All 3 of the bullies had their eyes on me as I thought about what my next move should be. I didn’t know where the water came from, but I had a feeling one of the 3 was responsible for it.

  One of them raised their arms forward, and a small mass of energy swirled in their hand. It morphed into a small pebble and quickly launched toward me.

  I sidestepped the attack and visualized the pebble launcher flying toward a wall. They flew, slamming into the wall behind them.

  The next guy charged at me, forming gauntlets of ice around his hands. He threw punches, jabs, hooks, and haymakers wildly. The way he moved was aggressive and clumsy, but all of his attacks were telegraphed, making all attempts easy to dodge. Still, I was surprised at myself for being able to dodge so fluidly. Were enhanced reflexes part of the body I had been given?

  I quit indulging in my newfound reflexes and sent the ice puncher backward toward the same wall the pebble launcher had gone.

  The last guy’s expression was different from the other 2. To me, it felt like the previous 2 were riding on the annoyance of having their bullying session interrupted. This guy had an unmistakable fury in his eyes, almost like he detested me. It scared me a little, and I had no interest in figuring out this guy’s thoughts.

  I’ll need to be careful.

  The guy raised his arm, and a split second later, a torrent of water was sent in my direction. It was large, fast, and manifested in an instant. I had no time to react as I was engulfed by the raging current.

  It was brief, but my sense of what is up and down was scrambled as I was relentlessly tossed by the waters. Is this what it’s like to be helplessly dragged by the currents of a raging river?

  The assault ended, and I was on my hands and knees, coughing up water. It was brief, but it felt like forever. I nearly drowned, and would’ve been powerless to prevent it as the torrent gave me no opportunity to think. Anymore, and I surely would’ve died a few days into my second life. At least my first death would’ve been peaceful.

  By the time I could get my bearings and confront the person who nearly drowned me, my head was engulfed in a bubble of water. I tried shaking it off, but it clung to me. The way it stuck reminded me of water’s properties in zero gravity.

  I tried opening my eyes to at least get a murky view of my situation, but it stung, and I quickly closed them. Even in my second life, I could never get used to that feeling.

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  But someone is clearly trying to drown me.

  Think. What can I visualize that can help me get out of this situation?

  A pump? I don’t know how those work. Wait, I do actually, thanks to that pneumatics study, but I can’t really apply it on the fly here.

  Create an air pocket? I can’t see right now, and I’m not sure the person trying to drown me would wait for me to experiment with my power.

  Maybe I should-

  My thoughts were interrupted by the sensation of water squirming its way down my throat. It didn’t feel like being forced to drink water unnaturally, but the water became sentient and crawled its way down my throat. I felt it cling to the inside of my throat.

  My mind panicked as I realized I would die a second time if I didn’t do something now. I opened my eyes, ignored the stinging, and turned my head to try and see my attacker so that I could visualize and manifest whatever violent impulse I could think of.

  Then the water clinging to my head and throat just dropped, soaking my clothes and going down my throat. I coughed harder this time, breathing in air like I hadn’t breathed for an eternity.

  When I finally got my bearings. The person who tried to drown me was nowhere to be found. I looked around, trying to find the whereabouts of my assailant. If I couldn’t find him now, I could at least print his face onto paper, as that unnaturally furious expression had been burned into my mind. I likely wouldn’t forget it for a few years, maybe even a decade.

  Then I smelled something.

  Is that… smoke? Why is there smoke?

  I looked around, only to see my assailant clutching his arm as another person with their back turned to me.

  The water assailant threw 3 streams of water at the newcomer, each arcing differently in the air. The person drew back their hand, then waved it at the incoming streams. Suddenly, flames burst out of nowhere and completely evaporated the 3 streams. There was a weird smell of burnt plastic after the flash, but that was the least of my concerns.

  I turned my head to find the original victim of the 3 bullies lying against the wall. He was breathing, so that meant he was alive.

  Whatever hairdo he originally had was messed up by the water assailant, as his soaked hair drooped over his face.

  I should also memorize their face so that I can report it to Mr. Blonde.

  The sounds of combat between the deranged water assailant and the fire-wielding savior resounded in the halls. I watched, wanting to make sure I could defend us from being collateral damage in their fight, even preparing a few defense visualizations. A holographic shield. Erecting a brick wall. Anything to defend from stray remnants of magical attacks.

  “Are you alright?” I announced my presence, even though they likely wouldn’t understand me. He replied with some incomprehensible syllables. Nothing I’m not already used to.

  I slowly reached for their hair, intending to move it away so that I could get a clear look at their face. I was slow on purpose so that they would sense my hand and stop it if they were uncomfortable with my incoming touch. They didn’t stop me as I moved away a strand of their hair to see their face.

  Incidentally, I uncovered their eyes.

  A familiar green reflected. It was a color that I couldn’t mistake for anything else.

  It was my summoner’s eye.