Encounter

“Whoa!! Who the-”

Opal stumbled backwards falling on his butt.

“Who the hell are you!” Talos yelled, raising his palms and aiming them at the man. No outsiders were allowed on the campus during school hours, meaning that the man had gotten past the level 8 guards patrolling the perimeter. A smirk smeared itself on the man's smile.

“I am L-”

“Don’t care,” Talos said, closing his eyes shut, “[Flash clap]!!!”

Bringing his hands together with great force, bright white light flashed as soon as his cans made contact—blinding the man and knocking him back a few meters. Opal, being spared by the spell having been facing away from Talos, saw the man fly as if being pulled by a cable in the direction of the academy.

“Opal you gotta pull yourself together, don’t you got land to take care of?”

Talos told him off matter of factly, pushing at his buttons trying to get a reaction. His words hit a vein, like they always did, making a switch flip in Opal. He stood up, patting the dust off his clothes, looking at Talos with a suddenly more refined and serious expression.

“My apologies. I will ensure you do not have to worry about my well being.”

Opal smirked, looking at Talos as he rolled his eyes.

“Dude, you don’t gotta get all serious.”

“No No, I should maintain a certain level of maturity when dealing with you.”

“You callin me a child!”

A sudden crack sounded in the air, flowing in the wind and reaching the ears of both the students like a bullet. A sudden force pressed down on Talos’ right shoulder, gripping it tightly.

“You are both children.”

A tall body stood behind Talos, the man in white.

“As I was saying my name is Locke and I have come-”

Opal’s eyes widened as he realized the difference in abilities. In less than a second the man had caught Talos off guard, using him as a hostage. In a panic he yelled out for help, cutting Locke off once more.

“You're becoming an annoyance,” said Locke, sighing profusely before beginning to mumble words, the chant for his next spell.

Talos began thinking of what to do next, how to get out of his situation. Despite not being held in a particularly dangerous position, the man was still a stranger to them, holding on to him roughly. He could tell he wasn’t allowed to move.

“[Tidal Wave]!” Opal screamed, raising both his arms and swinging them toward the direction of the academy. Water slowly rose behind Locke and Talos, gaining incredible height and speed.

“[Lightning Step]!”

In an instant Locke and Talos were now behind Opal, a loud crack of thunder being created as a byproduct of the spell. Opal reached back, having expected to also be given the same treatment as Talos. Talos reached out and grabbed his arm, still being held down by the man. They grunted and pulled on each other, as the wave got closer and closer—heading straight for them.

“Stop being difficult.”

“LET ME GO!”

“I won’t be doing that.”

“Opal!”

“Hold your breath!!”

The wave reached its peak and came crashing down on the two of them; Talos’ shoulder being released at the exact moment before the impact and a loud thunder crack sounding through the campus. The water flushed them toward the school creating a commotion inside. Students crowded to the windows, hearing the crash of the water hitting the first floor. The teachers and instructors exited the building, walking past the glass side doors now shattered and wet.

“Who is responsible for this!” yelled a male teacher.

He saw two students, soaked from head to toe, coughing and gagging on whatever water they had drank. A blonde boy with green eyes looked at him in desperation, the wonder boy who’d only just entered the school a few months ago—Talos. He’d been exceptionally adept at using magic, having been an adventurer for some time now. Despite his heightened adeptness, he lacked training and structure, leading him to struggle more in the classroom. However, this quickly became his strength as he worked hard to learn and improve, making him stand out among his peers, as he became stronger day by day at an unnatural pace. He’d grown to rival grown mages and some of the weaker faculty when it came to magic, which meant the following words he yelled were all the more distressing.

“HELP!!”

Opal coughed and coughed hearing Talos’ screech, looking back in the direction they’d come from along with him. The man had disappeared and a crack of thunder sounded once more.

—--

“Sorry we cannot allow you in.”

“What!? But he’s with us!” Eira argued in frustration.

“His manaprint is not in the database.”

A distant crack of thunder sounded.

“That’s because he has no mana!!”

“Are you guys hearing that?” Kaito added only to then be ignored.

The two guards looked at each other, rolling their eyes with their necks and their heads tilting back to face Eira.

“Really?”

“YES REALLY”

Another distant thunder sounded throughout the campus.

Her face was fierce and eyes dead serious as she looked into the distant building behind the gate. She started thinking of other ways of getting through. Her eyes darted around in search of a solution, stopping at the very edge of the campus as she saw something strange.

“Hey guards?”

A third thunder sounded.

Ansel and Kaito followed the direction she was looking at and also froze up. The three felt their sense of urgency rise, seeing a great amount of water grow and grow right before their eyes. After a few seconds the two guards gave in to the three strange adventurers and their antics, looking back at the school they were guarding. Their eyes were met with the sight of a wave of water crashing into the main building, shattering multiple windows and doors on the first floor.

“C’mon!” Eira yelled, grabbing Kaito’s arm and running past the distracted guards. Ansel followed closely behind, apologizing to the guards as they ran toward the impact zone. They could hear the voices of the students and faculty grow in chatter and excitement as the water seemed to slowly fill into the building. The three ran as fast as they could, reaching the main building in a matter of seconds as they pushed their speed to its limits in the grassy plain surrounding the Academy. Running diagonally to the right of the school, they saw the scene from a distance. Talos and another boy, the faculty yelling at them and a large man in white slowly approaching from a distance. Kaito readied his sword and opened his mouth. A loud help sounded from Talos which was immediately followed by a crack of thunder. The man was now grabbing his right arm, turning quickly to the entrance. Kaito and Eira unsheathed their swords, quickly getting ready to fight—hearing another thunderous crack through the air and seeing both him and Ansel fly in opposite directions as a flash of light and sudden gust of wind flowed between the two.

Ansel had just crashed with the man of lightning, who hadn’t seen the broad man behind Eira and Kaito as he aimed his spell. Although having been derailed from his exit the man in white, Locke, pulled Talos with him. The intense speed stretched and pressured the kidnapped Talos into a state of unconsciousness. His head thumped onto the ground upon landing and jolted him awake. His blurred eyes readjusted to the sight of his party rushing to him to which he stumbled onto his feet and tried to get away. Yet his arm was rendered immobile, at the mercy of Locke. He kneeled before standing, clearly annoyed at the whole ordeal. He yanked Talos to his side and held his neck in one hand, beginning to murmur his chant once more. Eira and Kaito cursed the man he didn’t even acknowledge their presence as he turned away.

“You have a greater purpose than to idle here, boy.” He said looking down on him as he frantically tried to release himself.

“[Earth Wall]” yelled one of the guards at the gate, propagating a semicircle in the way of the man. Eira followed his lead as she rushed him, using Ice Bullet to disrupt his incantation. Locke failed to escape once more, finally reaching his limit and throwing Talos into a tree with great force. His composed figure mismatched his angered expression, suddenly disappearing with a crack of thunder. Ansel had already cast chain mail, taking the brunt of Locke’s punch as he appeared in front of him, acting as a shield for the two guards. The two traded blows, evenly matched in strength and endurance before suddenly being caught off-guard by a giant ball of fire.

“Hey, watch it!” yelled Ansel, turning to look at the two guards. His eyes widened as he saw the bodies of the elven guards fall to the ground. A familiar face smirked maliciously, before transforming into the same freckled smile he’d grown to like. She wore a white robe-like garment, with a tilted crown on a sword embroidered onto the back. Her hair was loose and eyes gleaming in delight as she raised her hands once more. Mumbling her chant she looked at him with an excitement in her eyes.

“Meki?!”