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wooosh.
We landed right on the grassy hill overlooking Magnolia in a burst of flowers. Mavis, Yuri, Precht, and Warrod all ran to the edge. They looked down at the town. It was a total mess. Black and bone-white Blue Skull flags hung from every shop and house. The streets looked empty and grey. But the worst part was the church. Right on top of the Kardia Cathedral, this massive dragon skeleton was sitting there. Its empty ribcage stared down at the valley like a vulture.
"Wow," Yuri muttered. He tightened the dirty white bandages on his arms. His jaw went tight. "They really trashed the place."
"It's horrible," Mavis said. Her small fists were clenching super hard. "We have to fix this. We have to save everyone."
"The plan is simple," I said. I leaned on Odin's staff and let out a big yawn. "You guys go down there, beat up the bad guys, and take the town back. I'll be on a roof somewhere eating snacks. Don't die, it totally ruins the vibe."
"You're really not going to help?" Precht asked. He adjusted his dark coat. He looked grumpy as ever.
"Nope. This is your clubhouse, grump-face," I grinned. I tapped his shoulder with the tip of my stick. "If I clean it for you, you'll never learn how to use a broom. You gotta kick out these squatters yourself."
Yuri snorted. He pulled his sword out just an inch to check the edge. "Fine by me. I've been itching to test this lightning stuff on something that isn't a tree."
"Let's go," Warrod said, taking a deep breath.
We walked right through the main gates of Magnolia like we owned the street. It was spooky quiet at first. The wind just blew some trash across the stones. But it didn't take long for the Blue Skull grunts to notice us. A horn blew somewhere down an alley. It was a loud, annoying sound.
Suddenly, a whole crowd of them came running out of the side streets. There had to be at least fifty of them. They were waving swords, axes, and staves.
"Intruders!" one of the guys in the front yelled. He had a nasty scar across his nose. "Get 'em! Don't let them past the square!"
"My turn!" Yuri shouted.
He ran straight forward. He didn't hesitate. Six months ago, he would've just swung his sword like a regular brawler. Now? He closed his eyes for a split second. He found that hot pool of Ethernano behind his belly button. He opened the tap. He didn't use a magic circle. My manual skipped all that junk.
ZAP.
His fists completely coated in crackling, bright yellow lightning. A loud clap of thunder hit the street. He ducked under a sloppy sword swing from the first grunt. He stepped inside the guy's guard. He drove a lightning-infused fist right into his chest.
The guy didn't even scream. He just flew backward about fifteen feet. He smashed into a wooden fruit stand, turning it into splinters. He lay there, totally fried and twitching.
"Whoa! This is awesome!" Yuri laughed. He was grinning like a maniac. He ducked under an axe. He spun on his heel. He caught another grunt right in the neck with a spark. The guy dropped like a sack of potatoes.
Further back, two Blue Skull mages pulled out heavy iron staves. They started channeling fire magic. The tips of the metal glowed red. They were aiming right at Yuri's back.
"Not on my watch," Precht muttered.
He stepped up. His dark eyes tracked the two mages. He didn't use a full gravity field to crush the entire street. That took way too much mental math for a beginner. He kept it simple. Just push and pull.
He held out his left hand, palm up. He locked his mind onto the two mages. PULL.
The air pressure snapped with a loud whoosh. The two grunts suddenly lost their footing. Their eyes went wide as an invisible rope yanked them forward through the air. They flew straight toward us, screaming and dropping their staves.
Just as they got close, Precht pulled his left hand back. He swung his right hand forward in a heavy motion. PUSH.
A massive wave of gravitational force slammed into them mid-air. It blasted them backward at double the speed. They crashed straight through a brick wall down the alley. The bricks caved in on top of them with a loud crunch.
"Nice one, Precht!" Warrod shouted, cheering from the back.
"Don't get distracted!" Precht barked. He looked around for the next target. "Above you!"
A bunch of archers had appeared on the flat roofs of the stone shops. They were lining up their bows and aiming down at Yuri and Precht. They were just about to let the arrows fly when Warrod stepped forward. He didn't look at a book. He didn't draw a magic circle. He just slammed his bare hands firmly onto the cobblestones. He let his green Ethernano leak straight into the dirt under the town.
"Rise!" Warrod yelled.
CRACK.
The street didn't just shake; it literally ripped open. Three massive, thick green roots erupted from the stones like giant wooden tentacles. They shot twenty feet into the air. Their bark was dark and hard because they were reinforced with earth energy. One root smashed straight into the side of the building, tearing down the wooden ladders the archers used. Another root slammed directly into the line of archers on the roof, swatting them off the ledge like flies.
