Fifteen minutes before Nick's and Jessica's teammates gathered together...
Nick free floated in midair with his whole body facing upward. He looked to both sides of himself but all he could see was cream light and the various laws that made up his spell.
(Being able to examine the laws of my spell, Jupiter, like this using Eyes of the Fated is valuable because it gives me real field data. Jupiter is something that I call a combination spell because it involves combining the laws of two spells using their bare effects. It is much more difficult to perform than it seems on paper. This is a rank 2 advanced grade spell that creates a field of gravity where most pull and push forces are under my control but at the cost of me having to be stationary and that is why I am floating right here like this. On the plus side, I can sense everything that happens in the gravity field even though I can't visually see through the cream color that it generates.)
Nick tapped his chin for a while and then decided that he was satisfied.
(I've been lightly pressuring Jessica for a while to see what her reaction to the spell would be but she hasn't done much but cough blood. Does she really not have a counter for this? That's disappointing because if she did, it might have revealed how I could improve the spell. Time to wrap things up.)
Nick willed for his body to straighten up, facing Jessica's general direction, then he brought his palms slowly together, starting at two feet apart.
(I've only been lightly pressuring Jessica so far but now that I'm mobilizing forces to crush her, she's done.)
Nick could sense a great amount of push forces flow towards Jessica and could also sense her coughing up many mouthfuls of blood while trying to resist but to Nick, her efforts were futile at best. Nick had his hands just inches away from forming a clasp when he was suddenly forced to halt their movement.
(Huh? My hands won't come together.)
Nick frowned as he suddenly sensed a large amount of magic energy being released from Jessica, the same azure colored magic energy that he had witnessed during the mid-year exam.
Nick openly snorted, saying:
"Finally resisting..."
Jessica tried with all her might to muster her focus to form the laws of one of her advanced grade spells. Nick's method had her pressured at all sides and she knew that she had already sustained internal injuries from the crushing, resulting in her coughing up mouthfuls of blood.
(I'm almost there. If I can successfully cast my spell, then I can probably create an opportunity to get out of this hell.)
Three seconds...five seconds...eleven seconds. Every second that past, Jessica felt herself moving closer to death but just like when she had decided to study the monolith within the Never Ending Battlefield, no matter how long it would have taken her to understand even some of it, she wouldn't give up here either.
After twenty three seconds of preparation, the laws for her spell had finally been successfully formed. The azure magic energy around her quickly intensified in color and became thicker, becoming her spell's magic power. The azure cloud of magic power caused the forces around her to slightly recede as a conflict between the surrounding space path laws and her magic's water path laws intensified. The azure cloud quickly shot upwards like a rocket, soon going beyond the influence of Nick's spell and then continuing to rise up until it reached the clouds.
(Rain Totem)
At that point, her spell's power spread throughout the clouds above and darkened them, spreading gloominess for several hundred meters all around; the clouds then began to swirl like the inside of a washing machine. Nick still could not forcefully crush Jessica at the moment and he sensed the change happening high above them because of the intensity of the magic power involved.
Knowing that something awful was probably coming his way, Nick took most of his attention away from Jessica and willed for the two rings of rubble that were rapidly circling Jupiter to form a hard covering above the cream light. Nick then used the push and pull forces to make the hard covering compact, shrinking its area by about 20% and holding it firmly in place like his powers were a vice grip.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The sounds of thunder echoed above them as the darkened and swirling clouds finally burst, sending a cyclone of water down from the sky with Nick's position as its target. Nick gritted his teeth and braced for impact. He couldn't see the cyclone right now but he could sense the violent magic power that radiated from it.
(Sigh, I can't use any other spells while I am actively maintaining Jupiter. A clear flaw.)
SSSSSSPPPPPPPSSSSSSSSSSSSHSHHHHHHHHSSHHHHHHH!
The water cyclone hit Nick's defensive rock covering squarely and beared down on it with thousands of tonnes of pressure each second. Nick's protective umbrella gave way at its edges piece by piece until Nick decided to ignore Jessica for the moment in order to deal with her method. He concentrated and used the push and pull forces of his spell to force the pieces of the rock covering that broke away to go against the water pressure and rejoin the defensive cluster, bolstering the defense.
