《Burning Soul》


 Chapter 0

    Darius Lamark stepped through the gaping maw in the face of the earth. He raised his hand and moments later a glowing orb of light stood above him. After a sign, the Lightorb flickered and now the light was only visible for himself.


    Darius strained his hearing and heard light whispers somewhere in front of him. I am on the right way he thought, touching the small, shining green gem mounted in the middle of the round silvery pendant and activating the spell woven in the material. I hope it was worth the time to charge the diamond with air mana. A small sphere was erected to keep Darius from unfriendly eyes as he walked deeper into the gloomy cave. Stalagmites and stalactites gave the illusion of a giant jaw, trying to crush everybody stupid enough to walk inside.


    Sneaking forward, the silence of the cave unnerved Darius. Soon he was able to hear a small cry for help in front of him. He increased his speed until he stood in front of a three-way junction.


    Should I use another windstone for my illusion magic, or do I trust my luck? Darius asked himself. As a teacher at the academy of magic, he, of course, had the means to be wasteful, but sadly he only brought a few. No, I shouldn''t risk it. Too much is at stake.


    A minute later the spell matrix was drawn and another green gem was put in the middle of the mandala-like structure. The modification of a Detect Life spell was far harder than it seemed. Not only did he need to cast an ordinary Detect Life, but the construct needed command for the time difference. A combination of more than one school of magic took a much bigger mental strain on oneself. Luckily a soulstone was used, otherwise, it would have taken much of his soul strength, as he wasn''t very proficient with an element as elusive as time.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    As soon as the gem hovered in the middle of his extended hand a small arrow pointed to the rightmost junction. Darius silently went that way and what felt like seconds later was met with a dreadful scene. Four bodies lay spread over a distance of maybe 15 meters. Damned, it got them too. I was afraid, it would end this way. We should stop giving out those risky missions. Agitated, he stroked his shivering hand through his shoulder-length white hair.


    After Darius calmed down a bit, he knelt down next to the first corpse. Of course, he knew them, as he had followed the young adults for almost two weeks. Still warm, it can''t be far from here!...But wait, there is too little blood. Darius leaped up, just to be thrown against the wall.


    "Your small Invisibilty is ridiculous!" a gnarled voice said. Shaking his head, Darius tried to regain his mind.


    As strong as this push was, his enchanted outfit kept him from more harm. Hastily he cast a Windsphere and upped the output of his Lightorb. "Those measly tricks won''t help to keep your life" was heard, before a hand blew through his Windsphere and took him by the throat.


    "Wha-" Darius tried to ask before soul-rending pain lashed through his very being. Seconds later Darius fell to his knees and tilted face-first into the dirt. "Not much longer" the tall dark shadow, which seemed to suck in the last glows out of Lamark''s armor, spoke to no one in particular.

 Chapter 1

    The walls were white and a slight smell of disinfectant stood in the air. Some people with visible injuries sat on old, worn-out chairs. One even in a wheelchair, folding his hands in his lap, possibly praying. But the running doctor had other worries than the waiting people. His newest patient, who luckily could be identified as Theobalt M¨¹ller, lapsed into cardiac arrest and he had to get the young man back. ¡°Out of the way¡±, the short man was shouting to his audience.


    The nurse on watch was already trying to reanimate the young man, who was brought in a few hours earlier. Apparently he was struck by lightning during the nasty thunderstorm which raged the whole day. ¡°Please step back, I need more space to work,¡± the nurse said to the stocky, redheaded woman, who stood by the bed. ¡°Bu- but my poor boy.¡±


    ¡°Madam, step back, or we need to remove you,¡± the doctor said while arriving.


    With wide eyes, he examined the scene in front of him. While being an experienced doctor, he always felt a little afraid in such extreme situations.


    The well-built young male nurse was still going strong, doing CPR, while the doctor held the loading defibrillation paddles. Immediately the nurse stepped back and the doctor used the defibrillator. The nurse restarted the reanimation and the medic gave the next command before another electroshock cursed through the young man. Both were working hard, while a third nurse was pumping air into Theobalts lungs. After half an hour the team, which meanwhile grew to eight people to give the first nurse a small rest, gave up.


    ¡°WHY DID YOU STOP?¡± the stocky mother cried. ¡°There is still a chance. You can''t give up on him¡± and she jumped to Theo¡¯s bed, trying to continue CPR. It took three of the worn-out nurses and the help of the doctor to get Ms. M¨¹ller away from her son. ¡°I am sorry, but there is nothing we can do anymore. He may live again, but after that much time, he wouldn''t wake up.¡± the physician said. He glanced at his watch, but before he was able to call the time of death, an amplitude was shown on the monitor. ¡°What the...¡± the doctor started and before he was able to react, the mother was already embracing her 22-year-old son.


    <hr>


    It was dark.


    All-Encompassing darkness, more gloomy than the darkest, most moon- and starless night you could imagine. Somewhere in front of me, there was a light flicker. Using all my power, to get up and get out of the darkness into the light. It felt like hours before I was able to stand on my own two feet and afterward, I took a few staggering steps to the flickering patch of warmth in the cold grim darkness surrounding me.


    I crawled. Using only my arms before the leaden extremities fell down. My eyes closed and I needed, I craved a few moments of rest. But I knew if I gave up now, it would be too late and I would be stranded in this eternal darkness. So I bit myself, to get the tiredness out of my system and fought to get up again. After maybe hours, I was able to take the last steps in front of a small, gray, flickering candle. But before I was able to admire the small fire, a flash of dazzling blue lightning hit the wick of the gray candle.


    It took a few minutes before I was able to see again, but what was a small candle before, had become a tall oak, burning in a blue fire. I gathered my courage and held a hand in front of the burning tree, but it didn''t feel hot. Squinting my eyes, I was able to look through the blinding fire and noticed that the tree was unharmed.


    The leaves and branches were fully coated, but I saw a hue of green and brown, and no black as if the fire didn''t consume the tree. Another flash of lightning came down, but instead of hitting the tree, it hit me directly into my chest. A burning pain spread in my chest before I lost consciousness.


    A small gasp escaped my lungs and I took an even smaller breath in. Before I was able to realize what had happened, an uncomfortable weight around my chest joined the already existing pain. ¡°I thought you were gone,¡± was all I was able to make out through the sobbing. Opening my eyes, I saw the person most dear to me. ¡°Mom? What¡äs going on? What¡äs happening?¡± I asked, totally confused.


    A few minutes later, with the help of a short, slender man in a white gown, I was able to cobble the story of the last few hours together. As far as I remember, I went out to throw my trash away, but a tree above me was hit by lightning and I got a big chunk through an electric arc right near my heart. While some neighbors were able to call an ambulance, I still fell into a short coma. Apparently I got really lucky, as the Nuremberg hospital isn''t that far from my home and my heart gave out after we got there.


    Realistically, I should be dead, as I couldn''t be reanimated for over half an hour, but I feel fine. I feared there may be some hidden complications, as brain trauma wasn''t that absurd, after being hit by lightning and being ¡°dead¡± for nearly half an hour.


    After my mother reassured me that she would visit me every day, she left me alone. This wasn¡¯t unusual. After my father left us alone, my mother had to work even harder to help us through life. Rather than become mad, I was a bit content because I needed to think about what had happened and about this strange dream.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    There was this feeling; that this dream meant something. A near-death experience, a strange dream and nothing else happens?! Trying to get up, I failed miserably, as my whole body felt numb. Before bothering a nurse, I used the plastic container near my bed and put cleaning myself off until tomorrow. I fell exhausted into the pillow, sleeping before I hit it.


    I was walking through an old forest. There was nothing to see or hear for miles except trees and trees. But there was a clearing ahead and I ran for it. Around me, there were old and very high trees, which I couldn''t see the top of. I stumbled around with my head in the sky, definitely out of breath after my sprint before, while in the center of the clearing was a crystal clear pond of water. Feeling the mud beneath my shoes, I only needed to take a step to the right before falling into said pond.


    Getting my countenance back, I moved backwards, to get a straight look into the pond before me. It was no mere pond, but a pretty big lake I haven''t been able to make out because of the fog, which obscured the rest of the lake.


    Peering into it, I saw some shady figures which were moving pretty fast in the dark landscape of the lake. I tried to bend forward, to see more of the figures, but while doing so I felt dizzy and before I could react I lost my ground.


    Startling awake, I nearly fell out of bed. What...? Where am I? It took me nearly a minute before I remembered what had happened yesterday. My throat is parched, WATER! was my only thought.


    I reached out to the buzzer to call the night nurse, but somehow I must have thrown it out of my bed and reach. Powerless and thirsty it took me nearly everything to get the buzzer from the floor. Shivering, I pressed the button and cursed me was helplessly watching the buzzer fall to the floor again. I had no power left to try again... I needed to thirst till tomorrow and maybe die if nobody got to me fast enough.


    A few hours later I awoke still as thirsty as before, but I hoped the night would end soon and I got a glistening, cold, fresh glass of water. I pictured the feeling of the glass, the texture and even the taste of water in my mind, expecting to have some of it a few minutes or hours later... I would not care anymore.


