《Droid XXVI》


 Prologue: The Day it Ended and Chapter 1: Youre Not a Failure

    Prologue


    *Cough* *Cough*


    Pain


    Pain was the only thing I could feel.


    It tasted iron in my mouth and felt heavy in my body.


    I slowly lose consciousness as I looked onto nothingness.


    There were certain things stabbing in my body which I if knew correctly were steel bars that had fallen from the roof of our gym building.


    "Ugh..."


    ''Am I going to die already?'' was the only thing in my mind when suddenly someone I knew appeared from my view. It was unexpected but it made me smile a little for a reason even I do not know. Maybe somewhere in my mind I felt comfort sleeping with someone I know near me or in how it would turn out I would be having a very long sleep already.


    "Condition level: Brink of death


    Injuries sustained: Fatal


    Estimated time till death: 6 minutes 43 seconds


    Master what should I do?"


    I was shocked hearing the monotonous voice coming out from someone I knew but I don''t have enough energy left to speak out for the pain I feel increases only as the time passes. I don''t know what to do already and my mind is only screaming to end this pain I feel.


    "Are you an idiot? Go save him!"


    I heard another voice, it was from someone I knew but this time my vision had already turned white but I know never in my life would I forget that voice.


    Suddenly another explosion happened and caused the ground to shake. It caused the metal bars stabbed in my body to shake which caused me more hellish pain.


    "AAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"


    I could only howl in pain after it happened. I do not know what do already I just want this to stop when suddenly I heard a question in a monotonous voice.


    "I ask of you, do you want to live?"


    A second of silence passed but I can''t mutter even a single word already because of the pain I feel.


    "No, let me rephrase that according to recent events"


    Another second of silence


    "Do you want to die?"


    Chapter 1


    Part 1


    Being a magician involves a vast array of steps and a huge amount of knowledge to absorb and to master. No known human being was recorded in the history and have been said to master all kinds of magic. The main reason why this didn''t happened was because as humans evolved to adapt so is magic.


    Magic can already be found in records of history since the ancient times. It is because having magic can only be done if you are a born to be one meaning that you''re body is compatible in controlling the souls around you and create different arrays of spells. These spells can be broken down into three kinds of main classifications. It is said that a genius was born to control all three, a hard worker has what it takes to do at least two and a normal born mage was capable of doing at least one of the three.


    Speaking of those three types of magic


    Type A - Focuses on alteration which as the name speaks of itself alters non living objects structures but for a higher or miracle level type of magic in history or fairy tales there were records of alteration in human beings. Of course alteration could be done in many ways but the type A uses magic of Suflet also known as soul to alter an objects structure.


    Type B - Also known as the creation was the rarest among the three types of magic. This was where the affinity comes into place. Affinity was ones compatibility with a specific magic. The Suflet released by the person creates a temporary object which is neither rejected nor agreed onto by the worlds rule, ''Nothing can be created nor destroyed'', but this object created can''t be denied by the world and can only be denied by the caster. One could see this having the same concept as alteration but Type-B magic focuses on ones compatibility with ones affinity.


    All human beings have affinity to a single object but the method of turning ones Soul/Suflet into a useful lump of matter was hard.


    Type C - The last of the three types which is the most common also known as ''Control''. As the name implies it mainly focuses on controlling objects like witches and wizards does in fairy tales. The main point of this magic is getting ahold of the Suflet that resides in the surroundings and controlling it to ones desire. It does not create nor alter but only control or move. It mainly focuses on elements around us but it can also be used on different things depending on the magicians level.


    The three types of magic can be subdivided and subdivided again for there are infinite possibilities in the world of magic which is why as said in the history starting from the discovery of magic comes with different benefits and consequences.


    Magic has been present from the start and it could be classified as what we call as ''Power''. In born magicians call it as the ''Concept of Soul''. Having power means having responsibilities. Due to having few people born to be magicians in the ancient time it has been recorded that they abused this power in order to gain control of something big like countries.


    Historical figures such as Hitler, King Arthur, Odin and such can be classified as people who gain control using this power. It is up to the people on how to classify them if they see it as good or not and it can be assumed that not all people are happy about this turn of events.


    Due to in born magicians/Changers abusing their power and having their ego grow due to being special certain groups of people having no compatibility with magic start their own revolt due to being tired of having their lives controlled by others.


    These people are called ''Engineers'' they discover the power of technology and created a way of making a normal human being stand head to head against a Changer.


    The start of technology was also the start of the split between normal human beings and in born magicians. There were other people who are neutral but they were only a few of the majority of those who can''t accept the other side. This cause a split in countries and certain large scale wars was recorded in history till it led to the people living in two different kinds of countries.


    Of course having the discovery of technology and knowing that there was a way to be on top the goal of normal human being of being equal footing with the Changers change to being the better ones. This caused another war on seeing who the one superior was.


    Discrimination on the opposing side arises and caused the split of countries having such countries specialize only in technology and one that focuses on magic. There were no known records of countries being neutral and having both develop technology and magic. The discrimination that could be seen was so cruel that it was better to die which is why the establishment of the stronghold of the two groups was strong.


    This country where the Magi University resides called ''Sealo'' was one of the world powers where the magic have developed to a greater state already. There were also other world powers and these were split into two groups with certain countries only having people called Engineers and countries having people called as magicians.


    Part 2


    *Pit* *Pat* *Pit* *Pat*


    *Wsssssssh*


    The sound of whistling like small firecracker could be heard in a dark chemistry room. All lights were closed and at the centre of the front row there lays a red light glittering and swaying side to side, a flame. It floats a top a shadow and second by second it grows little by little.


    "Channeling Suflet"


    The hand below the flame glows a little then burst into a mini firestorm that still swirls atop a single hand.


    "Distinguishing the Shape"


    Flames that wildly swirl suddenly came to a halt and form into a shape of sphere. It floats a little higher and glows a little brighter which cause the room to be well lit. Faces of teenagers could be seen focusing on the lady at the front.


    She had a mature look, sharp eyes matching her raven dark black long hair tied into a single ponytail. One can obviously guess that this place was a class and an experiment was currently being done which caused those serious looks given by the teenagers. A heavy aura could be felt inside the room and all students were focused on observing the steps in creating a flame.


    The students of the Magi University were well known for their high achievements in societies. Graduates from this school achieve high positions in their work which is why all students here are known to be hard working. Many geniuses could be found in the school which also boosted its reputation.


    With their professor the head chief of the CC department also known as the Chemistry Changer department an important subject for all aspiring magicians/Changer all students here wear a serious look and slowly memorize the step by step procedure being done.


    The instructor named Maria El Noilhe smiled as she observe the swirling fire in her hands


    "Division of souls"


    The fire ball that lit up the whole room then divided into smaller fireballs and flew in front of each of the student. It lost its light for a second but then glowed brighter after that giving lesser light.


    Maria El Noilhe, also famous in the title of Chief Maria of the Flames stands proudly after showing a very precise control in her magic speaks with a hint of boast and authority in her voice.


    "Now as you observe no magic is done best if you''re still learning it without using chants, memorize the four chants I said and-"


    *BOOOOOM!*


    The dark room that is only being lit up by Maria''s fireballs received light from the sealed door at the lower right at the back of the room as it suddenly burst in flames


    "Ouch! Fire fire fire!!"


    A male voice could be heard from the smoke entering the door at the back. It can be heard that he was in pain obviously with the cause of fire.


    "Eh? What did I do wrong I thought I chanted all of Maria''s spells correctly"


    Another female voice was heard but opposite to the male voice this female voice only had a hint of confusion.


    "What did you do Shiro!?-"


    Worry could be heard from the male''s voice as he called to his female friend name Shiro but was cut off when a louder voice resounded.


    It was the voice of the Chief instructor


    "SHIRO! KURO! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!"


