The next day was a rainy and humid day to be sure. The first actual day of class for the six students. And how was it kicked off? A run in the forest through a carved out path. The path itself was fairly obvious, even with the rain turning the ground into an unrecognizable brown slosh. Numerous footsteps jogged along. All in their training gear, they did their best to persevere.
"This is-... Bullshit." Lylas found himself short of breath, but not short of complaints.
"It's just some exercise..." Bif turned around in stride, jogging backwards with a smirk on his face. He was having an easier time than most of his fellow students.
"I-... Hate this..." Olicia struggled to stay with the pack. As it would be, Rael and Bif were leading the group. Behind them were Ventrix, Olicia, and Lylas. Then, even further back, was Avures. Avures hadn't much experience at all with any sort of physicality. So, running like this was a newer experience. He was completely out of shape. He was completely exhausted, yet, he trudged along slowly. He took sharp breaths with each foot down, struggling to keep going.
Avures couldn't help but feel embarrassed and out of place. Everyone was doing so much better than him, and he was struggling badly. It wasn't so bad when they first started, but he quickly fell behind to the point of not seeing or hearing them anymore. It was a strange thing for him, but he felt slightly irritated and angry. This led him to not watch his footing as he then tripped over a branch knocked down by the wind and rain. He landed face first into the muddy path. A mixture of embarrassment, frustration, and sadness quickly overtook him. He slowly pushed himself up onto his knees, wiped the mud off of his face, and stared out at the path ahead. He then lashed out in anger, and slammed his fist into the mud. He sat there, contemplating his current position...
"Hey! Avures!" A voice called out to him. He looked up to see who it was. A mud-covered Lylas appeared briskly jogging over to where Avures had fallen.
"What?..." Avures averted his eyes away from the boy.
"I noticed ya weren't up there with the rest of us." Lylas caught his breath as he stopped inches away from him.
"Yeah… I don't think I'm cut out for this." Avures glanced down at the mud, seeing his face print get washed away by the rain. Lylas didn't like this answer.
"Nah. Come on now, Avures. I ain't letting ya give up that easily." Lylas grabbed hold of Avures's left arm. He started pulling and dragging, lifting him to his feet.
"Why?"
"I respect what ya did. That's why. It'd be a 'lil shameful to throw it away by just giving up right after. Don't ya think?" Lylas used his hand to brush off some of the excess mud on Avures’s torso.
"... I guess so."
"Atta boy. C'mon. I'll stay by your side 'till the finish. Let's move." Lylas started jogging ahead. Avures stood there, still contemplating. Some feet ahead, Lylas stopped and turned around. They stared at each other… Avures closed his eyes, slapped his face with his hands (getting mud on his cheeks), and started to run again. Moving together now, Avures and Lylas were last to finish the run. They arrived back at the wood-line from where the exercise started, rejoining the group of students and Miss Grula at least ten minutes after everyone else. Avures was completely winded.
"Moving like molasses I see." Grula watched with her hands on her hips.
"Sorry-... Miss Grula..." Avures wheezed out as he was bent over, gasping for air. "I'm not-... I'm-... I'm not used to this."
"That's alright, dear. That's why we start from square one." Grula smiled slightly, patting Avures's head.
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After recovering slightly from the run, the class then finished up the physical part of today with more exercises. Everyone struggled a little bit, but no one as badly as Avures. But still, since it wasn't running, and everyone else was nearby… Rael and Lylas were around to keep him going. When it was all said and done, they were all pretty exhausted. They were dismissed for breakfast and an hour of leisure, but had to go to the arena for orientation later in the day.
The students all took this opportunity to change out of their training gear, and put on a clean set before going to grab breakfast. And they would, of course, all sit together.
"Alright what's up Avures? She called you dear. You tryna get in between me and my gal?" Bif plopping his tray down at the table with everyone else.
"W-What?" Avures was dazed and confused with all of the physical strain he currently felt.
"Oh my god. Bif, you are delusional dude." Lylas rolled his eyes as he threw his fork down onto his tray.
"Oh yeah?!" Bif turned himself fully towards Lylas. Everyone else started to groan and sigh. "Let's settle this right now!"
"Are you two serious?!" Rael was utterly confused and angered by the sudden signs of an upcoming altercation. But it was too late… Bif and Lylas turned towards each other, clenched their fists, and...
"Rock, Paper, Scissors, shoot!" Both of them threw their hands out towards the other in unison. The four spectators looked on in disbelief. Lylas had picked paper, which overcame Bif's rock. Lylas snickered and held up his hand in Bif's face. Bif loudly sighed, shook his head, and turned back to the table.
"Yeah. Ya got me there. Sorry, Avures." Bif’s attitude and demeanor returned to a normal volume as he sniffled once out of frustration before continuing to eat his food. Lylas also turned back towards the table and proudly dug into his breakfast. The other four squinted towards the two of them.
"... Is there something on my head or are ya just staring?" Lylas held his loaded utensil in mid-air.
"Nothing. Nothing." Rael gave up and dug in. Lylas shrugged and continued his meal. And… No one said anything for a while. It wasn't so much Bif's and Lylas's shenanigans that created the silence, but rather, there seemed to be a sort of invisible tension. As Avures struggled to eat his meal, Rael watched Ventrix closely as they both respectively enjoyed their food.
"Ahem..." Olicia cleared her throat loud enough to hopefully break the silence. "So, does anyone have any idea what we're doing next?"
