Lixarts Academy: First Year

Jenna and Dwayne ran alongside me as we sprinted forward out of the base. Paul and Adriana would split up and go to the northwest.

The twilight sky lit up the sky in a pinkish color as our feet pounded on concrete.

We picked up the speed to reach the other side of the city as fast as possible. The buildings around us were broken down and deteriorating, hanging onto their last limbs.

“Adam, where are we going?” Jenna said, slowing down her pace.

I looked at her,

“Wherever the wind takes us,” I flipped my hair out of my face.

I’m not sure why Adam is like this.

She blushed as she picked up her speed again.

“I’ll head that way,” Dwayne said, pointing northeast.

We waved him goodbye.

We ran for a good 5 minutes until reaching an old, dilapidated supermarket.

“God, how big is this place?” Jenna grumbled.

“I’m not too sure. This city is huge from what I’ve seen,” I replied.

“Yeah but no one’s nearby-”

“Shh..” I said, cutting her off.

The sound of people talking and their heavy stomping startled us. We ran into the supermarket. It was dark and dusty inside. The shelves were broken apart with cans lying on the ground. We ran to the back of the store and hid where the manager’s office is or at least what used to be the manager’s office. The enemies outside seemed to not care about the store as they walked by without even giving it a second glance. We waited for 5 minutes, holding our breath and remaining as still as possible before going outside.

Unfortunately, one of the underlings seemed to be taking in the scenery as they were left behind by the group.

“I FOUND THEM! EARTHQUAKE!” he chanted all of this in one short breath.

The ground around us began to tremble, making us run before we got caught in its destruction.

“ADAM, DO SOMETHING!” Jenna screamed at me.

“YOU DO SOMETHING!” I yelled right back.

She stopped and stared at me with a disgusted expression plastered across her face before turning around.

“Vine Restriction,” she said, vines curling up around the student who was attacking us.

“HEY!” He struggled against the vines, “LET ME GO!”

Her vines pulled him to us so we didn’t struggle to get across the ground he just destroyed.

I walked up to him and socked him in the face. His head dropped and his eyes were shut. The bright blue light surrounded his unconscious body as he was teleported away.

WILLIAM HAS BEEN ELIMINATED

"Why couldn't you do anything about that?" Jenna asked.

"I could've but you handled it so well so it all worked out in the end," I said, smirking at her. I began running again.

You can’t let your guard down in this place, enemies could be lurking anywhere.

“Really? Thanks, Adam," she smiled, running next to me.

We weren’t able to escape as the rest of the group that he had called for arrived just in time. By the time they arrived, the unconscious student had already been recalled back to the gym.

We were outnumbered, 5 to 2.

They must’ve had the same plan as us. I guess we were left with no choice but to try and fight until our back up got here. I lifted up my palm to the sky and blasted a fireball. They looked at me confused.

“How did you miss that badly?!” They said, laughing their asses off.

“I’m sorry, that wasn’t meant for you.” I replied, throwing them a smirk.

Their leader pushed his way to the front.

He stood at least 6 feet tall. He wore a leather jacket with the arms torn off with his uniform underneath, and rocked a buzz cut.

“ERUPTION,” he chanted as we felt the ground beneath start to vibrate and grow hot.

We jumped out of the way as a large geyser of lava spewed out from beneath where we were standing.

“That could’ve killed us,” Jenna muttered. She put her hands to the ground.

“LOTUS,”

A giant lotus flower appeared from the ground. She moved her hands and the petals began to fly off towards them. The white and pink petals moved at amazing speeds as they chased around the enemies.

“OCEAN’S BUBBLE,” a girl chanted from behind the front lines of their team.

A bubble appeared out of nowhere and encapsulated her entire team protecting them from the flying petals.

“Damn it!” Jenna said, as her petals whizzed harmlessly off of the barrier.

“THIS BATTLE IS BORING!” The large man in leather shouted, obviously frustrated.

“Maybe it’s because you’re ugly?” I replied, goading him on.

All of the other guys started muttering confusedly before whirling onto him. He was seething and turning red,

“I’M. NOT. UGLY. MAGMA KICK” he shouted as his foot began to emit a dark red glow as he charged towards me. He might be good in the strength department but he’s very self-conscious.

“Golden Shield,” A golden shield appeared in front of me to block his attack.

His kick pushed me back a bit but it never made it through the shield. However, he melted the front of the shield.

“Oh, Heavens. Heed my call and pierce through my target with your golden, divine arrows,” Arrows with golden heads began to light the sky in a shower of gold.

Jenna watched in awe.