While Nick focused on defending his position, Jessica sensed the pressure around her abate, leaving her freely floating and momentarily at peace.
(My plan worked. Rain Totem is powerful, even a level above my other rank 2 advanced grade spells in terms of raw power but usually, I would never use it like this because I would also end up being caught in its area of effect, getting pulverized to death. It's time to leave this smelly place.)
A torrent of swirling water immediately formed around Jessica and propelled her forward.
(Mini Torrent.)
Within four seconds and while enduring the resistance of Nick's space path power, Jessica finally forced her way out of its cream colored area of influence. Her Mini Torrent brought her over fifteen meters away before she cancelled the spell. When Jessica's feet touched the hard ground, she felt that the ground had never been more of a sight for sore eyes.
She then observed Nick's Jupiter and saw how a large rock covering that hovered over it was the only thing protecting Nick from the effects of her Rain Totem.
Jessica put on a bitter expression, saying:
"Too bad its over."
No sooner than she had spoken, the water cyclone dissipated along with the swirling dark clouds in the sky, resulting in clear, blue skies. Jessica watched as the rock covering over Nick's Jupiter fell away piece by piece, landing around the perimeter of the spell like common rubble.
Within sixteen seconds, the rock covering was completely gone and the cream light from Jupiter faded; Nick returned to the ground while taking in deep breaths. Jessica began preparing for a tough fight by forming the laws for one of her spells within her mindscape.
(Rain Totem cannot be used again for hours so I've lost one trump card. It also cost me about two fifths of my magic energy reserves. Nick's spell should have cost him a great deal too. I can still win.)
Just as Jessica had that thought, her body involuntarily rose two feet off the ground and flew forward rapidly.
(Absolute Pull.)
(Blade Escape.)
With Failed Tool in hand, Nick flew forward from his position with a gust of blade aura below him. He moved towards the incoming Jessica with the speed of a flying saucer. Nick poured his magic energy into Failed Tool and it then shone with grey light.
Jessica moved so fast towards Nick that she could hardly see what was happening around her clearly but as soon as she caught sight of an ominous grey glimmer, she knew that she had limited time to act.
(Torrential Raiment)
Moisture from the surrounding atmosphere instantly condensed and flowed around Jessica's body in a violent self-spiral as she moved along.
RRRRIIIIIIIIPPPPPPP!
Jessica immediately realized that her blouse was somehow suddenly cut through and a shallow cut appeared on her torso which extended from her left shoulder going to her right upper abdomen. Although the wound only bled lightly, it made Jessica feel a burn that forced her to bite her lower lip in order to suppress a cry of pain.
While still flying forward at high speed, she willed for her Torrential Raiment to flow towards Nick at an even greater speed than that of her own movement. Nick and Jessica were separated by about six meters at this point and so Nick knew that it would be very difficult to dodge her attack at his current forward speed even if he slowed his movements.
(Reinforced With Soul.)
Translucent miasma emerged from Nick's body and instantly condensed, forming what looked like medieval armor all over his body from head to toe. Jessica's Torrential Raiment crashed into Nick with the blasting force of a geyser, pushing him to the side for over a dozen meters and forcing him to the ground.
Jessica immediately crash landed on the ground as the effect that Nick's method had on her faded, resulting in her rolling in the dirt for a few meters.
(Rumble.)
PPPPOOOOOOCCCCHHHHH!
Nick punched out against the Torrential Raiment with his left fist and a blast of pressure forced it to disperse, following which the water that it consisted of fell to the ground, dampening the soil. Nick found Jessica quickly and cast Blink in order to arrive beside her as she half raised herself from the ground.
(Prolonged Courage.)
(Mystic Blade.)
Nick struck out with Failed Tool, aiming squarely at Jessica's left shoulder blade but Jessica responded quickly by condensing the moisture within the air around her body in order to form a covering that enveloped her entirely in a thin layer of water.
(Tension Suit)
Failed Tool's blade then bit into Jessica's shoulder but the resistance of the water layer caused it to only enter her shoulder by a few millimeters, drawing blood but not doing much else. Jessica quickly followed up by pointing her right index finger towards the right side of Nick's chest where the hardened miasma that had formed part of Nick's 'soul armor' had been stripped away by Torrential Raiment.
