2024-01-24 12:38:00"Maybe don't touch things you're unfamiliar with?" the young man suggests. He's dressed really casually sort of like I am, really. Can he really be a teacher?
As he turns to walk away, John calls out, "Thanks, man! You're a life-saver."
The young grouch tums to glare at us once more. "Don't be so casual with a teacher, man." Yep. Nailed that one. "1 won't give you a warning this time around, but before you decide to touch anything else, read the rulebook"
The massive rulebook which no one could have possibly read in such a short amount of time? Well, I won't say that out loud, since he's not punishing us. Must mean he's the "strict, but fair" type. Totally gives off the vibe. I always did prefer younger teachers. The old ones were too set in their ways, even when those ways were clearly wrong.
John claps his hand down on my shoulder, and I wince. Immediately, he pulls it away. "S-Sorry. I forgot."
"It's fine." It's not. Next time, I might respond appropriately. "Let's check out the library next." Anything inside is preferable to all the scary outdoor stuff.
John follows without further complaint, and as we're walking down the hallways, I notice the same teacher glaring at us. A young woman is standing next to him, her skin several shades darker. She's as animated as he is cold, her big eyes bright and full of life-life his dead fish eyes are extinguishing with each dispassionate word he utters. Are he and Lockwood related?
As we step into the library, Maya comes running toward us, holding a stack of books. As she walks past a group of girls, one of them extends her leg. Before I can say anything, Maya trips right over it, her books scattering everywhere Laughter ensues, as it always does in these situations.
My read on John proves correct when, instead of laughing, he rushes toward the fallen girl and helps her pick her stuff up. He's really just a big, lovable dog. Well, they both are, honestly.
As Maya turns to glare at the red-headed girl who tripped her, a tall, blonde girl walks in between them, her presence enough to silence the laughter. Diana Nordin was probably royalty in her past life, The way she holds herself is unreal. So high and mighty, yet not imposing at all. If anything, her demeanor seems welcoming.
The red-headed girl crosses her arms, huffing. "Can I help you?"
"I saw what you did, replies Diana, tone perfectly polite. "One might expect camaraderie between two students of the same rank, but I suppose not. Must be the C way of life"
Ouch. Even I felt that one. Such a cold way of saying it, too. Doesn't invite any rebuttal, either. I think I'm gonna steer clear of Diane for now. Her brother, snotty as he seems, is way less intimidating.
The A-rank witch walks out of the library, leaving silence in her wake.
All of it seems like something I've seen before. I don't just mean bullies getting their comeuppance, but rather this exact scene, play by play. A blonde girl arguing with a red-haired one. I seriously need to get my head examined.
"What a bitch," says one of the giris surrounding the ginger, full of courage now that the queen is gone. Similar comments follow, the group shuffling out of the library. The redhead slams her shoulder into mine on her way out, giving me a dirty look.
"That's lan's cousin, John tells me. "Maria O'Ryan. She can be grouchy sometimes."
"A bitch is what she is, Maya corrects, but quickly forgets to stay mad and smile sat me. "You wanna explore the school together?"
"Sure. If John doesn't mind." Given how energetic they both are, this'll definitely end with me babysitting them, isn't it? What rank is John, anyway? Feels awkward to just ask it now.
As we continue on with our day, I happen to look outside the window. A black owl is perched right outside it, its big, golden eyes staring at me, unblinking, What species is that? Why's it out and about during the day? Owls are supposed to be nocturnal. Are there exceptions? John might know. He's probably good with animals.
"Hey, Mac. What kind of owi is this?"
John and Maya stop their heated debate over cats, both blinking rapidly at me. "Uh, what owi?" the boy finally says.
I turn toward the window, and see nothing there. What the hell? That can't be right. How'd it get away so silently? So fast, too.
I open the window and poke my head outside while maintaining a firm, safe grip on the sill, of course but I don't see the owl anywhere. Is it already in the forest? I couldn't have looked away for more than two seconds.
"It'll be dark soon." Maya says. "We should go get good spots in the dining hall while we can."
"Yeah, sure," I absentmindedly reply, still staring out the window. Why do I have a bad feeling about this?
******
ANASTASIA
Finally, after years of research, I have found it. The temple is everything I imagined it would be, my studies correct all the way down to the smallest detail.