    The picture was so strong, that I felt a real glass in my hand. I didn''t dare to open my eyes, otherwise, I would lose this illusion. Raising my hand to my mouth I gave in to the illusion and hoped that the morning shift would take over soon and I get something to drink. BUT I felt glistening, cold and freshwater pour down my throat.


    ¡°Mr. M¨¹ller, wake up!¡± a voice was heard, as I rose from my sleep. ¡°If you don''t wa-¡± the woman started, as I pried my eyes open. ¡°Ah, finally. I thought I needed to call the doctor again. How was your sleep? I hope you slept well, as it is already ten o¡äclock and you have your first ward round in a quarter of an hour.¡± Does she ever stop talking? I asked myself. ¡°Sorry, I must have been exhausted after everything that happened. Do I need to go anywhere specific, or do I need to do anything for this ward round?¡±


    As I was never in a hospital before, I was quite inexperienced with the whole process. ¡°No, not really, but you might want to freshen up while I change your bedding.¡± was the answer. A bit shaky, I rose and lumbered into the small bathroom accommodated in the sick room. Luckily I didn''t need to share this room, as my health insurance didn''t cover a single sick room.


    The hot steamy shower was exactly what I needed to wholly wake up. To really savor the warm water, I even brushed my teeth while standing there. The nurse shouted something, but I didn¡¯t understand a thing.


    Walking out of the shower with only a small towel covering my manhood I asked the young nurse if they had something to wear, as my pants and shirt got destroyed yesterday. ¡°We have an OP-shirt for you until your mother gets you your clothes.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, that would help Ms.?¡± I was a bit disappointed by the ironic grin I got from the nurse. I hoped I could get at least a smile by showing myself this way, as I trained hard for my small sixpack.


    ¡°You can call me Carmen, Mr. M¨¹ller. By the way, did you drop your water glass last night? It is not a problem, as it is my job to clean it up, but it had to be noted down by the night shift. Also, it is surprising that you don''t have a scar from where the lightning struck you. Normally you can at least see that someone was struck by lightning by the kind of scar they carry.¡±


    ¡°Hi Carmen, I am Theobalt, or Theo and no, I had no glass of water but I am sorry for the inconvenience. Do they get a scar? I guess I got lucky.¡± getting dizzy answering so many questions I climbed back into my now clean bed. ¡°The doctor should be here any minute now. If you need anything, just push the distress button and I will be there for you.¡±


    Asking the doctor during his round, I got no answer about my missing scar. But the good news was that I could leave the hospital two days later if I had no complications. Later that day my mum visited and brought my clothes and a small cake, her neighbors baked for me.


    ¡°Theo, I am so lucky that you are still alive. What would I have done if you didn''t wake up.¡±


    ¡°Mum it is okay, I am fine and nothing terrible has happened.¡± I opened my arms to welcome her hug. This ordeal must have hurt her more than I would have expected I thought while my OP-shirt got a bit wet on my shoulder. ¡°I love you, mum!¡± I whispered in her ear. Finally, she stood up and wiped away her tears.


    We talked until late afternoon about my studies, our non-existent partners and living alone. At last, I got my dinner. And the hospital food was really yuck! My mother promised that she would get me something better to eat for tomorrow. Then she left and I was alone again.

 Chapter 2

    Finally, two days later, my stay at the hospital ended and the smell of the city engulfed me. It was heaven!


    Don''t misunderstand. A city like Nuremberg with over 300.000 people smells awful, but if you have ever been in an hospital for a few days, you are going to miss the scent of the living. Hospital air is too clean and smells like sanitizer and death. It is understandable why people loathe hospitals.


    After taking the next subway home and finally being able to rest in my own four walls, my thoughts went back to the strange dream days before.


    Damn, it is hard to remember a dream five minutes after waking up and near impossible two days later.


    Concentrating on the glass of water, which appeared in my hand after this dream, I tried to conjure it once more.


    "Why don''t you work!! I wasn''t hallucinating, so there has to appear something." motivating myself through a beginning migraine didn''t help in my attempt.


    After giving up and cursing a full-blown headache I called my boss, informing him about my release from the hospital.


    "Hello Theobalt, thank you for calling. We were already informed by the hospital about your accident, so don''t worry about anything.


    Also, it may be best, if you rest until the end of next week and come back Monday well-rested."


    "Thank you Mr. -" I started before being interrupted.


    "No need to thank me. You had an awful accident and are really lucky to be alive. Rest well and see you on Monday."


    He hung up, probably busy as hell.


    Puh, really happy to have such an understanding boss. Nothing worse than a dressing down from your boss and loud enough for all colleagues to hear. As the competition in every student job is pretty harsh, the fear to lose the job is always on one''s mind. I was working in a small company, which builds electric parts and circuits for various machineries, like computers, cars, you name it.


    There must be some Aspirin somewhere. Maybe I should ask a neighbor? Trying to ignore my headache wasn''t graced by success and I was groaning and massaging my head trying to hold it together before it could split apart.


    "Finally found them!"


    Downing three pills at once I closed my eyes until the droning in my ears and my blurry vision were gone.


    A splash of water in my face and fresh air should alleviate the pain further. Drying my face, I walked out onto my small balcony to watch the evening sun, sinking beneath the Nuremberg skyline.


    It wasn''t as majestic as New York or even Munich, but it was the skyline of my city, so I was content, sitting there, watching, enjoying the relief and letting my mind drift. Recapturing the last few years of my life, I had been quite lucky. Before my first semester even started, an acquaintance told me about this job and as they were quite understaffed, they hired me nearly immediately. The pay was pretty good for a student and enabled me to move out of my mother''s apartment.


    Of course, it is idiotic to move out, when your mother lives in the same city, but I wanted a place of my own and living on my own conditions. Not that my mum had any strict rules that had to be followed, but an eagle needs to spread his wings to fly and therefore needs to leave its nest.


    Sadly there was kind of a crossroad in front of me. I could continue with my master''s degree or doing an internship, preferably, abroad. The thought of going abroad scared me a little, but the opportunity to learn a new language and meet a new culture would never come back.


    An internship would be the perfect opportunity for earning a little bit of money on the side and I never get the chance again to leave the country for a whole semester. I convinced myself of the second option. Frankly, it was the better choice for my future and it gave me more options and more time to think about what I want later on.


    As I was too lazy to draw a pro-contra list I let fate decide by grabbing the next coin and flipping it in the air. "There was this article about flipping coins and as soon as it left your hand, you should know what you want to do," I said to myself.


    Trying to catch the coin mid-air, as my decision was made, I swatted it across the room and out of the open balcony door.


    "Dammit, that was my wash money!" Watching it fall down on the ground and trying to guess where it landed was hard in the darkness and up from the fourth floor.


    Well, that''s it, I can''t see a thing. Sure it is only 50 cents, but I detest throwing money out of the window.


    Giggling to myself for this awesome pun, I stepped back into my room and decided against calling my mother right away. I should visit her, maybe it will soften the blow if I tell her directly about my plan. A quick shower later and it was time for bed.


    Refreshed after a good night''s sleep I did my fitness routine of a few push- and sit-ups. A fit body should help to finally get a Girlfriend, I thought while standing under the shower. Sadly any success was absent, but one may still hope.


    Some minutes and a short message to my mother later, a gurgling sound reminded me of breakfast. I am no star chef, but with only a few ingredients like eggs, mushrooms, onion, and some seasoning even the worst cook can make a decent omelet. Exercised, clean and fed, my research for an internship, or an idea for a location to do one, began.


    Preferring Europe over any other continent and limiting my search to the neighboring countries brought pretty different choices. Not sure if Eastern or Southern Europe would be better, I postponed the search and wasted my time with other very meaningful things a young adult like myself could waste his time with.


    In the afternoon and on my way to my mom, passerby''s must have called me crazy, as I was rehearsing what to say to her later. Sadly no epiphany helped me out and so I did the second-best thing to pacify her. The shop at the corner gave me the idea, so after a small detour, I had enough ingredients for pasta. Mom never eats at work, so my self-made meal should soothe her enough to not shout at me.


    "Hmm, what is this heavenly smell? You didn''t cook, did you?" I let the door to the kitchen open so that she could smell my work immediately after entering the house. "Of course I did. You are tired from work and shouldn''t have to cook while I am here."


    "Thanks Theo! I appreciate the gesture. I hope it tastes as good as it smells," she said, walking into the kitchen and giving me a hug.


    "I believe so, as I learned from the best!" buttering my mother up in preparation for my news.


    "Mum there is something I wanted to talk about. I want to do an internship abroad."


    "Why do you want to go abroad? Why don''t you start with your master''s degree here?" My mother asked, maybe a little bit shocked.


    "It is the perfect opportunity for learning a new language and a new culture, doing some work and it is certainly good for my vita.


    Also, I want a little bit of time away from the university," I answered, wringing my hands nervously. "So you have thought about it. Don''t misunderstand me, I don''t want to stop you, I just want to make sure, that this isn''t a crazy idea of yours with no real goal."


