Chapter 2:
“Okay class,” Mrs Z said. “You will all be finding your elemental affinities today.”
The class was all listening intently, excited, and anxious.
“Watch closely, so you know what to do,” She continued, picking up a light blue crystal from her desk with a faint eight-point star scratched into the center. “Grip it tightly, and focus hard on the crystal.”
As she spoke, the crystal glowed a deep brown, before fully changing to a brown crystal. After a few more seconds, the star in the center slowly started glowing yellow and filling up. When it stopped, two of the eight-star points had been colored a yellow glow. The class oohed and aahed as Mrs Z smiled at everyone.
“As you can see, I have a two-star affinity for earth magic,” she said, turning to the chalkboard and writing. “There are 6 known elements. Earth-brown, Wind-green, Water-dark blue, Fire-red, Ice-white, Lightning-purple. Though there are also two very rare Godlike elements, Angel-yellow, Devil-black.”
“The star points that fill up basically show your affinity for the specific element. Oh, and just so you know, one star is what most people get so anything higher than that is exceptional. Four stars and up means you’re a genius!” She then turned back to the class, throwing the chalk down onto the holder. “So, why don’t you all give it a try.”
“Okay,” I thought to myself, looking at my crystal on the desk.
The light, sky blue colors reflected nicely against the sun coming through the large window beside me. Anxiously, I watched as classmates around me picked up their crystals. Looking over to Alexander and his friends, I watched as they checked their affinities.
Alexander’s crystal glowed red, and his star filled up four points. A genius, and it sure did show. Though I wasn’t able to fully gauge his combat skills, him just knowing fire magic seemed pretty impressing to Rich.
Others around me had their crystals glowing assortments of colors, though I didn’t see any black or yellow glows. Most of the other children only had one to two stars, so far Alexander was the only one with more. I looked back over to Alexander and his friends. Kenny’s crystal had glowed brown, with his star only filling up one point. Jordan’s crystal glowed brown as well, though his star filled up three points.
Looking over to Amber’s group’s side of the room, I noticed Abby’s crystal glowed red with 2-star points. Diana’s crystal glowed brown with three-star points. And Amber’s glowed green with 4-star points. She was also a genius, though I had yet to see her powers. It seemed their group was just as gifted as Alexander’s group.
Rich walked over to me, crystal in hand. His crystal glowed purple, though his star only filled one point. He was visibly distraught, though he was obviously trying hard to hide it.
“Hey, Rich,” I said. “Lightning affinity, that’s cool.”
“One point though,” he grit his teeth and looked at my unused crystal. “You gonna do yours?”
“Oh, that’s right,” I said, gripping the crystal tightly and focusing on the star. “I forgot with all the commotion.”
The crystal didn’t change color at first, but then it shone an extremely bright black glow. The whole room stopped talking as they looked over to me, noticing my crystal. The star points slowly filled, passing one, two, three… it didn’t stop. It kept filling, past six, seven… and all the way onto the eight-point. So, I had Devil affinity with a full star. Sounded about right to me.
However, the rest of the class was in shock, staring with their mouths gaping at me. There was a moment of silence, as Mrs Z walked over to my desk, heels clopping against the wooden floor. She bent down in front of me and carefully took the crystal from my grasp.
“Amazing, the rare Devil affinity and a full star at that,” she shook her head in disbelief, turning the crystal between her fingers. “We’ve never had a full star student at this school, it must be a sign.”
“Oh, hoh!” I thought to myself, grinning widely on the inside. “The sign is my time of reckoning!”
The class erupted into questions, shooting from every side of the room.
“Class! Quiet down!” Mrs Z yelled, stomping on the floor. “Let’s continue class.”
She walked over to the blackboard and started writing, preparing to teach us some basic spells.
“Please take out your textbooks and go to the first page,” Mrs Z said. “The first spell we’ll learn is there, it is called Status Inspector.”