    Already knowing the famous name of the most troublesome duo in the school Maria called up to them all the while summoning her familiars.


    With a simple snap of fingers two small familiars appeared. With a shape of a human standing on two legs all the while having its face covered with a mask it bent its knees and a glow could be seen gathering in the soles of its feet. After a second of silence the gathered Suflet exploded which gave the two humanoid familiars a boost in speed.


    *Pssssssmmmmmm*


    *BOOOOM*


    "KURO YOU''RE SO SLOW!!"


    Frantic voices could be heard outside while confusion, angry remarks could be heard inside. A vein could be seen protruding at the head of the instructor showing how mad she was. But this was just another normal day inside the Magi University.


    Part 3


    *Pat* *Pat* *Pat*


    Two figures could be seen running in the hallway of the school leading to the fire exit. One was a tall teenage boy having jet black hair, orange irises, light brown skin and a small build. Next to him was a small teenage girl having long pure white hair, blue irises, white skin and also a small build. Both were wearing the white uniforms of the Magi Academy.


    Their small build help built up their speed better due to less weight but it could be seen that the girl was faster in running while the teen male was being left behind.


    After making a sharp turn to the left the two had reached the exit but both were still being chased by the humanoid familiars.


    *Pant* *Pant* *Pant*


    After a second of exhaustion both climb the steel fence of their school only to be blasted by the familiars destroying the fence. This made the two tumble but both surprisingly recovered quickly as two shiny silver blade appeared out of nowhere and stab the legs of the two familiars making them immobile.


    After a second of smirking towards the two Shiro pulled Kuro''s hand making him stumble


    "Owahh...wait! Wait!"


    "You''re so slow Kuro, Maria-nee''s going to catch us!"


    "Whose fault do you think it was in the first place? I told you we can''t sneak on her time during class you know?"


    "And who was it that came with me and didn''t object a single word?"


    "But I was told to keep you out of trouble right?"


    "I''m not causing any trouble it just happened that the spell failed"


    "That''s what trouble means you know!"


    "Hmph..!"


    Having been ignored the two lost sight of what was in front of them because of their never ending banter. This caused them a lot since they were suddenly put to halt as they bump into something.


    ""EH!""


    Much to the shock of the two what was in front of them were three more familiars they knew too well. It was the familiar of Maria, their teacher at the Magi Academy and also their guardian.


    Three more blades appear out of nowhere as Shiro raised her hand.


    Shiro and Kuro El Noilhe were what the academy called the Yin-Yang Duo. Both were the most troublesome student which was literally the opposite of one another. While Shiro was a talented, mischievous teen girl Kuro was a drop-out with no talent at all when it comes to magic other than boosting his natural strength and a docile type of person.


    Shiro knows all three types of magic but she is only adept to Type-B which is creation. Her affinity with Earth and Steel lets her creates swords, guns, shields, any weapon she could imagine as long as its substance was earth or steel. She could also control the element of earth but other than that she sucks at it which was the main reason of her failure during the incantation of a fire spell. Though that didn''t stopped her from learning it. She''s one many would called a crazy weird genius also because of mastery in chantless magic.


    Opposite to the white yang the black haired teen Kuro was a talentless teen who knows the concept of soul and though born with magic blood he could only do the Type-A magic which is alteration. It is also limited to simple alteration for his alteration could only be what we call as boost because he could only do it to himself. He could boost his natural strength which in the society could be called as useless since it is plausible to strengthen oneself naturally by continuous exercising. He does not have an ounce of talent when it comes to other types of magic and he doesn''t have any known affinity. Though also a master of chantless magic since the magic he knows is limited in the first place which made him being able to enter the magi academy.


    The two were the only troublesome students that could be found in the university though the reason why they were still accepted was because of their guardian Maria El Noilhe which was a chief in the school. The two were orphans adopted by her.


    As a glow appeared on the soles of Kuro''s feet, swords appeared on both palms of Shiro with three more three different kind of steel weapons floating above her.


    After a second of silence the clash between the five began.


    With another boost in Suflet the familiars run towards the two with their hands extended and their palms opened. What can be found in the center of their palm was a steel circle dyed black which was one of the famous magic of Maria. Though this was the weaker version, a touch of this would cause an alteration in one''s body making it heavier. Many see it as Maria controlling the gravity around a field of environment but the two knows well since she was their foster parent and they know that a touch of those things would be a fatal drop in their speed which was their trump card.


    Kuro was able to avoid the extended hand that was aimed to him and what can be found in his hands were steel tonfas created by Shiro having its edge shaped into a blade. With a little turn to the right he was able to avoid the arm of the familiar going through the side of his face with only an inch of space between them.


    Sounds of steel clashing with rocks could be heard in the track field as the five figures continued to clash.


    With a single swipe towards the familiar and a little boost in momentum Kuro was able to finish off one familiar. It dropped onto the ground for a second before it turned to dust.


    Smiling triumphantly for his victory he turned to Shiro only to see her blowing the smoke coming from the tip of her gun with the other two familiars lying on the ground slowly turning into dust with bladed weapons stabbed in their body and holes in their head.


    *Smirk*


    Disintegrating the sword and gun in her hand she smiled as she stomped on the familiars.


    "These things are a piece of cake I wonder how Maria became famous with these things?"


    Looking onto Kuro, Shiro shook off the dust that built up on her clothes during her fight with the familiars.


    "I don''t know-"


    "It is because I can make an army of them"


    The two froze up hearing another voice.


    Both instinctively jump back only to feel their bodies becoming heavier second by second.


    "Uhh...Why are you here?! You''re supposed to be at the classroom right?"


    "Right Kuro?"


    "Hey! Why are you ignoring me you witch!....Oops...uhhh"


    *sigh*


    "I think I have to alter that sharp tongue of yours young lady. Is that how you treat your guardian?"


    "Uhh...I''m sorry!! just please let us go!"


    "And you''re still shouting back huh?"


    "She''s unreasonable let''s go Kuro"


    Grabbing his partner''s hand she made a boost in speed by unearthing a portion hitting her feet making an escalation in momentum.


    As the two made a lift through the air and escape something suddenly changed.


    With a single swipe of Maria''s hand in the air in front of them a sudden change in gravity was felt and they were dropped to ground with their consciousness blank.


    Part 4


    *Sigh*


    "I told you we could just ask her to teach us at home"


    "Hmph!...and all she teaches us at home is basics, basics and basics!"


    "Basics are important right? It is the foundation of all complex spells"


    "I know it''s important but doing it repeatedly is just a waste of time, did you improve in anyway?"


    "Uhh-"


    Standing in front of the door inside the faculty where the two troublemakers holding a book above their head. This was their punishment from the disaster that they made a while ago. This was a light punishment compared to the normal one done especially when it was Maria who would be ordering it. The usual was supposed to be something as heavy as cleaning all the glasses of all buildings or mopping all five floors. The reason was because the real punishment was they won''t have any lunch time.


    *Bonk!* *Bonk!*


    "And here I said to reflect and repent! By the way, do you know how important the basics is especially when using magic in real life environment compared to when you are at school?"


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.The two froze up knowing who it was, they were silent both because of fear and shame.


    *Sigh* "And I was your personal instructor at home? What more could you ask for?"


    "But you''re just making us do the basics do you want us to learn?"


    Leaning her head and making an eye to eye contact Maria glared.


    "Are you questioning my teachings?"


    "Uhh...n-not that! But we''ve been doing the basics for months already after you agreed on teaching us! I think we''re ready enough to do a complex spell"


    "Oh really? Then why don''t we test that. Create a weapon you''re always so proud of"


    "Hmph if it''s that simple I could make tons of it, how many do you want?"