    Uff, I was afraid that she would shout at me. Luckily she understood me and even if my reasons weren''t the best, she would let me do my thing.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    "Do you know where you will go, yet?" mom asked after a few minutes. "I did some research and I want to stay in Europe, so visiting home would not be that expensive. But choosing between Eastern or Southern Europe is hard. Countries like Czech, or Poland aren''t that far away, and living expenses are not as high as here or in Southern Europe, but I believe the landscape and the girls is more beautiful."


    I had never been to either south or east Europe, as money was tight before I got my job and afterward, traveling alone and without friends always seemed a bit too sad to me. Sadly my mother''s job didn''t allow her to travel, at least over longer periods of time, and my social anxiety made it hard to find real friends.


    After the meal we tidied everything up and sat down, talking about different countries I could visit. During that, we may or may not have had a bottle of wine and I may or may not have drunk too much.


    "Oh crap, it is nearly one o''clock. I need to hurry, otherwise, I miss the last subway! Bye mum, I will call you, letting you know about my decision." After a quick kiss on her cheek, I ran out of the door. A pat on my pockets to make sure everything needed was with me before I sprinted to the next substation.


    Out of breath but finally inside the subway, a second before the doors closed, I sat on the first available seat. Luckily it is late at night and no controller here, otherwise I would get a fine.


    Normally it wouldn''t have been a problem, as we students have a ticket throughout the semester, but the semester had already ended and I was no longer a student. It was too late to leave and take a taxi, regretting my stupid action, I hoped that no ticket controller would be active at this time.


    But Lady Luck was not on my side this time as I saw a controller standing up at the back of the car. I dismissed searching for a ticket and rather thought of a good excuse. Slightly drunk Theobalt is apparently not good at thinking up excuses as I panicked, while the clerk stood right in front of me.


    "Ticket please," the man said while I frantically searched for an escape out of this situation. An old ticket, which lay forgotten in my wallet could be the way out. Please, please just read the numbers wrong. Please believe that this is the right ticket. Hoping for the best and willing the clerk to misread the numbers didn''t succeed.


    "Sir, this ticket has already expired. I need to give you a fine."


    Caught¡­


    Pleading and doing my best dog-eye impression, I tried to convince the clerk. "Please don''t, I was in a rush to get the last sub and normally I pay for everything, but this time I didn''t have time to get a ticket. Could you, maybe, forget it this time?"


    "As it is already late and I was just getting home and nearly done with my shift, I suppose I could let you go this time."


    Relief overcame me, "Thank you! Thank you very much!"


    Puh, that could have been way worse. I don''t want to pay the fine, as I need all the money I have for the year abroad. Just as the controller went to the next person, I noticed someone in a dark long leather mantle sitting halfway across the car. He looked at me with his cold blue eyes and I was rooted in place. The man let his gaze wander over me and it felt like he was appraising me like someone would a slab of one-week-old meat at the butcher.


    The train stopped with a jerk and my rigidness was broken. Quickly I formulated a plan in my head, stood up and went near the door, without leaving the car.


    Just as the doors were closing, I bolted outside, running up the stairs and out of the station. The whole time it felt like the mysterious man was staring holes in my back. Afraid and out of my mind, the sprint home felt longer as it should have. But to be fair, the two subway stations I left early made it a distance of nearly three kilometers.


    Finally home I checked my spy-hole every five minutes, to make sure that no one had followed me here. The cold blue eyes of this man didn''t leave me alone and it took a while until I was no longer shivering. Finally feeling safe but tired, my couch looked especially cozy and soft and with a grunt, I let myself fall onto it.


    Just a few minutes of rest and distraction, I told myself, turning the TV on. The calming noise of the TV and my weariness was all it took before my eyes fell down.


    I was jogging through a forest. Glances upward told me, that it should be late afternoon, as short flashes of light went through the canopy. The feeling of someone following me, let me speed up, but looking back, I found nothing.


    Wait...There!


    In the corner of my eyes, a dark and blurry shadow flashed but went completely out of sight. Nervously, I pondered stopping and taking a proper look back, but my legs wouldn''t listen to my command.


    Slowly my surroundings got darker and more gloomy as if I was running into the night. The occasional flash of light through the forest''s crown grew sparser and minutes later, it stopped completely. This has to be a dream, I thought, but it seemed that I was trapped, as every trick to wake up, didn''t work.


    It was dark now. So dark, that even the idea of light was an abstract thought, only a madman could have, in this place. My five senses were shut down and only the ability to think, let me know, that I still existed.


    It could have been years or mere seconds, I stood still in this eternal darkness. Ever so slowly hissing and chittering was building up on the edge of my hearing. Suddenly eight black orbs, like small holes in reality, lighted up in front of me.


    They were only visible because, while it was dark around me, these orbs gave the distant feeling of gravity and seemed to absorb the surrounding darkness. It felt outlandish but I somehow knew, something stood in front of me.


    Before I could take a step back, a sharp pain hit me in my chest and something was burning through my veins. It wasn''t the burn of fire, but that of a cold, harsh, biting frost seconds before you become a statue of ice.


    The pain was so real and at the same time felt so wrong, like the tingling of thousands of tiny spiders crawling beneath my skin and invading my very being.


    ROAR


    The loud sound finally woke me up and I registered, that it was my voice, crying out in agony.


    CRASH


    A figure, standing in my, now broken down, doorway. Immediately it jumped next to my side. If I had been lucid, I may have recognized the stranger from the subway, but the blood rushing in my ears, my blurry vision, and excruciating pain held me back.


    Darkness started to engulf me, but not the darkness of my dream, but a final darkness trying to drown me and deep inside, I knew, that if I gave up and let myself sink down, I would never wake again.


    The stranger raised a hand in which he held a strange crystal, glowing in a warm, white light. A flood of white streamed through me and the smell of pines and freshly cut lawn on a warm day in spring held me up long enough, to fight back the darkness.


    The burning pain receded and the white light seemed to wash everything burdening me, away. I felt the loving embrace of my mother, after a nightmare I had as a child. It made me whole again.


    Wiping away my tears and regaining awareness of my surroundings, I finally recognized the stranger. "What are you doing here?" I asked while trying to gain distance. He walked over to my chair, sat down and cleared his throat.


    "Saving you, I guess. So you don''t need to be so hostile." He let his gaze sweep through my apartment. "Thanks, but would you mind leaving now? I don''t know you, and I don''t like mysterious strangers in my home."


    What did he do? Feeling oddly fine, a quick check-up revealed that not only was everything okay with me, even a scar I got from a dog-bite years before, was gone too.


    "Despite healing you, you were still hit pretty hard, so forget hiding behind the couch, answer my questions and I will leave you alone."


    "Please" the stranger added after a second.


    "I''d rather not, especially after what happened in the subway. But I would like a few questions answered too." I tried to be brave and direct, as the stranger could have hurt me, or even let me die. So hoping that by answering his questions I might get out of this mess.


    "Of course ask away, but I am restricted in some parts, so pardon me if I can only give some superficial answers."


    Seems like I have to work with what I''ve got. Maybe he can shed some light on the last few days.


    Still sorting my thoughts, the stranger asked, "So, where is your Guardian? And why did you run earlier?"


    "Guardian? I don''t understand?! And I ran because your gaze petrified me and I got spooked."


    "I feared so, and I wanted to hold you there because I thought you went beyond it without permission. But alas, I never got to it" The stranger massaged his temples. My answer had seemingly thrown him off balance and seeing my chance I asked.


    "Beyond what? And how did you root me? And who the fuck are you?¡± With every word, I grew angrier. I didn¡¯t understand a thing and became only more confused. ¡°Peace,¡± the man intoned, ¡°I will answer your questions and don¡¯t vanish immediately as you did. You may call me Daniel Rank and I am a mage from Prague''s academy.¡± Blinking confused my brain just stopped and I didn¡¯t know how to answer this boisterous claim. Magic?! What the hell?


    Before I could follow with anything half-intelligent and no stupid mutters if magic was real or not, Daniel asked, ¡°So...since when can you cast magic?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fuck with me, magic doesn¡¯t exist!¡± I was seconds away to just throw this lunatic out of my home. As an avid fantasy reader, I liked the idea of magic, but this man and his words just rubbed me the wrong way.


    He laughed and raised his hand, palm faced up, and suddenly a small flame was hovering there. "What would you call this then?" the man grinned, knowing that I could do nothing to disprove him, as there was no way he hid some tube on his blank arm.


    Open-mouthed I stared into the flame. A fish out of his pond gasping for air. "So... I didn''t dream that night and really conjured a glass of water." "You did what?" Now it was Daniel''s turn to play the fish. Before he could catch himself, I told him the story of my night in the hospital.


    "That was really reckless. Only the strongest and most proven mages are capable to conjure something from nothing. Normally you would be out of Mana and would shrivel up in no time,¡± Mr. Rank was shaking his head. It seems that I had outdone myself. "Guess last time was lucky since it didn''t work in the sub with my missing ticket,¡± shrugging my shoulders, ¡°So what is this academy? And how do I learn more about magic?¡± Finally wrapping my head around this impossibility and the chance to do real magic.


