Chapter 21: The Duelist

Chapter 21: The Duelist

It took Stryg over an hour to get his breathing under control. His lungs burned, and his breath was still ragged, but he managed to stand. He cursed under his breath. How was he supposed to have known what he had been doing? No one told him to not get angry or feel anything for that matter.

Well, the professor did say to empty your mind. That means feeling nothing, idiot, a small part of his mind nudged. Updated from novelbIn.(c)om

Just another failure to the list, he sighed.

Stryg shook his head. He was tired of keeping track. It didnt matter how many failures he made, so long as he succeeded in the end. So long as he got back up, he hoped. The strongest get what they want, so be the strongest, he repeated First Mothers mantra. He needed to be strong even if he felt weak. For now he just needed to rest. His body was in no shape to be moving around.

*Ding-dong, Ding-Dong* The school bells rang. It was time for his next class. Fuck.

Stryg ended up dragging his feet to the next class, stumbling through the door of a large stone courtyard. Brick walls 10 feet tall surrounded the area. They were decorated with magic symbols and red and brown magestones.

Strygs whole class was already inside the courtyard. He was late of course. But, for once he wasnt the only one. As Stryg looked around he noticed something was wrong.

Wheres the professor? One of the girls in class asked.

Stryg sighed in relief, maybe he wasnt late after all. He made his way to the corner of the courtyard and plopped down to the floor. He leaned back and tried to rest while he could.

---

Most of the students just stood around the courtyard waiting. The middle and high-class students conversed with one another, conveniently ignoring the few commoners in the class. Kithina wasnt about to let that stop her. She made a beeline towards Callum, the handsome half-vampire. She was determined to be friends, and who knows, maybe something more?

Good morning, Callum! How have you been? Kithina smiled as bright as she could.

Callum returned the gesture, albeit less enthusiastically, Good morning, Ive been doing fine.

Kithina waited a moment but Callum said nothing more. That was it? He wasnt going to ask her how she was doing? I wonder where the professor is. Shouldnt they be here by now? Ktihina pushed forward.

Yes, Callum said without even looking at her.

Um, yeah. Hopefully they get here soon Kithina felt like shouting in frustration. This wasnt how people had a conversation, dammit!

Soooo Hows the weather been? I, uh, heard that vampires dont do very well in sunlight. And that surely wasnt the right thing to say. Kithina knew it the moment she said the words, but her mouth kept moving in panic. We were out on the track this morning, and, she looked up to the sky, It looks pretty sunny to me, hehe. Shit, shit, shit. What was she implying? That he shouldnt be here? A son of a great house? Her, a commoner, insulting him? What was wrong with her? Did she want her family to be singled out and killed? Because thats how you got your family killed.

Callum squinted as if trying to guage if she was rude or plain stupid. Its true vampires cant tolerate much sunlight. Too much exposure can cause serious injuries. The sun was only rising this morning at the track. As for right now, a vampire can handle an hour out in the sun just fine. Im half human, so this is nothing to me.

Oh, yeah, she laughed awkwardly. Right, cool, cool.

Hm. Callum scratched the back of his neck. You know. You dont have to tiptoe around it. Im a hybrid, simple as that.

Kithina raised her hands in panic, Oh, no thats not what I meant! I dont care what you are! Wait, I mean, I do care. About you. Wait, no, that came out wrong. I mean I care about you as a friend? She smiled with uncertainty.

Callum stared at her in silence.

Kithina sighed, What Im trying to say is that I dont care if youre a hybrid or not, she muttered in shame. Sorry, I just wanted to get to know my project partner a bit more. Be friends or whatever. Heh, sounds dumb when I say it out loud. Sorry, I, um, Ill leave you alone. She turned away.

Everyone grew quiet at her warning. Death by magic, even ones own, seemed too easy. It wasnt a game, it was incredibly dangerous, Kithina began to realize.

