"But watch your words better…"
I sighed.
"Well, I guess it really is a demanding academy."
"Hey, you said there was a way to become stronger, right?"
I looked up at the empty training room ceiling.
"Yes," the cat responded, moving her tail back and forth.
"What is it?" I said with a determined tone and serious look.
"Well, as you know, magic is divided into basic attributes, but everyone chooses their spells and the style they use.
You should create your own style—one that takes advantage of your best strengths."
I suddenly sat up, upper body straight.
"How do I do that?" I said urgently.
"First, you must research several types of magic and master them.
But to create your own style, you need to fight hundreds of battles.
Even the best combat mages often don't have a fixed style yet."
I grabbed my head with both hands, shaking my hair roughly.
"Ah! So it's impossible."
The cat showed her teeth in a fierce smile.
"You know, there is a way."
I looked at her with some hesitation in my gaze.
"What is it?"
"This room can slow time down to half speed, but it has a price... Pain.
The pain is multiplied; that's the cost."
My face twisted as I understood, through past experience, how much I would have to suffer.
"I see, let me think about it…"
"Do you have magic books?"
I looked at what seemed like a ghost from the library.
"Of course."
He handed me a black book that slowly emerged from his body.
"This is the book you need."
He gave me a spellbook; I could tell by the title:
[Compendium of Red Level Spells]
"Are you subtly telling me I'm weak?"
The ghost's smile remained the same.
I sighed.
As I turned away, I heard:
"It seems something big will happen soon, so you should take care of yourself."
A wide smile covered his mouth, as if he hadn't just suggested that something bad was going to happen in the safest academy on the planet.
"Hah," I laughed at his stupidity.
"If something does happen here, I'll leave the academy," I said with an ironic smile, sure it would never happen.
Six months had passed.
My combat skills had improved—enough to defeat the Iron Scythe—though Camila was still far beyond my level.
I felt I could catch up to her someday, as long as I could pay the price.
Unfortunately, the price for my current skill was complete isolation.
Although I had casual chats with Camila, Diego, Shadow, and Lucia, it barely qualified as friendship—more like acquaintances than true friends.
Lucia was quite a curious person, always up to date on the latest rumors and very sociable.
Camila was incredible; as usual, it was rumored she was a candidate for the student council for her magical ability.
She was also quite popular among the boys and girls for her lively character.
She was never alone like before.
Every time I saw her sitting by herself, I felt uncomfortable crossing through.
Diego had normal abilities for the Solaris academy, but he was still a bit stronger than me, although I had much more combat experience.
Today was a common day like any other, but little did I know everything would change that day.
The moon was at its highest point.
I walked carelessly through the facilities, hoping to return to my room, when suddenly the entire academy shook.
The golden inscriptions of the academy began appearing on all the walls, fully illuminating the hallways before turning off.
I trembled slightly, recalling the girl who was accompanied by these golden inscriptions.
I lit the area with a small light, barely seeing enough ahead to see some shoes approaching me.
"Who is it?!"
I shouted, getting on guard.
—This time it won't end the same—
I smiled confidently.
I now had experience countering paralysis and physical restraining spells.
A small blue fire in the shape of a fish started approaching me.
I lowered my guard.
"Oh come on, you just had to say you were a friend,"
Just as I was about to touch the fish, a bad feeling ran through my body.
I jumped back hard, putting distance between us.
—That fish has too much mana to be a game—
A very long three-dimensional triangle of fire appeared next to its wrist.
Although it was fire, I could barely see it in the darkness.
"Help—"
Before I could finish the phrase, a hooded figure was in front of me, his triangle about to pierce my ribs.
Before he could touch me, a barrier formed at his chest level, stopping him momentarily.
I dodged the flame by moving my head to the side.
The triangle shot forward at a speed I could barely perceive.
—This is beyond my level—
He spun his body, dodging the small square barrier.
I tried to open my mouth to shout, but he was incredibly fast.
A fist struck my abdomen.
I clenched my teeth in pain as burning fire seared my skin.
I jumped backward, lowered my center of gravity, then pushed forward powerfully.
I accelerated quickly thanks to [Acceleration], a red magic used to speed up spells.
My feet nearly broke when I slammed into the mage's face.
I threw an accelerated punch at his neck.
The mage barely moved before channeling black fire and opening his hand in a claw trying to reach my head.
[Gravity]
My body's weight multiplied several times, forcing me to crouch involuntarily.
The mage missed his attack.
I accelerated to the maximum while punching his stomach.
We were sent flying down the hallway, crashing into a collapsing wall.
"Well, now you've done it," the hooded figure said as he dusted himself off.
Several students came out of their rooms frightened, illuminating the hallway with faint lights.
"I guess I'll have to kill them,"
In the blink of an eye, the black triangle pierced the limbs of the half-asleep, distracted students, who barely managed to react.
—I couldn't turn around and run; that attack would have surely caught me first—
I swallowed hard.
