Phoenix Academy first year teacher’s magic office was closed shut. In front of it, there was a long row of plump or skinny students. They were dressed in fancy clothes, many with huge spectacles on their eyes, a wand or a staff in one hand, and a book or several in the other. Some of them tried knocking on the door until the words “Busy” appeared as if inscribed on it.
Inside, Michael could no longer see anything, just a couple of fireballs threatening to melt his eyeballs. He was trapped in a cocoon of earth, water, wind, and fire which could end him at a moment’s notice.
“Give up young man,” he heard Miss Bella’s voice. “This battle is over.”
“Ha, no it’s not.”
Annie clenched the orange crystal in her hands. “No, it is not. Michael, you are my friend, but… you are right. I do want to see what my creations will do to your body, and I hate you for calling me crazy.”
“You’ll get over it.”
“I will. Let’s treat each other to fish and apples after this, ok?”
“Sure.”
The two smiled for a moment, then the magical projectiles tore into Michael’s flesh. The boy wailed in pain and swung his arms wildly, but they were soon fractured in a dozen different places and fell limp along with his body.
Michael fell face first to the very bottom of the purple bubble. As if that wasn’t enough, he passed right between a couple of thunder clouds which then charred what was left of his body to a crisp.
Annie averted her eyes. It was one thing to test out projectiles against a capable opponent and another to watch her friend get destroyed. The girl turned to her teacher and awaited her decision.
However, that decision did not come.
“The fight is over, I won.”
“Are you sure?” Miss Bella shrugged. “The boy said the same thing just a few minutes ago, and now look where he’s at. I’m not announcing anything anymore until I get a proper confirmation.”
“What?” Annie gave the woman an incredulous look. ‘Have I not done enough?’
Gritting her teeth, she summoned several fireballs and hurled them at the charred corpse. However, at the very last second she canceled her spell.
“Hmm? What’s wrong?” Miss Bella smirked.
Annie descended to the bottom with a complicated expression. “Teacher, you’re cruel.” She grabbed Michael’s charred body by the armpits and lifted him up. “Is this enough!?”
“Yes. I am now convinced.”
“As am I.”
Annie suddenly felt a hand on the back of her neck. The corpse had grabbed her. The corpse had talked. Before she could understand what was happening, Michael pulled her head and slammed her on her back.
“Surprise!” With his free hand, he punched her straight in the nose, then jumped on top of her, immobilized her arms and rained down punches.
“I knew you’d screw up in the end.” [Boom, Boom] “You should’ve listened to your teacher.” [Boom] “You’re too soft.” [Smack].
Annie tried to push him off, but she could not outmaneuver him. She shot several fireballs, but the wounds somehow healed themselves. That’s when she realized:
‘Two gloves, two crystals: one’s to increase speed and one’s for healing.’
She had played with such crystals back in Trident’s armory.
'He got me, but I'll still win.' Annie’s face was getting pummeled by Michael’s strikes. With the last bit of consciousness, she moved her orange crystal in front of the boy’s face and shot a laser beam from an angle that would pierce everything from the top of his head all the way to his groin.
‘Shit.’ Michael got off of her and avoided the blast. He then immediately attacked Annie who had just stood up and overwhelmed her with strikes.
Stolen novel; please report.
“Give up! You can’t beat me in a brawl.”
“This isn’t a brawl, it's a magic duel.” Annie jumped back so a lightning strike would hit her and the crystal. It released several fireballs, but Michael kept up the chase.
After several more lightning strikes, Michael caught up and kicked the legs from under her. While Annie’s legs went flying up, he clenched his fist and tried to punch her midair.
“You were saying?”
Suddenly, a laser beam shot through Michael’s fist, canceling his attack and destroying one of the crystals on his gloves. Annie kicked him in the stomach and made a run for it.
“I said this is a magic duel.” As she gained distance, Annie’s orange crystal flew through several more lightning storms, gathering energy. “And when it comes to magic, I am the best!”
