“Two days until the team combat begins. And we are behind other teams. I know it is early for us to start practising combat when you don’t know the complete basics, but it is necessary…” Irnik said, pacing back and forth.
“So how do we practice in such a short time?” Felmer asked, concerned.
“Simple, you will fight each other one by one. Then fight me one by one…” Irnik answered, folding his arms.
“Hmph…One by one? Are you scared?” Efkil said, smirking.
“No…I would like to beat your ass peacefully…” Irnik shot back. “As I was saying, you four will fight each other first. We will train as much as possible in these two days and go well prepared into the team battle…One more thing…” Irnik said, raising his index finger. “Feel free to use your Arts. I am sure you must have learned a few from the books I gave you. Moreover, you had the whole day yesterday…”
“Yes, sir…”
“Good…” Irnik sat down and crossed his legs. “First match, Felmer and Efkil…”
‘Seriously?’ Felmer sighed. ’Whatever…”
Felmer unsheathed his black and blue sword and prepared for battle.
“Remember some rules. This is not fun. No hand-to-hand combat is allowed, but using legs and punches mid-match is allowed. If you lose your sword, accept the defeat.” Irnik announced, extending his arm.
Felmer pulled the sword up to his face. He covered half of his face with the blade and looked at Efkil with a serious expression. Efkil’s face reflected in his blade.
Efkil gritted his teeth and took his offensive stance.
“And…Start!” Irnik shouted, waving his arm.
Felmer pulled down his sword, imbued magic in his legs, and before Efkil could react, he rushed at him at great speed.
For Irnik, Felmer was slow. But for Efkil, his speed was overwhelming. Taking the opportunity, Felmer landed a blow at Efkil.
Efkil, confused, pulled his sword straight in front. Felmer’s blow landed heavily on Efkil’s sword. The vibration shook Efkil, and he immediately rushed back a few steps. He again took his stance and looked at Felmer.
‘What is he trying to do?’ Felmer thought, confused by Efkil’s odd behaviour. ‘I can’t control my magic with weapons. So I will imbue my sword with it bit by bit.’
Felmer, without imbuing magic in his legs, ran towards Efkil. He placed a foot forward and attacked from Efkil’s left. Efkil swung his sword in the same direction and somehow blocked Felmer’s attack. Felmer tried more attacks, but either Efkil blocked, or the attacks missed.
Felmer took a step back and stopped. Suddenly, Efkil dug his sword into the ground and shouted.
“Plant Art, Bloom!”
Felmer was startled and retreated. Everyone waited, but nothing happened. Finally, at some distance from Efkil, a sapling emerged, and an insect-eating plant emerged.
Felmer, disappointed, slowly walked up to the plant, summoned the cyan flame in his hand, and burned the plant to a crisp.
Efkil, who was leaning on his sword, watched it all, dumbstruck.
Felmer got near Efkil and kicked his sword. Efkil lost his balance and fell on the ground.
“Heh…” Felmer chuckled, mocking Efkil.
“Great…Felmer wins…” Irnik said, clapping slowly.
Next were Anderson and Zendaya.
They looked at each other, and once Irnik said, " Start, Anderson rushed at Zendaya.
“Aghhhh!!!” Anderson shouted as he ran at Zendaya.
Zendaya, unbothered, stepped aside and, at striking distance, hit Anderson’s sword, and it fell from his hands.
“Zendaya wins…” Irnik announced, holding his laughter.
“Seriously?” Zendaya asked, sheathing her sword. “You put all your strength into that shouting…” She said, yawned, and sat down.
Felmer looked at Anderson and smiled.
The four of them turned towards Irnik and heard another voice.
“Hello, kids…Good Morning…” Irfika said cheerfully.
“Wha…” The four kids blurted out.
“He is a friend of mine…” Irnik said and stood up. “Rest for a while; we will continue shortly.”
“He wasn’t there…and now, suddenly, he is here…” Felmer asked, most shocked.
“Well, I liked surprises…” Irfika winked, smiling.
‘Cyan eyes…So he is Felmer Gorbin…He fought well for his age. But Melfer seemed better…’ Irfika thought, observing Felmer.
“No need to stop your training. I came for a few seconds.” Irfika whispered.
“And the reason?” Irnik asked, calm.
“The team battle is likely to be a trap, and that heir is the target. My unit might intervene. But be careful…” Irfika said and turned, but his eyes caught Efkil’s face. He turned towards Irnik. “Isn’t that boy from the Rigner family?”