    Early in the morning, Daniel Rank, a dean of Pragues magical university, left, but not before he asked for Paper and Pencil to write me a recommendation letter. At the bottom of said letter sat a glowing stamp. He told me about magic, the academy and the veil, splitting the mortal world from that of magic.


    Nowadays it is forbidden for mere students and mages to leave for my, the mortal, part of the world, without supervision. While Mr. Rank didn''t tell me why he was here, he got a special permit and this happy accident is the only reason why I am still alive. The problem was, that since I got awoken, I used my magic. Normally the ability to cast spells would have shriveled up without use and nothing would have happened. But as I cast a spell or more precisely, used my Soulforce, mostly called mana, I would bloat up on it and explode in a not so fashionable way.


    The only remedy was, to use mana or train yourself to strengthen your soul. Still, there was mortal danger, as demons often attacked unprotected mages, just as it happened hours before. Fortunately, Daniel gave me his protection amulet until I learned of a way to shield myself. Lastly, I was ¡°invited¡± to the academy to study and I believe it was no mere invitation, as I will be recruited forcefully if I don''t turn up within two weeks. I didn¡¯t know how I felt about it, yet, but a step into the unknown was exactly what I wanted.

 Chapter 3

    ¡°Who doesn''t want to learn magic?! Even if I have to leave my home and everything else behind, I want to do what Mr. Rank did. Getting the chance to literally play with fire, summoning Cthulhu or on second thought, maybe better not. I guess ancient beings from the beyond would not be happy to be summoned to do my bidding,¡± musing about all the possibilities which would open up for me, I heard a loud booming against my walls. ¡°Hey keep quiet!¡± a neighbor shouted. Sometimes the pape-mache called apartment walls was debilitating when you wanted to plan the overtaking of the world. Or in my case, dreaming about a magical future. ¡°Sorry¡±, I cried back.


    Man, can''t even talk to me anymore. But I will learn magic. Hopefully Mr. Rank told the truth and I am not some gullible idiot. I should call my boss, or even better visit him directly and afterward...nope, one thing after the other. A few hours later I stood in front of my workplace and after a short discussion with the secretary, in front of my boss.


    ¡°Hello, Mr. Thiel. I have some bad news. I am going to do an internship in Prague. I know this is pretty short notice, but I got this fantastic offer¡­,¡± I eased my way into the conversation, but before going further, he began to blare, "You aRE WHAT?" Oh damn, this will take a while.


    Some ten minutes later, Mr. Thiel cooled down enough and I explained my reasoning and the apparent offer. Fortunately, he was understanding and even shared his wisdom with me.


    "Theobalt, as long as you are young and unbound, you are allowed to live your life to the fullest and take every chance you get to do something new, different and maybe foolish. As soon as you are relied on, be it as a boss, a parent or something else, you no longer live only for yourself. So go to Prague, learn about them, do a new job and use the time you¡¯ve got."


    Went better than I had hoped to. Now the talk with my mum. Leaving my workplace I got to my mother''s place and as she wasn''t at home, I started cooking a meal for both of us.


    When my mum came home, she knew something was up. Visiting two days in a row, were quite untypical. But she held back her questions and after finishing our silent meal, the discussion began.


    "Hey Mum, soo...I found an internship. Even faster than I expected. The position is in Eastern Europe, to be precise, in Prague. I think I will accept it because the pay is pretty good and the corporation is one of the front runners on my field of electrical engineering.¡±


    I hated lying to my mother, but I could hardly tell her about magic, as I was explicitly warned by Mr. Rank not to do this. Fortunately, my mother was already prepared and didn¡¯t make much of a fuss about me leaving for another country. After mum asked about the payment and where I would live, it got me thinking.


    Mr. Rank said nothing about money or housing. I hope he can arrange something. Otherwise, I have to find a way myself. I guess I can do some odd-jobs to stay above the water...Something will come up...


    Overthinking wouldn''t help, as I had no idea what to expect, so I stopped and tried to get some sleep. The week flew by and on Friday equipped with a huge backpack and an even bigger bag, I stood in front of the bus.


    Sitting next to me was a businessman, his suit and small suitcase gave him away. Otherwise, he may travel like this the whole time. Who knows. Before he could start an awkward conversation, I pulled my headphones up and blasted some 90s rock.


    Around four hours later I was in Prague, with a heavy backpack and bag stuffed in my arms and with no idea where to go.


    Now, how do I get to university?! Fortunately, smartphones are a thing.


    Checking the phone, I found out that it would take me nearly an hour to get to the university.


    Hell no, not with my stuff that heavy. I hope the taxi-driver understands English.


    A short conversation and a few minutes later I stood in front of Karls-university.


    Quite impressive, even if it looks a bit rundown, but this is only the mortal part¡­ I wonder what the magical part will look like.


    Rummaging in my backpack and finally finding the recommendation letter, I was prepared to meet the chancellor.


    "Sorry to disturb you, but I am here on Mr. Rank''s recommendation and would like to meet the chancellor." The lady in front of me was nice, a little older, with her blonde locks hanging at shoulder-length. Horn-rims and a suit creating the picture of the perfect prim and proper secretary. "Of course dear, let me just ring him,¡± she said and pushed a button on her telephone.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Minutes later, I stood in a big room, dark wood-paneled and a dark red, maybe Persian, rug. Behind the wide bureau, presumably made of Mahogany with its smooth and nearly black surface, sat a man. Gelled back, gray hair and glasses, which sat at the forefront of his nose, a blue bow tie and a pinstripe suit rounding his appearance.


    "Mr. M¨¹ller I presume?" He clasped my outstretched hand for a handshake.


    Firm, but not too firm and to be honest, quite comfortable. If there was a course for doing handshakes, this man was the lecturer and had at least a Doctors degree on it. "Yes, how do you-" I started. "Mr. Rank has already told me about you. Give me a second."


    With that, he pushed on the side of a small silver box, not bigger than two outstretched fingers. "Mr. Rank will be with us shortly. So tell me, where do you come from and how did he find you?" "I am from Nuremberg and-¡± a knock on the wall interrupted me and before one of us could react, the wall opened and Mr. Rank strode into the room.


    "Ah ah, Theo, don''t tell Mr. Zima everything. Information is crucial in our world and everything about you will be even more so,¡± the dean flashed a toothy grin to his colleague. "HAHA, you caught me Daniel. It is nice to have made your acquaintance Mr. M¨¹ller. I will leave you both to it.¡± With that, the rector sat down again and started tipping on his laptop.


    "Follow me Theobalt, and give me your bags, I will take care of them." He opened a small bag on his side, touched both of my bags and they vanished.


    Wha...What the hell?? ...You know what? I don''t care. I jumped into the rabbit hole and now the reins are no longer in my hand.


    Following Mr. Rank, we went through a hidden door into a small room. "What is this? Some kind of Portal to the Magic world?" unsure of what to make out of this swirly, greyish goop, which was pasted against the wall, nearly half a meter above the ground. "Exactly. This is one of the Portals, connecting our world with that of the mortals. But let''s step through it. Every minute it stays open, it costs vast quantities of energy."


    Stepping out of the portal everything around me spun and my stomach was jumping-jacks. "Oh Go.." and with that, I lost my breakfast. "Damned, I forgot how it felt the first few times. Sorry about that Theobalt,¡± Mr. Rank said while rapping my back. Slowly I pulled myself together again, took out a tissue, to wipe away bile and mess around my mouth.


    "It''s okay, I''m better. Could you give me a..-" Before I could offer to clean my mess, a man in a blue overall came running and with a few gestures, my lost breakfast swirled together and packed itself into a small ball. It smelled awful, but with another gesture a gust of wind blew through the room and the smell was gone.


    Wow, so that is magic. Really astonishing, but to clean my mess with something so mystical?! I wonder, what I will be able to do¡­


    "See, that is how we work. Or better, that is how our janitor works. Did you notice his black gloves? One has a small wind and the other a small water enchantment. The embedded gems provide spells, while his power provides the energy to use them,¡± the dean started to explain. "That is really useful and I will be able to do something like him?" Mouth wide open, my eyes followed the janitor, as he let the mess fall down into a bucket and a spurt of flame reduced everything to ashes.


    "While most of us use enchantments like him, there are other ways to cast a spell. But I will talk about it as soon as we are in my bureau. Right now, follow me to the dorms. You will get a room for yourself, as most students are on vacation. Afterward, I will show you the campus, and then we will talk about your future here"


    The tour was quite extensive and Mr. Rank told me a lot about the history of the University. While we were walking, a few students, sitting together on a bench, possibly talking about Magic theory or just who was dating who and the newest gossip. Suprisingly they spoke German. Resolving myself to ask about it later, we continued.


    Standing in front of the imposing, classical Gothic building, it was clearly bigger than the one on the mortal side. In the background two gigantic glass towers were visible. Behind me was a small park with an abundance of trees and benches. An alley of plinths, reminding one of a Greek temple, marked the way from the entrance of the building to the entrance of the walled of academy grounds.