(Tension Spear)
From about one foot away from Nick's chest, a finger-width pole of condensed water quickly formed, stabbing into the area on his chest where Reinforced With Soul was not currently protecting and then coming out through his back.
COUGH!
Nick coughed out a mouthful of blood but did not hesitate to counter.
(Involuntary Sacrifice.)
The water pole quickly receded at both ends into Nick's chest where the water spread throughout his chest. One moment later, the wound created by Jessica's spell healed completely and she immediately sensed the loss of control of her magic power; she was shocked.
(Was that a healing spell? He used my own magic power to heal himself!)
Before Jessica could wrap her mind around Nick's method, Nick clenched his left hand and cast King's Domination, using it to raise Jessica by the throat two meters above ground. Nick then breathed out deeply while performing an upward swing with Failed Tool towards Jessica.
(Big Sever.)
A wide arc of formless magic power swung out towards Jessica and passed through her in moments, following which her body completely transformed into water and fell to the ground, dampening the soul as a puddle formed.
(Zero Tension Armour)
Nick's arc of magic power soon dissipated thereafter. The puddle quickly morphed into a stream and flowed away from Nick until it reached fourteen meters away in two seconds, at which time it reverted back into the flesh and blood Jessica who was currently bleeding from her mouth, chest and left shoulder. Her eyes were blood shot and she stood up with an obvious limp but she faced Nick, who silently observed her, with undeniable defiance in her stance. Nick commented aloud:
"You sure are a tough cookie. Let me tell you what, I'll end this in only a few more moves. Whatever the result is, you have to accept it. Do we have an understanding?"
Jessica hated that Nick was able to determine the terms of their confrontation but the stronger party had already been decided when Nick cast his healing spell. Although Jessica also had a healing spell, it did not have an instant effect and required her to maintain her focus on it while using it.
(There is no way that this monster would give me enough time to use my healing spell. I would be lying if I said that Nick didn't have me hanging by a thread right now, but I can't just give up without giving everything I've got.)
Jessica silently nodded her head at Nick, speaking through bloody lips:
"Do your worst."
Nick internally laughed, thinking:
(At first she tells me to give her my best and now she wants my worst. Make up your mind crazy lady.)
Nick's magic energy radiating from his body suddenly gained a slightly red hue and he soon noticed.
(Oh, this must be the result of Prolonged Courage. I've successfully injured Jessica with a couple of my spells, one of them even threatening to kill her, so the spell has increased the quality of my magic energy in proportion. Nice.)
Jessica saw the feint red magic energy emanating from Nick and pursed her lips in frustration.
(Does he have a divergent mindscape like mine that increases the density of his magic energy or is that the result of one of his spells.)
Jessica wasn't certain but she wasn't going to wait to find out. She breathed in deeply while forming the laws for her next spell; azure colored magic energy radiated from her, forming a small cloud. She looked a Nick with a stern expression, saying internally:
(You're going down!)
Nick raised his right eyebrow when he saw the look on Jessica's face and thought:
(She is determined, I'll give her that. I'm going to end this battle now.)
Nick breathed in deeply, then out; he followed up by casting two of his spells:
(Absolute Push.)
(Absolute Pull.)
Jessica noticed immediately that all the loose rock and rubble within their immediate vicinity flew into the air and gathered at a central point above and between Nick and herself, about forty meters above ground. Jessica could not help but feel exasperated.
(Nick finished casting his spell before me again. How does he have such a persistently low cast time? I had already formed 70% of the laws for the advanced grade spell that I am casting now but I am still steps behind him.)
Jessica just couldn't figure out what gave Nick such a persistent edge and because of his advantage in cast time she could only helplessly watch as he resolved his methods ahead of her.
The rocks and rubble that Nick raised into the air had condensed by now to form a very large floating boulder that was almost the shape of a watermelon. Although It was large, it was too far away to throw at Jessica without her dodging it even if Nick used all the force that his space path methods could generate.
(But I did not plan to throw it at her as it is now anyway.)
