Chapter 6: Hidden Instincts

As the hourly bells rang out eight times in a row, Nic slumped down in his seat for his Magic Theory class. His body and mind were too exhausted for him to think properly.

His days the past week had been filled with constant sword technique classes with Yuuki which had been pushing his body to the breaking point. And then at night, all three of his teammates would force him to stay up until the early hours of the morning studying. He hadn’t gotten more than four hours of sleep any day this past week.

Nic wanted desperately to lay his head down on the desk in front of him and sleep through the day’s lecture. But he knew if he did that the person sitting next to him, Sarman, would burn him badly for doing so.

So Nic would have to bear with it.

“Alright class, settle down.”

The professor smacked the board in front of her a few times with a stick as she spoke up. The clicking sound it made helped quiet down the clamor that the class had been making.

“As some of you may have noticed, we have the top mage in the university attending this Beginners Magical Theory class. Mr. Sarman, would you please come up to the front?”

Sarman left the seat next to Nic and walked to the front of the room.

Nic had heard this statement before. So many times throughout the week. Sarman was the “greatest mage” in the university, placing first in the yearly magic tournament they held in conjecture with the martial fighting tournament that Yuuki won year after year.

Yes, Sarman was the “greatest mage” while Yuuki was the “greatest swordswoman”. Truly a match made in heaven. But what Nic knew that most people didn’t is that they both had a second title. “Greatest slave drivers”. Or at least, that’s what Nic had started calling them.

“Good morning class. I’m here today to help explain the differences in the types of magic there are.”

Nic let out a long slow sigh as Sarman began his own little speech. Looking at him, he was dressed nicer than Nic had seen him dress before. Of course, it wasn’t by much as Sarman had a seemingly high standard of dress.

He also seemingly lacked any deprivation of sleep.

Nic was acutely aware of this and longed for feeling the same.

“First off, let’s get some basics out of the way. There are three types of Magic that one can have or learn.” Sarman turned and wrote three things on the board behind him. Born Magic, Learned Magic, Spirit Magic. “Before I explain these myself, does anyone already know what each of these are? Yes, Kiara you can answer it.”

Sarman nodded to a place behind Nic. When he looked over his shoulder, he saw Kiara sitting near the back of the room by herself.

“Do you mind if I start with the oldest one then? No, okay. The oldest form of Magic is Spirit Magic. Spirit Magic is gained when one has a contract with an elemental spirit. The magic itself is borrowed from the spirit.”

This is what Nic had with the small green blob. Of course, that blob was currently nowhere to be seen. It only made appearances when Nic asked it to appear specifically. Nic had a feeling that it was a little shy around Sanum, though he couldn’t place why.

“The next oldest is Learned Magic. This magic was humanity's attempt at copying the innate magic that elemental spirits have. It is often extremely weak.”

Nic had initially thought that his Wind spirit magic had been wind-learned magic. Once he saw the spirit though, he realized he had been wrong.

“Born magic is the evolution of Learned magic. Once people began learning magic en masse, their children gradually started to be born with magic innately. While usually not as strong as spirit magic that comes from a contract with a greater spirit or stronger, it is still strong in its own right.”

From everything he knew, this is what Aria had. Though hers seems stronger than usual when it comes to Born magic.

“That’s correct, Kiara. There are a few extra things I want to add for the rest of the students taking notes. But I will need a helper for some examples. Nic, could you please come over here?”

Nic swore that Sarman said a name similar to his. There was no way he was asking for Nic specifically. Sarman’s gaze stayed steady on him though.

Nic pointed to himself, asking through a gesture if Sarman meant him. The nod that responded to him caused Nic’s gut to drop.

He stood up and slowly dragged himself to the front of the room.

“Let’s start with Spirit Magic. There are three levels of elemental spirits. Lower Spirits are usually newly created from the Spirit Progenitor of that element. Nic here has a contract with a Lower Spirit, correct?”

Sarman put his hand on Nic’s shoulder as he asked the question. The line of thinking here was obvious to Nic. He wanted Nic to call out the spirit he was contracted with.

“Fine, fine, I get it. Hey buddy, can you come here?”

He held out his hand and watched as a green blob, barely the size of a small rock, appeared on top of it. The blob swiveled like it was taking in its surroundings before slinking its way up Nic’s arm and hiding under his shirt atop his shoulder.

The class became abuzz as some people whispered about the cuteness of the blob while others hurriedly drew down sketches of it to remember what it looked like.

“Sorry Sarman, it's been a bit shy around people lately.”

“That’s fine, I just wanted to show them what a lesser spirit looked like. Can you back up a bit though?”

