After finishing the theoretical exam’s first part, Finn walked through the academy’s front doors. There was a large open space beyond it with countless stairs and hallways leading to every possible direction.
Guided by an upper-classman, Finn walked past fancy paintings and priceless artifacts, through countless wide hallways and nooks and corners, until he finally reached the location for his second exam.
It was a normal classroom though slightly bigger and with a taller, medieval style door. Inside, there was an old man wearing an old brown suit and sporting thick glasses. His eyebrows were white, but his receding hair was painted black, as if that made it look better.
“Sit down, young man. Your opponent has yet to arrive.”
Finn tilted his head. “Won’t he teleport in?” He looked for possible locations. “Will he drip out of the walls or maybe jump through a window?”
“What!?” the professor’s glasses almost fell off. “This is a serious exam, young man. Take a seat before I deduct some points.”
Although disappointment was written all over his face, Finn complied with regulations. ‘Is this my life now?’ he wondered. ‘Goddamn it.’
[Outside of Phoenix city]
Natalie and the boys were meditating as always in their usual spot beneath the oak tree. “Breathe in for five seconds, hold for 10, and release for five.”
The boys kept their eyes closed, but Natalie secretly watched them. Their skin had taken a reddish color as their body temperature rose tremendously. Both of them sat in puddles of sweat while their muscles bulged and contracted at random intervals. Eventually, veins could be seen on their skin, slowly revealing a maze of thick blood vessels from head to toe.
“Good job,” Natalie blurted out of reflex. “If you can maintain this state during combat, your abilities should at least double.”
The boys opened their eyes and Michael cracked his neck. “I want to punch something.”
Tommy walked over to the oak tree, ripped a thick branch with one arm, cleaned it of branches and took on a stance. “Teacher,” he told Natalie, “let’s spar.”
[In one of the academy’s dorms]
Ever since she finished her exam, Annie had not left her room except to eat. Her task was important and only she could figure it out.
Unfortunately, no matter what she tried, the girl could not change the mana inside her ring. Out of frustration, she even tried to change the mana inside her body, but luckily, that failed too.
‘Did I just try to burn myself alive?’ Her spine trembled, and she got out of bed.
After splashing water on her face in the bathroom, Annie pulled out some mana from her arm. It was blue in color and felt as much a part of Annie as her skin.
‘This is good.’ Through continuous experimentation, Annie had learned the following:
1. Mana changed color depending on how concentrated it was. Orange was weak and blue was better, so she was rather pleased with what came out of her arm.
1. Since magic crystals were made purely out of mana, taking too much out of them caused cracks and eventual destruction. Annie did not know what would happen if she drained her body of mana, and she had no intention of ever finding out.
1. It was fine to take small amounts of mana out of her ring, and the energy would be replenished within 30 or so seconds. The same worked for her body, although significantly slower.
However, as far as the main purpose of her experiments went, she had no choice but to give up. ‘It’s pointless.’ Although she had seen how others used magic, although she had analyzed the crystals embedded in the bathroom sink and in the bathtub for ideas, it was simply impossible to learn magic without a teacher.
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Annie kneeled in front of the sink and touched the orange crystal embedded in the handle. The mana was arranged in intricate patterns that activated water magic upon movement, but it also maintained a tiny shield which kept her palm away.
‘I could break it.’ She grinned at the idea. Overusing the sink would do that anyway. ‘No. They’ll kick us out. I need to find another bathroom. Maybe an inn? Or, maybe I can ask Finn to buy me a magic book.’ That was likely expensive.
‘Patterns, crystals, crystals, runes,’ she muttered to herself while walking around the room. Then suddenly, she remembered the golem and the crystal inside its head.
“Mana is a precious resource,” she mimicked Madam Izabella down to her cough. “Sorry Madam.”
Annie stretched her limbs with a playful grin. “Lasers are fun.”
[Inside an Ikea store on Earth]
The year was 2023. A young man with a massive mustache, dressed in a 1920’s suit, walked into an Ikea store. He went to the register while playing with his fancy cane, and tapped on a woman’s desk in order to get her attention.
