The Beginning After The End (Beckoning Fates Book 3) (9 page)

“Well we have quite the crowd of
students.
 
I know my class is always
popular but I’m honored to have this many students!
 
My name is Professor Geist. Welcome
ladies and gents, and welcome DC officers.
 
It is a privilege to have you in my class.”
 
I couldn’t tell whether he was being
sarcastic or not when he directed his little welcome at us but I chose to not
mind it.

“This is Practical Mana
Manipulation, or PMM as I like to call it.
 
That means that we will be doing things very practically!
 
Practically, in my definition, means
through example because what better way to learn than through hands on
experience, right?”
 
His deep bass
voice booms throughout the class, waking up anyone that might still be sleepy,
which included me.

“I understand that most of you are
first years and that many of you have just awakened not too long ago.
 
However, parents have been more and more
dedicated in teaching their children as soon as they awaken before they even
send them here, so even that assumption is mostly inaccurate.
 
However, for the sake of equality, I
shall assume that every first year is a beginner in mana manipulation, of course
with the few exception, i.e. the three sitting right there.”
 
He points to us while giving us a wink,
drawing attention to the three of us from everyone inside the room.

“I’m sure EVERYONE, including
myself, is curious as to what sort of level in ability our newly formed DC
has.
 
They are the ones that are
going to be protecting the students here in this academy after all,
right?”
 
Several shouts of agreement
spawn from around the room.

I inwardly sighed, realizing that
this professor was going to make this class a real pain in the ass for me.
 
I saw even Kathyln’s brow twitch in
annoyance on her usually expressionless face.

“Hmph!
 
Well if Professor Geist insists, I shall
volunteer myself on behalf of the Disciplinary Committee to demonstrate the
ability that our group, who was personally picked by the Director,
possesses.”
 
Feyrith gets up from
his seat and places his right hand over his heart in a proud manner.

Sigh…

“HAHA!
 
THAT’S more like it!
 
It’s Feyrith, correct?
 
Come down to the stage.”
 
He gestures.

Feyrith elegantly hops down from
his seat unto the battle arena that was in the center of the large
classroom.
 
Some of the females
cheer for him while I hear some males boo at him.

“Hmm, if my guess is correct, you
are a light orange stage Conjurer with water specialization correct?
 
Pretty good for a 15 year old, even as
an elf.”
 
He rubs his chin, studying
him.

“Yes!
 
By the fact that I cannot sense your
mana core level, I assume that you must be quite a bit higher level than
myself.
 
It is an honor to receive
your tutelage.” While Feyrith’s response was very well mannered, he had a
slight tone of arrogance, as if implying that even if the professor was higher
level, he could stand his own against him.
 

“Of course!
 
I am a light yellow level stage after
all! To make things fair, I will only use long range attacks in this
demonstration.”
 
He took out a
two-handed sword from a dimension item he had on somewhere and stabbed it into
the stadium behind him.

I could tell Feyrith was about to
protest that it wasn’t necessary but before he could, Professor Geist holds his
hand up.
 
“Please~ If I were to
lose, I would at least have an excuse, right?
 
Please give this old man some slack.”
 
He winks at him as the other students
start laughing.
 

He sounded sincere but I could tell
that he was confident in winning against Feyrith, even with this handicap.

“Feyrith is going to lose.”
 
Kathyln says softly.

“Oh really?
 
How can you tell?”
 
For me, it was just a gut feeling but it
seemed like Kathyln saw something that I didn’t.
 

She doesn’t respond so I just go
back to watching the mock battle that was about to start.
 

“Let me quickly set up the barrier
before we begin so that our audience is safe from mana projectiles.”
 
The professor mumbles a few incantations
and a space around the arena starts glowing dimly.

“Let us begin!”
 
He grins as Feyrith takes out his wand
and prepares for a spell.

“Water Serpent!”
 
A stream of water circles around Feyrith
and soon takes the form of a giant snake.
 
“Flood Domain!”
 
