Your SE has increased to 10

  My eyes opened wide, the beast was gone and so was the pain… “D-did I win?” I asked, confused, looking at my shoulder, which was stained with blood, yet there was no wound.

  Varaxis shook her head, looking at me with disgust. “No.” In her hands was the gem, - clenching her fist, she crushed it.

  “Return to the line.” Her voice became but a background noise to me.

  I stood up, feeling my beating heart. I couldn’t stop this disgusting feeling. All the emotions I’ve been suppressing erupted all at once. “Fuck you!” I clenched my jaw as the image of the ratifier appeared again and again in my mind.

  Ignoring the stares, I turned around and started running. I couldn’t stay here with these monsters, couldn’t keep watching this useless bloodshed. I slammed the door, running away, uncaring about consequences.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck…” My hands couldn’t stop shaking. I leaned against the wall, trying to ignore the nausea. I’ve been tricked again. This wasn’t a school – it was a child soldier program.

  “I hate that damn elf, hate this cruel place.” With starpower boiling underneath my skin, I slammed the metal wall. “I just wanted to learn magic…” Such a simple goal – but what can I even do in fifteen years?

  Conquering the galaxy is a joke! I heard someone walk out of the classroom. Without hesitation, I took off, trying to get as far as possible. The corridor widened, opening into a hall with windows, still covered in art. I didn’t want to look at them.

  “What’s even the point?!” I stared into the void of space. “Tell me, Betrayer? What is the point!?” The space remained silent.

  I knew it was such a childish goal, stupid even. I put my hand on the glass – it didn’t even feel cold underneath the VITA. I should’ve stayed in my lane, obeyed the annoying mentors, and ignored the bastard elf. I should’ve just enjoyed life while I could…

  “Magnus.” The cold voice interrupted my thoughts. It was Ivaldie, standing beside me.

  “What do you want?” I didn’t stop anger from leaking into my voice.

  “Return to class.” There wasn’t a shred of pity in her voice.

  “What for? So your favorite dean can make another monster to kill me? No fucking thank you.”

  “That was simply your punishment.” The innocence was baffling.

  “Ah, yes, punishment for not knowing the rules no one told me about. And for sleeping slightly more after almost dying. So gracious of her to just try to kill me again!”

  Ivaldie’s eyes opened wide, her brows narrowed. “The goal of punishment wasn’t to kill you.”

  I let the starpower rage in my body, and my cape fluttered loudly. “What was it then? What can almost dying again teach me?” The idiotic snake could never think of herself as wrong.

  “It was to teach you humility.”

  So much nonsense. I ignored her incoherent words and looked back at the void. The memory of flying on my father’s back was so fun… I always wanted to do it, to fly just like him.

  “Return to the class once you are ready.” Just like that, the robotic girl started walking away. Damn her and the dean. They knew nothing!

  Stillness enveloped everything as I quietly looked out. The stars were always there, always so majestic. The anger slowly evaporated, leaving only sadness in its absence. I rubbed my eyes, they were wet… I was crying. How long has it been?

  Maybe I was arrogant. Maybe I should’ve talked to other students, asked them questions. I spent a week learning one form, and what did it do for me? A minuscule improvement. Even my SE, ten times larger than at the start, didn’t increase the potency of my forms.

  I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. Memories of the past flickered in my head. The correct stance, the right placement of the arm, and the way to breathe when boxing. Cold starpower flowed gently across my body.

  I never stopped to listen to it; I was always rushing forward, trying to make the forms stronger. Only now, when despair sucked away my ego, could I appreciate the flow. It wobbled with every breath, every slight movement, pulsing with the sinking feeling in my gut.

  I gently clenched my fingers, hand the starpower curved, spiraling with the movement. It was heavy, just like my emotions. Vogelgesang was right; it was a conversation, not with words, but with emotions.

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  I pulled my hand back, making the force form. The energy inside was disordered, spreading all over the place. I could never compress it. I looked inwards. Responding to my attention, starpower started concentrating, emanating from my body faster.

  I slowly thrust my hand forward, feeling how it compressed in response to the movement, becoming thinner, blunter. I repeated the movement again, bringing more and more attention. And the more I focused on each individual strand, the more power flowed inside.

  I breathed in tandem with its pulses, feeling the warm flow closely. Then, like thunder, I struck. The air compressed with the sound of a gunshot going off, I blasted the air.

  “I… I did it. I compressed the power.”

  Forms weren’t just about the movement; they weren’t just about channeling the ambition. It was a combination of it all. Emotion, movement, focus – all of it was needed.

  Your Affinity has shifted! Onyx -2%; Emerald +2%;

  Your mastery of Force Form has reached Adept!

  Your SE has increased to 11

  Like a lid was opened, gentle energy coursed through my muscles, invigorating me. I knew for certain. I was arrogant, unwilling to listen to anyone but myself. I looked into space again. If I wanted to fly someday, to become something more, I needed to listen.

