I am 8 years old as of now. Finally old enough to enroll into magic school, in which I plan on enrolling with Maelin.
I was very excited when I heard that there was a school for magic and all that. I used to be really obsessed with fantasy and everything when I was a kid, before I died of course. When I got older I stopped really having interests and focused on work and school but I'd still have dreams from time to time of being a superhero.
"Mom, Dad!" I said as I stepped outside.
My Mother was watching my Father practice swordsmanship.
From time to time Father would force me to practice sword fighting, however It was never enough to pick up on his sword skills.
"What is it, Otto?" Mother turned to me and asked.
"I've been asking for a while now, but may I attend Hawkens Academy..?"
"I would love to enroll you into such a prestigious academy but we simply don't have the funds to do that." Mother replied.
"Yeah son, I don't know if I've told you this but we're EX adventurers (Emphasis on the Ex), meaning-"
I cut him off.
"Yeah, yeah you've told me. But if I do well enough in the entrance exam they might enroll me for free, or atleast at a lessened price." I pleaded with my parents.
Father looked at Mother.
"What do you think, Nolan?"
"I don't know.. I guess it's a possibility. That's how I got in during my days."
Father seemed as though he were reminiscing
"Otto, do you know when the next enrollment exam is?" My mother chimed in
"In about 2 months from now. I can handle transportation to the academy, I have a friend who owns a Land-Dragon." I bowed my head
My Mother seemed startled
"Our child seems so mature for his age.. It's almost scary.."
"Gya Ha Ha Ha! He takes after his father! I was making moves like that at his age!"
Father laughed loudly.
Just agree to let me go…
"Sure. But if anything goes wrong please do not hesitate to write to us!" My mother gave me this maternal look like always.
"Thank you mother! I'll write to you with the information about my enrollment!" I said as I ran back into the house.
The 2 months I've been waiting for has passed, Maelin gave me the information I needed in order to catch the Land Dragon.
I went to our Rendezvous point an hour early.
My parents sent me off with about 500 Shells, which is the currency of this world. I haven't found out the exact Shells-to-USD-Ratio, however I hope 500 Shells Is a lot.
I was also left with my fathers old sword.
So I'd say I have some pretty good starter gear for the journey ahead.
The stomping from the land dragon started to become more apparent as it approached.
The dragon came to a grinding halt as it stopped in front of me on the road. The Carriage kicked up dust onto me as it came to a stop.
"Thanks for the ride!" I said, sarcastically as I climbed onto the land dragon, placing my belongings on the carriage as I climbed up.
"It's rare I give rides to commoners, Rejoice." She scoffed and looked the opposite way.
"Happy to see you again as well.." I awkwardly chuckled and patted the dust off my clothes from the land dragon stopping.
The Land Dragon took off to our destination, the force from the speed of the Land Dragon Jolted me backwards in the Carriage.
"Damn! This thing is fast!" I shouted and tightly held on to the sides of the carriage.
"I know! It's exhilarating"
Maelin's short hair flowed in the wind as she stuck her head out of the side of the carriage
"Don't fall!" I tightly held onto her clothes because she was damn near falling out of the carriage.
Maelin finally found some sense and sat back down
"So, Maelin. Are you taking the Entrance Exam too?"
This was my attempt at making small talk.
"I bought a full trip.. But taking the entrance exam sounds pretty fun!"
Maelin giggled.
"If I decided to take the entrance exam, my money would go to waste because I'd obviously outshine everyone!"
She continued to praise herself.
Now that I think about it, I've never seen a display of what she can do as far as magic goes.. Most of the stuff I've seen her do is beginner level things such as moving objects without touching them, or creating a fire to use as a lamp. I've never bothered to really ask what she can do.
"Hey Maelin."
"What?"
"What CAN you do.. as far as magic goes?"
"..."
She paused to think before she gave her answer.
"You'll see!"
Maelin said this with a wide smile on her face.
I was quite disappointed by her answer. Especially since she isn't taking the entrance exam.
However I didn't let it get to me and I decided to just sleep until we arrived.
Hours later I was awoken by a sudden rumbling from the carriage and the sound of wind racing against the sides of the carriage, almost like we were falling.