But what if my idea of a fireball wasnt specific? What if the fireball could be any size and shape. Then that single pulse of erratic mana would work right? Wrong. Without a clear and concise image the mana would fail to turn corporeal and the spell would fail just the same. You need to know exactly what youre creating when casting a spell. The image has to be clear and precise in your mind. As for the mana within you, Loh pointed at her chest, A powerful and collected will is needed to control ones mana properly. There is no room for indecisiveness. Emotions oftentimes are unstable and weaken your will, which is why you all are training in meditation. Some of you have accidentally cast spells already. You may think that makes you a talented mageborn. In a way it does, but more than anything it just means youre lucky. Lucky that your botched spell didnt get you killed and instead only had some minor effect.

Kithina recalled the papers that she had accidentally made fly through her fathers office. She thought had done something incredible. She now realized she was lucky to be alive.

However, if one can hold a perfect image and can control their mana properly, then they can cast a true spell. Loh raised her outstretched hand. A blast of fire burst from her palm, the flame roaring as it shot into the sky. The explosion of heat knocked the students to the ground.

The mage lowered her hand and looked down at her students. This is what magi are capable of. Someday you may be forced to fight one, for your own sake or the citys. When that time comes you will need to be able to control your will and mind in the face of your own death. Now get up, it's time you learn.

Stryg was the first to stand, despite his injury. The display of fire had been greater than anything the tribes shaman, Cruvor, had ever been able to cast. It was power and death. Stryg was accustomed to seeing both, but never like this. While others felt terror in the face of Lohs magic, Stryg was filled with awe.

Loh grinned, her blue eyes dancing in delight. You must be Stryg, the unknown hybrid. Professor Tauri told me about you. Good, lets start with you. Go stand over there.

Stryg headed over the open spot of the courtyard without another word. He knew better than to question her.

Loh looked around the group. She pointed her finger, You, the orc. No, the other. The tall one. Yes, you. Whats your name?

Kegrog, the orc said.

Kegrog, you will fight Stryg. Neither of you can cast spells yet, but fighting in hand-to-hand combat is still a good way to get accustomed to battle. You cant afford to panic in a real battle. This will be a good exercise, Loh said.

Understood, Kegrog nodded solemnly.

The students glanced between the 65 ft Kegrog and 37 ft Stryg. This wasnt a duel. This was a lamb to the slaughter. Even Kithina wanted to say something. She wasnt too fond of Stryg, but she didnt want to see him get beaten to a pulp either. But, after seeing what Loh was capable of, no one dared say a word.

Stryg looked up at the orc and then at Loh. No one would deny she was powerful, but Stryg knew that the powerful got what they wanted. Oftentimes they were cruel, too. Loh obviously didnt like him, most people didnt like goblins around here. Stryg was just another goblin to be picked on.

He sighed, what was new?

Begin! Loh shouted.

No hard feelings, little man, Kegrog charged with open arms.

Stryg was ordinarily quick on his feet, but his lungs burned, his body still sluggish. He dodged to the side. He was too slow. Kegrogs long arm caught Strygs shoulder. He hauled Stryg up into a bear hug and squeezed tightly. Stryg gasped, his bones felt as if they were about to splinter into small shards. He tried to scratch at the orc, but his arms were held tight. Stryg kicked the air in futility.

Shit, he managed to spit out with the last of his breath.

His vision began to blur. He was so tired of being singled out for being odd. So what if he was different. He was small, but he wasnt helpless. Fuck this orc. Stryg wiggled his hands as best he could. He remembered being tied down as he entered this damn city. He needed to break out, like he did with the ropes back then. He recalled the desperation he felt at his own helplessness that day at the city gates. But this time he didnt feel desperate. This time he reached deep inside for all the anger he felt and he found rage. Heat surged through his veins.

Kegrog groaned in pain as his skin turned from a dark red to a pale pink. His arms began to shrivel. He fell to his knees. Stryg pushed him off effortlessly. Strygs breath was ragged, his whole body felt like it was burning, hed crumble to the ground at any moment, but he had never felt more alive. He would kill this orc. He swiped his claws at Kegrogs neck. Lohs shadow shot out, grabbed Kegrog by the scruff of the neck and yanked him away.

Stryg looked at the empty spot where the orc had just been. The orc was supposed to have died. Stryg turned to a smiling Loh. She had stolen his kill. Damn her. His legs buckled beneath him, the last of his energy spent.

Im impressed. The academys records say you're a chromatic black, not grey. Turns out we have three manifold magi in this class. Its my lucky day, Loh laughed.