The Temple of the Void, inside of which is the Altar of Silence. We've been after it for decades now. I can't believe I've lived to see the day arrive.
Hidden in the middle of the Sahara desert, it's no wonder no one has been able to find it. Hidden in magic, it is utterly invisible to the mortal eye. Only we casters can look upon it.
The only entrance is a large stone door covered in markings. A few are runes, but most are just depictions of the various stories about the Silent One. Snakes devouring men, a rain of fire burning down a village, a black ocean swallowing a country. These are just a few things the Silent One is capable of.
In the middle of the door is a black gemstone, emanating a strange power. It's as though it's pulling my magic in, ready to swallow it.
My companion steps forward, his big, dopey eyes sparkling with excitement. "We did it! I can't believe we did it!" Yes. Now I can finally be rid of you.
Pretending to go through my research, I tell him, "Now we just have to feed it."
It is not technically a lie. The temple will swallow all magic it comes into contact with, ensuring no caster can reach our Lord's most sacred place. But we are not required to feed it. In fact, it's quite lethal.
Pedro lets the tips of his fingers touch the black stone, a shock of electricity immediately frying most of the nerves. within his body Paralyzed, he's unable to do a thing as his magic flows into the stone.
"H-Help" I ignore him, writing down the details. "Anna, h-help me. I can't move!"
"No, I would imagine not."
Starting to panic, he is already covered in sweat, those big, stupid eyes zeroing in on me. "What are you saying? C'mon, Anna. This isn't a joke!"
Oh, alright. I can't believe I'm doing this.
I slap his hand off of the stone, unaffected thanks to the runes covering my gloves. Pedro immediately stumbles back, falling on his ass.
"T-Thank you." Yes, yes. Whatever.
Now we just need the key.
********
HOTARU
The classes are not held at the same time for everyone, obviously. I've got a pretty clear idea of how they separated us, though. Ian is here with me, but John is not. I see Erik, too, but not his sister. Maya is absent as well.
"Are we all Bo?" one of the others asks, pretty much confirming my suspicions. It makes sense, Best not to let us be dragged down by Cs, or have us dragging down the As. I'll be with them soon enough, anyway.
The first class is Levitation, Seems pretty straightforward. Tell anyone to picture a witch in their heads, and the odds are they'll be envisioning her upon a broom, flying through the air.
The teacher is a stern-looking woman with dark skin and short hair. Her face is perfectly average, to the point where she can possibly fit in with most crowds, She's wearing a professional outfit, her skirt exposing her muscular thighs.
Must've been an athlete at some point in her life. I can't make out her exact age, but she's definitely older than the two.
I saw yesterday.
"Good morning" she starts, walking up to the head of the class, her heels clicking against the stone floor. "Welcome to the first magical class of your lives. In Levitation, we'll leam exactly what the name suggests: flying"
A few excited whispers follow right after, but a sharp sound silences it all. The teacher actually has a riding crop with her, and she just swung it through the air.
"You will not speak until I call on you. You will not use magic until I tell you to. You will stop whatever it is you're doing the moment I tell you to. There will be no bathroom breaks. There will be no eating. Drinking will be done when I say so. Am I clear enough?”
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No one protests lan looks like he wants nothing more than to return to bed, but even he probably knows better than to make a teacher mad on the first day Those students get remembered, and I doubt anyone wants to stick out right away. Especially with the rule about warnings."I am Marissa Lockwood" the teacher says, offering a slight smile, a look of pride crossing her face, and I will be your Levitation teacher. You will be expected to have it down within the first three months. Those that don't are simply not meant to fly. It is not an ability everyone possesses"She taps her desk once, causing it to float up into the air, along with everything on it. Even though we've been here for two days already, we're still a bit surprised to see magic being used so openly."One of you has managed to pull off a highly ranked teleportation spell, and subsequently got the best score when it comes to control. There is little doubt th
The Witch's Revenge Chapter 9
I would mind immensely, but not for the reasons you think. "Like I said, I barely know her.""But you like Mac, though, right?"I try to play it cool, but can't help teising up for a moment. Tragically, that's all fan needs to grin at me."I'm not blind. I know what he looks like. Tall, blonde, square-chinned. I'm used to almost everyone checking him out. His charm stat is off the charts.""Sounds like you've done a lot of ogling yourself"He shrugs, completely unbothered by the intended jab. "He's just Mac. It'd be like crushing on my brother.""I don't know what you're into."That one manages to take him off guard, causing him to sputter for a moment. "Damn. Thought you were the shy type, too.""I'm not." I'm really, really not. I don't like large crowds or being the centre of attention, but I am absolutely not shy.
