Supermage

by Aaron Oster

  “And what exactly is your rank?” Morgan asked, swallowing a chunk of bread.

  Sarah debated for a moment before letting out a sigh.

  “I may as well tell you, seeing as you told me about yours. It’s only right. I’m a rank 6 mage and my ability is called freezing water. I have three skills, icicle spear, condense water and frostbite. Icicle spear allows me to launch spears made of ice, condense water allows me to control water and gives me the ability to freeze it; and frostbite allows me to freeze the water in the air around a specific target to reduce their speed by 30 percent. I also have my mage shield, so I can take quite a bit of punishment.”

  Morgan was shocked to hear that.

  He’d known Sarah was powerful, but rank 6 at her age? Gimple and Sqwee were at least in their twenties, and they had had lower ranks than her.

  “What’s a mage shield?” Morgan asked.

  He could now clearly make out the sound of hoof beats and even distant voices. They had a few more minutes at most.

  In response, a blue glow suddenly emanated from Sarah, completely coating her skin.

  “What exactly are the benefits of this thing?” He asked, walking over and prodding her arm.

  It felt slippery and springy.

  She swatted his hand away and allowed the shield to fade.

  “A mage shield is an additional layer of defense that mages can conjure by manipulating their mana. Despite our constitution growing at the same rate as supers, a mage’s skin just isn’t as durable, so we have a shield to make up for it.”

  “How can I conjure one of my own?” Morgan asked, excitedly.

  If he could use a mage shield, then his defense would be twice as strong!

  “I’ll explain later. It’ll take some time and we don’t exactly have any right now,” Sarah said, pointing out toward the road.

  Morgan turned and saw a small line of black specs growing larger by the second.

  They were here a lot sooner than he’d thought they would be.

  “What’s the best way to break through a mage shield?”

  “Either hit it hard enough, or use a skill that has a lot of penetrating power. I would recommend using your wind blade in this fight. If any of them are at rank 6 or above, their constitution will likely be high enough to counter your heavy handed skill.”

  He nodded and turned back to watch the approaching force. He could now make them out clearly. There were six men dressed in uniform of the city guard and a seventh wearing regular clothes.

  That must be the tracker, he realized.

  As he watched, the man’s head swiveled in their direction and he pointed towards their hiding spot.

  “Looks like they’ve found us,” Morgan said, turning to Sarah. “So what’s the plan?”

  Sarah, looking noticeably more pale now, swallowed nervously.

  “We let them approach and wait for them to dismount. They likely have orders to bring us both back alive and they may not yet know of your abilities. Once they start talking, I’ll single out the strongest person in the group. Take him out first and we’ll go from there.”

  Morgan grunted as the riders turned their horses off the road and approached at a trot.

  “Not much of a plan.”

  “It’s the best we’ve got,” she responded.

  Morgan watched as the group of soldiers approached their hiding spot, but stopped about twenty feet from the outcropping.

  “We know you’re in there,” the man in the lead called out. “Come on out Lady Sarah, your father sent us to fetch you.”

  Sarah walked past him and out into the open, her hands raised in front of her. Morgan followed behind, hands raised as well, as he took in the soldiers before him.

  As they dismounted, Morgan could see the telltale blue glow of a mage shield surrounding four of the men.

  It looked like they weren’t taking any chances.

  The other two had no shield, meaning they were likely supers. It didn’t escape his notice that the seventh man in the group did not dismount. He, in fact, had stayed on the road, a good forty feet away from them and looked ready to bolt at the first sign of a fight.

  Sarah stopped a few feet away from the lead soldier. Morgan stopped beside her.

  “Lady Sarah,” the man started, taking a step forward and holding his arms out to the side. He had a cocky smile on his face and a blue mage shield surrounding his body. “It’s so good to see you. Your father is most worried about you.”

  The man was squat and bulky, with black hair and beady eyes. He looked every bit like a person who got what he wanted by bullying those weaker than him.