Countless fireballs flew towards Michael as he let out a roar. His remaining crystal shone bright, and he sprinted towards Annie at inhuman speed.
The fireballs burned through his flesh, but he ignored the pain, caught up to her and grabbed her arm.
“That gauntlet was priceless!” He punched her again and again while the smell of cooked meat permeated the air.
“I’ll make you another one!” Annie struck back, punching, kicking, doing anything in her power to escape from his grasp.
However, the boy did not let go. Even when his left arm’s triceps was completely destroyed, he grabbed her with his free hand and kneed her in the gut. Even when the knee was melted by several fireballs striking at once, he tripped her with his remaining leg and slammed her to the ground. No matter what, he did not let go of his grasp, not until Annie charred his remaining arm.
Finally the boy could not follow. He had only one functional leg left and was burned so bad he could not even feel the pain. However, Annie too was covered in blood, her nose was crooked, and her face was a mess. In a hurry, she sent the crystal through more storms to gather healing orbs and heal her wounds.
“Ha, you look ridiculous.” Michael did not know why she was using that orange crystal as a crutch, but it did not matter anymore. ‘Even while hiding your powers from the teacher, I still couldn’t beat you.’ “Magic is something else, huh? Too bad I failed.”
“Who says that?”
While Annie was healing her face while shaking, Miss Bella White flew over and waved her staff. A huge ball of white light came out of it, split in two and entered the teens’ bodies.
“The duel is over. Congratulations, young man: You have passed the third exam.”
While his body healed at a miraculous pace, Michael opened his mouth to protest, but Miss Bella raised a palm.
“You did better against her than the last 19 students. You’re good enough.”
“But I can’t use actual magic. If not for my gloves…”
Miss Bella waved her staff and the broken glove somehow repaired itself. Even the orange crystal re-appeared out of nowhere as if it was never gone.
“What about your gloves?” Miss Bella gave him a wink. “This place is an illusion of sorts. Your bodies haven’t actually moved since you’ve entered. And when it comes to using magic…”
Miss Bella waved her staff, summoning images of the empire’s past.
"450 years ago, when the five races were on the brink of extinction, a hero was born that could connect to all mana without suffering mutations, even to the mana within himself and within other beings. To put it in perspective, even the grandmasters of today can only connect to the mana within nature, within the soil, the water, the air, and at the highest level, within plants.”
Miss Bella tapped the huge crystal on top of her staff.
“Normal mages, such as myself, can only connect to the mana within crystals, and there are some who can't even do that. It is a sad fact that most of us will not reach the realm of wonders, but even so, we should not give up.”
She pointed at the brawler with her staff.
“Young man, you have proven yourself to be an excellent wielder of combat magic, even if your abilities are limited and you need to touch your gloves in order to activate them. If you still wish to walk this path, to deepen your understanding or merely to upgrade your arsenal, it’s going to be hard, but I will teach you to the best of my abilities.”
She gave the two teens a pat each on the head and then turned towards the door behind which more students were waiting. “Also, to be perfectly frank, I’m really tired of snobby bookworms who think magic belongs at the top of a giant tower. You two are just what I need to give them a taste of reality.”
[Name: Michael Patel.
Age: 15 years and eight months old.
Race: Human.
Class: Tool Based Magic Brawler
Abilities (relevant):
- Hand to hand combat {Advanced-}
- Pain Tolerance {Advanced}
- Warrior's Breath {Intermediate}
- Tool based crystal magic {Beginner}
Potential:
- Magic Brawler {1%}
- Failed Hybrid {50%}
Comments: Ha, dumbass.]
....................................................
[Name: Annie Thompson.
Age: 15 years and five months old.
Race: Human.
Class: Mage
Abilities (relevant):
- Knife fighting {Beginner}
- Hand to hand fighting {Beginner}
- Mana based body enhancement {Intermediate+}
- Precognition {???}
- Crystal Magic {Intermediate+}
Potential:
- Archmage {40%}
- Hero {3%}
Comments: …That’s new.]