Ignite

by Andre Pisco

  Alec could swear that before leaving the parlor, Loras glanced and winked at him, but it was all so sudden that he ended up omitting the moment from his memory. Neil asked him to wait for everyone to leave, to avoid confusion. Again, the fear of being judged took away the possibility of having a normal life.

  Yet he seemed distracted by the beauty of the girl at his side. His pupils dilated in her presence, and he adjusted his hair every five seconds, casting her a glance, hoping she would return it. She didn’t. She kept her eyes in the center of the room, where Loras had spoken seconds ago. Unlike the rest of the people, she seemed to move between the real-life limbo and what was beyond it, so she received a few strange looks from those who were still descending the staircase.

  "Don’t think for a second you got away with it. You just got lucky" James yelled, as soon as he noticed Alec.

  His brow was furrowed, his breathing could be heard, and his diaphragm moved at high speed, as he repeated that Alec would suffer the consequences. Behind him were Max and the two other boys who appeared to be just looking for a signal to get into an altercation. There were no teachers in the room and only a few students remained. A bright, yellow light surrounded James's hand as he approached Alec. Neil grabbed Alec's arm and motioned for him to leave, but Alec refused. It wasn’t in his DNA to step down from a battle. He also knew that if he showed fear, they would take advantage of it to exploit all of his weaknesses. If he had to take a punch to show them he wasn’t going to go anywhere and that they better get accustomed to his presence, he had no problem dealing with the pain for a few days.

  "Let's see if you can hold this” James shouted, laughing along with his colleagues, only Max didn’t. He smiled slightly and adjusted his glasses.

  James' glistening fist was inches from Alec's face when he was stopped by a thin layer of green. It wasn’t thick, but it was enough to hold James's attack until his strength dissipated. The eyes all hovered over the mysterious girl, who stood up and looked at them, yawning and adjusting her official uniform, a burgundy shirt, and a black skirt, with the symbol of the academy.

  "You're making too much noise," she said. She had a soft timbre, but her gaze, surrounded by black features, sent shivers down their spines.

  "Who do you think you are?" James shouted, "Insolent. I won’t go easy on you just because you're a woman.”

  She stood still, playing with her hair, her eyes empty of hope. The fight ceased to be physical. They exchanged challenging looks, but it didn’t escalate from there. James eventually left the room, frustrated and stating that he would let the affront pass because he didn’t want to hurt a girl. As for Alec, he should be careful where he goes, as he could end up alone surrounded by people thirsting to undo him. A brutal threat, which made Neil uneasy and afraid for his roommate.

  "He didn’t seem to be joking," said Neil, with his eyes wide open, and terrified.

  "He’s not the first to do it. Don’t worry, Neil. Where I came from, the way he spoke to me was enough to get him killed. He doesn’t scare me.”

  "They told me my roommate came from a dangerous place, but I didn’t think it was that bad."

  The girl, still unknown, yawned again before walking toward the door. She didn’t utter a single word and moved as if time slowed down and waited for her. Alec stood up and released a loud “thank you!”, which made her turn around to face him. After a few seconds without saying anything, she simply left, leaving both Alec and Neil to wonder who she was and why she had helped them.

  The next day their classes would begin, and the first one would be Fighting. Alec was enthusiastic but kept his usual neutral face as Neil paced their room from side to side fearing he would fail in front of his whole class.

  Chapter III

  The class was in building 2 which was where Alec and Neil headed. The campus seemed to have come to life - the angelic music of the birds mixed with the sound of the light breeze in the air and with a student’s guitar, who was a few meters from them. Alec paused and took a deep breath, taking advantage of the differences between the limpidity of that air compared to the impurity he was accustomed to. The frantic rush of the students, running to their rooms, as soon as the bells rang broke the ideal moment, letting it be corrupted by a momentary hustle.

  "Let's go. I don’t want to be the last like yesterday," said Neil, speaking louder than usual so that his voice wouldn’t sound muffled by the noise of the dozens of shoes that were thumping on the ground.

