《Dragon Ball Magic》 Chapter 1 - Seven Balls and three wishes Hi everyone ! So... This is the first thing I post on RRL... A fanfiction set in the Dragon Ball universe. Truthfully, although I like it well enough, every time I decide to share it, I get cold feet. Anyway, I just have to brace myself ! If you find the story interesting, you see errors in my english (I''m French and learned english watching TV, so...), please let me know ! Also, if you think there are inconsistensies with the original story, I would really like to hear about it (with Dragon Ball, not Dragon Ball Super since I haven''t watched or read it, yet)... Especially at the beginning. Anyway ! The idea of this story is... Well, like most people, I grew up with Toriyama''s story, watched it on TV, then read the mangas. Simply put, I loved it. However, there was another thing I loved : Magic. Be it fantasy books I read, or my own creations, magic is often a pillar of those stories. In Dragon Ball, although magic exists, their users are there to cast a favorable light on the heroes and their fight (the kaio shin giving his strength to Gohan, Dende''s healing, Shen Long) ... Or they''re villains who get killed pretty quickly (Babidi, Dabra...). So, I created this story to explore the subject...
The young man, bathed in the golden light coming from the seven balls on the ground, seemed lost in thought. Head bowed, as if he was praying, he was thinking about the event that lead him to this point in time : earth''s destruction. The death of his best friend. And then, the erasure... That''s how he thought of it now. Something that couldn''t have happened if not for these same seven balls he painfully gathered once more. The miraculous reappearance of the earth and the resurrection ¨C as well as that of everyone killed ¨C of the one who gave birth to his resolution. Now that she was back, however, the plans he formulated during his lonely time in space wouldn''t be as difficult to achieve. Without the radar in his coat pocket, he never would have assembled the balls so fast. ¡°And now, what ?¡± Sala malik, cat burglar, asked. The young man turned around, smiling. His green skin tone didn''t surprise her. Anyway, she had already seen him without the numerous layers of clothes usually covering him. The hooded-coat hid most of his face, only showing his skin tone and smile. ¡°Well, now I just need to call forth the one who will grant us our wishes...¡± He turned towards the light again, a thoughtful expression on his face. ¡°If I recall correctly, it should be something like... Shen Long, show yourself !¡± ¡°Show yourself... seriously ? Is that supposed to be a magic formula ? I was expecting something along the lines of hocus pocusor abracadabra. What a downer!¡± At first, a skeptical smile adorned her pretty face before it was replaced by an aggrieved pout. It changed once more swiftly into astonishment, though... With a harsh explosion of lights and sounds, a luminous pillar was erected in the sky before taking on a solid form. An oriental dragon with deer antlers directed an intimidating glare on the two lone people in this mountainous desert. After a short silence, he opened his gigantic maw to talk : ¡°You have assembled the dragon balls. I shall grant you three wishes.¡± Sala emitted a gulping sound before saying : ¡°I heard rumors in the western capital, but I wasn''t expecting him to be so... massive.¡± After a moment of reflexion, she asked : ¡°Do you know what to ask ?¡± ¡°I have to pay attention to my wording, but yes !¡± He inhaled deeply before advancing one step to make his wish : ¡°I wish for us two, to possess the infinite potential to learn and develop every form of mystical energy.¡± The sacred dragon opened his mouth in response : ¡°I can grant you the potential, but you will have to work in order to nurture it.¡± His eyes lit up after he finished talking. The couple felt something changing. The feeling wasn''t clear, like pain or a touch... more spiritual, like a thought or a whisper maybe... Soon, the dragon''s eyes lost their brilliance and he asked them about their second wish. The young man considered it for a moment, then he spoke up again : ¡°I wish to possess a data bank on my spaceship, detailing informations about places where we could find knowledge about magic : their coordinates, nature and occult level.¡± When it was time for the last wish, the young man kept quiet. He didn''t really think past this point. Moreover, he didn''t think he would only need two wishes to get everything he wanted. At this point, and just when the sacred dragon was starting to get antsy, Sala took a step forward to address Shen Long : ¡°I wish for a portable universal translator.¡± She asked loudly, and turned towards her friend, saying in a lower voice : ¡°Avo, you should think ahead a little. You want us to travel into space, visiting planets probably inhabited... Do you expect them to talk our language ?¡± ¡°Nice catch, Sala ! Thankfully you''re here !¡± A few seconds later appeared things that looked like a phone and a pair of earpieces. Sala caught them in the air deftly. Shen Long bade his farewell before the dragon balls followed the pillars into the sky, divided and disappeared over the horizon, each in a different direction. In a year, they would be usable again. In the meantime, Sala was checking how the translator worked, and Avo was trying to... feel how the sacred dragon changed him. At the moment, he didn''t really feel much different. Maybe he perceived things a little more accurately, but that was about it. ¡°Do you feel... different ?¡± Avo asked. ¡°Huh... Oh ! Not really.¡± Sala was completely engrossed in the device she held and didn''t really pay attention to her green friend. Just like the radar, she discovered that this technology was marvelous, although in a very different way. Obviously, the creators were two verydifferent people. Avo was a little depressed, but thought about his second wish and said : ¡°We should check the data. Also, you should prepare your bags if we''re to leave earth. Personally, I''m ready.¡± ¡°Right! Easy for you, you live in the damn ship. It is somewhat peculiar though... It was obviously build to leave in it... as well as travel across the stars. Was your race nomadic ? Is it some kind of space yurt ?" ¡°How should Iknow ? The only one I knew was my... ahem, father, and he didn''t talk much about it. You know... before he died.¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°Riiiiight ! Sorry !¡± Sala blushed in shame, rubbing her head with one hand. ¡°Soooo... let''s go check the data, then !" And she darted in the direction of the ship. Speaking of ship, it didn''t really look like the standard rocket or spacecraft. It didn''t even look like a house. It mostly looked bizarre, a crossing between insect and technology, in a white material that didn''t appear to be metal. At least, not a conventional one... For a long time, Avo didn''t know what his house or he actually were. Actually, Avo never got the chance to meet people like him, except for his ¡°father¡±. That was the name Avo used but the man never liked it. He said it sounded too human, which they were not. He always told him to call him Genitor or by his name, Bana. Of course, he had heard about the Demon Piccolo, and viewed some archive footage so he knew he wasn''t the only one. Unfortunately, Piccolo didn''t seem like the guy that would like to just... chatand anyway, it seemed some heroic kid had killed him, way before he was born. In spite of all this, Avo wasn''t really bothered since he managed to make friends with some humans... especially one : Sala Malik. She always was an energetic person, dragging people in her life like it was theirs, or getting into yours because she was curious. Actually, that''s how they became friends. Avo never invited her over... She just showed up one day, the first time he went out to the city. It was a few weeks after his genitor had died, Avo decided that he was tired of living alone, planting trees and gardening. He wanted to meet other people, something he couldn''t do ever since he was born, because of his father''s urgings. In his mind, they were too different to be accepted. That was true, in a way. When he arrived in the city for the first time, he noticed the difference between him and everyone else. But he also noticed the difference between everyone... and they were a lot. Here and there he could see people with animal''s head. Some were tall, others short, fat or slim, charming or ugly. Still, everyone of them still stared deeply at him when he passed by, with surprise, coldness or animosity in the eyes. Except for her : a young girl, about as tall as he was at the time, running around, stealing stuff from the stands in the market or in the shops. Everywhere she went, she was chased after with loud yelling or someone with a stick, and she just laughed and joked in retaliation, all the while running. She was... a force of nature. For a while, Avo observed her from afar, for some reason, he was curious about her. That was... until she surprised him, almost causing him to fall off a few stories high building. One moment, she was running away from someone she stole a wallet from, the next he was looking everywhere for her, only to find her sneaking up on him. After this moment, it was her turn to get curious about him. She wouldn''t let him go and even though he could fly, it would be quite conspicuous in the city''s airspace. She asked him a bunch of stuff while keeping a look-out for pursuers (and continuing to steal things in the meantime ! Although less obviously). At the time, he had no idea what personal property was, or why the people were so mad at her. Still, he knew there was something wrong about her conduct and he didn''t wish to be labelled her acquaintance for a first impression. He answered some questions hoping to make her leave... to no avail. So he tried to avoid her : blending with the crowd, taking random turns down alleyways... Only to get lost himself. Apparently though, she didn''t have any trouble following him ! As they were getting back onto a main street, he asked her how she could find him (or where they were) so easily. ¡°This city''s my home ! I know her like the back of my hand !¡± He didn''t register the feminine pronoun or even would have noticed the oddity in calling a town a she. The only thing he was interested in, was her knowledge and finding out a way to make her leave. Navigating the city seemed like a useful skill, if he intended to come back. There were so many different and interesting things ! So, he accepted, albeit reluctantly her tagging along. He marveled over things so basic to the young girl, that it just made her more curious. How could he have never seen things as simple as a car, cellphone or a supermarket ? Even if he lived under a rock in the mountain, surely he would know people who travelled to the city, no ? Everything she found out about the green guy in weird clothing made him seem more original and fascinating. He seemed soalienand yet... She couldn''t figure where she ever saw a face like his. Sala would never find out that her impression came from an old documentary she saw in History, when she still attended school, about a tyrant who could destroy cities with the wave of a hand. If she remembered, perhaps she wouldn''t have been so keen as to interact with this intriguing looking stranger... His mysterious vibe only intensified when Avo (she learned his name early) just up and flew at the end of the day, bidding her goodbye as if nothing was wrong. Not only her, the onlookers around also watched him leave with eyes as round as saucers ! It took her a while to finally follow him to his home... and as soon as she saw it, several conflicting ideas emerged about it : insect, vehicle, alien... It was the weirdest thing ¨C and a little creepy to be honest ! - she ever saw in her life ! The house''s door was underneath it, and it lowered after Avo said something... Since she was a little ways away from the whole scene, she didn''t know what he said. From what she could tell, there weren''t any hinges or actuator to lower the platform/door. Probably an anti-gravitational field, or a magnetic one, she thought at the time. Truth was : earth''s technology could (almost easily) manage something like this... But the design of the entire house was by no means from around here ! That''s when she knew he was an alien and the day she decided to stick to him like glue... After that, they came to know each other for a while. He came to her city or she went to his place to chat, or they walked around while going on with their everyday life. Somewhere along the way, they both joined a group of street kids. Later on, Avo found out it was called a gang... Although he didn''t really need anything, he still helped them with their crime when they needed him. He would keep a look-out, heal the injured and sick with the bit of healing magic he knew, and for those who showed interest, he taught how to harness their inner energy. They couldn''t do much with it, since he himself wasn''t very well-versed... Still, they could use it to enhance a bit their bodies and health. In order to blend in with life in the city, Sala had to teach him about clothes. Of course, he noticed the passersby gazes towards him and asked why they were looking at him this way... That''s when he discovered about the demon Piccolo''s appearances and his story. Needless to say, he was curious, but more than that, he was frightened. The last thing he wanted was to become a monster... Actually, it was never a question before. But the eyes of humans seemed to consider him one already ! Also, he was a little afraid of becoming another demon... However, life went on! He learned to hide his facial features a bit to live