Lixarts Academy: First Year

In the heart of the dense artificial forest, where the air crackled with latent energy, the two mages stood facing each other. One with a certain intensity and the other one with a certain evilness to him.

Aaron Newsmith, the probability mage, his eyes locked in a kaleidoscopic vision of endless possibilities. Dugal stood opposite of him across the now clear plain where the trees once rose to the sky. A man of multiple magics but his favorite being magnetism.

“DO YOUR WORST, NEWSMITH!” He shouted, wearing a maniacal grin across his face, hands splayed.

He crushed his fists together.

“Magnetic Crush. By using this move, I grab the electromagnetic field that surrounds you and crush it to my whim.”

“Gambler’s Chance,” Aaron Newsmith muttered before finding a pair of glowing, ethereal dice in his palms. He shook them and rolled them before putting his hands to prevent himself from being crushed. They tumbled and rolled before landing on a 6 and a 5. The magnetic fields returned to normal.

“What did you do?” Dugal asked, confusedly.

“I simply took a chance at bending the electromagnetic fields back to normal,” he replied.

Dugal scoffed and bolted forward, undeterred.

His eyes locked onto Newsmith as he just stood there. He threw his knives and suspended them in the air as he laid low to the ground. He approached the ground where Aaron was standing.

“Convergence,” Dugal held his hands out in front of him, fingers facing inward, “Convergence allows me to amplify the ambient magnetic energy around me to make my spells more powerful.”

He got under Aaron’s chin.

“Burn.” He put his hand up, towards Aaron and sent a large plume of brilliant flames up at him.

He simply smacked them away with a flick of his wrist.

“Your fire is weak, Dugal. You should stick to the magnets,” Aaron stared at Dugal with an emotionless expression.

Dugal scoffed and jumped backwards once more.

“LEVITATION!” Dugal lifted his hand into the sky, taking Newsmith with it. Aaron wasn’t fazed one bit.

The iron in his blood allowed for Dugal to freely manipulate his body.

Dugal swung his hand to the side. Aaron went flying into the tree.

CRASH

Aaron stood up and dusted himself off.

“Lady Luck’s Blessing,” he muttered.

A large silhouette of a woman in a white gown appeared overhead. She put her palm directly above Aaron and whispered in a different tongue. His body began to glow as she dissipated into the air as fragments of light.

“Dugal, you will not leave here alive,” he stated, coldly. Aaron dashed forward and met Dugal face to face once more.

“LET’S DANCE, NEWSMITH!” Dugal darted forward.

Aaron had perfected his technique, which wasn’t a technique but that’s what he referred it to as. Aaron is able to withstand attacks more than the usual mage. His mana output allows for him to fully reinforce his body to allow for him to minimize damage. His magical technique however allows for him to fully manipulate his luck.

Dugal couldn’t have picked a worse opponent for his technique than Aaron.

Aaron’s fighting style was his own, something he perfected as he taught himself from a young age. Aaron’s large quantity of mana allows for his attacks to have more power behind them than your average mage. His technique involves intense concentration and willpower. He gathers this mana into themselves, using it as a catalyst to enhance their physical capabilities. Once all of the mana is gathered into his body, he uses it to reinforce his body to the physical limit that he can push to.

Although it should be noted that this technique is NOT permanent.

The mana that is gathered inside of his body allows for him to unleash devastating power and for his body to become more resilient. His blows can penetrate barriers and allows for him to overwhelm his opponent with sheer force. The only drawback to this style is the amount of mana it consumes. However, within Aaron’s body, a vast reservoir of mana illuminated the corners of his soul, his core shimmered through all of the darkness, a pool with iridescent hues of azure and silver laid in the middle like a cauldron.

“Newsmith Style: Continuous Strikes,” Aaron dashed towards Dugal at frightening speed.

He landed an assault of powerful strikes, Dugal’s body echoing beneath the blows of each one. He uppercutted Dugal into the sky. He bent his knees in and jumped up above Dugal.

“Ground Slam,” he interlocked his fingers and smacked down onto his chest. Dugal’s eyes widened in disbelief as he fell back to the solid ground beneath him, a momentary flicker of vulnerability betraying his usual facade of childish arrogance. He coughed up blood as he stood back up.

“Ugh,” he turned his head to the side and spit out the blood onto the leaves that laid on the forest floor. Crimson, gold, and russet leaves mingling with the deeper greens of pine needles and the occasional brown of decaying branches mixed with the scarlet blood that Dugal had just infected the ground with.

Dugal watched frantically as Aaron walked down the beaten path towards him.

‘Hey, I’ll retreat! I won’t kill anyone else!” Dugal held his hands out, pleading for his life.

Aaron continued walking towards Dugal, twigs snapping as the ominous aura moved closer and closer.

“HIGH STAKES.” The ground reverberated as Aaron’s voice echoed throughout the forest. Aaron spread his legs and bent his knees inward. He held his fists next to his knees and began screaming. A bright green aura surrounded him as a colossal slot machine appeared behind him. The multicolored lights and the ornate make of the machine caused it to shimmer behind Aaron. The large lever pulled down on its own. A burst of glittering stardust erupts from the top. The machine started playing music which slowed down as he reached the end of the spin.