"I think… Mister Zen is going to teach us something." Avures uttered in between bites.
"Ah… Um… Nice." Olicia awkwardly glanced around the table, waiting for anyone else to comment anything to break the ice. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the silence was going away. And indeed, it would linger on until the hour eventually passed and it was time to return to class.
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In the same arena they just had their orientation in, the six of them gathered. Miss Grula was nowhere to be seen, but instead, Mister Zen was standing in the middle. He waited with a small box. He reached inside and handed out a notebook, quill, and ink to each student. He then threw the box to the side, clapped his hands together, and began.
"Okay students… How many of you know how to cast magic already?" Zen looked between the six of them. Ventrix, Lylas, Olicia, and Bif raised their hands. Avures and Rael awkwardly looked around, noting that they were the odd ones out.
"Hmm. Alright. Not to worry you two, because, we are starting from the very basics after all." Zen snapped his fingers. A cloud of dust kicked up from the ground and seemingly defied gravity. It simply floated there for a few seconds before it molded together and formed a chalkboard. Then, Zen pulled out a piece of chalk from his back pocket and began to work on a drawing.
"Remember. Even if you already know how to cast, knowing how the basics work like this is a boon. It is more efficient to learn how to do it this way rather than relying on your instinctual casting methods." Zen pointed the chalk at the six of them. A couple of them shrugged and opened up the notebook. They found it odd standing in the middle section of the arena while taking notes since they had the inkwell, pen, and notebook. However, they took notice of Avures who was sitting on the ground, legs crossed, and copying Zen's drawing stroke for stroke. The rest followed in his direction. Sitting and beginning to copy Zen.
"Alright. So. Here is a simple diagram of the human form. There are three forms of magical power that can be tapped into and manipulated by humans. Mana, Flow, and abilities you are born with because there isn't an official name-But we will just call these Inherent Abilities because it is simple and I like it." Zen raised three fingers in conjunction with his listing. He took the piece of chalk in his hand and drew a circle around the human diagram.
"Firstly, there's your typical magic which is fueled by Mana. Your body naturally produces and stores Mana. The rate at which your body produces and stores Mana is a matter of… Well, your body innately, and training. Mana casting is extremely versatile, has extremely high potential, and comes naturally to humans. It will also be our main focus for this year. Ah, and speaking of focus..." Zen took his chalk and started to draw tiny dots in a symmetrical fashion all over the human diagram.
"So… All of these dots here represent areas that can be Focal Points. Focal Points refer to an area of the body where you unleash the spell you've cast, or rather, the mana leaves your body for said spell. There's a surprising amount of focal points on the human body. Both sides of your hands and your fingers, your forearms, your elbows, your shoulders, your eyes, your ears, your nose, your mouth, your upper leg, your lower leg, your knee, both sides of your feet and your toes. Oh, and I guess your private area and rear as well, but uh… Respect my wishes and don't do that." Zen tapped each part of the diagram in reference to each area of the body. Lylas and Bif giggled to themselves about the idea of casting spells from those areas.
"Brings a whole new meaning to "blow it out your ass", huh?" Lylas laughed at his own joke. Rael and Bif started giggling uncontrollably. Olicia, Ventrix, and even Avures chuckled as well. Zen snorted and quickly shook his head and clapped his hands together once.
"That was funny… But very inappropriate. Finish copying this down." Zen held his hands together at his waist as he waited..
Avures furiously copied down all of this information while the others generalized it. While this was happening, Zen drew a little flame with the chalk in the middle of the diagram and circled it.
"Now, for the sake of clarity… Flow is a volatile form of magic. It exists all around us. However, in order to make use of it, you have to open up your soul to it. Some people are born with the ability to manipulate it much like how some are born with special abilities. Otherwise, you either have to be in a Flow-heavy space, or you have to force it within your soul. Once you can manipulate it, you can shape the way the power imposes itself on the world in the form of a "Shade". It earned this name through reputation. It's something I find very interesting. See… A Shade is typically made in the exact image of something someone desires. The soul is the truest part of the body. So, people came around to calling it a Shade because the power represents "The Shade of The Soul". The utmost desire. Pretty neat, huh?" Zen passionately gestured with his hands. Avures copied what he could into some bubble notes before he raised his hand. Zen pointed to him.
"So what exactly makes it "volatile" then?" Avures raised his hand.
"I'm glad you asked. Though Flow is all around us, and you can use it, it is not finite. There's theories on why Flow doesn't seem to run out… But what is known is that, because you can shape your Shade into whatever you want, it pulls a proportionate amount of Flow to manipulate. The more power it has, the more Flow it uses, but Flow is naturally destructive and deductive. It corrupts and consumes. The more Flow one uses, the more it destroys the body and soul of the user unless they modify themselves in some way to handle it. So, take it from me… When the opportunity comes, try not to make super powerful Shades. Not for my sake, but your own. And, keep in mind, Shades are tied to your soul. You can only have one under normal circumstances." Zen raised a single finger. Avures nodded his head and wrote it all down. And finally, Zen just circled the entirety of the diagram.
"Lastly, most people are just born with special abilities or traits; Inherent Abilities. While most are mundane, some people tend to have very powerful ones. And, typically, one already knows how to use it. Some do have to awaken theirs. Which is what we'll be lightly focusing on in later months when applicable. That finishes the teaching part, any questions?" Zen dropped the chalk and, before it hit the ground, it vanished into thin air.
"..."
