Sweetie, I think you’re late…!”
I forced my eyes open to my mom’s soft voice, instinctively turning my head rightwards, grabbing my wristwatch from the cabinet, and putting it on.
“Activating…7:02 a.m.”
“...Oh shoot!”
I sat myself upright. I looked around my room to counteract my still-sleepy condition.
“Thanks, Mom! Sorry to be a bother; I’ll head out in 15 minutes.”
I started getting ready, my thoughts waking themselves up, too.
So today’s my first day at school as an official partaker, no?
I brushed my teeth.
I wonder how it’s going to be after yesterday’s catastrophe.
I put bread in the toaster and put my clothes on.
To be fair, only my group — Group B — was subjected to major injuries. I have no clue if they care about one group’s struggle enough to cancel classes.
I stuffed my mouth with the toast and ran out the door onto my e-bike.
Should I even go to school today? How’s everyone going to act?
***
Ding, dong, ding, dong…diing, daawng, diing, daawng.
Only about a third of the class was here when I arrived and sat down. No one was saying anything. Some people looked at their desks; others tapped their tables or stared blankly ahead; a few people were just on their tablets, awfully silent.
Ichikawa Sora was already in his seat next to mine. Whether he arrived earlier or later than I did, he’d usually say, “Hi!” I heard nothing from him so far: he appeared too lost in his thoughts to even notice me taking my seat, next to him.
Should I say something? I don’t think anyone would reciprocate it, though. Let me quietly ask Sora,
“Hey, are you alr—”
“Good morning, students,”
Ms. Nozawa (Kiri) proclaimed, walking in. She spoke calmly, holding a tablet in her left hand. I guess the school decided to forget yesterday in front of us students.
“Today, we will be continuing our lesson from last time. I wanted to briefly review what we covered last time and spend most of the class time on the next lesson, but many of you are not here. So, I’ll have to change my plans to teach something less important so others don’t miss out. I’m glad you all came, though…”
A desk screeched from the other side of the classroom.
“Miss, you can’t seriously be like that, can you? We all chose to come today to learn.”
Asked Yoshino Aika, somewhat condescendingly. Amongst all the silence and following along, of course it was she who stood up: she was with one of the groups that had helped us yesterday. Not only that, but even if you didn’t know her name or were wondering why she talked to a teacher like that just now, you could take a look at her nametag which only student council members wore.
Plus, her ivy-green hair and lapis-lazuli-blue eyes had probably already gotten eyes on her even before she stood up. Her position only made her presence more demanding.
“I hope I speak for everyone…”
She paused and looked around, making sure everyone was looking,
“When I say that we, especially after that, want at least you to acknowledge what we have been through and make us stronger, even if only temporarily. I mean it.”
Silence ensued.
I guess I wasn’t the only one thinking that way. I’ve wanted to get stronger, so after feeling so hopeless…
I shivered.
I only want to get stronger even more now!
“...I see. In that case, I’ll teach you all a lot about fire today. Because this class specifically has either mages, wizards, or both, we’ll be observing it as both a magical element and a natural element. However, do not be shocked if, next month, we have 2 semester finals covering what we learned. Today will be on the finals, just so you know.”
“...Thank you, truly, Ms. Nozawa.”
She’s smiling, huh? I can’t tell if she is pleased with herself or with Ms. Nozawa’s response; either way, I am glad to know that today I will grow a lot.
Ms. Nozawa thought it okay to continue, pacing toward the whiteboard.
“Since we’ll be thoroughly studying fire today, I’ll begin by giving a brief refresher on the elemental properties and magical classifications of flame.”
She tapped her tablet and a projection blinked to life. A diagram appeared: a glowing triangle labeled ‘Fuel,’ ‘Oxygen,’ ‘Heat’ at the vertices, and ‘Combustion’ in the center. She proceeded to write with her finger on the board’s smart-glass overlay.
“Now, most of you already know this, but fire as an element behaves chemically and divinely, notably when invoked by deities like Hephaestus or Ra.”
Some students nodded, apparently knowing this. A few, like me, wrote this down.
“To continue properly and keep my promise, let’s move on to real-life application: demonstrations.”
Murmurs scattered through the room. I looked around instinctively, noticing that by now, Sora was looking up ahead, and so was everyone else.
“Each mage in here will attempt two tasks:
- Spark generation through incantation or intent, and
- Demonstration of aspects of flame control like shape, direction, and heat level.
I’ll be grading based on how well you are in those aspects and your clarity, control, and intuition. You’ll go to the platform, invoke your deity, and sit back down.”
Will I be alright? I don’t remember practicing fire magic much at all. I’ll observe for now.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Now, Takahashi, you are up first.”
“Of course.”
He stood up with one hand on the table and another on his chair (having moved it back just now) and walked to the fire platform. It was a circular stone slab etched with spell-safe runes. He stepped upon it and began without hesitation.
“Oh, Hephaestus…lend me fire unburdened by restraint…”
Magic dispersed throughout the room, going into our noses now that he wasn’t in a chamber. With a flick of his hand, a thin column of mainly dark orange but partly blue flame spun upward in a spiral.
Fwwwwoooooooooooooosssshhhh — fwpop, sizzle sizzle…
Ms. Nozawa clapped twice, unknowingly appearing pleased:
“Excellent form, high flame density, stable oxygen flow.”
He stepped off and walked back, scoffing, hands in pockets.
I expected not to be shocked knowing this was his specialty, but it still amazed me.
“Fujimoto Yui, your turn.”
She rose smiling, swiftly grouping her hair up in her hands with her hair tie still in her mouth whilst walking to the platform.
