by Weiqi Wang
The mind attack from the focalization must have done some damage, so Omifo bet that Kriagon couldn’t afford to take the diffusion. That meant that, once Omifo hit the target, he would win. With that in mind, Omifo struggled to stand against the gale and almost finished his spell when a blast of flame seized him.
‘Ahh!’ Omifo hurriedly got down to the ground and rolled the fire out, but his incantation was cut off.
‘Omi!’ There came a scream from the audience as Vivarin shot to her feet. Soarame and the others also stood up, looking at the stage anxiously.
His firebolt got me? Omifo looked at the burning wound on his chest in disbelief. How could this guy aim when he couldn’t see?
‘Omifo, you will lose!’ Although Kriagon couldn’t see, he heard the painful cry and knew his firebolt had hit.
Omifo gritted his teeth to fight the sharp pain and performed a healing spell warmth of sunshine to treat the wound. The gale was still roaring around him, leaves from the trees swept in front of him and the noise drowned out the yells from the crowd.
On the other hand, Kriagon was not affected by the gale he had summoned at all. He pointed his wand and shot three firebolts at Omifo.
Scattering shot? So he can’t tell where exactly I am, but he’s trying to cover an area! Omifo was suddenly enlightened; it seemed that the last hit on his chest had just been luck. The problem was that fire can be boosted by wind and become really hard to put out, so Omifo had to make sure he dodged them this time. Fortunately, he made it; but just when he was about to fire back, the wind suddenly became stronger and he was almost blown over again.
Apparently, Kriagon wasn’t stupid. Upon hearing that the last round of attacks missed, he knew that Omifo had got used to the gale and made attempt to stop Omifo from getting back his balance. Omifo cursed inside, but had to bear with it and redo his diffusion. This time, the spell was out and it got Kriagon, but it only interrupted his incantation; it didn’t make him pass out. Omifo was in shock; this didn’t make sense — no Grade-3 wizard could bear a focalization plus a diffusion! Especially under the sunshine, where Light magic is enhanced — wait, where’s the sunshine?
Omifo looked up to the sky, finding a big cloud blocking the Sun. At the same time, Soarame and his friends also noticed what had happened. ‘Really? The Wind spells blew clouds to cover the Sun, and reduced Omifo’s Light power?’
Is this planned or just a coincidence? On the stage, Omifo was anxious to see this unexpected situation. Kriagon would soon get his vision back, so Omifo must do something fast, but his Light magic was largely jeopardised and there was not much he could do — unless he charged at Kriagon and wrestled him, but the wind wouldn’t let Omifo get close.
{Wind can bring the clouds, so can it take them. } Just as Omifo was at a loss, he heard a strange voice from out of nowhere. The voice sounded so far away, yet also so near, like a whisper in his head. Omifo was startled and looked around — there was nobody beside him on the stage; where did the voice come from then?
There was no time for deep thinking. Omifo had to leave the question aside and follow the solution. Biting his lips and hiding from another wave of firebolts, Omifo began to run in the blowing wind. Kriagon was nervous to hear Omifo’s footsteps and increased the wind power to reduce Omifo’s mobility.
As Kriagon stopped shooting firebolts and repeatedly summoned wind, the wind blew stronger and stronger. More and more hats from the stadium flew up into the air, forming scattered dots in the sky. Facing the powerful gusts, Omifo tried all he could to stumble back and forth, but made no attempts at attacking. This went on for several minutes, until Kriagon saw the brightness — his eyesight was finally recovered.
At the same time, everyone saw the brightness too — the sun was finally revealed from behind the clouds. Everyone stood up and cheered at Omifo’s action. Even Sachastain chortled, standing in a corner of the stadium; he had walked by to see the match and lost his hat to the wind.
The two players on stage were beyond tired. Kriagon’s mind ocean was almost dried up; Omifo sat down on the ground breathing heavily. However, neither wanted to quit. Seeing that, the audience were clapping, cheering and whistling in waves, to encourage the strong wills of the two competitors.
The overheated atmosphere on the stadium encouraged the two boys. Both of them struggled to prepare their last attack. The teachers on site started to worry because the two young students were getting ready to charge ahead in a battle that could lead to a life-threatening result. Vivarin was the most nervous; she had witnessed really bad accidents before. The friends shouted to Omifo, asking him to quit, but Omifo refused to listen.
