Chapter 8 Part 3 of 4 (Patreon)

“I have a challenge for you.” Xun Liang threw a scroll. Erik made to grab it, but Rugrat snatched it away with mana.

“Show off,” Erik muttered.

“One must work on their mana when they must,” Rugrat affecting a wise old accent.

“You know that is nothing like how he sounds.” Erik rolled his eyes, resigning himself to work on his mana system more. Sitting and meditating for so long, drawing in mana, it was so boring compared to directing the elements through his body and tempering it down to the cellular level.

“You sound more like a constipated teddy bear.”

“Hey, I have a perfect Yoda impression!”

Erik snorted and shook his head.

“Guess we’ve been challenged, both of us?” Rugrat tossed the scroll to Erik.

He scanned through the contents.

“Both of you at the same time by someone called Kujo Hikokie. It has been agreed to by your history teacher Professor Mueller. They think that you are gatekeepers, staying at the lowest ranks to make it hard for people to enter the Academy,” Xun Liang said.

“So, the rules apply to everyone but us?”

“Students usually challenge those that are higher than them to increase their rank. Why didn’t you?” Weebla asked.

“What’s the point, getting more resources and the like? There are already people that don’t like us and we’re at the bottom of the pile, the higher our rank the more interest we’ll get. You think that people will be happy when we’re taking their resources? Resources we don’t need?” Erik realized what he had just said.

“I’m not saying the entire academy is like that, you two aren’t.”

“We know the reality of the academy. It’s nearly all people from the Associations, or those trying to escape their past. They all have a great affinity for the academy which can mean they’re more zealous in their actions than is perhaps necessary.”

Weebla looked at Xun Liang who shrugged.

“Who cares what others think? This is the Avegaaren Academy, it’s supposed to help the development of the people of the Ten Realms to fight those from the Shattered Realms. I was planning to develop your team fighting skills later, but this moves up the schedule some.” He waved for them to follow.

“Your control over the elements has increased rapidly now both of you are applying your knowledge. You both have a strong control over flames due to the use with your crafts. Erik, your utilization of the elements within your body has reached a level that I have not seen in many others, but you must decide, do you want to use your mana to enhance or to affect the world around you. You both must pick out what you will focus on and go from there. You have been too general for too long. Rugrat, you must figure out if you want to use spells, or go with pure magic as you call it. Your use of the elements and mana is impressive.” He stopped in front of the teleportation pads as the duo stepped onto them. “What do you decide?”

“Right now?”

“Best to decide right now than in the middle of your fight, we have but fourteen days before your fight. We will need to develop your skills quickly. I had hoped we would have more time.”

“I like forming the mana and elements together, it makes me more versatile, and I can use the elements and mana in my domain with the mana inside my body instead of relying on the mana and elements from my body to cast spells,” Rugrat said.

“Master?” Xun Liang turned to Weebla, who had followed them.

“I will have more to teach you in the future, but, Rugrat, look at this.” Weebla reached out, threads of elements and mana gathered under her hands, forming a pale purple sword covered in runes of different colors. “As you use your mana in your smithing, forging metal, you can forge the elements and mana together.” She smiled at Rugrat who looked at the sword in wild wonder. “Much like the gunpowder you talked about, it is temperamental.”

“Erik?” Xun Liang asked.

Erik wanted to cast great big spells and see the effects, but he had never really walked down that path, from the start he had used his body, he had been on the front line.

“I want to use spells, but I know that the main way I fight is with my fists. So it would be best if I can use mana internally. Though I have a lot of control over the fire element because of alchemy.”

“Everyone walks their own path, there is no one path that is better than the other, they are all different by degrees. Very well, you know how you have been trying to control the elements, stop thinking of your elements, your will, and your mana as different things. They are all part of you.” Xun Liang blurred, snapping out attacks at an invisible enemy as he danced, each movement looked light, but every kick and punch or head butt was a release of motion, cracking the air with force.

He lowered his defenses, allowing Erik to see the mana and elements that flowed within him, , acting and reacting upon one another, the effect greater than the sum of their parts.

“Momentum is your friend; force is your product and your body is the tool. Use it.”

Erik bowed his head. Like Rugrat, he was quiet, trying to take in what he had seen.

“You two are closer than blood brothers might hope to be, you have been since you came here and you will leave the same. It is time that you got to understand the other’s position.” Xun Liang stepped onto the teleportation pad and the trio entered the fog filled forest.

“Rugrat you will be fighting the creatures up front, Erik you will be in the rear.”

“I want to use my mana internally, how can I fight in the rear?” Erik asked.

“You can heal at range, and you can throw, right? What if Rugrat is in danger? Best get ready, they’re coming.”

Telarri roared, jumping out at the invaders.

Rugrat rushed to meet them as Erik drew a spear from the ground, holding it in his hand as he exerted control on the mana around him. Erik rose to gain a better view of the fight and saw Xun Liang casually floating around. Rugrat engaged the first Telarri, weaving through their defense. Mana blades appeared, stabbing into the creature as he rushed to meet the next that invaded the area.

“Rugrat, slow down, you need to gather them up.” Erik turned and threw a spear at a Telarri that came from another direction.

“All right,” Rugrat said.

The Telarri dodged Erik’s spear. Erik drew the fire element into his hand, raining down attacks on the creature. It had become smarter, dodging most, but Erik finally overwhelmed it.

“Erik!”

He turned around. Rugrat was dealing with four Telarri at the same time. Erik cursed himself for becoming so focused on his opponent.

Rugrat shifted to draw other Telarri towards him, his magic pissing off others and drawing them to him.

Erik tore off a branch of a nearby tree, infusing it with the wood element and throwing it. It tore itself into swirling darts, cutting down a Telarri. A bolt of lighting leapt from his hand.

“Rugrat!”

Rugrat moved in a panic to dodge the lightning barely missed him and hitting a Telarri.

Erik breathed again. He heard only the rustle of leaves before a Telarri dropped. He threw himself forward, narrowly missing the attack that tore through the ground below. He had no time to see as he flew through the air. The Telarri jumped through branches, hurling attacks at him.

“Remember that you are not in your old roles. Erik, survey the area, make judgement calls, move Rugrat where he needs to be, communicate with him. Anticipate his moves. Rugrat, stop trying to control the battlefield, go where you’re directed, trust in Erik.”

Xun Liang was standing on a tree branch. A Telarri went through where he had been, appearing twenty meters away, floating down to another branch.

Erik fought off the creature and turned towards Rugrat.

“Rugrat, on your right. I have the earth one on your left!”

Erik released a fire arrow. Rugrat moved to his side as the fire arrow pierced through the earth Telarri.

Erik turned and drew up metal from the ground and cast lightning upon it, catching three Telarri running towards Rugrat’s back.

“Back up!”

Rugrat jumped back, taking some hits as Erik condensed the lightning. It hit the beasts Rugrat had been fighting like a train, burning through them.

More Telarri roared in the forest.

“Rugrat, move to your left fifty meters!”

“Got it!”

Their timing was horrible, their anticipation was worse, they failed several times over the next eight days, but they trusted in one another and even while frustrated they worked, revised, and became stronger together.

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