Lixarts Academy: First Year

I woke up, took a shower, brushed my teeth, and left. I don’t know why but I woke up excited for school today, maybe Dad’s story gave me some inspiration.

Who knew Dad was such a badass though?

I arrived at the circle where the other students gave me weird looks again. I don’t know what it is with them but they give me the heebie jeebies. The lavender light wrapped around us and teleported us to Lixarts. I saw Aura and waved to her. She sucked her teeth and walked away.

The halls were obnoxiously loud again today, regardless of it being the second day. The corridors were packed with students, the sunlight lit up the sidewalk. I put my hands in my pockets and walked to my first class of the day, Medicine. Mr. Lyron was the Medicine teacher, he was a short man with almost no hair (just cut it off, man) what hair he did have was white, at this point. He has an extensive background in medicinal studies with 44 years of experience.

He taught us about the different variations of potions ranging from health recovery, mana recovery, physical boosts, magic boosts, to many other types. The main ingredients (for low level potions) came from creatures such as slimes and goblins, very common monsters. Potions sell from 100 novas to 1,000 novas, depending on the size and quality.

Novas are Daclon’s national currency.

“Well, class, that’s all we have time for today,” said Mr. Lyron, as he kicked his legs up and started reading the book on his desk.

I got my backpack and left as soon as the bell rang.

I felt a tap on my shoulder as soon as I walked down the hallway.

“I’ve never seen you before. You new?” An angelic voice blessed my ears.

“Yeah, I moved here 2 months ago,” I said, turning to the direction of the voice. The voice had come from a girl with long scarlet hair and light blue eyes.

I swear my soul left my body for a second.

“Well, let me welcome you to Lixarts. I know, I’m a little late but nevertheless, I know you’ll enjoy it here,” she said as she turned around and left.

I turned around and walked to my next class, Ward Creation, Ms. Cordrey. Her class is very informative even if a little boring but today she taught us how to make the easiest wards today to help protect ourselves from small scale projectiles and basic spells.

The thing is though; I can’t even use these.

The clock struck 11 and the bell rang. I picked up my backpack off the floor and hurried down the hall since Charm Creation is on the other side of the school.

The students were gathering around in the halls as the clock ticked, most of us were already going to be late. I put my head down and walked forward.

THUNK

“What the hell, dude?” I said, rubbing my head.

“Watch where you’re going,” a boy with brunette hair plus a pretty handsome face, said sternly.

Why is everyone so hot here?

He walked up to me and stared me directly in the eyes.

“Walk faster,” I responded.

“What the hell did you just say?” He turned around and now we were so close I could feel his breath. It was not pleasant.

“I believe what I said was… Walk. Faster. Or are you not able to understand?”

He brought his fist up and began to swing towards my face, everyone and their mamas were watching at this point. The bell rang. A loud “AWWWW” was let out in an exasperated groan in unison out of everyone’s mouths as they were disappointed that no one was getting punched right now.

“We’ll finish this later, smartass,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets and walking away.

“SIR, YES, SIR!” I shouted, giggling at my own joke. I even gave him a little salute.

The day went on slowly, the excitement from the first day draining away. Charm Creation wasn’t all that special. No, I’m not saying that just because I fell asleep during it. I would love to tell you what I learned in Charm Creation but I don’t know either.

The bell suddenly rang.

That bell will forever hold a special place in my heart, where it will be hated forever by the passion of a thousand burning suns. I rubbed my eyes and looked around.

“WOAH, IS THAT YOU, AURA? WE’RE IN THE SAME CLASS? HOW CRAZY IS THAT?” I screamed.

She turned to me, wide-eyed. Her eyes pierced daggers through my soul.

I got the memo. I grabbed my backpack and ran to lunch.

The food court had amazing things to choose from like steak, salads (if you’re into that, we don’t food shame here), they even have CAVIAR.

Although, things often are balanced. With good, comes evil.