Feyrith
instantly sets off another spell after the water serpent spell is formed and
soon, a pool of water forms on top of the arena and the water serpent dives
into the layer of water that surrounds both Feyrith and Professor Geist.

A domain spell was a rather
higher-level technique that was used to make the territory that the mage is
fighting on more advantageous to them.

“Fireball” Professor Geist simply
shoots out a fireball but it nonetheless takes me by surprise.
 
The low-tier spell that every fire
attribute mage learns forms in Professor Geist’s palm but it was blue.

It amazed me that an Augmenter was
able to figure out and apply the theory behind the properties of fire when even
the smartest Conjurers had trouble efficiently using it.

The fireball that was a bright blue
shot out of Professor Geist’s hand and flew towards Feyrith, who had no idea
how strong that spell actually was.

“You’ll have to do better than
that, Professor!”
 
Feyrith
confidently lifts his wand and controls the layer of water on the ground to
manifest into a thick wall of water.

As soon as the fireball hits the
water wall, steam gushes out and through the other side, a much smaller, but
still existent blue fireball makes its way towards my fellow DC member.

Feyrith’s expression changes as he
realizes he’s going to get hit by the fireball but he’s able to react in time
to form another layer of water in front of him to minimize the damage.

“Oof” The fireball that was reduced
to the size of a fingernail by the time it reached Feyrith nonetheless leaves a
hole in the protective uniform that he was wearing, knocking him back a couple
of steps before he stumbled on his butt.

“Do you surrender?”
 
Professor Geist gives a wide grin as he
juggles two more blue fireballs in his hand.

“Y-yes…I concede.”
 
Feyrith has his head down low in shame
as he makes his way towards us, his uniform wet.
 

The students were all mumbling
about how the DC weren’t that great, doubting whether we actually had the
capability to protect them.

“You did well Feyrith.”
 
I pat the elf’s back.
 
He did well considering he didn’t know
what he was up against.
 
What was
this professor trying to do by making a fool of us here?
 
Did he just want to boost his ego by
picking on his students?

“Would anyone else like to
volunteer?”
 
He states while looking
at Kathyln and I.
 
I was about to
raise my hand but was startled when Kathyln suddenly shoots up from her seat
and speaks.
 
“Please guide me well.”
 
She says simply before lightly hopping
down to the arena.

“Kathyln Glayder.
 
I must say that it is an honor to have
your presence in my humble class.”
 
Professor Geist gives a deep, exaggerated bow.
 
“Please do not hold it against me for
whatever the results may be from this ‘demonstration’.”
 
He continues, putting on a pitiful face.

With her emotionless face she just
nods, drawing her staff out from the dimension ring she had on her pinky.
 

“Very good!
 
Let us proceed!”
 
The Professor claps, fire igniting from
between his palms.
 

Without a word, she lifts up her
sky blue staff.
 
Before Professor
Geist had the chance to unleash his fireball, two javelins of ice form around
Kathyln.

“Shoot.”
 
I hear my fellow Disciplinary Committee
officer mutter before the javelins fire towards our professor.

So she decided to go the offensive
route to keep Professor Geist from attacking her.

A faint smirk creeps up on our
professor’s face as he lifts up his hands that were still aflame, ready to
block the ice spears.

“SSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHAAAAA”

As soon as the ice javelins touch
the fire on his palms, it instantly melts, disappearing slowly as the blue
flames decrease in size as well.

“Ice Javelin.”
 
She mutters again, this time, instead of
two, 5 spinning javelins form near Kathyln.

“Shoot.” Her face looks cold, reminding
me of an ice goddess that would freeze anyone who gets near her.
 

“Haha!
 
Impressive!
 
As expected of our princess!”
 
Professor Geist grins, the class leaning
forward to get a better view of this intense battle.
 
Since most of the students were first
years, they weren’t at the level where they’d be able to conjure something like
this, let alone almost instantly.

Our professor concentrates as the 5
spears head toward him ready to pierce through if not countered.

“Ember Wisps!”
 
The spell he was preparing was finished
in time as Professor Geist jumps back, releasing small, floating orbs of blue
flames.

