Summoner school, p.6
Summoner School, page 6
“Andrew!” Atlesia called and waved. “I saved you and your roommate a seat.”
The lavender-haired girl stood on a stone seat and motioned frantically to us. Her bright pink tank top hugged her breasts and was tucked into the top of short shorts that showcased sexy thighs. There was a crowd of people around the peppy woman, but true enough there were two seats waiting for Mike and me.
“Hey,” I said with a grin. “Thanks for saving us seats. This is a great view. This is my roommate, Mike.”
“It’s so nice to meet you Mike,” she said and clapped her hands. “The view is the best. I wanted to make sure that you could see the whole field. I’m sure that you haven’t seen any battle magic before. Honestly, this is only my third time. My brother, Indar, is one of the fighters. He’s really amazing, but he doesn’t want to become a soldier. He’ll go back to the farm with my family.”
“He’s the one that I met yesterday, right?” I asked and sat down.
“Yes!” the excitable woman exclaimed. “He’s a senior. Papa is so happy that he’ll be back this year. Indar’s better than almost everyone in our family at growing hybrid seeds, and there’s some new fruit that he and papa have been working on.”
“Hybrid seeds?” Mike asked and took the seat next to me.
“Yeah,” Atlesia said and plopped down. “You’re one of the Tree-Folk, right? There’s a nursery near our farm. They grow some of the best apples that I’ve ever had in my entire life.”
“Yes,” my roommate said with a nod. “My family focuses primarily on fungi, though.”
“Hey, Ent-man!” an elf behind us shouted. “Shouldn’t you be sitting in the back where you won’t block the view?”
I whipped my head around at the same time as Mike and Atlesia, and it looked like both of my new friends were about to go to war. The nymph’s turquoise lips pressed into a thin line while my roommate’s leafy hair curled and grew a little longer like vines. I was pretty sure that a fight on the first day of school wouldn’t be good for any of us, but it was the same dark-haired elf that was supposedly a summoner like me.
“Eldar Serin,” Sarya said as she took a seat behind us. “If you want to act like a beast, then perhaps you should go sit with the minotaurs. You know very well that the Tree-Folk do not like to be called Ents. It’s below you to act in such a disgusting manner to one of our best allies. The human, on the other hand…”
“Sarya,” the dark-haired elf said and straightened his robes, ran a hand through his hair, and sat as tall as possible. “It’s so good to see you. I heard that you were placed in the highest level of freshman fire users.”
“Of course,” the redheaded woman flipped her ponytail and rolled her silver eyes. “I heard that you couldn’t even finish one of the puzzles. That you shamed your family by letting a human complete them.”
“Well… I…” Eldar stuttered and blushed.
“Your wit is as sharp as ever,” a blonde elven woman said and motioned for Eldar to leave.
“Naturally,” Sarya smirked and then turned to look at me. “I’m honestly surprised that you bothered to show up. You’re only a human, after all. It has to be scary to be surrounded by so many of your betters.”
“Betters?” I laughed. “I don’t think being a firebug makes you better than me.”
“Firebug?” Atlesia asked and tilted her head.
“I believe it is a human saying,” Mike said with a shrug. “Though, that would be terrifying. Could you imagine them in the nurseries?”
“They’d be worse than the centipedes during mating season!” the lavender-haired woman said.
“I’m not a firebug,” the elven woman huffed and brought the conversation back to her. “I am a Kaylen. I have more power in my pinky finger than the human has in his entire lineage.”
“We’ll see,” I said. “Like you said, I finished more of the puzzles than any of the other freshman summoners. I heard that you’ll be in the class with me, so you’ll be able to see just how good I am.”
“We’ll just see about that.” Her silver eyes pinned me with a glare that was hard to read, and as she leaned closer I had to fight the urge to look down the front of her dress. It was a trap, and one that I wouldn’t fall for, especially not while everyone in our area watched us with interest.