    "Give me your best and strongest weapon and we''ll see if you master the basics"


    With a simple snap of her fingers Shiro materialized a long dual blade which fell on the ground with a loud noise.


    "Now pick that up"


    Kuro could only observe and didn''t know where this was heading while Shiro could only obey her guardian-teacher.


    "Then what?"


    "Look closely into you''re sword"


    "What? What''s the purpose of that?-"


    As she was about to object again she saw something which made her eyes wide. Her hands glowed for a moment but it eventually diminished and then she hid her sword at her back.


    "You''re too obvious you know? See? I said to create you''re best weapon right? And you chose sword as the weapon. Now notice the flaws in your bladed weapon? You might be an expert in chantless magic but you''re not an expert in the basics"


    Seeing as no one would reply to her she continued.


    "There are many flaws in the weapon you created. I''m sure I''ve missed some of them but many could be seen in the naked eye. Now this sword is created by the use of a complex spell but you''re only able to do it easily because of your affinity with steel and earth but that doesn''t mean you''ve perfected it. Now give me that sword"


    Hanging her head down she finally gave up.


    "See this crack here at the hilt and at the neck of the blade? If this is your best weapon then go back and do some studies more. Do you know why it cracked?"


    "No..."


    "It is because you poured too much Suflet when you created that sword. You may not have noticed it but when you create a weapon in a short moment without focused I''m sure those weapons are either to thin, too many cracks, too brittle or more so because of your lack of control in the Suflet supplied"


    "Then what should I do?"


    "That is where the basics come in. What I''ve been making you do is to collect the right amount of Suflet to make an orb of light right?"


    "You mean this one?"


    Feeling left out Kuro produce a small orb of light in his palm and showed it to the two.


    Following after him was Shiro who then produced an orb of light with the same size as instructed to them daily.


    "Yes, now I said that the size was important right? After weeks of trials you two were able to perfect the size of that orb. A complex magic starts with that basic gathering of Suflet. Without the proper amount of Soul provided for the spell it would go all haywire and be ruined which could either make it fail or cause other consequences"


    Extending her hand out to the two she continued


    "Gathering Suflet"


    An orb of light appeared in her hand


    "Channeling Suflet"


    A single second had passed when the orb of light flicked fire for a second before it turned into an orb of flame.


    As what the two who were secretly observing what happened a while ago they have guessed how it would have turned out.


    The orb of flame that was simply staying still then burst and swirl into a mini storm of fire.


    "Distinguishing the shape"


    The storm of fire that was wildly swirling then calmed down.


    "Now this is where this spell ends but it depends on the caster on what to do with this"


    The two stayed silent having looks of amazement in their eyes. It is rare for Maria to do this kind of things in front of the two. All the complaints that Shiro had for her was gone the moment her teachings began.


    "This is what happens when you add more Soul to the spell"


    Though the fire was still calm it became larger as seconds by seconds passes by. After it was twice as large as it was before it stopped growing and stayed still.


    "And this is what happened when you diminish the Suflet you provide"


    It became small as a short amount of time passed. It eventually reached half of its original size.


    "Now what you gather to create the spell is the soul coming from the environment called Ru, this is the foundation of the spell. What you add to strengthen the spell is called Dou which is the soul of the caster. The Dou in each person in born to a magician shouldn''t be nonexistent. Even with those who call themselves a untalented-"


    Kuro felt chills as he saw Maria eyeing him.


    *Sigh* "I told you that it''s not all about talent but hardwork, do you hear me? Hardwork. It is because every person born to be a magician, meaning having a lineage in their ancestors which I''m sure you two have, have the ability to sense the Soul of Nature or know the ''Concept of Soul''. Knowing how to sense it is what differs you from a normal person. So don''t go moping and calling yourself a failure even if you have little to no Dou inside. No person born to be a magician don''t have enough bone to be one unless they themselves give up on it first"


    Seeing him smile she continued knowing the two would just stay still without any proper instructions.


    "Now since you two badly want to learn a complex spell try doing what I taught to the ''Honor Class'' only 4 out of 40 of them did it because of them forgetting all the basics"


    Shiro made a difficult face first before pouting then before getting annoyed then finally let out what she was thinking.


    "But Maria-nee...uh...I did it earlier right? And you saw what happened?"


    "Clearly you did a poor job in casting that spell why not try it again?"


    "Hmm mmm"


    Raising her hand she started chanting the spell. Kuro would''ve done the same if not for Maria raising her hand as if telling him to stop first.


    "Gathering Suflet"


    An orb of light appeared in Shiro''s hand


    "Channeling Suflet"


    A flick of fire appeared before Shiro''s orb of light before it turned into an orb of flame.


    Shiro smiled for a second before it turned into a frown after she noticed something was wrong.


    It was becoming hot near Shiro, the temperature was rising passing normal levels and the orb she did grows larger and larger by second.


    As it was about to explode Maria intervened


    "Respinge!"


    With a glow of her hand Shiro''s orb disappeared.


    Sagging her shoulders she sighed.


    "What did I do wrong? I thought I placed the right amount of soul this time. I focused on the size as you said"


    "You are not wrong with what you did but you poured too much flame soul when you turned the normal soul into an element. Remember you just need a little amount of flame soul when turning the nature''s soul into the element you desire, just think of it as a starter"


    "Like this?"


    Much to the surprise of the two what appeared in Kuro''s hand was an orb of flame albeit a little smaller than what Maria and Shiro did but still it was calm in nature unlike the one Shiro did which was wildly dancing. It seems he was murmuring the chants while Maria was discussing her tips on how to do it.


    "See it''s easy when you understand. What I did make you realize when doing the basics again and again that when casting it is not right to pour too much but it could also cause failure of pouring too less soul into it"


    Pouting, she looked annoyed at the two before extending her hand and chanting the spells one by one speedily.


    Shiro smiled as an orb of flame appeared at her extending hand.


    She smiled triumphantly as she looked at Shiro who''s orb was a little smaller than hers.


    "See both of you could do it if you try and LISTEN"


    ""Yes mam!""


    Part 5


    "Mouuu...I''m hungry...she hold us up till the last minute. Let''s cut classes Kuroooo..."


    "Do you want to be punished again? If we do that our homeroom teacher will report it to her"


    "But I''m hungry...H-U-N-G-R-Y!"


    "Quit acting like a kid Shiro let''s just hurry *Growl*"


    "Ah...hahahaha see? You''re hungry too. Come on let''s just buy even a bread we won''t be late if we do that"


    ...


    Arriving at the classroom the two entered with bread in their hands.


    Shiro was munching, happily taking her time while Kuro was eating as fast as he can at the same time looking at the clock at the front of the classroom.


    The happy aura had an abrupt change when the two entered.


    It was mainly because they were known as the troublemaker duo, though it was mostly Shiro but when she was there Kuro was there also.


    All went silent as the two entered. Everyone whispering among themselves while the two apple of the eye were already used to it just continued ignoring it.


    "OI SHIRO KURO! HERE! WHERE''D YOU GO?"


    Though there were two exceptions among those who were avoiding them.


    "You''re so noisy Sheena, we just dropped by somewhere"


    While Shiro annoyingly answered their friend Sheena Kuro just nodded to the two and continued munching on his bread.


    "I heard that you caused trouble for Ms. Maria again. If you keep doing that you may get a suspension especially because every time you cause trouble you also damage the properties near you"


    The second philosophical voice belonged to their female friend wearing glasses named Crea.


    Sheena was a teen girl having bright red hair and a very cheeky demeanour, very the same as Shiro, but she was taller than her.


    Crea was a quiet girl with light blue long hair and a very quiet and calculating personality, almost the same as Kuro.


    For some reason because of a certain incident out of school the four have been closed friends since then. Even though the two were the most troublesome duo and the other two female students were leaders of the student council they still kicked off well.


    "So what did you do this time?"