It was the first time I fought in a life-or-death battle.
I heard the students' screams of pain.
—No, it's more than that. If I leave them here, they'll die—
"Close the door, he won't be able to get in."
The hooded figure laughed as if it were the best joke ever.
"No, the academy will no longer protect you."
A giant skeletal figure began to appear beside the man.
"Burn!"
A student lying on the ground shouted before he could move his triangle at will.
I created a highly concentrated barrier in front of the student.
The attack crashed into the barrier but was slightly deflected, hitting just inches away from the student.
"Tch,"
Several students opened their doors upon hearing the terrible scream.
Seeing the terrifying and suspicious figure, they prepared their wands and attacked instantly.
I took advantage of the opportunity to grab the burning man and run away with him.
He was missing one limb.
"Intruder, wake up! Intruder!"
The residents opened their doors sleepily only to see the missing limb of the stranger on my back.
"Is there someone who can heal him?"
The moans of pain echoed down the hallway while the students shouted.
Quickly, a crowd gathered.
"Where are the teachers?"
Fear was evident on their faces.
Something was happening that should never have happened, especially in this academy.
"They must be fighting," I heard people say.
"There's a battle over there, it was a very strong hooded figure."
At full speed, we organized into groups of fighters and non-fighters.
The non-fighters would wake as many people as possible because it might not be safe to stay in the rooms and they would gather in several rooms, staying with the greatest number of people.
"The barriers have disappeared," murmur a fighter as he led the others.
The sounds of battle grew quieter.
—Will Camila be alright?—
She was strong, definitely she would be.
I trembled at the idea of facing a death match but prepared myself.
When we arrived at the scene, most students were on the ground.
The skeleton was clearly superior.
Several magics were cast all at once from behind while I and about five other students charged the enemy, moving along corners to avoid the rapid spells protecting him.
The enemy moved to the corners, but the spells followed him.
He lunged to the left corner, skillfully dodging the spells by jumping to the roof and letting the ground absorb the damage.
He lunged at us diagonally from the roof.
The skeleton's giant hands covered him while the giant punched the area where the hooded man fell.
They dispersed, and with great speed he lunged at a student, hitting his face and sending him flying.
The spells that flew towards him at high speed were blocked by the skeleton's hands.
We flanked him from all directions, waiting for him to appear.
Several launched spells awaited him.
Blue fire encircled the area, illuminating it.
Nearby spells were absorbed by that fire.
The giant attacked in all directions, breaking our position.
We retreated, but that was a mistake.
The fire mage moved swiftly around the area, defeating the melee fighters one by one.
A triangle grazed the side of my face, bleeding slightly.
I looked at him fiercely.
"What are your objectives?"
I couldn't see his face but he seemed to laugh at my question.
"Well, I can't tell you, but it's impressive, your pathetic attempt to stay alive."
I accelerated at full speed toward him; my fist clenched hard, hitting a barrier and being shattered by my own strength.
"Is that all?"
He grabbed my head before I could escape.
My legs were tired.
The mages' magic had rescued the injured bodies of the other combat mages.
The support mages were already healing their bodies.
Meanwhile, the other fighters defending the mages waited for an opportunity to pierce through the giant fiery hands blocking vision.
My neck was burning; I was only still alive because this mage was delighting in my desperate attempt to escape his grasp.
"Die."
I closed my eyes.
The sound of bones breaking was heard near me.
Suddenly, I fell to the ground, free.
I looked astonished at Camila, who had suddenly appeared, breaking the mage's arm in an instant.
"Wow, if I hadn't blocked with magic at the last second, you would have completely torn off his arm.
You're a professor, right?"
She asked calmly, as if her bones hadn't just been shattered.
She touched her arm and repositioned it correctly.
Instantly, black fire ran along her arm, restoring it to its natural position.
"I'm sorry for arriving late."
Her face was serious, her words heavy with the responsibility of the strong.
"Thanks, if you hadn't shown up, I would have lost my life."
I smiled ironically.
Camila extended her hand, pointing at the giant's arm, and a concentrated explosion of wind opened her hands.
"Sorry to leave it to you."
I nodded my head.
"Don't get in the way, I'll handle it."
She had full confidence she would win.
I looked at her one last time before running at great speed.
"What happened?"
"It's Camila. If we stay here, we might interfere in her fight, or in the worst case, become her weakness. Let's go."
We started running, covering a large part of the academy.
"The teachers are fighting in containment rooms.
It seems something has failed in the school's mechanism."
I looked alarmed.
"We have to find a way to escape."
A student shook his head.
"There is a very strong barrier."
"Gather the students outside. We'll try to break it together."
I spoke.
In the worst case, we could form a barrier with everyone's magical power.
What I knew for now was that the more of us there were, the better chances we'd have to survive.
"Gather them now!"
We quickly mobilized, gathering as many people as possible at the entrance of the academy.
"Strike!"
A loud crash was heard.
Someone was thrown out of the academy.