Instead I just stared straight into her eyes as she leaned forward, until our noses were just about touching.
“You have gorgeous eyes,” I whispered just loud enough for her to hear me.
“W-what?” she gasped, and I felt a little thrill as her cheeks suddenly flared the same color as her hair.
“You heard me,” I said.
“Uhh… whatever… human…” Sarya quickly turned her face away from me, but I kept watching her, and when she glanced at me again out of the corner of her eyes, her face blushed an even brighter shade of red.
Well, well, well. It looked like the “princess” might have a bit of a thing for me. Maybe that was why she was being such a brat?
“Now that everyone is settled,” the headmaster interrupted the heated moment, so I pulled my attention away from the beautiful elf and looked toward the field.
The gray-bearded man had descended from the platform and walked across the bright green grass. Then Sarya shifted, and her foot slowly brushed against my back. It took all of my self-control not to look behind me, since I figured she was trying to get me to flirt with her again, and I knew I’d keep the upper hand with her if I just played it cool.
“This is so exhilarating,” Atlesia whispered in my ear and scooted closer.
Her bare thigh brushed against my jeans, and my heart sped up in my chest. The peppy girl was definitely cute and didn’t seem to have a problem with going after anything that she wanted. I made a mental note to ask her out after the magic battle, but for the moment, all of her attention was focused on the field and the seniors.
“It’s certainly interesting,” Mike agreed from my other side. “There are healers on the sidelines. I’ve read that these battles are never deadly.”
“Of course not,” Sarya butted into the conversation by leaning her head down between Atlesia and me.
“What exactly do they do?” I asked and scooted closer to the edge of my seat. “There are a lot of movies and video games with stuff like this, but I’ve never seen one in person, and most of the fights end in someone dying.”
“I’m sure that many of you have questions,” the headmaster answered like he’d heard me. “Those of you who are just joining us have likely never seen a live battle before. The rules are the same as they’ve always been. The competitors will not use any spells that can cause death immediately. The fight will be over when one fighter can no longer continue and must call for the healers. As the older students know, every affinity can lend itself to battle magic, though some are better for the healing arts. I have gathered those in the senior class who have excelled so that all of our freshmen can have a better idea of what is possible during their tenure here.”
The gray-bearded man clapped his hands together and turned to look at the line of seniors behind him. A few of them had the same color robes, and it looked like they were embroidered with different patterns, but I was too far away to tell them apart. The students started to pair off and then headed back to the seats on the side of the field while two remained on the grassy field.
“The first battle will be between a fire mage and a sea mage,” Zenlar said as the headmaster strolled away. “Ensha, please greet your opponent. Rarus, please greet your opponent. I expect you both to obey the rules.”
Ensha was a dragon hybrid like Professor Lovelace, but the muscular man sported two leathery wings that spread out behind him. The light made his skin look as black as coal, and the glow of his yellow-and-red eyes could be seen even from our seats high in the stands. He made an exaggerated bow as a smirk pulled on his lips, and a long tongue slithered out like a snake tasting the air.
Rarus snorted and stomped one of his massive hooves but returned the bow. It took a second for me to place him, and then I remembered him with my minotaur classmate. The bull-man had been volatile at the ceremony, and his horns glinted in the afternoon sunlight like spears.
“I don’t think I want to do the battle magic program,” Atlesia said as her knees began to bounce. “Those two look really scary. I can’t believe that Indar is going to do this. I hope he’s not fighting someone like them.”
“I’m sure that he’ll be fine,” I said with a smile.
“Sssh, you two,” Sarya hissed. “Some of us are actually trying to watch this.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I wanted to point out that she seemed to be watching me more than the battle, but instead I just turned to look at the two men.
Atlesia grabbed my hand as the fighters paced apart like they were in an old Western movie, and I laced my fingers through hers as I heard Sarya grumble behind me.