"Seriously? Nothing?" Zen looked around at all six of them. "You understand?... You get it?... Alright alright I get it. You guys want to do the fun part. Alright. But… There is a little more I need to explain."
All the students groaned a little. Zen cautiously laughed it off and continued.
"This is mostly for you two." Zen pointed at Rael and Avures. "The simplest and most efficient way to use mana and cast spells… Is to imagine a flowing sensation, like a river, from your core to the area you want to expel mana or cast from. Other methods strain too much or are too inefficient. Once you start to really feel the mana inside you, you'll get it. So everybody get up… Follow my lead..."
All the students stood up, closed their notebooks, and watched Zen. Zen held out his right hand, faced the palm upward, and focused. With what looked to be relative ease, Zen conjured forth his mana. Like a flowing river… The students could see tiny particles escape the grasp of Zen's hand, and centralize above his palm. They pushed and mashed together, forming a perfect looking orb. The orb glowed, and even seemed to have small streaks of electricity bounce around it. Avures and Rael were awestruck, though the other students didn't seem as wow-ed.
"Okay… Now, everyone, go ahead and try. I'll correct you as much as I can." Zen released his orb of mana. Avures and Rael carefully watched the small bits and particles of mana dust off into the air and slowly fade. To them, it was something truly beyond belief. Of course, even as kids, they knew that magic was real. However, it was always regarded as some close kept secret, or something that only really talented people could do. Regardless of if they were talented or not, there was just something about finally learning and being able to do it that got both of them excited. This was especially true for Avures. He always had a deep attraction for the idea of magic. Though whether or not this was a sort of escape mechanism or his one true dream… It was hard to tell.
From the get-go, Ventrix, Olicia, and Lylas conjured up a similar orb like it was nothing. Though, their orbs were slightly different from what Avures and Rael saw. Ventrix's was bright, extremely bright. It couldn't be missed from any angle. Olicia's had a strange brown color to it. Lylas's seemed to act much the same as Zen's own orb.
"Mister Zen! How come they all seem to look different?" Rael raised her hand with enthusiasm.
"Ah, I was gonna save it for later, but it's no big deal. It's just their natural element. Everyone has an element associated with their ability to use mana. There are eight elements. Fire, Water, Ice, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Light, and Dark. Your element is determined at birth, and it'll always be apparent in whatever you cast. There are even some special cases where a person has more than one Element." Zen counted out each element, raising a finger for each. Rael nodded her head, somewhat understanding.
But, she focused hard now. A flowing river… If her whole body stored mana, she needed to flow it out of somewhere. Rael raised her right hand, much like Zen had done, closed her eyes, and opened her palm upwards. Flowing sensation… She imagined rainfall… More specifically, a drop of rain that landed on a leaf. The weight of the drop of rain made the leaf bend downwards, influencing that drop of water and making it flow out… Warmth enveloped Rael's right hand. She slowly peeled her eyes open to the sight of Zen standing in front of her. He was looking down, and so did she. There, in the palm of her hand, a small ball of flame floated. There was an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and happiness flooding her body. Rael felt giddy. She looked up to Zen who nodded in approval.
"Well done, Rael. For a true beginner, you've got a knack. Same to you, Avures." Zen nodded his head in approval. That was right… She hadn't even paid heed to if Avures was doing it. She looked over, and sure enough, in Avures's left hand's palm floated a dark orb that seemed to swirl in on itself.
"Ooo… Menacing." Rael grinned as she eyed the boy. Avures felt a little happy as well, though he didn't smile. He kept looking at that orb. The thought of endless possibilities… The floodgates were finally open. And to think, he almost threw it all away...
"I know I've bombarded you all with knowledge today, and I have more, but it's so that I don't have to go over it again. And more than that, it gives you the knowledge to practice whenever you want and improve on your own." Zen tilted his head downward and closed his eyes. "Ahem. Ready?"
Zen snapped his fingers, and the chalkboard was clear again. Everyone groaned and sat back down on the ground. Readying their notebooks and pens, Zen began.
"Along with Elements… There are Magic Types which all casting falls into one way or another. They are as follows…" Zen snapped back to life and began to write with the piece of chalk. "Protection, Artifice, Enchantment, Manipulation, Destruction, Time, and Utility. All casting falls into one or more of these categories. What's really important to note is that everyone has a limited amount of potential to learn these. The way my old teacher put it to me was to imagine a pitcher of water and several cups."
Zen then began to make illustrations on the board. He drew a cup, each with the name of a magic type on the cup, and then drew the metaphorical pitcher of water.
"You only have so much water you can pour out. Trying to fill out every cup evenly leaves them less than half-full."
Zen adjusted the drawing appropriately, showing the abysmal amount of water in each cup.
"Basically, spread yourself out too far trying to master everything, and you'll be good at nothing."
Zen then fixed the picture. Empty cups, full pitcher.
"Though you could, theoretically, get a second pitcher of water… It's too impractical and has too many risks associated with it. And for what? A little more water in each glass? Not worth it. This is why it's important to master a few things, or be really good at a small handful of things. You will never master everything. Try this."
Zen fixed the picture again. This time, he illustrated the pitcher as having 1/4 the amount of water, and putting the other 3/4 into the Protection, Enchantment, and Utility cups.
"This is one of our staff members, I won't say who, and their abilities are very well spread and they are quite adept at those three things. Not to mention, if the need arises, they have that small amount of water left for growth. You could even do this, which is what I personally recommend."
Zen fixed the picture once more, erasing the "water" in the Utility Cup, and drawing a bit more water into the Protection and Enchantment cups.
