NOVA SORCERY
Chapter 3:
Cube
Part 1: New Assignment
The lecture hall for Miss Balmer's Principles of Sorcery was filled with students, their expressions ranging from boredom to frustration. Renato and Akimi sat among them, waiting for the class to begin.
Miss Balmer entered the room, her presence commanding immediate attention. "Alright, children, take out your textbooks and turn to page 183," she instructed.
A collective groan filled the room.
"Is there a problem? That is the page we left off on," Miss Balmer said, eyebrows raised.
A brave student stood up, voicing the class's shared sentiment. "Miss Balmer, it's been a month and we still haven't learned any real magic."
The class erupted in agreement.
Miss Balmer sighed, "Well, that's absurd. Up to now, you have all been learning the most important fundamentals of sorcery."
The class continued to argue, with Akimi joining in.
"Fine," Miss Balmer conceded, "If you all think you are ready to learn real magic, then we'll skip today's lesson."
The room burst into cheers.
"You will all be given an assignment," she continued, "to study and successfully perform any spell. However, if seventy percent of this class cannot successfully perform a spell, then we will be learning from our textbooks for the next two months."
The room fell silent, the gravity of her statement sinking in.
Renato thought to himself, Really? Any spell? This should be easy.
Part 2: Reality Check
Renato and Akimi were seated in the library, surrounded by old and modern books about sorcery.
"You've got to be kidding, right?" Renato groaned, overwhelmed by the complex terminology and intricate diagrams. "I've never even heard of some of these words. There's no way we can do any of this stuff, right?"
Renato looked up to see Akimi easily reading through the books.
"I mean, most of this stuff is pretty easy, really," Akimi said nonchalantly.
Renato gave him a disgruntled look. "What do you mean, pretty easy? This is the hardest stuff I've ever had to study. Look around, dude."
Around them, their classmates were deeply engrossed in books, looking equally discouraged.
"At this rate, we'll be reading from a book for a year," Renato muttered, putting his head down in despair.
"C'mon, man," Akimi encouraged, "most of this sorcery stuff is just instinct. We just gotta find something for you, maybe like a picture book for kids or something."
Akimi sifted through the piles of books on their table. "Oh, what about this one?" he said, pointing to a specific spell in a book.
Renato took the book for a closer look. "Cube?"
"Yeah, it's a beginner defensive spell. It can withstand anything as long as the user has enough inergy," Akimi explained.
"I don't think I've ever seen any big-league sorcerers use it," Renato noted.
"Well, defensive spell-wise, it's pretty useless," Akimi admitted. "Unlike others, it continuously takes away inergy for every attack instead of a predetermined amount."
"You sure do know a lot for us to be in the same class," Renato said, impressed.
"My family does a lot of stuff in sorcery," Akimi replied. "I just picked up a little bit."
"A little bit, huh?" Renato said, smirking.
For the next few days, Renato trained in the courtyard with his classmates, determined to master his spell. Rain or shine, day or night, he practiced relentlessly.
Part 3: Inspiration
Akimi visited Renato in the courtyard. "Oi, Renato, I brought you something," he said, tossing an energy drink.
Renato caught the drink and started chugging it.
Akimi sat on a bench. "So, how's your spell working out?"
"Horrible," Renato admitted, showing his progress. Inergy gathered near his palm, slowly forming a cube. Just as it was about to complete, it shattered.
"See?" Renato said, frustrated. "What about you? Any troubles?"
"Nope, I've finished my spell," Akimi said confidently.
"Right, child prodigy," Renato sighed.
"There's not much I can say except it's just instinct," Akimi said. "Maybe you're thinking about it the wrong way. Try breaking it down or something. Don't stay up too late, or you won't wake up on time tomorrow."
Akimi walked off, leaving Renato deep in thought.
"Break it down, huh?" Renato mused.
Part 4: Turn in date
The class gathered in the courtyard, everyone except Renato.
Akimi stepped up to perform his spell. Inergy welled up beneath his feet, surrounding him in a bright light. Separate lights shot into the sky, exploding into fireworks. The class clapped, awed by the display.
"Very well, Mr. Zachibana," Miss Balmer praised. "Is there anyone else who hasn't gone?"
The crowd was silent.
Oh crap, Renato must've been up all night, and he still isn't here, Akimi thought, growing anxious.
"No, Renato still hasn-"
"WAIT!" Renato sprinted in, panting with dark bags under his eyes.
"Mr. Souza, you're late," Miss Balmer scolded.
"I'm sorry, I was up all night and overslept," Renato explained, catching his breath.
"Well, hurry up. You're the last one," Miss Balmer urged.
Renato stood in front of the class, inergy welling up near his palm. Slowly, his spell took shape, forming a single hexagon. The class stared in shock and disappointment.
Renato smirked as multiple hexagons developed around the initial one, connecting to form a large cube around him.
Akimi smiled with pride.
"Very well, Mr. Souza," Miss Balmer said approvingly.
Renato's spell slowly disappeared as he walked towards Akimi.
"High five," Akimi said, raising his hand.
Renato slapped it with a grin. "So, I see you took my advice."
"Yeah, right. You just gave me a good idea," Renato replied.
Miss Balmer addressed the class, "Now that everyone has gone, I will announce your overall score."
The class braced for bad news, most accepting their fates.
"In total, your success rate is 71.67 percent," Miss Balmer announced. "Meaning from now on, we will be actively learning sorcery."
The class exploded in excitement and relief.
**END**