among humans, and was even accepted by their little gang. It all went well and peaceful, except for the occasional brushes with the police. Until one day... The monsters Buu and Babidi came to Earth to start a massacre ! It was a grotesque and gruesome one where the sorcerer showed everyone on Earth what would happen if the humans didn''t tell him where his enemies were hiding. A senseless and purely evil plot in Avo''s eyes which may or may not have worked since later, the sorcerer went completely silent... On the other hand, Buu''s killings never stopped and even intensified a bit. Despair and chaos emerged in the humans'' hearts : everyone thought they would die ! Avo, as desperate as anyone else, asked Sala to come with him to his house, hopefully avoiding Buu by leaving the city. As they were leaving as Avo lived most of his life, in peace and ignorance, the lights illuminated the sky, like thousands upon thousands of falling stars in broad daylight. Only... those falling stars behaved like homing missiles, targeting every living thing on earth. Avo managed to avoid death thanks to his unique physiology... Sala wasn''t ! The last few days of earth, he spent in depression and solitude. He kept an almost religious vigil over her grave mound before he recalled what she found out about his house... A spaceship : a vehicle he could take to start his life anew anywhere in the universe. He didn''t want to just start it anew though ! He had a purpose gradually budding in his heart, a Will ! The rest of this story, we already narrated. As he was pondering in space near earth''s former place, about where he should head to, what he should do... Earth came back and with it... he soon felt every living beings coming back to life. It was a peculiar, joyful and spectacular moment for his senses, when the empty husk that was Earth started lighting up in his inner vision like the windows of a city after a blackout. Now here they were, stepping onto the platform to head towards horizons unknown, totally new for earthlings and probably fantastical ! Chapter 2 : Departure ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° So, she started her project after they keyed in Capsule Corp''s coordinates. Sala stationed the spaceship in the air above the buildings as Avo floated down, in order to give the radar to someone. Five minutes later, Avo was aboard the ship again. The girl told him : ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°haveto be scary !¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Chapter 3 : A trip down Dream-lane His eyes fluttered open in startlement, finding himself in an unknown room with very little furnitures. A bed in which he lied, a coffee table next to it... that was it, except for the things on the table. He tried to identify them, in vain. Maybe their culture and tools were just as different than human''s were from his... After all this time apart from his people and the stories of Bana, maybe his people weren''t at all how he pictured them... ? Exhibit A : he had been knocked unconscious ! The only good thing he could see right now, was the fact that he was still alive. Then again... maybe they kept him for some nefarious agenda, like torture or a death game ! Silently, the young namekian admonished himself for his imagination and the fact that he succumbed to Sala about watching TV. Although it did help his common sense, it also polluted his mind with all kinds of stupid things ! Shaking his head in an attempt to dispel the useless thoughts, he resumed his reconnaissance. Weirdly enough, he soon realized that he couldn''t sense anything beyond the door : something was blocking his perception. ¡°Magic, huh ? Maybe it''s also the reason why I couldn''t see anyone even though they were right there !¡± Coming from a corner of the room, a voice interrupted his reflexions : ¡°Correct ! Now, tell me... Which Tribe do you come from and why are you here ?¡± Although he turned towards the sound, he still couldn''t see anything else aside from the walls. Surprised and perplexed by his question, he asked in return : ¡°Tribe ? Is that how it works on this planet ? I came from beyond the stars... My name''s Avo Cado and I came to learn Magic from a master !¡± The voice went silent for a while, probably considering what he was saying. Finally, he said : ¡°No, seriously ?...¡± In front of his serious face, he dispelled his invisibility, appearing in all his namekian glory, wearing weird clothes (compared to human ones''). First, the colors : blue and orange tunic with a brown and white pants. In his hands, he held a wooden staff, some animal''s skull inserted at the top. In its eye sockets, there were two green gems. Maybe emeralds... then again, this planet wasn''t Earth. ¡°You''re really from another planet ?¡± Considering Avo''s strange attire, the namekian started to believe him. After that, his face turned grim. ¡°You want to learn the secret arts from the master ? Why ?¡± Avo didn''t really want to answer this question. However, this dude could be the aforementioned master... or he could be acquainted with him. At that time, Avo realized... he could perfectly understand him. Also, he wasn''t speaking namekian... at least, it didn''t sound like it. Puzzled, he asked : ¡°Why can you speak earthling ?¡± Seeing how the magician wouldn''t respond, Avo decided to answer his earlier question : ¡°I come from a planet called earth where I lived with my genitor Bana. A couple of months ago, there was this duo of evil magicians tearing the planet apart... At that time, I decided to learn about magic so that I could defend myself and my people.¡± Nodding the namekian eased his features somewhat and continued the conversation on a more friendly tone : ¡°I''m not speaking earthling. It''s a translation spell. Since I didn''t know which tribe you came from or which dialect you used, I cast it... Are there a lot of namekians on earth ?" Avo shook his head, explaining : ¡°I don''t think so... There should be some, but I never met them. When I mentioned my people, I meant friends.¡± After another silence, the namekian introduced himself (finally !) : ¡°My name''s Escar. I''m an adept of the dragon clan. The master sent me to find out your identity and intentions... What do you think a magician is ?¡± Avo thought for a second, then answered : ¡°I guess... Someone who studies and channel mystic energies ?¡± ¡°Yes, but your definition is incomplete. A magician is a student and a researcher into the Laws of the Universe. Most of them can''t use magic in combat... It''s all about preparations, studies, rituals and incantations... Why would you become a magician if you wanted to protect things ? Why not become a fighter ?¡± ¡°I''ve seen magicians fight... Also, I''m not much of a fighter. All I''ve ever learned was about magic : healing magic, nature magic, a bit of body modification... Besides, what''s a fighter going to do against a powerful mage ?¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Punch him in the face hard enough that he can''t speak ? Move so fast that he can''t complete his rituals ?¡± ¡°That... would probably work. However, I''ve never used incantations, rituals or whatever...¡± Avo was at a loss. His whole purpose was to gain strength and he thought magic would be his way ! Maybe it was a fool''s errand ? Why, then, would he waste two wishes on this, or travel for weeks in the void of space ? ¡°I''m kidding ! We have lots of ways to protect ourselves from a fighter ! For example, I can ward a house in order to make it or its inhabitants invisible. Or I can project my image and energy in a place far from me... Or I could simply take over his mind and erase his memories...¡± Avo''s brows covered in sweat, thinking of his potential fate. He really didn''t want to lose his memories. Otherwise, would he still have the resolve to go on this journey ? Without the event that decided him ¨C Babidi''s rampage ¨C the namekian would stay on earth. Stuttering a bit, he asked : ¡°So... What will happen to me ?¡± Getting up briskly, Escar declared : ¡°I''ll take you to the master. He''ll decide what to do with you !¡± With no choice left, especially considering the fact that just outside the door stood a dozen fighters looking at him with hostility, Avo followed Escar to one of the namekian spaceships. Half buried into the ground, it looked just like an insect died burrowing. The door opened before either of them said anything, Escar motioned him to step in. With a silent gulp, Avo passed the threshold... The master was an old wrinkled namekian, with noble bearing despite the slightly bent back. He was wearing something similar to Escar but the colors were different, as well as his cane. It was more ornamented and creepy... Avo stood there, unsure of what to do. The magician talked : ¡°I hear you are seeking for the Truths of the Universe. Do you really want to become an arcane warrior ?¡± The young namekian nodded, unaware of the reason why he knew about his earlier conversation with Escar. Puzzled, he kept on listening to the old namekian : ¡°Even though you are of our people, not anyone has the potential to study magic. You will undergo a... test of sorts. Come over and sit !¡± Avo did as he was told, sitting cross-legged near the fire. On the outside, the house looked like his spaceship. On the inside however, it felt like a tribe chief or shaman''s hut, without much furniture and with mysterious things hanging from the ceiling. After he observed the interior for a while, he focused on the old magician who was in a midst of concocting something. When he finally deemed the content of his mortar satisfying, he took a bit of powder inside before sprinkling it in the fire, encouraging Avo to breathe a deep breath in. Hesitating only for a second, he inhaled strongly... and waited, a little anxious about the effects of the powder. The drug didn''t act immediately, slowly taking over his senses. Meanwhile, the namekian explained its purpose : ¡°We use this concoction to reveal the potential of a person. Every youngling in our tribe ¨C in every tribe ¨C goes through this initiatory journey. You will feel, hear and see... experience something you probably never have but do not fear ! Fear tends to make the experience... unpleasant !¡± As the drugs were starting to really hit him hard, and he had trouble focusing on the magician''s explanation, he heard almost as if he was talking through a thick wall or door, the end of his speech : ¡°I will accompany you as a spectator to determine if you are suited or not. However, you won''t be able to see or hear me. This journey is your own...¡± Avo felt the ground disappear or move away from him, then his own fall through a dark pit. It would have seemed endless if he didn''t make use of his flight magic. Instead, the darkness cleared and he found himself hovering in a bright blue sky, among sparse clouds. His senses scanned the surroundings, in search of information. At first, he didn''t feel anything... Then he felt a enormous surge of power from his left. It was so gigantic, he felt crushed by it. Even so, he started to head there with difficulty. When he finally arrived in the surge''s sight, all he saw were two weirdly hair-styled humans and... what seemed like a humanoid bubble-gum ¨C kid-sized ¨C with holes all-over his body, and jet-black eyes with red irises. It reminded him immediately of buu''s appearance... maybe a brother or something... Kid Buu raised a hand in the air, generating a big energy ball he threw towards the earth below. Avo thought : So that''s how it happened !The events flashed forward at an amazing speed, disorienting him ¨C as well as the old magician ¨C before time slowed to its natural rhythm. It wasn''t an understatement to say that Avo saw his life pass before his eyes. Only it didn''t flash, and it was a jumble mess of situations he couldn''t make heads or tails ! Once he was alone, fighting some weird monster, doing incredible things like changing his nails into claws, teleporting or throwing fireballs like grenades. Other times, they were other people : Sala, two kids (probably twins although one was black and the other white skinned... and not like humans too, more like chalk and coal), other seeming mage in a classroom... One particular scene imprinted itself into his memory. Avo was back on earth with Sala. Only she seemed more mature, womanly and charming, she also wore a metal suit, like an armor or exoskeleton. He didn''t really know why they were there, since he was just a spectator on this trip, but he knew they were facing something fearsome... Something very few people on earth could deal with and only they were specializedin dealing. He felt Vision Avo was tense, worried that his kekka?would rupture and reality would slip in. Sala was reading something on her visor''s helmet. Nothing more happened, but he felt like it was the end of his road... the culminating point of his journey for power : finally, he would use what he learned to defend his home ! The vision ended soon after. Nausea overcame him, or at least something similar : he felt like crap ! At the edge of his vision, he saw the magician shake a bit.What conclusions did he come to ?Avo thought. Chapter 4 : Eight Circles of Hell hisstory, or a saga deserving to be told next to the Grand Exodus ! Except that these drugs shouldn''t show the future or the past... ¡° playfullyaccording to said-magician) doing a game of catch... Only he was alone and the intended target, and they were equipped with weapons and/or a good amount of Energy ! The murderous grins they were sporting didn''t help either ! ¡° Eight Circles of Hellas he thought of it in his mind. The second wasn''t any better, although less physically punishing : he was to grow crops for the farmers... One thing he didn''t understand, and no one would answer him. Namekians didn''t eat. Therefore, crops or livestock was essentially useless for them. Only a source of pure water was needed and yet, they had both in this village. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. tore off a part of his thoughts at the moment. Even a casual telepathic conversation had the effect of sending him to his knees, surprised at the loudnessand impacton his brain. The worst... They didn''t let up ! Every time Carnail had them switching partners, the new one would attack without a second thought. ¡° ¡° ¡°willandlife-force. In exchange for a new namekian to be born into this world, we sacrifice a few decades of our lives. Thankfully, we''re a long-lived race, but still !¡± Silence, then he said, raising his index finger : ¡°Another thing to note is... The form of the child is decided by its genitor. They could look like feral beasts, or an alien race but they would still be namekians...¡± He waited to see a reaction on his new apprentice, which raised an eyebrow : ¡°One of the original settlers here discovered that... It wasn''t just the will of the genitor that made the namekian this way : they were pushed into that form. So if they were pushed...¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° I can''t be afraid of a little pain... After all, if I have to fight someone like Buu, I won''t be able to avoid it !He thought. Finally resigned, he moved towards the tub before entering. ¡° You couldn''t say that earlier ?Avo thought, pissed. Above the tub, there was what looked like another one, only upside down. Imagining it a bit, it''d probably look like an egg... or something. Maybe it was symbolic for their time spent in one ? Soon, they lowered the upside down part, and Avo found himself in darkness. Outside, he could hear Carnail muffled voice speaking to him : ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°seethings differently. Every warriors has their own way, and magic practitioners are no different. Anyway, our sight and hearing are susceptible to illusions. Some senses however are not. You just have to find out which ones.¡± ¡° Chapter 5 : Nothing changed ¡° onehair from his new form... Needless to say, the young namekian felt a little discouraged, right now. As he crashed in front of his hut after his last session, he distinctly heard his master''s voice : ¡° wishfor it in the first place ! So, there was only one thing for him to do... still wasn''t enough ! see. It was so weird for him the first time, he managed it ! To see without eyes... It meant he wasn''t limited by his field of vision. Everything around him appeared clearly ! At least, until a few meters away that is... The rocks, trees, animals and insects... He could even see the wind ! And the air displaced by his pursuers spears... neutral to life. Idly, he thought how despite what Carnail and Escar said, this element just didn''t mean life to him. More like... body enhancement or manipulation. Even if it did have the added effect of healing him of injuries and thereby, granting him a new life... In the end, it worked and Avo experienced for the first time the regrowth of a limb. It was exhausting and painful ! Like millions of ants coursed his yet non-existent parts... one upside to his progress ! Once Carnail judged him ready, the stretching hell ended ! When he heard that, he almost did a little joy dance. Only now, he had to learn to do it on his own... ¡° ¡°This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡° ¡° thatseemed more likelifemagic) improved tremendously. Soon, he was left an entire field to manage on his own. He had to weed, use them to plow it, plant and grow vegetables, trees, vines and many other things. Living with them, he finally got an answer for all this food. In fact, they were not really eating them. They harvested and used the parts in their crafts. Mainly, their clothes and magic concoctions... Apparently, there also was another race of beings they traded the unused meat with (albeit with caution since they were just as fierce as anything else on this rock). borrowing a few books. Of course, they had different interests... Sala was interested in technology, sciences like physics and chemistry. He, on the other hand, cared about biology because most of his powers affected it on some level... Even though he learned a lot about how to heal better, optimize the growth of a plant, they were things he didn''t understand about his body... Indeed, according to the books, human bodies needed a number of things they got from their sustenance : vitamins, sugar and salt... A few other things, too. As for namekians, he presumed they had needs too but he still didn''t understand how they sated them. Even though he learned way more in the past few... days ? Weeks ? Months ? essenceof things'' manipulation in order to make a new ones. Symbolism and the possibility for mages to draw upon the energies of the world were its main points. For example, theoretically, he could create a staff using the properties of a specific wood and add gems and other trinkets containing essence of power. Escar''s staff for instance. If he was correct, the Dragon Balls were another byproduct of this branch of magic. Seven gems of powers with stars to link them together, assembled to harness their respective energies and manifest a symbol of their combined power. Once their magic was exhausted, they''d become regular rocks until their cool down time had reset (or they charged up again enough energies rather). And it was all dependent on the caster''s life : if he died, the ritual would come to an end and the magic inside the gems would dissipate. exactly easy : it was doable...). Not to mention that his master told him that, when he truly mastered the ability, he''d be able to numb his nerves, or even shut them off completely. Besides, he''d learned of a much more excruciating pain : the mind''s. Once or twice, his mental exhaustion had let him experience it... A splitting and blinding headache, preventing him from thinking and making him wish for it all to end. A pain seemingly without end or respite. And apparently, this was also one thing mental mages could inflict upon someone... ¡° Chapter 6 : Final trial ¡° Three days later, the namekian was trudging through the undergrowth, trying his damndest to be stealthy. His shoulder bag didn''t help with that ! It kept gripping low branches and rustling bushes. Too bad it was such a valuable item... Otherwise known as the infinite bag back at the village, it contained far more than it let on (or should be able to, for that matter). The key to it was an enchantment woven into its very fabric and the gems that sucked up the ambient mana around. Basically, inside the bag was a small pocket of space where the things put in would stay almost suspended in time. Given the capacity, he presumed his crappy hut and everything it contained could hold inside... had to continue his efforts. In this jungle and even beyond this world... advancedspecies were jerks with a domination fetishes or sadistic tendencies... He really hoped Sala would contact him soon ! ¡°that again !¡± ¡° see the mountain behind. He just had to cross it to find himself at the doors of the village. That''s when he heard a bipping noise coming from his belt... It was Sala''s communicator. He unbuckled it and activated it close to his lips. The young woman''s voice sounded muffled, but otherwise understandable for his sensitive ears :You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° sight, however, he could see hulking figures hidden behind some of those rocks. They seemed humanoid, albeit with arms reaching all the way to the ground and gigantic feet. Avo mirrored their action and used the rocks as cover, navigating through the rock forest and taking a wide berth from the prone bodies. Although they didn''t move, the mana in their bodies told him they were very much alive ! Not to mention, the amount was frightening enough that he didn''t know if any of his magic would be useful... With some monsters, although they couldn''t use magic like he could, the amount of mana their bodies contained served as natural protection against the mystic arts. Given what he saw, he doubted his telekinesis would even slow them down... ¡° armed himself and manipulated the illusion so the warriors would appear threatening... Spear in hand directed at a foe targeting them. Meanwhile, the only real namekian here was on the prowl, closing the distance on his first enemy... Chapter 7 : Goodbyes The lookout saw his kin from a long way away, covering the distance with faltering steps. In his ears, the sound of exhausted to clumsiness footsteps came to him. From the original grey and brown of the clothes the stranger had left in, not much could be seen from it anymore... Instead, the black and purple of blood replaced it, covering him from head to toe. Even his skin was partially coated with it ! With a loud voice, he called out down the fortification : ¡°He lives ! He survived the Gnorlat... Go fetch Master Carnail !¡± The lookout himself was astonished. The gnorlat who lived at the top of the mountain next to their homes, were fiercely territorial beasts as well as tough creatures to kill. And the howls they heard a few hours ago meant that someone was crossing their territory... Almost everyone in the village expected the stranger to die up there. It seemed they were all wrong. Avo crossed the last meters to the gate and the lookout watched him as he pressed his back against it, obviously spent. Observing him for a while, the local nodded, satisfied to see that this too-soft brother of theirs had finally toughened up. Even from up there, he could feel that the atmosphere around him was different... like an unsheathed blade ready to strike. Mentally, the battle mage was going through his spoils... Another perk of his bag that he could visualize its content by using his sight on the gem. It was filled to the brim... A few days ago, he hadn''t expected being able to fill it and yet... here he was. Hopefully, his master wouldn''t take too much of it and let him experiment with most of it. Contrary to his other encounters, he had kept the giant gorillas almost whole... Almost because he had to chop them up. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have fit even inside his pocket space. The pricks were that massive ! Besides, he wanted to study their corpse and learn how to make his skin as tough as theirs, his bones as unbreakable. A small wonder he managed to defeat so many of them and escaped. He half expected them to pursue once he left the summit... They didn''t, only inanely screaming their lungs out as their prey slithered out of their clutches. A few moments later, the gate next to him opened wide. He wearily turned his head to see the few magic users of the village, Carnail and Escar in the forefront making their way to him. In Escar''s arms, he saw clothes folded and laid ceremoniously on his open hands. From the colors, he guessed they were some form of symbolic recognition in the tribe since most of them wore them. The group stopped several meters away from him as one. A couple seconds later, Carnail took a step forward and intoned : ¡°Avo Cado of Earth, for your success in your last trial, I, Carnail, appoint you as a full-fledged battle mage !¡± Escar followed suit, approaching the newly designated Battle Mage and handed him the robes. In a lower voice, his master said in a teasing tone : ¡°I wasn''t expecting your passage through the Gnorlat''s territory... You really like to make an impression, huh ? Just surviving them earned you the mantle...¡± The young namekian accepted the clothes. His voice seemed dead tired when he asked : ¡°Hm... Can I give your bag back after I unload its contents on my ship ? It shouldn''t be more than a couple days away, now...¡± ¡°Give it back ? No ! You earned it ! As well as everything you gathered on your journey. This trial is an... initiation of sorts for our mages and warriors. Reaching your destination makes you pass, but what you bring back serves to determine your potential and social status in the tribe. The more you bring back and the more difficult the kills (or harvests), the more respected you are ! So... How much did you manage to scavenge ? Considering how long you were gone, I guess not much, huh ?¡± Without a word, Avo theatrically overturned his bag, dumping its contents on the floor. Soon, a small mountain obscured the foreign namekian from view and silence fell on the crowd. Suddenly, someone exclaimed in a loud voice :The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Are those gnorlats ? So, many of them...¡± ¡°He killed them ? Alone ? How the hell did this pipsqueak do it ?¡± ¡°Stabbed them in the eyes... Or mouth... Damn, the kid has nerves !¡± ¡°That''s a Battle Mage, alright ! He still feels weak, though...¡± Carnail recovered from his stupor, grinned broadly and told his people : ¡°Avo managed to kill enemies more powerful than himself by using every advantage he got. Because it''s also a way to win a battle. Maybe not very honorable but... on this world, who cares about honor ?¡± It was true. This world and its inhabitants were so harsh that concepts such as peace and honor were useless. In some dialects, they didn''t have the words for them... This was the way of survival ! * * * * * The entire village was watching as the spacecraft slowly landed outside the gates. Apparently, they had all come to see their Battle Mage off. As he saw Sala descend with the platform/door, Avo felt a peculiar feeling. It was a mix of happiness to see her and sadness that he would leave his people. At this moment, every grudge he had against them, his anger toward his treatment and Carnail''s training disappeared. After all, he was the one to ask for this training. And their methods, although brutal, were effective ! Always scatterbrained, Sala was fiddling with some device, completely oblivious to the namekian tribe amassed near her ship. When she finally looked up, she exclaimed in awe : ¡°Wow... So many Avos !