WHAT THE HELL IS A “SLIME SOUP”? A moment of silence for the fallen slimes who were probably enjoying their lives doing whatever it is that slimes do then BAM, they were slaughtered for this sorry excuse of what we call food.c

I was craving pizza. I grabbed a few pieces from the Pizza Booth. I walked over to an empty table and flopped down on the bench that was there. I picked up my pizza and started chomping away at it. I closed my eyes as I savored the taste of the pizza. The cheese was absolutely piquant. The pepperonis were packed with a spicy (spicy but like the perfect amount of spice) flavor that was second to none. I didn’t know food existed like this. Now this is all I wanted to eat for the rest of my life.

My eating of this heaven-sent pizza was interrupted by a tray slamming down in front of me. I looked up,

“Oh, hey~” I said, trying not to piss her off more than I did before.

“Why did you yell for me in front of the ENTIRE FUCKING CLASS?!” Aura declared, her icy eyes sending shivers down my spine.

“I just wanted to say hi.

“I do not give a shit if you want to say hi. Don’t talk to me. We are not friends. Just because you sat next to me, ONE TIME IN ONE CLASS, does not mean I want to be your friend, got it?”

“But that doesn’t mean you don’t wanna be friends,” I said, pointing at her with my pizza.

“You’re annoying. I don’t want to be your friend. Now, move, this is where I sit,” she demanded.

“How did you say it?” I cleared my throat, “I do not give a shit,” I said, flashing her a smile.

“I was here first so either suck it up or go somewhere else.” I reiterated, munching away at my pizza again.

“Heyyy~” The voice from earlier said from up behind me.

I turned around to see the familiar beauty from before. She smiled at me before looking at Aura.

“Am I interrupting something?” she asked, looking back and forth between me and Aura.

“No, Rose, you aren’t.” She sighed and gestured for her to sit next to her.

“I think I’ll sit over here,” Rose replied, sitting down next to me on the bench.

Okay, then. I have a beautiful girl sitting next to me and an evil witch sitting across from me. She’s still glaring at me, so much so to the point that I might actually turn to stone. I ate my pizza awkwardly, as those two started chatting away about their home life and school life so far. Apparently, Aura has 2 brothers and Rose is an only child. Their parents are friends from when they went here back in their day.

I wish I had friends. No, don’t say Aura. I don’t consider Aura a friend.

“Hey, Dominick,” Rose suddenly said.

I choke on the orange juice that I have in my mouth.

“Huh?” I said, coughing.

“What’s your family like? You single?” she asked, getting closer and closer with each question.

“Rose, what does being single have to do with family?” Aura asked, raising her eyebrows.

“My mom would wanna know who her son-in-law would be,” Rose replied to Aura, causing me to spit out my orange juice again.

“Whatever,” Aura exhaled slowly.

“Well?” Rose said, looking excitedly at me.

“I have an older brother who’s in college. And yes, I’m single,” I answered.

“Nice,” she responded, looking at me for a second too long then looking back at Aura.

We continued talking about everything going on in their lives. We talked about the food here, the spells our parents taught us, our past relationships, favorite hobbies, et cetera. Well me and Rose did. Aura glared at me every single time that I’d utter a word to Rose or her. Eventually, me and Rose slowly stopped talking as we continued to eat our lunch.

I looked up at the sky and watched the clouds roll by.

The bell rang.

I’m going to murder that bell one day, I swear to everything that I find holy.

I grabbed my trash and tossed it in the trash can. I walked back to the table to grab my backpack. Rose and Aura had already left before I could say bye. I slung my backpack on my back and walked to Gardening.

The corridors were filled with all sorts of cliques. You got the popular girls, the jocks, nerds, honor-roll students, student council, and even some teachers. They were loud as I walked by them. I couldn’t help but envy them as I walked by them, listening to them enjoy themselves while being in the company of one another.

10 minutes later, I arrived at Gardening where Rose met me and sat next to me. At least, it’s just Rose and not Aura. That girl hates me for no reason. Honestly though, I can’t wait until Magic Sports. The way my dad talked about it got me pumped up. I can’t wait to break out my moves.

