>Perspective: Jan<
I’m utterly flabbergasted. Freeman with this commoner… didn’t amaze me at all. He seems to have a deep-seated tendency to associate with those he should consider lower than him. But McAcre, and O’Reilly… both should have already noticed his lack of sensibility to Spirit. Reid is kind, but to welcome an outsider to our campus… And McAcre! One of his stature should not prostrate himself to a boy like this! Unacceptable!
“...Oi. Bowing brat. What’s your name?”
I can’t believe it. Ms. Jara addressing scum like this? He should be eternally grateful to be blessed with her countenance, let alone direct address. It’s far beyond his station to interact with a God of sorcery like thi-
“It’s Peter. Peter Southpaw.”
No.
I refuse to allow this to pass into reality. I will not allow an insignificant speck to work alongside me. One who cannot grasp the basics of sorcery cannot be allowed here at this hidden paradise. He will either be beaten into conformity or cut down BY MY BLADE.
“Well, then, Southpaw. Get your situation with your Gates under control. You reek.”
“...Um. Well. Uh.”
McAcre, of all people, speaks up for HIM. “He doesn’t really know how to use sorcery…”
“What?! Then how and why are you here?” Ms. Jara reaches for her scabbard, but Lucas cuts in:
“He’s contracted with a demon. I made the arrangements already, so it’s fine.”
“IT ISN’T FINE IF HE DOESN’T KNOW SORCERY, BRAT!” Ms. Jara’s face turned a deep shade of vermillion as she glared at Lucas. Even her anger was incredible to witness up close.
“Don’t worry. He’ll learn to use it by the end of the day.”
“He will?!” everyone exclaimed. All of us had spent days or months learning to hone sorcery, and here McAcre thought he could teach a commoner to use it within 8 short hours?!?!
“I will?” In contrast to everyone’s collective shock, Southpaw seemed…a lot more calm, given the circumstances. He seems like the creepy type. Probably the type to boil pigeons live, or something.
“I’m pretty sure he will. He’s a fast learner.” McAcre’s ever-present smile widens into a smirk. “Actually, I’d bet you on it.”
Ms. Jara scowls deeper. “And give me one good reason I should take that bet?”
“If he can't, I'll…do your paperwork for a month.”
Ms. Jara laughs, a short, gruff sound. “Hah! I’d do it if you graded for me too.”
“That’s too much, and I’d just give all my friends A’s. Just the mission paperwork.”
Ms. Jara’s eyes narrow. “Fine. If you win?”
McAcre feigns shock. His acting isn’t bad, though. If you didn’t know his wily personality, you’d think he was genuinely surprised.“You’re agreeing without knowing what I’ll win?”
“Sure. You won’t anyways.”
“Fine by me. Hmm…how about….” McAcre’s overconfident smirk returns. “A bit of help at the next major meeting?”
“Fine. You’re excused from the assembly, in that case.”
“If I’m going to do this, I’d want Peter and his squad excused as well. Can’t exactly teach him without him being there.”
“And his squad?”
“I’m going to try something a bit dangerous. If I used my techniques on him, I’d just kill him.”
“Come again?” The outsider speaks up again.
“Oh, don’t worry. My plan won’t KILL you. Might rough you up, though.”
Ms. Jara’s urge to gamble has seemingly been quenched, and now she’s curious.“Just what’re you planning…?”
“Oh, don’t worry, Jo. Just go back to your assembly and let me handle this.”
Jo? JO? JO??? YOU CAN’T JUST CALL HER “JO”.
“Jo?” I finally speak up, my star-struckness being overtaken by rage.
Ms. Jara, of all people, answers. “Call me Jo. Hate being called my family name.”
What?!?! How did he know that? WHY DID HE KNOW THIS?!?!
“Speaking of, this is the Samna brat. Those two are Freeman and O’Reiley, right?”
“Michael Freeman, at your service.”
“Present.”
“Well. Good luck. I’d hope you’re ready for more work, McAcre.”
As she walks away, a thin smile spreads across McAcre’s face. Just what he planning?