A bell chimed, and the battle started in the blink of an eye. Ensha flapped his wings and took off the ground in one swift motion. The earth underneath him smoldered as one of the symbols etched itself into the soil. A fire tornado erupted, and a gust of wind almost pulled me from my seat.
“Child’s play,” the redheaded elf sighed. “I could do that, and I haven’t even begun classes yet.”
“Some of us are trying to watch,” I said over my shoulder.
The giant minotaur dodged out of the way of the fire tornado, but one of the flames reached out to wrap around one of his horns. It licked around the ivory and burned the top of the bull-man’s head, but a sheet of rain spilled down to put out the small fire. The smell of charred hair and horn wafted up to the bleachers, and my stomach turned at the nauseating scent.
“The minotaur is a quick thinker,” Mike tapped a long finger on his chin. “I should’ve brought my notebook.”
“He’s still a minotaur,” the blonde elf behind us said. “They’re all just beasts.”
A geyser of water burst out of the ground underneath the winged man, and I could practically see the swear words that left his mouth. His leathery wings tore under the assault, and Ensha fell to the grass with a thud, but the minotaur wasn’t done. The earth beneath the water changed and shifted around like a jigsaw puzzle, and soon a wave rushed up out of the earth.
The wall of water frothed at the top and slammed down over the prone dragon-man like a blanket. Rarus strolled forward, and I could see the proud smirk on his face. The attack didn’t stop, but Ensha didn’t move, and I looked over to the headmaster to see if he’d call the fight.
“Why aren’t they saying anything?” I asked. “He’s going to die.”
A few of the students around us looked at each other nervously, but then the water turned to steam. Ensha pushed himself to his feet, stumbled forward, and then shoved the hot air and water toward Rarus. The return attack was enough to knock the big man down, but it disappeared in seconds, and the minotaur stood up with a growl.
“I really thought that the fight was over,” Atlesia said and gripped my hand tighter. “That minotaur is scary.”
“He had a nasty attitude at the ceremony,” I said.
“My brother is the best,” the younger minotaur said from a few rows below us. “Of course, you’re scared of him. He’s not even using his full power. He’ll be the best warrior in a century.”
“All brawn and no brains,” the blonde elf laughed. “Just like all minotaurs.”
“And the fight is over!” the headmaster announced.
“What happened?” I asked and turned back to the field.
“The dragon could no longer fight,” my roommate said. “The damage to his wings was too painful. He couldn’t even stand.”
“Damn,” I said. “I guess the minotaur knew the sweet spot. Will the healers be able to fix it?”
“Obviously,” Sarya scoffed. “They wouldn’t be working for the school if they couldn’t. It’ll be like the fight never even happened.”
I watched mages in pale-blue robes help the dragon-man off the field while the minotaur bowed to the crowd. He strolled toward the healers on the sidelines, plopped down, and let a pixie woman fix the burn on his forehead. I was irritated that I’d missed the last of the fight, but the next battle was about to start, and the grass had already been reset.
“The next fight will be between summoners,” Zenlar said and motioned for two students to come forward. “Sylvia, please greet your opponent. Marvus, please greet your opponent.”
The conversation around us went silent as everyone focused on the new fight. The air seemed charged as the two black-robed seniors took their places on the field. My leg started to bounce as both of them bowed to each other, and I noticed that the woman had pulled a small vial out of a pocket.
Zenlar exited the field and checked on the two previous opponents, and I saw Professor Lovelace next to the healers. The teacher’s black hair was pulled into a tight bun, and the sun glinted off the scales along her cheeks. It was like she was a coach and this was the big game that the students had prepared for all year long.
“I wonder what they’ll summon,” Atlesia said and chewed her turquoise lips. “I heard that Lovelace is like… super hard. Those two are the only summoners who made it to the senior year.”
“Yeah, but there aren’t usually a lot of summoners to begin with,” Mike said. “There are only three this year.”