    "I believe we are still in the Czech Republic? So how is it possible for such a large building to exist without the public noticing it?" "Magic!" Mr. Rank laughed. "Wait until we are in my bureau and I will try to answer your questions." I know we walked through some kind of portal...but how is this possible?!


    On the way back to Mr. Ranks bureau he stated: ¡°Before I forget, you mustn¡¯t tell anybody that you are from the mortal world. The last awakened brought a storm upon the world of magic and as far as it is known, he was assassinated because he declined a nobles offer to work for him.¡±


    ¡°Understood. But what do you mean with awakened? Aren¡¯t all of you awakened?¡± confused and waiting for an answer, I thought about the mess I got myself into. I didn¡¯t want to be assassinated.


    ¡°No, we can do magic since birth. It is proven, that as long as one parent has magical powers, the child will have magic too. Long ago, every human had the ability to learn spells and magic, but we don¡¯t know what happened since then, as clearly that isn¡¯t possible any longer. So awakened means that you were awakened to magic later in life. Sadly, there are not enough people to study the subject. But, there is apparently no benefit or detriment to it and if you are okay with it, I would like you, to help me find a way to awaken more people.¡±


    Yay, I became an object of study. Possibly a way to earn some money. Now that I think of it¡­


    ¡°Mr. Rank-¡±


    ¡°Please call me Daniel as long as we are alone,¡± he said, ¡°I am not as old as I look.¡± The comment seemed to be more on the sarcastic side, as Mr. Rank clearly had streaks of grey through his dark hair and laugh lines near his eyes.


    Definitely uncomfortable, I asked: ¡°Daniel, is there a way for me to earn money? I believe I will need some for living expenses or studying.¡± ¡°Of course. As soon as you learn how you can begin charging crystals as they are our currency, this would be the easiest way, but with your meager power, it would take a month to earn enough to live. How about this, I will sponsor your first two semesters here, and as soon as you are able to do quests, you will stand on your own.¡± The offer seemed to be too good to be true. But as you shouldn¡¯t look into a gifted horse''s mouth, I accepted. ¡°Ah, thank you very much!¡±


    Okay, cost and lodging are done. It will be fine, also with my knowledge, I may be able to gain a little bit on the side.


    After a long tour through campus grounds, we finally sat down in Mr. Ranks'' bureau. Exhausted, I grabbed the offered glass of water and Mr. Rank started to talk about the rules of the magic world. But before he had said a full sentence, there was a knock on the door.


    ¡°Mr. Rank, there is another student for you,¡± a high-pitched, feminine voice shouted through the door. ¡°Hmm? I knew it would be awful to stay here during the vacations¡­so much work...Lead him in,¡± Daniel sighed. ¡°Actually¡­¡± the secretary started but was interrupted by a beautiful young Asian girl, walking into the office.


    ¡°Hello Mr. Rank, I am Sun Jie Nu. I would like to study here.¡±

 Chapter 4

    The sun rose beyond the Horizon and Sun Jie had fought throughout the whole night.


    As she should have. After all, their credo was:


    ¡°A warrior should always be able to stand against his foes. Be it nature, man or himself. A warrior does not falter against those he sees as lesser than himself. A warrior shall not kneel, even if hunger, thirst or exhaustion forces them down. A warrior must prevail and is only released in death.¡±


    She positioned herself, the rising sun in her back and waited for the perfect opportunity.


    Her foe had no idea that his downfall was mere minutes away.


    The glaring rays of the morning sun stopped Dai Fo, as he wasn¡¯t able to locate the young girl. This momentarily lapse in concentration was enough for the trained warrior and Sun Jie ducked down to fully utilize the sun and with a hard hit on Dai Fo¡¯s femoral muscle, forced him to stagger. Before he was able to catch himself again, Sun Jie exploited his imbalance and jumped, knee high, against his upper torso.


    Dai Fo fell and before he could brace himself against the torment, the girl let a flurry of hits rain down upon him. He needed to tap out, otherwise he would get more than a few light injuries.


    ¡°The winner of this generation''s succession tournament is Sun Jie Nu!¡±


    Sun Jie let out a roarus laugh, she had won. She couldn¡¯t believe it, but sometimes luck is also an ability and to be honest, she still fought every fight up to the finals.


    Finally done. Ten minutes longer and he would have had me. These tournaments are in no way fair. The age difference and therefore the advantage is too huge.


    Hopefully grandpa is proud¡­


    The congratulations ceremony was pretty short, as every practitioner was dead tired and nobody wanted to stay up longer than necessary. Sun Jie sat down to relish the warm sun, spreading through their valley. With every breath in, she took the energy of nature and made it her own and with every breath out she expelled the inferior and useless energy. Just like you would take higher oxygen concentration in and breathe the used air with lower concentration out.


    She guided nature''s energy through her veins and a special combination of meridians. One time, two times and so on. The more she let it flow through her, the more it would be refined. The better the refinement, the less energy would be needed to get the same results.


    An hour later she finally let the energy settle in her dantian to make it her own chi. Of course it took longer and longer to meditate and refine, but her newest victory was a sign that she was on the right path.


    Now it is time for my meeting with grandpa. He should be awake by now.


    Her grandfather was in fact not her real grandpa, she never got to know her real grandpa, as her parents were killed during a mugging attempt when she was about a year old. Parent - and Homeless, she was brought to the next temple for her upbringing. As her great-grandfather was an abbot, they couldn¡¯t reject her and that was Sun Jie¡¯s ticket for life.


    ¡°Grandpa! Are you up yet?¡± she yelled through the door. ¡°Yeah yeah, give me a few minutes,¡± her grandfather groaned back. ¡°No, stand up! I have good news. I won the competition!¡± Happily, Sun Jie jumped into the room.


    It was small and meagerly furnished, as even an elder, or especially an elder of a Buddhist temple, had to refuse mundane enjoyment. After reaching enlightenment this wasn¡¯t strictly enforced anymore, but the last daoshi to reach Nirvana was ages ago.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Congratulation Sun Jie, I would have loved to watch, but you know, we Elders have to be impartial towards the younger generation.¡±


    The girl prepared the table for breakfast. The window stood wide open, as the first frost hadn¡¯t begun yet. ¡°Grandpa, come on. In anticipation of my win I bought strawberry jam. And you love strawberry jam!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Faster than she could even detect, her grandfather sat on the table and the first piece of bread was already on his way into his mouth. ¡°Really?! But you are right.¡± With a laugh, she bit into hers. ¡°So tell me all about your fights, how did you win in the end?¡± the jam dripped down the sides of his mouth and some crumbles threatened to fall out.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t talk while eating. But¡­¡± and she told him about her victories, the sweet grin of her caretaker burned itself in her memory.


    The victory was worth it. Grandpa is so proud, it makes me feel fuzzy.


    A short while later, another Elder barged into the room. ¡°Elder Nu, you are needed for the Meeting.¡± and with a snappy turn, the Elder left the room. ¡°Sorry Sweetheart, I need to be there. But we will talk later and as a reward, I will show you the next kata, so your fights will always end in victory.¡±


    Soon Sun Jie sat alone with her meal. A bad premonition made itself known. The feeling of victory forgotten and its taste a little bland. She hoped that it wasn¡¯t a serious issue that stole her grandfather from this sweet moment.


    Sadly, she would be disappointed.


    Hours later, nearly night, her grandpa called her into his room. ¡°Sweetie I have bad news. The Council of Elders won¡¯t accept a female successor.¡±


    ¡°That is no problem, I don¡¯t really care, becoming the new abbot in a few years. I just want to train,¡± the young girl stated. ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand. You won the competition in front of every disciple and teacher. Even some Elders of other temples saw you. They can¡¯t take this victory away from you. You will become the successor unless you won¡¯t make it through the next years... Nobody said anything about it, but the atmosphere was enough to understand their plans,¡± the Elder sighed. He clearly was upset about the councils'' decision. ¡°What? No, I don¡¯t want to die. I don¡¯t want to become the successor. Help me, grandpa!¡±


    ¡°As sad as it makes me, I can¡¯t do anything in front of the council. Dai Fo should have become the next successor and his Father has a powerful voice in the meetings... There is only one way out. You need to leave Gansu. You mustn¡¯t come back, otherwise, I fear, some Elder will take it into his own hands, to let Dai Fo succeed.¡±


    Panicking, the girl asked: ¡°Where should I go? What should I do?¡± Tears were dripping down Sun Jie¡¯s face. She wasn¡¯t one to cry, even though the harsh and painful training, she never let herself down. But right now, when confronted with the council''s plans, she broke down.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, child. Remember the credo!¡± the harsh voice of her grandfather raised her from the bleak prospect of her future. ¡°There might be a way. It will be very dangerous and you could die, but I guess it is better than the sure death, which awaits you if you stay here.¡±


    ¡°Mhm...Tell me¡­¡± sniffling Sun Jie glanced at her grandfather''s eyes. They seemed moist, but she couldn¡¯t be sure through the gray veil of her tears.