¡± She perked up and waved her hand to the crowd : ¡°Hi, guys ! How''s it going ? Avo ? Where are you ?¡± She scanned the crowd for her hooded friend but couldn''t find him. A namekian with the same robes some members of the tribe wore addressed her : ¡°I''m here, Sala ! Can''t you recognize me ?¡± She did a double-take, looked at the young namekian and frowned. Finally, she said : ¡°It''s been a while I didn''t see your face... Is that really you, Avo ?¡± A bloodthirsty smirk graced his lips (that gave her the chills). He nodded and told her to assuage her doubts : ¡°Remember the North City''s heist ? How you almost died in the garbage disposer ? And what I never told the guys about what happened ?¡± Sala blushed fiercely at the mention of one of her greatest shame. She ordered : ¡°Quiet, you ! Dammit, you had to bring that up ?!¡± The Battle Mage shrugged : ¡°Easiest way to confirm who I was, right ? I can''t believe earthlings have such deficient memory...¡± ¡°Oh ? You''ve met your people and suddenly, humans aren''t good enough, is that it ?¡± His smile broadened and softened as his teasing still had the same effect on her. She huffed, realizing she''d been had, crossed her arms and turned her nose up in an arrogant attitude. However, her serious attitude was spoiled when she spotted a couple of namekian children in the crowd. She squealed and made her way over, screaming excitedly : ¡°Mini-Avo ! So cute ! I could eat you up !¡± The warriors around took her at her words, arming their weapons. A threatening aura suffused the atmosphere as the oblivious woman was pinching cheeks or rubbing her face against theirs. Fortunately for her, Avo had already explained to Carnail that Sala was pretty... enthusiastic. As for the figure of speech she used, he explained that humans were like that, often using threats to show their love. With a gesture from him, the warriors lowered their spears. Once she got her fill of cuteness, Sala came back toward the ship, glancing around looking for her friend. Avo smiled seeing that she just couldn''t recognize him in this crowd. ¡°Here !¡± He called out. Sala turned around, seemingly upset with him for some reason. ¡°Stop hiding ! We''re not playing ! Have you made your goodbyes ?¡± Avo nodded and turned toward the assembled namekians. He bowed to his master and declared : ¡°I shall remember your teachings, master !¡± In turn, Carnail nodded and told him a last bit of wisdom : ¡°Remember, Avo Cado of Earth : the ways of magic are innumerable. There''s no one way of doing things and a true Arcane Master must always work on his repertoire, be they spells, rituals or something else.¡± ¡°Yes !¡± He agreed loudly. As he waved goodbye to his people and the door rose in the air, Sala drawled on and on about what she learned, the amazing world of crafters she came from and how she hoped her tinkering would now reach new heights ! Chapter 8 : Reunion ¡° ¡°you grabbed everything you could?¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° Inferrock, his master basically told him to broaden his magical horizons... To be a true wizard, he had to keep on learning, work on applying new knowledge to his older one and so on... He supposed that finding out how to weave enchanted cloths was knowledge. And, who knows ? Maybe it could be useful... ¡° ¡°beat the magic into me. It was effective, if rather brutal...¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°force my will on others.¡± ¡° ¡° ¡°real world ? If I could work on my projects in my head ¨C or yours ¨C with realism, I could save up some valuable resources... Experiment on my plans and projects, diminish my failures until I can get it right. If I can get it right...¡± ¡°valuable resourcesinside his dreamscape so she could study and use them. The problem was, he wasn''t sure how it was supposed to work... Basically, their environment would come from both their minds, which meant that her knowledge of the items would be contained in their dream. Would it react in the same way inside their heads and outside ? There was no way to know for now...If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Inferrock, Avo was beat up every day, almost all hours of it. Although his anger at his people had subsided, he still felt a pent-up frustration. This tournament seemed like a good way to (finally!) lash out. Sala frowned when she saw his hungry expression. Ever since she landed, the woman didn''t recognize her friend and that wasn''t only because he was in the midst of a few dozen people just like him... His atmosphere had changed, as well as his personality. From what she read in books and saw on TV, Avo felt like a soldier, right now... Battle-ready and maybe a bit bloodthirsty. She didn''t really know how to feel about it... ¡° ¡°is the capsule ! It''s enchanted !¡± ¡° ¡° ¡°armor is finished. It barely covers your vitals... If it really is a military school of sorts, they probably know to aim for those, right ?¡± ¡° ¡° ¡°It''s like your mind poured mud in my brains''... How she knew what such a peculiar situation felt like was a mystery in itself. ¡°Secondly : we don''t have the same interests at all ! I want to join their magic engineering department and you''ll probably just want to learn how to launch energy beams from your eyes or something...¡± She sighed again and declared : ¡°No ! I have to earn my own place. Especially with the threats out there in the universe... With what Buu and Babidi did to Earth (and me !) I want to know how to defend myself !¡± She tapped the capsule with her fingers and raised it to him : ¡°This is how! I''m a tech-nerd and a thief. I have to play on my strengths ! Just like you have to play on yours !¡± erasure, Sala had forgotten everything about Buu (like it never happened) and Avo had to explain it to her again. Thankfully, given the fact that she hung around with a green guy with antennae who could fly as easily as she ran, she believed him. It was a year prior their search of the Dragon Balls... He figured it was better she (or any human) didn''t remember what happened so he didn''t really mind it. But his resolve to grow stronger had been contagious, as was the feeling of powerlessness and the knowledge that she died without being able to do anything... Chapter 9 : Tiger Spheres As it turned out, their arrival on the moon Bassiglio went unnoticed. Well... Unnoticed except for the authorities managing the spaceport and even they didn''t really care about them, only swiftly registering it and sending them on their merry way. They weren''t the first aliens to come here, nor would they be the lasts, apparently... A week after they arrived, people were still disembarking. Thankfully, they had several spaceports with varying surface area, otherwise, they''d have started to turn them down in orbit... Sala got her wish ¨C more time to work on her projects ¨C since the entrance exam wasn''t due for another month (three weeks left, now). As most aspiring aliens, they didn''t have the local currency, so they were lent tiny rooms on campus by the BM military college. Later, they learned that BM simply stood for Bassiglio Moon. This confused them a bit... Was the name of the moon Bassiglio ? Or was it the planet''s ? The people resembled humans somewhat (or namekian for that matter) except for a few key differences... One, they had three eyes with one in the middle of their forehead. The second difference was that they didn''t have hair. Instead, they had one or several crests depending on the individual. Some had two crests following the outlines of their ears, others just one going from the end of their spine to the top of their head... Those were the most common, but they were others, too. As Sala either worked on the ship (the lack of space inside her room didn''t really allow her to work there) or corrected the flaws in her plans at a restaurant''s table, Avo continued his spartan training. Every day, he headed for the gates and saluted the soldiers there. They, on the other hand, always seemed flabbergasted to see him. The first time, it had been hard for him to be allowed outside, considering the surface of the moon wasn''t exactly... hospitable. Just like Inferrock, if a bit less dangerous, they were a number of pretty terrifying animals and monsters out there. Usually, when the military planned for a trip there, they''d go in force... The personnel constantly patrolling the gigantic ramparts also testified of the danger out there. With this in mind, it was easy to understand that nobody was allowed outside the city... Yet, he asked for it. Insistently ! Fed up by his harassment, the captain had finally relented, almost rejoicing in the fact that this annoying prick would probably get eaten... However, it turned out he came back before nightfall, safe and sound. Actually, except for the dirt on his clothes, you wouldn''t believe he went through anything harder than a stroll... The next day, the day after and so on, Avo came back with the same serious atmosphere, salute them and be allowed to pass through. The guards rotating at the gate had already made him a local legend, and some hotshots started to imitate him... or tried to at least. A simple look over the rampart at what exactly the alien was doing out there dissuaded any thoughts of following him... Behemoths more than twenty meters tall, with walls of teeth and pillars of claws were chasing him around. A few flying predators, just as colossal or mole-like things trying to eat him from below... If the threats were intimidating, it was nothing much compared to the lunatic in their midst fighting for his life ! The captain, fascinated by Avo''s show had taken to watch him from afar with his binoculars, study the little monster facing the giants. Most of the time, the namekian didn''t fight back... Only allowing himself to be struck or evading from a hair-breadth. Sometimes, when it seemed they were too many of them for him, he would thintheir number... The spectacular sight of Avo methodically killing a monster almost twenty times his size was... humbling. Although the captain took pride in his position of the college''s protector and knew that the next generation would accomplish fabulous things thanks to him, he had never seen anything or anyone like this green-skinned alien. He had never seen a mage capable of such feats... ever ! On the contrary, they usually nestled behind walls of steel or warriors, decimating their foes from a distance... Yet, he could feel even from here the unmistakable use of mana in Avo''s actions. This made him wonder how frightening he would be after learning how to launchoffensive spells. On the seventh morning, Avo headed for the gates with a different agenda than usual. In his bag, seven new items had been added to his load... Now was the time to test them ! As Avo saluted the guards like always, the captain went to talk to him : ¡°Hello, sir ! Heading out to train, again ? You will really show them during the tournament !¡± ¡°Not today. I have a... something new to try out.¡± Avo frowned lightly, confused : ¡°What do you mean ''I will show them'' ?¡± ¡°Well... From the ones entering college this year, very few can even venture outside the walls. And the ones that do, don''t do it alone. What I mean is... Not only will you place well in the tournament, the professors will take notice of you. Especially if you have as much talent with emission magic as you do inner magic.¡± ¡°Does nature magic counts as emission or inner magic ? What about mental abilities ?¡± The captain looked at him, intrigued. He asked : ¡°Are you a druid or an illusionist ? You would be closer to a druid since I saw you shape-shift and heal yourself but... It feels wrong. The things I saw you turn into... That''s no animal I ever saw !¡± ¡°I''m neither a druid nor an illusionist. I don''t really limit or define myself in those terms... I''ve attained a certain mastery in the magic of my people. That''s about it.¡± ¡°Your people can all fight like this ?¡± The captain almost shouted surprised. Avo shook his head. He clarified : ¡°No. Some of my people are warriors, others workers or magicians. At least, the few I''ve met. My master told me I was relatively talented when it came to magic, though... That said, the warriors would have no problem facing the dangers out there.¡± He gestured toward the gate to illustrate his point. ¡°That''s... pretty crazy !¡± Then, curious, the captain became interested in one of his earlier statement abouttrying something out: ¡°Why are you heading out if not to train ?¡± The namekian smiled proudly, retrieving one of seven gemstones from his infinite bag to show it to the captain : ¡°A... spell, kind of. You see, where I come from, there are seven gemstones rumored to grant you wishes once reunited. Thing is, nobody really knows how to find them since they''re almost never close to each other.¡± He was lying through his teeth but he knew how tempting the prospect of having his heart''s desire fulfilled could be on someone. As it were, he felt he said too much... Treating it like an urban legend was a way of... making it more unbelievable. ¡°Anyway, if my people really did create those things, I figured how they''d do it... Stones of power linked together to manifest and realize something they couldn''t do apart. This...¡± He gazed at the orb in his hand : ¡°...is something I found inside an animal''s corpse a month or so ago. It''s filled with energy and... with the right enchantments and rituals, it should be able to gather energy on its own.