The Witch's Revenge Chapter 10
"We were told to draw on our emotions for this," she starts, not touching her food. "Anger is what most went with, as that's the way people usually feel when they wish to start a fight. Rather than that, I thought of something worth fighting for, and the attack came naturally""You used a spell?" Mac asks, speaking a bit too loudly for my comfort. "What kind?!" Looking at his eyes, then Diana's, you'd never guess they were the same color. Hers are cold and aloof, while his are full of life, unable to stop sparkling. Even she finds his enthusiasm charming, if her smile is anything to go by."It was a basic attack spell just a concentration of magic power. Mine was golden, and destroyed the target entirely."So she's officially dangerous now, In a fight, she beats everyone else here. No wonder they had the A-ranks start off with that. Probably expected them to pass on what they learned so us lesser ranks can do it without
The Witch's Revenge Chapter 11
A boy with glasses raises his hand, and the teacher points at him, not saying a word. "It's supposed to represent who you are most like in the animal kingdom, right?""Well, sort'a." Walking over to the board, she starts drawing some sort of circle on it. "Not every animal represents exactly what that animal is like. Dogs are energetic and friendly, but they're also loyal. A single one of these traits being pronounced in you could mean your spint animal was the dog"In other words, if two people were both dogs, they would not necessarily be exactly alike."Mine's a crow, by the way. You've already met Nen, that little kitty cat." He seems like the sort of cat you wouldn't want to give a bath to, to be exact. "Damon, the vice-dean? Wolf. Marissa's a dog. The two of them are hella similar, yet have different animals. So you see, it really can go any which way."Seems like random nonsense thus far.
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All the students are staring at the smiling teacher with wide eyes. She looks like just an ordinary, happy-go-lucky woman, but she's got more power than a weapon of war. It's really hard not to be scared of her right now. Are all the teachers this strong? What about Damon and the dean theri? Are they even better?Erin raises her arms, and the blinds on the windows all fold down. Candle-like flames appear around the room next, only without the actual candles themselves, allowing us to faintly see."Time to see something fun. Would ya'll mind moving the desks to the side? I'll need the floor for this."Once we're done, she starts drawing a circle in the middle of the room, three separate chalks moving on their own to hasten it. I look at the circle on the board to see if it's the same one, but that one's already gone. Is that why they're single-use only? They vanish once used?Upon finishing, Erin moves out of the circle and looks around the room. "Now, this bit's very important, Do not
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Each of us takes a seat in the front row, the room mostly dark, with only a few candles preventing total darkness from surrounding us"Sorry if this one's not gonna be fun at first. You really need to get the theory down before we do anything else. Otherwise, you'll end up hurting or killing yourselves."He hands us each a thick white book, then shoves his hands into the pockets of his coat and sits down on the floor."Go through the first chapter repeatedly until the hour is up. It's not long, but I need you to absolutely have it all down. Without the basics, you're gonna get in trouble when you try to cast"It's the most boring thing imaginable. All sorts of spells get named, but neither one described. Apparently, abstract magic is the sort of magic that simply does something. That's how the book puts it, at least. It's not about creating fire, or controlling water, or shooting lightning, It's about following the proper rules of each spell, then casting it to get the desired effect
The Witch's Revenge Chapter 14
HOTARUThe month comes to an end, and the changes in all us students are undeniable. As we stand here, in the school's lobby, I take a look around to scope out the competition.There are, of course, the ten A-ranks. Good control and good power comes naturally to all of them. Diana and Roger are the stand-outs from what I've seen, as they took studying seriously the most. It makes sense that not all of them are exemplary, as hitting the books is a big part of magical education. Having the power and skill to pull off a spell means nothing if you don't know how to enact it.This has led me to assume I am most certainly among the ten best students. All the other As are around my level, but I'm confident I could best most of them in most areas.Antoine, for one, is flopping. I've yet to hear him answer a question honestly. It's a bit hard to tell how poorly she's doing, since we never get homework or get graded, but he's sure to be moved down to B-rank right now.The standards of the ranks
The Witch's Revenge Chapter 15