Wasn’t this the spell Lucas used
during his rank examination?

“Break.”
 
Kathyln mutters and wills her 5 ice
javelins to shatter into an uncountable amount of small, sharp shards of ice.

“Fire!”
 
Professor Glayder, his face not nearly
so smug as before, wills his orbs of blue fire to shoot at Kathyln.

Kathyln, on the other hand, was so
focused on finishing her final spell that she ignored the incoming streams of
blue fire about to hit her.

“Ice Tornado!”
 
Her voice filled with a faint panic as
she realizes upon finishing her spell that she was about to receive the brunt
of our professor’s spell.

PROFESSOR GEIST’S POV:

That idiot!
 
Why didn’t she defend herself instead of
trying to finish the last spell?
 

As the tornado of ice shards begin
to whirl around me, I become nervous.
 
I wasn’t scared from this fancy spell; I was scared that she might be
gravely injured.

Wasn’t it common sense for a Conjurer
to have a layer of defense in battles?
 
I chose a relatively easy spell to counter and the fact that she’s a
Deviant specializing in Ice made it all the more easier for her.
 
Did she want to win that much that she
chose to forgo that?
 

I cancel the spell but only the
ember wisps disappear.
 
The streams
of blue fire that they shot at the stupid princess is still heading her way.

Fuck.
 
I’m screwed.
 

Scorch Field.
 
I will a layer of heat around me to melt
the shards of ice rotating around me.
 
I’m left with multiple light scratches but I don’t care.
 
What happened to the Princess?
 
I didn’t hear any screams from the other
students.
 
Maybe she was okay?
 

Damn… I should’ve stopped after
making a fool of the elf.

After the layer of ice shards that
were blocking my view all melt, I immediately try to find the Princess but
instead, I find the last member of the three DC officers in my class, Arthur
Leywin, in front of Kathyln, who was still covering her face with her arms in
panic, with his palm out in front of him and his other arm around the princess.

His eyes…
 
I couldn’t help but involuntarily
tremble from his killing glare that pierced through me.
 
It felt even sharper than those ice
spears that the princess threw at me.

“I think this little game of yours
has gone on long enough, don’t you think?”
 
His expression stays icy, the innocent façade that I now know he usually
kept on nowhere in sight as his domineering gaze looks at me without remorse.
Was this his true face?

“While I am thankful for your
concern over the Princess, it was unnecessary, as I had it all under
control.”
 
No way was I going to
lose face right here, on the first day, in front of all of my students.
 

“Under control?”
 
Arthur’s brow slightly twitches and I
can sense his annoyance.
 
Was it
just me that was feeling this pressure?
 
This isn’t normal.
 
AA class
mana beasts didn’t even have this much pressure.
 

“Yes.
 
Do you think that I, a Professor at this
esteemed Academy, would actually put one of my students in harms way?”
 
I say calmly.
 
There was no proof!
 
Today was all a little mistake.
 

ARTHUR LEYWIN’S POV:

This ingrate really plans on
insisting that he had this all under control.
 
I already knew from watching Lucas that
once the remote spell from the wisps are shot they can’t be cancelled.
 
Then again, there was no proof since I
blocked it.

“I see… then in that case, allow me
to take the place of my colleague in this ‘demonstration’.”
 

“Haha…well if you insist.
 
I seem to have scared the Princess a
little too much with my last spell.
 
I should’ve cancelled it earlier if I knew you were going to
interrupt.
 
Now some of my students
may misunderstand that I was trying to actually hurt her.”
 

Even now, this pathetic excuse of
an instructor was trying to defend his position.
 
I could already tell from the various
murmurs around the class that most of the students already believed in what he
was saying.
 

I turn back to Kathyln.
 
“You’re okay, Kathyln.
 
Do you think you can make it back to
your seat on your own?”
 
I gently
stir her from her stupor.
 

“Y-yes… I’m really sorry.”
 
For the first time, I saw a change in
Kathyln’s expression as she looked really embarrassed, her porcelain white
skin, flushing a light red as she turned away, going back to her seat.

