Everyone made their way to the arena.
“You will be dueling each other.” Mr. Nelson made his way down the steps to the low wall that separated the sidelines with chairs from the concrete field.
Everyone followed behind him.
Mr. Nelson turned around. “Make sure you pay attention. You might gain something from watching your peers, even from the mistakes. Does everyone have their wands and staves? Let me see them.” He looked around.
Everyone lifted their wands and staves.
Elly put his hands in his pockets.
Mr. Nelson caught him. “Where is your staff, ViQoné?”
“I don’t use a staff.”
“Then where is your wand?”
“I don’t use that either.”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“Don’t answer me like that! What do you use then?”
“My hands?”
“Why? You require one. You can’t cast without a wand or staff.”
“Why not?”
“Because I said so.”
“Why do you say so?”
“Don’t play games with me.”
“And what games am I playing?”
Mr. Nelson paused with an intense glare. He had run out of words.
Even if Elly attempted to use a wand or staff, he wouldn’t use it effectively. It wasn’t something Sapphire had taught him. She had just accepted the fact that he didn’t need either one without question, and then they continued from there. He understood the basic theories behind the usage of wands and staves, but practically, he had no experience and just didn’t care about gaining any using a piece of stick.
Mr. Nelson gathered his thoughts. “You understand what the Etherum Effect is, don’t you?”
He nodded. “But can I just use my hands?”
The whole class laughed.
Mr. Nelson was mad. “Alright. Fine. Use your hands. See where it gets you! Hopefully, you’ll be able to walk to the infirmary by yourself when you’re done.”
He was pretty sure it would get him pretty far.
How exactly are you able to bypass the Effect?
Suki raised a good point. I’ve never really given it serious thought. It was strange actually. Thinking back to his answer for an exam question didn’t help. He wanted hard facts, not possibilities. He would tell Mom to carry him to see a doctor about it sometime later.
Mr. Nelson started the duels, one after another.
Elly sat there and waited, watching the lameness. The spells were slow and sloppy. Mistakes were made. Some fell on the floor embarrassingly. Some forgot the words to spells and so paused awkwardly. But he saw a little skill in a handful, even though they used wands and staves and said incantations. Amateurs. Total amateurs. All of them.
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Time went by. He slept through most of it until Mr. Nelson called him.
“Wake up, ViQoné. It’s your turn.”
Elly woke and sat up in his chair.
“Do your best,” Mr. Nelson encouraged.
Elly went down the steps and into the arena. His opponent was likely someone lame. This will be boring. But he enhanced his body and senses with his magical energy just as a precaution. His skin took on a white glow.
The umbrella girl walked into the arena some distance away from him.
“Hello, Elly.”
Oh, it was her. Some nerve she had. He struggled a little bit to understand her thick accent, but he managed. “Tch. No! That’s ViQoné to you!” He pointed at her sourly.
“Hm? And vy is zat?”
“You forgot?!” Unbelievable. “You didn’t give me your name during the entrance exam!”
“Oh, is zat really ze reason vy you are upset?”
“Of course!” He had given her his name, but she hadn’t given him hers. She had thought he wasn’t worthy enough to know. “You were mean to me, and you didn’t say sorry!”
“You are so petty…”
“I don’t care!” He pouted. He hated her.
“It is just…” She looked at the ground.
“What?”
“Never mind.” She looked at Mr. Nelson. “Can ve start now?”
“Begin!” He shouted.
Fine, be that way. He would enjoy his victory.
“I have seen your capabilities, so I vill not go easy.”
“As if that’ll make a difference, jerk!” Elly bit his thumb and dug his canine into it. Blood trickled out. He shook a few drops off his hand and onto the ground. Blood Seal. A blood clot formed over his thumb to stop the bleeding. Reaching for the blood drops on the ground, they glistened.
Hemato Art: Free Form—Rasenki. A red symbol appeared on his forehead. The drops rose and encircled him, spinning rapidly. They merged, and the volume increased more and more until it became abundant and flowed around him like a large, spinning disk, aggressive like a river. The Art that allowed him to manipulate any existing, exposed blood freely without needing to remember and cast individual spells. It allowed him more flexibility with what to do in the moment. Using an Art wasn’t technically spellcasting but a utility technique. It continuously used mana while active nonetheless.
He waited for her first move…
“How did you do zat vizout saying ze vords?” she asked.
“Figure it out!” Elly stuck his tongue out. As if I’d ever reveal my secrets to an enemy. “MAYBE IF YOU SAY SORRY, I’LL TELL YOU!”
She sighed, shaking her head. “So childish.”
She lifted her hand to the sky. “Umbral Art: Closed Form—Lunarinta.”A black symbol appeared on her forehead.
Gradually, a shadow came across everything overhead.
Elly looked up.
The moon blocked the sun completely. A solar eclipse? Interesting. She knew her stuff well.
She tossed the umbrella aside, since the sunlight was gone. Her eyes glowed, and her power and aura grew exponentially. Cracks appeared in the concrete ground under her as she moved forward. All the walls cracked too. Empty chairs on the sidelines cracked and fell apart. They weren’t able to withstand the pressure she was emitting. “Zis should be a good fight. Good luck.”
“LIKE I NEED YOUR LUCK! SHUT UP, UMBRELLA GIRL!” He pointed with disdain again.
“Vy do I bozzer saying anysing nice…” She suddenly looked depressed, now hanging her head. Her aura and energy calmed down, shrinking.
“I DON’T KNOW! MAYBE YOU DON’T HAVE A BRAIN IN THERE!”
“Vy am I even here again… I should leave…”
“YEAH, AND DON’T COME BACK. TAKE YOUR WEIRD UMBRELLA TOO!” He stomped his foot constantly. “LIKE REALLY, WHO USES AN UMBRELLA WHEN IT’S NOT RAINING?!”
You should be fighting her, not demoralizing her.
“FINE! WHATEVER, SUKI! UMBRELLA GIRL, WE’RE NOT DONE!”
“Hm? You still vant to fight?” She lifted her head and looked at him.
“OBVIOUSLY.”
“Okay zen. I suppose I can manage zat…”