Damon gives a single clap of his hands, making everyone go quiet for the fourth time. "Now, since there are so many teams, it will be impossible for you to do this two teams at a time. We will have five battles happen simultaneously, the opposing teams decided at random. Each teacher will oversee one battle."He nods toward the others Nen, Quinn, Erin, Ling and Marissa. It's Marissa who steps forward, dressed in the same outfit as always. Each battle will take place in an area we've prepared. Each area is different, but they are all very wide. You will need to find the opposing team first. You win by destroying these." She holds up some sort of armband, a small wooden plaque attached to it. "Each of you will wear this. Each of you will aim to destroy this, Knocking your opponent out is fine, The areas have been enchanted to prevent kill shots from being lethal, so anything goes."Of course it does, We're all way too inexperienced for them to further limit us. Yes, each of us probably
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Chapter 63
"A spell gone wrong brought me here, I tell her, turning my palms upwards in a show of pacifism. I mean you no harm, I only wish to leave"The woman hisses, pointing one finger at me. "Then leave." From all around her, a whirlwind of petals comes flying toward me. I sense no true power within, so I let the spell hit me. The next moment, I'm in the middle of the rest, rushing through the trees. Then I'm above the ocean, one with the wind. Then I'm being pushed through a stone archway on a remote island.I get flung through it, and emerge back in New Sunshire. Well, that was a trip.Looking around, I see the others have realized what this is all about, too. With everyone going in and out of houses, the doorways are unable to fully close, letting some of the power of those inside them leak out. Perfect.I follow the stench of scented candles and expensive perfume, letting it guide me through an archway leading into a garden overcome by weed. I protect my body before stepping through, jus
Chapter 61
HOTARUOnce again, Quinn is the teacher sent to chaperone us on the field trip. The buses drop us off in New Sunshire, many miles away from regular Sunshire, all the way on one of Scotland's shores. Don't ask me to tell you if it's the east or the west, though. Maybe north and south? Scotland does touch the sea on all sides, right?"I can't believe you brought that," I mutter to Mac, who has a small plant in his lap. "You're gonna break it.""There's a burner moth somewhere in our room, and it keeps messing with my plants. Puffing out his chest as though he were personally challenged, he gets a serious look in his eye, which is not something you often see on Mac. "I'm not letting it have this one.""Why's that one special?"The blonde giant shrugs, looking down at his plant, a tender smile on his face. "It just is. Got the seed from the last one, so this'll be my first time going through multiple generations."I thought that was a regular thing to do, honestly. Well, I never did claim
Chapter 60
IAN"We don't have time for this." Maria approaches, and I can tell what she's going to do by the look in her eyes. Too late to stop her, I can only watch as her palm harshly connects with Hotaru's cheek, nearly knocking him back to the ground. "Wake the hell up."He looks at her, his face turning red, more clarity in his eyes. "Tll curse you into being bald." It's a genuine spell we've learned. Makes one wonder what sort of witch was bored enough to invent such a thing.We throw the dreamcatches into the fire, a large burst of white smoke rising from it, making us all pull back a little.The image that forma inside is nothing like the ones we saw in the bubbles. Instead, what we see is a woman- maybe a man with the same colors as Choronzon, only different features. They're wearing a black centurion-like armor, with absolutely no cloth attached to it, meaning no pants, cape or anything. The armor has jagged shoulder. pads and no sleeves, showing off a pair of thin, pale arms. They hav
Chapter 59
HOTARUPotions aren't really a class I remember all that much about, for whatever reason. Quinn is the teacher, and seems to be looking kind of stiff whenever our eyes meet. Why do I not remember this?I seem to remember the potions well enough, I just don't remember learning how to make any of them. What gives? It's a class we only take once a week, so it should be pretty memorableSeeing that one of the pages of my book has had its comer folded, so I turn toward it. 'Memoria Damnum: How to Delete Someone's Memories.I guess that explains it.With Mac no longer interested, Maya is the only other person who bothered to take it, and this is the one class she excels at. Doesn't take much magic control to make a potion work, so I guess it makes sense she'd put all her energy into this.it's the last class of the day, so we're all free to meet up once it's over. Other than Diana, I'm the first to arrive at the library, Maya probably heading off to meet with Erik first to try and steal eve