A voice, soft and melodic, began to speak.

“7. 7. 7! JACKPOT!” The female voice announced, excitedly.

A pale blue mist phased in and out of visibility, making its way into Aaron’s body. He lifted his head up; basking in the power.

“ALL IN!” Aaron shouted as he rushed Dugal. He grabbed Dugal by the neck and lifted him up into the air. His hand emitted an iridescent azure color before blasting Dugal point blank with the built up mana.

Aaron was groggily swaying around; face still inscrutable.

Dugal and another man were standing on the opposite side of the arena. The man was wearing a pinstripe suit with a smooth, featureless mask that shows no eyes, nose, or mouth. He was well built; he looked like a bodybuilder, his broad shoulders showing underneath his suit. He pulled off his blazer and his tie and tossed them to the side.

“I saved your ass, Dugal. You need to be more aware of your opponent’s capabilities, I told you this! His,” the man pointed at Aaron who was kneeling down on one knee, trying to regain his strength, “is Gambler. He manipulates his luck. Anything can happen so long as his spells let it. He also has an abundant amount of mana, meaning in a battle of attrition… YOU,” he jammed his finger in Dugal’s chest, “will fall first. This is the best and only chance we will get to eliminate a threat as big as him,” he wrapped his arm around his shoulder.

They both began preparing spells.

“Magnetic Fusion,” Dugal whispered.

“Blood Magic: Hemomancy Bolt” The faceless man held out his hand.

“COLOSSEUM OF THE DAMNED!”

They both swiveled their heads toward me as I pushed my hands onto the ground. Their spells fizzled out before they could be fully manifested.

“I’M NOT DONE YET, DUGAL!” I shouted as I wore a bloody smile across my face; laughing shortly after.

The hysteria had taken over my mind completely; ignoring the begging pleas from Rose and Aura before I ran back out here.

“This didn’t work last time. What makes you think it’ll work this time?” Dugal tapped his finger on his arm impatiently.

“COME AT ME THEN, DUGAL!”

Although I felt an overwhelming difference in our strength, I didn’t want to stop.

This is the first time someone’s pushed me this far.

Dugal, we’re enemies but I thank you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this.

“Camouflage.” My body melded with the colosseum.

“Aw, did wittle Dommy wearn a new trick?” Dugal puerilely stated. He prepared his stance as his eyes darted around; his eyes deceiving his smug attitude.

I ran along the ground as I grabbed his leg and threw him into the wall. He went flying as I got up from the ground.

“I hope you didn’t forget about me,” The faceless man swung a heavy fist towards me. I somersaulted backwards.

“You really shouldn’t announce your attack,” I sprinted towards him. Dugal came flying from the opposite side, landing a shattering blow to my ribs.

“GAH!” I began to black out. I bit down on my tongue and regained my awareness. I grabbed Dugal by the arm and slammed him onto the ground before landing a blow to his head.

The faceless man rushed forward in a frenzied assault. I didn’t know who he was but he was miles ahead of Dugal in terms of combat.

Which makes this a bad matchup for me.

“I will admit. For a boy your age to have the wherewithal to inflict pain upon yourself to keep yourself awake is impressive. What have you been through to be this well versed in the art of hand to hand?” This man had a sophisticated way of speaking and it kind of pissed me off.

I managed to keep up with his strikes for a while, trying to buy time for Aaron to regain his strength. He slowly began to get up, his breathing steadying.

“See, boy. That move of his. All or Nothing, I believe, if his attack doesn’t hit then all of that mana is drained from his body. It’ll be a long time before he can move. And since you activated your “colosseum”, Lady Luck’s Blessing isn’t working right now.” His assault began to break through my defense as he landed multiple hits to my body. I gritted my teeth and continued trying to fight back.

Was it actually my fault? Did he have this whole situation handled until I intervened? Did I really screw him over?

“Don’t listen to him, kid, you did good,” Aaron was standing on his own again.

I nodded as the faceless man turned his heels onto Aaron. He bolted towards him, spinning in the air with a flying kick. Aaron put up his hand and spun his leg around. Aaron roundhouse kicked him into the wall. Dugal and his partner stood up, dusting themselves off.

We stood across from one another face to face.

“Dominick, you can go now, you did well. Thank you,” he looked at me and smiled.

I disabled the spell as my legs started to give out on me again. This time I don’t think I’m gonna get back up.

Aura and Rose were waiting for me at the entrance to the arena once more.

“I’m so proud of you, Dominick, even though that was stupid.” Rose said, hugging me lightly.

"How are you even able to be here right now? What about your injuries?" I asked Rose.

"They weren't as bad as they looked," she replied, still clinging onto me.

Aura rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Aura grabbed one of my arms and draped it across her shoulder.

“Come on,” she couldn’t even look me in the eye. Rose grabbed my other arm and they brought me to the infirmary.

I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow of the bed.

“We aren’t here for your student. Although since he intervened, I think we’ll kill him once we’re through with you,” The faceless man uttered.

