11 Chapter 11: Annie can be scary

Faith, Kenny, and Annie walked the long passageway back to the front desk, Faith was determined to find a training ground to practice in. Her fighting intent caused her aura to spike, a wave of heat slowly spread. The temperature increased dramatically, causing a stir amongst the crowd.

Various mages conjured different means to deal with the heat, snow fell around the room, breezes wafted through, and the moisture in the air became heavier.

Kenny's eyes sparkled as he watched the display, marveling at the versatility of magic. He shifted his attention to Annie, with pouted lips, "Really, how come you are the only one who started with magic? Did you even read any of the books back there?" He teased.

The silence sent a shiver up his spine, he stumbled back as the tip of Annie's sword appeared before him. A sinister smile overtaking Annie's face, edging closer a slow chuckle sounded behind her smile.

Standing by the counter was a mage who was busily chatting with a clerk, stopped when she noticed Annie swing her sword.

Staring at Annie for a moment before looking to Kenny, her eyes gleamed with lust for a moment.

Faith who was approaching the desk, noticed the stare, a nice curvy figure, well endowed chest, devilish looks. The type of woman who used charm to get her way, wearing a tight fitting green dress, that subtly shimmered with her movements.

"Go on and be her test dummy." Faith chuckled evilly to herself, ignoring the clerk she leaned on the desk to watch the female mage approach.

A seductive yet tender voice caught their attention, "My goodness, what an awful way to treat your boyfriend."

Annie's face turned a shade pinker in embarrassment, shaking herself from the affliction, a glare emerged toward the woman before them.

Kenny looked past her toward Faith, whose eyes were twinkling. Understanding her intention he focused back on Annie, keeping quiet long enough for Annie to respond.

"He's my friend, what's it to you how I treat him?" She asked pouting her lips, a defiant look in her eye.

Amused she stepped closer toward Kenny, walking her fingers up his chest. She threw her arms around his shoulders, embracing him with a snobby look,"If that's true, then you won't mind if I take him, right? Since your just friends?"

A vein rose in the corner of Annie's forehead, her face darkened, the mana in surroundings begun to flow erratically.Waves of mana streaked toward her, circling around her body. Converting from mana to a high pressure stream of air.

In a secret room above the Mages Guild, the walls were adorned with various scales and plants, that would move every so often toward the light. Seated in a heavily decorated chair was an elderly man whose entire body was covered in a pure white beard.

His sharp blue eyes peered deeply into a purple crystal ball, flashes of different landscapes surfaced and changed. While a mountain peak was visible, the crystal, cracked. Disturbing the old man who started to sense the shift in mana,

"Such a pure reaction to mana, as though they have mastered its control. I must meet whoever it is, surely it's a master mage who could give me pointers." He jumped hurriedly to his feet, with a casual wave of his hand a quarter staff flew into his grip.

He briskly walked out of his room, a door opening in the seamless wall, sealing itself shut upon his exit.

The woman clinging to Kenny, showed no trace of fear. Amused by the idea of someone challenging her, circulating the mana in her body, a formless cloud bubbled out from her palm. It was cold, bitter, devoid of any signs of life. A powerful concept of death tainted the cloud, turning it a deep shade of black.

A passing clerk who happened to see the situation unfold, ran to intervene as he didn't want them to fight here in the main hall.

" You know fighting inside is forbidden. If you want to fight, take it to the sparring arena outside." His high pitched voice squeaked out, pointing towards the door that lead to the training grounds.

The woman looked down on Annie, sizing her up with an malicious smile, "I don't mind."

She said in a cheery tone, guiding a confused Kenny toward the door.

Annie's face was darkening more with each passing second, stomping after them without a word.

Faith watched on her shoulders heaving up and down as she stifled her laughter, she got up from the counter to make her way toward the door. Tapping the shoulders of people as she passed by, few of which followed curiosity apparent on their faces. Others followed in hopes of speaking with a cute girl, soon people joined the flow and a huge crowd formed,

"What's going on?"

"I heard someone was giving a lecture."

"No No, it's a sparring match, and both participants are real beauties"

"Really? Well let's go and have a look."

The news traveled fast and soon around a center ring Annie faced off with the female mage, a few amongst the crowd recognized her opponent,

"Hey, isn't that Rebecca?"

"You mean the branch master's granddaughter?"

