“So, what? You just do anything she wants? You’re that scared of her? Or what? Is it something else?” I could tell how accusatory I’d sounded, but I couldn’t really stop myself.
“I’m not sure what you’re implying, but it’s definitely a yes for the ‘being scared of her’ part,” Ca’al said.
“Who isn’t scared of her?” said Nayira, her hair standing on end. “She’s like the last boss of a dungeon, but like also the secret boss who’s even stronger than that last boss—and then also the mastermind behind all of that. Plus, she’s got like huuuuge boobs. Like what’s with that?!”
“Yeah, and it’s like she always has this look like she can see right through you,” Ca’al added.
“Those piercing red eyes are the worst! Only thing worse is those huge boobs!” Nayira cried.
“Then, sometimes she just pops up randomly when you least expect her.” Suddenly, Ca’al began frantically scanning the area before exhaling a sigh of relief.
“Yeah! How does she sneak up on people so easily with that huge rack of hers?!” Nayira began squishing the air in front of her own breasts.
“Why do you have to keep bringing everything back to her chest?” I sighed.
“You should be more worried about it too! You’re not exactly well-endowed. Like, what do you got going for you?” Nayira asked.
“Hey! I’m of a very respectable size!” I snapped back at her.
Nayira intently glared at my chest in an almost invasive way before I covered it. “The only thing you have in common with the word ‘respectable’ is ‘table.’” I opened my mouth in outrage, but then she apparently felt the need to clarify. “’Cause tables are flat.”
“I know!”
“It’s good that you’re aware of your size—”
“I meant I know the joke you’re trying to make!” I groaned, feeling a headache coming on. “You know, part of me doesn’t even want to give you a warning.”
“About what?” Nayira scoffed while folding her arms. “Is there some boob-shrinking disease going around?” She covered her chest, a look of fear crossing her face.
“Calm down, Karen,” Ca’al said, putting his hand on my shoulder and holding me back.
Alas, the fact that I felt his strong grip on my shoulder wasn’t nearly enough to override the palpable anger I felt at this moment.
“No. You know what? This is a good opportunity,” I said with a friendly smile. “I usually practice magic by myself, but it’d be nice to have an opponent for a change. If you’re not training right now, then you should at least have a mock match to warm up with, Nayira.”
“You wanna take me on?” She began clutching her stomach in laughter. “Look, I know you’re, like, a prodigy or somethin’, but there’s a reason why you’re not in the combat track.”
“Because I chose the sorcery track?”
“It’s ’cause you don’t know how to fight. You can theorize about spells and all that, but you’re gonna get run over in a real fight.” She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. “Besides, I’m the leader of the first level, maybe even the second level someday soon. I can’t see a world where you’d be even close to a good warm-up for me.”
“Have you never fought Karen before?” Ca’al asked, tilting his head. “I could’ve sworn that—”
“Well, if she doesn’t remember, there’s no time like the present to remind her,” I said with a bright, friendly smile.
For some reason, Ca’al shivered as if a chill had run down his spine. Rude. There’s nothing to be scared of.
“Fine. Whatever. Let’s get this over with quick!” Nayira raised her fists and assumed a stance, a grin of overconfidence on her face.
“Okay, then...I guess I’ll be the ref,” Ca’al said.
Usually, the referee of a match would stand off to the side at a neutral location between the two combatants, but Ca’al immediately went to stand behind me.
“Huh? Why are you hiding behind her?” Nayira asked.
“Uh, reasons. Anyway, get ready...”
“Humph. Whatever. Time to lay the beatdown.”
“Begin!” Ca’al signaled.
I whipped out my wand, and before Nayira could even move a muscle, I’d already cast six different spells: First, I cast a spell to turn the ground around her into mud, then another spell to harden it and dry it out as much as possible until it was as dry as the ground found in a desert. Third, I cast a stun spell to preoccupy her with deflecting while I used my other three spells to actually incapacitate her.
As I’d predicted, she used body fortification magic to gain a burst of strength necessary to escape the hardened mud, then she proceeded to negate my stun spell with a spell of her own. However, my first and second spells were set up so that when she broke free, she’d consequently shatter and unearth a wide stretch of ground along with her, creating a dust cloud—and that she’d done. She seemed ready to gloat, proud of her skills, but that was only because she was completely unaware that the match had been all over for her from the second she’d freed herself from the ground.
“Huh?” Nayira’s eyes began spinning, and she seemed unsteady on her feet as she landed. “Why can’t I...”
My fourth spell affected the air, replacing it with pure oxygen. It happened to be a great conductor of my next spell, which also made use of the dust cloud she’d created. I didn’t even need a greater fire spell to create an explosion, so my fifth spell was simply one that produced embers. Lastly, my sixth and final spell was a simple barrier to contain and focus the damage so that the surrounding area wouldn’t be affected and not a single speck of dirt would mar my uniform.
In the next moment, the sound of a muffled explosion rumbled, and the interior of the barrier turned bright red.
“Uh...is she gonna be okay?” Ca’al asked cautiously.
“She survived this once. She can survive it again.”
“‘Survived’ is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence...”
After a few seconds, Ca’al declared the match over, and I dispelled everything before walking over to Nayira, who was lying on her back, comically covered in soot and breathing out puffs of smoke.
“Life... It’s as fleeting as the morning dew, as fragile as a spider’s web amid a storm...” she said.
“Uh-huh. Don’t get all philosophical on me. Here’s a potion,” I sighed, pulling out a small glass flask of light red liquid from my bag.
She suddenly shot up and turned to me. “Wait! This happened before!”
See, Ca’al? She survived, didn’t she? “It would’ve been better for your sake if you’d remembered sooner,” I sighed as I supported her head so she could drink.
“Why aren’t you in combat track again? I don’t even think the mages in the fifth level can multicast like you can,” she said.
“Now you want to know?”
“No, it was rhetorical. I really don’t care. One less monster in there for me to fight once I get up there.”
I rolled my eyes and got up. “I’m going over there to practice. Also, though you totally don’t deserve it, here’s a piece of advice: don’t underestimate your opponent today. There’s a good chance she’ll take you down—both of you.”
I didn’t bother to look back at them because I was sure that they were both letting the sobering reality that they might be humbled today wash over them. Okay. Wishful thinking, I know, but they should be prepared to lose. Though El’s power was limited, she was still an elder dragon and more than capable of taking them down...probably. I could only imagine how bad a mood she’d be in if she’d lose to Nayira and not even make it to the second level. But at the very least, she’d be placed with the majority of the students in the first level, and she wouldn’t stand out as much as she would if she made it to the third level or higher. Anyway, what was the worst that could happen? The combat placement exams were relatively safe. People got banged up a little, but nobody had ever gotten seriously injured. But anyway...
I stretched. I still have a few hours to kill until El’s done with that test. Even with how smart she is, I doubt she’ll finish early, so I should have plenty of time to practice some magic.