he had recommended, but found it too difficult. She found it easier to Cycle with her eyes closed, but she couldn’t run without her vision. When she tried Cycling with her eyes open, she found herself slowing to a stop as she focused on keeping her mana moving. It was impossible.
She tore a chunk of pastry off with her teeth. She could easily cycle her mana while chewing. Maybe she should start there? She could ask the kitchen to make her a nutritious biscotti for her to grind on while she Cycled. Or maybe a gum would be better? Could the kitchen make her a gum? Her jaw was getting tired just thinking about it.
“Hi, Aida.” Aida glanced up to see Sue give her a wan smile.
“Sue! How are you feeling?” Aida stood up to give Sue a hug. She looked thin and drawn. “Did you have breakfast already?”
“I didn’t feel like eating,” Sue responded quietly. Her stomach growled.
Pressing her half-eaten Varinut Pastry into Sue’s hand, Aida rubbed her back. “Sounds like you skipped dinner last night too.”
Urging her to at least get something in her stomach, Aida sat the two of them back down. Sue took even smaller bites of the pastry than Aida did, delicately holding the bar with her fingertips. She sniffled. “You’re such a good friend.”
Caught off-guard, Aida floundered for something to say. “I’m just returning the favor.”
“You’re fighting so hard, and you’re still worrying about me,” Sue mumbled. She lowered the pastry to her lap. “I lost yesterday not because Lara was stronger than me, but because I was weaker.”
Pressing her lips together, Aida continued rubbing Sue’s back soothingly. Sue continued. “She said some things that made me really angry, and it completely broke my concentration. I knew I shouldn’t let her get to me like that, but I was so angry.”
“What did she say?” Aida kept her voice soft, though she could imagine the type of crap Lara spouted.
“She taunted me for being weak at first, but that didn’t bother me so much. Ash talk is pretty normal, you know? But then she started bringing you into it.” Sue’s hands tightened. The pastry began to crumble. She visibly forced her fingers to relax. “…and I got so angry, because you didn’t deserve to be targeted like that. And she took advantage of my lack of control, and was able to disrupt my mana.”
Aida let out a whistle, but it came out as more of an exhale. She couldn’t blame Lara for exploiting people’s mental weaknesses, since she had done the same thing in the first stretch of placement matches. “That’s okay, Sue. It was a good learning experience.”
“What?” Sue looked at Aida tearfully.
“People can say anything they want,” Aida said gently. “They can lie about you, call you names - insult you, your family, your friends, the things you care about. But what’s most important is that you don’t let their words get to you.”
Sue stared at Aida, hanging on to every word.
“You know what the best revenge is?” Aida smiled. “Proving them wrong. Then they look like liars.”
“You’re not upset that she insulted you?” Sue asked quietly.
“Not really,” Aida admitted. “I know whatever she said isn’t true - and even if it was true, how silly is it to get angry at the truth? And honestly—“ Aida laughed lightly “—I don’t have time to worry about what she said, when I have a lot more important things to worry about. Stuff that would actually impact my life.” Aida nodded towards the students beginning to filter through the gates. “I don’t know about you, but the beatings I took last cycle were painful, and I’d rather avoid that kind of pain than whatever silly words Lara decided to string together.”
Sue laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ve never gotten hit like that before.” She grimaced, touching her cheekbone. “Can you heal me after your match? I’m still a little tender.”
“Of course.”
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Aida stood opposite Abedi. He looked uncomfortable; he kept scrubbing his dark hand through his blond hair, making the tight ringlets snarl together. “I’m sorry about Pritchard,” he finally said, his low voice pained. “We - most of us - kept trying to get him to lay off of you.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” Aida said, gratified. “Dev already mentioned that, but thank you for saying it.”
Abedi nodded gratefully, his face relaxing just a bit. “Just wanted to make sure our friendship won’t be tarnished by something so ridiculous.”
Professor Havi gestured at them, getting their attention. Aida and Abedi nodded back to him, letting him know they were ready. Performing one last cursory check of all six rings, Havi started the matches.
Aida threw a mana blast at Abedi’s face as she ran towards him, more of a puff of air than anything truly damaging. He didn’t flinch, instead concentrating on the ground. Quickly reversing her grip on her wand, she placed her thumb over the gem, activating the mana overlay so she could see Abedi’s mana flow.
Abedi had a truly impressive amount of mana. He had directed all of his mana into the ground, so that the entire combat arena - not just their ring - was glowing with his aura. She could see him drawing all the metal fragments in the ground together, consolidating it all into the beginnings of a handle, using his wand as the foundation.