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°So you''ll... what ? Use those to wish for something ?¡± The captain was bewildered (but interested). Avo shook his head and explained : ¡°I don''t know the initial incantation that would have been used for the legend I told you about... No, what I made is something different... A guardian !¡± ¡°A guardian ?¡± ¡°Yeah... Here¡± Avo spoke in namekian, a language the Bassiglian... Mooner ? Never mind ! It was a tongue he couldn''t understand. A second later, the transparent sphere in his grasp shone brightly, rising from his palm and into the air, before starting to rotate slowly around his body. From the light itself, a beam shot out on the ground materializing a... kitty ? ¡°Meow !¡± The cat obviously tried to appear intimidating. Although his guardiandidn''t seem able to guard anything at all, Avo wasn''t the least bit disappointed : ¡°Yes ! It worked !¡± ¡°It worked ?¡± The more he talked with this alien, the less he understood him. In spite of his obvious strength, his logic seemed somewhat impaired... After all, who in their right mind would talk at length about things that should obviously stay secret ? His people, magic, this legend about items granting you wishes... The captain demanded clarification : ¡°Thisis working? I mean... How''s it supposed to protect anything ?¡± Avo smirked, retrieving a second gemstone from his bag. ¡°Remember how I told you it was supposed to be linked ?¡± A new series of words in his unknown language and in turn, the second ball followed the first in its light dance show around the alien. Another beam stroke the kitty and his meowturned into something... fiercer. As the light subsided, the captain distinctly saw the guardian had grownto the size of a young feline... Still, it wasn''t quite enough to face the threats outside the walls. Although, he supposed if they were seven of those, the increase in power would be quite substantial ! Avo was still talking, explaining how his creation worked : ¡°It is similar to how the items I told you about are supposed to be used, only even apart, they can manifest a modicum of power. I designed it in case I needed someone to have my back... As for why I made them this way, I figured going full power right off the bat wasn''t always the way to go about a fight. Not only would that deplete the energy in the spheres faster, their full power would often be overkill... Like, person-turned-to-ash-instantly overkill !¡± Now, he was positive this alien was a moron... Speaking about something potentially so powerful with a stranger ! Not to mention with the other guards listening intently a few meters away from them. Avo recalled his kitty, the spheres stopped flying and were returned to his bag. Truth was, Avo wasn''t worried about any of the people here, (not to mention the fact that they didn''t speak namekian) having already scanned their mind with his telepathy to ensure they wouldn''t be a threat to him. The captain was honorable and took his duty very seriously. The two guards... One was a blabbermouth but he wasn''t taken seriously, most of the time, so, he probably wouldn''t cause problems. The other was a taciturn sort of fellow with his own pride... He didn''t seem at all interested in his possessions. Another reason why he wasn''t worried, although in hindsight it was foolish of him... was because he felt pretty powerful. And the feeling that came with it (like he could take on anyone or anything, that he was invincible) clouded his judgement a bit... The fact was, he never truly fought with anyone except the occasional mindless monster. No evil magicians, or warrior aiming for his life. More to the point, he never faced either Babidi or Buu and didn''t really know the extent of their powers (although the fact that the latter blew up a planet should have worried him a little). His only saving grace was the fact that he didn''t stop his own quest for more power, nor did he intend to. His master''s words carried a ring of truth to them and he also realized on his own that there always was something he could improve on... Hence, his continued training in the wilds and his own studies. In his mind however, there were no doubts that he''d enter the college ! After their talk, the captain left him be, allowing him once more to go outside the gates. * * * * * After numerous rounds of testing in the wilderness, Avo came back to the city a little bit disappointed. What did he expect really ? That it would be a flawless creation right off the bat ? Truly, that was stupid of him... First off, the tiger lacked power. Although it was pretty muscular and packed a mean paw, it was at best a meat shield as things were. It couldn''t attack from a distance, wasn''t fast enough when they were several enemies... and the more he increased the power, joining new spheres to the invocation, the slower it became. Secondly, perhaps the worst flaw of all, as the balls increased in numbers around him, he could move less and less, coming to a stop on the seventh. Of course, he''d expected it and operated the summon so that the spheres would protect him... Only it was too little in his opinion. And finally, it was too demanding in energy. Although the cores (as he''d taken to calling them) of gnorlats naturally contained energy, it was vastly insufficient for the beast''s power, even after being linked together. He could feel the drain on his own power reserves the more he tried to have the tiger fight strong opponent. Also, another flaw, although minor and expected in comparison, the beast was stupid ! It lacked initiative and he had to command it verbally to attack or defend... At least for the last part, he had to remedy ! He couldn''t have a predator stalk its prey only if its master yelled an order at it... It would defeat the purpose of stalking ! Avo came back to the restaurant he usually met up with Sala, only to see her on the streets a little way off, adjusting the armor on her person with a serious expression on her face. He knew this expression quite well... He''d taken to call it the testing faceover the years. Every time she''d stolen a new piece of technology or built something she was pretty hyped about, after having bragged about it to him, she''d then look at it critically... Then, a series of test usually followed : she used the tech as it was intended, repeatedly and under varying circumstances... After all that was done, she''d use it as it was notintended, for the fun of it or to see if it could have other purposes, Avo didn''t really know... As she was about to start her tests right here and now, the namekian stopped her : ¡°Perhaps it would be best if the competition didn''t know the extent of your abilities just yet...¡± he told her as he scanned the crowd with his gaze. Indeed, around them were many aspiring students of the College, eyeing each other (and at the moment her) with a scrutinizing and calculating look. Sala heeded his advice, sighing as she asked : ¡°How will I know if it''s any good, then ?¡± She frowned and said : ¡°And what about you ? You keep going out and people keep watching you from afar... Wouldn''t it be better not to show off your powers too much ?¡± Avo thought about it for a while. According to the captain, there weren''t many people who could do what he did... However, did that mean that in tournament conditions, he would be able to win against every one of them ? Hardly ! It was different when it was one on one, without knowledge of your opponent''s magic while he knew yours... Still, his confidence was strong. So, he shook his head and said : ¡°Want to come with me tomorrow ? You''ll be able to test it in real combat and if anything goes wrong, I''ll be able to come to your aid...¡± Sala looked conflicted. The fact was, she didn''t like to depend on anyone ; it was a common trait among orphans and street kids ! Even her best friend... Maybe especiallyher best friend ! However, she didn''t have much of a choice in the matter. He was right about one thing : she had little advantages as it were, she couldn''t allow her competition to glimpse at her power before the tournament ! Reluctantly, she nodded her agreement, and sneered as Avo smiled gently at her... Chapter 10 : Salas progress As Avo saved her from yet another monster, Sala grumbled against her lack of reflexes and nerves. Apparently, getting stared down by a moving building equipped with ferocious looking fangs and claws was something most people found terrifying... Hence, her being mostly frozen to the spot quite a few times, things didn''t go her way ! On the plus side, her armor and electromagnetic shields protected her well enough... as was their intended purpose ! She didn''t expect the second one would find much use and yet... Some kind of dragon had tried to roast her alive, only for the breath to be negated by her shielding. As for the portable rail-cannon mounted on her arm, she still didn''t manage to... well, hit anything with it, except for unmoving trees and rocks. Sure, the power was impressive, tracing a path of destruction in the forest in the form of burning holes in the greenery or ground. Problem was, it wasn''t much use if she couldn''t touch her adversaries with it ! She still had to work on her targeting system, it seemed... Fortunately, the electroshocks also present in the gauntlets revealed themselves to be pretty useful. Once or twice, she fried predators who let themselves be grabbed in her metallic gloves. At the moment however, considering the weight of all her equipment, it was hard to tell if any of it was worth it... Especially considering only one of her weapons was really useful. Avo had some advices, of course ! But she was a little too bitter to really listen and take his advice constructively... At the moment, she was rather thinking about anti-gravitational technomancy and how to incorporate it in her equipment. If she could negate the impact of gravity on herself and her suit, she would lose far less inertia... gain in speed... Perhaps fly (or float rather) ! She was also thinking about improving her targeting system. If she could somehow track power levels from her opponent''s, maybe she could better put a lock on it and guide her weapons to miss less frequently. Problem was, she wasn''t sure how to go about it... She knew the theory (according to Avo, at least, and his sight) but doing something similar with her helmet''s visor... It was like the difference between english and code... Although she knew english, if she didn''t know how to code, she couldn''t really translate it. Here, the problem was that, although she knew code, she didn''t know how to program something like this... For now, at least ! Thankfully her MGP (Mana Gathering Process) worked like a charm ! As well as the readings on her energy levels which she could consult at any moment on the lower-left side of her visor. She used one of the gnorlat''s core as a power source and crafted a rudimentary mana siphon around it. Given her limited time-span, it was the only thing she could come up with at the moment. It wasn''t a permanent solution, though... ¡°Maybe if I used a similar method as my readings'', I could extrapolate some kind of receiver...¡± she mumbled while Avo played around with two of the moving buildings. Watching him made her a bit envious. The awe she felt in front of his feat had naturally subsided over their long years of friendship, so now all she really wanted was to be able to do the same things ! Especially with his story about Babidi and Buu... The first time she heard about it, she felt it was weird... She didn''t believe him, but then noticed the gaps in her memories. The last thing she remembered before waking up that day without any memories of the events, was a part of the Art Martials'' World Championship she watched on TV and then... things were a blur. It was only a few hours after Avo told her what happened that she came to grip with reality. On their journey to this moon, she asked Avo to share his memories of the ordeal... Watching herself die in front of her wounded (and apparently crying... First time she saw that !) friend was shocking. Still, now she understood better why Avo was so adamant about getting stronger ! For her, because she knew her body wasn''t as sturdy as her friend''s, technology (or in this case technomancy) was the only way she found to get stronger. Her only asset was her mind ¨C of which she was proud of ! - and even if she wasn''t a genius like Doctor Briefs or his daughter, there was nothing she liked more than tinkering with things. Now that a whole new view of the universe was at her fingertips, her creative side itched to play with it. To play with magic ! Besides, she found she was rather talented at it ! Although that may have been thanks to Avo''s wish... Be that as it may, she''d uncovered her own sense when it came to machinery and how it could interact with magic. Actually, she discovered to have a waywith machines during the seven months spent as a student of the Crafting and Technomancy Advanced Academy. While her classmates had trouble figuring out a particular magic circuit, it... spoke to her. The same thing happened when the problem was electrical or mechanical... It was as if the natural state of the machine was to be functional, and since it wanted to be, it told her how to fix it... Nonetheless, if what happened here was any indication, it didn''t make her infallible apparently... Then again, everything was working (if not optimally) !Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°I have to go back to town... Work on the targeting system.¡± Sala decided. On the other hand, Avo had other plans : ¡°Shouldn''t you learn to aim without help from your machines... In case, I don''t know, they get broken or something...¡± ¡°Would you fight without your sight ?