    "You two always create tons of paperwork for me" *Sigh*


    Sheena and Crea looked tiredly at the two.


    The two could only smile awkwardly as a sweatdrop appeared on their forehead.


    Scratching her neck Shiro forced a smile.


    "We were just visiting Maria-ne-Uh Ms. Maria and learned some new spells. When I tried it and it fail and everything goes on as you have heard"


    "So that was why you went missing during homeroom"


    "Technically speaking they didn''t went missing since it is already an everyday occurrence"


    "We were just supposed to go to the rest room, well she is while I go get some things in my locker when we passed by Ms. Maria and saw her teaching magic and then she insisted on staying on and eavesdrop"


    After a second of silence Kuro went rigid and then shocked then worried.


    "Wha! I forgot to deliver something to Ms. Maria. I got to go I''ll be sure to be back as fast as I can. Could you please tell Sir Fode that I have an errand?"


    "Well you still have a few minutes till the bell rings be sure to be back quickly"


    "Be sure to take the shortest route. We''ll just tell Sir that it was Shiro''s fault that''s why you could only deliver the package right now"


    Bowing down to the three Kuro rushed out. And noise started pouring out of the classroom.


    "Fua!? Why am I only the one to be blame here? I''m sure he wanted to hear Ms. Maria''s lesson also right?"


    The two just shook their head and sighed.


    "I''m sure Kuro insisted on going on and you forced him"


    "From the point of view of an observer though Kuro is partially at fault and your point of him wanting to hear her lesson is true, the large part of the cause still falls onto you for forcing him. You know Kuro rarely rejects you right?"


    "Eh!!"


    ...


    *Pit* *Pat* *Pit* *Pat*


    Kuro rushed going towards the locker found at the first floor located at the entrance of the university.


    Making a jumps and sharp turns he arrived at his destination without trouble.


    It was because it''s passed lunch time there were no students loitering in the hallway for all of them were in their respective classes.


    *Click*


    Opening his locker with a swipe of a card a machine sound had been heard.


    His locker was neat at tight when it was opened and only few things could be found placed in it. Books, notebooks, shoes, and a shirt and a pair of shorts could be found.


    "Hmmm..."


    After browsing for a moment he found the brown folder he was looking for. Like his other folder it looked the same with the difference of a black ribbon tying it.


    *RINGGGGGG!!!!!!!!*


    ''I got to hurry up''


    With that in mind he closed his locker very fast and started running on the first floor where the chemistry department was located and the place Maria was likely to be in.


    After running straight for a few seconds he made a sharp turn only to fall


    *BUMP!*


    "Ah...are you ok?"


    "Ouch!"


    A large built man was found halting the run of Kuro as he was sitting on the ground.


    Cleaning his clothes by swiping again and again he bowed to the man.


    It was the guard of the school named Ricardo. A tough large built man that one would have a guess that he came from an army but he isn''t though he was still part of the magic council that specialize in criminal cases.


    He''s a polite calm man contrary to his scary look and frowning face.


    "I''m ok, I''m so sorry for bumping into you"


    Bowing towards him he saw the papers scattered on the floor.


    "Wha! The letter!"


    "Let me help"


    The folder that Kuro was holding was spilled into the ground. Pictures and papers were seen lying everywhere.


    Kuro had to rush or he''ll miss a whole period.


    "Murder cases..."


    Kuro heard Ricardo mutter in a low voice.


    "Who is the recipient of this letter?"


    "Uh...Ms. Maria"


    "I see"


    Nodding to himself he handed Kuro the other papers he gathered and Kuro fastened the folder again.


    "Do you know about what''s inside the letter?"


    "No but if it''s about murder case does it involve the one on the news lately?"


    "Yes it seems that the case had already been near our vicinity you and your friends should be careful. Always go straight home so you would be out of danger. That''s the only information I could give you"


    "I see thanks for the info"


    "No problem. And by the way don''t read the letter it''s not suited for people with weak mind"


    Kuro got a little frightened at the warning but it only flared his curiosity a little though he''s not planning on opening the letter no matter what happened. It''s all up to Maria if she wanted to share the information in the letter.


    "I''ll be taking note of that thank you again and sorry"


    Nodding to the teenage boy Ricardo walked away going to his post.


    ...


    Arriving at the door of the chemistry faculty he was about to knock on the door when he accidentally heard two people shouting.


    One was Maria and another was an unknown voice.


    "You''re just wasting your time on training that useless kid and that trouble maker. One have the talent but her attitude is unbearable while the other one is useless!"


    Taking a deep breath she continued her rant.


    "They are the reason why you entered this school right? So they could enter it too for you knew no university would accept them! No background! No money! You''re just wasting yourself here! Why?! Why do you insist on staying here?! If you go back to the army you''ll be able to utilize your talent more. Teaching kids is not for you training an army is what suits you"


    "You have no right to judge on what I do Liza! I do what I want and I do what I know is right. I''m already done fighting and waging wars with other countries. Don''t you want even an ounce of peace? We could coexist if we want too it''s only our pride that is stopping us. I don''t want to waste my life fighting for that kind of reason I''ll just be more comfortable being laid back here in this school raising those two on which I saw a hint of hope"


    "Coexist?! Since the past time it had been impossible to coexist we just can''t! You have led us to victory for so many times why did you suddenly leave us on top?"


    Her confronting attitude turned into a mellowed one as her angered voice turned into a sad one looking onto Maria with eyes asking for help.


    *Sigh* sensing something she glared at her old comrade.


    "Leave Liza, we''re done talking"


    "What!-"


    At the sudden command her all her frustrations returned but she knew best that with her change of tone she could only obey.


    "I said leave!"


    "Hmph! I''m not giving up till your back to the army!"


    Turning her heels away she leave the faculty.


    As she exits the door she saw a teen boy with his head bowed which was why didn''t recognize it but it was the same teen male who she was calling as useless.


    Ignoring the kid she walked away with anger showing in her face.


    After a second of silence


    *Knock* *Knock*


    "Enter Kuro"


    It was only Kuro and Maria who were at the faculty at the moment for all the other professors were at their respective classes.


    "What is it?"


    Kuro made an effort to contain his emotions as he handed Maria the letter.


    It was because of the shame he felt for being a useless person.


    He had been the center of disgust of a large number of people ever since he was a kid for enhancing his physical capabilities was the only thing he could do best which was very common for every human born to be a Changer. Though being able to cast other magic like the others it had been very hard for him and always end up failing.


    The stiff attitude of his didn''t go unnoticed and Maria could only smile and embraced the teen much to his surprise.


    "You''re not useless remember? You''ve already helped many people like Shiro and I. Having no talent in magic does not define you being useless, it''s what other people said but in the end it is still your choice on who to believe in. I said that I''m going to train you right?"


    Maria smiled as she felt the teen nod. She knows Kuro well for she was the one who raised him. He has a weak mind despite that calm attitude of his or maybe he obtain that calm attitude of his after growing tired of all the insult he received.


    "You also casted the fire spell I taught you. Though the one Shiro made was larger ha ha..."


    "...That''s not helping you know...ha ha"


    "I know I know, I just wanted to tease you a bit"

 Chapter 2: School Battle Royal Selection I

    Part 1


    Two people endlessly fighting magic with magic can be seen in the center of the field located at the Magi University.


    The field was a huge oval structure not normally seen in school. But because the Magi University was one of the leading schools in the country of Sealo where large interschool competition happens, it was built.


    It was shaped one would see from the ancient roman times and upgraded to look like the one from large sports coliseums.


    The main field was not as clean as one would imagine since large rocks could be found every side of the field to give the contestants a scenic setting which is proper for their showdown in magic.


    "OOOOOOOOOHHHHHH"


    Many shouts could be heard from the audience as they eagerly cheered on their picked contender.


