A few days after that, Zachariah and I promised that when in private, we would call each other by our first names. He did snicker at my name a few times, saying about how it was grain misspelled, but I didn't care. His name sounds like he has relationship problems.
Time really flies, doesn't it? That was a few years ago. Two, precisely. It only seems like yesterday that we arrived here, when in reality it was four years ago. Four. Years. It's like going through high school again. Though, nothing interesting or worth knowing happened.
Since Zachariah and I actually talk now (it only took two years), he asks for help without being embarrassed. I don't see why he was in the first place, but it got better. He and I are in the top of the class along with a few other classmates.
It's a shame and a wonder Lynnthuic and his small group of dweebs hasn't been kicked out yet. Ever since Zachariah and I have been talking more, he's been picking on us. It used to just be me. It started out with taunts, which neither of us cared about. Then came the trips and flicks. Next was the throwing of objects. It eventually escalated to the use of magic, which is still going on.
Zach and I walked through the halls, trying to get to the next class. It was one of the few classes we had together. Looking over to Zach, he made eye contact with me through his hair that covered his eyes. They made him cut it earlier, but it grew again.
We walked past groups of other students. Some looked our way, sneering. They were jealous.
Zach looked over to a certain group, which happens to be Lynnthuic's group. As we walked through another set of double doors, Zachariah looked at me with an alarmed expression.
"Xel," Zach whispered, leaning closer to me so I can hear. "They're planning something bad. I heard snippets of their conversation. Lint wants to duel." I didn't have time to chuckle at the nickname.
"What no that's-" I started. Zach shook his head. Fear filling his eyes.
"He's going to formally challenge you. If you deny-"
"I'd automatically be the loser. I know." I say. I turned my gaze to the floor, watching the steps I took.
"Going to make a plan?"
"No? Yes? Probably. I half-plan, half-freestyle it. Like I always do." I said, shrugging. Zachariah frowned.
"You know, if he's planning to duel you, he probably prepared." I nodded, agreeing with the reasoning. I pointed down the hall.
"Our living quarters are there. I can use the arm-guards and shin guards they provided in the beginning."
"They suck though." Zach said. I smirked, pulling him with me. Using magic, I pushed the doors open and turned into the room.
"I enhanced them. They now have diamond plating, obsidian support, are padded with wool, strong leather as straps, the entire thing enchanted, and are customized." I explained. Zach goggled at me in disbelief as I pulled the shiny pieces of armor out the enderchest. Enchanted iron metal was the base. A thin layer of diamond was attached to make it stronger. Though it was very thin, it would deflect almost anything. Obsidian lined the edge, increasing the durability.
"How-" He was so stunned he forgot to speak English. Force of habit, really. We also said to speak English when only the two of us are around.
"Shh," I said, putting a finger over my lips. "Someone might hear."
"Oh, I'm sorry." He sarcastically answered. "How?" He paused. "There, better?" I rolled my eyes at his childish behavior. I started strapping on the armor pieces, tightening them. The arm pieces belonged on my forearms, and the leg pieces belonged on my shins. I pulled the sleeves and pants over their respective pieces of armor.
"You really are a tryhard, aren't you." Zach said.
"It's what I'm best at." I smirked, nodding. Zach scoffed and made his way towards the door. I made sure everything was hidden. I grabbed a few smaller weapons and hid them in various places. I also stuck a sword in the back of my inventory.
"Alright. Let's go."
We arrived at the classroom, sitting in our normal seats. Other students filled inside, taking their usual seats. As Lynnthuic walked past me, he 'accidentally' elbowed the back of my head. I pushed down the fury that bubbled just under the surface and ignored him. He smirked and sauntered to his seat.
Yavin began the class with his normal monotone lecture. Any time now, as Yavin said that they could challenge for a formal duel any time in his class. He was one of the only instructors that could monitor duels.
"Instructor Yavin?" Lynnthuic asked, raising his hand.
"Yes?" Yavin replied, not bothering to turn. I've come to the conclusion that he is sick of our generation.