The third root curled over. It created a thick wooden shield right in front of Yuri. It perfectly blocked a stray fire spell that exploded against the bark.
"Thanks, greenie!" Yuri yelled from behind the shield. He leapt out. He flipped over a confused grunt. He slammed a lightning elbow right into the guy's helmet, knocking him cold.
While all this chaos was going on, I was sitting comfortably on top of the big clock tower in the centre of the square. My legs were dangling over the edge, swinging back and forth. I had a little paper bag of roasted nuts. I was casually tossing them into my mouth one by one.
"Man, they're actually doing pretty good," I thought, chewing on a nut.
[Notice: Yuri's lightning output is up by 40% due to the manual's optimisation. Precht's push-pull technique is running at 92% efficiency. They are doing great.]
"Told you so, Solomon," I thought back. A small smirk pulled at my mouth. "My boot camp is way better. Look at Warrod go."
Down in the alley, Warrod was currently using a root the size of a tree trunk to swat three Blue Skull guys down the street like baseballs. They bounced off the stone walls and landed in a heap.
Mavis was standing right in the middle of the square. Her eyes were wide as she watched the boys fight. She was holding her illusion book tight to her chest. She was still a total amateur, and she was terrified, but she knew she had to do something. She closed her eyes. She tried to remember the feeling of the magic in the book. She thought about soldiers. She thought about a huge army coming to save them.
Suddenly, the side streets started to hum.
STOMP. STOMP. STOMP.
Out of the fog and the alleys, hundreds of glowing, ghostly soldiers in full silver armour appeared. They were waving massive spears. They let out a loud war cry that echoed through the whole town.
The remaining Blue Skull grunts completely froze. Their swords dropped from their hands.
"An army!" one of them shrieked. His voice cracked with pure terror. "The Magic Council sent a whole army! We're dead! Run!"
They didn't even stay to see if the spears were real. They turned around, tripping over their own boots. They ran away in total panic. They scattered into the dark corners of the city to hide from soldiers that were literally made of nothing but Mavis's imagination.
Mavis gasped. Her knees went a little shaky as the illusion vanished into thin air. She wiped some sweat from her forehead. A huge smile broke across her face. "It... it worked! They ran away!"
"Yeah, because they're idiots," Yuri laughed. He wiped some soot off his cheek and sheathed his sword. He walked over and slapped Warrod on the back, nearly knocking the tired green-haired kid over. "Man, Warrod! Those roots were huge! Since when can you do that?!"
"Since Merlin made me lift a mountain for three weeks," Warrod groaned, leaning heavily against a broken stone pillar. His hands were covered in dirt. He looked like he wanted to sleep for a month. "My arms feel like jelly."
Pop.
I blinked down from the clock tower, landing softly right in the middle of their little circle. A few pink flower petals fluttered around my boots, just for the style points.
"Not bad, kids," I said, casually ruffling Mavis's wavy blonde hair. She pouted a bit but didn't push my hand away. "You actually managed to clean up the front yard without blowing your own legs off. I'm impressed."
"We did it," Mavis breathed, looking around at the quiet, empty square. The Blue Skull flags were torn, and the street was a mess of broken wood and roots, but the grunts were completely gone. "We actually won the first round."
"Don't get cocky, blonde-y," I said, my voice dropping its playful tone just a bit. I pointed the green gem of Odin's staff toward the giant Kardia Cathedral at the end of the main street.
Even from here, the air around that church felt greasy. It felt heavy, dark, and completely wrong. It was the smell of ancient, cursed magic waking up.
"The boss grunt is still inside," I told them, leaning on my staff. "And he's got that creepy magical artefact from your island. The Tenrou Jade. He's not gonna run away from an illusion of a ghost army. Let's go see if you guys can handle a real boss fight, or if I'm gonna have to carry you home."
Yuri grinned, his fists sparking with a fresh burst of yellow lightning. "Bring it on. I'm just getting warmed up."
Precht didn't say anything, but he tightened his grip on his blade and started walking toward the cathedral doors, his face serious. Warrod sighed, dragging his feet behind them, while Mavis took a deep breath and followed. The main event was finally here, and I was just gonna walk behind them, eat my nuts, and see how much of the story they could change on their own.
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If you want to read an extra chapter ahead, go check out the p@treon
Search for foresight_geek or https://[email protected]/c/foresight_geek,
you can buy a membership for the entire month just for -- 1$