Chapter 6: The Self-Made Specialist
Flight and Fury
Elias needed to be airborne. The Trix were masters of aerial combat, using their flight advantage to relentlessly batter Bloom and Stella. Darcy was currently focusing on hitting Flora with a wave of paralyzing darkness, forcing her to stay low and defensive.
"I can't reach her from the ground!" Elias muttered, ducking a shard of ice that disintegrated against a pillar.
He quickly pulled up the System interface.
Purchase: [Flight] (Cost: 300 SP).
[SKILL ACQUIRED: FLIGHT]
Description: Grants the Host the basic ability of sustained, unenhanced magical flight. Initial speed is low.
[SP BALANCE: 50 SP]
Elias felt the stolen Dragon Flame energy, now fused with his own core, surge into his feet and up his back. He pushed off the ground, a little too abruptly, and shot straight up like a startled sparrow.
He stabilized at about twenty feet, hovering clumsily. The Trix looked up, momentarily confused.
"Look, the Red Fountain grunt grew wings!" Stormy scoffed, creating a bolt of lightning in her hand.
"They're not wings, Witch," Elias retorted, focusing his sight on Darcy, who was still bearing down on Flora. "It's pure spite."
He charged his Dragon Fireball and, using the momentum of his wobbly flight, launched a barrage of rapid, low-power fire shots.
"Mini-Fireballs!"
The projectiles, though individually weak, forced Darcy to drop her attack on Flora and raise an immediate shield.
"You're a nuisance!" Darcy shrieked, firing a paralyzing purple energy bolt at Elias.
Elias banked sharply, the new Flight skill giving him just enough time to dodge. He was learning on the fly, fighting for his life.
Power Play
Bloom, seeing Elias airborne and fighting alongside her, was galvanized. The knowledge that her "non-magical tutor" was risking everything to protect them gave her a surge of focus.
"Stella! Flora! Focus your power!" Bloom yelled. "We need to hit them all at once!"
Icy, realizing that their easy win was crumbling, snarled, "I'll deal with the flying grunt!" She launched a huge, homing ice spike at Elias.
Elias knew his Level 1 shield couldn't stop it. He had to hit back harder than she hit him. He pushed his MP to the limit, pouring the last of his remaining reserves into one massive, unstable blast.
"System, give me everything!" he thought.
[SKILL OVERLOAD: DRAGON FIREBALL Lvl 2]
[WARNING: OVER 75% MP EXPENDITURE. 100 MP COST.]
The resulting fireball was huge, brilliant, and dangerously unstable—a raw, concentrated burst of the Dragon Flame that dwarfed anything Bloom had produced so far. It slammed into Icy's ice spike mid-air.
The resulting explosion was blinding, a massive cloud of steam and heat that sent both Icy and Elias reeling backward.
Icy, disoriented and furious, tumbled through the air. "Retreat! This isn't worth the energy!" she ordered.
Darcy and Stormy, seeing their leader forced back and the Fairies now coordinating their attacks, followed suit, retreating through a black hole of magic they tore open in the sky.
The Aftermath
The Trix were gone. The Alfea barrier was damaged, but the school was safe.
Elias plummeted clumsily from the sky, hitting the ground with a hard, dusty thud. He was completely drained.
[HP: 90/110] (Slight damage from the fall and exposure)
[MP: 0/190] (Completely exhausted)
Bloom and Stella rushed to his side.
"Elias! You were incredible!" Bloom hugged him tightly, her pure relief almost triggering a (now unnecessary) synchronization. "I never knew you had that much power!"
"The stabilizing flux... it gave you fire magic!" Stella gasped, looking at him with respect that had replaced her earlier skepticism. "You're a magic-wielding Specialist! You should come with us to the Headmistress!"
Elias managed a weak grin. He had done it. He had established his cover as a hero, a partner, and a unique, self-sacrificing Specialist who wielded the Dragon Flame as an extension of the Winx Club.
The System's Next Demand
While the Winx girls helped him walk toward the Headmistress's office, the System displayed its new quest, this one demanding loyalty to his false identity.
[MAIN QUEST: THE FIRST ALLIANCE]
Description: The Host is now a recognized magic-wielder. To maintain cover and gain the trust required for future missions, the Host must formally ally himself with Bloom and the Winx Club, ensuring his access to future plot events.
Objective: Secure an official, permanent position as a member of the Winx Club's inner circle (i.e., move from the Red Fountain guest room to an Alfea dorm room, or be granted permanent access to the Alfea training grounds and missions).
Reward (Success): 1000 XP, 500 SP, [Winx Club Access Lvl 1] (Unlocks new Shop items).
Penalty (Failure): Trust erosion. Forced return to Red Fountain. Future mission access restricted.
Time Limit: 3 Days.
Elias had 50 SP remaining. He had to use his newfound heroism to convince Faragonda and the Winx that his place was permanently at Alfea. His true power—the System—had been stabilized, but his new life as the Dragon-Touched Tutor was just beginning.