Gorgeous
Her presence alone seemed to warm the room. Once she stood up on the platform and had finished tying her hair, she held out her hands and whispered a line too quietly for me to catch. A burst of gold-orange fire promptly rippled into a wide fan shape.
It’s asymmetrical and not entirely perfect, but…it’s captivating nonetheless…wow.
“Graceful. Controlled. A communicative flame. Well done…
Aihara Mei.”
Once she stood comfortably, her spell lit like a snap, though a bit wild. The fire danced unevenly, more like a torch than a technique.
“Moderate. Fast initiation, but shaky control.”
I assume that, because we are both Praelusor in magic, mine will be similar.
“Yoshino Aika.”
I’m worrying too much, really…!
An impressive flame as impressive as Takahashi’s burst out like a dragon’s breath. If a passerby happened to see this, they’d think a stack of books was set ablaze rather than a fire spell being cast. I hadn’t noticed it.
I know I specialize in water magic, but magic is a whole category for a reason. Practicing one element automatically improves your mastery of the other elements as well. I shouldn’t embarrass myself at the very least.
“Kurosawa Kuramiti.”
I suddenly stood, legs half-awake. My pulse filled my ears. I walked, inhumanly aware of my every step towards the stand. Before I knew it, I was standing on the platform.
I have to start with ‘Oh, Poseid—' no, no, wait! We’re doing fire right now. Lock in!
“Oh, Hephaestus, look upon me and let me…”
My hands are so damn shaky!
“...ignite a flame—”
A flame appeared, undeniably so. However, it was as uncontained as a bonfire. It was like the product of rubbing two sticks unto a relatively small pile of leaves and firewood. It was noticeably different from Novicius or Discens, but it was as if I had only reached Rank 3, Praelusor, last week.
Maybe I did…
The fire was nearing the teacher’s desk, so, before the fire spread, I put out the flame.
…
I looked up. Ms. Nozawa’s expression appeared neutral.
“Thank you, Kurosawa. You may take your seat now.”
His flame…it was the smallest and least impressive, I can’t ignore that, but…it seems as if it was from pure grit and hard work rather than a regurgitation of some notable mage.
Holy…
I swear a few were staring me down. I’m pretty sure I even saw someone look away while covering their face right as I saw them. Maybe it’s just me, though…just me…
Nobody spoke a word or uttered a sound. It even took Ms. Nozawa a second to continue.
“Okay…great! That was all the mages. Now, turn your textbooks to page…”
That…was miserable. Almost nobody here has fire magic as their specialty, yet every mage still outdid me! And I call myself a mage!
I sat down with a blank expression. I wasn’t even there after that.
***
Rummage rummage…jingle, grab, slip, grab…drag, jingle…insert…turn turn turn, click.
As the door unlocked, I impatiently opened it fully. I took off my shoes and swiftly walked into my room. I was tired, sure, but I didn’t want to think of school right now. To get things off my mind, I fell into my chair, practically emptied my backpack, placed my notebook on my desk, and opened it with a pencil in hand and an eraser on standby.
Two finals…might as well get a head start. I need to after that performan—
No, no, nope! It’s time to study, no distractions!
***
By now, my eyes were barely keeping themselves open. I had done about 2 hours of sitting and studying by now for my so-called finals.
“This sucks!”
I yelled, promptly standing up and putting on my comfortable black hoodie and slides. I wriggled my arms around to properly snuggle into my clothes and left the building.
I’m glad I feel like leaving when Mom is asleep; I wouldn’t want to be another worry of hers. Exactly! I should head out and clear my mind…to be less of a burden to Mom…
Drip, drip, drip
The slight drizzle went on and on from clouds covering the sky and its stars, persisting in trying to wet everything despite knowing the sun would come out the next day.
Maybe I should take after it.
Crackle, split, crackle, crackle
Around 30 meters ahead on the sidewalk that I was walking along, space split.
Oh, woah, a paper cut. Cool…it’s quite rare to see one appear actively….
“Wait…what?”
It had gone from being quite large to being quite small…
“Oh, never mind.”
The portal enlarged back to its original size.
“Wait a minute!?”
If the size of the paper cut determines both the difficulty and the maximum capacity for entry of entities but its size is inconsistent, what does that entail?
Furthermore, it’s an oval, not a circle. Every paper cut is a circle, no exceptions, but this one is an oval?
I pulled out my phone and searched ‘changing oval paper cuts.’ The first one that was relevant caught my eye. It was the top comment of an older fringe forum:
‘I bet that the shape determines the dimension that the paper cut entails a change in:
- A sphere means that of the physical realm, like teleportation.
- A square one, for example, could be that of time, or a fifth dimension we have yet to discover…’
‘Time!?’ What does that mean?
I slowly inched forward, almost instinctively.
There is a famous theory in wormhole physics:
‘If a rift links to time, it can only go back to the first instance of its own kind. No further.’
“Could I possibly go back in time and…be different?”
I thought it so adamantly that I spoke it aloud.
As memories of my last expedition flooded my brain, I got closer and closer to the paper cut, gripping my pistol and muttering incantations.
I’m by no means exceptional by these current standards, yet maybe I can be exceptional outside these standards.
What if, by stepping through this odd oval paper cut, I could differ from the rest?
Just what if…?
I was inches away.
Then, I stopped.
What if I get separated into a million pieces, or stretched out indefinitely, or…di—
No, I can’t think like this, not anymore at least. My hesitance led to losses, and that’s what’s happening here. But it's now worse as, instead of leading others’ lives to misery, it's mine.
That’s right! Hesitating is only going to squander possible opportunities!
Having made my decision, I leaped into the paper cut, set on improving myself.