  At the room’s door, there were about 20 people of all classes, some dressed in the official academy’s clothes, and others dressed in outfits that represented their classes. Alec's eyes focused on James’ group who seemed to be talking about him by the way they laughed and stared unobtrusively at him. Neil had his eyes on the pink-haired girl of the previous day. She was sitting, leaning against the marble wall, her eyes closed.

  The presentation’s day had culminated at that moment, in which almost half of the presents had already had a less positive interaction. Their teacher, a young man in his thirties with broad shoulders, a short t-shirt that barely fit on his body, and brown hair whose tips gave him a rebellious look that didn’t match his haughty timbre, ordered the students to sit down quickly because he didn’t want to waste time. In addition, he also had his status protected by a fog like the director.

  Once again, Alec was assaulted by a sense of wonder and greatness. The room had space for more than two dozen students, a ring in the center, and a white ceiling that matched the pale blue walls. The floor was clean, there were no cobwebs in the corners and the windows were open, letting the melody and nature’s scent join the class. The teacher introduced himself, saying that his name was Tom and that in his class they would focus on how to combat and how to use their powers. His muscular body, with protruding veins and muscles on muscles, had some difficulty fitting into the wooden chair that matched with the mahogany table, filled with paperwork and two pens with a thin point, on top.

  Tom flipped through the paperwork, passing his eyes over the students and babbling incomprehensible words. Lost in his own thoughts, it took him a few minutes to address the students.

  "I forgot. Let us clarify that wisdom is not your intelligence. Every year I must put up with freshmen that make that mistake. Does anyone know what it is?"

  Max put his finger in the air and waited for the teacher to give him permission to respond.

  "It's about how we interact with the world and the actions we take, I guess." He replied, speaking too fast.

  "Very good, you're almost there. Wisdom rises and falls according to the actions you take, especially in battles. So, if you see someone with very low wisdom, that person either is a disaster in fights or has never fought." Tom explained to them, pleased that someone had been so close. “I’ll say your names, make pairs, and you’ll fight with your pair. I want to see what your skills are. Don’t worry about your colleague's well-being. The healers in the class will deal with it," said Tom, rubbing his hands, with a slightly macabre smile, “And, please, don’t shout when you’re about to attack. I don’t care if you have a name for each of your attacks. You’re letting your enemy know what you’re about to do. Stop it.”

  “Can’t we choose our pair?” A violet-haired girl asked him.

  “Not possible. I did that in my first years as a teacher and people ended up choosing their friends and then holding back.” The teacher explained them, “Don’t think for a second that having a stronger attack or defense means that you’ll win. I’ve seen people with an attack of 100 winning over guys with a defense of 300. It’s not what you have, but how you use it. Your stats are just a combination of the experience you have, your power, and your potential at the moment.”

  Fighting ran in Tom's veins, and he longed for a surprise, for a student who proved competent enough to join the academy's wrestling team, which would take part in the tournament between academies in a few months. In dozens of years only two people had been invited in their first year; L
oras and Alma. Still, Tom rejoiced at the prospect of finding a rough diamond.

  He made pairs according to their classes and each power. He wanted each student to reach his true potential and if they had to soak themselves in blood, that was what would happen. The first pair was James and Diana, a brown-haired girl with a sloppy air and a few freckles around her nose. Before the fight began, Tom pressed a button under the table, causing the door to lock itself and blue lights to levitate around the room.

  "Very well. Now nobody can see their colleagues’ status. This is your first lesson. You must always be attentive to those around you”

  They all looked around, confused, but confirming what the teacher had said so cheerfully. The stats were imperceptible. More defensive and intelligent attitudes were needed before they set off for the attack.