Aaron looked at them, assessing the situation.

How was he going to beat both of them with most of his mana depleted?

He shook his head.

“That’s how losers think,” he thought to himself.

He snapped his fingers.

“GAMBLER’S CHANCE!” He shouted as the dice appeared in his hand.

He rolled them, landing on a 4 and 2. His body shined with a hue of a brilliant blue. He cracked his neck and knuckles.

“Deck of Fate: DRAW!” A translucent card appeared in front of him. He looked at it before it disappeared into the air.

“Magnetic Lock!” Dugal grabbed the air and twisted it around Aaron.

“Curse of Misfortune.”

Dugal’s spell fizzled out before it could fully be put into effect.

“Crimson Torrent!” A large fast moving stream of blood shot out from the man’s palm.

Aaron ran across the arena, evading the spell that was locked onto him.

“It must’ve locked onto my blood,” Aaron thought to himself.

He scrambled his mind to figure out how to get rid of the torrent that was currently following him.

“I was hoping to save this but… FATE’S INTERVENTION!”

The spell disappeared.

“LUCKY STREAK! ALL IN!”

He used Lucky Streak to ensure his last and final attack would land.

Aaron put everything he had left into this final attack. His body was screaming, telling him to stop.

“That boy fought until I got here. I won’t disappoint him. I WILL FIGHT WITH EVERYTHING IN ME!” Aaron’s demeanor changed from serious to determined. He was willing to risk his life to avenge the lives of those two students who lost.

To the lives that these two have already taken.

Aaron spread his hands. The spell came out in full swing. Aaron began to close his hands.

The cerulean beam was large and intimidating. There was nowhere left to go. This was the end for them.

“TELEPORT” A woman dressed in all black appeared before the three. She placed her hand on Dugal and the faceless man’s shoulders.

They disappeared in an instant.

Aaron stopped his spell, still draining most of his mana. He looked to where they were and stared. He looked around. He wanted to make sure they were actually gone.

After he confirmed they weren’t on the scene and that no student was left behind, he walked back to the entrance of the arena.

“MR. NEWSMITH, SORRY WE’VE ARRIVED SO LATE! THERE WERE MORE OUTSIDE!” The guards saluted Aaron.

“Because of you, students died. Think about that. Students died because you couldn’t do your job. Turn in your resignation. You’re all fired.” He trudged off as the guards' hung their heads, dejectedly.

Aaron walked over to the infirmary, looking for the location of the boy who helped him.

Now he didn’t know his name but he remembered what he looked like.

He walked over to the receptionist. He described Dominick to the nurse.

“Down the hall to the left, should be the 3rd door on the right,” the nurse answered.

“Thank you.”

Aaron walked down the hall and turned to the left. Aura and Rose stood outside with worried expressions on their faces.

“Are you two acquainted with the boy?” he asked them.

“Yeah, we’re pretty much 2 of his 3 friends,” Rose responded.

“You’ve found someone special. That’s a brave boy in there,” Aaron smiled warmly.

“We know…” Aura muttered, “and stupid…” she whispered beneath her breath.

“Is it okay if I head inside?” He asked, politely.

“Yeah, we were about to head back inside too,” Rose replied.

They walked in together, one behind the other. Dominick lay there with IV tubes attached to his arm. His entire body was healed by the nurse who was in here earlier. The IV tubes were for his food, fluids, and nutrients so he didn’t starve or dehydrate. You can never be too sure if magic is the cure for EVERYTHING. So there were laws put in place where if you give someone magical remedies then you must also give them traditional medicinal remedies as well. His eyes were shut as he laid there, unconscious and as quiet as ever in his white and blue hospital gown.

Aaron grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to the hospital bed.

“You were great out there today, I couldn’t have done it today without you. I hope to be as brave as you one day,” he looked at the clipboard, “Dominick.”

Aura and Rose chuckled.

After a while, everyone dispersed. Aaron went back to write his report to the Magic Defense Force. Rose and Aura waited outside Dominick’s room.

“Hey, Aura,” Rose tapped her on the shoulder.

“What is it, Rose?” She responded.

“Why do you always act like you don’t care about Dominick?”

“Because I don’t?”

“You were the first one to grab him when he wobbled to the entrance. You were the first person he talked to and you were his first friend. I know you care about him. You should let him know sometime, I think it’ll help him more than you realize,” she patted Aura on the shoulder then walked away.

Aura looked off down the hallway, thinking to herself.

Obviously, the events were canceled and all of the staff and students were sent back to their respective schools. Dominick woke up before they were scheduled to leave. The nurses insisted that he used a wheelchair to move but he simply refused and wobbled back to our locker room. Rose started crying when she laid eyes on him and ran to hug him.

Aura stared in disbelief and tears welling in her eyes. She turned away so no one saw it. All of the students and staff had returned back to their schools. Everyone pestered Dominick with questions but that was quickly halted by Aura yelling at them.

The students made it back to the school safely. They were instructed to head over to the gymnasium for an emergency assembly.

Rose, Dominick, and Aura all sat down next to each other.

They talked with each other the entire time, trying their best to distract themselves from what just happened.