"This would make it so that you are close to a master's level of those types. The more skilled you are at a type, the more techniques you can do, and the more powerful your casting is for it. Not to mention, you can sometimes even do this."
Zen then drew some more. He added lines from both the Protection and Enchantment cup, made them touch, and then drew them down into a new cup labeled "Healing".
"There are advanced types that exist which come about from either being extremely skilled at a type you are a master of, or the usage of both of those types together. However, that also comes with its own limitations and stuff like that."
Zen then looked at all the students. There was a mixture of panic and hurriedness as they scribbled it all down, but also a hint of confusion. Avures raised his hand, and Zen pointed to him.
"So, in this example, is there a way to tell how much water we've poured already?" Avures stared at the diagram with a bit of uncertainty. Zen tapped his chin...
"It's instinctual… That's really the best way to put it. You'll know. Though, try not to worry too much about it. Think about what you want to be good at." Zen shrugged.
"You also mentioned techniques?" Avures tilted his head to the side.
"Ah, yes. While you can shape magic when it's cast to be anything you want… Like fireballs, thunderbolts, etcetera… There are some pioneered methods of maximizing casting. They typically involve a lot of memorization and practice, and sometimes an incantation but the techniques are more efficient than simply casting outward. For example, Avures, there's a technique for Dark Element casters known as "Perfect Dark". It might sound cheesy, but it's the highest level technique that a Dark Element caster can use."
Avures was practically entranced now. He had to know. He had to learn. He had already finished writing everything he needed down. Avures watched everyone else write as well. Then, a thought hit him. While he really seemed to suck at the physical aspect of being a Lancer so far, he could, instead, become extremely good at magic… No. He was here… Whether or not he thought he deserved to be here, he needed to do what he could. He needed to try his hardest at everything.
"Oh gosh. It's almost time for lunch. That means my time with you all is at an end for today. We'll do more magic stuff tomorrow. In the meantime, if you're all interested, there's lots of books in the library about magic and casting it. Go up and take a look if you wish. Class dismissed for now. Come back an hour after lunch for Miss Grula's next class." Zen waved the students off…
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"God. He was talking so fast I could hardly even think." Bif sat down with his food at the table.
"That was kind of a lot of stuff to take in." Rael nodded her head as she began to stuff her face.
"I think that's by intent. He probably thinks it'll make it easy to teach with a question by question sort of basis." Avures shrugged and tilted his head. Everyone else side-eyed him.
"Did… Did you just talk without being prompted?" Olicia held a surprised expression on her face.
"Yes… I'm… Sorry?" Avures matched the way her eyebrows had raised.
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"Oh, I meant no offense." Olicia put her hands up in front of her face and waved them. "I dunno… It just surprised me."
"Ya do seem a little more lively now." Lylas pointed his fork to Avures as he continued to chew his food.
"Huh… I guess I am talking more than usual. No worries. I'll stop." Avures started to dig into his lunch.
"Wait wait, it's okay to be talking more!" Rael frantically piped in, waving her hands in between the faces of Avures and everyone else. Avures didn't budge though, whether due to his own choice, or by lightly teasing Rael. No one was sure. "Man... Look what you guys did now."
"Oh! Bif, buddy, pal." Lylas finished his bite of food and snapped his fingers, grabbing the boy's attention. "I didn't see ya cast any magic. What gives?"
"Fuck that." Bif took a large chomp out of his meal.
"Oy, come on-... Wait. Don't tell me. Ya can't cast, can you?" Lylas held back his urge to laugh as his expression began to betray his efforts.
"Oh… Mm...I can, brother. It'd just get real ugly… Mm… Real quick." Bif continued to chew on his food while he talked, spraying the tabletop ahead of him with tiny particles of spit and food.
"I'm calling your bluff. Show us. Right now." Lylas put his free hand down on the table.
"Fuck off. You wanna throw down right now?" Bif swallowed the food in his mouth with great urgency and rose to his feet. Rael smacked herself in the face as the two boys turned to each other.
"Rock-Paper-Scissors-Shoot!"
"Oh god-! Alright alright, I believe you bud." Lylas conceded, his scissors no match for Bif's rock.
"Mhm mhm. Damn right." Bif pounded his chest with his “rock” hand victoriously as he sat back down. The two of them continued eating. Rael breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed to her that this was now how they were going to handle this. She was thankful.
"Ventrix, you've been quiet. Anything you wanna say?" Olicia turned her attention to her roomate. Rael turned to face Ventrix as well, giving him the same angry look she had in the hallway the night before.
"I've nothing to say." Ventrix continued to enjoy his meal without talking. Rael slowly turned her gaze back to her own meal.
A part of her had to wonder what he was thinking or planning on doing. After all, there seemed to be something up. She didn't like it. She couldn't tell what Ventrix was thinking or possibly planning...but then again...she was only this angry because of what he said to Avures. But come to think of it...she actually did think Avures's attempt to take the blame was stupid. It was just that Ventrix worded it poorly, or at least, tried to play himself up. His "dreams aren't at stake" if he were booted.
"Why would I bother telling people who may not even be here after the first month?"
Egotistical is what it seemed like. Though, was she defending Avures, or just being mad at Ventrix's ego? Did she even need to defend Avures…?
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"Okay students! This is an important class, and this day in particular is very important!" Grula’s shouting pierced the eardrums of her students and demanded their attention. The six of them were standing in a line in the arena once again. This time, rather than Zen having a chalkboard, or anything like before, it was just Miss Grula and several weapon racks behind her. Every sort of weapon under the sun was available behind her.