    ¡°An old companion of mine is a teacher in Prague, in the Czech Republic. I will write a letter, and he will help you to learn in his academy. Go pack everything you will need and meet me back here in an hour, I will prepare a few things.¡±


    After collecting her necessities and stealing a backpack, equipped with camping gear for the month-long survival training, Sun Jie met her grandfather back in his room. From the small cabinet he had taken quill and paper and wrote his letter. On the tables side lay a small pouch, a small booklet and a bigger one, bound in leather. ¡°I am back grandpa. Thanks for your help!¡± the girl proclaimed.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t thank me, I can¡¯t protect you here any longer. But sadly it must be done. You shouldn¡¯t lose or open this letter. Only my friend Daniel Rank must open it! In the pouch are some soul stones which I charged up for you. The small booklet is the full Manual for your path of cultivation and even has according fighting stances. And lastly, my journal with notes on cultivation insights, fighting techniques and beasts I met on my travels. I shouldn¡¯t give those two books to you, as you are leaving the temple, but you are the only person who could count as my kin. I never had the joy of marrying a wife or raising a family. You are the one who brought light into this old fool''s life. I wish you well Sun Jie Nu. Make me proud and come back when you are strong enough to live by our credo!¡±


    The warrior girl snuffled, but braced herself and with power in their voice, they both recited the temples'' credo:


    ¡°A warrior should always be able to stand against his foes. Be it nature, man or himself. A warrior does not falter against those he sees as lesser than himself. A warrior shall not kneel, even if hunger, thirst or exhaustion forces them down. A warrior must prevail and is only released in death.¡±


    She hugged her grandfather, smiled crookedly and jumped through the open window into the night. Sun Jie knew, a long journey stood before her, but she was equipped with everything she needed. The knowledge to hunt the beasts or forage in the woods. The power to wander day and night and the will to come back and fight for her position, even against the elder council if needed.


    Grandpa, I promise. I will come back to you, even if the old fogeys don¡¯t want me to.


    Nothing will stand in my way, for I am a warrior.

 Chapter 5

    Giving the girl, Sun Jie Nu, a cursory glance I tried not to be rude but she looked quite haggard and her clothes were ragged. As soon as I saw her eyes, I flinched. She gave me the stink eye as if she was asking, how I could sit here without her permission.


    Better I don¡¯t say anything¡­


    Mr. Rank saw me flinch and let out a snort. While the secretary left, he took the offered letter and opened it. Sun Jie still stood at the doorway, maybe intimidated by the dean or maybe she was just shy.


    After reading the content of the letter, Daniel Rank gave the girl a wave and she fully entered the room and sat down on the chair beside me. Afraid to annoy her any further, I focused my eyes on the dean and completely ignored her.


    ¡°So you are the Foster child of Fang Tuo Nu,¡± Daniel assured, ¡°it seems you have traveled quite far.¡± ¡°Ye-...,¡± the girl swallowed and looked at my glass of water, ¡°could I have something to drink first?¡±


    A minute later she was about to start again, but looked at me and said: ¡°Does he have to be here? I don¡¯t want him to talk about it while this boy stays here.¡± Mr. Rank berated: ¡°Girl, if you want to study here, you will need to learn besides him in the following months. So it would be best if you aren¡¯t so hateful¡±


    Sun Jie rolled her eyes, but didn¡¯t insist on the matter any longer and instead recounted her story. After running away from the temple she crossed Kazakhstan, part of Russia, Ukraine, Poland and after wandering through the Czech Republic, she finally arrived in Prague. I knew it would have to be nearly ten thousand kilometers if this Magic World still had the same geography as the Mortal World.


    Blurting out, I asked: ¡°Why didn¡¯t you fly or ride a car?¡± She massaged her temples and sighed, ¡°How could I fly? I am still too weak. Also, the airborne beasts would tear me to pieces.¡± ¡°No, I meant by pl-,¡± Mr. Rank cleared his throat, ¡°Theo, there are no planes on Earth, this Earth at least. As long as you are strong enough and can defend yourself against flying beasts, personal flight is possible. Planes couldn¡¯t be defended as easily as a single person or a small group.¡±


    ¡°And Sun Jie,¡± he looked at the girl, ¡°well done! Not many people are able to cross such vast distances, fight through packs of beasts and live to tell the story. As your grandpa requested, I will coach you on western magic. But you are required to visit the Basic course I am giving Theo.¡± Before the girl could protest against the decision, Daniel continued: ¡°As far as I remember, you Cultivators are Reclusives. I bet your education doesn¡¯t cover western spellcasting or even the other kinds of magic?¡±


    Sun Jie nodded, apparently, the dean was spot on. Staying silent,  I followed their conversation and tried to memorize every detail about the Magic World. It seems that while the general geography of this and my world were the same, the differences in culture, technology, history and the likes, were enormous. The next month would be stressful, as I had to learn about these differences and pass the test. Otherwise, I would have to start at the elementary level and that had to be prevented. Somehow the thought of sitting with seven-year-olds in the same classroom seemed dreadful.


    Pulling me out of my thoughts, Daniel started his first lesson by asking a question, ¡°Sun Jie, what can you tell me about the six elements?¡± The answer came lightning-fast and it looked like the girl didn¡¯t need to think about it. ¡°I don¡¯t know about other sorts of magic, but we warriors use the elements to empower ourselves. There are the four worldly elements and the element of life and the element of death.¡±


    ¡°Okay, stop. Theo, can you guess the four worldly elements?¡± the dean looked at Theobalt and a gleam in his eyes indicated the fun he had while teaching them both. Hmm, considering that there are four elements, I can eliminate everything from the periodic system. Maybe something more esoteric?! Silently pondering if science, mathematics, technology, and engineering may be the answer a flash of inspiration overcame me and I answered: ¡°As the natural laws as I understand them, maybe circumvented by magic, I think the four worldly elements are fire, water, earth, and air.¡±


    ¡°Bravo. Regrettably, it took you nearly a minute, but let''s be lenient here.¡± Mr. Rank smiled at Theobalt, ¡°The other two elements, namely the element of life and death...Ms. Nu?¡± Without missing a beat, the girl nearly shouted, ¡°The element of life is wood and that of death is metal.¡± ¡°And why is that so?¡± Daniel grinned mischievously. ¡°Aah...I¡­,¡± Sun Jie stuttered, ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­,¡± she let her head hang down. ¡°Of course you do. Don¡¯t blurt out answers you learned by heart, use your head and think about it,¡± our teacher scolded. A slight wrinkle appeared on his forehead.


    We both sat silently and using my trusty brain, I soon found the answer, at least I believe it was the answer. ¡°Is wood the element of life, because it is actually alive? And metal therefore of death, because metal is used to destroy wood?¡± The dean nodded, ¡°You are partly correct. While wood uses all four elements to live, metal can be used to smother the four elements, including wood. Actually, children need to memorize this small rhyme.¡±


    ¡°Earth is the pillar on which live stands. Air, deciding were its children expands. Water, nourishing the new fruit lands. Fire, burning, creating new sands.¡±


    The rhyme may have been good to remember the four elements, but I didn¡¯t want to hear another embarrassing rhyme on metal, so I quickly asked my next question: ¡°What about light and darkness? Aren¡¯t they also elements?¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Mr. Rank looked at Sun Jie Nu, but she was silently shaking her head. ¡°The temples education seems to have declined since your grandfather,¡± Daniel scoffed. ¡°Light and darkness belong to the fundamentals. As does gravity, time and space.¡±


    My eyes opened wide, ¡°So mages are able to travel through time, ignore gravity and teleport through space?¡± I couldn¡¯t believe it. While elemental control or creation might be explainable. Fundamentals were on quite a different page of this whole insanity, called magic. The Dean laughed, ¡°Yes, mages are able to do all this. But during all my travels, I¡¯ve never met anyone able to do this. You need to know...to be able to use an element, you need to have an understanding of it. For acolytes, the knowledge, that fire burns is enough to create a small candle flame. Of course, knowledge can be circumvented through raw power. But the bigger the magnitude of the utilization, the more power is needed.¡±


    I nodded, while Sun Jie opened her mouth. ¡°So mages are able to use their power outside their bodies?¡± Instead of answering her, Mr. Rank summoned four small balls, circling above his upturned palm. One of them looked red, one blue, the next one brown and the last one had no color, but the swirling and a light sucking told me, that it was air.


    The girl gawked. One moment it seemed as if she was pushing the air around her away, the other, vapor rose from her body. Daniel shook his head, ¡°No, not like this. But I¡¯ll show you later. Otherwise, it would be unfair for dear Theo here.¡± Sun Jie gave me a stink eye again but didn¡¯t say anything else.