  “Hicks, you lowlife piece of shit,” Sarah responded in a flat tone, “of course my father would send you.”

  She turned slowly and examined the mage standing right behind him. “And it would appear he’s sent Malcom as well.”

  “Lady Sarah! Such vulgar language is unbecoming of a Lady of nobility.” Hicks feigned a shocked expression. “Clearly being around this filth has corrupted you, but do not fear. We have explicit orders to bring him back alive, so your father can give him the punishment he deserves.”

  Morgan saw Sarah tip her head ever so slightly towards the two people she’d named.

  So they must be the biggest threats at the moment.

  “I’m sure he will,” Sarah said, as a half smile formed on her lips. “But tell me something, you, pompous turd, how many of you will die before you can subdue me?”

  At those words, all the soldiers tensed and the few that were carrying weapons reached for them. Hicks didn’t look worried at all.

  “I would prefer it if you’d just come quietly, my Lady,” he said. He looked at his fingernails as if bored. “After all, it’s six against one and we have orders not to hurt you.”

  That was when Morgan acted. In his mind, the idiot was asking for it by dropping his guard that much in a hostile environment.

  He activated wind blade and tailwind simultaneously, then dashed forward. He covered the few feet between them in an instant and thrust the blade toward Hicks. The whirling blade impacted the mage shield with a loud shriek and was halted in place.

  Hicks sneered down at him as the attack was seemingly repelled.

  “Did you really think that such weak attack…” he started.

  There was a sound like shattering glass and the spinning blade punched a hole straight through the shield. The whirling lance of air tore into his chest, tearing it to bloody chunks before emerging out of his back.

  7

  Everyone stared in shock as Hicks’ body hit the ground. Everyone - except for Morgan - who took the opportunity to dart forward and bury the spinning cone of air into another mage’s chest.

  This one was much weaker and there was almost no resistance. He spun quickly and activated wind blade again, sweeping his other arm in an arc toward a third mage.

  The new blade destroyed the man’s head in a shower of gore. His body fell to the ground as well. He knew surprise would only get him so far and Morgan was forced to jump back, barely avoiding a sword strike aimed for his neck.

  He felt his tailwind skill run out and took a moment to take stock of their situation.

  Three mages were down, including the most dangerous one and Sarah was fighting against Malcom.

  That left him with the unpleasant task of taking on two supers alone.

  He felt a tingling sensation throughout his body. As the two men approached, he tried his best to ignore the pleasant sensation of ranking up. They were moving cautiously; now well aware of the danger he posed.

  Good.

  He knew that they would now think twice about rushing in to overwhelm him.

  The one with a sword came in and swung at his head, attempting to decapitate him. Morgan dodged back, while activating tailwind. He then darted forward and attempted to skewer the man the same way as the mages, but they were apparently waiting for this. One of them stomped his foot and a shockwave went through the ground.
<
br />   Morgan felt his speed drastically slow down as the solid stone turned to mud under his feet. The other guard lunged forward with his sword once more and this time, Morgan wasn’t quick enough to dodge.

  He hissed in pain as the icy steel ripped into his shoulder, leaving a bloody gash. The other soldier swung then and Morgan just managed to twist his body to avoid a fatal blow. The guard’s fist, which had been aimed for his head, connected with his left arm instead. He heard the sound of crunching bone and cried out in pain, as he was sent flying a good ten feet; his arm completely shattered.

  He hit the ground hard and rolled a few times to try and lessen the impact. Grimacing in pain, he forced himself back onto his feet as the two supers approached him. They now looked a whole lot more confident.

  He’d lost control of his wind blade when his arm had been shattered and his tailwind had just run out again. Morgan gritted his teeth as pain, more horrible than any he’d felt before now, radiated from his arm. He didn’t look at it, instead trying to focuse on the two men swimming in and out of focus.

  “Well, looks like the brat is just about finished,” the guard holding the sword said. “Do you think we should bring him back alive like Lord Simon said?”