"Today… You will pick the weapon you will master." Grula’s tone indicated a form of finality, something that threw off the six of them. She walked out of the way and gestured. "As far as I am aware, as an arms-expert, these are all the kinds of conventional and usable arms out there."
"We're going to pick the weapon we're going to… Master? As in like, use forever?" Rael put their silent concerns to words.
"Did I stutter when I said that?!" Grula shouted at her student. Rael gulped as the nerves crept up her body. "You'll walk over to the rack, one at a time, and you'll pick the weapon. Take it from me though, a master of martial combat… The weapon will pick you, so don't botch it by just grabbing whatever.”
"What if we already have weapons?" Ventrix raised his hand alongside Olicia.
"Then I suppose just watch." Grula huffed and rolled her eyes. "You don't get to be part of the real magical moments."
"So, who is fi-" Avures had his hand raised halfway up before he was interrupted.
"Me. I'm first. Let's see." Bif shot ahead of the rest of the group and walked himself up to the weapon racks. Bif walked back and forth between all the weapon displays at least five times. As Grula had said, Bif was waiting for the weapon to choose him. It needed to stick out and grab his attention… And there it was. For someone as simple minded and aggressive as Bif, no other weapon would do. He grabbed the handle of the instruments of war, both of them, and raised them in the air.
"Huh… Two big metal clubs… Can't say I'm surprised." Grula shrugged and crossed her arms, seeming indifferent by the choice. The clubs were very simple in design. A thin handle which progressively got thicker and thicker as the length progressed into the full size. It was fairly obvious that the inside of them was wood, and the outside was coated in steel. The standout part was the extra plate of steel that wrapped around the end of the club. On top of this extra plate were thick rounded spikes spaced a few inches apart.
"Whaddya think? I look pretty good wielding two of these bad boys, right?" Bif posed with the two thick clubs and shot Grula a cocky smile. She looked very unamused… Bif awkwardly coughed and walked back to where Ventrix and Olicia were standing now. The two stared at Bif with grins on their faces, thinking of only how well it really fit him. Bif then sat down on the ground and began to admire his clubs.
"Guess I'll go next." Lylas gave a weak, pitiful laugh at Bif’s display as he stepped forward. "Let's see here..."
To Lylas, he wasn't sure if the weapon would actually "pick him" or if he needed to think about what he truly wanted from a weapon. He considered his own abilities… His element… And though it didn't seem to have the most outright chemistry with how he assumed he fought, it nonetheless stood out to him. He grabbed the whole stack of them.
"Throwing knives. Both a ranged and melee weapon. Not bad." Grula nodded with a small smile on her face. The knives were somewhat small, but had symmetrically shaped blades at the end along with a thinly wrapped handle so that it could be comfortably wielded in close quarters.
Lylas held the knives by the point and spread them out like a hand of cards. Something about the way it felt...it was definitely right. But when he walked over to the other group, Bif burst out laughing.
"Oh brother! What ar-what are you gonna do with those little things? Haha!" Bif was kicking himself as he screamed aloud and filled the room with his obnoxious laughter.
"Kick your ass is what I'm gonna do with em!" Lylas grabbed the neck of Bif’s outfit and pulled it in close.
"Enough!" Grula shook the ground with a tremendous and powerful stomp. The two immediately cleaned up their act. "Go ahead, Rael."
"Wonder what I'll get." Rael’s face was filled with curiosity as she pondered aloud to Avures. Without any more delay, she took long strides forward as she eyed each weapon. If it was going to pick her, she treated it as such. Rael closed her eyes briefly and raised her hand up. Whichever direction she felt pulled towards, whichever weapon laid directly in front of her finger...She pointed outwards and began to free her mind of thoughts. Left? Right? Up? Down? Nothing mattered… Her hand finally stopped moving completely. She opened up her eyes and stared at her prize. Rael slowly walked up, wondering how she was even going to heave this thing. She grabbed one end of the long handle, and grabbed the other. Using her legs and back, she struggled to lift it off of the weapons rack.
"The double-sided battleax, huh? Interes-" A loud metal clanking interrupted Grula's comments as Rael dropped the weapon from its sheer weight, causing it to clash against other the weapons on the rack.
"Whoops… Sorry… Heh…" Rael was overcome with guilt. She struggled mightily to try and pick it back up, but opted to at least drag the thing out of the way first. And so she dragged it through the dirt over to the rest of the group. Though covered with a bit of grime now, the design was fairly simple. Metallic handle which had wooden interior leading at least three and a half feet upwards to the head. It was a double sided head made of steel with rounded edges that curved in, making a hook-like shape on both sides for both the top and bottom of the head.
"Well… That just leaves you, Avures." Grula pointed right to him. The truth was, Avures already knew what he wanted. From the moment he set his eyes on it, he knew it would be the perfect weapon for him to wield… A simple sword. A short sword that pushed the boundary of that classification, but a short sword nonetheless. Possibly thirty inches, no more. Avures calmly walked up and grabbed it.
"What really? You didn't just grab it to have something, did you?" Grula furrowed her brow as she began to feel annoyed that Avures picked something so… Simple.
"To be fair, I waited nearly ten minutes to pick this. The sword had my attention before Bif even finished his third lap around the racks." Avures shrugged as he fiddled with the handle and sheath it sat in.
