Chapter 7 - Shadow Reaper Versus Ice Knight

“Sixth Affinity Level Magic, Ice Knight!”, Colin shouted at me while his eyes widened in terror, observing the sudden appearance of pulsating dark energy emanating from my scythe. His body suddenly appeared with the power and radiance of a blue diamond.

Ice, in the shape of a knight’s armor, quickly consumed him and took over his body. The last touch was his face disappearing beneath the knight’s helmet, giving off the vibe of frozen despair. 

I studied him carefully. Colin was now solid in defense and offense. His ice shield protected him from attacks and his summoned sword of ice gave him an offensive technique. Colin’s stamina was running low, and I knew performing two magical techniques above the 5th level was taxing on the soul. We both were giving our last shot before one of us collapsed and didn’t get back up. 

Clash! 

My scythe of darkness aggressively bites into Colin’s shield of ice. The darkness of my scythe was willing the shield of ice to give up to it. It was willing the shield to let it be consumed.

Crack! 

A few more aggressive whirling strikes from my scythe finally pierced and cracked his shield. With every strike I took, I could feel my heart beating faster and faster. My sweat stained the ground with determined violence with each step I took. My darkness consumed my body, taking energy from the fear of losing and the fear of my enemy. Colin’s shield gave out and shattered into a million pieces. The next strike pierced his armor.

The pieces of broken ice rained down onto the ground like an aggressive rainstorm. 

Swish!

Without conscious thought, my scythe came down with an aggressive arc aiming for the now completely vulnerable Colin since his shield broke and he dropped his sword. Right before my scythe connected with his chest, he rolled to the side. The impact of my dark magic hitting the ground caused a loud, quick noise similar to a gunshot.

As the dust settled, my frightened eyes noticed Colin was genuinely shaking in fear. His cockiness and smirk completely vanished from his face. He quickly raised his hands in the air to signal defeat.

There was no applause once the fight was over. There was complete silence. The scythe of darkness disappeared. The dark energy retreated into the depths of my soul. When the Noble students left the arena, their expressions of disbelief made my world seem monochrome.

My heart desperately craves to belong to a close-knit group of people and for them to accept me for who I am. However, my circumstances won’t let me because I am considered a freak of nature, and they completely ban my magic except for lab-like observation tests. 

The Principal Keeper slowly walked up to me as the entire arena cleared out. His footsteps sounded like sonic booms to my soul. The Principal Keeper stopped walking once he got close enough to me. He turned to Colin and told him to leave the room. Colin left with his head hanging low.

His eyes, once filled with light blue determination, now had an empty grayness to them. It is now just you and me; I told myself as the Principal Keeper turned to face me.

“Congratulations Nico! You made it through. Being part of the noble class is now your status. You still are required to fight the other winner of the other duel though. I presume you will impress me more in the upcoming battle two days from now. Enjoy your day off tomorrow while you can.” 

His words still felt so empty and calculating.

I responded with a simple, “Will do.” 

The Principal Keeper was already on his way out as I spoke those words. Now, the only things remaining were the arena and me. The pretentious gold designs of the arena almost screamed the words, “Look at me!” I scowled. Most of those nobles for sure have god complexes, give or take a few exceptions. Now that I am a noble class student, I can give them a taste of their own medicine. 

My footsteps sounded like a stampede within the silent atmosphere as I headed out of the arena to the Keeper Academy Library. The Keeper Academy has two libraries. People of average status use the first library on the ground floor, while nobles use the second library. For me to uncover the secrets of the Keeper Academy, I need to have access to the forbidden section of the second library. 

As I willed myself toward the direction of the common library, my mind drifted to a variety of thoughts about the magic of the world. Even without the possibility of learning about the ancient documents regarding light and dark magic, at least I could understand the foundational attributes better.

All magic is connected. 

Stepping into the library felt like stepping into a castle. Even though it was meant for commoners, the library still stood impressively large. I found the book I was looking for titled “Magic and Emotions” and flipped to the first page.