    ¡°Ah, Mr. Rank, what are acolytes?¡± I asked, unfamiliar with the new term. ¡°Hmm? It is the first of the five tiers of mages. You, for example, are no acolyte yet, as the boundary is, being in training and controlling at least one element.¡± The dean continued, ¡°Magister would be the next one, but right now it is pretty uninteresting and unnecessary to know. Sun Jie, what tiers are for your internal way?¡±


    The girl appeared zoned out and it took another question from Mr. Rank to get her back. ¡°Sorry, I really am tired...Mhm, there are three unofficial tiers, as we don¡¯t truly care about ranks. There is the warrior and it is achieved as soon as you end your survival training and live. Then there is the elder which is more or less a nomination and of course Buddha, as soon as you reach Enlightenment also called Nirvana.¡±


    Daniel agreed and smiled at me: ¡°Theo, the information was mainly for you. You should at least thank her for sharing her knowledge.¡± Grumbling, I did as told. I don¡¯t want to thank that girl for sharing something that useless. Her angry glances at me are rubbing me the wrong way. What did I do, to deserve this treatment? As if he could read my thoughts, the Dean added: ¡°It appears as you both don¡¯t like each other. I don¡¯t care about why. I want you to work together in the future, at least until my crash course is done!¡±


    Staring at me, Sun Jie harrumphed and averted her gaze uppity. ¡°What is your problem,¡± I yelled at her, ¡°just say it, or are you a coward?¡± Hating conflict, my normal reaction would be to leave it be, but over the last week my nerves were on edge and this girl''s behavior didn¡¯t help the least.


    ¡°I am WHAT?¡± now it was Sun Jie¡¯s turn to shout at me. ¡°You bumpkin with no idea of nothing dare to spout such bullshit?! If I was at home, I would pave the ground with you.¡± I laughed, ¡°but you aren¡¯t at home!¡± Breathless and eyes wide open the girl screamed: ¡°YOU¡­!¡± Before she was able to jump at me, the Dean clapped loudly. ¡°ENOUGH.¡±


    ¡°Both of you. With me. NOW!¡± an angry pulsing vein was visible on his temples.


    ¡°As you are both clearly not able to work together, you will need to get off the edge,¡± Mr. Rank declared. We were following him through the corridors and halls of the academy and after five minutes we reached our destination.


    ¡°This is the arena. Students normally learn to fight with their spells against each other, before they are sent outside to fight against beasts. To lose steam, you both should fight against each other, and maybe you are able to reconcile.¡± Even if she is trained, I am nearly a head taller, have more reach and should at least be as strong as her¡­


    Following this thought, my eyes wandered around this ring. It looked like a classical box-arena and on this small ground, my success should be certain. The girl entered the ring faster than me and after raising my fists, we neared each other. It was as I thought before. While she was faster and had clearly better skills than me, my longer reach balanced it.


    ¡°That is all?!¡± the girl taunted. Angrily stepping forward my next punch targeted her head directly. Before, my fists mostly tried to catch her off-guard and hit her in the stomach or on her arms. Suddenly my whole body seemed to slow down and it felt like pushing against a mire. The girl stepped right into my blow, but before it hit her, she ducked slightly out of the way, still going forward and her next punch hit me right in my guts.


    ¡°UFF¡± staggering back and trying to catch my breath, Sun Jie continued her taunting: ¡°A child could wipe the floor with you. This will be no fight, this will be a trashing. But thanks for the opportunity.¡± With a laugh, she jumped forward and before I was able to react her next fist hit my upper leg. My leg buckled down and lost nearly all feeling. Nearly, because burning pain spread through it and tears welled up my eyes.


    Thirty seconds later, the girl stopped, but not because she wanted to, but because Mr. Rank gave a sign. He stepped beside me and started to funnel healing energy into me. ¡°Sorry Theobalt,¡± he whispered, ¡°but you must understand, that on this earth, might makes right. At least outside the city. Also, I hope to give you an intermediate goal, you must reach.¡± With that, he looked in Sun Jie¡¯s direction.


    ¡°I wanted to continue with the different kinds of magic, but as you are tired and Theobalt should rest too, we pick this subject up, tomorrow.¡± His small speech finished and my body healed, Mr. Rank left the arena.


    Sun Jie Nu was on her way too but before she stepped out, I caught up. ¡°Now that you had your fun, would you at least tell me, why you are so hostile?¡± She turned and looked me straight in the eye, ¡°How would you feel, when you cross five countries, running for your life, fighting every day or sneaking away from beasts, able to swallow you down in one piece, finally arriving and then being watched with lecherous eyes by some city idiot?¡±


    ¡°S-Sorry,¡± I stuttered, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to be rude or lecherous...I¡± She snorted, ¡°Whatever, I don¡¯t care. Maybe you have never seen someone like me, or worse, your parents taught you bullshit about us, after the war¡­¡± ¡°What war?¡± I interrupted. ¡°What wa-? Are you dumb,¡± then she focused me, ¡°You aren¡¯t from here, are you?¡± Oh damned, I mustn¡¯t say anything


    Turning to the corridor on my right and clearly not caring if this was the right way back to my dorm, I started walking. Sun Jie ran after and looked dumbfounded at me. ¡°So this is your secret...I wonder¡­¡± Before she could say anything else, my hand covered her mouth and panicky my eyes wandered from left to right. ¡°You mustn¡¯t tell anyone. This secret¡­¡± I didn¡¯t want to tell her, how much this meant and that she had nearly absolute power above my life.


    Should I ask Daniel for help? How can I stop her from using it against me? My thoughts circled around with no way out. ¡°Hmm,¡± the girl grinned, ¡°I may forget it if you do something for me¡± Oh god, after all this mess, this is how it ends. Furrowing my brows, I asked: ¡°What do you want?¡± The girl laughed, ¡°Don¡¯t be so dramatic. I think I know how much this means for you and what this secret may be worth to you. But calm down, I am, in a sense, in a similar situation¡­,¡± her head sank down. ¡°Uhm¡­¡± I didn¡¯t want to invade her private life and didn¡¯t know what to say.


    ¡°How about this,¡± Sun Jie raised her head again, the bad thoughts apparently banished, ¡°I tell you about my situation and my life in the temple, and you tell me about yours, wherever you are from?¡±

 Chapter 6

    ¡°...and that is how you create a basic shieldspell,¡± Daniel stated. After a final practice round, we were dismissed into the weekend. Throughout the week, Sun Jie and I mended our Relationship. At least so far, that she didn¡¯t despise me anymore. Following her out of the classroom, I asked: ¡°How about we visit Euraidd instead of reading the ton of books, we got?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, should we really? We only have three months until the test and I don¡¯t want to fail!¡± the girl looked uncertain at me, then at the classroom and then back at me. ¡°Oh come on...Just one afternoon,¡± after some more pestering, she finally accepted and we met back at the academy entrance half an hour later. Before we left, Mr. Rank called me back: ¡°Wait Theo, I¡¯ve got something for you. You should be able to understand the people if you want to go outside.¡± He gave me a ring. ¡°This ring enables you to understand others and translates everything you hear and say.¡±


    Thanking him, we finally left for the city. While we ambled down the hill, Sun Jie recalled my promise and asked: ¡°So, we never got to talk about it after our first day. But I believe you are from the mortal world, right? Tell me about it.¡± Sighting, I gave in and began to tell her about my world.


    ¡°So planes are made from metal and fly through the sky? How can they stay afloat without magic?¡± the girl asked confused. Laughing, I explained the underlying physics. Fortunately, I remembered enough from university to do so. I know they have basic courses like math and physics in school. But I wonder how much they really learn.


    We finally arrived inside the city and it was a mixture of wild architecture. While some buildings looked normal to me, others were as alien as it gets. One house had a small, tower-like base and expanded at the top. It reminded me of a mushroom but made from stone and glass. Another one floated three, maybe four meters above the ground and had no obvious way to access the door.


    Okay, now I know why the schools don¡¯t teach much about science. If you can ignore the physical laws like this¡­


    Awed I checked every building on our way and nearly missed it, as Sun Jie turned into a side road. ¡°Where are you going?¡± perplexed I followed her. ¡°I don¡¯t know yet...There are dogs somewhere in front of us and I wanted to pet them,¡± she answered.


    Shaking my head, we wandered through the narrow street. Some minutes later we found a pack of five dogs, fighting for their meal. I hoped it was leftovers from the nearest butcher. One of the dogs snarled and turned our way. His hairs and tail raised, he got the other dogs'' attention. Slowly I walked back and tried to grab Sun Jie to pull her with me.


    The last thing I wanted, was to fight a rabid pack of dogs in the middle of Euraidd. ¡°Sun Jie, let us go back,¡± my voice quivered a little bit. I didn¡¯t fear normal dogs, but these were as big as a great-dane and had definitely more wolf in them than possible. ¡°No, if we walk back now and show our fear, we lose. We need to show them who the alpha is.¡±


    The girl took a fighting position and waited for the dogs to attack. Meanwhile, I struggled, as I didn¡¯t want to leave her alone, fighting. On the other hand, I hated fighting and didn¡¯t get the same formal training as the girl did.


    The Wolfhounds decided for me and the first jumped at the girl. Sun Jie gracefully stepped aside and before the dog could turn around, she hit it. I expected the dog to yowl, as her hits were pretty hard. But the warrior-girl seemed to glow, a second before her fist met her target and the dog slid back and against a house wall. A loud crack was audible and something must have broken.