"Hey c'mon! It was necessary!" Bif threw his arms in the air.
"It actually wasn't." Avures turned his gaze over to Bif who just rolled their eyes and began admiring their clubs again.
"It works… Though you could always have something cooler." Grula held a look of contempt as she sighed. "Anyways! Start practicing with your weapon! Learn how to hold it, grip it, and swing it! Nothing fancy either, just the basics! I'll walk around and help as you guys need it.
And so, the students would practice for a while… As best as some of them could. Out of all of them, only Ventrix and Olicia had any prior experience. Sticking to Miss Grula's demands, They stood around and took practice swings in the air.
Ventrix wielded a very fancy and ornate-looking sword. The point of the blade was well-sharpened, the blade also seemed to be in pristine condition, and the fuller was in a similar state. The real eye-catching feature of the sword was its guard and pommel. The pommel looked to have a blue gem inserted in it. It seemed to radiate with each swing Ventrix performed. Fascinatingly enough, the guard was shaped in a unique fashion. Both sides were molded into having a "T"-shaped ends, but the top-side of it (where the line extended out in the same direction as the blade) curved in on itself.
Olicia, on the other hand, wielded a set of metallic chains. Despite being unorthodox for martial combat, Olicia seemed to be well-skilled at whipping them around. As far as anyone could see, Olicia had three of these chains on her. A gold, purple one, and silver one. While completely simple in appearance, the way Olicia seemed to practice was anything but that. She would swing one of the chains, whether as a wide strike or whip-like attack, and then, somehow, do the same with a different chain. It looked to be that she rotated them around with ease.
Aside from those two, Bif seemed to have the easiest time learning how to wield the clubs. While he could have wielded just one… In his mind, he thought using two at the same time would be much cooler. And, honestly, wielding one would be too easy. After all, as long as he throws it around with some power, how could he mess it up? As Grula passed by, she didn't even offer up any advice or criticism. The skill ceiling and floor of wielding such a barbaric weapon was practically the same level. Though, that didn't stop Bif from making eye contact with her. When he did, he tried his hardest to flex his muscles and wink at her… To no avail. Grula ignored it and walked on by.
Lylas held the stack of knives in one hand, and, in the other, was tossing a single knife in the air and catching it. He repeated this several times over as Grula watched. Simply put, Lylas was getting a feel for the weight and where to hold and throw it. Wielding a knife was simple, but throwing one would take extensive practice.
"There's no easy way for you to practice those here." Grula continued to watch Lylas juggle the knives around.
"Figured not. There isn't any feedback from hitting the ground." Lylas caught all the knives and shrugged.
"If Zen were here right now we could have him conjure up a board for target practice… No matter." Grula waltzed forward, around ten to fifteen feet away from Lylas. "Just throw them at me. Don't worry about hurting me or anything."
"Are ya sure, Miss Grula?" Lylas flicked one of the blades to rest in between his fingertips..
"Go ahead." Grula crossed her arms and nodded. With that, Lylas tried a myriad of different throws and techniques he had seen other people use before. Throwing from the handle, throwing from the blade, using all sorts of different angles...Lylas tried everything, but was having a hard time even having them land near Grula. Grula focused her attention on Lylas as he kept struggling. However, anytime he did get close, Lylas noticed a brown aura swirl around her. It almost felt like it was sending his throws astray, but it seemed more reasonable to believe that it was some way to protect herself.
Meanwhile, Rael and Avures were struggling in their own ways. Avures was fighting to keep his balance when swinging the sword, and couldn't seem to swing fast without losing his grip. Rael, on the other hand, absolutely struggled to get the battleax off of the ground. It was much heavier than anything she had ever tried to carry in her life. Still, this is what called out to her, and she wanted it. She grunted and braced her body, trying to use all her might to lift the battleax from the ground. But, it just wouldn't budge. She released her grip and panted, bending over and placing her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. She was struggling so much that sweat was falling from her brow and coated her hands. As she caught her breath, she heard footsteps walk up behind her. She turned her head, and much to her dissatisfaction, she saw Ventrix.
"What do you want?" Rael pushed off her knees to stand back up straight as she hissed at Ventrix.
"You're not lifting or wielding that correctly." Ventrix pointed to the ax.
"I don't need you to preach to me." Rael’s eyes narrowed on Ventrix as she barked back at him. "What does it matter to you anyways? After all, we "may not even be here after the first month", huh?"
Ventrix cringed. When his own words were thrown back at him, he could understand why Rael got so angry. Though he didn't want to form an attachment to people who didn't seem like they were going to last long, it didn't mean he wanted to make enemies either. But, maybe that was where his thinking was flawed. And though he was full of pride, like other people here certainly were, Ventrix let it go. He sighed.
"Well… Perhaps I want to see you all here past our first month together." Ventrix moved his gaze to the ground.
"Huh… Hmm… Well, I might be able to understand what you're saying if you don't dodge around it. Perhaps just come out and say it." Rael turned away from the blonde boy after her snarky reply. Ventrix relented.
"You win. I'm sorry for what I said to you and your friend. Please, allow me to help you." Ventrix gave a bow which radiated a bit of sincerity. Rael's face, though covered in a bit of sweat and grime, beamed with a smile.
"I accept your apology… Now how do I wield this damn thing?" Rael’s crude wording contrasted against the sweet smile on her face.