  Damn the sadistic dean, damn the pitying peers. I lived a life before this. I died before. Their attitudes mean nothing. I can deal with death. I can deal with pain. It’s all just in my head. To become a supreme wizard – I will eat shit if needed.

  My blood was boiling with determination. I walked back to the class. Opening the door, I saw the girl from the end of the line, the same one who received a free gem, fighting against a small ratifier. Kory. She was only 15 SE. Unlike mine, the geist standing against her was 10 SE, smaller, weaker than mine.

  The girls ignored me, watching the fight. Only Ivaldie gave me a glance, and Varaxis stared at me. I gathered my courage and sneaked towards the back of the line. Some looked at me with pity, some didn’t seem to care at all.

  Dodging a strike, Kory made a form, sprouting sharp claws of light from her fingers. The small geist was slow; there was a noticeable delay between each jump.

  Kory rushed at the monster, slashing with the glowing claws. They went through flesh like butter. With a final strike, she ripped the beast’s back open, and slowly the geist turned into a gem.

  The girl started coughing, clutching her throat, and shaking. The students looked at her with pity, but none dared to come closer. Varaxis nodded approvingly, “You did well, child.” She approached Kory. From Varaxis’s scales, blood started dripping and floating towards Kory. When it touched the girl’s skin, the blood dissolved, and she stopped coughing. Varaxis knew healing, too.

  “Here is your actualized potential,” Varaxis said, lifting the emerald from the ground and giving it to Kory. “Return to the line.”

  With a shaking hoarse voice, the girl mumbled, “T-thank you…” Her eyes turned towards the end of the line, towards me. She lowered her head, walking slowly towards me.

  “I’ll be the last,” I said confidently, taking a step left.

  “A-are you sure?” Kory refused to look at me. Her eyes were so sunken, as if she didn’t sleep at all.

  I nodded. Slowly, the girl stood back in the line. For the first time, Varaxis didn’t look at me like I was a worthless insect. Perhaps there was still hope for me.

  Varaxis clapped twice, bringing the attention back to herself. “I have evaluated your strength. Tomorrow I will prepare a training regimen and your course recommendations. It will be your decision whether to pursue them.” She looked over each of the girls and me…

  “You are free to pursue your individual goals.” With that, Varaxis knocked on her chest twice. The room erupted in celebration, as dragons congratulated each other. Only Ivaldie and Kory remained silent... and me.

  Hunger announced its presence with boiling pain and an empty feeling. The people started leaving class under the watchful eye of Varaxis, before I could follow them, a voice called out to me.

  “Come here, human.” Varaxis looked sternly at me. I approached her. “I will warn you again. This place is made for dragons – it is your duty to learn how to act like one.” Her eyes weren’t that stern, but a feeling of annoyance still clawed at me.

  I suppressed it. “I’ll do my best, but I would be thankful for explanations. What is the line?”

  She scratched her chin. “The order of the line determines the priority of dungeon delving and denotes strength. You have done the right thing by taking the last place.” Varaxis wasn’t trying to pity me. “I will watch your progress.” She looked at the door. “Visit the Archive after eating; you will need to improve.”

  I prevented a sigh. I was going to do that anyway. That's what I should have said, but instead I thanked her. There was no need to antagonize Varaxus more…

  “You are dismissed.” She waved her hand and started walking away.

  My stomach rumbled, and the way towards the cafeteria appeared in the corner of my vision. It was time to go.

  ---

  Long rows of tables and benches covered with intricate pieces of art sprawled from side to side, filling the giant room like a labyrinth. Sounds of clanking plates, chewing, and unending chatter permeated the place. The smell of grease and sugar entered my nostrils as I watched the dragon girls in the range of 7 to 10 years old grabbing food.

  The cafeterias were segregated by age, not by class. I sighed, letting the curious stares wash over me, and walked towards the huge line waiting for food. I looked through the place, trying to find something familiar.

  In the distance, I spotted a table where my class seemed to sit. My turn to receive food came. I grabbed a huge metal plate and stared at the older dragon girl put something akin to a massive burned sandwich and a pair of sweet-smelling glowing marshmallows on my plate…

  “Thanks…” I said and walked towards the unripe table. My classmates were there, loudly talking and laughing, all but Ivaldie and Kory. No matter. I observed the loud cafeteria, only to find Ivaldie sitting all alone, slowly biting at her black sandwich.

  Taking a deep breath, I approached the lone table. “You won’t mind if I sit here?” I sat in front of her and placed my food.

  She lazily lifted her eyes at me, mumbling, “No.”

  Dragon’s Meal

  Description: Contains enough nutrients to fill a grown man for a day. It’s some kind of super-fast food.

  “Alright.” I took a bite out of the sandwich, feeling the meatiness spread across my mouth. It was sweet and savory, like eating pizza with jam. Not that bad. “Tell me, how did you become strong?”