“MAGMA WAVE,” A giant wave of lava appeared, overpowering the arrows and turning them into a golden liquid. The sky was now painted red.

Dwayne, Paul, and Adriana arrived while the tsunami was falling upon us.

“TSUNAMI,” Paul chanted.

A wave of water as big as the lava one appeared and the two collided. The collision caused the sky to be unilluminated by the hazy smoke, leaving the blue gray, gloomy and murky or at least the sky surrounding us.

Everyone was coughing as the fumes began to reach our throats. Everyone but the leader and Paul were running. Those two stood facing one another, eyes not wavering an inch. Their hands moved swiftly to prepare their castings.

I stood face to face with Fraser. After our spells collided, the smoke settled. Leaving the two of us in this barren street with the deteriorating structures to each side of us.

The memories and the nightmares came back just as fast.

Fraser and Paul’s mom were the best of friends. They were deeply bonded with one another since they were able to walk and talk. Perhaps it was just meant to be. They couldn’t be separated all throughout their school years. They went through their fair share of relationships but nothing serious was ever there. That was until they both reached their adult years. A charming individual such as Eric. The catalyst for the falling out between the two. The reason it all began. He and Susan had met at a bar downtown where Susan (Fraser’s mom) would often meet Helena (Paul’s mom). They hit off immediately. The two spent hours talking to one another, sharing their innermost thoughts, favorite hobbies, favorite food, pretty much anything that would allow them to keep talking and allow the night to stay alive. Susan and Eric were two peas in a pod. Seeing them that night, you’d think they knew each other for years the way those two smiled all throughout.

Let’s move this along.

A few years later, Eric and Susan were in a steady relationship. Eric met her parents, met her friends, and moved in together. Their house was vibrant and lively as there was never a dull moment with these two.

Eric, though, had begun drifting away towards something more new… more wrong. He talked to Helena and began to fall for her.

It wasn’t right, to him, they should’ve met first. Those were the type of thoughts he’d think. The things he’d say to himself.

Helena loved him right back but she didn’t want to betray her best friend like that. Eric and Helena discussed what to do. Eventually, they decided. They would leave their partners for each other. Helena believed what she felt for Eric was real. Eric believed it was real too.

The fallout was more than what they had anticipated. Susan became and couldn’t do much. Her illness was a result of the depression and heartache that the two had put her through. Helena, also, became ill due to her actions. Helena threw away a life-long friendship for a man. She thought it was the right choice.

It wasn’t.

Both of them would eventually succumb to their illnesses exacerbated by external factors. Both boys remained next to their mothers on their deathbeds.

“Please, don’t hate Paul over this, it isn’t his fault,” Susan mumbled to Fraser.

“Don’t take this out on Fraser. He isn’t his mother,” Helena murmured to Paul.

Unfortunately, they didn’t take their mothers advice and they found it difficult to hang onto the feelings of anger and resentment that they harbored towards one another due to it. The two boys carried on their mother’s resentment, blaming one another for it, regardless if they knew they were involved or not.

Neither one of us did anything but I felt that I had owed it to my mom to set things right even though they told us not to. Fraser blamed me, blinded by his own rage. He lost his mother that day and I lost mine but I was also blinded by my own rage.

“Spiral,” A small scale typhoon appeared in front of me. I moved my hands forward, directing it towards Fraser.

“VULCAN’S INFERNO,” Fraser chanted, summoning a forge type structure that blasted out magma.

Once again, our spells would collide, filling the air with smoke and dust.

“PAUL, THIS IS FOR MY MOM!” MOLTEN FISTS,” He roared, as his giant molten gloves surrounded his hands.

“THIS IS FOR MY MOM, FRASER! POSEIDON’S TRIDENT!,” My water molded into the form of Poseidon's Trident.

“I knew this was bound to happen someday, Fraser,” I vocalized, charging towards him.

Adam cringed. Ironic, huh?

“EAT THIS!!” He called out as he rushed towards me.

He threw a haymaker to the right, very wide. I parried and pushed him away.

He charged forward once again. This time he performed a leg sweep, catching me by surprise. He threw another right punch towards me while I was on the ground. I managed to move my head out of the trajectory of the punch. I spun around and stood back up on my feet.

I kicked him back and hopped backwards. I charged towards him once again, trident out front, prepared to impale him. He dodged and his magma fist crunched against my jaw. I was disoriented and dizzy from his strike. My skin felt as if it was being charred alive, skin and bone being liquified at the touch; as if I was in the heart of a volcanic inferno. This combined with the raw power of his assault left me unable to regain my balance. Too bad I don’t want to lose.

This is the last time we can finish this.