—--------—--------—--------—--------—--------—--------—--------
>Perspective: Peter<
I find myself with the rest of the group, walking through a paved path through the campus that’s now beginning to be darkened with clouds from above. Lucas leads the way, seemingly certain in his direction. Since we’ve been walking in silence for a while, I decide to make some small talk.
“Uh…so…what’s it…like here…?”
I notice that I am very bad at small talk.
Michael answers. “It’s alright. There’s a lot of extra classes, though.”
“Extra classes?”
“Well, yeah. There’s all the normal stuff, like Algebra or Composition and stuff, but on top of that, you gotta take classes like Cursed Weapon Usage, or Incantations.”
“Cursed Weapons?”
“Tools that sorcerers use. They can use people’s Spirit to get stronger, or even have their own effects. Jan uses one!”
“We’re here.” Lucas stops suddenly, and I look on at what’s ahead of me: A large stone plateau is half-buried in the earth, with a paved walkway surrounding it. On the left and right, rows of steel bleachers are bolted to the pavement with steel beams supporting the upper areas, grass growing in the dirt beneath the highest ones. The sides of the plateau are painted with school-themed decorations; brilliant purples and greys dotted the edge and tops of the bleachers as well. “The battlegrounds.”
“A borderless arena,” I mutter as I walk up to the bleachers.
“Why are you headed there? You’re about to perform; the stage is centered.” Luke grins. I turn away to hide my tiny smirk; he always was the poet when we were kids.
“So, uh…what IS your plan?” Michael cocks a brow.
“Well, simple. Spirit tends to flare up around thoughts of death. You know, funerals, trauma, and all that.” Luke points at me. “So we just beat him within an inch of his life, and let him do the rest.”
I hold up my hands as if I was being arrested. “An inch of my-”
Jan begins to smile, the first I’ve seen them do. “Now that you’ve explained it, I’m becoming quite the fan of this plan. May I do the honors?”
Luke turns to them and frowns, dropping his hand to his sides. “No. We don’t actually want him to bleed out and die. I think Michael should do it.”
Michael points to himself, his eyes wide. “Me?! Why me? I don’t wanna kill the new guy!”
Luke smiles. “You don’t have to fight all out. Just smack him around with your Spirit until he awakens. I’m certain you can take him.”
“Hold it.” With that, I turn to Luke, a small amount of indignation in my voice. “How certain are you that he can take me? You’ve seen my boxing skills.”
“Yes, your boxing skills,” Luke counters. “That doesn’t mean you’ll fight well against someone completely different than yourself, or someone in an entirely separate weight class.”
“And either way I’m still hung up about the ‘inch of my life’ thing! What if it goes too far?”
Luke grins like an idiot. “Just close your Yomi Gates before that happens.”
Yeah, easier said than done when I still barely grasp the concept.
“So do I not get any leeway, or…”
Jan smirks. “No no, I believe in you. You will be fine.”
Luke’s eyes narrow. “Considering that you’ve done little else but bully him the whole time, I don’t think that’s reassuring, Jan.”
Jan turns and practically bites his head off. “You are not on a first name basis with me, McAcre!”
Reid groans. “Can we get on with it?”
Michael turns, confused. “Huh? Reid? I thought you hated watchin’ fights.”
“Yeah, but this is still taking too long. If I have to miss orientation for this, I’d rather we do it quick.”
Michael sighs, then smiles. “Alright. One awakened sorcerer, coming up!”
“Or dead body,” Jan cuts in.
“That won’t happen!” Michael shoots back confidently.
—-------------------------------------------------------------------
The two of us step into the ring, and as we did, I feel that same intensity that I haven’t felt in over a week. It’s as if the world outside of this stone plateau crumbled away into nothingness, and all that remains is me and the man in front of me.
“Woah, you’re sure an intense one.”
The quip, thrown like a stone at a wall of ice, does little to shatter my focus. I take on a southpaw stance, and Michael…stood there. He didn’t try to defend himself, he just stands with a goofy smile and stares at me.
