Very Heated

I huff for some cold air. Unfortunately the only air I breath in is just as hot if not hotter than the air I breathed out.

“It’s been two months!” Birta yells out the window. “Fix our window and door already!” She continues releasing her pent up rage.

“Seriously.” I mumble weakly sprawling out on my bed. I point my hands at my face summoning a small gust of air from them. Self made air conditioners, why did I not think of this earlier!?

“Give me one of those!” Birta orders me grabbing my hand. “This is ridiculous.” She adds as the fan hand begins to blow refreshing cold air on her.

The two of us remain silent just letting ourselves cool down with the magic fans.

“We should leave the room.” I say having my brain cool down enough to think properly.

-- -- --

The lobby of this dorm feels so nice and cool. I plop onto an empty fainting couch.

“Finally!” Gota’s voice announces her presence. Please god, just one moment of silence in a cool room. “Yamakuma Lydia!” The dwarf exclaims tapping her metal staff against the carpeted floor.

“Listen, I’m trying to cool off.” I respond opening my eyes to look at the mage. “I haven’t gotten to because you broke the door and window in my dorm!” I continue letting out my frustration. “Why do you want to fight me anyways?“ I inquire hopping up to my feet. “You’re top of our year, not me.” I add.

The teen taps her staff against the floor once, twice, three times more before sighing.

“First it was doing the best in the practice hunt.” She speaks softly barely above a whisper. “Then it was defeating the top of the soon to be graduating applicants.” She continues becoming louder.

“So because I did those things you, what?” I reply tilting my head still not completely sure of what she wants. “Want to duel me to see if you actually are the top of our year?” I inquire.

A moment of silence fills the spacious hall until Gota taps her staff once more against the floor. It must be a compulsion or a nervous tic.

“Yes.” She answers sounding completely defeated and looking at her feet.

“You could’ve just said that instead of destroying my room.” I say with a smile. “Where and when?” I ask.

“Really?” She responds with surprise looking back up at me.

“I assume we need a master or some other official ranked member to observe us.” I say.

“Today, training yard F, and I can probably get someone fairly easily.” The dwarf responds. She has been planning this for awhile so that all tracks.

-- -- --

I begin to shake my limbs, gotta loosen up a bit before moving around and all that. Gota taps her metal staff against the ground. Yup, definitely a tic.

“The enchantments around the training yard will reduce the harm and pain from any spell or attack you use against each other.” Bergenia explains as if the two of us do not already know this. But a crowd has begun to gather around us. Everyone enjoys seeing others fight, huh? “No destroying any of the building. No pulling me or anyone not in this duel into the battle area.” The master continues looking back and forth between Gota and I. “Understood?” She asks.

“Yes master.” Gota replies standing more confidently.

“Understood ma’am.” I reply cracking my knuckles then neck.

“No instant death spells. This is only a duel, not a hunt.” Bergenia continues. “Got it?” She asks again.

“Yes master.” Gota says rather stoically. Her demeanor has definitely changed.

“Yes ma’am.” I reply with a nod entering a runner’s starting position.

“Alright then.” Bergenia responds to our confirmations. She raises her hand up before a puff of ash blows into the air. “Begin!” She announces.

My periphery begins to fill with gold. Of course this happens.

“Oh flames! Oh wind!” Gota begins to chant. A circle of flames appear around Gota and begin to spin in response to the chanting. “Unleash thine power unto those who stand in my way!” She finishes the chant. I never did verbal casting so I am not sure what is going on. It does not help that my vision is almost completely golden now as well. I feel the lose of control happening. I need to control it. I put a hand to my head to try to focus.

Unfortunately, the conjured flames grow taller and spin faster until they engulf the entire area we are fighting in. I should feel terrible if I should even still be conscious. But it feels like when Quanah hit me with lightning. I feel, energized. Focused. Light.

I land on my feet and steady myself before I begin to slide across the dry dirt like it is a slip-n-slide.

“I figured.” Gota sighs. I cannot tell if it is annoyance or merely acceptance. She taps her staff against the dirt. A foolish decision when fighting someone who has affinity with the very ground. Her staff sinks into the dirt a few centimeters. “Not this time.” She says before a small explosion bursts from the tip stuck in the ground creating a small hole around it. Has she been studying my fights? Weird, I have only had one duel and one hunt. Is she obsessed with me or something? Not now! Focus!

A gust of air hits me in the gut knocking the breath out of me. Despite being younger and having less training, she reacts much faster than Quanah.

I shakily land on one foot before slamming the other onto the ground. Fire and air are a very powerful and destructive pairing. Too bad for Gota that ground and water are also a powerful but more versatile pair. A mudslide. Even air yields to the power of a mudslide.

A river of muddy water surges forth from in front of me and rapidly flows towards my opponent with the speed of a flash flood.

The muddy water soaks into the dry dirt beneath it revealing Gota surrounded by a small fire devil and steam. Clever girl, this will be fun.

A smile crosses my face. I begin to laugh.

“What are you doing!?” Gota reacts to my continued laughter. She slams her staff against the ground once more making a loud reverberating ring.

And, nothing happens. I stop laughing. Maybe this is not going to be as fun as I thought.

I am quickly proven wrong however when I become engulfed in a pillar of flames. This one almost felt bad instead of invigorating. In response, a shrill inhuman shriek escapes my lips.

The entire training area falls silent except for the pillar of flames surrounding me.

“I want you to know something.” I say to Gota. The flames around me extinguish. “I already won.” I say flatly arguably sounding rather bored. Gota’s eyes merely go wide in horror or maybe anger before I raise up a hand. “At least you get to experience something no one else can.” I continue stoically. I feel a surge of energy through me. All the elements. Something only I can do.

A rainbow of colors appears from my raised hand and flies at Gota almost completely instantaneously.

The explosion of colors is both beautiful and blindingly bright. Like an entire fireworks show reflected back to itself in a lake. The force of the magic knocks the dwarf against a wall before she falls on the ground face first.

“And Warden Yamakuma is our winner.” Bergenia announces after a moment.