by Aaron Oster
He was now quite glad he’d invested in the leather breastplate, as a regular shirt wouldn’t have done much to shield him.
He watched the golem warily as it approached once again.
It had barely grazed him and it still hurt like hell. Being hit full on was not an option.
He ran towards the golem as it charged once again. Dodging a swinging fist, he used heavy handed once more and slammed an open palm into the same spot he had hit previously. His efforts were rewarded when he heard a loud crack and when the golem turned to him again, he could see that the line of cracks had spread.
One or two more hits should do it, he thought.
The golem charged yet again and Morgan decided to use the same tactic as last time. That was when things went horribly wrong. As Morgan brought his hand up to strike the golem’s chest, it pivoted on one foot and slammed its leg into the joint of his knee. Morgan grunted as he felt his leg buckle and just managed to turn enough to avoid having the limb broken.
He stumbled back as the golem began raining down blows and it was all he could do to keep dodging.
Left. Right. Right. Up. Left.
The blows kept on coming from all directions and he was beginning to flag. He tried to use fly to get out of range, but as soon as his feet left the ground, the golem leapt into the air and caught him with a particularly nasty blow to his liver. Morgan fell out of the air and landed on the ground with a wheeze.
He couldn’t breathe and he felt like he was going to die.
Finally, after a few seconds of panicked gasping, air flooded his lungs and Morgan got shakily to his feet. The golem had landed a few feet away and was now advancing toward him once more.
This thing was way too quick and even with agility being his highest attribute, he could barely manage to keep up; and that was before he’d taken a blow to his leg.
Morgan watched as the golem charged him again, but he wasn’t about to wait for it to finish him off. He charged straight in and took a hard blow to his stomach, but he managed to score another hit on the golem hearing a satisfying crack as he did so.
He smiled, despite the pain, as the golem teetered back on one leg. Thinking that this was his chance to finish it, he rushed in for one final attack. Then the golem did something completely unexpected. Instead of falling, it preformed a full three hundred and sixty degree turn; and using the momentum from the spin, slammed its other leg directly into his chest.
Morgan grunted in pain as he was thrown backward and slammed into the opposite wall. He somehow managed to keep his balance and winced as he clutched at his ribs.
He’d heard a snap when the golem’s foot had connected and knew that at least two of his ribs were broken.
This was not going well. If this fight kept up for much longer, he would be too injured to continue. As it was, he doubted he could hit the golem anymore. It was hard enough to hit when he’d been at his best; now with two broken ribs and a throbbing leg he didn’t stand a chance. Unless…
Morgan stumbled away from the wall and peeked at Gold out of the corner of his eye.
The man was watching the fight with an impassive gaze and he wondered if could get away with what he had planned.
He turned back, just in time to dodge out of the way of an incoming punch from the golem, wincing as his ribs flared up in protest.
There was nothing for it, he had to do this now before it got any worse. He would just need to be careful not to increase his speed too much.
Morgan stopped in the middle of the room and centered his gaze on the golem’s chest as it turned to face him once more. The line of cracks was visible and deep; one good blow would shatter it.
The golem shot towards him once more and he knew this was it.
Either he would destroy it and win, or the golem would lay him out flat and any chance of a scholarship would be gone.
As the golem drew near, Morgan crouched and used tailwind. He felt instantly lighter, but was careful not to move at his full speed. The golem moved in swiftly and threw a punch that would have undoubtedly cracked his skull.
If he hadn’t used tailwind, there was no way he could have dodged it, but now, it seemed almost too easy.
Morgan ducked the blow, careful to allow it to clip the top of his head, but not enough to knock him out. He winced as pain shot through his skull from where the fist had impacted, but he pushed through.
Since the golem had committed everything to this attack, it was now wide open to a counter from him. Morgan rose from the crouch, using both the momentum and extra speed from his skill, and slammed his open palm into the golem’s chest.
There was a loud boom, and the golem shattered into a thousand pieces. Morgan winced, shaking his hand as bits of stone rained down around him. Then he fell to the ground, clutching at his chest and gasping in pain.
That last attack must have made his injuries worse.
He heard Gold say something, but he couldn’t make out what he was saying through the haze of pain. Then the most wonderful tingling sensation spread throughout his entire body and washed away all his aches and pains.
He blinked, his eyes finally coming into focus and saw a man leaning over him. His hand was on his chest and was glowing lightly. After another moment, the man removed his hand and turned to look at him.
“Any pain or discomfort?”
“No, none at all,” Morgan answered, his voice tinged with awe. “Thank you,” he was quick to add as he got to his feet.
The man smiled as he dusted off his long white robes. “Just doing my job, but thanks are always appreciated, young man.”
He then turned to Gold, who was once again seated behind his desk. “Is there anything else?”
“No, that will be all. Thank you, Eric.”