¡± Sala retorted a little tartly. ¡°I remember you saying that trusting your eyes and ears was a mistake... Something about the world being an illusion. Don''t tell me it was bullshit ?¡± Avo looked embarrassed. When he said that, he was being melodramatic. It''s true that illusion and mental magic could affect your senses. Make you see and hear things that weren''t there. He wanted to make sure she was aware of how easy it was for someone to be fooled... Maybe he''d gone a bit overboard ! He sighed and nodded, defeated. The truth was Avo wanted her to be strong too and that''s why he tried to be helpful in his own way... If she couldn''t hit anything with her weapons, now, all she had to do was practice ! He could help with that : get her combat ready through spars, be a target for her to shoot at... He was a little disappointed she wouldn''t let him help. Then, Carnail''s words came back to him. The old namekian had been clear : every magician had its own path. And his friend had found hers it seemed, in the tech she worked on tirelessly ! He might as well be supportive instead of pushy... ¡°You''re right. I''m sorry !¡± Avo uttered, contrite. Sala seemed surprised at his change of heart but after a few seconds, she just nodded. * * * * * A few days later, the duo went back out in the wilderness. Sala was pretty excited with her new and improved targeting system. Actually, although she had finished it the day following her first excursion, she kept working on it. She felt it was both too sensitive and not accurate enough... The energy readings kept fluctuating, plus they were saturated with every living beings'' energy signature (trees, small animals, insects...). Afraid that it would impact her targeting system, she decided to solve these issues. And now, as she was following Avo out the gate, she scanned everything and everyone around her. Contrary to what she expected, her friend wasn''t so different from most of the newly arrived ; his energy sat at a 625, while the average score for the other contestants was 600. At least, that was for his MPL (Magic Power Levels). There also was another energy signature coming off of him she couldn''t read (she supposed it wasn''t magic in nature...). The reason why he was so strong might have been because he was constantly using his powers in real combat situation. So, even though her armor''s own MPL didn''t exceed 550, perhaps she could go toe to toe with the other magicians if she trained out here like the namekian did. The other reason why she didn''t go out as soon as she finished working on the targeting system was because she had some ideas about how to apply anti-gravitational fields to her armor. As soon as they were outside, she took off running at a speed that surprised even Avo ! The puny human was impressive ! With her leaps and the way she ran, it felt almost like she was as light as a feather... And maybe that''s what it was because a sudden gust of wind almost sent her stumbling to the ground. She frowned after that and muttered : ¡°I''ll have to compensate for air resistance... Maybe find a way to ward or control it.¡± For the moment, she only increased slightly the impact of gravity on herself and resumed running. Sometimes, she would lose balance or trip. Still, she continued. The fact was that she wasn''t used to it and with training, she''d be able to better control her body. Glancing at Avo who was flying above her, Sala thought that he didn''t become a badass in one day. Plus, if the few things he told her about his training was true, a little pain was necessary in order to become truly strong... She wasn''t averse or a stranger to it, either. As an orphan, she went through her own painful moments even if things got better after her meeting with the namekian. Under the visor, her eyes turned serious, focusing on the ground in front of her. She hopped and ran, almost soaring through the air. While both her body and eyes were working on navigating the landscape, Sala''s mind considered adding a propulsion system to her armor. Of course, the energy consumption would then be a problem... Her current MGP wasn''t nearly effective enough for sustained periods of flight and fight. Anyway, she wouldn''t have enough time before the tournament. She would test the armor right now, work out the kinks later and if she had more time, finish her MGP 2.0. Well... Actually, since her current one was more of a patch job than anything else, it would be more accurate to call it version 1. Her thoughts went interrupted by Avo''s teasing voice (and a little insufferable at the moment to be honest...) : ¡°Is your targeting system on the fritz or what ? There''s incoming !¡± ¡°Waiting for youto point it out. Good boy !¡± she retorted sarcastically. The thing coming at them looked like a giant frog. If a frog measured 10 meters tall and could dissolve a body with its tongue... Or leap and glide with the skin membranes under its forelegs. Despite its size, it was pretty nimble too. But this time, she was prepared... ¡°Weapons targeting... Lock !¡± Chapter 11 : Qualifiers - First round It turned out her targeting system worked like a charm, now ! Problem was... Her rail-cannon lacked power to kill the biggest things out there. She killed the frog as well as a few other things... However, the dragon-like creature as well as the massive bull on two legs... She could barely scratch them. It was the same with the electroshocks in her gauntlets. At best, all it did was piss them off or make them do a funny dance... Fortunately, her anti-gravitational system saved her hide a few times ! Although, to be honest, she jumped too high a few times, forcing Avo to rescue her or increase the gravity on her armor. With only a little less than two weeks left before the qualifiers started, Sala was stressed out whether she should improve her weapons (maybe design new ones, altogether...) or the rest of her equipment which also happened to have quite a few problems. Finally, she decided to work on the latter, hoping she would then have enough time to work on the first. Now, every morning, Sala joined Avo outside the gates, testing (and more importantly, training in) her armor. The afternoons and most of the nights were spent working out the kinks and problems. Avo did the same thing with his Dragon Ball-look alike. Still, contrary to her, he appeared a bit frustrated the magic wasn''t working how he wanted it to. Although she wanted to help him if she could, the truth was she had no idea how any of it was supposed to work ! Shamanism, witchcraft or ritual magic... Whatever it was had its own set of laws ! Laws that didn''t make sense. At least to her. And apparently, to Avo either... Because of his frustration, the namekian took it out on the monsters outside the gates, or tried to take his mind off his problem by sewing and enchanting. Sala never had time to build the machines she promised him, so, at the moment, he was limited in his creations by what he could do with his own hands. Needless to say, the results were far from being... fashionable. Or good. Between the woolen horrors and the poorly stitched leather ¡°clothes¡± (emphasis on the parentheses), Avo was a long way from renewing his wardrobe. Still, he made some progress both in his technique and with his enchantments. Plus, the practice was calming... The two weeks passed in a blink, with the duo working on their respective projects or just relaxing in some way. When it came time for registration, Sala was nervously fiddling one last time on her equipment, while Avo had a hard time containing the nervous energy in his body... This resulted in him fidgeting a fair bit. They exited their temporary residence''s lobby and walked the twenty minutes walk separating them from the inscription area ¨C several desks aligned with personnel put out in the courtyard of the college just for the occasion. The duo stood in line silently. Sala was too nervous and her friend was just studying the crowd with his sight. ¡°There are a couple of guys who seem pretty strong... That''s it. I don''t think we have to worry about the rest of them...¡± ¡°Speak for yourself ! If anything goes wrong with my armor... I''ll be powerless ! Dammit, I knew I shouldn''t have linked all my equipment to a single power source ! I should have created a lot of somethings instead of just one !¡± Lower, she added : ¡°I think I''ll do just that after this tournament...¡± ¡°Relax, Sala ! Do you know the difference (and advantage) you have over them ?¡± She perked up at that. Every advantage was good to take. She hoped he would give him some incredible killer move or something ! She shook her head and the namekian explained : ¡°You''ve spent time outside the gates ! You went through very real, very life-threatening training... I didn''t even help you once the past four days ! Unless these guys are more powerful than the monsters we faced, I don''t think there''s anything to worry about...¡± She grumbled something like ¡°I would''ve preferred a killer-move...¡± before nodding. Avo was right : everyday, she had asked the captain if anyone had gone outside to train (apart from them, obviously !). And although a few hotshot did try to go out, even succeeding for some, they hightailed it back to town mere minutes after exiting ! The namekian wasn''t finished, however : ¡°Besides, I think that your weapons will be effective against most of these jokers...¡± he added while looking at a funny looking... clown ? He had a red nose and chalk-white skin with curly red hair... even oversized shoes he kept tripping on. Sala couldn''t figure out why a guy like this was here... He didn''t look strong at all. She focused her targeting system on the man... and found that his energy sat a little over 300. Not powerful, but not weak, either... Still, he was far from being top 32 material. Be that as it may, he wasn''t completely out, considering the average power here was around 400. It had somewhat decreased with every new arrival on this moon. The inscriptions were taken care of by the college students, their future upperclassmen. A couple hours after they stood in line, it was finally their turn... ¡°Names and races...¡± The woman with three eyes asked laconically. ¡°Avo Cado, namekian.¡± he said. On his left, his friend told the woman : ¡°Sala Malik, human.¡± The student wrote it down, nodding. Then, she explained, handing them a piece of paper at the same time :This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°This is your Contestant number. If you pass the first round, you''ll need to answer it when it''s called.The first round of qualifiers will take place in the gymnasium. Please follow the others...¡± The people having registered all headed in the same direction, so it was easy enough to locate the place. When they entered the building, they once more stood in line... Several machines were sitting in the middle of the room, with lines of people in front of them. On their side, an examiner explained the purpose of this qualifier to the participant, who then cast a spell at the machine. ¡°I think they''re testing our destructive power... Look up !¡± Sala pointed at a series of screens hovering above the machines with symbols on them. She retrieved the universal translator and pointed it at one of the screen. After a short silence, she nodded : ¡°As I thought : those are numbers. They''re measuring our power output ! Wonder if there''s an upper limit...¡± With a wicked grin, Avo commented : ¡°Let''s find out, shall we ?¡± ¡°211. 176. 140... Kinda low. Oh ! 298. Almost 300... Not bad !¡± As they advanced slowly, Sala reported the scores of their predecessors. In order to satisfy his curiosity and watch what kind of spells these people used, Avo added 20 centimeters to his height. The creaking of his bones even made a few other contestants look back with annoyance. Fireballs, mana bolts, ice spikes, rock bullets... They were numerous. Their powers, however, were lacking in his eyes. He could be wrong, but he didn''t feel threatened by those things, at all ! And people were supposed to do their worst... or best, whatever ! Finally, Sala was up ! ¡°Alright ! Aim your most powerful spell at the target !¡± The examiner laconically explained, gesturing toward the round metallic contraption at chest height. The woman took a low stance with her arm directed toward the target. Metallic clicking sounds resounded as the cannon on her arm extended ; from her shoulders, two bars came out and planted themselves in the ground a few meters behind her. Her MGP roared to life, electricity coursing from her chest to her weapon... This qualifier was important both to continue and establish herself among this rabble : there was no way she would do less than the best she could ! After a few seconds of charge, she fired, two deafening and almost instantaneous sounds shook the gymnasium. The first was the shot she fired. The second was the bullet charged with electricity, heated to the point of incandescence hitting the target. The flash her weapon produced imprinted itself on the retina of every onlookers, partially blinding them for a moment. The machine... stood its ground. Despite the obvious power, the rail-cannon had only dented the target a few centimeters in... The examiner and the spectators, however, had saucer eyes and a gaping mouth... The examiner looked back at Sala, sweat on his forehead. This time, he really was paying attention to her and her get-up. He consulted the file on her... She wanted to join the engineering department... Figured ! If this thing was something she invented, the professors would probably want to meet her. Maybe even recruit her right off the bat ! He made a note of her results as well as a commentary on her performance (something he rarely did !), took a picture of the aftermath... Then, commented : ¡°355... Very impressive ! You''ve beaten the previous record by 2 points ! Please continue this way !