A wave of realization swept the crowd, the atmosphere growing quiet. Eyes glued toward the center ring, where the female mage giggled evilly to herself,

"This girl has no idea what she's in for, I'll beat her to a pulp in front of her boyfriend and he will be sure to choose me. I've never failed to capture a man, at least the cute ones anyway."

She thought to herself, Rebecca was well known throughout the city as a seductress. Lurking away men from homes with honeyed words, and physically stimulating dances, only to leave them with broken hearts and empty pockets.

Brought up as a mage by her grandfather since young, Rebecca showed immense talent for magic. Able to cast Mid-Tier spells at age 6, she was given everything she could ever want. As she grew her personality worsened, she spent less time training and more time seducing men.

Rebecca started to channel her mana, gathering in pools over her open palms, on the left a strong sense decay exuded. Whatever it touches would wither, the life drained and used as fuel for its nourishment.

On the right was a tranquil energy that bore no hostility or benevolence, it merely existed to permeate the area. Without breaking visual contact with Annie, her mouth moved reciting a garbled incantation.

The pools of mana responded to her voice, extending into the air like flowing clouds. They twisted and turned forming a spiral of destructive energy that propelled itself, drilling straight toward Annie attempting to run her through.

The arena shook from the sheer force of her spell, this was her Decaying Drill Spell.

Onlookers who recognized her attack watched on with renewed vigor, for it was a unique spell of Rebecca's own creation.

As it was her own, she refused to share the incantation so that Mages Guild could determine its rank. The allure of unranked spells were great as they held the potential to be devastatingly powerful, when displayed silence took the crowd.

"Earth-Tier Spell detected, Analyzation Complete, Death Magic has been added." The system said.

Annie paid no heed as she watched the spell being launched toward her, a playful look in her eyes as she crouched down. The air around her body becoming distorted due to a rapid gathering of mana, it flowed through her open pores like a raging river filling her body.

It gathered at her shoulder blades and erupted out in a burst of turbulent wind, a soft green light emitting as the wind shaped themselves into four thin wings.

With a soft hum they flapped at such a speed they were no longer visible, the tailwind they kicked up shot her body forward passing underneath Rebecca's spell.

The crowd went into a frenzy at Annie's response, for this was a spell they had never seen before. To be coming from such a young girl was an added astonishing factor that show cased her potential for magic, the elder Mages amongst the crowd thought of taking her in as a disciple.

Rebecca was relaxed forming a gesture with her hands, the drill dispersed into dots of dark light that congealed around her in dome.

Sealing her away from Annie's charge with an encompassing barrier that repelled everything, inside Rebecca was elated having successfully conjured the barrier in time to prevent her attack.

"This should buy me enough time, I don't know what sort of weird spell she is using, but it's no concern to me." With a wicked thought she chanted another incantation, that sounded like a garbled hiss of a snake.

Rebecca begin to channel extreme amounts of mana for her spell, her body growing weak from the strain. A dark light covered her body that grew dim with the pass of time, to a point where her body was completely shadowed.

Annie didn't see anything beyond the barrier, the tip of her sword jabbing at random points on the barrier. Her head tilted to the side as a cold smile formed, with a cute playful voice she said, "Little mouse, don't hide. I just want to pet you."

Streaks of mana gathered in vast amounts, spiraling into Annie's wooden sword. It begun to shake violently as it absorbed it all, the shaking slowed to a stop before a gentle green light emanated and spread.

She lifted it above her head as the light shone brighter, forming a projection of her sword that extended beyond the clouds. The wind blew erratically kicking up small tornados about the arena.

The crowd gasped in awe as they were buffeted by the excess wind, few of the mages who conjured barriers to ward off the wind found that they crumbled under its pressure.

An elderly man arrived using a quarter staff to support him, saw the formation of this grand spell and his eyes lit up with excitement, " That must be her, the waves of mana coming from that spell can only affirm my guess. A master mage has graced us with her presence, but who is that spell directed. . ."

His eyes grew wide as he saw the barrier on stage, knowing the spell and its caster his heart palpitated before he rushed forward through the crowd.

Annie stepped forward bringing down her sword causing the light projection to fall toward the barrier, the crowd was silent as the sword made contact.

A boom that sounded like a cannon blast echoed, the light from both the sword and the barrier grew blinding as the barrier trembled.

Cracks soon webbing out over the surface, Rebecca watched in horror as the barrier crumbled away revealing a still smiling Annie.