Nick sheathed Failed Tool while at the same time cancelling Reinforced With Soul and then cast Space in order to spread his special space towards his raised boulder and even several dozen meters higher. All in all Nick's special space even enveloped the entirety of the area where he and Jessica stood but he could not currently use it to influence Jessica because of the dense cloud of magic energy surrounding her that violently resisted his space path laws.
(You're not what I'm trying to influence anyway.)
Nick raised both his palms out to the level of his shoulders while casting another spell.
(This is my fifth active spell. Maintaining five at once is about the limit of my current capabilities, any more and I would slip up.)
With rapidity, the feint red magic energy radiating from Nick spread out to dye a large section of his special space, giving it a reddish hue. The red hue reached all the way up to the boulder above them and Nick's spell finally resolved.
(Big.)
Jessica's eyes opened wide as she witnessed the already huge boulder triple in size, then quadruple, then enlarge manifolds and not stopping until it covered hundreds of cubic meters of air space. She thought:
(That boulder is too large. What is he planning to do with it? If he brings it down, he would be caught up in the following calamity too.)
Jessica was still preparing her spell which was taking longer than usual to manifest because of her injured state. As she eyed the humongous boulder above them, she suddenly heard Nick chuckle. She then turned her attention towards him, asking:
"What the hell are you laughing about?"
Nick continued to chuckle for a few more moments before speaking with a mischievous look on his face:
"Nothing. How about we play a round of chicken?"
Jessica's expression became sour when she heard that and exactly at that time, the boulder above them fell down as Nick cancelled Absolute Push and Absolute Pull. Jessica screamed out:
"You're crazy!"
Nick ignored Jessica's accusation and with his hand still raised, he watched as the boulder that now seemed more like an asteroid fall towards them. Jessica gritted her teeth.
(Even if I launch my attack to deal with him, that boulder will still take me out. I have to put all my effort towards dealing with the boulder. Wait...isn't this what I did to him earlier? Is that why he laughed?)
Jessica's face flushed in embarrassment at the thought of Nick playing an ironic prank on her during their battle but that feeling quickly faded as her spell became ready. Jessica stopped down to the ground and grabbed the dirt with both hands, blood from her mouth falling in droplets and dying a portion of the soil red. She finally cast her spell and the cloud of azure magic energy around her doubled in size:
(Water Monolith)
The ground between her and Nick immediately fissured and cracked apart. Water quickly emerged from the cracks and basically tore away all the top soil and surface rock with its pressure. A pillar of water shot up at a speed and pressure far superior to any geyser. The almost cylindrical pillar of water had a radius of about seven meters and covered the entire length of space between Jessica and Nick.
It crashed into the falling boulder within less than a second. Nick mused:
(The only reason that she was able to resolve her spell before the boulder got to us is because the air pressure that rose against its surface slowed its descent. In the future, I have to consider factors like that when in battle too.)
Jessica's Water Monolith bombarded the boulder's base with pressure from below, managing to somehow slow its descent even further. As the Water Monolith crashed into the boulder, instead of letting the residual water fall to the ground, Jessica willed for it to spread over the boulder's surface. Within ten seconds, the boulder's surface was completely damp from the layer of water that persisted over it and grew thicker by the millisecond. Jessica tried to strategize internally:
(That boulder is about four seconds from crashing into the ground. My plan was to use the pressure of my Water Monolith and the presence of the layer of water that envelopes its surface to somehow crush it but that is proving to be impossible. Sigh, it is impossible.)
By this time, dozens of rock formations around them had already collapsed because of the weight and momentum of the boulder and only three seconds remained until impact.
Nick suddenly appeared a few meters to the right of Jessica's side and he looked at her, self assured; Jessica looked up at him in frustration. Nick asked simply:
"A wise man submits to circumstances. Do you admit defeat?"
Jessica opened and closed her mouth three times but no words came out. At this time, two seconds remained until impact. Since Nick and Jessica had grown by leaps and bounds since the mid-year exam and their mindscapes were more developed, an interaction between them that would typically take normal people seconds only took them a fraction of the time.
