Aspiration to the Heavens: Becoming the Supreme Mage Vol. 1- Novus Magus

[Revised/Edited] Episode 1: The Warrior of Wind Rises

The bully glanced over his shoulder and gasped. My eyes glowed green as I raised a hand at my aggressor.

Ayawamat crossed his arms in front of him and dug his feet into the sand as I unleashed a wave of wind.

"I won't let you mock me. I... I... will be the emperor of all magicians and non-magicians alike one day!" little me exclaimed as he rose several feet above the ground. With those words, everything whitened.

I shook my head, pushing aside the memory. Ayawamat had a point. I talked a good game, but when the chips were down, I failed to win.

Sighing, I picked up the notebook and ran out of the house.

It's been almost four years since then. But what did I have to show for it? I still hadn't defeated him. No matter. I still had three years left before his promised defeat. I'll make him regret messing with Lan Lei!

I ran out of the small two-story house and strode toward the edge of a cliff overlooking a pristine beach. I jumped and landed several feet away. I grinned, ran ahead, and opened my notebook again.

Closing my eyes, I called upon the four winds. Sand spun around me like it had that day in the park four years ago. I was careful not to get a single grain on my black pants.

"Let me see, the test will focus in part on prana control so I should focus on that first." I close my eyes and take a deep breath. The winds swirled around me, deafeningly so. They moved unevenly. I would have to fix that.

I shifted the wind's direction, straightening out its wavy path. However, the fluctuations quickly returned. The strong breezes at this time of year made it difficult for me to bring the wind fully under my control. However, they were a great obstacle to overcome. I just had to push past them.

"Focus. Don't lose focus, Lei," I said over the wind's roar.

"I'm gonna go call the others to join us!" Yen called out from the other side.

"Hey, don't distract me!" I said as the wind dispersed. I opened my eyes and sighed. Encircling me was a ring of finely ground sand.

Yen smiled shyly. "Ah, sorry about that. Well, I'm off to Hikaru's place!"

I smiled as I looked down at my notebook and began to jolt down notes. "Hanging out with Hika again, eh?" I glanced up and gave my sister a sly grin.

Big Sis narrowed her eyes at me as she stopped running. "What's with that tone, mister?"

"Tone? What tone?" I asked, averting my gaze by pretending I was still writing stuff down. It was hard not to laugh, though.

"Whatever! I'm out. I'll check on you later. Good luck with whatever it is that you're doing!"

I waved goodbye and returned to my prana practice. I kept at it for two hours straight.

"Alright, I think that's enough for now!" I exclaimed to myself as I wrote down what I'd done in my notebook. "Next up, some physical training!"

I touched my boyish chest and sighed. 'Hopefully, I won't be short of breath once I'm done with this.'

I moved around and sliced the air with my hands as if practicing some kind of martial arts. Blades of wind emitted from my hands with each slice—blowing away the salty water and fine white sand around me.

I stopped and stared at the various two-foot-deep miniature valleys that had formed on the ground from my air swipes.

'This is still not enough. I need to become stronger and faster. The Nine Petal Academy entrance exam is only nine days away. The other students are bound to be better than this. If I can't make myself stand out, they might not admit me.'