Nic frowned and cocked his head slightly in confusion. Why did he need to back up? Nic thought it was better to be safe and did as he was asked.

“What Nic showed you is a Lesser Spirit. Something important to know is that they can’t communicate with us through verbal methods. While they have been observed to understand us, they can’t speak back. As for Greater Spirits, they have lived longer than Lesser Spirits. Because of this, they can communicate with us through verbal speech. They are also capable of having stronger magic.”

As he was speaking, Sarman turned back to the board and began making a list with no contents. It was eight lines long. He was about to write a ninth line but instead turned back to the students quietly talking behind him.

“Now, even above the Great Spirits are the eight Spirit Progenitors. Spirit Progenitors are the creators of all other spirits within their elements. Now, you don’t need to note this down, but the eight progenitors are as follows; Aerial, the Wind Progenitor. Salamander, the Fire Progenitor. Sterling, the Metal Progenitor. Undine, the Water Progenitor. Peter, the Earth Progenitor. Joule, the Electricity Progenitor. Solus, the Light Progenitor. And Orpheus, the Dark Progenitor.”

“It’s my time to shine!”

As Sarman was going through the list of Spirit Progenitors, a husky old voice rang out from the general vicinity of Sarman. In a flash, Sarman was covered in flames. Nic reached out his hand in shock before noticing that Sarman was completely fine. The flames themselves had formed what looked like a suit of armor around Sarman. And sitting atop his head was a lizard made completely from flames.

“Salamander, I didn’t say it was time yet.”

“But you are already talking about me! Therefore, I must make my appearance as the number two progenitor!”

The lizard was talking back to Sarman while boasting about itself. At least, Nic thought it was boasting about itself. It seemed very prideful. As Nic stared at it, the Lizard turned to look at him for a moment.

No that wasn’t right, it was looking in his direction, not at him. Nic could feel the blob on his shoulder start to shiver. The Lizard was staring at it, not Nic.

Nic raised one of his hands and covered his shoulder. For some reason, he felt like he had to protect the blob from this lizard, this progenitor.

“Everyone, this is Salamander, the Fire Progenitor. And the Spirit that I am contracted with.”

As if protesting the Lizard appearing earlier than planned, Sarman began speaking in a robotic, monotone voice. The Lizard began to move and bent its head down and over so that it was looking at Sarman’s face.

“Hey, hey, hey! Where’s the energy?! I can’t be introduced in such a lame way! Listen up everyone, I’m Salamander! The strongest, in terms of destructive power, Spirit Progenitor! If you want I can sho-”

Salamander had leaped off of Sarman’s head and was about to do something when Sarman snapped, causing the lizard to disappear midair. The flaming armor that had appeared with the lizard did not disappear though.

“Now, if you ever face a mage and they are wearing something like me, an armor made of an element, then they almost certainly have a contract with a progenitor. In this case, it would be best for you to run away. Now, as for Born magic, there is something very important that I want you all to know. While in Humans, it is not guaranteed to happen, in demi-humans, it is guaranteed. Unless there is an external influence, every Demi-Human will have Born magic.”

Nic had heard the part about Demi-Humans always having Born Magic before. But he had never heard the part about it being blocked by something external.

“Sarman, do you…”

“Does Sarman know a Demi-Human that can’t use Born Magic?”

When Nic suddenly asked her this question, Yuuki tripped mid-swing of the wooden sword and crashed into the ground. She stood up, coughing and wiping the dirt off of her pants.

The two were currently in an outside field as Yuuki was spending more time teaching Nic the basics of sword fighting. Their physical training class had ended nearly two hours earlier, but like the last few days, Yuuki had dragged Nic out onto a nearby field to continue practicing.

The seasons were slowly beginning to change yet again, cooling the air down bit by bit every day. It made for a nice place to train with the sword. Not too hot, nor too cold.

That reminded Nic, The year was in its latter half already. Soon it would become too cold to walk around without some extra layers on. He wondered if they would get snow before the year ended.

“Why- Why are you asking that?”

Yuuki’s cheeks had reddened at some point, but Nic assumed it was from the fall.

“Today, Sarman was going over the different types of magic there are in our Theory class. He mentioned that Demi-Humans would always have Born Magic unless an external source intervened. I already knew the part about them always having Born Magic, but I had never heard the second part. So I was wondering if he knew that from some personal connection? Or is it something that Demi-Humans innately understand?”

“I’ve been with him for a decade now. As far as I know, there isn’t someone like that in his life. As for if it’s something Demi-Humans already know… How could I know that? I’m just a human.”