Jessica took one last look at the incoming boulder, its downward pressure finally bearing down on her even while it was still some distance away. It's shadow loomed over her body and at this time, it also loomed over her mind, covering it with darkness. She openly sighed and then finally muttered:
"You win, I admit defeat."
One second remaining until impact.
Nick's expression returned to its usual indifference as he replied:
"Don't worry. Yours is the right move."
Nick quickly folded his raised hands into each other and cast his final spell:
(Malevolent Shrine.)
The area all around and above, covering hundreds of meters was instantly enveloped within a pitch black void but Jessica and Nick still remained able to see. Thousands of white bones of many shapes and sizes appeared on the ground and a tattered and decrepit temple that was at least ten meters high appeared behind Nick.
Jessica looked around at the scene, frightened by the magic power that she felt pervading it. Nick did not waste any time and mobilizing his magic power, thousands of formless blades struck out at the incoming boulder and everything within the vicinity except for Nick and Jessica.
Just milliseconds from impact, Jessica's Water Monolith was cut apart from thousands of angles, becoming vapor before any water could even touch the ground. The boulder succumbed to the same fate at about the same time as beginning from its base, it was sliced apart into hundreds of thousands of pieces, then into millions of pieces, then into billions of pieces until it was no more than dust. All this happened within one second and Jessica witnessed the whole ordeal.
The dark void then dissipated and the dust resulting from the destroyed boulder flew about in and over the surroundings, forcing Nick to cough a few times. He cancelled Space soon thereafter which he had kept active throughout the ordeal in order to help suppress Jessica's Water Monolith. Space had also added to the effectiveness of Malevolent Shrine, harmonizing the two spells' space path laws and creating a pseudo-combination spell.
(I took the principles that I learned from developing Jupiter and partially applied them using Space and Malevolent Shrine. My control of Malevolent Shrine has improved significantly and now I can cut large objects to pieces at an incredible rate but I still can't cut things down into discreet particles just yet.)
Malevolent Shrine was Nick's bloodline spell and it was also his most lethal and familiar method. Since his last encounter with the wicked being, Nick had improved in terms of magic energy quality and control by manifolds, even his knowledge of blade path had grown. Malevolent Shrine had also grown proportionally in killing power and form and this was something that Nick could sense intuitively but this was the only occasion that he was actually able to test the spell out in the field.
(Hmmm...my magic energy reserves have reached to less than one third. With Malevolent Shrine's increase in power, there has also been a proportional increase in its magic energy consumption; destroying the boulder and Jessica's spell actually cost me over 20,000 magical units. it's a good thing that my special mindscape is the way it is or I would hardly be able to properly use my own powers.)
Nick quickly used Absolute Push to rid the area of the free floating dust and turned to look at Jessica. She was currently covered in a thin layer of water that rippled at many points on her body. Nick noticed that her chest and shoulder wounds were closing and therefore guessed that she was casting a healing spell on herself.
He waited one minute until she was done, at which point she stood up with renewed energy although her footing was still shaky and her uneven breathing revealed her true physical condition. Nick spoke with no room for discussion:
"Let's move on from this exam already."
Jessica silently nodded in agreement.
*********************************************************
Five people sat together in a room which had walls completely made of grey bricks. Each person sat at a corner of the room and between them, a constantly writhing mass of grey smoke covered the floor, spreading over a radius of about nine meters. Lucious Hardin looked at one of the hooded figures sitting some distance away from him and grumbled:
"Pucket, why didn't you interfere with Nick Capitol's and Jessica Jones's battle at the end? That was too close for comfort. If Jessica Jones had died, we would have to answer to her sister."
The robed man apparently named Pucket waved his hand at Lucious in annoyance and reassured:
"I was fairly certain that Nick Capitol could deal with the boulder himself, assuming that he wasn't stupid. Are you forgetting the first advanced grade spell that he cast. That alone would have been enough to counter the falling boulder."
Sam Dawkins caressed his chin lightly with his right index and middle fingers and commented:
"Nick Capitol's methods are extraordinarily strong for someone of his humble background and interestingly designed. Does anyone know if he has some sort of legacy inheritance?"