“You can punch me all you want, but it’s not really gonna work until you start using Kegare.” He grins hard enough to close his eyes.
Suddenly, and strangely, the temperature begins to rise. Just a little at a time, but… the arena’s definitely heating up.
I took that as a challenge.
I run up to him and begin laying on punches. Hook. Uppercut. Jab. Cross. Jab. Uppercut. Hook. Jab.
As I do, something strange happens. Michael’s face seems to shift with the blows, but…he just shifts his head back. Smiling straight at me as if nothing happened. And with every blow…the room just gets hotter and hotter.
I jump backward, keeping my guard up, but suddenly, as if by magic, Michael is directly in front of me again. His face is still transfixed in that same ominous smile, and he leans down a bit to bring us face to face. The heat is becoming unbearable now. His dark eyes are like black mirrors of my own fear, his grin a terrifying specter of dread. He opens his mouth to speak, and it feels like fire is consuming my very existence.
“Aw. Ya done?”
The heat increases further, and it feels like my body is actively charring to ash with every second I spend near him. He steps back
And reaches out his hands
And grabs me
And picks me up by the wrist
—------------------------------------------
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
I come to on the pavement a few seconds later, having just been thrown across the plateau. The first thing I notice is that I am lying on the ground. This is what alerts me that I have been thrown.
Next is the immense pain. It hits me all at once, like a full body gunshot wound. I struggle to get up.
“Wow, just that was too much? I wasn’t even fighting you for real.” Michael walks over, but this time, I don’t feel the intense heat. He reaches out his hand, and naively, I take it. He helps me up, but immediately grabs me. He literally reaches back and throws my body back across the plateau like a football. The pain of the crash landing is immediately felt all throughout my form. It’s as if every bone in my body just splintered simultaneously.
Blood spurts from my mouth. Still, I struggle to rise.
I get up, and begin limping towards him.
“Two solid attacks, and you’re already like this… sucks to see, man.” Michael keeps his hands in his pockets. He smiles widely.“Ya know what? I’m just gonna let your organs talk to you until you can land a real hit on me.”
“If it’s just that….then I won’t stop…!” My mouth utters the words before I can ruminate on them, but they’re a sentiment I agree with. I take a strange bastardization of orthodox pose. I can feel my technique slipping, but I hold fast. A proper stance would only hurt to do anyways, on my legs.
Michael’s smile drops. “Oh. Then I’ll just use Fear.” Before I can ask what Fear is, I get my answer: The massive heat and pressure returns, almost a trillion times stronger than before. It’s as if a blazing demon is standing before me, and it’s sheer hellish presence is burning me alive. Sweat and blood drip off of my body like water off of a melting glacier. I can’t even bring myself to move, let alone swing at him. Michael begins smiling again. “Come on, you got better than that, new guy!”
Okay, what do you want? This guy is going to unintentionally kill me, and I can’t do anything about it!
I’m practically being baked alive! I can’t move, fight, or anything! How do I…
Look WHERE?!
I direct my gaze upwards, and…up, in thick strips of pure black smoke, energy comes off my body. Despite it being aimed away from me, I can smell it easily. After all, it stinks to high heaven. It smells like a thousand putrid odors, like the ultimate feeling of hatred and decay and pain and sorrow and rage. I can tell. It’s mine. My hands instinctively reach out, but the smoke continues to flow away, off to the pools of darkness where it belongs.
Michael, seeing me reach upward, smiles wider. I can barely make it out, his face and body are nearly indistinct from the blazing darkness they reside in. “Hey, you’re getting closer! Maybe if I up the dose, you’ll figure it out!” He stretched out his hands, and the pressure became even larger. The heat, as well, felt like the surface of the sun. I could feel my skin scorching, and was pressed down into a kneeling position to better weather the weight. I tried to rise, but to no avail. I watched helplessly as the smoke began to rise up. Fear, pain, hate. The smoke began to billow as thicker strips.
Huh?
Isn’t that an unfair question? I barely even know the guy. I met him like an hour ago.