    The pack withdrew a few meters, but suddenly three dogs attacked at the same time. Sun Jie grabbed the foremost by its muzzle and threw the wolfhound against its partner. Sadly the third dog got around the girl and before he was able to attack her back, I gathered my courage and kicked it in its hindleg. The wolf staggered for a moment, but my hit didn¡¯t do anything more.


    Snarling it turned and I stood alone against the hound. It seemed to grow bigger with every step it took in my direction. Sun Jie was engaged in a three on one, as the second last wolf also attacked her. Gathering my thoughts I raised my arms and the wolf jumped.


    Too slow...The moment I saw it jumping I knew it would get me. Fortunately, my dumb reaction saved my hide, as instead of going backward, I took a quick step forward. The dog, not expecting the reaction, didn¡¯t sink its teeth into my arm but hit me broadly in my chest. Falling backward, I soon sat on the floor. On the ground and defenseless I threw a quick glance at Sun Jie, but she was still fighting and not able to help me.


    The hound rushed forward and while panicking, the time slowed down around me. I remembered my lessons last week and faster than ever, build a mandala in my raised hand. The dog jumped, but before he could go for my throat and kill me, a shield popped up in front of me. As the hound hit it, I slid a meter back. Slowly standing up, palm still raised, I created another mandala in my other hand. Before the dog was able to flee, a surge of fire surrounded it.


    Its fur caught on fire and yowling the dog run back, snapping at the others. Before my magic spluttered out, I pointed my arm at the last dog still fighting against Sun Jie. ¡°Duck,¡± I screamed. And the girl let herself fall to the ground. The last spurt hit the hound and as before, it ran, yowling, away.


    Lowering my arms and surveying the scene, Sun Jie had quite the body count. Three downed dogs, possibly broken limbs or ribs. Two dogs on fire and running away. I wasn¡¯t proud, hurting the wolfhounds, but happy that we didn¡¯t get hurt and that my magic worked.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ¡°Did you walk into this alley to get a fight,¡± accusing the girl wouldn¡¯t help my mood get better but I was pretty angry at her carelessness. We could have gotten really injured or worse. ¡°No, I just wanted to pet some dogs. At the temple, there were always a few and I kind of miss them. The dogs apologized for their unwillingness to be petted by fighting. And to be honest, I needed to get some exercise...Our last practice fight wasn¡¯t that exciting,¡± the girl answered grinning.


    Sighing, I turned and walked back to the main street. No use to further care about this situation, as I couldn¡¯t change anything. At least I couldn¡¯t change the girl and her love for fighting, so quickly.


    ¡°By the way, congratulation. That was your first use of magic in a fight!¡± she slapped my back and laughed. During our stroll back, we bantered and soon the whole fight was forgotten and my mood was back on top. The only downside was my headaches, which came back soon after.


    ¡°What do you think about the other magics? I grew up in this world, but aside from the internal way, I never knew about the others¡­¡± the girl started, possibly to disrupt the silence which had built up between us. ¡°They are pretty diverse and I hope to learn some Shamanism in the future. To connect and command nature, creating massive rituals¡­But your Cultivating system seems pretty awesome, too. You may not be able to use your powers outside your own body, but the power you can generate is awesome!¡± I answered, happy to finally find a topic to talk about.


    She glanced at me and continued, ¡°Yeah, I am not so sure about that. While I have never seen someone using it outside, theoretically it should be possible, as it is just another way to use our soul-power¡­Maybe learning more about mandalas and spellcasting will help me to find a way.¡±


    We walked on and fell silent again, missing the last art of magic. Ancestorinvocation...just call it by its name...necromancy


    A few minutes later we arrived at the main plaza, the market. Some stands, with people shouting out their different wares and the different shops on the border of said plaza, made quite the beautiful picture. Full of life and action. Children were running around, playing catch. Some were begging their parents for sweets, some were pickpocketing. For safety, I pulled my purse outside my pocket and put it somewhere safe. I wasn¡¯t wealthy, but the allowance we got from Mr. Rank should be enough to last a few months if you spend sparingly.


    Before I could warn Sun Jie, she was in the middle of the crowd and gawking at the different offers, the shopkeepers had. It didn¡¯t even take a whole minute and she had a stick with some unidentifiable meat. Catching up to her, I asked, ¡°Do you want anything specific? Because I would like to visit the bookstore and maybe a few other shops.¡±


    ¡°No, not really,¡± and before she said anything more, she cried out and ran to another stand. Laughing and shaking my head I followed. This could take a while¡­


    Finally after, what felt like hours, she was full and I pulled and nearly carried her to the bookstore. It got late and I wanted to look at their offer before they closed. Sadly the bookstore wasn¡¯t as equipped as the academies library, but that had to be expected. I bought a History book and one about the different creatures living on this continent. At least a little bit satisfied, we walked back out on the street and I let my eyes wander.


    Directly beside the bookstore, there was an apothecary. Curious we entered and while Sun Jie smelled the different plants, hanging from the ceiling, I read the notations of the herbs displayed on the shelves. ¡°Are you dabbling in Alchemy already? I thought the academy doesn¡¯t offer it anymore,¡± a clerk joined us. Denying I answered: ¡°No, we were just curious about your offer. You see, the girl isn¡¯t from here and she wanted to compare the plants with those she knows from her homeland.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t tell the man, that I too wasn¡¯t from here and had no idea about the flora and fauna. Laughing he asked if Sun Jie wanted a small tour through his shop and of course, she affirmed after I gave her a nudge. The young man showed us around and they had a pretty big variety of different herbs. Some were behind glass, locked up, possibly because they were pretty expensive. Others just hang from the ceiling or lay in their shelf and the last few plants were secured in a glass bottle, behind a glass window, inscribed with different mandalas, similar to the shield I cast earlier.


    ¡°If you see something like those four, take care! They are very poisonous and this one,¡± he pointed at the leftmost plant, ¡°don¡¯t let it fool you by its beautiful bloom. The red petals are a sign. Its odor can induce hallucinations and you won¡¯t wake up ever again, Dying of hunger or thirst and becoming its fertilizer.¡±


    Stepping back from the window I asked: ¡°And is there a way to escape once you are caught in the illusion?¡± The clerk laughed: ¡°Of course there is. Some tattoos can help you against illusionspells and some people can train their mind against illusionspells...But I don¡¯t want to intervene in your education. You will learn about them soon enough, at least before you graduate.¡±


    While we left the shop, Sun Jie whispered: ¡°That was quite scary, I hope I will never find such a plant,¡± clearing her throat, she continued in a normal volume, ¡°how about we visit the smith next? I want to see the weapons they offer.¡± Raising my eyebrows in defeat I sighed: ¡°Again with your fighting...But yeah, I am curious too.¡±


    Turning towards the weapons-shop we soon stood inside and in front of the smallest man, I have ever seen. He was around 1,30 meters and his unfriendly mien told me, I shouldn¡¯t comment on his hight or he would punch me through the wall.


    ¡°Hello Mr. Dwarf, I would like to browse your shop, if that¡¯s okay,¡± Sun Jie trilled sweetly. What?! Dwarfes? Even the girls¡¯ abnormal reaction didn¡¯t distract me from the dwarf.


    I can accept Magic, I can accept beasts and their mutations, powered through magic...But how does a Dwarf come into this equation?! I had to ask Mr. Rank later. That was too weird. Therewhile Sun Jie tested a few swords by swinging them around. Some were glowing in red light, some had a silver sheen to them. Letting my eyes wander, I soon found something looking like a gun.


    ¡°Is this a gun?¡± I whispered to the girl, I couldn¡¯t let my ignorance shine through. ¡°Of course it is, what did you think? Oh...just because we have no planes, we aren¡¯t allowed to build guns?!¡± she grinned ironically at me. I knew she wasn¡¯t angry and just made fun on my costs.


    Just as I picked up on of the guns, the dwarf ran to me and cried: ¡°Don¡¯t touch them!¡± Startled I dropped the weapon, but the dwarf dived and at the last moment, caught it. ¡°Boy, are you daft? What would happen if the energy crystal exploded?! Energypistols are no clunky sword. They are intricate pieces of technology!¡± Shaking his head, the dwarf put the weapon back on its rack.


    ¡°How do they work?¡± I asked excited. ¡°You aim them at your enemy and pull the trigger?!¡± the dwarf answered confused. Somehow he really thinks I am that dumb¡­¡±No, how do they work with the mana crystal and with which element do they fire?¡±


    Half an hour later, ears bleeding and on my last breath I interrupted the man: ¡°Thank you, I doubt I can remember everything but¡­-¡± The dwarf grinned: ¡°No problem laddie if you have any more questions I am willing to share my knowledge. Very few people are interested in the inner workings of my weapons. Most just want to buy them, without understanding how they work. Shame on them!¡±


    Nearly fleeing the shop, I grabbed Sun Jie and bid my farewell: ¡°Thank you for your time Mr. Dwarf and we will be back some time.¡± Standing outside, the girl stood with her arms on her hips, ¡°Maybe I wanted to buy something?!¡± I glanced at her: ¡°Did you really?!¡± Bashfully she denied. ¡°We should get back to the academy. Those clouds look like a Thunderstorm.¡±