I flipped to the page and looked at the spell. Reading the incantation, I felt the spell burn into my mind. Blinking a few times, I looked around. When focusing on a single person, I could see their status which consisted of their name, age, and level. Everyone around me was level one, except Mrs Z, who was level 45. Interesting, to say the least.
After school ended, I quickly rushed home. I easily remembered the way to school from my house, it was only a little less than a mile. Upon arrival, I quickly rushed to my room and locked the door. With a devilish grin, I sat criss-cross in bed.
“Lucifer, wake up!”
With a whoosh of bright white light, I was sitting in the white room. Lucifer was sitting at his desk as if he was expecting me.
“Took you long enough,” Lucifer laughed. “So, I’m guessing you came to learn about the Devil Magic, huh.”
“Right,” I grinned. “Can you teach me a few moves?”
“Uh, sure, I guess,” Lucifer sighed, a piece of paper forming out of flames in his hand. “Here’s a basic spell, keep practicing at it and it could prove extremely useful.”
The piece of paper floated out of his hand and into mine. The paper read:
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Deprive:
Upon physical contact with an opponent, the spell activates and a tenth of the opponent’s power is consumed.
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Below that was the same type of writing as the kind in the textbook. I couldn’t read a word of the ancient language, though I could feel the spell enter my brain as if I’d always known how to use it.
“Thanks,” I said, the paper disintegrating in a plume of fire.
“Is that all?” Lucifer smiled, “If so, then get out of here, I’m trying to watch Naruto.”
The bright glow surrounded me and I was back in my room. While in Lucifer’s realm, it was apparent that time stopped in this world. Only upon my arrival would it start once again. It made me think though, there could be others like me in this world. Those like me that were given a second chance. I guess I would never know though. If time froze, only they would know. Sighing, I climbed into bed and went to sleep.
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The next day…
“Good morning class, today, we’re doing some basic sparring against the other kindergarten class, to find your physical capabilities.” Mrs Z said, smiling and writing on the blackboard. “You’ll be grouped up in tournament style, winners against winners and losers against losers.”
“Damn, only five years old and they already make us spar,” I thought to myself. “This school really is hardcore.”
“Oh, and class,” Mrs Z spoke again. “The current grade rankings have been listed at the school hall, you may check them at snack time.”
The class murmured a few agreements and Mrs Z led us outside. First, we walked over the class bathrooms and quickly changed into P.E uniforms. After that, we left and walked through the playground and across the bridge, going to the other side of the school. Walking along the same path toward the main hall, we took a quick right turn, leading us down a thin, double file, hallway. A few yards down, we entered a large building with wooden flooring. The label above the door read, “Community Hall.”
Inside the large room were ten, white, square, padded mats, about five inches thick and spanning eight by eight feet. Each mat was black, with a white lotus in the center, much like the one on our uniforms. On both sides of the room were two sets of empty wooden bleachers with cushions. Only teachers were currently sitting on them, the students were all looking around. On a big poster at the back of the room was the tournament list. Searching for my name, I found myself listed in the boy's group C. It seemed as if these were just the preliminary groups as they were in fours, two boys from each class.
Also listed in my group was Kenny, the big boy who Alexander was friends with. I felt a rush of joy seeing that name, and thought of all the possible ways I would beat him to a pulp. Ah, the nice feeling of vengeance, it never got old. For Rich, I would definitely beat Kenny. Though hopefully I would get to face Kenny and he wouldn’t lose to the other class.
“Attention students,” A voice boomed, echoing around the big room. “All students not in groups A-E, please make your way over to the bleachers.”
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Most of the students mumbled, walking over to either set of bleachers and sitting down. Since I was in group C, I stood still, preparing myself for a fight. A few seconds later I was led over to one of the mats. Kenny was already there along with two other boys from the other class.
“Hey, Kenny,” I grinned.
“Atch,” Kenny replied, sighing. “You’re not worth my time.”