I mean, I can still stand, but…
I…
Another person spoke. A feminine voice, but not one of a woman. One I had already heard a bit today.
“If you do not have that hunger,
that desire to hurt those who hurt you,
you will not survive the darkness.”
Even though all other voices were blocked out, of all people, theirs rang through the dark.
“Fight. Show me what you are. Are you a sorcerer? Or are you another insignificant soul, passing through this place to die?”
Once again, my mouth opens, ready to speak. But, I can’t talk.
“Answer me, or burn in this crucible.”
I feel their eyes narrow.
The words finally come out, from the depths of my soul.
“I am…”
The smoke billowing off of me begins to settle. It compresses down, closer and closer to my body.
“I am…”
Before I can answer them, the smoke touches my body. As soon as it does, an icy chill spreads through my entire being. My body tenses up and focuses almost immediately, as if a thousand shots of adrenaline have just activated in my brain. The pain across my bruised and battered bones instantly numbs to a near scratch, and the weight I felt begins to feel less and less..
The smoke has completely settled. Now, I know, it flows through my veins, like icy blood, chilling my very core. I stand with ease, the weight utterly powerless against me now. The heat has cooled to a mere summer’s day now, no different from what I felt stepping into the ring. I immediately take a southpaw stance, ready to resume the dance of battle.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael, seeing me in such a state, grins widely. “Hell yeah! You did it!” Somewhere, I hear cheering. I can barely hear him, or stop myself. My legs are pumping forward on their own now.
As some part of me watches in horror, he turns away, giving a grin and a thumbs up to an audience I can’t even comprehend. I run up to him, and sweep him from under the legs. He, predictably, falls backwards, leaving me the perfect opportunity. The icy chill instinctively swells into my hand, and I see the energy that comprised the dark smoke, now as a refined, cooling light coating my fist. I reach back, and as he falls, I strike his back with a left cross using everything I’ve got, a sickening crunch echoing throughout the arena. Michael coughs in pain, spitting out blood. Through my fist, I feel his rib’s been broken. I retract, and he falls back onto his back. A part of me feels good. The rest is horrified.
“D-dude, foul play…” He groans, surprisingly unbothered by the violence I’ve just shown him.
“And breaking my leg wasn’t?” I counter. The words are spat from my mouth, my body practically moving on its own. I want to apologize, but don’t.
Michael laughs, surprisingly heartily given the pain he’s probably in. Not even counting how the laugh affects it.“Eh, no biggie. We got the school nurse for a reason, heh.”
“Can they heal broken bones?”
“Sure. You’d be amazed at how they work. Speaking of which, you seem to be in pretty good shape, despite the pain.”
Almost as he says that, the adrenaline wears off, and the pain I just put myself through kicks in. My hand begins swelling, having broken upon punching Michael that hard. In addition, my broken leg throbs in pain, bringing me down to the floor. I hear Lucas and the others running down to get us, but don’t feel like moving. I decide to sleep off the pain…
—------------------------------------------------------------------------
“FUCK YOU, YOU STUPID FUCKING BRAT! HOW THE FUCK DID YOU TEACH HIM TO DO THAT SHIT?! GIVE ME YOUR GOD DAMNED METHODS, YOU LITTLE FUCKER!! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW?!?!”
I wake up to Ms. Jo screaming at a smirking Lucas, her eye practically bugging out of it’s socket. Jan stands behind her, scowling at him, and Reid stands behind him, seeming to space out. I’ve noticed she doesn’t talk a whole lot. Michael is also there, laughing his butt of. at the chaos going on.
Wait, Michael? Laughing? Doesn’t he have a broken rib?
I sit up, raising my left hand to my head. It’s healed. I examine it, moving it around and bending the joints.
Michael gasps. “Oh, right! You don’t know about the school nurse.”
Luke shrugs, seemingly annoying Ms. Jo, who begins yelling at him even harder. “I wouldn’t worry about it. I think he’s coming this way.”