"Your bottom grip is close to being good for holding and wielding the battleax, but I would shorten the distance between that and the upper grip a little bit. Your hand doesn't need to be that close to the head, and your other hand just needs to be a tad bit higher. Slide it down the rod." Ventrix touched the pole of the ax in the area’s he referred to. Rael's eyes lit up as she stood back over top of the weapon. She bent over ninety degrees and placed her hands on the shaft. She then adjusted her grip as Ventrix said. Her hands were slightly closer together now. Avures, still struggling on his own, heard Ventrix's words. He raised his eyebrow in confusion and turned around to watch them.
"Okay… I think I got it. Now what?" Rael held her position and awaited further instruction.
"Now crouch down, and straighten your feet. You cannot lift this weapon with your back. Instead, you will lift with your legs and hips. Make sure your arms are tight and you are still gripping the handle, and slowly stand back up. Pull it to your body as you are standing up." Ventrix stepped over to the other side of the weapon to show Rael his example in full.
"I think… I get it." Rael nodded her head slowly. She did as Ventrix explained and showed her. Grip and arms tight, pull it to her, stand back up, use her legs and hips to lift it. Very slowly did Rael rise, but as she did, the battleax came up as well. A goofy smile arose to the surface of her face as she felt joy in finally managing to hold it steady. She stood up straight, and held the battleax. Sure, her arms and legs were shaking, but she sort of understood it now. She felt the strain in her upper legs and hips as they supported her in holding the weapon. Rael felt extremely proud of herself, but then dropped the weapon. Her grip finally gave out from weakness and how slick her hands were from all of the sweating. She still looked happy nonetheless as she turned to Avures. And though Avures never seemed to smile, he gave her a thumbs-up which was good enough for her.
"I'm not very good at swinging a battleax around, so I cannot help with that unfortunately. But… I can help you." Ventrix turned to face Avures.
"What do you mean?" Avures pretended to be clueless.
"You chose a sword. In fact, the same type of sword I use as well. I could see you struggling on the other side of the arena. So, I figured I would help."
"I… don't know. I think I-" Avures started to ramble, but was quickly cut off.
"Avures. He's trying to make-up for being so mean yesterday. Let him help." Rael gave him a pleading look as she still wobbled around holding up the weight of the ax.
"I told you I don't care about that. " Avures shrugged and waved off Rael’s response. "It's not like I deserve the help anyways..."
"I think I understand." Ventrix looked off in a different direction. A normal person could mistake Avures's words for pride, but he had a feeling...a slight pull leading him to believe it wasn't pride, but a lack thereof.
"Do you? It'd save me the trouble..." Avures returned to trying to swing the sword properly.
"How about this? I help you with learning the sword, and you help me with something later… Deal?" Ventrix marched closer to Avures and extended his hand. Avures stared at him, stopping all movement. Avures's dark green eyes seemed focused on Ventrix's own eyes, yet disillusioned. His gaze was cold, almost empty. Ventrix couldn't quite put to words or thought how to interpret this look, but he stared back confidently.
"C'mon, Avures..." Rael rolled her eyes as she cautiously laid the head of the ax on the floor, taking a moment to rest.
"Help for help. That way, you do deserve the help because you'll be giving it too..." Ventrix clarified as best as he could. He was going to hold true to his own words. He did want them to pass the first month. And in part of being a Lancer, both magic and martial prowess are needed. Without his help, Avures would struggle and flop.
"Ah..." Avures broke eye contact first and sighed. "Okay..."
Avures took hold of Ventrix's hand and shook on it, sealing the deal. And so, for what felt like several hours, Ventrix would help Avures to the best of his ability on how to wield the sword. From using a stiff grip and loose grip, to placing his thumb in different positions to help do different strikes and assist changing grips. Where Avures once thought it was all in his arm and swing, he realized his assessment was wrong. Ventrix had shown him that it was, rather mostly, in the position of his hand.
And of course, while this was going on, Olicia and Bif would practice their attacks. Olicia still using supreme precision, and Bif...wildly swinging around for lack of a better term. Lylas would still practice his aim, but would do so against a target he drew in the ground with his foot. Even if it wasn't as reliable, it would help his aim. Then Grula went on to help Rael. She taught her how to use her hips and legs to balance out the weapon, how to switch stances, and how to swing using all of that.
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The hours would pass, and it would eventually be time for dinner and the end of class. Everyone was fairly exhausted, and had seemed to learn quite a bit. Grula dismissed her class, and they went on to eat dinner. Most of them were too tired to talk, but Ventrix would continue to explain some minor details to Avures about wielding a sword. Soon enough, they were all finished and went to turn in for the night. Everybody said their goodbyes and went into their rooms.
The sun had started setting. The orange glow illuminated Rael and Avures's room. As they were changing out of their current clothes and facing opposite directions, they both couldn't help but wonder if every day was going to be like this. The learning was a bit tedious, but everything else seemed to be fun. Surely, for the premier Lancer Academy, things couldn't be this fun forever.
"Hey, Avures..." Rael stared out the window of their room as she started pulling off her training clothes. "What d-...What do you think so far?"
"Of like...the Academy?" Avures’s eyes were glued to the wall as he got out of his training clothes as well.
"Well, yeah… But also the people." Rael finished undressing and grabbed her pajamas.
"So far… Well, I used to think Lylas and Bif were one and the same. Loud, rude, extremely aggressive...stupid, even." Avures held his own pajamas in his hands as he began to redress as well. "But… I think that might just be Bif. Not that he's a bad guy I suppose."