Chapter 58
He just gives me a wink, saying nothing. Alright. Keep your secrets."Dreamcatches are typically used to protect children" Diana continues, shooting lan a quick dirty look. "These would be woven in a slightly different pattern. The dream bubbles would have to go through them, where they'd remains until we burned the catcher and saw the dreams inside the smoke. That's the only method described here."If she knows that, she must have gone through the entire damn book. How? How can a person read so fast? She has to be using magic for it. If so, she better share.Antoine's fingers gently, reach for my lower back, giving me a pinch. I reach over to his face, flicking his nose harshly enough to make him wince. His response is to shove his fingers under my ribs, forcing me to squirrn back as I try to get away. This only results in my elbow hitting Maya in the back."Ow. Watch it, man. That hurt.""Sorry""Are you children quite done?" Crossing her arms, Diana starts to fume "Honestly. How ca
Chapter 57
ANASTASIAThe maid is beginning to irk me. The fool is incapable of dusting anything off without dropping it. The earrings we gave her are the only reason I haven't fired her aiready. If she can't offer good services, at least she can offer her energy. Shouldn't be long before her Soul Seed shows itself.I wish there were a quicker method. The Heralds are hunting for us relentlessly, always sending one of them to search. the globe. The Master is keeping us hidden from them, but that simply means wasting his power on things other than his revival, slowing things down even further.I enter Doctor Crowley's lab, the scanner set to recognize my eyes. Once inside, I walk over to the large glass wall, through which the Doctor is currently looking. "You called, sir?""It's about to happen""What is, sir?"A man is inside the other room, in the nude, strapped to the operating table. He keeps twitching around, his eyes flickering with a strange, red light. Every few seconds, a rune appears on
Chapter 56
"Weren't the Old Ones human once?""That's correct""Then how can they be infinite?"The class starts murmuring and muttering, everything along the lines of agreeing with her. I was about to ask a similar question, so I'm glad she opened the topic up.Grey looks like he's uncomfortable talking about this, but still decides to answer. "The Old Ones, the Light and the Dark-they are all people. Not one of them is the same thing they started as. Caught in endless wars, they diminished one another to the point of humanity, an existence of the lowest layer, managed to steal their power and overtum them.The same applies to the Dark and the Light, then."What about the Light and the Dark?" Diana asks, neglecting to read my mind."That one is slightly different." Grey tums back toward the board, his back as full of white as one might expect, drawing a few chuckles. He erases the tip of the pyramid entirely. "The Dark and the Light started out with two names, same as the Older Ones. Yahweh and
Chapter 55
The news covered that? How? With what footage? There's no chance any chopper could have withstood the magic being sent around that place. An illusionary jungle was created for miles around it, too. Did they just use words?The lack of an image is very likely to have the common masses just as fearful as the students are.Quinn, shoulders slumped, sits down on her chair. "I think you deserve to know. Really, I do. It's just not that simple. There are things you can never know about him things you aren't physically able to know. I'm sorry you're scared, and I'm sorry some of you will have to leave, but my decision is final. I'm not saying another word."She tries to make us focus on more nonsense with our guardianshaving them manifest into our world and such- but I'm pretty sure the mood is too dead for anyone to focus.Levitation is a welcome relief, as always. We simply practice some of our moves. Now that Rosa is gone, only Diana and I are actually capable of flight.Roger is here, to
Chapter 54
"Count me in," Antoine adds with a small smile, directing it at me. "Promise you're gonna wear that to class?"I walk up to him, resting a hand on his chest. "I only put this one on to not make a big splash on the first day back. Wait til you see the other ones""Y'know, my mom's a model. If fashion is your thing, I can score some outfits for you."Oh, where have you been all my life?Well, this past week. Before that, I wasn't all that into fashion. All I cared about was looking good. That and glorious vengeance, of course, but that urge has been sated."One small problem, lan starts. "Rosa isn't here."Right. That might be a problem. "Any of you hear from her?" Since we went on a brave quest to save the world, I mean.Nobody offers a response, predictably. With no signal or internet, we don't exactly have a habit of exchanging phone info, since we never get to use it while we're here. Figures nobody bothered to get hers."We could talk to a teacher about it?" suggests Maya. "I don't