"What's happening?!" I said as I jumped up from my seat on the carriage and looked around.
We were being transported upwards to what can only be described as a giant island floating in the sky.
The island was suspended in the air, supported by absolutely nothing. What was under it looked like a barren wasteland, dark and gloomy. However everything was huge, Mountains, Creatures, Deserts, you name it. You could see it spanning deeper and deeper from the outskirts of the darkness. However as the land spanned deeper into the darkness, things faded into obscurity becoming harder to see. The Island above was just as awesome, It was just as big as the land below it. If not bigger. There was water falling off of the sides, and you could see grass slightly poking over, you could barely see anything on top of the island from where we were, however it showed just enough to pique your curiosity making you yearn to find out what's on top of the mysterious island. I had no clue if I should be amazed, or terrified!
"Where are we!?" I clutched onto the side of the carriage like a scared child.
"Aeoland. Is this the first time you've been up here?" Maelin seemed very relaxed, as she was sitting with her legs crossed and leaning against the edge of the carriage.
"I've never even heard of Aeoland! Are we falling!?" I yelled and closed my eyes.
"We're just going up the sky lift, have you been living under a rock..?"
Sky lift..?
I looked directly above the carriage and saw an area resembling a sea port above us. The same thing was beneath us, to my curiosity I stuck my hand out of the carriage and powerful gusts of wind brushed my hand in an upwards direction.
I unknowingly had a bewildered look on my face.
"Pfft." Maelin started to laugh
"What's so funny!?" I whipped around and barked back
"The look on your face!"
"I've just never seen anything like this before!" I covered my beet red face
"No, It's cute!"
Maelin attempted to regain her composure
"L-Like a cute dog, or cute.. Y'know. Human..?" I said, obviously flustered
"Like a cute dog."
…
What the hell man! She could've tried to be kind to me for at least a second!
Comparing me to the likes of a household pet, That's so condescending!
"Yeah I figured.." I picked myself up off of the ground
The Carriage came to a jolting halt and we were placed onto the platform. A bunch of men assisted the Carriage onto the island and to the road.
They also gave us a separate land dragon to traverse the island in the sky.
The land up here looked just like the land below, it was just suspended in the air, you could see that if you looked far enough to the sides of the island.
And apparently the school isn't very far from where we were lifted up at.
The land dragon took off and we were off to the Academy.
We arrived in the city not long after and my jaw dropped down to my knees as soon as I saw the city. It was massive, and it really brought me back to my old life. The city looked like a mix of the primitive architecture of this world and modern day architecture, almost like the person who made this was from the same world that I was!
"York city." Maelin said in a Nonchalant tone.
I looked down at Maelin.
"Huh..?"
"The city.. It's called York City. And Hawkens is the heart of the city."
York City. Doesn't this sound a lot like Current day New York. I'll read up on it with the textbooks in the Academy if I can.
After a short while and some small conversation about the city, we finally arrived in front of the school. I thanked Maelin for the ride and got out to take the entrance exam.
The Academy was like a large castle. No, a huge castle, I mean It was absolutely massive, you could tell there were multiple different buildings and sections inside the actual academy, and to the left of me it was a very large yard which I would assume is the Grounds for the exam. The building had small modern aspects of architecture. There was an obvious entrance area
Maelin informed me that she'll be waiting for me inside the school after I pass the exam and she left me on the exam grounds. I put my shells in my pockets and took my fathers sword and entered.
The exam grounds was a large open area that was gated in. There were multiple students just sitting around, standing, talking to their friends, et cetera. Some students stood out more than others. Take this one student for example, He had red skin, black hair, and was rather built for an 8 year old, he didn't wield any weapons but he looked like just him alone was a weapon. I think he was an Orc of sorts. Or this other kid, he was Terrazan, he sported white-ish grey hair and dark skin, judging by his clothes I'd say he's well off, but not royalty. He was flirting with any girl in his line of sight. Or this other kid, he was Terrazan as well, sporting blonde hair and a lighter shade of brown skin. The thing that set this kid apart from everyone else was the multiple pouches of metal ball bearings he wore on his waist instead of a sword, or daggers. he also had tons of metal jewelry, such as rings, necklaces, and earrings, he was obviously rich, but not royalty. Most of the people here look like side characters, even I could beat them.. Probably.
