Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire. These are the four basic elements, the foundation of a mage's potential, and the most common affinities at birth. Beyond them lies a vast array of derived elements—Mist, Magma, Thunder, and Ice, just to name a few—born from the fusion of two or more basics. Then, there are the elements of Darkness and Light, polar opposites in nature.

However, of all of these, fire was the one that stood out.

It wasn’t the strongest, the fastest, or the most versatile. Its power wasn’t defined by raw superiority or utility. Instead, Fire was seen as a symbol of power because humanity harnessed it first.

Fire turned the tide in mankind’s struggle to survive.

It was one of the simplest yet most effective powers.

Erik had learned this lesson in the past three months. He had spent this time training whenever he could with Helen. Sparing training, increasing mana output, increasing mana capacity, and reducing casting time. She spent hundreds of hours teaching him how to become stronger.

Now, standing in the academy’s training grounds, Erik faced Helen once more. Today was different. Instead of training or guiding, Helen would be testing him personally, seeing how far he had gotten.

“Ready?” she asked.

Erik nodded, his mana already swirling around his body as a visible red aura. “Ready.”

Helen wasted no time, conjuring a fire spell and launching it toward Erik.

“[Fire Shield],” he conjured almost instantly.

The glowing barrier took the attack, fire bouncing off of it with a hiss. Helen’s expression didn’t waver as she conjured another, another, and another, until all of them were blocked.

“Good,” she said, stepping back. “Your defense is holding up. Let’s see how you counter.”

Erik grinned, bringing his arms forth. He closed his eyes, feeling the mana course through his mana, gathering in front of him, swirling like a tempest. Then, an ignition erupted the energy into a searing blazing orb. Its core pulsed with yellow flames that threatened to consume the surrounding area.

This was the pinnacle of his training, the strongest spell Erik Blake could muster right now. If a second-tier spell was enough to kill a normal person with one strike, a third-tier was enough to kill several at the same time and damage buildings. It was the kind of power he could only achieve with [Inferno Strike], now in the palm of his hand, ready to be launched.

“[Firebolt],” Erik shouted. With a hand flick, he unleashed the spell. It streaked through the air like a blazing comet.

Helen raised her hand, summoning a translucent barrier. The firebolt collided with it in a deafening explosion, a shockwave of heat and light forcing Erik to bring his arms up to protect his eyes. The flames roared and raged, consuming the air around them until they finally dissipated in a cloud of smoke and embers.

When the haze cleared, Helen stood unscathed, her barrier shimmering before fading away.

“Impressive,” she said with a tone of approval. “Your control has improved significantly, and that attack carried real force. But...” She gestured to the scorched marks on the floor, where the remnants of the spell still smoldered. “You’re losing too much energy in the release. Tighten your focus, and you’ll achieve even greater devastation with less effort.”

Erik nodded, his breath uneven and sweat tracing paths down his face.

“Understood.”

This was his strongest spell now. Yet the toll it took was equally steep. At his current limit, he could manage only three such casts before his mana was utterly depleted. It was a spell that should only be used if everything else failed.

“Still,” she said, a smile growing on her face. “Only fourth-year students and above can reliably use spells of that level. Give it another year or two, and you’ll be more powerful than anyone in the academy.”

Erik swallowed as he heard her commending words. They made him happy as being strong wasn’t a want anymore, but a need.

----------------------------------------

Afterward, the pair moved to the cafeteria.

They sat down at a quiet table, and Helen took a long sip of water before glancing at him with a raised eyebrow. “Are you sure you want to hang out with someone boring like me? Don’t you have friends your age to pester?”

Erik smirked, poking at his food with his fork. “Friends? You’ve turned me into a social recluse these past three months.” It was true—he’d barely talked to his friends lately, and things with Clara had felt awkward ever since that day. “Besides, I’d rather hang out with you. You’re not half bad to look at,” he wasn’t lying about that, either.

Helen nearly choked on her water. She set the cup down and stared at him. “What did you just say?”

“I mean, one has to appreciate it when, he sees, it, right?” Erik said as if his earlier comment was the most normal thing.

Helen blinked, exasperated. Erik didn’t look away, his gaze drifting just slightly before snapping back up. He wasn’t blind, after all. Despite her overall rough, and not all soft expressions, her dark pink hair and red eyes that matched his own were nice. Besides, her “assets” were hard not to notice. Bigger than what he was used to seeing.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

Helen raised an eyebrow, her expression was stern, but it didn’t exhale any hostility. “Are you done?” she asked dryly.

Before Erik could answer, she reached out and pressed her finger against his forehead, forcing him to lean back. “Eyes up here,” she said in a teasing tone. “Don’t be a weirdo.”

Erik chuckled, rubbing his forehead where her finger had jabbed him. “What? I was just appreciating my mentor. You’ve got to admit, you’re not exactly hard on the eyes.”

Helen rolled her eyes but didn’t lose the smile. “You’re unbelievable. Anyway, don’t get too used to me being around—I’m leaving tomorrow to visit my family for the summer break.”

Erik’s smile faltered slightly, though he quickly masked it with another joke. “What, running off because I finally started landing my hits? Afraid I can actually break your barrier next time?”

“Ha!” Helen smirked. “In your dreams, kid. But seriously, it’s been months since I’ve seen them, so I’ll be gone for a while. You’ll survive without me.”