I felt the fiery burning of rage inside my chest. All I could do was let out a small chuckle.
“Whatever you say, fatty,” I scoffed.
Kenny’s brow furrowed and he made a quick move toward me. Right before he collided into me, an invisible force restrained him. I peered over to the stands where a hooded teacher was holding their hand out at Kenny.
“Save it for the match,” the teacher said, putting down his hand and letting Kenny go.
“Tch,” Kenny, turned from me.
“Would the first two from each group get onto the mats,” The announcer's voice said.
I was number three in our group, so all I could do was watch for now. Kenny, on the other hand, was number one. He climbed up onto the mat and stood at the end. At the other side of the mat was another big boy, much like Kenny.
“Of course, the rules are the following: Non-deadly magic is permitted, No weapons of any kind, and knockouts or ring outs are terms for victory.” The announcer said, before a whistle blew loudly throughout the room.
The boy had short, curly, green hair and a large nose with squinty eyes. I looked him over with Status Inspector:
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Name: ???
Level: 1
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He and Kenny were staring each other down, neither moved as they sized each other up. Then, Kenny rushed forward and barreled into the boy, trying to shove him off the mat. The boy stood strong, taking the full force of the blow and only taking one step back. Kenny let out a flurry of attacks, though the boy stood strong, hardly moving. I looked down at their feet, looking closely I could tell the boy was using earth magic to give himself better traction, smart.
The boy then bear grabbed Kenny and picked him up. Roaring, he slammed Kenny against the mat. With an “oof”, Kenny winced as the wind knocked out of him. The boy reeled back for a punch, though Kenny rolled to the side and stood back up. Both were breathing heavily, though it was obvious Kenny was at a disadvantage. The boy knew magic, Kenny didn’t. With a final attempt, Kenny threw his body into the boy, knocking him off his feet. The boy’s eyes opened wide, not expecting the weight of the attack.
“Wha-” The boy yelled, as one of his feet dangled off the side of the mat.
Kenny grinned and pushed forward once more, knocking the boy fully of the mat and onto the hardwood floor.
“So, Kenny got lucky this time,” I thought to myself. “It was obvious he would’ve lost had this been a real fight.”
Kenny walked back over to our side of the mat and sat down, winded. A few moments later, a whistle blew again, signaling every mat’s match had finished. I walked up onto the mat and looked at my opponent:
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Name: ???
Level: 1
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He had a normal physique, with sad eyes and long, fiery orange hair. He seemed extremely weak, compared to me at least.
“Sorry, kid,” I sighed, “If you surrender now, it’ll make everything a lot easier on you.”
He looked up at me and frowned, “What are you talking about?”
As soon as the whistle blew, I dashed forward and flying kicked the boy in the chest. As my kick collided, I felt myself drain a small part of his energy, maybe 1/10 of it. He fell to the floor, grabbing his chest. I laughed maniacally inside, I was in a bad mood, and it was pretty unlucky for this kid to say the least. I was gonna end this fight, slowly. I turned my head, and glared at Kenny for a second, before turning back to the fight. The boy was slowly getting to his feet, though he was obviously winded. I walked over and tightly grabbed him by the back of the neck. I threw him toward the center of the mat and he face-planted near the lotus.
Bending down next to his ear, I spoke, “I told you, you should have just surrendered.”
His body shook with fear as I stomped on his elbow joint. With every attack, I gained strength and he got weaker. A few minutes flew by in a second or two and I found myself staring down upon the boy who laid unconscious against the mat. My physical capabilities had enhanced 30% from stealing all of his strength, the fight with Kenny would be no problem.
After I stepped off the mat, the whistle blew, and I was given a few minutes to rest before the next match. Kenny watched me closely, trying to size me up, though he would shake his head every few moments. It was as if he already knew, he would definitely lose this fight.
With the blow of the next whistle, I stepped up onto the mat. I wasn’t sure when the extra power would leave, though even if it did I didn’t think I would need it.