    The event unfolding right before their eyes was the selection of students to compete in the inter school magi competition.


    This competition can gain a student scholarship, fame, title and many more other things that could help them in the rest of their entire school life.


    It can even add to their resume so that the eyes of their employers would be glued to them.


    This event of course should''ve involves physical injuries but a barrier system was created to protect the students.


    Before entering the arena both contenders must go to a special room where they will be coated with a barrier of soul according to their own life force. This will give them twice their lives and no injuries would be sustained.


    It is an S class spell called ''Douni'' used by the special types of people only that is usually found in the army with the position of support since it takes a great amount of concentration and time to chant this and the soul needed to cast the spell is huge.


    This of course doesn''t make one person invincible since no injuries would be sustained, physically. But the stress, pain and fatigue that built up can''t be prevented. If you receive a wound in form of a burn, no injuries would be gained but signals would still be sent to ones brain that indicates the pain itself is present.


    If one asks how if a weapon would be used will the barrier works. It would only be deflected but the force would still be felt.


    When one receives a slash under the protection of the barrier it would be deflected but the pain received from the force of the slash would still be felt. If the swing was strong enough to cut the hand then of course the signal sent would be as if the hand was severed which would be very painful.


    *BOOOOM!!*


    *WHISHH*


    A glow could be seen in both of the bodies of the contenders which were the sign that the spell is still active.


    The contender on the bright red corner has his body still glowing brightly while the other at the aqua blue side was fluctuating indicating that the expended amount of life force was nearing its limit.


    It could also be seen on the female contender that the fatigue she felt had been built up already which was the cause of large amount of sweat was pouring down her delicate face.


    The male smirk before he began to chant his spell and raised his hand, a ball of dust formed on top of it as the air around his hand gathered and compressed into a single sphere full of pressure.


    At the side of the female, water rose from every side of her as if creating a barrier. Her right hand glows as she chants silently all the while glaring intently at the male showing her annoyance at the mocking look he was giving.


    A second of silence passed before them before they both finished the chant at the same time.


    An explosion of soul happened in both of the soles in their feet as they run on opposite direction of the field as they were running in circles.


    "Release of Clutch..."


    "Gather Before Me..."


    The male and female contender chanted at the same time as they ran.


    The air around both of them swirls a little wilder than before as the soul danced before their eyes after they began controlling them.


    The crowd goes wild as they were waiting of what was to be the climax of the fight since the exchange haven''t been that much entertaining for the female was only avoiding the male at the same time throwing aqua related spells everywhere which cause the ground to be wet and with some places having pools of water in it while the male was relentlessly throwing pressurized air towards her with some of them missing her which cause the ground to cave in.


    Water gathers on those cave-ins which cause some obstruction to their mobility but that did not stopped them from running fast with the help of the soul they gathered.


    The girl jumped from the rock giving her more boost and momentum as she neared her opponent.


    This widened the eyes of the male a little as the shock of his opponent who was eagerly avoiding him during the earlier parts of the round to face him head on. But this didn''t stop him for he knows his winning and with a little more push he would really win.


    He swings his hand in air as he throws the ball of pressurized air and slashed in air with his other free hand as he also ran towards the girl. Dusts of cloud gathered around the ball of air which caused it to be hidden from the view of his opponent.


    "AAAHH!!"


    He heard a howl of pain which caused him to smile even as the dust was still not settling down. Much to his surprise rain started to fall down but he ignored it and catches his breath while waiting for the signal which was the indication that his opponent was unconscious.


    A span of three seconds had passed and there were still no signs of the fight ending which caused him confusion.


    The dust settled around him before his eyes widen again for the second time of the round when he saw the girl still conscious with her right hand pointed at the air. She was wrapped in a ball of water with only a single opening which was placed at the tip of her pointing finger.


    It was a thin wall of water which was why it was unnoticeable.


    He only came back to his senses after his opponent ended her chant which caused him everything.


    "Fulger Curajos"


    Electrcity gathered for a second from the palm of hand to the tip of her fingers which then flew into the air and proceeded toward him.


    "Ah?...AHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


    He then felt the pain of being electrocuted which made him loose his consciousness in a single second. It didn''t take his life for the barrier shattered and cancelled the electricity flowing through his body.


    The female contender was protected from the lightning because it was conducted by the wall of water around her which glowed brightly then flowed towards the ground.


    The water barrier prevented her from being wet by the rain which she also created and being electrocuted by the electricity she created.


    Medics immediately entered the arena as they recovered the unconscious body of the male.


    "OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"


    *DON!!*


    "The winner of 1st round of the preliminaries..."


    Wild cheers from the crowd could be heard drowning the sound of the announcer.


    The female smiled still catching her breath and waved her hands towards the crowd after the fight.


    ...


    "Hmmm...that was clever but also dangerous"


    "Lightning when passed through the fluid named water conducts electricity faster. It spreads out to every part of water and everything connected to it and only stops when it passes through an object that does not conducts electricity. Passing through a human body which is full of water could be fatal"


    "She''s a sadist..."


    "Ha! I told you she would do that!"


    At the top most part of the bench where there were only few people and odd type of group could be found consisting of a single male and three females.


    It was Kuro, Shiro, Sheena and Crea.


    One could tell that the one talking to herself was Sheena.


    The one that gave a long analytical speech was Crea.


    The only male who could only comment about how the female handled the fight was Kuro.


    And the last boasting female voice was Shiro.


    There were no classes for the whole two weeks because of the incoming inter-school changer competition. It had been a tradition for all countries involving magic which was also their way for monitoring the progress of the students and for the incoming strong Changers that could be recruited for the government or the army.


    "You said the opposite Shiro! You lose the bet!"


    "What!? I said that she was going to do something right? Not loose!"


    "''That girl would be losing anytime now'' is what you said"


    In a voice imitating Shiro, Crea looked and spoke at Shiro.


    "Accept you''re defeat Shiro now give that chocolate bar to Sheena"


    Adding fuel to the fire Kuro interjected.


    "Hello? Excuse me"


    Interrupting the group was a teen that had a plastic bag at his hand.


    He bowed at Sheena before he started taking out what''s inside it.


    Inside were drinks. It seems Sheena ordered him to buy some for them.


    He handed Sheena 2 can bottles of cold coffee and 2 carton box of milk-choco.


    "Uh...Ms. President, here are your ordered drinks. Do you still need anything?"


    "Nothing thanks for your help"


    Smiling as she pat the head of her younger colleague she handed the drinks towards the three. Shiro and Kuro got a coffee while the other two got a milk-chocolate energy drink.


    *Clink* *Pluck*


    "Shouldn''t you two be at the student council room? With this large scale event it would be dangerous in case some kind of trouble presents itself with no proper person handling it"


    Happily sipping her coffee Shiro added on Kuro''s statement.


    "Hmmmhm...with you two being the president and vice president why are you leaving your post at the room? Who will be the one guiding all the student body?"


    "Huhu...don''t you want us here?"


    Looking at Shiro with puppy eyes Sheena pretended to be sad.


    "Uh...I didn''t say that!?"


    Shiro became flustered and looked at Kuro for help only to be ignored.


    The duo doesn''t have that much number of friends because of all the trouble they made and for the two all other people here are too prideful, insulting those who were lower at them, especially Shiro hates it when someone insults Kuro.


    Only this two people were the one they accepted after their persistence of themselves into their small circle of friends.


    "Ho ho...so you wanted our company?"


    "Uh..!"


    *Splash*


    Finding it difficult to answer a shade of pink appeared on her face.


    In order to divert that ''winning look'' on Sheena''s face she unintentionally or depending on the viewer casted a water spell and threw it at her.


    "What was that for!?"


    "Uh sorry...he he"


    The fight between the two began after that.