‘Omifo, here I come!’ After quite a while of incantation, Kriagon waved his magic wand, sending a barrage of five windblades. Kriagon chose to use windblades because they were faster than firebolts and thus harder to dodge. And they were not aimlessly thrown — each of them was in precise control to seal all possible angles that Omifo could escape from.
‘Watch out, Omi!’ Vivarin screamed.
‘Ahhh!’ Before Vivarin’s voice faded, Omifo shouted in pain and Kriagon dropped to the ground. Seeing no way to escape, Omifo gave up dodging and was hit by two windblades. At the same time, he managed to shoot out a concentrated stream of diffusion. As a result, Kriagon was knocked black right away. Omifo was also seriously hurt — one of the blades had cut through his leg, creating a bleeding wound, and another went through his rib and cut through a bone.
Everyone was scared by the bloody scene. Vivarin dashed to the stage to check on Omifo. Teachers and nurses also charged forward, some healing Omifo and others checking on Kriagon. The result of the match was clear: Kriagon had lost, and Omifo had won at great cost.
‘The windblades missed the main veins. He’s lucky to just have a broken rib, and it will heal soon.’ Teachers and nurses were examining and treating Omifo concurrently. Thanks to the healing spells, Omifo’s surface wounds healed quickly and the broken bone was also reconnected. Omifo’s friends had gathered around him; Vivarin watched Omifo with tear-filled eyes, until he struggled to get up and smiled at her. Vivarin stared at Omifo, turned her head, and walked away without a word. With a bitter smile, Omifo had to chase after Vivarin.
Teachers were smiling as they watched the scene, but suddenly there came a shout from near Kriagon. ‘Come quick, this boy is not going to make it!’
‘Where did Omifo go? I can’t find him anywhere!’ Catheray complained, arriving at Soarame’s dorm. ‘He ran after his girlfriend once he healed? Does he not realise that he almost killed Kriagon?’
‘I don’t understand this! I thought Kriagon only passed out? Why did they think he wouldn’t make it?’ Kardiac was worried; he heard the teachers’ screaming like everyone else did. ‘Is it really that bad?’
‘Yes, it’s worse than it looked.’ Soarame sighed. ‘Kriagon was attacked when he was exhausted, he had no mind power to defend himself from the mind-attack...’ he tailed off.
‘What! Kriagon might die?’ Omifo returned to the dorm with Vivarin later, shocked by the news. ‘I made that happen?’
‘Omi, don’t blame yourself. The whole thing went out of control, and the one in hospital could easily be you.’ Soarame comforted Omifo while the rest nodded. ‘Rodka may come back soon with news.’
‘Omi is a Grade-3, his spell shouldn’t cause death.’ Halgon tried to calm his friends. ‘However, Kriagon could be hurt badly and it will take a long time for him to recover. At worst, the damage could be permanent and he might lose the ability to practice magic.’
Halgon’s words shocked everyone. The friends shifted around nervously in their seats, talking about how terrible it would be to lose their powers, when the door suddenly opened.
‘Kriagon is fine!’ Rodka walked in.
‘Fine?’ Everyone cheered with relief and hugged each other.
‘Yes, he’s out of danger, but he may lose his wizard qualification.’ Rodka said soberly.
‘That was
… exactly what Halgon predicted.’ All turned their heads towards Halgon. ‘How did you know that? And tell us you also know how to solve the problem, please!’
‘I’m sorry, I don’t.’ Halgon had to sigh. ‘But there might be something we can try, if Soarame agrees…’
THE CURE
Kriagon was lying in the institute’s hospital. He felt woozy and his entire body ached.
‘Why did this happen to me?’ He kept repeating to himself, crying. He’d been devastated after the teachers had told him that he might lose his magic powers forever. Kriagon couldn’t tell them how much he regretted this, and blamed himself over and over again. He had risked his life for a stupid tournament that nobody actually cared about, at the end of the day. Plus, he did not win anyway.
From a window, Omifo watched in silence as Kriagon wept. He blamed himself for causing Kriagon’s condition, but was also aware that it could easily have been him lying there. The hairs rose on the back of his neck when he thought about it and he shivered.