  “Nah, it’s too risky. Better kill him now and explain to Lord Simon when we get back.”

  Morgan gritted his teeth as a plan formed in his mind.

  It would be risky, but if it succeeded he would have a chance of winning this fight.

  Morgan rushed forward, his arm banging painfully against his side.

  The unarmed guard just sneered and stomped his foot, turning the ground to mud once more. As man with the sword stepped forward, Morgan used fly and shot toward him. The guard, not expecting this move, panicked and thrust his sword at Morgan in a desperate bid to end him. Morgan again managed to avoid a fatal blow, catching the sword through his already damaged left shoulder.

  He yelled in agony as he continued forward, the blade going clean through him as he closed with the guard. He activated heavy handed and swung mightily, crushing the stunned guard’s skull. As the man dropped, he tried to continue on toward the next guard, but the pain in his shoulder made him lose control of his chi and he hit the ground just a few feet away from him.

  His vision flickered as the guard stepped forward and tore the blade from his shoulder. He stared down at Morgan with hatred in his eyes, then raised the blade over his head to finish him off.

  Morgan closed his eyes, waiting for the blow that would end him. Nothing happened. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and saw the man staring down at his chest, where a massive chunk of ice had impaled him from behind.

  The guard stared down at Morgan for a few moments, incomprehension in his eyes. Then he toppled backwards, the sword slipping from his grasp and clattering against the ground.

  Morgan saw Sarah running towards him. He could vaguely make out a body lying a few feet behind her.

  Good, she’d managed to kill the other mage.

  He could feel a tingling sensation running through him, and wondered if this was what dying felt like. Then darkness claimed him and he passed out.

  ∞

  He awoke some time later. It was dark out and there was a small fire burning off to his left. Morgan groaned as he began to push himself up, expecting at any moment, to be wracked by pain. When no pain was forthcoming, he steeled himself and peered down at his left arm. What he saw was a whole and unblemished limb.

  He rotated his shoulder, not feeling even an ounce of discomfort. As he got to his feet, he heard someone call out to him.

  “Oh good. You’re awake,” said an unfamiliar voice.

  Morgan’s head whipped around and saw a man seated near Sarah by the fire. He had a kindly face, with light blue eyes. His brown hair fell just below his shoulders.

  He looked to Sarah next. She looked tired, but had a wide smile on her face as she rose to greet him.

  “What happened?” Morgan asked.

  Sarah hugged him, then took his hand and led him to the fire.

  He sat down and the man handed him a bowl of something, along with a wooden spoon. Morgan nodded to the man in thanks, then dug right in. He hadn’t realized how hungry he’d been until he took his first bite of the savory broth.

  It was warm and delicious, and Morgan was quick to take another bite. As he ate, Sarah explained what had happened.

  “I had just finished off Malcom when I saw that guard about to finish you. I managed to kill him before he got the chance, but by the time I got to you, you had already passed out. You were losing blood quickly and your arm was a total wreck.,” she paused for a moment, shuddering at the memory of the bloody mess.

  “I thought you were going to die. Then Samuel came along.” Sarah gestured to the man who was still smiling kindly at Morgan.

  “He has powerful healing magic and fixed you up good as new. You slept for a few hours, but Samuel said that healing can take a lot out of a person.”

  Morgan put down the bowl and slowly turned toward the man, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

  “You just happened to be out here? Out in the middle of nowhere?”

  He might owe this man his life, but he’d be a fool to trust him.

  “Morgan,” Sarah hissed, glaring at him. “This man just saved your life! The least you can do is be courteous!”

  Samuel, however, raised his hand in a placating gesture.

  “There’s no need, miss,” he said. “Your friend is correct of course; it is quite suspicious of me to be out here.”

  He turned to look at Morgan, his smile never faltering. “I won’t tell you what I’m doing here, but I will give you one piece of advice. Be more careful while using your power, or else you’ll never advance enough to awaken your supermage ability.”