Nic sighed slightly. That was roughly what he had expected after Sarman had fervently avoided the question when Nic asked him. But why had he asked Yuuki like she was a Demi-Human? She was a Human just like him.

“Yea, you’re right… You’re a human, what was I thinking? Maybe I can ask Kiara later.”

“Did someone say my name?”

“Speak of her and she shall appear!”

Two more voices cut into their conversation. Kiara and Sarah had arrived at the small field, the latter with a wooden sword slung across her back.

“Oh, Sarah, was today a session day with you?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot!?!?”

The blonde-haired girl fell to the ground as Yuuki nervously nodded her head. She wailed out with fake tears while burying her head in her elbow.

“And after you canceled the last few sessions as well!”

“I’m sorry, we’ve been trying to get Nic up to-”

“So it’s his fault again!?” Sarah leaped up and grabbed the sword off of her back and swung it at Nic. “Last week you got Kiara all to yourself to show you to a class!” Another strike came in. “And then you go and hog Master to yourself as well!” Yet another strike came flying at Nic. “And now you make her forget our sessions!”

Each strike of Sarah’s was easier to see than Yuuki’s. She was slower and less precise. Of course, she was only a student of Yuuki’s, not her equal. But what she lacked in speed and precision, Sarah made up for in raw strength.

Nic had blocked each strike. But they all came at a cost. With every strike, his arms grew weaker and weaker. Only a few more strikes and his arms would give out.

“Please! Stop Sarah! ARRRRGGGGHHHHH”

As he shouted out for her to stop, his arms finally gave in and the strike hit his side with enough force to send him tumbling across the ground. He stopped facing upwards at the slightly cloudy sky above him.

“That’s what you get!”

Sarah enthusiastically yelled at Nic from where she stood. The two other women, Yuuki and Kiara, both shook their heads in annoyance at Sarah’s outburst. The latter of the two, Kiara, walked over to Nic and offered some help with an outstretched hand.

Nic graciously took it and was helped back up.

“So what did you want to ask me?”

“Oh, have you ever heard of Demi-Humans not being able to use Born Magic because of an external influence?”

Kiara seemed to instantly realize what Nic was talking about.

“Oh, what Sarman was saying earlier? No, I haven’t. At least nothing concrete.”

“So you have heard something then?”

Nic was genuinely curious. Of everything he knew, it seemed like this may be similar to his own case. His own Born Magic was locked by a seal made by someone else. If this Demi-Human thing was similar, then he might find a way to be able to use his purification ability sooner.

“Well…” Kiara shot a glance over at Yuuki before sighing under her breath. “There’s a rumor that an important clan close to the Shogun of Kyoku, who are Demi-Humans, lost the magic that they had always been Born with because of a curse placed upon them by a god or something.”

A god…? Nic was confused. As far as he knew, most people considered the Spirit Progenitors to be the gods.

“So, they were cursed by a Spirit Progenitor?”

“No, that’s not it. I don’t really know too much about it myself, but I know it was supposedly a being on a higher level above the Spirit Progenitors.”

“Higher than the Progenitors…? Maybe… they're the same as my family…”

Nic whispered the second part under his breath. Kiara looked at him weirdly like she had heard it.

“Nic, did you say something just now?”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing.”

Before Kiara could respond, Nic had begun walking back towards Yuuki and Sarah. Sarah was already sprawling across the ground, groaning from pain. It seemed like she had suffered an immediate defeat as soon as she asked Yuuki to begin the training session.

Yuuki looked over as Nic and Kiara walked up. She had a glint in her eyes as she looked at Nic, then at Sarah. She walked over and squatted next to Sarah, looking down upon her.

“Hey, Sarah. I got an idea.”

“Hmmm? What idea is that, Master?”

“Let’s have you and Nic spare for a bit. It’ll be beneficial for you to spar with someone who can be on your own level every once in a while.”

“ON MY OWN LEVEL?! ARE YOU SAYING I’M STILL AS BAD AS A COMPLETELY NEW PERSON LIKE HIM?!”

“My arms can’t take more of her attacks, Yuuki. How will I be able to study tonight if I can’t use them?”

While Sarah focused on the sly jab that Yuuki took at her, Nic instead tried to come up with a way to get out of this. He had been practicing with Yuuki for the better part of the last three hours. While he normally would go a bit longer, he had been at this for an entire week and his body was on the verge of stopping.

What he really wanted to do was to go rest. Resting sounded very nice. Maybe he could even get out of studying that night and finally get a good night’s rest.

Of course, there was no way either of the “greatest slave drivers” would ever let him do that. They only wanted to see him increase his capabilities.

“Nope. No getting out of this Nic. And besides, I have something specific that I want you to work on.”