It would be smart for me to go out and make friends. Except… I don't know how..
I think I'm just going to sit in the corner until the exams officially start.
I sat down in the grass and just watched people talk to each other, sizing up the competition.
"Young adventurers!" A man projected his voice from a podium in the Exam grounds
Students attentions slowly shifted towards him
"You are all probably here to learn how to hone your magic, or your curse, and use it to become a great adventurer. Here at Hawkens we use our facilities in order to assist you in doing so. However, we do not accept just anyone, we look for those who are not only capable of becoming an adventurer, but those who are willing to put in the drive and effort to do so. With this being said, this is the 48th Entrance ceremony of Hawkens academy."
Students applauded the man when he finished speaking, I followed the crowd and applauded him as well.
"In order to kick off the 48th Entrance Ceremony, the first section of the exam will be a hand to hand combat test, prepare yourselves, students."
After the man finished speaking, the room started to morph and transform into an arena. If I had to guess, I'd say he was using earth magic. The area he created almost looks like a gladiator colosseum, with a safe area for viewing the fight outside. The only issue with this is that I wasn't in the safe area. I was in the ring… And the person I have to fight is none other than the Orc who looks like he's been on roids' since he was 3.
"First up:"
"Otto Von Blaire, Versus, Kilgue Spaith"
"I'm done for…" I said to myself aloud before begrudgingly assuming a fighting stance
"I don't even need to use my curse on the likes of you." Kilgue muttered loud enough for me to hear
What's with people being so condescending..
However! I Readied my blade and charged towards Kilgue.
My curse benefits should be strong enough to damage him a little, and even if it's just a little I'll be able to chip away at him until he's out for the count.
"Gyraaah!" I shouted as I swung my blade at him
Before I even had time to imagine my blade making contact with him he had punched me in my head, sending me flying backwards. I skipped like a rock on a lake.
I touched the back of my head
"Am I bleeding..? Damn.."
"I should've trained with my father more.." I said as I picked myself off of the ground and readied to attack again.
It was difficult to maintain my balance due to the head injury but I still managed to get back on my feet.
"You show resolve, that's rare to find in a warrior these days." His voice sounded distant and loud at the same time. I think I have a concussion..
I trudged towards him, I was off balance due to my head injuries, however I forced my body to keep moving.
"I'm gonna show off a little.." I thought to myself
I winded back my blade yet again to swing it towards him.
"I hope to see you again. Good luck in the losers bracket." Kilgue winded back his fist again and threw a punch at me again
I dropped my blade on the ground and narrowly dodged his punch due to stumbling.
"Losers bracket my ass!" I pushed forwards and wrapped my arms around his waist and pushed with my legs.
My feet dug into the dirt beneath me as I poured all my might into moving this guy.
It looked like I was trying to push my way through a brick wall, this guy didn't even budge a bit.
As I started to fade out of consciousness I heard Kilgue speak.
"Fight hard for the next match, I wish to see you again."
Last thing I remember before I was out was the stinging sensation of my nose being driven into the dirt, the pain resonated throughout my body.
Then, It all just cut to black.
The only reason I lost this is because of this ungodly match-up. They have a scrawny 8 year old child against this guy who's damn near 6 '0 and beefy as hell! What did this kid's parents feed him!? Have they been pumping him with Steroids since he was able to walk? Did he have dumbbells instead of toys, what the hell!? He's only 8 years old, we're the same age, Why can't I do that?!
In the middle of my internal rant I was yanked back into reality, I was in the spectator area of the colosseum getting healed by a woman who looked like a doctor.
I'm not entirely disqualified from the Entrance exam yet, I still have one more fight until I'm out of it, however if I win, I get to go onto the next part of the exam.
Some of these kids fighting look very powerful. The guy with the ball bearings can manipulate the metal to expand into any shape that he wants, he would throw them out and fire them as projectiles when he changed their shape. The flirtatious kid was able to make both fire and ice.
I was watching the fights until I was transported back into the arena
"From the Losers bracket:"
"Otto Von Blaire, Vs, William Bell"
"Pfft, It's just you! I was really worried for a second!" William Scoffed and took a wand out of his waistband.
