The next day, early in the morning.
Hifung woke up in bed, still half-asleep, when a knocking sound came from his front door.
He got out of bed and walked toward the door, trying to fix his hair as the knocking came again.
When Hifung opened the door, he saw Ray and Micyl standing outside.
Micyl: Good morning.
Hifung instantly perked up, his eyes wide open.
Hifung: Eh? What's going on?
Ray: We came to invite you to the royal library.
Micyl: Yeah, want to come?
Hifung: Sure. Just give me a moment to get ready.
Ray: Okay.
Hifung closed the door and went back to his room to change clothes. Once he was ready, he stepped outside to meet Ray and Micyl.
Hifung: Let's go.
They made their way to the royal library located at the center of the kingdom.
When they arrived in front of the royal library...
Ray: It's pretty big.
Hifung: Eh? You've never been here before?
Ray: Not yet.
Hifung: But you seem to know a lot about stuff.
Ray: I read the books at home. My father likes to keep a bunch of them.
Hifung: Oh.
Micyl: What about you, Hifung? Have you been here before?
Hifung: Huh, me?
Hifung: Yeah, I came here a few days ago.
Micyl: I see.
Ray: Let's go in.
Hifung: Yeah.
They entered the library.
Bookshelves lined the room, towering and full. Ray looked amazed at the sheer number of books.
They split up, each searching for books they wanted to read.
Ray browsed the shelves about aura, Micyl looked into books on magic, and Hifung returned to the spot where he previously found the book The Secrets of Magic and the World.
Hifung searched for it but couldn't find it.
Hifung (in his thoughts): "That's strange. It should've been here. Why is it gone now?"
Hifung: Whatever.
He grabbed another book instead.
Later, the three of them gathered around a table and read their chosen books.
They kept reading until midday.
Once they were done, they returned the books to their original places.
Hifung: I'm hungry.
Ray: Same here.
Micyl: Want to come over to my house for lunch?
Hifung: Sure.
Ray smiled.
They walked to Micyl's house, with her leading the way.
Upon arriving at Micyl's home...
Her house was fairly large, with farmland, an open field, and a fish pond.
Hifung: Your house is pretty big, huh?
Micyl: Not that big, really.
Micyl unlocked the door with a key from her pants pocket.
Ray: Are your parents home?
Micyl: Hm? My parents passed away when I was ten.
Both Ray and Hifung were surprised.
Ray: Oh... I'm sorry.
Micyl shook her head.
Micyl: It's fine. Come on in.
They entered the house.
Micyl: I'll cook in the kitchen. You two can wait five minutes in the dining room.
Hifung: Want me to help?
Micyl: No need. I've got it.
Hifung: Okay.
Ray and Hifung waited at the dining table.
Hifung: What does your dad do for work, Ray?
Ray: He's a commander.
Hifung looked a bit surprised.
Hifung: Oh... By the way, are all the royal soldiers on high alert lately?
Ray: Yeah. If there's no sign of war with the Hakao Kingdom for the next month, the King plans to start peace negotiations. Until then, security across the kingdom is really tight.
Hifung: I see.
Micyl appeared with a tray holding three plates.
Micyl: Lunch is ready.
Hifung: Finally!
She placed the plates down. Each plate had rice, chicken, and egg.
Micyl sat beside Hifung.
Ray, Hifung, and Micyl: Let's eat!
They dug in enthusiastically.
After the meal, Hifung and Ray washed the dishes while Micyl relaxed in the living room.
When they were done, Hifung and Ray joined her.
Hifung: By the way, classes resume at Refolt Academy tomorrow, right?
Ray: Yeah.
Micyl: Why? Are you planning to attend?
Hifung: Yep. (He smiled.)
Ray: But your hand?
Hifung: Don't worry, I'm fine.
Hifung: Oh right, I want to practice magic again. Do you guys want to come?
Ray: Yeah.
Micyl: Sure.
They headed to the forest where Hifung and Ray had trained before.
Hifung: The strength of magic is determined by how much chi energy we use, right?
Micyl: That's right.
Hifung: Then I want to increase my chi energy capacity.
Ray: How?
Hifung: Watch this.
Hifung summoned fire magic and shot it upward. The fire spell flew into the sky and gradually faded away without leaving any damage behind.
Hifung: See? This way, I can keep practicing magic without damaging the surroundings.
Ray: Oh...
Ray didn't look too impressed.
Hifung: That's it?
Micyl: If your magic is strong, large, or dense, when you release it upward, it can fall back down—though with less destructive power.
Hifung: That's true.
Ray: How about this...
Ray: Hifung, you shoot your fire spell upward. When it starts falling, I'll try to break it apart with my eye ability. Since I can't fully break your orange flame, Micyl can use water magic to neutralize it. How's that?
Micyl: Sounds good.
Hifung: Okay, get ready.
Using only his right hand, Hifung cast orange fire magic.
Hifung: Alright, I'm releasing it.
Ray: Ready.
Micyl: I'm ready.
Hifung shot his orange flame into the sky.
Hifung: SuperFire!
Ray activated his eye ability to split the spell, but he could only break half of it.
Ray: Micyl!
Micyl: Got it!
She unleashed a blast of water magic toward the falling fire spell.
The orange flame vanished completely.
Hifung: Whew...
Ray: Hifung...
Hifung: What?
Ray: Did you seriously name your orange fire spell "SuperFire"?
Hifung: Spell names don't matter, right? So I just made one up. (He chuckled softly.)
Ray: Oh...
Hifung: Micyl, are you okay?
Micyl: I'm fine.
Hifung: Want to go again?
Micyl: Sure.
Ray: Let's do it.
They repeated the process until evening.
The three of them looked exhausted.
Ray: It's almost night.
Hifung: Yeah, let's call it a day.
Micyl: Agreed.
Ray: Let's head home.
Hifung: Right.
They walked home together.
At their respective houses, each of them unlocked the door and went inside.
Hifung headed to the kitchen to cook dinner.
After cooking, he sat down and started eating.
Hifung (in his thoughts): "Today, I increased my chi energy capacity. Tomorrow, I'll
try casting advanced elemental magic. Maybe I'll start with magma magic..."
Hifung (in his thoughts): "Oh right, I still can't use lightning magic. If I have time tomorrow, I want to try that too."
Feeling motivated, Hifung continued eating until his plate was clean.