Time For Training

“Think about it like this. It’s two birds with one stone. I get to find out what special magic you have, and you get stronger, which will get you together with Nanako and let you become an adventurer. So— I guess that’s three birds with one stone.” Sumire explained as Takao struggled with all his might to do a push-up with her on his back.

“How— Are— You— So— Heavy!” Said Takao through gritted teeth.

“Weight manipulation is easy when you can change your form.” Sumire boasted.

Takao collapsed under Sumire’s magically enhanced weight. She jumped up from his back, and Takao pushed himself out of the dirt.

“Okay. That’s a no to enhancement magic.” Sumire said, dusting herself off.

Takao hadn’t been sure about training with Sumire at first, but the more he’d thought about it, the more hopeful he’d become. She was a dragon god, after all. If anyone could teach him magic, surely it was her. The more magic they tried, the less sure he was, though.

In addition to enhancement magic, so far he’d tried— common, taming, summoning, fire, water, air, earth, plant, and lightning.

Sumire had demonstrated each with awe-inspiring results before making Takao try. She’d used enhancement magic to rip a tree from the ground; sent pillars of fire hundreds of feet into the air; levitated massive balls of water; summoned a phoenix; and more without breaking a sweat. Takao learned that lightning was her signature magic, which she’d demonstrated by sending massive purple lightning bolts arcing across the sky.

Takao was glad they’d come far away town for his training. In the middle of the Dusk forest near More lake, they were much less likely to attract curious adventurers or terrify the towns citizens.

Despite the impressive demonstrations, Takao’s only results so far had been producing a small mound of dirt while trying earth magic. He and Sumire nearly jumped for joy until they realized it was just a hectarabbit surfacing from underground.

“I told you I couldn’t do it.” Takao said, starting to feel defeated.

“Don’t give up just yet. I didn’t expect you to get it in one day. If you don’t get it today, we can try again tomorrow. Which reminds me, don’t you have work today?” Sumire asked.

Takao didn’t answer immediately.

“What?” She urged.

“I didn’t actually get the day off yesterday. I was fired.”

“What! Why?” She said angrily.

Takao had been thinking about how best to explain this. He tried to choose his words carefully.

“Well, when you appeared that night, it was— shocking, and after you took your human form, I wasn’t thinking straight. We left the wall quickly and went back home. And I completely forgot that I was supposed to wait for my replacement.”

Takao looked at Sumire for reactions, but her expression was neutral, so he continued.

“When my replacement arrived, I wasn’t there, so he reported me for deserting my post. They fired me the next morning when I couldn’t explain why I’d left.” He concluded.

“And you couldn’t tell them about me because I told you to keep me a secret.” Sumire added.

Takao cursed himself. He’d been trying to stop her from blaming herself.

“No! I know my superior was looking to fire me for a while, so it wouldn’t have mattered what excuse I gave.” Takao said hastily, but Sumire didn't seem to hear him.

“Grrr! That’s so stupid!” She said angrily. “Just for that! And you had a good excuse! I thought I trained the dragon guard better than this! And—” She continued spouting spiteful comments and cursing Takao’s superiors.

Takao watched Sumire pace angrily, and felt strangely happy. He couldn’t think of a time someone had gotten angry on his behalf. He smiled to himself, feeling glad that he’d met Sumire.

“—But I’m not as good at mind control as my older sister. Maybe I’ll destroy the whole dragon guard and start over!” Sumire continued, still fuming.

After seeing her jaw dropping display of powerful magic, this threat felt much too real for Takao.

“Wait! Wait! It’s okay, really! I’m used to it. I can never hold a job for long on account of the whole ‘can’t use magic’ thing, so don’t destroy anyone on my behalf.” He said, still smiling.

Sumire stopped her angry pacing and blushed deeply.

“That’s not— I mean— I wasn’t— I just thought— maybe the dragon guard needed— reconstruction.” She stammered, looking flustered. She cleared her throat before continuing. “Ahem. I suppose I owe you an apology, so— I’m sorry.” She apologized, blushing an even deeper red.

“Thanks, but there’s really no need.” Takao said, blushing himself now. “Like I said, I lose jobs all the time.”

Despite making zero progress on being able to use magic, Takao was suddenly feeling much better. He felt energized. He picked up his spear, and dropped into a fighting stance.

Muscles tense and joints loose, he gripped his spear tight and with a flash of speed, spun through his first three forms. He breathed out and in, then launched into another fierce assault. He could tell he was on point today. His moves were fast, accurate, and strong. He stabbed and slashed, his spear tip whistling through the air. He spun on the spot, cutting a wide arc, then returned to his starting position.

Takao stood still for a moment, breathing in and out, and feeling the pleasant burning in his muscles. Then he relaxed and found Sumire. She was looking at him with her mouth open and purple eyes wide.

“I told you I was a spear master.” He said with a shrug.

“That was— impressive.” Sumire said, admiration in her voice.

“It’s nothing much.”

Takao was starting to feel embarrassed. He’d never shown off his spear skills before. He always trained alone, and the only other people he’d shown was the proctor that tested him for his spear master title and the guild proctor for the adventurer test.

“No, it’s not nothing. That was impressive. You are impressive.” Sumire said, causing herself and Takao to blush. “I can’t believe you’ve just been guarding a wall until now. You’re strong enough to be an adventurer already, and once we figure out your magic, you will be— powerful, to say the least.”

Takao couldn’t help but smile. He couldn’t remember receiving so many compliments before.

“Hmm— I suppose we both need jobs if we want to keep eating, don’t we?” Sumire asked while grinning suspiciously.

Takao recognized this out of the blue question as leading somewhere, but he wasn’t sure where.

“Yes, I suppose so.” He answered cautiously.

“Well then, I think I know the perfect place.” She said, clearly baiting him.

“Where?” Takao asked, not wanting to give Sumire the satisfaction of dragging this out.

She smiled wide.

“The guild hall! We’re going to register as adventurers!”

Sumire’s Exposé!
Common magic refers to a list of simple spells that almost anyone can use. They range from levitating small objects to creating spectral shields to operating household appliances. The average person uses these spells daily. Some spells are so common and integrated into society that being unable to use them could be severely limiting.