Or, more likely, this is not part of the test. All signs point to it. The test is too hard to be the first one. I can tell by looking at this girl that I can't beat her, None of the students can. Though the AMA is hard, they would not set up a test most students would fail. Thus far, everything has been fair, and I have no reason to assume that's about to stop."You've got quite the powerful enemy." Aurora purre, twirling a strand of her hair with one finger. "How on earth does a teenage boy piss off a powerful mafia boss? I don't know whether to be befuddled or impressed.""I give her a shrug, subtly raising my head, so that the door above her is in my field of vision. "Guess I've had an Interesting life."She's talking about Giovanni Ricci, an Italian gangster who rules most of the Western States, and is considered one of the most dangerous men alive.I met him once, during my wild days. It was party after party back then, and his son happened to attend one of them. We hit it off at
"Dude, what!? What do you need?" Rosa's about to panic, too. No good. I need her calm for this.I hold up one forearm, then trail my fingers across it. Since she's still not getting it, I give it a few knocks."Armor? You want me to shield-"I jump behind her, pushing her toward Aurora, who has summoned an orb. Rosa crosses her arms as the deadly beam comes flying toward us. Attack meets armor, the two spells struggling against one another for a moment but only for a moment. Thankfully, Rosa is good enough to deflect it."Holy shit! Who are you, lady!?"I reach around Rosa, then drag my thumb across her neck. It takes her a moment, but she gets the message."She's trying to kill you?" I give her a thumbs up, arm still going around her, just to be sure she doesn't look away from the enemy. With how fast those beams are, a single moment could be fatal.&
Two more beams join the first one, breaking through Rosa's shield and throwing her backwards. She goes as limp as Roger, but thankfully lands outside the circle"Diana, fly"Aurora's attacks stop for a moment. She turns to look at me, her smirk disappearing. A single look at the ground causes her to start panicking, her fingers and lips trembling.Diana hops onto a strong breeze, elegantly landing outside the danger zone.I slam my palm onto the ground, filling the runes and the line connecting them with magic.Storm clouds instantly gather in the sky above, as though they were always there. The runes for water, moisture and sorrow bring the rain, while the runes for savagery and sound bring the thunder.Heat, light, electricity, anger, hate, power, focus and many more runes, all act at once. Twenty commands in one go This is exactly what makes magic circles
HOTARUWalking out of the shower room at night, I hear a loud noise. Naturally, as any bored teenager would do, I go investigate.It's Erik, clutching his fist, having just used it to redecorate a wall, evidently without guarding it. Odd, since pretty much every single student can use that spell now.We've all advanced quite a bit over these last three months. I can't believe it's about to be winter break already. Well, actually, it both seems like too much time has passed, and not nearly enough. I'm nothing like I was when I first got here.Granted, I have the missing ring to thank for that, but my confidence was blooming even before I took it off.I passed the key test, of course. Everyone has by now, I think. Even Maya somehow managed to gather enough control to finish it. The next exam has not been made known to us yet, so I'm eagerly awaiting it.<
He takes a look around the darkened corridors, frowning. "It's.. kind of spooky" Doesn't even begin to explain it. "It's like when you hear a rattlesnake's rattle, so ya freeze up for a moment. Those are the kind of chills I'm getting right now."Me too. We should hurry back." After all, Maya's murderer was never found unless the person Marissa caught in the forest was him, but we were never given an update on that.Entering our room, I sense danger, and immediately throw myself forward.A bucket of water flips over, giving Mac a good wash. He blinks a few times, stunned into silence.I look over at lan, who is busy reading a book on his bed, is he really not going to react?Mac looks at him with big, sad eyes, completely heartbroken. "But why?"lan, smiling softly, can only shrug in response. Then he closes his book and goes to sleep. Unbelievable.&n
HOTARUThis time, Moonwalking goes off without a hitch. I don't fall into the water, instead simply standing on it, along with my luggage.It's late for winter, but with it being Christmas Eve, there are quite a few people outside. I ignore their looks as I walk across the surface of the lake, dragging my bags behind me.My parents aren't home when I arrive, a note waiting for me on the front door.Went to a party. Won't be back until morning. There's risotto in the microwave.That sounds about right.I skip dinner entirely, taking my supplies out of the bag. I didn't bring any clothes, though I do intend to return with more of them.Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.Some incense.Ten red candles.Some chalk.A dagger.Some chains.
My magic flows seamlessly as I envision my next spell. No matter how much of my power I draw on, there seems to be no limit. I am now three times stronger than I was an hour ago.Working my craft on the dagger, I set it down on the kitchen counter, then get myself dressed. All in black. The dagger and my levitation balm are the only things I bring with me as I leave the house, walking over to the hotel.La Casa di Neve the House of Show is one of the few Italian places in this city. On the outside, it looks like a building one might find in Vegas, full of color and flashing lights.Ling is waiting for me here, wearing a thick jacket, standing in the middle of the road. The cars seem to be ignoring him, not a single one close to hitting him."What are you doing here, sir?""Just reminding you of the talk we had"Consider me reminded," I snap, pushing past him.
Lightning strikes the water filling the room, convulsions taking over immediately. Burned patches of skin start spreading across the remnants of the crowd, the men unable to fall as the electricity keeps causing spasms.Once the spell ends, they are all dead, and a fire is starting to spread across the floor. Good. I've always wanted to play with fire.I land on the upper part of the ruined staircase and take my shoes off, tossing them away. Slowly, I stroll forward, a fiery footprint left behind with each step I take.The men of the second layer are prepared for a fight. It's plain as day these are the cold-hearted killers the ones who make the tough decisions. Each and every one of them is more dangerous than anyone who was dancing downstairs several minutes ago.The fire spreads from behind me, slowly tracing the edges of the balcony, to make sure no one thinks of jumping off I'm sure the fall wou