What's with all of these arrogant kids..
Oh well, I readied my sword and prepared for anything.
"Ready.."
I started to feel the pressure of my situation weighing down on my chest. It felt like a monkey was hanging from my heart like a tree branch.
There was a long pause before the instructor began the fight.
"Begin!"
The instructor's voice was projected from a high area, like a P.A Announcement.
William wasted no time and immediately unleashed fireballs in my direction.
I rushed towards him as well, dodging the first few fireballs, and blocking the last one. Taking the force of the fireball stopped my momentum. While I was stunned William immediately sent a beam of fire towards me, sending me backwards.
My recovery time has definitely improved from my curse, but It can't save me if I can't do anything with it!
"Why would you even apply! You're just a waste of time!" He laughed, letting his guard down
While he wasn't looking I grabbed a handful of grass and dirt and started running towards him
William snapped back to reality and switched to the defensive
I closed the gap and attacked with an upwards swing of my blade.
William Narrowly dodged it, However I immediately followed up by throwing dirt and grass in his face and kicking him in his gut.
He stepped back and wiped his face
"Is that all?" William Laughed loudly
"I'll end this fast so you can get back home to your mommy!"
He began charging up a fireball that was massive, all this for a scrawny 8 year old.. Crazy.
I prepared my blade to defend against whatever's coming.
William finally fired the blast of fire and it collided with my blade.
The fire almost engulfed my entire body. But before it got out of hand, it seemed to dissipate, and shrink into nothing.
"Huh!? What did you do? Where is my inferno?" He shouted
I honestly don't really know myself.. But I can't tell him that.
"I erased your magic! It's my curse, I erase any magic I touch!"
I'm pretty sure It was obvious that I was lying through my teeth.
I have no clue what happened just now but I definitely feel stronger.
William Fired off more fireballs however I reacted even quicker than before and ran to him, closing the distance between the two of us. Before I reached him I dropped my sword and tackled him to the ground, and I punched him repeatedly. He tried to fight me off of him but after a while he stopped fighting back as much.
The referee called the match before things got out of hand.
"The winner is Otto Von Blaire."
The instructor's voice was projected through the arena again.
"GRAAAAAAAH!" I stood up above william and let out a war cry.
We were then transported back into the spectators area.
I stood trying to catch my breath
The flirtatious guy jumped on my back
"Oh! That was awesome dude! How did you do that mana trick!"
"I have no clue.. Dude, who are you..?"
"The name's Veseon."
He stuck his hand out to shake mine.
I stepped back and shook his hand
"Otto. Nice to meet you."
Ugh. This kid's a real looker. Now I see why he's all flirty with the girls.
Couldn't Mr. Beastman at least bless me with good looks. I look like some kind of side character while this guy looks like a model.
I hate good looking guys.
"Want to team up for the next event? It's quite difficult!" He said aloud as though he were teasing me
Wait! I take it all back! Maybe this little alliance can boost my reputation here!
"Sure, what is the next event anyway?"
I said with a nonchalant tone of voice
"It's a maze, with chimeras albeit weak ones."
CHIMERAS?! We are 4th graders!
"Oh, I can handle that."
I said, clearly bluffing.
Veseon and I both turned to look at the final match
"Hey, Who was that Kilgue kid?" I looked around to make sure he wasn't near us
"Oh, him? You got your ass handed to you by him!"
He started laughing aloud
"No need to remind me.." I laughed awkwardly
"Yeah yeah, no biggie. He's this half orc half troll. He's supposed to be bigger but his curse stops that, or something.. I don't really know much about it. Why do you ask?"
"So I won't get beaten again."
It looked like Veseon was holding back laughter
The final match ended and the proctor's voice could be heard again.
"This concludes the first event out of 3 in the 48th entrance exam for Hawkens Academy. Use your break time wisely. You have 20 minutes."
The colosseum molded back into the empty training grounds and people reconnected with their friends
Damn, that's some powerful earth magic.
"Hey! Buddy! How's that sword of yours, It took quite the beating!" Veseon asked loudly
He has a good point, It did get thrown around a lot, and I threw it into the ground during my last fight.