“STUDENTS, TAKE YOUR SEATS, PLEASE AND I WILL DO ATTENDANCE!” Ms. Devit shouted.

The rest of the class went by as you’d expect. She taught us about the magical energy, Mana, that flows in and out of plants and how to manipulate it. There are certain spells for certain plants and certain amounts of mana you can manipulate in order for the plant to grow, otherwise overloading it with mana will kill it or not giving it enough mana will also kill the plant. The mana can also be changed for a different result. Say, if you find an oak tree seed, you can use a certain spell in order to make it grow into a different tree. An apple tree, a peach tree, any tree you can think of if you know the correct spell.

“Psst,” Rose whispered to me.

“What?” I whispered in response.

“What class do you have after this?”

“Magic Sports.”

“Me too!” her voice grew a little louder, almost getting her caught.

“Really?”

She nodded her head yes and faced forward. For the remainder of the class, we just took a look at some of the plants she had in the classroom and she showed us how to make a seed sprout.

“Class dismissed,” she said, walking over to her plants.

The bell rang shortly after she said that.

Rose grabbed her backpack and handed me mine.

“Thanks, Rose,” I said, grinning at her.

“You’re welcome, Dominick.”

“You and Aura are just complete opposites,” I expressed.

“Yeah, she’s had a tough go but she’s a good person,” Rose said with a sincere tone as we passed by a couple making out in the hallway.

“Oh,” I answered, not really sure what to say to that.

“It’s okay if that’s a surprise to you, she hates it when people feel sorry for her. She’s a strong girl. I hope that she can find someone as strong as she is. I want her to be happy,”

“Yeah, I guess everyone deserves a chance to be happy.”

We stopped talking as soon as we arrived at the gymnasium for Magic Sports. The gym was huge. The hardwood floor shone as the sun beamed in from the ceiling. The walls were, well, walls but this gym was huge. The wall to the left as we walked in had two knobs on one wall with a monitor above it. I’m guessing that’s how they manage the simulation for Terrain Wars. The students of each class were lined up on two sides, Mr. Terry’s on the left and Ms. Smith on the right. I was in Mr Terry's class, Rose was in Ms Smith’s.

“ROSE!” Aura said, her arms flailing and wearing a giant smile on her face.

She lost her smile when she saw me.

“You have gotta be kidding me,” I muttered, defeated as I can’t ever seem to escape this evil witch.

“Why do you keep following me, pervert?” she said, hiding behind Rose.

“This is my class. I’m not following you. You wish I was following you,” I replied, blowing a raspberry.

She grumbled and walked with Rose over to Ms. Smith’s class while I walked over to Mr. Terry. I walked in on the class huddling with Mr. Terry in the middle.

“WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?” Mr. Terry howled.

“Win?” The class asked in confused unison.

“YEAH! SAY IT WITH YOUR CHESTS! NOW WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?!?!” Mr. Terry shouted even louder.

“WIN!!” I yelled, all by lonesome.

“Good enough,” he muttered, walking away dejectedly.

The class was lined up against the wall, most of them standing there with their hands in their pockets. They didn’t seem happy to be here. I, on the other hand, was so excited for this. I’ve loved sports since I was little, me and Dad would practice strategies all day long sometimes. I looked over to see Rose waving at me. I waved back, smiling. Aura met my eyes with a scowl. I looked away, tapping my foot on the ground. I saw Mr. Terry and Ms. Smith talking.

After a while, Mr. Terry walked over, shoulders slumped.

“Guys…” he perked up, “WE’RE DOING CAPTURE THE FLAG!”

“Woohoo,” the class said, sarcastically.

Mr. Terry assigned 3 groups of 10, 60 students in total including Ms. Smith’s. I was put into a group with 6 girls and 4 boys (including myself).

“Alright, you’ll be Team A…” he muttered as he wrote down the names on his clipboard.

“Team B,” he mumbled to himself as he wrote down the team name of the group, next to my group.