  James kept his arrogant attitude. Inside the ring, he moved from one side to the other, stating that he was just wasting class time and that he could beat the target in a few seconds. His friends supported him, shouting support songs, and encouraging him to end the fight quickly. The professor sat in silence, following each of the opponent's movements. Diana didn’t move, even as James approached her, taunting her, waiting for her to react. Despite his ego, it frightened him not to know what her powers were, whether she was good at close combat, or better at a distance. Vision was nothing when the rest of the body was blind.

  She took a step forward, and he stepped back. She smiled wickedly, and manipulated her right hand, freezing the ring and preventing James from moving. His feet were caught in a kind of ice crystal, while his nose dripped, and his hair froze. James's teeth creaked and he struggled to move, resembling an animal trapped in a corral whose desire to leave is greater than the danger of being caught. However, it seemed impossible. Frustration gathered in his face, allowing a prominent vein to appear on his forehead, which along with his large eyes were the only two perfectly visible features on his face.

  "It seems that this fight has already ended,” said the teacher, getting up and approaching the ring, to analyze the consistency of the ice.

  "No, not yet," James shouted, struggling, even more, to free himself from the icy prison that surrounded him, "I can still move."

  "You have 10 seconds to get out of there, or I'll end the fight."

  "I will not lose here! Much less against a girl.”

  A look of discomfort spread over the girls’ face, who exchanged a few murmurs among themselves, complaining about James's words. His frustration turned to anger, flowing through his body to his fist. His HP was still good, but he was unable to move. He was too far away to hit Diana with an attack, so he took a risky stance, pounding the ice around him until his feet recovered their freedom. His bones were red and swollen, but the momentary adrenaline drained the pain away from his thoughts. The cold around the ring slowed him, but he moved anyway.

  "He doesn’t give up," Neil commented.

  "It seems he’s more than he looks. He's fighting for something. Only one who has a reason to fight does not see the end in front of him,” Alec said, focusing on the combat.

  "Silence. Concentrate on the combat. Next class, it might be you against one of them.” Tom said with his rasping voice.

  The pink-haired girl had her eyes closed but her head moved subtly, following James and Diana’s bodies.

  James concentrated what was left of his energy in his fist, prompting Diana to create a thick ice shield that transmitted her 3-dimensional face to those on the opposite side of her. Still, he didn’t give up and punched her defense, dragging the soles of his shoes through the ice that melted in the center of the ring as he moved forward and down the ropes. The teacher's enthusiasm grew - he leaned into the ring, shouting that James had to go beyond his limit if he genuinely wanted to win. His eyes glittered, and they pricked quickly as he allowed himself to be carried by his emotions.

  "Don’t you think he likes it too much?" Neil murmured.

  Alec nodded but didn’t look away from the fight. A bubbling roused within him, awakening his latent desire to reach a level that would leave everyone at home with their mouths open. For a moment, he left his altruistic will aside and focused on himself, and how strong he wanted to be. In the power, he wished to have so that he no longer needed to return home with bruised knees and ragged fingers after running from those who wanted to rob him and hurt him.

  James's fist pierced Diana's shield, which for the first time showed some apprehension in her face, her eyes widening in fear. Her defense, previously impenetrable, was now nothing more than a cluster of ice flakes on the verge of shattering. She stepped back, letting him get closer, his eyes half-closed, preventing the ice fog around him from obscuring his vision.

  However, in a matter of seconds, the fight had a turnaround that gave the victory to Diana. James lying down, with an ice blanket on top, preventing him from moving. The murmurs increased, with several students wondering what had happened in such a short amount of time. Neil rubbed his eyes and looked once more at the ring.

  "What just happened?" He asked, "It looked like James had the victory in his hand."

  "His eyes were so distracted by the victory that they didn’t see what was happening around him," Alec replied, keeping his gaze on the ring, and Diana, who smiled, showing shamelessly her yellow, deformed teeth.

  "Someone is paying attention. Anyone other than that dude that can tell me what happened?" Tom asked, pointing at Alec.