I took my sword off of the holdster on my back, it felt as though some weights were lifted off of me.
To my surprise my sword looked as though it were hanging on by a thread. The blade was rigid, and there were cracks in the sword that looked very deep
Veseon hissed
"Rough stuff, Do you think there's a blacksmith anywhere here?"
"Likely not." I sighed
Out of nowhere, another Terrazan showed up behind us with a distressed look on his face. Surprisingly he was the guy who had the ball bearings!
"Do you guys have a group!? I am in dire need!" He said, hunched over, panting.
This guy must be desperate..
I unknowingly said that aloud
"I don't care!" He got on his knees
"It'd be my end if I don't have a party! Even if it's with someone weak!"
He began to beg
Was that backhanded..? Eh, whatever.
"What's your name?" Veseon stepped up
"Aieron." He looked up from his groveling position
Veseon formed a smile on his face
"Who said to stop groveling?" Veseon crouched down close to him
"Yes sir!" He put his head back down
"What's your abilities?"
"Metal magic!" He shouted
"I am ranked B+ in my magic class! My subclass is manipulating molten metal, however it drains all my mana!"
He shouted like an army soldier
"Damn, so you are pretty powerful. You may join!"
"Really!" Aieron said, shooting his head up.
As he shot his head up he hit Veseon in his nose.
His nose started bleeding and he stumbled back, before he hit the ground, Aieron's ball bearings fell from his pouch and rolled under Veseon, giving him a uncomfortable landing
"Are you okay!" Aieron quickly reached out to help him up
"Wait! No!" Veseon yelled
When Aieron touched him, metal dust from his hands rubbed onto his white shirt.
What.. Did I just watch..?
There was an audible silence before Veseon shouted
"This shirt cost me 350 shells, you Idiot!"
Aieron flinched
And before we knew it, Our 20 minute grace period was up
"The 2nd event is starting now. You guys will have to survive in a labyrinth, filled with chimeras. You will be in there for an hour, The other proctors and I will be monitoring you in order to make sure no one gets hurt too badly, if you are forced to be extracted, you fail."
When the Procter finished speaking, walls made of the earth arose from the ground creating a maze with many twists and turns
Me, Veseon, And Aieron were secluded together
"Let's find some chimeras!" Veseon Ran ahead
Almost immediately after he made a turn he was knocked back
A short chimera resembling a praying mantis chased after him
"You Jerk!" Veseon reached out and grabbed it's arm
The entire chimera was engulfed in flames and burned to death
I'm cooked! I'm going to die fighting some weak bug! How can I kill even one with this half-broken sword!
I stood in disbelief
We advance in the labyrinth, slaying anything in our wake. Well.. Mainly Veseon and Aieron.. The blood from the bugs is unnerving! About 30 minutes or so pass and they keep on killing chimeras. It all goes smoothly up until one. The chimera was slightly bigger than the others. It resembled a little monkey with a human head, It was nasty!
"I got this one!" Aieron said as he took out his ball bearings to shoot towards the monster.
The monster died to one shot of Aieron's ball bearings
"Hmph, That one was weak." Veseon stepped towards the downed chimera
"Yeah, but anyway this makes 9 right?"
I walked away from the beast
Aieron and Veseon stayed back, staring at it.
"C'mon guys!" I called out to them.
They responded with silence
"Ugh." I sighed and slowly walked closer to then
Out of the blue, Veseon and Aieron assumed a battle stance. The very hair on their head stood up as if they sensed something approaching
Veseon hissed as he slowly stepped back
"What's up guys?" I walker even closer to them
"Get back!" Aieron said as he turned 180 degrees and tackled me to the ground.
All of the sudden a dark aura was emitted from the beast, everything about this was distasteful, it felt disgusting to even be in the presence of this aura.
I looked up to see Veseon got knocked through a wall not too far away from us.
From the dark aura emerged a beast, well over 12 feet tall. It resembled a gorilla with 3 long tails. It had red fur and big muscles.
I was too stunned to move.
"Go call for help. This thing looks like its A+ class. I'll handle it from here" Aieron said as he got off of me, Facing the beast.