The man nodded to him, then turned and left the room.
“Come have a seat, Morgan,” Gold said, motioning again to the stone chair in front of his desk.
Morgan did as he said, noticing that all signs of the fight that had taken place were now gone. The room looked whole and undamaged and there was no sign at all of the golem.
Gold wrote a few more things down on a piece of paper while Morgan sat there.
He wasn’t sure what the instructor was writing. He just hoped it wasn’t something bad.
“That was well done,” Gold said, setting down his pen and giving Morgan his full attention.
“Thank you,” Morgan answered, unsure of what else to say.
He nodded. “Yes, quite a feat. It’s impressive that you managed to win. Especially seeing as the golem was a full 4 ranks above you.”
He smiled then and leaned back in his seat. “But I guess that shouldn’t come as any surprise, seeing as you have a mage ability in addition to the one you told me about.”
15
Morgan felt his stomach drop all the way down to his boots when he heard those words. For a moment, he considered fighting; but then remembered how easily Gold had shrugged off his most powerful attack.
There was nothing he could do to hurt him and running away was likely out of the question as well.
Morgan’s shoulders slumped in defeat as he began to imagine his impending execution.
“What gave me away?”
“It wasn’t anything specific; rather a multitude of separate things that came together for me to come to this conclusion,” Gold said with a grin.
Morgan sighed, slumping even further down into the chair.
“Oh, don’t look so glum,” Gold said with a wave of his hand. “I’m not going to tell anyone.”
“You’re not?” Moran asked, perking up a bit, but still not trusting that the man was being honest.
He’d learned at a very young age that trust wasn’t something to just hand out.
Gold shrugged.
“I’m not a noble, nor do I care for their politics. If I can help another of your kind to unlock the supermage ability, why wouldn’t I? I am a teacher, after all.”
Morgan felt his
spirits rise just a bit more at those words.
The way he’d phrased that last sentence was odd though.
“What do you mean by ‘another of my kind’?”
“You caught that did you? Good, that means you’ve got a brain inside that thick skull of yours.”
Morgan wasn’t sure if that was a compliment, or an insult, but he didn’t really have time to ponder it as Gold continued.
“How old do you think I am?”
This question came so far out of nowhere that Morgan just blurted out the first number that came into his head.
“Thirty?”
A loud bark of laughter emanated from the man when he said this.
“That is very kind of you, but no. Despite my youthful appearance, I am well over three hundred years old and have devoted over two hundred of those years to teaching at this school.”
Morgan’s eyes widened.
Gold was over three hundred? He’d heard that people with abilities could live that long, but he’d never actually believed it could be true.
“In all the time I’ve been teaching here, only one other person with abilities like yours came through here and I had the pleasure of being her instructor.”
He leaned back even further in his chair and let out a wistful sounding sigh.
“She was just like you. Not attached to any noble family, but wanting to learn all the same. Desperately afraid of being caught and killed for what she was.”
“Who was she?” Morgan asked in a quiet voice.
This was the first mention of a supermage other than himself and even if she was dead, maybe he could find out more about her.
“Who is she, you mean,” Gold said, still smiling at him. “And sorry, but I swore not to disclose any information about her; and I keep my word.”
“How do I know that anything you just told me is true? You could just be making all this up in an attempt to gain my trust,” he asked, folding his arms and narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
“You don’t,” Gold answered, “but what do you have to lose by trusting me?”
He had a good point. If Gold wanted him dead, he could likely do it himself and without any real resistance on his part. That didn’t mean that he wouldn’t try to get as much out of him as he could before he agreed, however.
“If I’m going to stay, I’ll need a few things from you.”
“Naturally,” Gold said.
“First of all, I have a friend here with me. Her name is Sarah and she’s a talented mage. If you’re going to take me on as a student, you’ll have to take her as well and offer us both a scholarship.”
He knew she didn’t need it, but if she got one, she wouldn’t have to reveal her wealth; which would undoubtedly mark her as a noble.
“That is acceptable,” he answered.
“Second, I’ll have you give me your word that you won’t tell anyone about my secret. If you really keep your word as you say, then that will have to be good enough for now.”
“Then you have it. I will not tell anyone of your existence unless you allow me to disclose the information.”
Morgan nodded. “And third, I’ll need some kind of proof that you really know anything about supermages. You claim to have trained one, so you should know all about it.”
This was the real test. If Gold really had trained another supermage, then proving his knowledge should be easy.
“Very well then; an impromptu lesson.”
Gold had a smile on his face as he rose from his seat and began pacing excitedly.
“While mages and supers alike each have a different colored stat screen; red for supers and blue for mages; those possessing both mana and chi have purple colored stat screens. To pull up their status, a person possessing both forms of energy must first combine them, otherwise it will not open. The merging of the two energies creates an entirely new source of power called reiki; which will become the main energy source once the supermage ability is unlocked.
