Phize and Harris heard the strike and turned around. Phize questioned, "When did…" Both of them charged after Spellmaster. Spellmaster himself was reviving back. Trif dropped his sword, went to Lili, and princess carried her. "Wh-Wha?!" she yelped. Her tail went stiff. "We have to get you some place safe," he said. Then suddenly he felt weak. The effects of the spell wore off and he started breathing uneasily. "You don't need to," Lili told him. Trif slowly dropped her to the ground. "I-I'm sorry," Trif apologized as he dropped her again. He chanted, "Painless." "I feel weaker by the second. I need to make this quick. Thankfully, with Magilation I was able to stand up and even fight; else I would've been long dead with blood loss, internal bleeding, and with whatever medical complication I got," he surmised. "Teleportation," Spellmaster chanted. Zap. He teleported behind him and touched Trif. Phize cast a spell, "Weaken!" His magic radius connected with Spellmaster's.
"Interesting," Eauvis commented. "Yeah, it was supposed to be another name but then my parents changed it after they knew about my condition," Ortho stated. "Condition? What condition?" Ortho paused for a bit. "As I said, the Strata Clan was known for having these Divine Blessings, right? Well… surprise, surprise… this guy didn't get any. Instead, I got these frequent headaches." He continued, "For the first time in the history of the Strata Clan, this has been the first time in the famous family that someone didn't get one." "Well… how did your parents feel about it?" Eauvis questioned. "I think they believed in me. They trusted me that I had an ability, which is why they transferred me school after school in hopes of awakening that ability." "And how is it going?" Ortho went silent, got sad, and crawled himself up. "Nothing. Still nothing. All I have are these headaches that keep getting worse." He sobbed. "I can't live up to their expectations. I…" His tears continued
Ortho arrived by the school entrance and the guards let him in."Wh-What happened to me back there? Why did I suddenly faint?" he pondered."I feel like I had a dream."He tapped his forehead as he walked by the hallways."What? Why can't I remember it? Although with all that, one word can't seem to escape my head," he figured."Magic Network.""What is that?" he wondered.He shook his head and slapped his cheeks."No good! I have to keep myself in tip-top shape! But… I don't feel like going home today."…...He went to the Principal's Office and opened the door. From there, Eauvis greeted him with a wave. However, he experienced another headache and trembled down to the floor. Eauvis rushed to his aid."Easy there, easy there," he said to comfort him.He grabbed a glass of medicine pills and took one. He gave it to him."Here, gulp one."Ortho was about to reach for it until the pain grew worse and he fell unconscious once more."ORTHO?!" Eauvis panicked.Ortho tried his best to co
"Ever since that day, I have gone to practice my magic. I was able to surprise Eauvis every time with a new spell simply by accessing the Magic Network, although with the cost of a headache every time I did," Spellmaster recalled, "I slowly rose up the ranks and became one of the top students of the school. My classmates found me scary and were envious of my power, although, part of them apologized for their actions and admired me."…...Outside the school, Eauvis watched Ortho from away on a bench and he was casting spells."Solid Strike!"An area of ground rose from below and shot forward."It worked!""Thank goodness, I can manage to guess what the Flow of Mana for most of these spells I cast," he surmised.Eauvis clapped for him."Delightful!" he cheered.Ortho turned to him and smiled."Thanks, dad!"That short reaction was followed by another headache and he felt weak. Eauvis caught on and went to his aid."Now, don't push yourself too hard. You're making good progress.""G-Go
"We had a normal school day, just a normal discussion, and the teacher was relaying magic terms and theories. It was then that the Demon Lord's army appeared," Spellmaster recalled.Ortho and his classmates were in class. Right outside, a few blocks away, the Demon Lord's army marched having just defeated the soldiers which prevented unregistered entry.One of the leading generals held a flag with the symbol of a red devil with horns and waved them.Grendall received a message directly from the Universal Magic and Mages Research Facility. It was relayed to his mind."The Demon Lord's army passed through the border! Prepare for an ambush!"He was in the Principal's Office along with Eauvis. He went to the windows and took a glance and there, he saw the approaching horde. It composed of a mix of monsters, humans, and demihumans.Eauvis was busy dealing with the papers that he had not managed due to teaching and taking care of Ortho."Um, sir… we need to abort the students," Grendall adv
"CHARGE!!!" General Thima yelled.He along with the rest of his troops rushed in.The students pulled out their swords and swarmed the enemy forces. Ortho met up with Eauvis."That left eye… is really something else, isn't it?""Yeah, but it takes a toll on me whenever use it. It goes with a cooldown too.""After all this, father, I want to talk to you about something."He dashed off but then Eauvis yelled, "Wait."Ortho turned around."Shouldn't I be heading off into battle?""Hold on, I have a plan. We need to subdue our opponents as fast as possible and I know just the trick to do it. However… I need your help."…...The students and the army battled with their swords and spells. There were many casualties on both sides, but it leaned more on the students. As time progressed, the students were losing more and more. That was when Ortho stepped into the fights."Blindness!" he chanted.The spell affected a variety of opponents and was slashed by their necks in the next second."For
"Are you hearing yourself, boy? Do you wish to get caught in the peril of the ongoing war?" "I know what I said, and I wish to see its horrors." "Ah… let's talk later." They arrived at the demolished school. They could smell the lingering scent of blood partnered with the scent of dust and cement. The school was destroyed and was liable to collapse at any second. The bundle of corpses at the entrance and as well as the top floors did not help their case. A couple of students bawled their eyes out, some stared emptily at the red-stained floor, and some remained tough and talked to their friends who survived. "What a mess," Eauvis commented. He glanced at Ortho. "Can you stand?" he questioned. "Yes, I can," Ortho answered. Grendall deviated from the crowd and ran to the principal. "SIR!" "Grendall," Eauvis said calmly. "Sir, what do we do from here? The school is nothing but in pieces and how do we answer for the parents?" "…We tell them the truth. The Demon Lord Army got pas
"I and my surrogate father went on to explore more lands which featured great miseries," Spellmaster recalled, "We rode a carriage and made our first stop to Yato.""This is as far as I can take you," the coachman told Ortho and Eauvis as they got off the carriage, "I don't want to get involved with the Demon Lord's army, I have a family, y'see?""Don't worry, this distance is sufficient. We can walk the rest of the way," Eauvis answered."Thank you for understanding."The two set off into the developing city of Yato. Its construction was halted by colonialism. The unfinished buildings and factories were inhabited by the Demon Lord's army."How do we get past them?" Ortho asked.Eauvis chanted, "Storage Magic."Zap.A portal opened and he put his hand in it. He pulled out two brown leather cloaks. The portal closed."What are those?" Ortho curiously queried."These cloaks are as normal as it is.""How are normal cloaks supposed to help us in this situation?""The cloaks will only serv