Another robed many shook his head, replying:
"I've already checked. Just like you said, that young man has an ordinary, non-magical background. It is not likely that he has any relation to a legacy family. He does, however, have a connection to our academy's spell creation club. maybe the spells are of his own creation."
Lucious instantly denied that notion:
"How could that be? The first advanced grade spell that he cast was formed from the combination of two intermediate grade spells' effects; did any of you have the qualifications to design such a thing at rank 2? Never mind that, the last spell that he used belonged to more than one path and had intricacy that even rivals rank 3 spells. I do not believe that a boy no older than twenty two could create such treasures single-handedly."
The last robed man snickered at Lucious and spoke with disdain in his tone:
"Envying the talented is egregious, Lucious. Enough. Whether he created those spells himself or not, we have all seen his capabilities and he must be given a fitting score."
Sam nodded his head in agreement:
"Not just him but also Jessica Jones, Ritchie Hibbert, Pearl Wiles, Falen Mitchell and Jessie Auburn. Those five seem to be very promising. Because of them, there teams were able to obtain the required materials with minimal effort and time wastage. They will make excellent licensed Magicians someday."
The robed man who spoke first quickly moved the discussion along:
"There are many other students to consider. Let us place our focus on them for the time being as we already know who the first two groups to finish are."
*************************************************************
Pearl had summoned a chair to sit on while enjoying her cup of tea while Jessie and Ritchie remained on the ground with a short table between them doing the same. Cindy had already hoisted her silver arrow over her right shoulder and stood to keep watch over the unconscious Falen who was resting on a blanket in the shade of a nearby rock formation.
Soon, two people suddenly appeared a few meters away from them and everyone turned their attention to them. Pearl complained before anyone else could say anything:
"You took your sweet time. Do you know that hurts our score, Nick?"
Nick shrugged his shoulders and absentmindedly apologized:
"My bad."
Pearl didn't like that Nick didn't seem willing to banter with her but she didn't want to make a big deal of it here so she kept quiet for now.
Jessica quickly turned to Ritchie and asked:
"What happened to the bliss cherries?"
Ritchie plainly explained:
"They gave us half of theirs so that we could meet our quota. Jessie here called it a 'peace offering'."
Jessica nodded her head in approval:
"Since I don't want to have to look for any more bliss cherries, I can live with that. Nick, do you have anything to say?"
Jessica tried to get Nick's attention but he was lost in thought, thinking about the battle that he just had:
(...The effects of my spells were great, it's just that Jupiter has a few clear flaws and my lethality with blade path is inferior to my other paths because I lack real combat experience with the sword. It feels like I mostly wasted the opportunities that I had to use Failed Tool effectively.)
Slade chimed in at this time:
[Why did you use the Malevolent Shrine so openly, you do know that you are being monitored, correct?]
Nick replied nonchalantly:
(Slade, I don't care about hiding Malevolent Shrine anymore. Don't you remember my last encounter with the wicked being? I am running out of time before the bloodline curse catches up with me and so I don't have time to be concerned about how my methods seem to others. I mostly revealed Malevolent Shrine and Jupiter in order to test them against a worthy foe. More that secrecy, I need experience and data, real out in the field data. Since I'm moving towards death anyway, I might as well give everything I have to make myself stronger before then.)
Slade went silent for a moment, then said:
[So be it but remember, the less that other know about you, the more protected you are against their schemes.]
Nick understood Slade's intent of cautioning him and he assured him in response:
(All schemes become petty in the face of absolute power.)
Slade remained silent after hearing that.
"Nick...Nick..."
Nick was suddenly drawn away from his thoughts by Jessica's urging and he then caught sight of the unconscious Falen and asked:
"What happened to him?"
Pearl replied listlessly:
"He lost to me and so he ended up in a pathetic state but it's of no concern, I already healed his affliction. He'll wake up soon."
Nick decided to ask no more about Fallen and then asked Cindy:
"Do you have the bliss cherries?"
Cindy nodded once and replied:
"Sure do."
Nick then immediately instructed:
"Then get ready, we are leaving this exam now."
Jessica motioned at Ritchie that they were going to do the same and so Ritchie stored his short table and the other items within his space band. Nick quickly shouted openly:
"Invigilators, we have collected the required materials and are requesting to withdraw from this realm!"