“And last but not least, Team C,” he jotted our names down, as well, “I will explain the rules. Capture the Flag, you and your team will or will attempt to steal the enemy’s flag. If the flag hits the ground then it will automatically teleport back to the enemy base, if you’re incapacitated then you will be removed from the match. Don’t worry, there is no possibility of death in this simulation and if a fatal blow is detected then that damage will be nullified,” he explained.

“Also the simulation does not regenerate because we want it to be a bit more realistic,” He walked over to Ms. Smith.

I looked over to the side, knowing that it’s my father he was talking about.

“MATCH 1 IS ABOUT TO BEGIN, TEAMS GATHER IN YOUR DESIGNATED AREAS,” the automated scorekeeper announced.

Team A of our class stepped forward in the glowing circle. Team A of Ms. Smith’s team walked forward and stepped into the glowing circle on their side of the gym.

The majority of Team A were long range with the exception of around 3 members specializing in close range combat. The terrain chosen for them was a jungle. Their strategy was simple but effective if used in the correct manner. They neglected the defense of the flag in order to provide mobile support for the short-rangers. However, the downfall would be that one of the other team members specialized in stealth. Team D (Ms. Smith’s team went from D-F) won without eliminating a single member or losing a single member.

It was a very boring match.

“MATCH 2 IS ABOUT TO BEGIN, TEAMS GATHER IN YOUR DESIGNATED AREAS,” the automated scorekeeper announced once again.

Team B and Team E were mostly older students, 2nd and 3rd years who have been in this scenario before.

Team B and Team E had completely different strategies.Their terrain was a desert with ruins surrounding the flag. Team B split the defense and offense equally, providing 2 mobile snipers for the 3 runners while the remaining defenders stayed on the ground while the leftover snipers remained hidden in the upper stories of the ruined base. Team E had mostly runners with 1 defender and 2 snipers while the remaining 7 runners would go headfirst for the flag. I’m not really sure I like that strategy, it all depends on the defender and snipers.

Team B’s runner group would unfortunately run into Team F’s runners. The brawl was amazing, the way that the spells were chanted with efficiency and precision, the snipers’ spectacular aim, even the destruction itself was beautiful. However, it would be Team B who came out on top in this battle. The strategy and tactics would allow them to overpower the group that had come to face them in an all-out brawl, causing their defense to be broken down and easily overpowered.

“MATCH 3 IS ABOUT TO BEGIN, TEAMS GATHER IN YOUR DESIGNATED AREAS.”

Me and the rest of Team C gathered across from Team F who contained Rose and Aura. Rose waved to me while Aura completely ignored me until she flipped me off. We were embodied in a blue light, mere seconds later we were in an abandoned city.

“They really do have a wide variety of places to choose from,” Dwayne said. Dwayne is exactly 6 feet tall. He has brown skin, brown eyes, and jet black hair.

“Yeah, it’s giving off an apocalyptic vibe,” Jenna replied.

Jenna stood a little bit below Dwayne, she had kind of a peach colored skin tone, and golden blonde hair.

Damn, there’s lots of blondes in this school.

“Anyways, I think that we should split into two groups of 5,” Adam suggested.

Adam was around 6 feet tall, blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a large lean frame.

I don’t like good-looking people.

“Good idea, Adam,” Jenna said, giving him a loving gaze.

Did I mention I don’t like good looking guys?

It was decided that Adam, Jenna, Dwayne, Paul, and Adriana would take the offensive. Me, Caroline, Moirrey, Victoria, and Alta would take the defensive position. We didn’t have any snipers since none of us specialize in long range. There was no plan besides don’t “die” and don’t get the flag taken. The runners ran forward leaving us behind in the silence that enveloped us.

About 5 minutes had passed since they had departed from the base and not a single word was uttered until,

“So…” Caroline muttered, awkwardly.

She was on the shorter side, standing at 5’2, with white skin, and pitch black hair.

I was going to reply until we were interrupted by a fireball that was shot into the air. A fireball was the distress signal we all agreed on if we were in danger.

We all dashed in the direction of where it came from.