Sitting in one of the training rooms inside the summoning tower, Kira stared absentmindedly at the small purple flame she had created in her hand. She still had no idea what the purple flames did, even after running them through countless tests with Mr. Roc. It didnât burn things, it didnât heal like her gold flames, and it appeared to have no other effect that they could spot.
Kira sighed and cut off her mana to stop the flames. Eventually sheâd figure it out, but for now, she would focus on her other flames, the ones she knew how to use. And she sure did make use of them a lot. Anytime she or her friends were stiff from sitting too long or sore from exercising, she would engulf them in her flames for a few seconds. Luckily, she could control what her flames burnt or else theyâd need fire-proof clothes to make her magic work. She was glad to see her innate magic had some immediate use, and was seemingly helpful according to most people she had used it on.
After running a few tests with Kira, Mr. Roc had discovered that her golden flames were more about âcleansingâ the body. She could, in a way, burn away the body's exhaustion, loosening the limbs and joints, like a full body massage without the pain. Mr. Roc wanted to do some more tests with her in the future because he believed her flames could do so much more, but he had to focus on other students who had awakened first, before looping back to her.
This begged the question, with her magic, should she try and work towards an occupation at a hospital? She knew she still wanted to go through some mage training, even for her first term in third year, that was a plan she had decided on, but she still didnât know what to transition towards after. Healer work could be an idea, but there were a few reasons she was adamant going down that pathway. One, her flames didnât really heal that much, only small cuts and bruises would mend. Two, healers didnât really dive into the types of magic she wanted to do, they learned more about breaking spells and how the body works, instead of the cool magics like gateways and enchanting. Lastly, she didnât want to be cooped up in some hospital all her life. Maybe she could be a travelling healer? But the more she thought about the whole healer business, the less she was interested.
Getting up from the matted training room, Kira made her way out of the summoning tower and towards her next class for the day, Phys-ed. The class was located on the north side of campus, where all the physically demanding classes were held: Mage Training, Knight Foundations, and Physical Education of course. She spotted her friends already donning their gym attires, consisting of simple black shorts and white tshirts. Quickly getting changed in the changing rooms inside, Kira came out ready for class.
Their teacher for Phys-ed, Mrs. Rebel, was a real nice lady to talk to after class, but during class, you wouldnât want to be caught slacking off. The second the clocks hit 1pm, she got right to it. They started each class with a ten minute warmup, followed by a twenty minute run around the running track.
The usual group was in the lead, mostly those in knights training, with a few other gifted athletes. Kira wasnât bad, but she couldnât hold a candle to the front runners. Middle of the pack was where she found herself. Luckily, she had a running partner with the same physical endurance as herself.
âSo, has she talked to you yet?â Yuli asked between bated breaths. Kira had explained the situation with Ashley Oak to her friends, and what Alexander had said to her, so they were all caught up on the news. That following weekend, only a few days ago, she had also talked to Rynus, wanting to know the situation regarding the whole Oak family incident from him, but he pretty much just rehashed what Alexander had said. He seemed uncomfortable around the topic, even skirting by certain details when asked, especially when Kira tried to get more information about her grandmaster, Horris.
She wanted to know more! No books she had read during childhood touched on the Thornâs more than the fact they were one of the eight founding wizards. She didnât know anything about her grandmaster, and she was starting to realize she might not even know much about her own master. The library was her next step to educate herself on the questions she wanted to know the answer to.
âNot yet, I donât know how long itâll take her, but Iâll trust Alexander and hope she at some point wants to talk it over.â Kira answered.
âHopefully. Sheâs been giving you the stank eye for a while now.â Yuli pointed a thumb behind her, causing Kira to turn her head. Ashley Oak was one of the slower wizards here, in the back few alongside Vea and Marcus, and her eyes were locked onto Kira. When their eyes met, Ashley looked down quickly.
After their run, the class shuffled into the gymnasium building. The floor was made of tightly packed together wooden boards that were sleek and shiny, with painted lines for the various sports theyâd be playing in class. Today was the first day they were doing sports inside. Normally theyâd be outside in the fields playing baseball, the magical variety, or Kiraâs favourite, junior wizard ball.
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âAlrighty class, today we're going to play a very simple game you've probably heard of, maybe even played before. Weâre playing dodgeball today!â Mrs. Rebel announced. âItâs an old game going back a few hundred years, first made for training wizards to help them dodge rocks that enemy wizards would throw at them, empowered by the reinforce spell.â
Dodgeball!
Kira had heard of dodgeball before, but she had never had the chance to play it.
After explaining the rules, Mrs. Rebel split the class into two teams, trying to keep the athletic wizards evenly divided. Kira was with Abby, Alexander, and Marcus, while the other team had Resseta and the Trinityâs.
âYou may use the reinforce spell during this game on yourself or the balls, but donât worry, the balls are enchanted to only fly a certain speed and they have a cap on how much can be put into it.â Mrs. Rebel explained. âNo other magic can be used. At the sound of my whistle, the game begins!â
Each team had to start at the back walls, with at least one hand touching it before the round could start. Kira jittered in place, waiting for the whistle to go. She knew she wasnât the fastest, but she wanted to get the balls on the centreline first.