“Something specific?”

Yuuki pointed to the sword that Nic had in one of his hands.

“Every time someone swings at you, your only instinct is to block the attack. While fighting Sarah, I want you to focus on two other things. First, try dodging some attacks instead. You and Sarah are about the same speed, so you should be able to actually dodge some.”

Nic nodded. Earlier, he had actually been able to see her attacks coming in. If he could see them, he could realistically dodge them. That seemed easy enough.

“And the other thing?”

“If you can’t dodge it, then instead of purely blocking her strike I want you to parry it.”

“Parry…?”

“Go ahead and swing at me.”

Nic did as he was told and readied himself to swing his sword at her. He went with a typical overhand swing. As his sword got closer to Yuuki she raised her own while angling it outwards. Instead of Nic’s hitting hers and the two interlocking, it instead bounced to the side with a little push from Yuuki.

Nic could immediately feel the position he was in. Even as he stopped moving the arm that held the sword he could tell.

He was wide open.

“That’s a parry. Making sure that those attacks go away from you, instead of at you.”

With a deft strike, Yuuki’s wooden blade had its tip pointed directly into Nic’s neck. He gulped as he felt the tip dig in ever so slightly.

“And with a simple Riposte like that, you’re dead.”

Yuuki lowered her sword and Nic took a few steps back while gasping for air. His heart was pounding fast. Each beat shook him to his very core.

“Riposte…?”

“Ah, right. A riposte is when you counterattack after parrying someone’s blade away.”

Behind Yuuki, Nic could see Sarah nodding along to everything that was being said. When she noticed him looking at her, she gave him a leering smile. She was better than him because she knew all of this already.

Her attitude was starting to piss Nic off. He wanted to wipe that smug smile off of her face.

He raised his wooden blade and pointed it directly at Sarah.

“I’m ready to go then, are you?”

“I’ve been ready, Mr. learning the basics right before the fight.”

Yuuki smiled as she stepped back a few steps. The minute she was out of the way, Nic and Sarah lunged at each other.

By the time Aria had found Nic and Yuuki in a secluded patch of grass, they had been joined by two other women. She was only slightly annoyed by this. One of the women was standing across from Nic, seemingly about to spar with him, while the other was standing to the side.

Aria walked up to the women standing by the side of the grass as Nic’s sparring match sprung into action.

While not as short as his matches against Yuuki, it was still much shorter than it should have been.

Nic rushed in, trying to go on the offensive, only to have the tables swiftly turned on him. His opponent easily deflected his blade and counterattacked with a punch to the solar plexus that sent Nic flying backwards.

“Who’re you?”

As Nic rolled along the grass, the women that Aria had stood by spoke up. The two had never seen each other before. The woman, a Demi-Human with racoon features, was eyeing Aria.

“Aria Towsend. You?”

“Kiara Correlinde.”

“And her?” Aria nodded to Nic’s opponent.

“Sarah Frutent. My fiance.”

The two fell into a stifling quiet. Yuuki noticed Aria and gave her a small wave, which she quickly reciprocated. Then, as Nic was standing up, he also noticed her. His face had been tense before. Now it had melted. He looked calm. Ready for another fight.

“So you know both of them?” Aria nodded. “Then… Hmmm…. You’re their fourth team member?”

There wasn’t much else that Aria could be. At least, not to Kiara. Nic was still fairly new to the school, and it seemed like he hadn’t interacted with others outside of his team very much. Kiara and Sarah were probably the only ones he intentionally had.

“I am.”

“I see. So the “Wind mage” herself has come to watch her friend’s attempt to beat his senior?”

Aria had heard whispers of this title she had already been given by the student body. She wasn’t shy about showing and using when permitted, her wind magic.

“I know I use wind magic, but that name really isn’t apt.”

“I don’t know, I would need to fight you myself to really test it. I wonder, could you beat my fire magic? I hear you’re quite a bit stronger than a normal Born Mage.”

“Listen, Mrs. Kiara-”

“Just Kiara is fine.”

“Fine. Listen, Kiara, I would like to not fight if I don’t have to. So let’s just watch in peace as these two friends of ours spar with each other.”

The bouts between Nic and Sarah continued on with no more talking coming from the peanut gallery. Kiara and Aria simply watched as the person each one cared about the most fought the other one.

Aria knew that Nic wanted to learn how to sword fight, and that he had taken this up himself, but a part of her was worried. She didn’t want him to get hurt, either in a mock fight like this, or if he decided to do something reckless because he became too overconfident in his own abilities.

Yuuki was a savant with a sword. She had been training most of her life. Aria could still remember her training over a decade ago when Aria still lived in Sanum before. If nothing else, Aria could say she admired how well Yuuki fought.