  Morgan felt his heart skip a beat as the man rose to his feet and dusted himself off.

  “How did you…?” Morgan began.

  “Know?” Samuel smiled, and his eyes flashed in the firelight. “I know many things; but I think I’ll keep that particular piece of information to myself.”

  He turned to look at Sarah, who looked just as shocked as Morgan.

  “Take care of yourself young miss.”

  Then he turned and began walking away.

  “Wait,” Morgan shouted, getting quickly to his feet. “Who are you?”

  Samuel turned one last time, the kindly smile still on his face. “I’m only a wanderer, young Morgan.”

  Morgan opened his mouth to ask what he meant, but the man simply vanished, disappearing into thin air.

  Morgan stared at the empty space for a few seconds before turning to look at Sarah.

  “I’m not going crazy, am I?”

  Sarah shook her head dumbly. “No, I also just saw a man disappear into thin air.”

  Morgan walked back to the fire and sat down with a grunt; his mind racing.

  This man had somehow recognized him for what he was. Did that mean that others could, as well? He was also able to heal him completely and then had vanished into thin air.

  This entire situation was just plain bizarre.

  The two of them sat in silence as the fire cracked and popped before them. The silence was suddenly broken by a horse’s nickering. Morgan was on his feet in an instant, a wind blade already forming on his arm as he readied himself for an attack.

  “Morgan. Calm down. We’re not under attack. I kept two of the horses, because I know we’ll have need of them in the coming weeks.”

  Morgan dismissed his wind blade and sat back down. He could feel his heart racing, which he found quite odd.

  Wouldn’t this new chi-heart react differently than the old one? Then again, it did function in its place, so maybe this was to be expected, he reasoned to himself.

  “I know that we killed all the soldiers. Shouldn’t we be safe for at least a few more days?” Morgan asked.

  “You’re forgetting about the tracker,” Sarah said, with a regretful sigh. “The momen
t he saw that the guards were losing, he took off back to City Four. My father likely already knows about you having an ability. When he sends people after us this time, they will be much too strong for us to kill.”

  “So what do we do now?” Morgan asked.

  “Well, for starters, I would recommend looking at your status,” Sarah said, with a weary smile.

  “I moved up an entire rank from that fight, and it’s taken me years just to get where I am now. It would appear that killing others with abilities is a fast way to rank up.”

  She shivered a little, her face going pale at the memory of the lives she’d taken. She felt suddenly ill.

  “You had no choice. Either it was us, or them. Don’t let it bother you,” Morgan said, patting her on the back.

  She smiled at him and Morgan could tell it was forced. He decided that a change of topic would probably be best.

  “Are we still heading for the school in the Central Kingdom?”

  “Yes,” Sarah said, getting to her feet. “I think I’ll get some sleep now. You should too. We have a hard few days of riding ahead of us.”

  Morgan nodded, assuring Sarah he would be going to sleep soon. He leaned back against a rock and stretched mightily.

  It felt good to have all his limbs intact.

  He then manipulated a tendril of his mana and chi to open his status and see what he’d gotten from his near death experience.

  Name: Morgan

  Super: Rank - 3

  Energy to next rank - 466/1,300

  Mage: Rank - 3

  Energy to next rank - 1,042/1,300

  Super ability - Gravity

  Mage ability - Air

  CP - 150/150 (Regen - 1.6 per second)

  MP - 150/150 (Regen - 1.6 per Second)

  Strength - 14

  Agility - 18

  Constitution - 14

  Intelligence - 15

  Wisdom - 16

  Super skills - Fly, Heavy handed

  Mage skills - Wind blade, Tailwind

  Morgan was more than a little surprised.

  He’d moved up a full two ranks in both abilities. Those last people he’d fought must have been much stronger than the two guards he’d killed back in City Four. He was also fairly certain by now that destroying the chi, or mana-heart would give him more towards his next rank.