Omifo took a deep breath and cautiously opened the door, followed by all of his friends. Kriagon was mad once he saw Omifo, but he couldn’t do anything about it.
‘I am sorry, Kriagon...’ What else could Omifo say?
‘So what?’ Kriagon cried faintly. ‘How about I beat you to a pulp then say sorry?’
‘Hey, Omi didn’t mean this. You didn’t attack any less seriously than him; you broke his bones! The windblade could have gone through his heart!’ Exclaimed Kardiac.
Kriagon kept quiet for a moment, feeling that he was no more innocent than Omifo, and then started to cry again.
‘It’s okay Kriagon, we come to cure you.’ Soarame hurriedly said. ‘You’ll get better.’
‘All the bad things happened because of you! What can you do to cure me?’ Kriagon kept weeping. ‘Even the Dean said that I am handicapped. What can you do?’
‘We’ve brought you medicine.’ Soarame walked up with a bottle in hand. ‘Take this and you should be cured.’
‘Nonsense! All the doctors and professors said there’s no cure!’ Kriagon was crying hysterically.
‘Kriagon, I know what you are thinking. I had the same thought in the beginning.’ Said Kardiac. ‘We think alike and even look alike, so you have to trust me! Even if you don’t trust them!’
‘What logic is that?’ Kriagon was not sure if he should be mad or amused by this.
‘At least I’m treating you as a friend, okay?’ Kardiac walked over to Kriagon; the friends had to admit that they did look alike somehow. ‘So, I must warn you as a friend that we are taking a great risk to treat you. You must sign a non-disclosure magic pact about this — you can never tell anyone we were once here to help you, and never ask us anything about the medicine!’
Kriagon silently watched this chubby boy in front of him. He didn’t know why, but he decided to believe him, for the odd logic that he refused to buy only seconds ago. So Kriagon signed a magic pact before taking the medicine and opening it. ‘What is this? It smells!’
‘You want to be cured or not? Why are you being such a wimp?’ Barked Kardiac.
‘Come and smell it yourself!’ Kriagon barked back. ‘I’m not taking this weird drug that you guys brought from nowhere.’
‘Do you want your wizard ability back, or do you wanna lose it?’ Soarame commanded. ‘The medicine can cure your mind ocean injury, but it needs to be taken as soon as possible because it decays, so stop wasting time like this!’
‘How do I know this can cure me? I don’t believe you anymore!’ Kriagon changed his mind due to the overwhelming smell, and wanted to throw the bottle away.
‘Hold him, plan B!’ Soarame shouted to Halgon while grabbing Kriagon’s hand with the bottle. ‘Let’s hope it’s still fresh.’
Halgon hadn’t said a word since being in the room, because there was only one reason why he came here — he jumped at the speed of lightning and grasped the struggling Kriagon tight.
‘What the hell? How dare you!’ Kriagon was freaked out to see this. ‘Nurse! Somebody help!’
Everyone was disappointed by Kriagon’s reaction, but they were well prepared. Rodka and the girls were guarding the door, and they had created a magic seal to silence any noise from the room.
‘Halg, you bull!’ Soarame was astonished to witness Halgon’s strength. Kardiac forced open Kriagon’s mouth. ‘Shut up and drink it!’
Kriagon resisted and yelled at first, only to find himself choking. He then settled, took in the situation, and decided that he would take his revenge after these people left him alone.
I will kill you all! Kriagon had to swallow the entire bottle of the drug, despite the strong smell. Grinding his teeth after all this had happened, Kriagon stared at Soarame’s crew. ‘Soarame, you’d better kill me right now, or you will regret it!’
‘Shut up man! How do you feel now?’ Kardiac asked. ‘I told you we are here to help, believe it or not!’
‘Well, I’ll help you back very soon!’ Kriagon yelled at Kardiac. ‘I thought we were friends!’
‘We are, damn it!’ Kardiac yelled back. ‘Just check your mind ocean!’
‘Ha!’ An angry Kriagon unwittingly followed Kardiac’s words, visualising his own mind ocean once again —
In his mind somewhere, a dried up mind ocean exposed the ocean bed, with a number of remarkable cracks caused by Omifo’s mind attacks. It was these cracks that wouldn’t allow his mind ocean to refill; and this was why Kriagon had lost his magic powers — if there is a big hole in the bottom of the tank, how could one fill the tank back up?