Suddenly, the door bursts open, and… “YO YO YOGROOOVY
Between this guy and Ms Jo, the room can probably be heard across campus. Turning to see him, his sight doesn’t help much. He’s a light skinned man, with a tall, wiry thin frame, about 6 '5 if he wasn’t bent in a slight slouch. His large afro and star-shaped glasses also sell his bizarre nature, a purpose also served by his clothing choices. He’s got on a full black suit and tie with white pinstripes the whole way down, covered by a thin oversized lab coat more befitting of a doctor. Upon seeing him, Ms. Jo stops bugging out at Lucas and turns to this strange man.
“Jay Jay.”
“OOOH YEAHsay yo’ peace
“As over the top as ever…”
I turn to Luke. “Is he…always like this?”
Luke smirks. “Constantly. But he’s a good nurse.”
At that, Mr. Jay Jay strikes a pose. “SO TRUE! Doctor DJ Jay Jay! GRRROOVYYYY!!!
Wait, so this guy’s the nurse?
Ms. Jo turns to me, taking a softer tone of voice. “New brat. Can you move your limbs?”
I wiggle my fingers and toes. “Uh…yeah. I can move ‘em fine.”
Mr. Jay Jay breaks from his original pose and begins to sulk, crossing his arm in annoyance. “Course he can. I treated ‘em.”
Michael grins. “Try’n stand up.”
I slide off of the bed, and stand with no difficulty. I do some stretches, and even walk around a bit, but find no issue.
Lucas smirks again. “And you’re ready to go to your dorm already.”
Mr-sorry, Dr. Jay Jay strikes another pose. “FUNKYY!
“In any case,” Ms. Jo cut Dr. Jay Jay off as she walked over to me. “I think I owe you somethin’.”
I looked up at her. She’s quite tall to make me look up. Eventually, she stopped and reached out her hand for a handshake. I took it.
“Welcome to Magatsu Metropolitan Technical High School, summoner. As much as my desk is gonna hate me for this, I’ll enjoy havin’ ya here.”
Jan’s eyes widened. Wonder what’s got them so worked up.
Lucas cut in with the most crap-eating grin I’d seen on him all day. “By the way, I might need some paperwork help with that meeting. I never read those.”
“YOU-” Ms. Jo tore her hand away to begin yelling at him again.
Aside from the din of Lucas being screamed at, Michael began laughing. “Welp, welcome, new guy! Can’t wait to work with ya!” His smile suddenly dropped, and he cocked an eyebrow. “Oh wait. I can’t just call ya new guy…” He grinned again. “How ‘bout Pete instead?”
“No.”
He sighed, his bright smile still unfading. “Damn, rejected entirely ... Guess Peter’ll do fine. Welcome to MagMet, Peter!” He also reached out for a handshake, that I also took.
This was a mistake, as he shook my hand extremely vigorously, to the point I almost had trouble staying still.
Jan walked over, rolling their eyes. “Don’t dislocate his shoulder. You two’ve already injured each other enough for one day.”
Michael stopped shaking my hand (thank Goodness) and turned to them. “Hey, wasn’t it you who wanted to kill him this morning?”
“Yes, but now he’s proven he might not be completely useless. He’s still the least competent member of the squad, but at least he has the potential to be an actual asset.”
Wh-rude!
“What do you mean least competent?!”
They smirk. “I mean least competent. You still lack the capability of the rest of us.” Before I can defend myself, they turn and leave. “I will see you all in the dormitory tonight. Goodbye.” And with that, they take their leave.
“Hey, no death threats, and even a goodbye! I think they’re starting to like you!” Michael smiles.
Yeah, I think we’re a ways from ‘liking’ me. Maybe at ‘tolerating’ me.
I turn to Reid, who’s just been sitting quietly in the corner. I wave to her. She waves back, smiling slightly.
“Welp, we should head back to the dorms. C’mon, new guy!” Michael grabs my arm and drags me out of the room before I can protest that I can walk on my own, leaving Lucas to his fate.
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SuperChat Log
Monday, June 1
9: 23 PM
wonderbomb199x(Location Unknown) <-> Punchyboi(Location Unknown)
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>Chat End<
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