Because of Yuuki’s lengthy history with sword fighting, Aria hoped that she would always keep Nic in check. There was no doubt in Aria’s mind that she would be able to beat Nic for a long time.

Soon the sun began to hang low in the sky. As the sky began to turn a brilliant orange, Aria finally walked onto the grassy patch. Seeing her, Nic lowered his own wooden sword. His chest was heaving as sweat matted his hair down. He tried to give her a small smile but was too tired to do even that.

“Hey Yuuki, I think it’s about time we wrapped up here. It’s starting to get late.”

“Huh? Oh, I didn’t realize it had gotten so late. Good work you two. Nic, continue to work on parrying for the time being.”

In the end, Nic had failed to parry most of Sarah’s attacks. The few he did get off were near the end, when both fighters were already tired beyond belief.

As Yuuki noted on it, Nic silently hung his head. Aria chuckled slightly and patted his head as he hung it. Even if he hadn’t fully completed his objective, she wanted to pamper him, just a bit.

“We’re gonna get going! We have a dinner date tonight. Take care, you three!”

With a cheery goodbye, Sarah and Kiara walked off together, leaving Aria and Nic alone with Yuuki.

“Move it!”

“Ughhh”

“Arrghhh”

A small commotion nearby drew Aria’s attention away. Walking a bit away from the university grounds was a small caravan of people. Based on the way that they were dressed, it was clear that they were prisoners of some kind. They had enough clothing on to cover up, but the chains binding their hands and feet were a clear indicator of their status.

Their cries had not just attracted Aria’s attention but Nic’s as well. He took a step towards them like he was trying to get a better look.

“Yuuki, who are they?”

Nic was the one who asked it, though the same question was on Aria’s mind as well. She had no memory of prisoners being transported through the city like this before.

“Hmmm? Oh them? Don’t see the poor folks around here too often. They’re prisoners that were being held in the prison near the police headquarters in this district. They are being herded to their death.”

“Death?”

“Their Death?!”

Aria turned to look at her in shock. She had not been expecting them to be on their deathbeds.

“Is it because they have Irradiation Sickness?”

Nic was ready for it though. In fact, he seemed to already know the reason why. Aria turned to him as he said it. She knew he could see Irradiation. It was something that he had confided in her shortly after they moved to Sanum.

He could see it seeping everywhere outside of the city. Even inside of it, he could occasionally see it rising into the air.

At least, that’s what he had told her.

“How did you know that?”

Yuuki became immediately suspicious of Nic as soon as he said that.

“No one is supposed to know about it. And you just barely moved here. So how do you know?”

“Uhhhh… A guess? I- I’ve seen people with Irradiation Sickness before, so I know what it looks like.”

Nic backpedaled fast. He didn’t want anyone else to know his past, let alone that he could actually see Irradiation.

Yuuki seemed to accept it as she sighed and turned around. She waved the two goodbyes and began to leave.

“I’ll be waiting at the dorm for you two so we can start studying! Don’t dally too long, you little lovebirds.”

Yuuki left them with a final message. Hearing it, the two of them nearly tripped over each other as they tried to correct her.

“It’s not like that!”

“Yuuki why!!!!!!”

Yuuki turned and gave Aria a small wink before disappearing around a corner.

Aria and Nic looked at each other before quickly turning away, both of their faces red and hot.

“Hey, Nic?”

“Yea?”

Aria turned around and dug her face into Nic’s chest, gripping his shirt in her hands. She had noticed him taking a step toward the prisoners. After she heard that they had Irradiation Sickness she had a feeling that the step he had taken had been because of something else.

“When you saw those prisoners… you took a step towards them…”

“I did…?”

Nic hadn’t even noticed that he had taken a step. It had been unconscious.

Aria’s breath caught in her throat.

“Nic… Did you want to absorb the Irradiation out of those prisoners?”

“I… I don’t know…”

“Nic, promise me something.” Aria looked up at Nic’s face, she could feel something wet in her eyes. “Don’t even go near a person with Irradiation Sickness. Not until you can purify it yourself. Please?”

She was scared. Scared that if he did, he would become sick himself.

Nic was still unable to replicate the act of purifying the Irradiation within his own body that he had done back in S-012. Without that ability, if he absorbed Irradiation, then it would just sit inside of him.

Aria was scared that this would make him sick. She didn’t want to go through that with Nic. She didn’t want the remote chance that he could leave her.

“I… I don’t know where this came from, Aria, but I promise that I won’t do that. Really, I do.”

He softly patted her head before hugging her tight into his body.