I stared Kenny in the eyes, “You ready? Fatso?”
“Ready as ever,” Kenny growled, charging at me.
He leaned his shoulder to the side, like a football player, and tried to tackle me. I stood still and waited. Right as he got into my punching range I dropped low and swung my fist upward, colliding with his chin and sending him falling on his back. With a groan he stood back up, shaking as blood leaked from his cut lips. In comparison to the other boy’s power, 1/10 of Kenny’s was a lot stronger. I laughed, and dashed at Kenny, tornado kicking him in the side as he got to his knees. He slid against the mat, holding his side. Mounting him, I punched him in the side of the head, left, right, left, right. With every hit, I got stronger. As I got off him, he fully fell to the mat, still trying to push himself up.
“Is your ego so big that you won’t just stay down?” I asked, laughing.
He grimaced and wobbled to his feet. His face was bruised and bloody in multiple places, one of his eyes was shut fully, swollen over. I took a step back and readied my fist. My power had already exceeded 100% of my normal capabilities, with this last punch, Kenny would definitely go down. I knew Kenny couldn’t defend himself, at this point he was just a hopeless punching bag. I turned my head to survey the crowd. All eyes were currently on me, no one was watching the other fights. Seeing Rich, I grinned and gave him a thumbs up.
Skipping forward once, I landed perfectly in position up next to Kenny. Leaning my full body weight into the punch I threw my fist. However, my body wouldn’t move, it stopped right before my fist connected.
“The fight’s over,” The hooded teacher said, standing up. “He’s already knocked out.”
I looked over at Kenny who was standing upright, though his eyes were rolled back into his head. As the power let me go, I pushed Kenny with one finger, his body collapsing to the floor.
“Tch, weakling,” I snorted, jumping off the mat and heading over to the stands.
I watched the rest of the matches before it was Rich’s turn to go up. Looking over his group, I noticed he was also grouped with Alexander. I watched as Alexander triumphantly took the stage, facing off against a strong looking, light brown, swoopy haired boy with green eyes:
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Name: ???
Level: 1
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“Go, Brett! You got this!” I heard some students from the other class yell at the boy against Alexander.
I looked at the boy one more time, now seeing his name listed:
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Name: Brett
Level: 1
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Interesting, so the spell only allowed me to see his name after I learned it. The boy, Brett, grinned at Alexander and squared up. It seemed like Brett was the leader of one of his class’s groups. Alexander didn’t react to Brett’s actions, and just watched with a smug grin.
As the whistle sounded they both rushed forward at each other, colliding in a plume of steam. Only their silhouettes could be seen in the bright light as their fists and legs whipped around at each other. As each punch and kick was thrown, most steam shot from their mat. Murmuring could be heard around the teachers below, and a gust of wind dispersed the steam. Standing triumphantly with his foot upon the opponent was… Alexander, a small fireball resting in his hand. I could tell Alexander was visibly worn down, though he tried to mask it. It seemed like this Brett, kid, was also somewhat of a genius, and based on the steam, he was a water element user.
Alexander walked off the mat and stood next to Rich. It seemed like they exchanged a few words and Rich’s eyes opened wide, then his brow furrowed and he walked up onto the mat.
“What did he say to him?” I thought to myself, watching closely as the other boy walked up onto the mat.
The other boy had short, brown hair with green eyes and a pretty strong physique. He also has a slightly square-shaped head with a strong jaw. The whistle blew and the boy raised his hands, facing them out at Rich. Confused, Rich didn’t make any steps forward, instead, he stood his ground, waiting for what would come next.
“No, don’t wait, attack!” I screamed inside my mind, watching as an icicle formed around his hands, covering them in gauntlets.