    Because of their behaviour all the one seating near them backed away since they know they can''t stop the two. All of them were students of the Magi University too which was why they knew these two well.


    "These two are so childish"


    *Sigh*


    Kuro could only look at the two with tired eyes before turning his head back towards Crea.


    "Never mind them..."


    "You two are right that we should be the one handling this but certain circumstances led to the teacher''s faculty to be the one to handle this event. We are not informed why and they just said that we should enjoy ourselves. This is the only time that it happened which is why I think something is going on"


    Ignoring the two Kuro turned his attention only to Crea.


    "What do you mean something is going one?"


    "Did you see the entrance and the whole premise of this sports complex? There are a large number of guards patrolling much more in numbers compared to last year"


    *Sssp*


    "If I were to make a hypothesis to this, something dangerous is about to happen"


    ""Eh what do you mean dangerous?""


    The two other female in the group who were busily pushing each other asked at the same time.


    "I didn''t think of that...hmm"


    "Don''t worry you''ll only get brain damage if you start thinking"


    "What did you say!?"


    "Haaaa...don''t mind them but what do you mean dangerous?"


    "I can''t come up with any conclusion yet but I know that there may be a threat wanting to halt this annual inter-school magic competition"


    "I see"


    Halting the conversation of the two was the announcer.


    "We will now begin the 2nd match of the 1st round for today in the bright red corner..."


    "Well in the end it still just a guess I maybe I''m wrong"


    "Ms. Maria hadn''t told us anything so I let''s just hope that it''s just a bad feeling until the end"


    Nodding towards each other they turned their attention towards the big oval.


    "You''re just over thinking things Crea why don''t you calm that computer mind of yours"


    It seems that the two already finished fighting and they''re wet clothes were now being dried by a glow of heat pouring out of their hand.


    "I wonder how''s this going to turn out"


    "Hey! Don''t ignore me!"


    Part 2


    *Type*


    *Type*


    Rectangular screen of lights could be seen glowing in front of Maria as she was busily typing in a very past pace.


    What was in front of Maria was a flat screen monitor one would not expect to see in a country that only develops magic.


    Through the wars that happened in the past many things were realized by the magicians and practicality emerged among those which gave them the reasoning to use modern technology.


    Instead of Engineers the world of magic called them inventors.


    The remnants left of the past technology during the old days were used to develop a unique style of their own devices/tools with some of them that even incorporates the use of Soul.


    Certain people, even though a Magician, have taken an interest to simple machines that were made by the normal people.


    Though they refuse to accept the equality with the normal humans, they can''t help but be impressed on their way of thinking.


    Because of the ceasefire between the two world powers these inventors have developed more and more devices from the old designs that were present.


    Of course there were also those traditional Changers who still oppose on using modern technology and kept on researching ways of methods to do things easier.


    They still rely on familiars to send their message and animals or even at foot to travel far places, though most of them could only be found in rural places.


    Browsing the very wide sea of information, the only connection left with the two world powers, the internet, she looked on for different information about the recent murder cases happening.


    Even though she had taken a leave off the army she was still part of the government which led to the payment for her temporary leave, she was the current agent responsible for the safety of the city she resides in.


    This was the Mear, the old capital of Sealo before it was replaced, the city that she was assigned in.


    The internet browser connected to the world wide channel (wwc) and different amount of files were opened at the computer as she typed in different names and places.


    Starting from the past month certain deaths were reported on the news which caught her attention.


    The police had also discovered connections between the deaths which caused them to be alert.


    *Knock* *Knock*


    "Enter"


    Entering the room Ricardo closed the door before he turned to Maria and saluted.


    "You have called for me, Mam?"


    "Yes, report?"


    "Certainly"


    Taking a deep breath he continued then narrated all information he obtained during his patrol.


    "From Vicinity 1 to 3 no suspicious person or movement was reported to me as of 12:30 past noon. There were only few people sighted, all are students. Because of that I have changed the location of two groups of police guards to Vicinity 4 and 5 which is even as we speak currently packed with people and leave all 3 groups to patrol the entire school till 6pm the end of the event. As for the inter-school competition, it is still proceeding, and all events are going on smoothly"


    "I see thank you for the report"


    "No problem. Did you find anything new in the news?"


    *Sigh*


    Removing her hand on the typewriter she leaned back in the chair and took a deep breath.


    "None, the last death was reported 2 weeks ago. I wonder if my prediction was wrong"


    "You are certainly not wrong mam. Even the higher ups are on alert. The recent killings were all linked to the inter-school competition. The death of five sponsors made a huge impact on the funds of the event. It was a good thing that new sponsors sprouted and volunteers up which is why the event still proceeded"


    "Certainly something is going on...uhh...but what is it??"


    "No one can answer that but if you would ask me we would arrive in the same answer. Someone is trying to stop this inter-school competition. With the culprit still on the loose, his/her identity still unknown and our guess of the culprit trying to halt this event which he/she failed to do so. The culprit''s movement would either be to cause a disaster here or give up"


    "That''s true, if only we could really halt this competition for the safety of the students, but well it''s hard to contradict the annual tradition. The students would also lose their chance of being a scholar and even the sponsors would be mad. And even if we stop now we won''t even be able to start again without catching the killer. It''s better to trap him/her now"


    Nodding towards Maria he answered.


    "We could only do our best to protect the students and let the event proceed on and be finished"


    Massaging her temples she let out another breath.


    "Certainly...thanks for your report. You can now return to your post"


    Bowing his head to Maria, Ricardo left the room without further conversation.


    Maria had been contacted by both the police and the army about a certain criminal on the loose.


    And she had guessed which both sides agreed that the next action of the criminal would be done during the proceedings of the event which was why she was on high alert and contacted the police to guard the event.


    She took over the student council in organizing the event with the help of the police department and her never ending worry of the safety of all the students was the main reason of her stress.


    Going out of the room and locking it she stopped by the vendo machine and got a cold can of hazelnut coffee.


    *Pluck*


    *Sip*


    She drinks for a little while before halting.


    ''I''m taking in too much sugar''


    Shaking her head she sipped the cold coffee again which cooled down her brain which she felt was overheating from thinking too much.


    ...


    Arriving at the stands where the faculty of teachers were present, she nodded to them.


    It was only out of respect and formalities which was why she greeted them. She was not really that close to any of teachers though she maintained a friendly relationship with some.


    The reason why was because first of all it''s not like she''ll gain or lose anything from it, secondly she didn''t want to put any effort in befriending the teachers who were placing preferential treatment in their students.


    They put an effort in teaching Shiro because she really was a genius in disguise but as for Kuro they had given up on him and only taught him because it''s required and because they knew that she was his guardian, most of them were afraid of her.


    Though even with that reason they were still doing half baked jobs on training him.


    This has a huge impact on Kuro which was one of the reasons his still putting too much burden on himself.


    She can''t just barged in and speak to them since that would be stepping out of line which was why she herself teaches the two.


    She then smiled in her head remembering the only positive thing about Kuro.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    It was his calm and docile attitude.


    Even when in danger he could easily find the right solution to answer the problem that''s coming for him for he knows when to stop and until when doing something is possible.


    It was the reason he was able to do the Fire ball more perfectly than Shiro albeit a little smaller.


    Why did she think of that?


    She knows it because when Kuro and Shiro are doing a sparring session, they were on even standing.


    Though Shiro was well versed with albeit a medium amount of spells, Kuro''s reaction and how he handles it could be called noteworthy.


    Now, the reason Maria stopped her work in the first place was because the fight of her very two special students was bound to happen a few minutes later.


    She had a deal with the two though it was Shiro who persistently pestered Kuro about and succeeded in doing so.


    The deal was for the two to enter the inter-school competition and win the preliminaries in exchange she would teach them new spells.