“Yes, he is…But he is just a child…” Irnik answered, unbothered.
“The world works weirdly. Don’t lower your guard just because he is a kid. Be careful…” Irfika said softly, patted Irnik’s shoulders, and walked away.
“Don’t worry…” Irnik whispered. “I have plans…”
…
In the evening, in Maska
Felmer opened the door and entered his house. He slowly walked to the rack to his right and placed his sword in it. He took out a handkerchief from the pocket of his trousers and wiped the sweat from his face and neck.
“It seems you trained a lot today…” Marnis said, flipping through a book.
“Yes, I had to. The team battles will take place a day after tomorrow. The captain has given us the day off tomorrow so we can rest and train on our own.” Felmer dragged his tired feet and sat near Marnis.
“It is good that he gave you a day off, so use that opportunity well…” Marnis said, eyes glued to the book.
“Sure, I will…” Felmer took a deep breath, stretched his arms, and went to his room.
He opened the door and looked at the window. After the explosion, the room was repaired, so it looked better than before.
‘I didn’t see the others. I wonder where they are…’ Felmer thought, fell on his bed, and dozed off.
After a refreshing sleep of four hours, Felmer woke up at night. Yawning, he looked at the wall clock.
‘Eight in the night…I sure slept for long…’ Felmer thought, rubbing his eyes.
He put on his coat, opened the door, and went down.
Marnis, Emilia, and his two siblings were eating dinner. Felmer slowly walked towards them, pulled a chair, and sat in it.
“Hello, everyone…” Felmer greeted them, still sleepy.
“Hello…” Emilia replied, smiling. “How is your training going? I heard there were some changes…”
“The training is going great. And yes, they made some unusual changes…” Felmer took a sip of water. “They shortened the time of the training. Moreover, the day after tomorrow, team battles will occur. And as far as I remember, our school have never held such an event…”
“I don’t think there is anything unusual about it. Institutes introduce new things to improve their reputation and deliver better education.” Emilia answered, passing a plate of curry to Felmer.
“Well, yes, there isn’t much unusual. But our trainer, Captain Irnik, was a bit angry and displeased by the sudden changes…”
“Can I watch you fight?” Benny asked, cheerfully.
“Unfortunately, no. There won’t be any audience. Just teams and battles…” Felmer replied, eating his dinner.
“Really? I wanted to see you fight…” Benny sighed.
“But we can see you train, right?” Flexin asked, trying to cheer up Benny.
“Well, of course you can. I will be practising in our backyard…” Felmer smiled.
As they ate their dinner, Felmer remembered something.
“Hey, Benny…” Felmer said, and took a spoonful of his curry.
“Yes?”
“Wanna see some magic?” Felmer asked, putting down his fork and spoon.
“What magic? I would like to see it…” Benny stopped eating and turned towards Felmer.
“When did you become a magician?” Flexin asked, confused.
“Keep quiet and watch…”
Felmer cleaned his hands with a cloth and turned to Benny. He showed his right palm to Benny. Marnis, Emilia, and Flexin became attentive towards Felmer as well.
Felmer imbued his palm with some of his magic and summoned the cyan flame.
“Whoosh…” Felmer said softly, and the cyan flame appeared, hovering above his palm.
“Whoa!” Benny exclaimed. “How did you do that?”
“A magician never reveals his secrets…” Felmer winked.
“No…Tell me. It’s cool. I want to learn it too…”
“Hahaha…Don’t worry. You will learn when the time comes…” Felmer clasped his hands and stood. “Well…I am going back to my room now…” He said and went up the stairs.
In his room, he grabbed a book and sat on his bed.
“Hmm…Now what was the name of that Art again?” Felmer whispered, searching through the book. After a few seconds, he found it. “Here it is. The beginner Art of Flame category…” He chuckled.
“Burning Hell…”
…
At midnight, in Maska.
Irfika took a quick look around his hotel and went inside. Then went to his room on the second floor.
He slowly opened the door and looked around.
‘He’s asleep…’ Irfika said to himself, looking at Melfer.
Irfika went near the table and placed an emblem on it. The left half had a moon and the right half had a solar eclipse on it. It had a movable disk on it. Irfika slowly rotated the disk and changed it to a full moon. He imbued the emblem with his magic, and the moon began to glow brightly.