This happened because Kriagon’s mind ocean was already dried up when he was hit, so Omifo’s mind attack had hit the ocean bed without any buffering from the “ocean water”. Luckily, Omifo was a Grade-3 wizard with insufficient power to crush the ocean bed and hurt Kriagon’s soul; otherwise it would have killed him.
This was a vivid example of the possible severities of mind attacks. There was no joking with mind attacks, and this was the reason that enriching one’s mind ocean was always treated as the top priority of every wizard.
While Kriagon was scanning all this once again, he didn’t hold out any hope for a better situation. However, he soon discovered something completely stunning — the cracks in his ocean bed were diminishing slowly, with some small ones even about to vanish! This hadn’t happened despite the best attempts from highly skilled doctors and professors, because it was impossible to treat ocean bed cracks in ordinary ways — especially the biggest one in the centre. Nonetheless, that horrible big crack had obviously shrunk!
‘This is...’ Kriagon couldn’t help screaming. ‘This is unbelievable!’
‘Now you believe us?’ Seeing the unwritten word “success” in Kriagon’s face, Halgon relieved a breath. ‘I’m going to let go of you, promise me you won’t do anything stupid.’
‘I... I promise.’ Kriagon was still trying to recover from his shock. Halgon stepped away from Kriagon; Kriagon looked towards Halgon with new respect — only after experiencing it for himself could he believe how incredibly strong this boy was. Being grasped by him was like being seized by a beast, which really didn’t feel good. But anyway… the wounded mind ocean had healed, just like that? So many things had happened to Kriagon today, his brain could not quite process it all.
‘To be honest, I still can’t believe it really worked.’ Back in the dorm, the girls looked at Halgon with amazement in their eyes. ‘How did you come up with this creepy idea anyway?’
‘I was just giving it a desperate try. There’s no other solution anyway; everything else had failed.’ Halgon had to chuckle. ‘I was hoping there was store of dragon blood in the school, but there’s not.’
Dragon blood was well known as a top-ranking cure to almost every type of injury in a human, including mind-ocean injuries. But it was extremely hard to extract blood from a dragon, so it was vanishingly rare.
‘Yes, but why did you think Snower’s pee could compete with
dragon blood?’ Rodka was not satisfied with Halgon’s answer. ‘Why don’t the professors know about this, but you do?’
‘If I say I’m just guessing, will you guys believe me?’ Halgon shrugged his shoulders. ‘I’ve seen lots of magimals during the hatching process, and none were even close to Snower’s. You guys still remember the scene, right?’
‘Of course, but that doesn’t guarantee the pee will work as a cure.’ Soarame knew Halgon was talking about the burst of Energy of Life when Snower was hatched. Dragon blood was a powerful medicine because it contained enormous amount of Energy of Life in it, and it was this special energy that could heal the wound. Halgon believed that Snower’s pee could do the same thing, and that’s how he found the cure.
‘If the pee doesn’t work, we’ll have to try her blood and it will work.’ Halgon was confident, and the fact proved that he was right. ‘But Snower is too young, so I’m trying to avoid drawing blood from her.’
‘But if it doesn’t work, Kriagon took it for nothing.’ Kardiac giggled. ‘Halg, you are bad! Poor Kriagon, he signed a magic pact so he couldn’t even ask anything.’
‘Don’t you think that’s better for him?’ Everyone had to chuckle.
‘Snower, what are you anyway?’ Soarame held Snower in his arms and checked her up and down; she still looked like a normal kitten.
‘I think she wants to know the answer too.’ Rodka looked in Snower’s innocent eyes. ‘We should try searching for the answer again.’
‘I agree! The library accident shouldn’t stop us.’ Dileys was the first one to second Rodka, and was soon followed by everyone else.
‘If so, let’s carry on with our old plan.’ Rodka was happy to see a re-encouraged group. ‘We go out of campus and try to find clues.’ Rodka recalled the Dean’s words — the campus was indeed going to be no more than a short story for them, and they had to get out of it sooner or later.
Everyone was ecstatic to see the plan back on track, especially the boys — ever since Soarame and his roommates had entered the school they hadn’t really been out yet, partially because the campus was too big already.