He swung a roundhouse kick in my direction. I barely managed to stumble out of the way. We continued to fight as if we were gladiators fighting for our lives. Our strikes weren’t precise or anything. I don’t know how he defended so well against my trident. He was able to predict where I was going to stab, how I was going to attack, when I was going to. It was like fighting myself. Fraser extended his arms out,

“FIREBALL,” he chanted.

He held his hand out and sent a normal fireball. The ball spun with chaotic intent, swirling around; absorbing the air to further fuel its mass and power. It grew and grew until it became the size of a boulder. The intense heat emitting from it was enough to put fear into you. If you get hit by that thing, you’re done. He beamed it forward. The ground began to crack and break as it soared above it, air distorting around the heat; like a heatwave.

“WATER SHIELD!” I put my hands in front of me. Water came flowing out from my hands onto the ground. It made its way up into the air and started molding into the shape of a shield. The water reflected the intense light of the titanic fireball.

The two spells made contact. The fireball began to melt into the shield; the flame cutting through it like it was butter. The fireball and the shield however both disappeared. We were both sweating and panting as we were on our last reserves of mana.

I grabbed my trident and scurried around him, jabbing at any open weak points I could exploit. He managed to dodge all of the jabs I went in for. He performed a feint and I fell for it.

Fraser brought his foot up and kicked the liquid trident from my hand. He took advantage of this new opening,

“PHOENIX RELEASE!”

The ground began ripping apart, opening up for a phoenix bird made of fire to rise up to the surface to burn whoever stood in its way. The bird came flying from the ground, causing the surface to shake with epic momentum.

“Poseidon’s Judgment.”

A giant statue made of water appeared in the shape of Poseidon. The statue summoned a trident, the exact same as mine, and slammed it down into the bird. The bird was able to survive the strike as it opened its mouth and screamed. Everyone nearby covered their ears as the shrieks almost blew out our eardrums. A brilliant orange began to emit out of the bird’s mouth. It perched its head forward and sent out an explosion of flames. Just as that happened, Poseidon swung its trident down at the bird’s neck. Both of the attacks landed fatal blows. The Phoenix withered away into ash as Poseidon melted down into a puddle.

“TRIDENT,”

The water flowed into my hands once more and took shape into the trident I had used previously. I charged forward once again. He blocked it with his fists and swung a left hook. I switched my Trident to my other hand and parried his punch one more time. He threw punch after punch. He was a monster. Dodging them hurts like hell, like a freight train. My body was strained. I’m fighting with everything I have left. Even breathing hurts right now. I couldn’t help but be overpowered by his overwhelming strength.

He isn’t smart but he more than makes up for that with his power.

His face, once neutral, now contorted with rage.

I finally got a hit with a stab in his leg. I couldn’t help but wince as I felt the trident tear through his flesh. He roared in pain.

Fraser stumbled until he finally stood up. I backed up. We looked each other directly in the eyes. I charged forward, trident out front. He charged towards me, giant molten fists in tow beside him. The adrenaline most likely made him not feel any of that pain. He lifted his fists up as we finally became face to face.

“I don’t blame you anymore,” I muttered as the trident made contact with his stomach and his fists made contact piercing through my stomach as well.

We both fell down.

“Paul…” he whispered, barely maintaining his consciousness.

“What..?” I whispered back, in the same state as him.

“You didn’t beat me…” Fraser said before falling victim to his injuries and succumbing to unconsciousness.

“I knocked you out, didn’t I?” I responded before going unconscious as well.

FRASER HAS BEEN ELIMINATED

PAUL HAS BEEN ELIMINATED

The automated score keeper announced as the two had been teleported out of the simulation.

Me (Jenna), Adam, Adriana, Dwayne along with the other students stood there, baffled by the battle we had just witnessed. Paul was a quiet guy, he only hung out with people that he knew, he didn’t go out of his way to talk to other people but seeing him like that was surprising.

One of the other students in the opposing group chanted,

“LIGHTNING BOLT”

“NATURE’S SHIELD,” I put my hands up and summoned a shield. The spell was still very powerful as my shield was on the cusp of falling. After a stand-still, both of our spells disappeared.

“WIND CYCLONE” A cyclone appeared in front of Adriana. She sent it forward towards the other team. The cyclone’s winds destroyed the nearby buildings’ windows and caused a heavy downpour. One of the enemies couldn’t escape the cyclone. A bold shade of blue surrounded her then vanished.

EDEN HAS BEEN ELIMINATED

“BINDING CHAINS” A boy from the other side ensnared Adriana in magical chains.

“EXTINCTION,” Someone else from the opposing group chanted.