    And to add more motivation if one of them wins until the finals and the whole competition with the other schools the two could request what spell they would want to learn.


    The two were delighted by the idea but Shiro was the only one who agreed immediately since Kuro taught that he would not do well, though after a little chat and a push she was able to convince him.


    The reason why she wants the two to enter the competition was to test the two in combat.


    This would also boost Kuro''s reputation for she knows he could do it if he tries.


    Sitting at the side of the newly hired teacher in the school, Ms. Uri, she asked how the battles proceeded.


    "Were there any exciting battles that happened while I was gone?"


    Uri Schwartz was the new professor that was hired by the Magi University. She had a blue hair matching her aquamarine eyes, small build and a cheerful aura that rides on with her clumsy personality.


    She was one of the teachers that Maria warmed up to because she didn''t find any pretentious actions in her.


    As of now she was the current assistant-teacher of Maria until she was given a class to handle.


    Uri was so focused in watching the battle that she didn''t notice the presence of Maria so when she heard her voice she jumped unintentionally from her seat.


    "Owah! Eh!!!"


    When she noticed her she immediately froze up and after that she frantically bowed.


    "I-I''m sorry Ms. Maria I d-didn''t notice you were there"


    Stuttering with her speech Uri felt overpowered by the aura Maria was emitting.


    Addition to her description Uri also belongs to the group of teacher that was afraid of Maria, though all of the teachers were, some were not showing it openly though.


    "No need to worry just please don''t shout next time and by the way try to relax you were so comfortable lately when I saw you watching"


    Scratching her cheek she bashfully answered whispering the last part.


    "Ah...Okay...he he he it''s because you''re to scary"


    "...What did you say?"


    Raising her hands and she waved it frantically.


    "N-NO! I didn''t say anything like you''re scary and such...Anyway! Let''s focus on the battle it seems Kuro-kun''s match would be the next one"


    Letting it slide Maria turned her attention on the oval battlefield.


    "Hmmhmm"


    "We will now begin the 31st match of the 1st round for today in the bright red corner..."


    Part 3


    "...in the aqua blue corner Kuro El Noilhe"


    ''Why do I have to do this?''


    *Sigh*


    Kuro''s confidence was being withered second by second.


    He gained a little of his pace when he was with the other three but soon lost all his composure when he entered.


    Though the field was wide, the space was open and it was cloudy which blew a cold breeze on the whole place it was still hot.


    ''My body is tensing up this is bad''


    He was sweating profusely as he stood on the right end of the rocky field.


    Quite a number of things were now running on his head as time passes by. It created a heavy atmosphere around him which became an obstacle to his movement.


    There were loud cheers when the name of his opponent was mentioned but their cold welcome of for him didn''t really help his mindset to be in the match but it pumped some of his competitiveness.


    It seems the whole crowd was rooting for his opponent.


    His opponent had a shaggy blond hair and a tall medium built.


    With a prince like look and aura it seems that he was from a rich family.


    Though forgetting the name of his opponent because his focus was on calming himself down if he remembered correctly he was one of the seeded players among the students in the school and anticipated by many to join and represent the Magi University.


    "Ha ha it seems I would be winning this easily"


    Mockingly smiling at him his opponent cracked his hands as a way of showing that he was getting ready for the fight.


    "Well...I''ll do my best"


    Timidly taking out his tonfa he readied his stance.


    Getting a feel of his weapon he immediately erased all thoughts on his mind and only left all the teachings Maria gave him.


    Maria didn''t teach the two any spells except for the gathering of soul which was the basics but she taught the two in real physical combat.


    *Ding*


    With the accumulated experience of Maria when she was still in the army she taught the two ways to defend on their own.


    With the sign of the start of the match both students started casting each of their own spell.


    The blond student raised his arms as if asking for mercy to the skies.


    I call upon the spirit of the earth


    Raise yourself and do actions to my bidding


    Cadeliror de pietre!


    With the end of the spell the ground began to shake and blocks of rocks started to float in mid air all going near the tall blond student.


    It seems he did a Type C spell of controlling the flow of Soul in the earth around the two. Causing a disturbance to the serene flow of Suflet he then attached strings of his own Soul to manage how the earth would form.


    ''A Type-C caster''


    Kuro though as he began chanting in his own mind the only spells he knew.


    ''Transfer Start''


    Glow started appearing in the soles and legs of Kuro. Same can be seen with the palm of his hand while the tonfa which he was holding began to emit a bright red light.


    The tonfa Kuro was holding was from Maria. It was an item she prized when she was a magician in the army since it conducts Soul in exchange for tremendous results.


    It was chosen by Maria and passed on to Kuro because out of the two Kuro has less Dou type of soul inside him so as to even his standing with other Changers he was given the tonfa that conducted less amount of Dou which cause it to lighten up in weight by the holder but the weight felt by the receiver would either be doubled, tripled or even more which depends on the caster.


    As of now the weight Kuro can create by a simple swing of the tonfa would be five times its original though it''s not much compared to the others which is ten times, as for Shiro its twenty times and for Maria its fifty times.


    For reference the weight of the tonfa is ten kilograms but because of the Dou caster it the caster could only feel one kilograms of its whole weight.


    It was a family heirloom of the El Noilhe to which Maria decided to passed on to Kuro. This tonfa was one of the reasons she excel in the army when it comes to physical combat.


    It''s a deadly weapon for a melee type but still useless if you can''t go near your opponent.


    Though that is where Kuro excels.


    Running towards the right side of the field, the blonde student was followed by the earth he controlled.


    Kuro rushed in towards his opponent shutting of himself to the world and only focusing on his opponent.


    Avoiding cave-ins one by one caused by the spell of the opponent. He leaves a trail of red light caused by his tonfa and legs.


    ''Focus Kuro focus...''


    He learned how to shut himself and focus only on a single thing throughout his tiresome childhood of being called a failure as a magician.


    It was a good thing for him as pointed out by Maria to which at first he was confused though he realized on his own especially when doing something he could focus and calm himself.


    Contrary to his shy personality when no direction was given to him a single guide could help him focus.


    The distance of 5 meters between the two was suddenly covered by his sprint and ended up 3 meters apart.


    Bid to my command!


    The blond student shouted as Kuro neared him. Making a sudden jump in the air then stomping on the stone in front of him to absorb his force.


    The blond student then made a full swing in the air with the rock following the tip of his arms towards his fist. With another shout he forcefully made a throw like a baseball player trying to do a very fast ball.


    Release!


    The large pile of rock made an arc following the casters fists before it disconnected and flew towards Kuro.


    The rock flew so fast that without the help of his enhanced eyesight and movements he wouldn''t be able to move a few inches to the right to avoid the stone.


    When the stone flew past him he was about to made a sprint towards his opponent when suddenly.


    Explode into pieces!


    The rock exploded into bits which was supposed to only felt like dust but when the all small shrapnel-like rocks reached him each felt like bullet forcing its way towards his body.


    "UGH!"


    Pain started coursing through his body though only one thing flows into his thoughts.


    ''He could do Type-A and Type-C at the same time!?''


    "OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!!!"


    Large amount of cheers was suddenly heard when his opponent successfully hurt him.


    What the blond student did was control the rock by getting hold of the flow and suddenly expanding the Soul in it to the limit causing it to explode. Though before the explosion the Soul of the rock he got a hold of was altered and strengthens.


    The light weight shrapnel of stone turned heavy because of that which causes Kuro to tumble and hurt from it.


    The pain was still in tolerable levels which was the reason he could still ignore it but it halted his sprint which gave time for the blonde student to increase the distance between them back to five meters.


    ''It seems I can''t just avoid them or they would explode in my back again''


    Finally knowing what to do, he made a sprint again towards his opponent.


    Same thing happened with the blonde teen jumping in the air and did a baseball like swing.