“Pfft,” Sarya laughed. “There’s only one. The human and that minotaur don’t count. Zenlar might’ve said that they have an affinity for it, but it doesn’t mean that they’ll actually be able to do it. Both of them are practically beasts.”
“Maybe you’d like it if I was your beast,” I said over my shoulder to the prissy elf.
“Please be quiet,” a pixie said before Sarya could reply. “I’d really like to watch my big sister destroy the sorcerer.”
“Of course,” the redheaded woman cleared her throat.
Then I felt her foot slowly rub against my back again.
I looked down to the field in time to see Sylvia open the vial in her hands and pour out a powdery substance. It floated down to the ground in silvery flakes that glowed with a light of their own. I watched in fascination as the pixie knelt down to draw something in the earth, and one of the spells cut through the grass.
A blue-green light wound around Sylvia’s arm and dripped down into the sigil like sea water, and the grass began to ripple. Murmurs erupted from the rows below us, and the younger minotaur said something about a water snake. Sylvia’s little sister preened a little and watched everyone’s reactions.
A thin ribbon of silver-and-blue scales slithered up from the rippling grass, and a thick python with a long snout and razor-sharp fangs had wiggled free. It hissed across the field at Marvus, floated up to be at eye level with its summoner, and then curled into a ball like it was waiting for orders.
“That thing looks like it belongs in the deep ocean,” I said as it yawned to show more teeth.
“It’s a water snake,” Atlesia gasped. “They’re found in areas with really deep lakes. Sylvia must be a naiad. That’s the only way she’d be able to dive deep enough to find one.”
“Or the scales could have washed up on the shore,” Mike said.
“Would those even work?” I asked. “The materials always needed to be fresh in the video games I’ve played.”
“That is preferred,” the tree-man said. “I haven’t read enough about water creatures. I’ll need to check the library’s resources.”
“I thought you were into plants,” I laughed and watched Marvus squat down.
The dwarf had shoved the sleeves of his robes up, but they fell back down, and I couldn’t quite make out the puzzle he scrawled in the dirt. It didn’t take long for the spell to activate, and the ground started to shake all the way to the seats. I narrowed my eyes to see what the small man shoved into the soil, but we were too far away, and the mage worked too fast.
“I’m into all knowledge,” my roommate said. “And there are some species of magical fungi that live only at the bottom of deep lakes where the water snake may frequent. If I want to collect samples, then I’ll need to learn how to fight whatever creatures may guard it.”
“Can you breathe under the water?” I asked and scooted forward. “What is he summoning?”
“I think a golem,” another student answered. “It wouldn’t be that hard for a dwarf. And I’ve heard that some of them can create huge blocks of dirt with gems on their knuckles so that they hit harder.”
“Really?” I asked. “I wonder how hard it would be to create. What would I need to summon it? A golem is just dirt, right?”
“You would likely need the bones of some earthbound creature,” Mike said. “Perhaps a mole. But it would be a complicated spell to work.”
“You’d need the dirt from a golem’s cave,” Sarya sighed. “It’s like none of you know anything. Golems can and do live out in the wild, but most people just call them elementals. All a summoner needs to create one is enough magic in the soil or something.”
“How do you know so much?” I asked and twisted to look at her. “I thought that you did elemental magic.”
“Because Sarya is from one of the best magical families in all the universes,” the blonde elf said with a flip of her hair. “Her education is far superior. Of course, I wouldn’t expect something like you to understand.”
“Just ignore them,” Atlesia said with a glare. “Elves always think they’re better than the rest of us. But if it wasn’t for us lowly nymphs, then they wouldn’t be able to grow anything. Not that it looks like either of you eat.”
“You’re right,” I said and turned back around. “I came here to learn about summoning, not the royal line of the elves.”
The two summoners started the fight, and the earth golem stumbled forward on thick boulder legs. Its meaty fist swung downwards, and I was surprised to see that it went for the water snake and not Sylvia. I watched as the pixie studied the golem and then motioned to her pet with a small wave.