"I challenge Xelqua to a formal duel." Lynnthuic smiled. Yavin paused, then turned on his heels and faced us. It was going to be the first formal duel of this generation. Yavin looked between the two of us.
"Xelqua, should you accept, you shall face him in a duel with weapons of your choice, as your opponent is the challenger. Should you deny, your opponent is automatically crowned winner."
"I accept. Weapon of choice, number unlimited." I say, surprising Yavin and Lynnthuic. Yavin narrowed his sapphire blue eyes. He started towards the doors.
"Everyone else, get to the courtyard." He looked over his shoulders and at Lynnthuic and I. "You have five minutes to prepare." When I walked with Yavin and Lynnthuic, the latter person started to second-guess his decision.
~¤☆¤~
"Obviously, no killing each other. You are dueling until someone is unconscious or surrenders." Drawled Yavin, glaring at both of us. However, we were half listening. Lynnthuic and I were glaring at each other, ignoring the setting of the courtyard and class that spectated us. We glared at each other, boring holes into the other's eyes.
The countdown started. Lynnthuic smirked. I took a deep breath. Zachariah watched nervously. The spectators observed, as this was a long awaited clash of Lynnthuic and I. They knew we disliked each other.
"Begin." Yavin snapped, stepping back. I ducked right away, narrowly avoiding a beam of magic that whizzed past my ear. I dove and rolled aside, avoiding arrows that whistled past my ear. Wrapping a faint glow of purple magic around the weapon, I was able to snap the bow in half. It splintered, cutting Lynnthuic's hands. I jumped to my feet, pulling a small dagger from my sleeve and flinging it at Lynnthuic. It nicked him in the arm, drawing a small amount of blood. He growled, and with a flash of magic, he conjured a new dagger. He threw it at me, but I dodged. Lynnthuic made a pulling motion. A sudden stab of pain in my right back made me yelp and freeze for a moment. I reached back and ripped the dagger out of my back. With magic, Lynnthuic ripped the weapon from my grasp, clipping it onto his belt.
He then sent a barrage of magic at me. I was able to dodge most of them, the others required a conjured shield. As Lynnthuic did that, he slowly started to approach me. When he got reasonably close, I stepped out of the way and held my arm up. A ping of magic dinged with a small metallic sound on the arm-guard I wore. He looked surprised for a moment, before baring his teeth like an animal.
Lynnthuic punched me, aiming at my chest. He quickly retracted his hand in pain, shaking it. He punched the ring. Oh, he's going to get murdered.
I did a pushing motion with my hands. Lynnthuic was forced back, tripping over his robes. Using the iron arm-guards, he deflected a stream of magic I had just sent. It impacted the wall, causing that area to crumble. He staggered to his feet, but I pulled back and threw a hard punch. Lynnthuic was hit in the nose. We both stumbled away from each other, recovering. I ran a bloody hand through my hair, accidentally staining my hair.
Without warning, Lynnthuic ran forward, wielding a sharp and shiny iron sword. I stepped out of the way, robes flaring dramatically. I yanked the sword I had out of my inventory, blocking another strike that came my way. The sound of grinding blades made both of us wince. It was a sound no one liked. With the swords, we dueled for a few quick seconds. From a spectator's point of view, they wouldn't be able to tell what was going on because it was so quick.
Lynnthuic was a better swordsman. He disarmed me and the sword I used went flying away from my hand. In a moment of panic, I kneed Lynnthuic in the stomach, kicked his shin, and pushed him away from me. He was at least five blocks away. I jogged backwards, trying to buy time to recover once more.
Lynnthuic yelled out in pain, thrusting his hands out. Bright purple flames came out of his hands. I tried to conjure a shield, but I wasn't fast enough.
I screamed and stumbled backwards. The flames burned through the left side of my pants. My left thigh was most definitely burned. With the little healing knowledge I have, I attempted to heal myself. I threw up a shield, blocking another set of flames.
With a malicious glint in his eyes, Lynnthuic dashed forward and pushed me back. I fell, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me into an arm lock. I heard the sound of something unclipping.