“Then please guide me well.”
 
I turn back to Professor Geist and draw
Dawn’s Ballad.
 
The translucent teal
blade triggered gasps and mutters of amazement as even Geist looked at my
sword, wide-eyed in wanting.
 

“Quite the nice weapon you got
there.
 
Since you are an Augmenter,
I suppose it would be fair to let you choose which method you would like for me
to fight in.”
 
He shrugs his
shoulders helplessly as he walks towards where his sword was embedded into the
ground.

“It doesn’t matter.”
 
I respond simply.

I could see a vein popping in
annoyance from our Professor as he looks back at me.

“I
Insist.
”
 
He retorts.

“Then please go with what you’re
more confident in.”
 
I take a couple
steps forward, my face still peering deep into him, studying his every movements
and actions.

Scum or not, this Professor was
still a light yellow class veteran Augmenter.
 
The fact that he had the insight to use
blue fire means that he’s pretty capable.
 

I see the once grinning professor
scowl, as his face turns a bit red.
 
I could tell he really wanted to leave an amazing impression on his
class, and so far, I wasn’t giving him much face.

“Very well then.
 
I’ll be sure to go easy on you.”
 
The upper portion of his face betraying
the smile he was trying to put on.

Pulling out his sword with ease, he
makes his way towards me as well, his sword dancing around him gracefully as he
handles it with little effort.
 

“CLANK!”
 
He blinks towards me without warning,
swinging his blade down with a force that wasn’t just ‘going easy’.
 

His sword was imbued in a layer of
blue fire, the heat that radiated from it making deadly.
 
After parrying his initial surprise
attack I use wind attribute mana to keep the trail of fire away from me.
 

Being only able to use wind and
earth mana made me have to really think about how to best utilize my assets to
overcome a stronger opponent.
 
While
it would’ve been easy to use blue fire myself, I didn’t have that option right
now.

His bombardment continues, the
force of each swing and stab getting faster and stronger, as if trying to test
the limit I could handle.
 
Every
time I parried it or dodged his attack with ease, his next attacks would be
kicked up a notch.

I wasn’t using any spells to
receive his attacks, just mana strengthening and pure sword technique, which
seemed to frustrate our Professor even more.

“I’m sure the Disciplinary
Committee aren’t only rats who keep dodging and running away.”
 
He says loudly, putting on a joking
face.

“Is there really a need for me to
attack when our esteemed professor can’t even land an attack on a first year
student?”
 
I counter, putting on an
innocent face.

He doesn’t answer as his lips
contort in anger.
 
By this time, a
couple of the students have already caught on that this wasn’t just a simple
demonstration, some whispering if they should call the Director or the Student
Council over.
 

Professor Geist’s attacks become
fiercer as he starts implementing several spells along with his attacks.

“Flame Pillar.”
 
A stream of blue fire shoots up from the
ground beneath me as I instantly sidestep to avoid it, countering him with a
concise strike to his neck.

Catching him by surprise, in order
to dodge my blade he jumps back a lot more than he has to, a bead of sweat
forming.

“Even rats become deadly when cornered,
Professor.”
 
I shoot him a snide
grin as I immediately close the distance between the two of us.
 

Appearing right next to him, I will
wind mana around the blade of my sword as I prepare for a spell.
 
Each swing I take forms a still path of
wind, confusing Professor Geist who was still able to block my blows.
 
Every swipe, every lunge, and every
swing I took created an almost transparent path of air in its trajectory.

Professor Geist wasn’t trying to
put on an act of confidence anymore, concentration etched unto his face as he
tries to block my flurry of attacks.
 

He was reaching the edge of the
arena as each blow from me forced him to take a step back, the flames on his
sword flickering helplessly upon receiving each attack.

It’s about time to end this.

I will the surface of the ground
where he was about to take his next step to concave in, making him slightly
lose his balance. As expected of a veteran Augmenter, he stumbles for a split
second but was able to soon regain his balance.
 
However, that split second was all that
I needed.