¡± And he showed her to the waiting room. ¡°Huh... Oh ! N-next please !¡± The man said after Sala left his field of view. As he looked back at Avo, he seemed a bit annoyed until he saw the color of his skin... He, too, had heard of the rumors of the green lunatic and his friend... He turned back to where Sala left, a finger raised. ¡°This... Was she...¡± Were those really them ? His mind had a hard time processing... ¡°Looks like she made an impression.¡± Avo muttered with a troubled smile. It took a few seconds for the examiner to collect his thoughts, after which he explained what Avo had to do. Contrary to earlier, however, his tone contained a bit of excited curiosity... Also, contrary to his friend, the namekian didn''t really want to stand out too much... They already were enough rumors about him. He fished out a metal ball which he bought a few days ago from his pocket. Truth was, he didn''t really know (or care) what the true purpose of the thing was. He just wanted to use it as the blunt instrument it was in his eyes. He dropped the ball carelessly and while everyone watching expected it to impact loudly on the ground, instead it hovered half a meter away from his open hand. The ball rose in the air in front of the target and started spinning. Gently at first, then picking up speed. Once it was fast enough for him, he imagined the ball being compressed in a tube... an explosion of force pushing the ball forward ! Although the projectile didn''t reach the speed nor did it generate as much heat as Sala''s did, the sound of metal against metal still echoed loudly in the hall... Way more loudly than anybody here could do. The worst part of it was... How casually the namekian unleashed such a force. Sure, the mental aspect of magic was well known and studied... However, most magicians couldn''t use it like that ! The most they could do was... maybe make a pen fly, or something small. Or they were sensitive to people''s emotions... On the other hand, it almost seemed a natural action for this contestant, as if telekinesis was like walking or talking for others... It also seemed he could easily use it in a fight ! The examiner made another note and recorded his score : Not as powerful as Examinee Malik''s machine, but impressive use of telekinesis (fast and powerful). A simple ball of metal launched at high-speed generated a 334 score. There also exists rumors that ever since he arrived, he exited the town alone in the morning to come back in the afternoon. Stories differ on his magic, but they agree on this point. KaEoH ! The mention of keeping an eye on him at the end was probably unnecessary... Still, if the professors didn''t notice his talent, at least, it wouldn''t be his fault... Avo smiled at the examiner and bade his goodbye, joining Sala in the waiting room. As for the room in question, it was more of a hall than anything else given the number of participants. It seemed a lot of people had passed this stage of the tournament... ¡°So... How much ?¡± Sala asked, appearing almost instantly by his side (it was a bit spooky to be honest...) ¡°Huh ? Oh ! You mean my score ?¡± He shrugged, uncaring and answered : ¡°334. Didn''t want to strain the thing too much after your little light show !¡± He added with a smile. The duo chatted and joked for a while, waiting for the second part of the qualifiers to begin. Finally, as the noise of conversation was starting to get really loud (almost unbearable for the namekian''s ears), a student came to announce how the next part would unfold... Chapter 12 : First matches ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡° what is this monster ?'' ¡°should not. Or you might kill your poor adversary...¡± ¡° ¡° The rich kid''s facade crumbled quickly hearing this. Sure, his equipment was something but... she was a friend of the abnormal freak ! He just watched his ''fight'' with interest earlier and saw what happened to another scion of a rich family... It couldn''t even be called that really ! He hoped his bluff would work a bit at least... Maybe he shouldn''t have tried to make a play for her so soon... ¡° Chapter 13 : Qualified for the finals Avo came to congratulate her on her victory as Sala jumped off the ring. ¡°Good job ! You were still adjusting your power level, right ?¡± ¡°Yeah...¡± The woman seemed a bit flustered. ¡°Actually, I wanted to scare him a bit and it worked ! But... I didn''t plan on scratching him. Well, at least, he''ll think about it twice before hitting on someone !¡± ¡°You probably would have taken his head off if you missed, you know ?¡± Avo said, teasing. Sala just ignored him. Anyway, it was a fight, right ? They should expect things to go wrong sometimes... Especially with magic. The duo separated once more with Avo going back to his platform. The fights continued and as expected, the two of them progressed without much problems. Although most of these people were just as young as them, none of them ever went through drastic trainings like theirs. Avo was beaten the magic into him by a ruthless master and Sala studied with dedication (almost obsession, really) everything she could during her months spent in the academy. After that, they both sharpened their own skills against the monsters roaming the wild lands outside the city. Still, as the fights went on, they also increased in difficulty, if only slightly. Sala had to use her anti-gravitational function in her suit, as well as her gauntlets a few times... Avo, seemingly without efforts on his part on the other hand, just changed his way of dealing with people every time. Sometimes, he''d create an illusion that would force his opponent off the platform. Sometimes, he''d just push them with his telekinesis or use seeds and grow them to restrain and force someone to surrender. Against the few who used magic as well as their bodies to fight however, he always did the same... As a way of showing respect or something. Even he didn''t know, really... Perhaps it was just to test himself, or his adversaries... One time, he even tickled a prideful girl half to death with his healing magic... A side effect of this particular use of magic was, when you were wounded, you felt it act on your body with an itch impossible to scratch ! Both because of your wound closing and the fact that it was useless... When you were in perfect condition however, it tickled. And the more you used it on someone, the more it did ! So, a little annoyed by how high and mighty she acted, he''d decided on a little punishment for this particular foe... Anyway... Despite a few troubles, Avo and Sala qualified for the finals. After the losers left the premises (encouraged by the referees to try again the next year), the top 32 contestants were led towards an arena. The same student who explained the rules earlier was now guiding their reduced group while clarifying why they changed venue : ¡°Although you''re already considered students of the College, the fights you''ll have now will determine your importance in the eyes of professors and instructors. If you do particularly well, you will be granted access to more resources or restricted books... You could even be enrolled in the elite classes for intensive training...¡± He then detailed what they could get : ¡°For the first place : freedom to study anything you want, unrestricted access to the library and the chance of becoming a personal disciple to your chosen mentor (Not to mention almost unlimited resources...). Second place : Library access up to the fourth floor, a chance to challenge the right for a mentor... Resources, of course. The ones who lose in semi-finals : Enrollment with the Elites, Library up to the third floor, a choice of four courses out of eight. Quarter finals : Library up to the second floor, two classes out of eight chosen. That''s all... You can get a bit more depending on if a professor particularly liked you or some such... There''s also your examiners'' remarks when you passed the qualifiers.¡± At the end of his explanation, the student had to speak a lot louder because of the ambient noise as they got closer to the arena. It was a big stone building in a circular shape and pillars jutting all around it. From inside, they could hear cheer and the sounds of loud conversations. They were only four entrances to the building with a hanging banner reading ''Welcome to BM Military College !'' dangling from one of them : obviously, that was their intended destination and the one the student made them cross. One of the contestants asked, when it was apparent their guide wasn''t coming with them : ¡°You won''t come ?¡± ¡°Nah !¡± The young man said nonchalantly. ¡°I did my job and now the commentator and a few other students will take over.¡± He waved their group goodbye as he headed toward a different entrance, yelling over his shoulders : ¡°Give us a good show, guys !¡± As soon as their group passed the threshold, they were greeted by a beautiful upperclass woman with human features. Long blonde hair and light blue eyes, neat rows of teeth displayed in a sparkling smile. In turn, she gave them an account on how the finals would take place : ¡°Greetings and congratulations on your victories so far ! We''re pleased to have you join us ! However, as Misha probably told you, things will get more complicated now... The finals aren''t just about the way you fight and how effective you are ! It''s about your use of magic... How capable, innovative and masterful you are with it ! The College expects great things from you !¡± A moment of silence, when she just continued walking deeper into the building, passed before she continued : ¡°Here''s how it''s gonna go down !¡± She opened a double door wide in a flourish and directed her upturned hand toward a high counter with a box on it : ¡°Your contestant numbers are useless now. We''ll use your names on the board for the spectators. With this box, you will determine the order in which you fight. When I call you out, retrieve a piece of paper from it and tell us what''s written on it, alright ?¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Another female student gave her a clipboard and she read out loud : ¡°Avo Cado ! Step forward, please !¡± The namekian did as he was told. Meanwhile, the commentator (he presumed) watched him with rapt attention. She''d already read the series of comments from the referees before her. His effortless and very different victories, the way he preferred to use his body to fight contrary to other magicians... Even the rumors of him taking strolls outside the gates. The alien fished out a piece of paper, unfolded it and declared in a calm voice : ¡°Number 4...¡± The woman nodded and told him : ¡°Second fight. My colleague will write your name on the board now... It will appear on the board outside for the spectators to see !¡± Through the walls, they could hear the crowd making a ruckus a few seconds later. Apparently, this event was highly anticipated by the students and personnel alike out there... Avo wondered if they really had nothing better to do... If he had a choice, he''d rather not watch something like this. If he were asked to participate on the other hand... As long as he was amongst the fighters, he wouldn''t have a problem with it. Well... Unless they were only worthless opponents. Sure, it was fun to see how much he improved in less than a year, but it made the fights so... dull ! It was almost like nobody could keep up with him. He really hoped things would be different at this point, otherwise he might just forfeit altogether ! What was the point in a fight he couldn''t learn anything from ? The only advantage of this whole thing was that at least he got the chance to see new magic... Too bad he couldn''t figure out how to use any of it just yet ! The namekian rejoined the group of contestants, scanning the mob to see if any of them could be interesting. Maybe the two teens eyeing him with hostility... From appearance alone, they were remarkable : chalk white and jet-black skins with matching long-hairs and similar facial features (although one was a girl, and the other a boy). Only their eyes were a reversed color : while the little miss with her white skin had jet-black eyes without pupils, the youth had a pair of immaculate orbs on either side of his black nose. For some reason, he thought about the old philosophy from his world... the yin yang. He continued to gaze at the crowd, and stopped when he saw someone unexpected... ¡°Even the joker''s here... Can''t believe it !¡± Avo muttered. At his side, Sala followed his gaze and nodded : ¡°Yeah... I''ve seen him fight ! Let''s just say... he''s weird ! And unpredictable. He doesn''t seem to have that much power, though !¡± The clown, with a big smile stretching on his face, waved at them and jumped a bit when a name was called. Since he hobbled forward right away, it seemed to have been his... A few seconds later, he exclaimed cheerfully as if it was wonderful news or something : ¡°Number 8 ! I''m in the fourth fight, right ? Yeaaaah !¡± And he pumped a fist in the air while jumping around... He stumbled and fell face first, bringing snickers to their crowd. With shoes like his, it was no wonder... However, Avo watched him carefully. There was... something about him. But he wasn''t sure... There were two other people Avo felt might be strong. A middle-aged man with black and grey hair, exuding a quiet strength. The other... the reason why he noticed him was because he just couldn''t feel anything from him. It was like... an empty husk with no magic power, no thoughts or a mind of his own. He was completely covered from head to toe in a purple and black garment and only two red lights could be seen from under the hood. ¡°Sala Malik ! Please, come forward !