We couldn’t pinpoint as to who since the battle was raging, as a harsh, neon purple ray soared through the battlefield, piercing through Adriana. She was teleported back to the gym.

“ADRIANA!” I screamed.

ADRIANA HAS BEEN ELIMINATED

“It’s okay, Jenna, we still have each other,” Adam said to me.

I started blushing and smiled at him. He’s so hot.

The situation on the battlefield was 3 vs 3. We all stood up and looked at each other. No words were exchanged. Only spells.

“ICICLE BLAST”

Dwayne’s magic was ice, for someone who was usually all for brute force, this came as a shock for everyone when we discovered he used ice magic.

“PULSATING BEAM” A beam rushed towards Dwayne’s icicles.

They met and collided. The icicles were shattered and the beam was still going strong.

“ICE SHIELD”

Dwayne’s ice shield emerged from nothingness. He dodged out of the way regardless if his shield blocked it or not. Dwayne was very cautious in battle.

“ICE FORTRESS,” Walls made of ice surrounded Dwayne and his enemy.

“HAIL STORM,” A heavy hail storm ensued above the enemy.

“CLAW,” A dark claw ripped through the air, slicing through the hail and Dwayne.

“FUCK!” Dwayne screamed. He fell to the ground. His opponent walked over to him.

“How’s it feel to lose?” he said to the fallen Dwayne.

“Icicle,” Dwayne whispered as an icicle appeared in his hand. He brought the icicle down, aiming for the dark magic user’s back. The enemy was able to dodge a fatal blow but heavy pain was still inflicted into his back.

Dwayne had finally been teleported back to the gym.

DWAYNE HAS BEEN ELIMINATED

My vines have been useless so far against these two. Adam and I were in a stalemate with the electric user and the chain user. Their combination attacks were annoying. They were both able to keep their distance by barraging us with long range spells. Eventually, my mana was depleted since I had been using spells before they did.

“Adam, I have to regain my mana. I’ll be back,” I staggered over to an abandoned alleyway and sat against the wall.

Adam looked at Jenna and nodded. Right now, he couldn’t worry about her being useless; in his own words. He cracked his neck and looked at the two wizards.

“Your ugly magic can’t defeat me,” he was laughing hysterically.

The two looked at each other and barely stifled a laugh.

“GOLDEN STORM,” Adam lifted up his hand. Golden energy began to swirl around at his feet. Golden sparks lit up around him as the air became charged with his magic. The two opponents had to look away due to the sheer brightness of the spell.

“GO FORTH!” He swung his arm through the air and pointed at them. The spell moved in a hurry towards the Chain and Lightning wizards.

“Fine,” the lightning user began to charge all of the mana inside him to his hands. His hands began to crackle with sparks flying out.

“LIGHTNING BLAST.”

The storm was met by lightning. The two battled for control. It was a masterpiece. The colors in the sky, the pressure, the stakes, everything about it played out perfectly.

For the Lightning mage.

He had an appraising look on his face, as if he was reading the spell.

That’s exactly what he was doing. His lightning transferred back electric signals to his brain telling him all about the makeup of the spell; allowing him to determine that he needs to pierce through the core where his magic is the densest.

“LIGHTNING PIERCER!”

A spear of lightning shot through the sky with a deafening crack. His goal wasn’t to destroy the spell itself since that would be impossible due to the sheer size and power but if were to find the core and shatter it? That’s a different story.

Adam, momentarily blinded by the lightning, was aware of what happened since he felt it dissipate into nothing but he couldn’t see what was coming. The spear of lightning pierced through Adam. He was wrapped in a brilliant blue hue as he was teleported away.

ADAM HAS BEEN ELIMINATED

“Oh, I forgot about you,” The Dark Magic user stood over me.

My breathing was heavy and my limbs were tired. I depleted all of my mana so I can’t do anything right now.

“Well, goodbye whatever your name is.”

He began preparing his spell.

“Hey, bro, use your chains to restrict her movements,” he said, looking back to his teammate. His teammate wasn’t there.

VICTOR HAS BEEN ELIMINATED

He began looking around frantically. It was too late when he turned around.

“BULLET STORM.”

A large collection of bullets had appeared behind him and rushed straight towards the lightning mage. The bullets tore through his body, leaving him to be teleported back to the gym.

TYLER HAS BEEN ELIMINATED

“SONIC WAVE!”

A second too late, more enemies showed up, attempting to stop us from eliminating their other teammate.

The 5 out of 6 us who can fight stepped forward, lined up side-by-side, while Jenna went into one of the buildings to regain her mana once more. Aura, Rose, and the others were lined up side-by-side.