"I agree with them seeming the same." Rael let out a single laugh as she put on her pajama shirt. "At first I didn't like Ventrix, but now I kinda feel bad for thinking of him like that."
"He's not really a bad guy from what I can tell… But, if I'm going to be blunt. I think that's completely on you." Avures finished getting dressed for bed. He then eased himself onto his bed as he gazed at the ceiling.
"Wha-...Avures! You heard what he said to you." Rael was taken aback at Avures's words. She finished putting on her bottoms as she walked over to Avures's side of the room. "It was uncalled for!"
"But, it was directed towards me." Avures turned to his side, facing towards the wall. "You didn't have to get angry on my behalf, especially when I didn't even care."
"But, Avures! He-... You-..." Rael was caught up in what she wanted to say. "I don't want people to walk all over you."
"Why? What does it matter?" Avures gave a lazy shrug as he lay motionless on his mattress.
"Grr… Because I want people to show you some respect." Rael gritted her teeth and stared with discontent at Avures.
"Rael.” Avures flipped himself over to his other side and locked eyes with her. “Why?”
"Because I respect you..." Rael softened her expression.
"Why?" Avures continued to prod her with a blank face.
"Becau-..." Rael started and stopped. She sighed instead and went over to her bed and lay down. "I hate when you get deductive on me."
"Why?" Avures asked for a fourth time across the room. Rael wouldn't respond. She knew why. She'd have to say out loud the parts she wished to keep quiet. Rael had seen Avures practically dissect another boy at the orphanage like that before, but only once. It also got him beat up once, but that's besides the reason. It was a sort of game where you could only lose by continuing to answer. So, she wouldn't.
"Goodnight, Avures."
"Goodnight, Rael."
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Bif and Lylas were in their room. Lylas was doing a light amount of reading through the notes he took while Bif stared at him from the other side of the room. Eventually, Lylas got fed up and slammed his notebook shut.
"Something ya want, pal?" Lylas threw his notebook aside.
"You chose a weak, weak weapon. For the next few months, even years, when we have to train with each other… Imma make you my bitch." Bif cracked his knuckles.
"Dude, you … Are…” Lylas maintained eye contact with Bif, shaking his head and repeatedly extending his index finger out towards the boy. “Delusional."
"Nah, nah. What are those 'lil knives gonna do when I got these bad boys?" Bif nodded to his clubs. "I’m gonna be bending you over."
"Now hold on… Bif... Buddy… Who said you're even gonna have a chance?" Lylas grinned ear to ear. "Ya might be the king of street fights or whatever, but I'll always be ten steps ahead of ya. Know why? Cause you're a dumb-ass."
"Ten steps ahead? Broth-"
"Oh, I know, I know. My bad. Ya can't count that high. My mistake for using such a big number."
"Lylas… You're pushin' your luck. After all… I can count to seventeen. Thank you very much."
"Pff… Lemme lay out how this is gonna work though. Step one is gonna be ya realizing I already got you in a trap. Step two is ya realizing that I'm already throwing more knives."
"And lemme guess… Step three is me knocking away your 'lil puny knives with my big stick. And step four, is gonna be you pissin' your pants and runnin' away."
… A silence fell upon the room. Both boys stared daggers at each other before bursting into full on laughter. After that, both of them turned in for the night without any more back and forth bickering.
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"Looks like it turned out okay between you and them. I'm glad." Olicia had a sly smile resting on her face as she peered over at Ventrix. Both of them were already dressed for bed, and merely cleaning or inspecting their weapons.
"I really thought Rael might explode on me… But it did resolve nicely." Ventrix looked at the reflection in his sword and sighed. “She seems very unpredictable.”
"Mhm. Keep playing nice… I won't be letting my guard down, though." Olicia's smile dropped. She stopped fiddling with her chains and scowled at Ventrix.
"What?" Ventrix dropped his attention from his reflection to meet Olicia's gaze.
"Drop the act, Felsta. I know what you and your family is about." Olicia rose to her feet.
"Enlighten me. I have no clue what you're referring to." Ventrix stood up in response as a confused expression took hold over his face.
"Playing nice is one thing. Playing stupid will piss me off… But that's understandable. I already put a dent in your plan after all." Olicia’s smug demeanor returned.
"... Is that so?" Ventrix cast his gaze towards the ground.
"Declaring my Demon Sigil and showing it for all to see was my power play. Because now, if an attempt is made on my life, regardless of success or failure, they'll know it was a Felsta who committed the act." Olicia crossed her arms under her chest. "I've got you in a corner. Your family's genocidal tendencies, and yours if it applies, have put you in a position to keep me alive."
"I'm...not sure I follow." Ventrix rolled his eyes.
"In a normal circumstance, your family could follow through on their tenets and kill a Demon Sigil bearer. They'd be subject to the law of Palmenae and punished, but not lose their life. Like any murder. However, the Academy is above the capital’s law in pursuits of justice within their own grounds."
"Meaning?..."
"Killing an Academy member is punishable by death. If I die, you'll be under a scope immediately because of your family's actions. And if you're anything like a true Felsta, my mere existence must make you seethe with rage." Olicia taunted Ventrix with a finger in his face.
"Ah-huh… I’m not sure you even understand what you’re talking about…" Ventrix nonchalantly brushed Olicia’s finger aside and moved over to his bed.. "Well, I'm going to turn in for the night. Goodnight."
"Uh-what?" Olicia was caught off guard by the disregard of what she had explained. "Oh I get it… You're going to be playing along now. Goodnight, Ventrix Felsta."