Whistle!
Both teams shot forward towards the centre of the gym, trying to get to the five balls before the other team could. Kira realized she wasnât fast enough, she could spot others already ahead of her on both sides, but that didnât matter, she would keep going.
All the balls were snagged up before Kira could get there, and the firefight ensued immediately. Balls were flung at opposing players, smacking into faces, stomachs, and shoulders. Four people were out after only 5 seconds of gameplay.
Kira luckily managed to dodge the one ball whipped at her by a grinning Helina, and slid to halt before backpedaling now that the balls were away from the middle. It was a close game, with hits occurring quite frequently, with the occasional catch to allow for an out teammate to come back in.
About ten feet on either side of the centerline was considered no-manâs land, an area that allowed any team to go in there. It also allowed a team with all the balls to get even closer to their opponents before throwing.
Right now, Kira, who still hadnât been hit yet, and three others on her team, including Alexander, were backed up against their wall, waiting for their opponents to throw all five balls at them. Their opponents' eyes were locked onto Alexander as their prime target, and for obvious reason. His only throws he had taken were all hits, and each flew faster than the opponents could react.
âSpread out so stray balls donât hit you.â Alexander told his teammates. Kira nodded and took a few steps away from him.
â1...2â¦3â The other side counted down then threw the balls all at once to try and ensure a hit on Alexander. He managed to dodge three balls and catch another, bringing Abby back into the game. What he didnât notice was the fifth ball held by Resseta. She delayed her throw by a second, trying to catch Alexander off guard, and succeeded by hitting him square in the chest.
âAlexanderâs out, we got this!â Marcus yelled, hyping up his teammates.
The game progressed over the next few minutes until there were only two people left on either team. Kira and Abby on one side, and Resseta and Ashley on the other. They were lucky Resseta didnât have a ball on her side or theyâd be in trouble. She was almost as good as Alexander when it came to throwing.
âOkay letâs get her!â Abby excitedly announced, wanting nothing more than to get her roommate out. âYou ready, Kira?â
Kira nodded.
On the count of three, the two girls stepped forward and ripped a ball at Resseta. Kira wasnât the greatest thrower, but she wasnât that bad either. Abby on the other hand, had been getting stronger and more athletic as she had been doing knight training and mage training, so when she threw the ball, it went fast. Kira did have the help of her abundant magic reserves, but Mrs. Rebel had explained the balls were capped at how fast they could go, so her magic didnât make too much of a difference.
Bam!
Abbyâs ball just caught the edge of Ressetaâs leg, causing Abby to cheer loudly in celebration. In her hubris, she had left herself wide open for Ashley to scoop up a rolling ball they had thrown and land a hit on the stunned Abby.
It was just Kira and Ashley now.
All the balls had managed to roll over onto Kiraâs side, leaving Ashley with no weapons to attack or defend with. Kira grabbed the balls and lined them up near the centreline so she could quickly pick them up and throw them. With one ball in her hand, her eyes finally came to a rest on Ashley, not fully sure what to do. Should she throw it with all her might? Or should she go easy on Ashley so she didnât hate her any more?
âWhat are you waiting for, Thorn?â Ashley chirped, her face furrowed. âCome on, throw it like you mean it!â
âI guess she answered for me,â Kira nodded with a serious face, and winded up for a throw. She reinforced her arm and the ball with as much mana as she could control and released it towards Ashley. Her form wasn't great, but it still managed to fly straight.
Kira noticed Ashley squat down and put her hands out to catch the ball instead of trying to dodge it. With its speed, she wasn't able to grasp the ball. It slipped through her hands and smacked her in the chest with a loud thump. She stumbled to the ground and watched as the ball soared through the gym and hit the ground with a defining ping.
âYES!â âNice throw Thorn!â âLet's go!â Her friends dove towards her in a celebratory hug, happy they had won the dodgeball game.
âGood shot, Kira!â Mrs. Rebel said, âWe still have plenty of time, so let's do another!â
Peaking through the arms and faces blocking her vision, Kira watched Ashley stand up and walk back to the wall on her side, her head lowered slightly.
They played three more games, one more with the same teams, and two others with switched up teams. Kira felt bad for Ashley so she didnât throw any balls in her direction, but she noticed that might have just been making her angrier. What should she have done, throw it and potentially get her out again?
Once Phys-ed was over, Kira felt like she needed to apologize to Ashely, but she didnât have the chance as Ashley made sure to escape from the gym as fast as she could. The rest of the day went by normally; lounging around with her friends, studying for upcoming tests, working on assignments, and of course, eating snacks.
Nearing night, Kira decided it was a good time to go to the library and do some research on her lineage, and hopefully figure out everything she didn't know once and for all. Rynus, as great a master as he was, just didnât seem to be able to talk about what she wanted to know, he would deflect or ignore her anytime she asked certain questions. He must have his reasons for not sharing, but Kira couldnât be left in the dark any longer.
Off to the library she went.