    The large rock hurls quickly towards Kuro though the glow of Kuro''s tonfa doubled.


    Meeting the tip of the rock with the longer tip of the two tonfas in his hand he made a jump using the force of the rock hurling towards him. It made him suspend in mid air for a second and caused the rock be buried in the ground.


    With a quick descend he poured more Dou on his legs and feet.


    Just as he guessed his opponent casted the same thing


    Explode into pieces!


    An explosion of Soul could be felt below the soles of his feet which gave him a sudden burst in speed towards his opponent.


    The blond boy realized his mistake with his eyes suddenly widening.


    He then made a half baked rock wall with a single chant which caused it to be very weak which was why it was easily crushed by Kuro.


    Kuro then saw his opponent given up on creating another wall around him. Casting a different spell his opponent shouted.


    Rise before me!


    At the soles of his feet, earth embedded up giving the blonde student a boost in momentum.


    But his small victory of gaining distance with Kuro was short lived for Kuro made another burst in speed which caused another trail of light in his feet.


    When Kuro neared his opponent he felt victory was possible and within his grasp.


    As for his opponent, the blonde boy could only felt fear on the cold red eyes emitted by Kuro as the space between them was increasing inch by inch as second by second passes by.


    *Thud*


    Pressed against the wall the fear the blonde boy felt only doubled.


    ''This was supposed to be an easy win!''


    Many things were running through his head but one thing voiced out the most.


    ''GET AWAY GET AWAY!!''


    Doing half baked spells one by one. Rocks started flying towards Kuro at slower velocity compared to what he was doing with the large rock before.


    When he was in front of his opponent he raised his tonfa intending to finish with a quick swing while his opponent was shaking badly and couldn''t cast a single spell anymore.


    *Swing*


    *Thud*


    The sound of steel dropping towards the ground was heard throughout the silent field.


    Everybody in the crowd was tense as they watched the two fight for they didn''t expect the drop out to do well.


    ''Eh''


    With close eyes finally accepting his defeat the blonde teen suddenly realized that nothing happened.


    Opening his eyes slowly the blonde teen found Kuro with his hand rose frozen like a statue.


    ...


    At the stand Shiro and the other two were so tense watching Kuro fight.


    All eyes were glued with smiles as they saw Kuro was about to win only to turn into a face filled with confusion before turning into a frown.


    "What did just happen? Why''d he stop?"


    Voicing the question they all had in their mind all were thinking.


    Suddenly a fourth mature female voice was heard.


    "That''s Soul Paralysis, the simplest explanation would be Kuro used up all of his Dou in his body"


    *Sigh*


    "I thought I warned him not to continuously supply mana in the tonfa"


    "Shit! That idiot! He would lose!"


    "No he had already lost this battle"


    Shiro and Sheena voiced out their thoughts as they turned back their attention towards Kuro.


    Crea the most calm of the three did what they forgot to do.


    "What could he do to move again Ms. Maria?"


    ...


    "Hahahaha! And here I thought why you suddenly stopped"


    Realizing his victory the blonde kid mocked him as Kuro couldn''t move.


    ''Move damn it MOVE!''


    Though shaking Kuro could still not move though he was able to bring down his raised hand.


    O kind souls of earth come do my bidding


    His opponent suddenly started chanting spell as rocks started floating around him.


    "Well I don''t want to torture you just say I give up"


    "No"


    "You can''t move anymore I''m not a sadist you know haha"


    Laughing towards Kuro rocks swirl at the top of the palm of his hands.


    "Well suit yourself"


    *Bam*


    With a simple kick Kuro was sent stumbling.


    The silent crowd suddenly became noisy again with some shouting ''boo'' and some cheering on. It seems that Kuro got the heart of the crowd with his excellent performance despite his bad records.


    ''I can''t give up''


    Remembering his promise with Shiro and Maria his will to fight still hadn''t diminished.


    He could break any promises he make but not with Shiro and Maria, the two who had helped him the most and his whole life was indebted to them.


    ''Move damn it!''


    "AHHH!!"


    Pain coursed through his body as he was sent hurling towards the wall of the field.


    The glow of Kuro''s second life force was dwindling second by second as the blond student continued harassing him.


    Seeing Kuro struggles more his opponent could only shake his head and comment.


    "You''re really an idiot, I admit you are good but still you''re a failure as a magician. You haven''t spent that much amount of Soul and what? You can''t move already? Ahahaha Ms. Maria really is an idiot like my father said for training a useless magician like you"


    *Snap*


    "What did you just say..."


    With a weak voice Kuro growled.


    *BAM*


    Only a trail of red light could be seen as Kuro and the blonde student could be suddenly found at the opposite side of the field.


    Instead of Kuro on the wall it was the blonde student unconscious with his back at the wall.


    Bent could be seen on the steel wall.


    At the side where Kuro and the blonde boy were in the first place bent could be seen embedded on the hard steel wall.


    "No one insults my family then gets away with it"


    *Thud*


    After a single second Kuro passed out too


    ...


    "...so you mean he could still move if he injected Ru-type soul into his body?"


    "Yes, anyone could do it but it''s dangerous since the body would continuously reject it for it''s a foreign matter inside one''s anatomy, certain side effects could be cause by doing this which may be permanent or temporary. It is still being studied as of now because imagine a Changer with a bag of Soul in his/her disposal as big as the environment how much spell could he/she cast"


    "GO KURO THAT''S IT! EH! Why did he go down again?!"


    "How the hell did he move in the first place!"


    Maria''s eyes suddenly widen when she heard the other two.


    The crowd at the same time with the two suddenly burst out in noise and excitement as the fight finally reached its conclusion.


    She was busily explaining things to Crea that she was not able to track what happened.


    Knowing already how he moves. Maria suddenly jumped at the field.


    *Zooomm*


    With a quick channel of Soul in her feet she gained a sudden burst in speed.


    Arriving in front of Kuro who was unconscious and was breathing haggardly she shouted angrily.


    "MEDICS!!"


    Part 4


    "Uh...Where am I?"


    White


    All I see is white.


    The peculiar smell of medicine suddenly passed my nose and screams of pain was heard beside me.


    ''I see''


    Realizing he was at the schools infirmary memories about the last fight burst through his mind.


    He was winning. He got the upper hand until the end until it all vanished.


    His difference with other Changers was greatly emphasized in the last fight.


    Raising his hands towards the air for nothing he covered his eyes with other hand.


    Liquid started dropping from the edge of his face.


    "Ha ha...I really am a failure...I wonder how Maria could put up to a student like me"


    "You did good you know"


    Widening his eyes as he knew from whom that mature voice belongs to, the tears in his eyes suddenly stop and he could only removed his hands and confirmed who it was in surprise.


    "Eh"


    Standing beside his bed was the mature beauty named Maria El Noilhe his guardian who had taught him everything.


    He was indebted with his whole life to her but he doesn''t know how he could repay it.


    *Bonk*


    "Ouch! What was that for?"


    Hitting him with the book she was holding he complained.


    "Are you and idiot? Who told you that you could use Ro-type of Soul as a medium to do alteration? Do you have a death wish!?"


    "But-"


    *Bonk*


    "No BUTS young man if I was not there and removed the remaining Ro-type of soul in your body you would be crippled by now if worst you would be dead!"


    "..."


    Feeling all shame for doing a thing he was not supposed to do he could only stay silent.


    "Now what could say about your actions!?"


    "I''m sorry..."


    "I''m sorry only?"


    "I''m sorry I won''t do it again"


    "Good, now rest and don''t waste your energy speaking"


    "Yes"


    "I said don''t speak"


    "..."


    Turning her back on him as she was about to exit the room.


    She looked at him, smiled and said in a voice without any hint of anger in it.


    "You did well in that fight, I''m proud of you"