  "She took advantage of his slowness to deviate from his punch, moving to his back and tossing him to the ground with the force of her ice and then she just had to hold him there." Answered a boy with blue eyes and white hair, a symmetrical face and thick lips, gently arched upward. He had yet to trim his tabs and had a slim body despite how powerful and serene he looked as he spoke.

  "Very well. Both of you, into the ring!" Tom ordered.

  Diana's ice evaporated on James's back, wetting and soaking him. As soon as he got up, he looked around, water trickling down his clothes and his hair. No one said anything, but the silence affected him. He kept his face down, his fist clenched and trembling.

  "Never assume someone's power just because they might look weaker than you, especially if it's a girl. Let this be a lesson to you and to everyone," Tom said seriously.

  Without a word, James turned his back and walked to the door, much to everyone’s surprise. The noise of his shoes echoed through the room, as did the drops from his chin as they splashed on the floor. He left the room. The sound of the door closing echoed through the room due to the strength he used.

  "Let him go. He needs to learn that he will not always win, but that losing is an invitation to become even stronger." The teacher said while Alec and the boy, who introduced himself as Lucian, stood still in the fighting ring.

  Lucian's face and the way he kept his arms down and glued to his body conveyed safety and serenity. He was neither frightened nor enthusiastic. Alec maintained his seriousness and wished his opponent good luck. He didn’t respond. The order to start the fight was given, but no one moved. Both tried to read and predict what would be the first step of the other in an attempt to gain the initial advantage.

  Alec didn’t know Lucian's class, but he was afraid the boy had seen him fighting on his first day. His heart was beating louder than the students who exchanged comments, and his body resembled a furnace. Nervousness accelerated the fire inside him, making him stronger and more dangerous. The water that was still in the ring from the previous fight began to bubble, evaporating as the temperature in the room rose to scorching levels. Sweat dripped down the body of the students, forcing some to sit down as soon as their minds numbed.

  Still, Lucian didn’t look surprised or scared. His forehead was gleaming, his cheeks rosy, but he didn’t remove the academy’s official clothes. He took a ring from his right finger and pressed its purple crystal. The ring wrapped itself in a purple light, and within a few seconds, it became a gray sword, sharp and shiny, and seemingly light by
the way Lucian easily handled it.

  "A well-equipped knight," Alec said, smiling at the challenge.

  "I wasn’t expecting to have to use it so early, but you don’t seem to be the kind of adversary I should underestimate."

  "Less talk, more fighting," Tom shouted, his smile gradually increasing.

  Alec took the initiative, sending three waves of fist-shaped fire at Lucian. The boy wielded his sword and maneuvered it in perfectly. He threw a scythe of light that when it hit the waves, it made them disappear, causing a small explosion in the center of the ring that didn’t affect any of them. The attacks left behind a fog in the middle of the ring, which Lucian took advantage of, hurling himself through the mists and catching Alec by surprise. He didn’t have time to protect himself and was thrown to the floor as soon as the elbow of his opponent hit him on the right side of the face. In addition to the mark he had left on, with the stripes outlined as if he'd been stepped on, he'd dirty the white floor of the ring with red, due to the blood that trickled down the fragile skin of his lips. He rubbed them with the back of his hand and stood up. He had lost 15HP. He adjusted his clothes and focused on Lucian.

  Long-distance attacks wouldn’t work on Lucian and getting close to him could prove tricky if he had a card up his sleeve. He took a deep breath, calming his heartbeat, and struggled to devise a way to make Lucian come closer. He looked around, noticing the tinted windowpanes, the professor's hairy, wet eyebrows, and even Max's colorless t-shirt, which was now gray in order to disguise itself in the fog. The corner of Alec's mouth curved, and he raised his hands as if offering a sacrifice to a god. The whole ring erupted. The flames of garish color scattered across the four corners, imprisoning Lucian inside a cage. Finally, Alec took off his clothes and revealed a black symbol on his chest, that made most of the students whisper to each other.