¡± The young woman in armor obliged, walking with heavy steps and the sounds of clanking metal accompanying her. Because the hole in the box was too small, she had to take off one of her gauntlets before taking out her own number... She said with an unknown feeling permeating her voice : ¡°Number 32. Last fight...¡± The commentator retorted gently : ¡°Far from it ! Only the sixteenth... Whether you win or lose, the tournament will continue !¡± This young woman who obviously came from a race similar to her own was interesting too... Plus, she hung out with the green-skinned guy ! And the comments about her also were full of praises... On the other hand, she didn''t really know what to feel about the fact that she obviously used a power that wasn''t her own... Not really. She may have build her wonderful armor, but the magic used came from an external power source... Even if the designs were hers, inwardly, the commentator thought her weak. There was only so much someone could do with borrowed powers, no matter how advanced the technomancy... Once everyone (except the last one) had drawn their lots and the board was full of names, the commentator spoke up to everyone : ¡°We''ll give you all an hour to rest before the first fight begins. You can use the facilities on your left if you need anything...¡± She approached the doors and opened them with the same move she used earlier : ¡°There are comfortable couches and chairs, a kitchen and the staff manning it in case you go hungry... Even a few deckchairs for a quick nap. Although, my guess is you''ll be too nervous for any of that. Anyway... Go ahead ! You''ll be able to hear the speakers announcing your fights from here !¡± The mob followed her instructions, chatting and whispering to each other. The weakest of them seemed to be the loudest, claiming they''d win and it was pointless for the others to continue... They should just withdraw ! The ones Avo and Sala noticed, however, kept to themselves, ignoring the others. Maybe they were preparing themselves mentally... Sala stayed up, because even if she sat, it wouldn''t be comfortable at all in her suit. Avo, on the other hand, chose to sit cross-legged right next to the entrance. Just like a few others, he went silent, closed his eyes and entered meditation... By his side, the young woman sighed heavily. What was she gonna do, now ? Chapter 14 : Kuro VS Avo Cado ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°have a master. However, the prospect of studying anything I want... That''s interesting !¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° feel his magic power. Avo stepped forward to inspect the place the kid disappeared from... Meanwhile, he could still hear the comments from the woman : ¡° So, that''s dark elemental magic ? The namekian thought. So cool !This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡° feel something moving, something that was trying to keep his shadow pinned. The namekian didn''t really understand what it was : there was no magic power he could feel, nothing he could see... Yet, for some reason, he knew something was there ! ¡° ¡° ¡° There was more ? He thought excitedly. Finally, he could confront his own training against another worthy mage ! Vaguely, he recalled the animosity the siblings seemed to manifest earlier, wondering what it was about... However, he shook his head and focused on his current battle. Maybe it was just their nerves, or the fact that they felt threatened by him at the time... It didn''t matter right now ! ¡°entire arena shows that he, too, possesses extreme proficiency and a deep mana pool.¡± ¡° Chapter 15 : Shiros fight Sala watched Avo''s match on the TV-like machine in the waiting room. As usual ever since she came to get him after his training with his people, battle-maniac Avo was enjoying himself... Sometimes, she was really curious about what he went through for him to change so much. Nowadays, he was filled with a kind of assurance (not overconfidence exactly, nor cockiness... it was hard to explain. Like the serious and professional air surrounding a veteran) that made him look down on many fighters. Well, not exactly... He was more dismissive of them, really. On the other hand, seeing him like this, facing against such an obviously dangerous foe and yet, enjoying the battle very much, she knew he must have went through hell and back with his people... Although, that was weird since Avo said his people were peaceful and welcoming. Considering his own personality before all this, she tended to agree, too... Anyway, she watched the fight with a bit of anxiousness. Some no-name dude beside her (not that he had no name, she just didn''t bother remembering it...) mocked him in order to destabilize her. ¡°That''s your friend, right ? He''s gonna lose so bad ! It''s obvious ! He can''t even touch this Kuro kid !¡± It was true though... He couldn''t touch him ! But that didn''t mean that he was powerless against him. As long as his enemy had a mind, Avo would have a way to deal with him... Indeed, a few minutes later, as Avo was hovering over the arena and dodging black spears left and right, suddenly... The black fog dissipated. On the ground, tightly bound by numerous vines, Kuro was looking right ahead with vacant eyes. A few moments later, he lost consciousness... The guy who tried to taunt her yelled : ¡°W-what ? H-how ?¡± With a smirk she explained : ¡°Avo isn''t a weakling with only one mean of defense. He mastered every aspect of his people''s magic potential ! The reason he came here was only to deepen his knowledge and power... It''s a shame for Kuro, though... He really didn''t have much chance ending up against him...¡± From behind, the cold voice of a young woman made Sala turn around : ¡°Yeah ? Well, in a few rounds, you won''t have either... Contrary to this freak, you''re not so tough... And I''ll enjoy breaking you as revenge against him !¡± The chalk-white girl with jet-black eyes assured her with venom in her tone. ¡°Geez, Louise ! Intense, much ? It''s like Avo killed your brother or something... Don''t you know ? Even if we can''t place well on the podium, we''ll have our whole years of studies to prove we''re worth investing in ! Kuro can still have access to the library and stuff...¡± ¡°Doesn''t matter ! Your friend acts like he''s the strongest mage there is... To prove him wrong, I''ll crush you, then him ! But, I''m gonna take my time with you...¡± Then, she turned around and walked away. Sala shook her head, bewildered about the girl''s animosity. Avo wasn''t really like that... Sure, he was aloof and disregarded most of the participants, here. However, it probably was only because of his own intense training... He was used to a higher standard. It didn''t mean he looked down on them all... Actually, from their conversation earlier, Avo told her he thought the siblings were interesting... After watching the fight, the young woman agreed. But, it seemed Shiro was also kind of a jerk and maybe a bit of a psycho. As things stood and if they both advanced in the tournament, they would encounter each other in the semi-finals... ¡°I have to watch her fight !¡± Sala whispered to herself. When Avo and Kuro came back, they separated. The black skinned kid went to talk with his sister, a sad atmosphere surrounding him. Meanwhile, the namekian came to her side. She told him of her conversation with his sister''s opponent and replied :The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°They sure are intense... I''ve brushed Kuro''s thoughts : it seemed this tournament was very important to them. From what I could understand, it seems they have a similar goal to ours : getting stronger. Why, though ? His thoughts were pretty jumbled... So, I couldn''t really tell.¡± After a moment of silence where he looked at the siblings talking, he added : ¡°But, you''re right. Losing here isn''t the end. He can still get noticed by a professor or show his worth later in the year.¡± ¡°Yeah, well... I''ve decided to watch her match. I''m not like you... My body is squishy and frail so if I get skewered by shadow spears, or whatever... I''ll die ! I need to know what kind of magic she uses in order to fight her !¡± The namekian nodded : ¡°Every magician has their own path to walk. Yours is one of study and preparedness. I understand that. Although it might be prejudiced, considering Kuro''s appearance and the element he used, I''m guessing Shiro uses light or life elemental magic.¡± ¡°We''ll know soon enough...¡± Sala answered determinedly. * * * * * ¡°It''s your turn, sister !¡± Kuro said with vigor. Despite his loss, he was soon cheered up by Shiro''s fighting spirit. She''d promised him to give Avo a good whack on the head, as payback ! Not that he was a sore loser but... telepathy was such a cheat ! He worked hard for years in order to become nigh invincible and it had all come to naught in front of this particular magic ! Although some might say his own control over darkness and shadow was just as much of a cheat, the twins thought they were entitled to it. Being untouchable and powerful, it wasn''t just their objective... It was their birthright ! Who cared what those peasants who thought they did magic were saying ! ¡°Yes.¡± Shiro said, her grim face set on her features. Without anymore words, she headed for the door and arrived almost at the same time as a native of this moon did. He briefly looked at her, the unease apparent in his expression. Actually, he almost looked like he was about to vomit... The poor young man was just not used to performing his magic in public. Or just being in public, really. The mooner nodded woodenly before they both passed the threshold. The man had a kind of steampunk vibe to him with his leather jacket and helmet, denim pants, the goggles on his head and the copper-like gun thingie on his waist. ¡°After Kuro''s fantastic match and unfortunate defeat, it''s his sister''s turn to step forward : Shiro. Just like her brother, she received high praises from her examiners. Facing her, a man who comes directly from the city and who is apparently very nervous...¡± The commentator told that last bit with a playful tone. Right after that, though she announced : ¡°Shiro VS Alastor ! Fight !¡± Shiro''s body shone like a beacon, blinding everyone around. Thankfully, Alastor was wearing tainted goggles over his eyes. However, he still couldn''t tell where she had disappeared when the light subsided. He quickly grabbed an item from his bag : a wooden tablet with something resembling a computer screen on it. After barely a moment, he dove to the left. A beam of light shone like a laser where he was, a second ago. As the beam ended, Shiro stood now at the end of it. Her cool voice spoke over the sudden silence : ¡°Nice job dodging that ! Unfortunately for you...¡± She raised her left hand, palm up toward the sky and chanted something... A ball of light came out of it and exploded in numerous rays, blinding the crowd once more and shooting every which way. They landed on the ground, pillars and even the protective barrier to the arena with a sizzling sound. Meanwhile, Alastor was now hiding behind a tower shield that came out of another tiny object he fished out of his bag. While he hid and protected himself, Shiro flashed once more, appearing behind the technomancer. She threw another one of those balls of light, this time right above him and charged toward him like a laser. Unexpectedly, her opponent had time to grab a third item from his bag while he turned to defend against her. His shield stopped her charge and the explosion of light was intercepted by the grenade-like thing that blew up right over his head. Tiny shiny particles reflected the light all around him but left him whole and mostly uninjured. ¡°Is that all you got ?¡± Alastor, his nervousness forgotten and now a little cocky, said. Without a word, she turned to face him and, with a bloodthirsty smile, pointed at her chest. Puzzled over her gesture, he didn''t understand what she was saying until the last moment... When one of her spells exploded point-blank from his chest. Nobody saw how it happened (not even Avo) so the ending of this match left them a bit perplexed... Between the flashes and blinding rays, the commentator didn''t even have time to do her job. All she did was announce the ending... ¡°Winner : Shiro !¡± She said, with obvious grief in her voice. The white woman nonchalantly walked back to the waiting room, completely uncaring over the losers well-being. On the other hand, the medical personnel had already come out from one of a side door with a stretcher in tow. They charged the unconscious and partially charred Alastor on it before running back the way they came from. As Shiro entered, Sala was waiting for her, a confident smile on her face. She told her : ¡°I can deal with you.¡± Then she turned her back on her and exited the room... Not a chapter : story needs a re-write Hi guys (and gals) ! I just wanted to let you know, instead of just disappearing on you, that I''m going to stop writing this story for a while. It''s been brought to my attention that it lacks some things to make it a good story (Thanks Mastersgtjames for your review, by the way !) and I myself realized that I didn''t actually truly thought this story through... I generally just let the words take me when I write. But it can be boring for the readers, confusing etc...The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. So I decided to take some time to reflect on that and try to come up with a more interesting story... Now, for the re-write, I have a question for you guys ! Do you want just 1 MC, 1 MC + Importants characters or a story with several potential MCs ? Also, please comment if you want me to change the name of Avo. Thanks for reading until now and here''s hoping you''ll read my stories down the road !