Rich had a look of surprise and he dashed forward, throwing a punch at the boy’s face. However, Rich was too slow and the punch was easily blocked. Rich quickly let out a few more strikes, connecting a few on the boy’s body before they could be blocked. The ice boy backed up a bit, stunned by the quick blows. Rich took advantage of the situation, his battle experience coming in handy. A round kick to the ice boy’s side knocked him to his knees. Rich jumped up, going for a final kick to the face. Ice boy looked up and it was as if I watched it in slow motion. Rich fell right into the boy’s trap. As Rich’s leg extended for a kick, Ice Boy sprung forward and connected his fists into Rich’s stomach and chest. Rich flung back a foot or two and rolled to the edge of the mat. Ice Boy quickly made his way to Rich and jumped into the air, ready to hulk smash him to submission. Right before ice boy collided with Rich he kicked upward with both legs, connected with the Ice Boy’s ice gauntlets. There was a loud crack and the gauntlets shattered. Before the boy could react again Rich quickly punched him in the chest, the side, and in the chin.
Stumbling back a few feet the boy stomped one foot on the floor, ice spreading slowly along the mat. Rich looked around him, as the ice began to surround him. There wasn’t much he could do, the ice was too slippery for him to attack the opponent safely. Rich took a deep breath and slid across the ice, quickly propelling himself at the opponent for a final attack. The boy grinned and easily slid to the side, moving gracefully on the ice. Rich slid right off the mat and landed on his ass with a thud. The ice shattered into tiny shiny crystals that glittered in the light. The boy walked over to Rich and extended his hand. Rich took it and got up. They both nodded at each other respectively and walked away to the bleachers.
Looking over to the girl’s fights, I saw Amber going up against a tall, heavy girl with blonde ponytails. With every big attack thrown by the girl, Amber would roll to the side, propelling herself with what seemed to be a small gust of wind. I could see the bigger girl getting worn down, while Amber seemed unfazed. As soon as the big girl attacked for the last time, she was propelled from behind, throwing herself off the mat. A few girls in our class cheered for Amber as she smiled and curtsied.
I shuddered, feeling a sense of loss in my strength and speed. And no, it wasn’t from seeing Amber fight. It seemed that the effects of Deprive wore off. Looking up at a clock, I saw it had been ten minutes since I last took Kenny’s power. Keeping that in mind, I looked around at other fights.
With another whistle, my attention was pulled back to Alexander’s stage. He ran forward, small fireballs in his palms. Swinging wildly, his attacks were parried by the ice boy’s gauntlets. Small droplets of water fell against the mat with each of Alexander’s strikes.
Alexander feinted a punch and dropped a hard round kick into the Ice Boy’s left leg. With the contact, Ice Boy stumbled sideways, directly into Alexander’s next round kick to ice boy’s kidney. With the momentum of both kicks, Ice Boy dropped to one knee, ice spreading around the mat from beneath him. Before the ice spread more than two inches away from ice boy, Alexander mercilessly pal strikes him in the chest, connecting directly with the fireball. Ice Boy fell to the floor, his gym uniform seared. Pushing himself back to his feet, he stared Alexander down and readied his fists.
Alexander grinned, said something, and ran forward once more, the ice beneath his feet melting with every step. Ice boy ducked down, dodging Alexander’s next attack, and punched Alexander in the chest. Alexander stumbled back, dazed from the attack. Before he could recover, Ice Boy hammer struck down on Alexander’s head with both hands. Alexander fell to the mat, eyes closed. Was he knocked out? If so, it would be a real disappointment.
Ice Boy walked over to Alexander’s body and kneeled down beside him. Out of nowhere, Alexander’s arm shot out, connecting with Ice Boy’s body and knocking him off guard with a small plume of fire. Falling back onto his butt, Ice Boy held his hands out in front of him, blocking another one of Alexander’s attacks, though a hole melted in his gauntlets. Now, Alexander had the advantage. He stood above Ice Boy, looking down on him with two fireballs in each palm. Ice Boy held his hands out in front of him, surrendering the match.