"I've been itching to kick ass all day, I'm with you." Veseon said, climbing through the broken wall and stretching
These kids are 8!? He was sent through a stone wall and walked it off!? What the hell??
I was too scared to respond, too scared to move, too scared to call for help.
I sat there helpless.
The beast roared and pounded its chest.
Veseon and Aieron rushed at the beast, firing projectiles and running around it
Aieron turned his bearings into swords and shot them at the monster and Veseon shot ice shards at it, But to no avail. They just broke on impact when they touched the beast.
The beast tried to hit them but they narrowly dodged every time
"A+ Class Threat detected. Please refrain from fighting chimeras until we have neutralized the threat." The proctor projected his voice throughout the labyrinth
"We'll kill this thing before they can even arrive!" Veseon confidently said.
"Hey Veseon! How hot can you go?"
"1600 Degrees Celsius!" Veseon replied as he ran to Aieron
"Time for a joint attack! Otto, Can you hold it off?"
Aieron took out a handful of Ball bearings and molded them into a big ball and Veseon began heating it up.
"Y-yeah!" I picked myself off of the ground and grabbed my sword
"Over here fatass!" I shouted
The beast turned to me.
I've got aggro!
I ran in, my legs trembling with every step, however I pushed myself through it.
It used its tails to attempt to crush me however I barely dodged them
"1.. 2.." I counted the tails he threw at me
The third one came diagonally from above.
It was too late to dodge when I realized it.
In a last ditch effort I raised my blade and swung at the tail in hopes of being able to counter attack.
I parried the attack and the beast stepped back
My sword shattered on impact.
Parry! I really just did that! I'm so badass!
"Ready!" Aieron shouted
I quickly recollected myself and ran away
Aieron hurled a ball of molten metal at the beast and made it wrap around it in hopes of trapping it
The chimera shouted in pain as it flailed around trying to get the molten metal off of it.
Aieron gave a signal and Veseon immediately cooled down the metal.
The beast squirmed trying to escape
"I think we did it.." Veseon and Airon kneeled down and caught their breath
I went over to the two of them just in case.
"Agh! I'm spent! I think I'm out of mana!" Veseon flopped onto the ground."
Suddenly the beast broke free of its restraints and released a loud roar.
"Oh c'mon!" Veseon said
"I have an idea.. Aieron, do you have mana left?" I turned to Aieron
"A little, why." He kept his composure but I could tell he was terrified
"Can you make a weapon?"
"Sure, Let me know." He took out one bearing and closed his eyes as he started molding it
"I need a one edged blade, long and thin. Make the handle able to be held with 2 hands, and make like.. a circular handguard between the blade and the handle. Focus all your magic on sharpness, don't worry about durability."
"Here. weird weapon.. But i'm not using it. You have about 2 swings before it shatters."
I had Aieron make a Katana from my world
I took kendo classes back in highschool, so this should be commonplace for me
"Yeah, Mind giving me a boost?"
"Sure." He smiled and nodded
I ran towards the beast, more scared than ever. If I fail here it's over for all 3 of us!
I can't lose!
Aieron created small platforms for me to gain height.
I leaped up the platforms to the point I was high above the beast.
I jumped off of the platform, holding the katana high over my head.
The chimera managed to hit me in the air and I fell on the ground, using up one hit of the sword.
One left
"One more time!" I quickly got up and ran towards the beast
I climbed Aieron's platforms and Leaped once again
The beast caught on and tried to swipe me with its hand
It's over!
Out of sheer desperation and the desire to win I evolved.
Fire shot out of my feet, ejecting me out of the way of the monster's swipe just enough.
What the hell..!?
I'm not complaining!
I winded back the blade over my head and swung downwards
The blade was sharper than I thought because I cut straight through the monster's neck to under its armpit.
I stayed crouched down on the ground after I cut the monster to gain some style points
I stood up and turned to look at the massive beast I've just slain.
"GRAAAAAAGH!" I shouted and pumped my fist in the air
"Hell yeah!"
The proctor stood in the corner slowly clapping his hands
"Medics." He shouted
Some people in doctor's scrubs came in and started to assist Aieron and Veseon.
They tried to help me but I tried to act cool, denying their help.
My cool act was almost immediately shut down as I collapsed onto the ground trying to walk away