The small dagger Lynnthuic conjured started to come down. It would slice through my shoulder. Suddenly, the inside of my chest exploded with an immense feeling of uncontrolled fury. I instantly knew what it was. It was the hate, the outrage, the pure anger that I've bottled up from the last four years of harassment.
With a grunt, I quickly (faster than him) drove my hand upwards as hard as I could, striking Lynnthuic in the chest with the heel of my palm. An unintended burst of golden magic sparked in my hand. A rib or two must have broken. Lynnthuic froze. The dagger fell to the floor before he fell back onto the endstone with a loud thud. Lynnthuic eyes were open... but they were glazed and unfocused.
The courtyard was silent. You could've heard a pin drop.
I stared at my hand. Each magic has a different color depending on the difficulty. If you can control it, it is always purple or clear (you can choose). If not, white is the easiest magic, like when summoning and conjuring small objects.
Golden magic is no exception. Golden is one of the strongest. Only a few instructors could do it, even controlled.
I was light-headed from that type of magic. I fell backwards, hitting my head on the floor. I didn't really feel it, however, as I still had a lot of adrenaline running through me. Yavin and Gabriedes rushed forward. Yavin gently rolled me on my side, putting me in the recovery position. Black spots appeared in my vision. He looked back and over his shoulder. Gabrides was kneeling near Lynnthuic, muttering in his ear. Yavin turned back to me.
"Xelqua. Stay with me." He said in an even voice. He never seems like he cares, and his voice is no exception.
"The heck did I even do..." I muttered, eyelids fluttering.
"You just sent Lynnthuic into spectator mode. He doesn't know how to get back. We don't teach that here, because there was never a reason. Instructor Gabrides is helping him... or trying to.." Yavin replied. I paused, obviously stunned. First, spectator mode was a myth, it's not proven to be true (until now). Second, from what Yavin is saying, no student has done that before.
Wait, can I go into creative mode?
Lynnthuic gasped for air, suddenly sitting up. He immediately fell to his side, breathing hard. He must be feeling the pain of broken ribs. He glared at me, a pained look in his eyes.
"You did that to hurt me!" He screamed. "It hurt like the Nether, Xelqua!" He used my actual name, not a taunt. Lynnthuic was genuinely furious.
"If you didn't challenge me, maybe this wouldn't have happened." I quietly snapped. Lynnthuic rolled his eyes, a pained expression briefly flashing. He then smirked at my prone form.
"Does this mean I win? He's about to pass out." Lynnthuic demanded, a smug grin stretching across his face.
"No..." I say, using the remaining of my energy to throw him against the wall.
The last thing I heard before it went black was a startled yell and cheering from people who greatly disliked Lint (since I heard Zach somewhere).
~¤☆¤~
I woke up feeling tight bandages around my left leg, right arm, and my right back. Light flooded my vision, causing me to squint. I was in the infirmary, a place I have only been for minor injuries.
"You're awake, finally." Zachariah's mutter reached my ears. I looked over to where he sat. He had a crestfallen look on his face. Zach closed the book that he was reading with a snap.
"What's wrong?" I asked. My voice was rough and dry. How long had it been?
"You lost." I paused, not believing what I heard.
"What?" I managed to say.
"Lint fell unconscious after you. He technically won. However, everyone says you're the winner because of what you happened to do. Even Yavin and Gabrides admit you would've won had it been on purpose. That punch was pretty dang hard." I stared at Zachariah. Going through that pain was for nothing? Am I going to be publicly mocked? I could've done better then.
"Before you beat yourself up, Xel, just know that Lint now has a broken arm, dislocated shoulder, fractured ankle, and a concussion." Zachariah added. I visibly winced.
"Is he okay?" I asked.
"Yes... I think. He's over there." He pointed to a bed across the infirmary. I glanced over there for a quick second.
"At least he isn't dead." I commented. Lynnthuic did look messed up. I'd throw up if I described his condition. Zach dipped his head once, looking slightly concerned.
"I'm surprised you don't have a concussion. You hit the ground hard." I nodded, not saying anything. Zachariah sighed, looking at me with slight pity.
"Get some rest... Grian, you look like you need it." And with that, it all went black for the second time today.