Erik leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “Sure, I’ll survive. But just so you know, the academy’s going to feel a lot more boring without you pushing me every day.”

Helen tilted her head, her expression softening just slightly. “You’ll be fine, Erik. Keep training. You’re a lot stronger than you realize.”

The moment hung in the air for a beat before Erik broke it with a smirk. “Don’t get all sappy on me now, Helen. You’re ruining my image.”

Helen rolled her eyes, a laugh escaping her. “Eat your food, smartass.”

One couldn’t say they were close friends. After all, it was a relationship that lit up from desperation and need. Yet, they had gotten close enough to where Erik would miss her.

----------------------------------------

Erik strolled through the academy’s courtyard. He could see crowds of students heading home for the summer, buzzing with excitement, but Erik felt the weight of the quiet goodbyes he needed to say.

He had received a letter weeks before from his mother, asking if he wanted to come home, but he eventually decided to stay. His mission of becoming more powerful was far from over.

The first to spot him was Emilia, her ever-present pillow resting against her side.“Finally!” she called, waving dramatically. “Took you long enough to find me. I was starting to think you’d forgotten your favorite person.”

Erik laughed.“Yeah, sure, I couldn’t miss a chance to tease my favorite princess?” Erik had a genuine smile as he spoke. He was worried that things would be awkward, but as always, Emilia didn’t have that in her dictionary. “You’re a solid choice, after all. Easy to bribe with food, not too much of a pain to be around...”

She chuckled, letting go of her pillow to walk closer to him.

“What—”

Before he could even finish, she wrapped herself around him. Her breath dawned on his neck, warming it. They stood like that for a while, in silence. Erik could feel the weight of the world lifting itself from his shoulders for a brief moment as she hugged him tightly.

“Try not to be a brooding loner when I get back, I’m gonna miss my little food servant.”

Erik swallowed.

I… I didn’t expect this.

Before he could even say anything, she stepped back and showed him her tongue before grabbing her floating pillow.

“So long, Erik.”

“You little…” he said, but couldn’t make himself angry enough to retort. “Stay safe out there.”

He waved, watching her disappear into the crowd.

Shortly after, Erik saw Aria and Clara from the corner of his eye. He wouldn’t miss a chance to say goodbye to them.

Then, he approached Aria, who was leaning against a tree near the edge of the courtyard, her long black hair swaying gently in the breeze. She greeted him with a small nod, her golden eyes glinting like the sun. “It's been a while, Erik,” she said simply.

“Aria,” Erik replied, matching her reserved demeanor. “Heading home?”

“Of course. But I’ll be back before you know it,” she said with an assuring smile. “And when I am, we’re sparring. I need to see how much stronger you’ve gotten.”

Erik chuckled. “You won’t kick my ass like last time, Aria of Victoro.”

Aria smirked faintly, the smallest flicker of amusement in her otherwise serene expression. “We’ll see if anything has changed. Don’t disappoint me, Blake,” despite the normally sounding harsh words, her voice made it clear it was just playful banter.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he replied.

They stood awkwardly for another moment. It seemed like she wouldn’t hug him like Emilia.

“Fist… bump?” he half-asked, bringing his arm forward.

“Sure!” she said, their fist colliding before she walked away to her entourage.

Finally, Erik approached Clara near the fountain, her chestnut hair brigthened by the sunlight. She glanced up as he neared, her hazel eyes wide and a little uncertain.

“Clara,” Erik said, offering a small smile. “Heading home, too?”

She nodded, clutching the strap of her bag tightly. “Yeah... It’s been a while since I’ve seen my family.” Her voice was soft and hesitant, as if she wasn’t sure what to say next.

“Good,” Erik said. “You deserve a break.”

Clara’s gaze flicked away briefly before returning to his. “You too, Erik. I mean... take care of yourself, okay? And don’t push too hard.”

“I’ll try,” he said, his grin softening. “Same to you.”

She gave him a small smile, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. The memory of the awkward end to their date lingered between them. Erik later apologized more to her, and she said it was fine, but it didn’t change the circumstances. It was clear that him keeping their contact to a minimum also didn’t help at all.

“Thanks, Clara,” he said, though deep down, he felt he should say something more. His fingers trembled as he tried to turn his mind to this task, but she left without saying another word.

A quick wave was all he got before she turned and joined the flow of students leaving the courtyard. Erik stood there for a moment, letting the quiet settle around him. His friends were gone.

Well, this meant there was but one thing to do now.

“Training time!”

Erik rushed to the training grounds, his heart pounding with anticipation. He wanted to meet the familiar dummies again, test out his powers against them, and spend all his mana.

But as he approached, something unusual caught his attention.

A student stood in the center of the grounds, practicing with a sword.

Erik froze, watching in awe as the figure moved with precision and speed, its sword crackling with thunder magic as the blade weaved through the air. Suddenly, one of the training dummies—the kind Erik had struggled to even dent—was cleaved cleanly in half.

“A-Arthur?” Erik stammered, his voice barely above a whisper.

The boy turned slightly, his sword face full of sweat and a full-on smile on his face. His uniform was dirty, unkept, and almost inappropriate.

That’s when Erik realized there was another hard worker in the academy.