Jessica echoed:
"I and my group members wish to do the same!"
Nick, Jessica, Pearl and everyone else present suddenly found themselves being enveloped with silver light and soon their visions went dark before quickly being filled with light again. The seven of them had returned to the clearing within the southern academy woodlands.
One robed figure who had on purple bracelets on both wrists stood in front of them and spoke with stern, male voice:
"You all have done well during this exam and are the first to complete its requirements. Your individual grades and rankings will be available by the end of the week. You may hand over the materials and leave."
The robed figure immediately collected all the required materials from both groups, then vanished, following which Nick was about to make his own quick exit when Jessie stopped him with his words:
"Hold on, Nick. You and I need to have a discussion about something very important."
Nick turned to Jessie and asked:
"We only met at the start of the exam. What important things do you and I have to discuss?"
Jessie smiled lightly and replied:
"It involves benefits and exploration."
Both Nick's ears discreetly twitched when he heard those two words. He decided that hearing Jessie out might not be such a bad thing:
"Let's head to a restaurant and talk. I need to pick up some food before I return home."
Jessie nodded and replied:
"Lead the way."
Nick and Jessie began to make their way back to the academy's commercial district by foot. Cindy tried to follow Nick but he stopped her adamantly:
"I don't want others accompanying us while I am discussing with Jessie."
Cindy pouted in disappointment but had no choice other than to leave via another direction. Pearl looked at Nick and Jessie walking away in the distance and then walked in a different direction towards her dorm. Jessica took a look at her two former teammates, Ritchie and Falen, who had now regained consciousness but oddly remained quiet. With a straight faced expression, she said:
"Thank you for your good work. I will be leaving now..."
Falen quickly interrupted her by asking sincerely:
"Can I spar with you sometimes?"
Ritchie raised his right eyebrow in surprise at Falen's sudden meekness. Jessica was also a bit surprised but without a change in expression, she answered:
"You better work hard."
************************************************************
Nick led Jessie to the Smiling Chief Restaurant where he ordered several dozen loaves of french bread and then stored them within his space band. Nick and Jessie then decided to sit at an isolated table at the back of the restaurant so that the other customers would not eavesdrop on their conversation.
Jessie was the first to speak after they sat down:
"How are you so strong without being supported by a family?"
Nick shrugged his shoulders and replied:
"I make sure that there are many kinds of vitamins and minerals in my diet."
Jessie slightly squinted his eyes and chuckled. Nick was clearly not going to give him much in terms of his cultivation experience. He asked another question:
"Do you plan on joining the third year or remaining a second year next semester?"
Nick was not even remotely sure why Jessie cared about his plans for the future but since he was already here for a talk, he thought that he might as well speak within reason:
"I plan to move on to the third year. Although I don't plan on graduating any time soon, I don't want to be held back by the label of 'second year student'."
Jessie nodded his head in understanding and replied:
"My family has deep ties to the military and have many expectations so being held back is not an option for me either. Magic is great and all and all the benefits that come along with being a part of high Magician society is pretty great but something about all the schemes and politics feels wrong. Let me tell you, during the mid-year exam, a female sergeant affiliated with my family let me have sex with her just so that she could try to gain a bit of my favor. It was really exciting..."
Nick internally rolled his eyes at Jessie. He was not interested in hearing this rich boy's sob story about how hard it was being wealthy or his complaining that he was tired of all the benefits.
(Comparisons are odious. I struggled my entire life to improve but was only ever rejected and scorned while this man spent his entire life having fun and being the object of people's desires but openly complains about it. Sigh, I want to go home.)
Nick soon interrupted Jessie's babbling and said:
"Hey man, you've probably got some great war stories on you but could you get to the part where there are benefits for me. Oh and you also said something about exploration."
Jessie was not pleased that Nick did not intend to suck up to him even after hearing about his family but Jessie knew that this man was not to be trifled with so he went straight to the subject that he had planned to talk about from the beginning:
"I once heard a man say that, '...these are the best of times and these are the worst of times...'. Nick, do you know anything about the Nefari Family?"