“The word reiki literally means ‘universal life energy’, meaning that there is no energy source more pure, or more powerful, than that. That is also the reason a supermage is so much more powerful than a regular super or mage; who are only using one half of a greater whole. Now, for someone who has yet to unlock their supermage ability, the manipulation of reiki is limited to pulling up their status. That is all you will be able to use it for until you unlock the supermage ability.”
Gold stopped pacing and turned to Morgan, who had an astonished look on his face.
“I can tell by your expression that you’re convinced of my knowledge.”
Morgan nodded dumbly.
There was no doubt as to whether or not Gold knew what he was talking about, and he would make sure to learn it all.
Gold peered up at the ceiling, where the light was now streaming in from a different direction.
“Well, would you look at the time,” he laughed. “I’m sorry to have kept you here for so long.”
“No, it’s not a problem,” Morgan said, rising from his seat.
He still had a few reservations about this man, but most had been put to rest.
“Great,” Gold said, placing an arm on Morgan’s back and walking him towards the door.
“Term doesn’t start for another two days, but I’ll take care of any paperwork for you and your friend Sarah.”
He handed him a slip of paper with Q87 written on it, along with a slim iron key.
“This is your dorm and room number. The letter is for the block you’ll be in and the number is for the room.”
“What about Sarah’s room?” he asked.
“No need to worry, you and your friend will be sharing an apartment of sorts with me. It’s quite spacious, so no need to worry about room.”
“Um, okay,” Morgan said.
He was a little overwhelmed by all the new information.
“I just have one more thing to ask before you go. What is the name of your mage ability?”
Morgan thought about lying for a second, before shrugging.
“My mage ability is called Air.”
Gold blinked again, then a wide grin spread across his face.
“If luck was an attribute, I’d have to say that it would be your highest one!”
16
Morgan hurried out of the building, and into the open courtyard. Judging by the position of the sun, it was around two hours after noon.
That meant he’d been in there for nearly three hours.
He inwardly cringed, thinking of how mad Sarah was likely to be and broke into a run. It only took a minute for him to spot her sitting by the fountain and sure enough, Sarah did not look happy.
“Hey, sorry it took so long,” Morgan called out, as he ran up to her. “A lot happened in there. Have you been waiting long?”
Sarah glared at him for a moment and he saw her eyes flick to the fountain, as if contemplating whether to soak him or not. She let out a long sigh and her hard expression softened.
“I’ve been waiting for nearly two hours! I was worried that something terrible had happened to you!”
Morgan sighed as well, more in relief at not being given an impromptu bath, and held out a hand to help her up. She took it begrudgingly and he pulled her to her feet.
“I’ve got a lot to tell you, but before I begin, I’ve got two good pieces of news.”
Sarah quirked an eyebrow at him and Morgan was quick to continue.
“The first bit of good news is that I got in, and on a full scholarship!”
Sarah’s face broke into a smile. “Congratulations! I knew you could do it.”
“The second piece of good news, is that you also got in on a full scholarship.”
The excitement melted from her face, to be replaced by one of concern.
“Explain,” she demanded, folding her arms over her chest.
“I will, but not out here,” Morgan said, looking around at the bustling crowd. “There’s a room waiting for us and once we’re the
re, I’ll tell you everything that happened.”
She looked like she wanted to argue, but nodded her assent.
It took them a surprisingly long time to make it to the Q section. After getting lost and asking for directions several times, the two of them eventually found themselves at the beginning of a long paved street with the letter Q posted on the side.
The street was lined with small, identical looking houses and several people were moving in and around the block.
“This is not what I expected,” Morgan said, as they started down the block.
He had been expecting some sort of large building with a bunch of rooms, not a regular block with actual houses.
They headed down the cobbled street until they reached number 87. Pulling the key from his pocket, Morgan unlocked the door and held it open for Sarah, who was still carrying their packs.
They walked into a neat room with a few plush looking chairs, a table and a large bookshelf against the back wall. There was a sectioned off area to the side, where Morgan could see several cooking implements as well as a stove. The area was also lined with small wooden cabinets where he assumed food was stored.
So they would be expected to cook for themselves?
“It’s not a palace, but I guess it’ll have to do,” Sarah said, looking around the room.
Morgan agreed that it wasn’t a palace, but considering the shack he’d been living in; this house may as well have been.
There were two doors on either side of the room and one had the word students painted above it.
“I guess that’s where we go?” Sarah asked, walking over as he opened the door.
The room they entered into was almost identical to the last one they were in, with the exception of a large plush sofa against one wall. There were five doors leading off this room and the two of them were quick to explore.
Three of the doors led to identical bedrooms, all of which contained a wooden dresser, a closet and a bed. One was a privy and the last one contained a large bathtub.