Aiming her wand at his hands, she focused on the narrowest thread of mana nestled in his palm. The bulk of his mana control was at the tip of the wand, focused on collecting the metal; the thread at the back was just a small highway to funnel the metal particles into their proper places.
Her aim was good. She severed the connection, causing Abedi’s wand to explode with mana. Fortunately, she had already started surging, allowing her to dive to the ground before the shockwave reached her. Abedi’s face twisted with indignation, upset at having to start over. The metal that had already formed over his wand still remained, and he kept an eye on Aida as he began collecting metal again. This time, he made sure to reinforce the weak point Aida had exploited.
Aida felt dread creep through her. Abedi had robust mana control, and there were no additional obvious exploits she could target. Only one thing I can focus on. Keeping her surge flowing, she sprinted towards Abedi, lunging to grab hold of his knee. She had heard wrestlers and jiujitsu enthusiasts in her gym brag about how untrained people didn’t know how to keep their balance, and that the easiest way to conduct a takedown was via the knee. Clasping her hands behind Abedi’s kneecap, Aida pulled with all her might.
It didn’t take too much force. Abedi hadn’t expected her to get up close and personal, so didn’t brace his legs. However, Aida had also never performed such a feat before, so she felt herself sail over his leg as he inadvertently kicked her during his fall.
Landing on her back knocked the wind out of her, and she lost her surge. Rolling onto her front, she saw Abedi push himself up as well. She supposed it was a victory that he lost his concentration again, but now he was definitely annoyed.
Keeping their eyes on each other, they both climbed to their feet. “I see you would prefer to grapple?” Abedi asked, staying crouched.
Aida swallowed. “No, actually. I don’t know how to grapple.”
Abedi grinned. “Thanks for letting me know.” He lunged for her. Panicking, she activated her surge, and was able to fall backwards out of his reach. Quickly recovering her feet, she fired a mana blast at him, that he seemed to shrug off. This guy’s a tank!
She was glad to see her hypothesis that Abedi didn’t use Mana Surge was correct. She could at least stay out of his reach for a few moments longer. But how much longer? Her combination of dodging and whittling him down with pure mana was a (very slow) losing strategy. He didn’t seem to be getting tired, and from what she recalled of his attributes he was really high in the STR and VIT department. She had already expended more than half her mana just avoiding his grasping paws and splashing him with ineffectual blasts.
Suddenly, Abedi matched her speed - he Surged. Catching her in a tackle, he sent her flying across the ring, bouncing helplessly.
Something interesting happened. Because Aida had maintained her Surge despite the shock of seeing big, lumbering Abedi doing the unexpected, she was able to anticipate how she would fall and land. More out of ephemeral curiosity than desperation, she sent mana towards her impact points - and found it lessened the pain. Flipping in the air after the last bounce, she landed on her feet, stumbling a little. She grinned, excited.
Abedi slowed to a stop, looking at her warily. “Did you hit your head?”
“Maybe, but I didn’t feel it,” Aida bragged. “Let’s do it again!” Running at Abedi, she regained her Surge, jumping high in the air. Dragging her knees to her chest, she reveled in the feeling of nearly flying as her body began its slow descent towards Abedi’s head.
Abedi brought his fist back, anticipating Aida’s landing. Since she knew that he knew that she was aiming for his head, she reinforced her feet, ankles, and knees with mana as she shot her legs downwards in a stomping motion, the heels of her shoes meeting Abedi’s massive fist.
It was just a matter of willpower at this point. Aida’s intense concentration was like a drill, throwing sparks against Abedi’s thick cast-iron shield that refused to yield.
Aida’s concentration and mana gave out, and she was blown backwards by Abedi’s powerful blow. Uh oh.
Flying through the air again, but this time not of her own will, Aida scrambled to scrape together the last of her mana to protect herself against the harsh impacts of the hard ground. Third time was the charm; she was able to land limbs akimbo, relatively unhurt. She heard Abedi’s heavy footsteps thud ominously towards her, clearly intent on continuing the fight.
“YIELD! I YIELD!” Aida hollered from the ground, shooting her arm straight up in the air in front of her.
Abedi skidded to a stop over her, pointing his wand down at her. “Do you really yield?” he panted.
Aida let her hand flop to her side on the ground. “I do. I’m all out of mana.” But I learned a new skill. A maniacal grin spread across her face.
Congratulations! You have learned Defense Up (Lv1). [+5 RP]