A wisp of smoke rose from the emblem, and a portal came into view. On the other side, Equinox sat on her chair, engrossed in a novel.
“Skipping work and wasting time on novels?” Irfika smirked.
“And you are disturbing both my work and my novel reading. Is there something important?” Equinox asked, closing the book.
Irfika took out two envelopes from his coat, one red and one blue. He tossed them to Equinox through the portal and said, “Give the blue one to Unit 96, and the red one to the Sun…Time is short…”
“The unit?” Equinox straightened. “Is there a mission? What’s happening?”
“You can ask Sun the details after he is done reading. And tell the unit that it is extremely urgent; they must not waste any time…”
“Don’t worry, they will be delivered at once. And what are you going to do?” She asked, standing up and adjusting her coat.
“Going to meet someone…” Irfika replied and severed the connection.
…
At night. In the Magnus Palace, Faskerlis.
Laminar sat on a chair beside the window and stared at the beautiful night sky.
‘This time of night is always calm and refreshing…’ He thought, enjoying the cold and calm breeze.
He breathed the fresh air and exhaled calmly.
Suddenly, many emergency bells began to ring.
“All soldiers, assemble in the king’s hall!” A voice shouted from within the palace. “Head immediately to the king’s hall!”
“Huh?” Laminar stood up, grabbing his sword. “An emergency?” He whispered and rushed out of his room.
A large number of soldiers were running here and there, holding spears and swords. Many rushed into the armoury, and many left it, running towards the king’s hall.
He looked at two commanders running towards his room and stopped them.
“Commanders!” He called them.
The two commanders turned and immediately stopped.
“What’s all this fuss?” Laminar asked, concerned.
“Your Majesty, the Solaris of Eclipse have suddenly appeared in the king’s hall…” One of the commanders answered, and the two walked away.
“What? Solaris? Did they find out that we attacked Marnis Gorbin?” Laminar mumbled under his breath, confused.
Then he heard footsteps behind him.
“My Prince…” Torkia called Laminar, swiftly walking. “You should remain inside. The commanders and the king will handle it…”
“Are you serious? I am not a child or a princess…” Laminar shot back, angry.
“I understand, but it is dangerous. If the Solaris enter our palace this easily, it won’t be hard for him to harm you. You can’t battle him in your current state…” Torkia said, worried.
“I know…And I don’t care. I don’t want the king to make all the plans himself and keep me in the dark just because I am young and training…” Laminar said and rushed towards the hall.
With the soldiers, Laminar rushed into the hall and swiftly walked towards the throne.
On the table near the throne, a person sat, his legs crossed. Nearly fifty soldiers surrounded him, their spears pointed at him. Yet, the man sat calmly as if the soldiers were absent.
‘Irfika Korloff, Solaris of the Eclipse…’ Laminar thought. ‘Torkia was right; I am no match for him, but the king is. He is Larnet Falva, not some lowly king…’
“Quite the party you have gathered to welcome me,” Irfika smirked, looking at Larnet. “Even the second prince came. I am honoured.” Irfika looked at Laminar, then turned his head to Larnet.
“What are you doing here? And why didn’t you come properly from the main door?” Laminar questioned.
“Your grandfather here is quite shy of me. He minds when I try to meet him respectfully…” Irfika replied, his smile fading.
‘He is openly taunting the king. Isn’t he scared?’ Laminar was shocked at Irfika’s behaviour.
“Why are you here?” Larnet finally spoke.
“I don’t think you should be asking this when we both know what you are doing in Maska…”
‘Huh? Doing what in Maska? Did the king hide it from me again?’ Laminar’s shock increased.
“And what will you do about it?” Larnet asked, challenging Irfika.
“You wanna know what I will do?” Irfika raised his eyebrows.
“Enlighten me…” Larnet smiled.
“Under Act 3 of the International Clause and Decree 388 of the Eclipse, I have the authority to intervene in your plans in Maska…And I am here to warn you…”
“Hahaha…Do you think that by just knowing my plans, you can stop me?” Larnet gave a low laugh. “Eclipse is just talk…You have no guts to raise your swords against powerful kingdoms…” Larnet stood up and walked up to Irfika.
“Are you testing me?” Irfika stood up as well.
“Yes, so I ask again. Can you stop Falvaria?” Larnet gave an open challenge to Irfika.
“Hah…” Irfika took a step closer to Larnet. “I can….And I will…”
Chapter discussion