However, the lady behind the desk did not respond, for she was enjoying her favorite show. It was the middle of the day, the show was on her work laptop, and there were other clients in the store which she had equally ignored.
“Excuse me,” the mustached man frowned.
“You are excused.” The lady looked to be in her mid-twenties with round features and a plump body. Her lips were deep red and her hair was black and disheveled. Her eyes were black, and her skin had a bluish tint, no doubt from a skin condition the young man did not notice.
“This is highly unprofessional,” the young man twisted his mustache. “All things aside, I am a customer. Aren’t you supposed to be working here? Hey! I’m talking to you.”
Finally, the woman raised her face, impatience and anger written all over it.
“Talk to me in that tone again, and I will smush you into a black hole. Come here!” she opened her left palm and the man was pulled helplessly towards it. He half expected her to snap his neck, but instead, the woman showed him her laptop’s screen.
There was a livestream showing a large classroom. Two teens sat in their seats while an old teacher was explaining the rules.
“You can compete in one of two tests as agreed upon by both contestants. If there is no agreement, then I will pick for you, so do bare that in mind.”
The teacher took off his glasses and continued his speech while cleaning them.
“The first test is a challenge of wit and mental prowess. You will both be given a set of 50 exercises. The first person to answer them correctly wins. Please keep in mind that each exercise is worth one point and there will be a five-point deduction for every mistake.”
“And the second test?” one of the teens raised his arm. He wore a neat uniform similar to the teacher’s suit, an even thicker pair of glasses, and looked beyond excited to take on the challenge. The same could not be said about his opponent.
‘The only way you’re winning this is if I die of boredom.’ Finn refrained from smacking his face on the desk in front of him. ‘God, why do you hate me?’
Unbeknownst to him, not one but two Gods were watching him with interest.
“Finally his time on Earth is actually useful.” The woman clenched her fists in support.
"If you like him so much, why don’t you take him back?” The mustached man frowned. “And, about my desk...”
Suddenly, a fist sized ball of darkness materialized near his mustache. It felt endlessly deep and it sucked the tiny hairs towards it with frightening force.
“Listen,” the mustached man used both hands to slowly push the black hole away from him. “You know I can’t peek into your planet’s business. Well, everywhere he goes, it becomes your business. I can’t see the future, the past, the stats or even the memories of people he interacts with. And, since he keeps moving around, I can’t see shit anymore! He’s like a Goddamn virus messing with my screen.”
On the laptop’s livestream, Finn had just defeated his first opponent in an epic, tedious match of mathematics. The other student looked absolutely destroyed and wept quietly as he handed over his ring.
“See?” the mustached God put his hands on top of his head. “He’s ruining everything. That kid could’ve been my planet’s Einstein for all we know.”
"You talk too much.” The woman’s black ball was growing in size, gradually pulling in the nearby furniture and people. Fortunately, she snapped it out of existence before anyone could notice why there was a draft.
“He barely traveled two dukedoms and you’re acting like he’s some kind of grand adventurer.”
“But, that’s what he’s trying to become!” The young God pointed at the laptop. “He’ll travel for quests and spread his infection everywhere.”
“Really?” The woman turned her screen towards the mustached God. “Look at him.”
Match after match, Finn won easily. Although bored of this magicless event, he could not help but smile the more rings fell into his lap.
“This is his comfort zone,” said the woman. “It’s in his blood, and now that he got a taste of money...”
The mustached God crossed his arms.
“But, how can I make him stay in one place? Like a tiny village or a desolated mountain top?”
“You don’t.” The woman cupped his head between her delicate palms. “I have forgiven you once ‘little brother.’” The infinity of the cosmos could be seen in her eyes. “Cross me again, and I will squish you.”
[Name: Andrew Finn.
Nickname: Achoo.
Age: 14 years and three months old.
Race: Quarter elf.
Abilities (relevant):
- Clay construction: Miniature models {Master}. Full scale clay construction {Intermediate}
- Leadership: {Beginner+}
- Swordsmanship {Beginner}
- Knife fighting {Intermediate}
- Bows and arrows {Advanced}
- Photographic memory {Master}
- Mathematics: {Saint}
Debuffs:
- Teen's body.
Comments: None]