"You alright, Nolval?"
"No."
Both of us were dismissed after Mr. Draco removed his golden barrier, and we made our way to lunch. I really wanted to test out more possibilities with my power in 5th period, but it seems I'll have to drastically limit my options in the rules of magic: All conceivable applications within a single attunement.
What should my attunement be?
We entered the cafeteria and got our respective meals. He got what looked to be an omelet, and I got a sandwich.
"If I have to follow their advice, then helping you get stronger will be difficult."
"We can just train in Kemzo after classes."
That's true. People rarely visit, and I can always block the doors to ensure nobody can peek. And if someone does plan on coming in, I can make the blockers heavy and difficult to remove to serve as a warning system for somebody's presence. Maybe attach a bell or create a fragile ceramic tile in case someone tries to enter.
I saw Elipto approach our table.
"Hey there!" He enthusiastically greeted us, before sitting himself at our table.
"Hi…" I awkwardly greeted him back, not expecting his company.
"I want to fight you next in our class, so don't hold back."
Elipto then started scarfing down his meal before I could get a word in. It looked like something you're meant to eat with a fork or chopsticks, but he aggressively used his hands to scoop and devour.
This was likely the closest I'll ever get to seeing a live competitive eater performance or mukbang. The only thing that let me know he was still human was the slurps, chewing, and moans every few bites. I knew Elipto wasn't a proper competitive eater because competitive eaters don't spend time enjoying their food, at least from the videos I've seen.
As he finished, I looked around and saw the tables near us staring at Elipto. Kiori noticed too, seeing the curious, disgusted, and disapproving stares. I bet if they had smartphones, at least 2 of them would've been recording this.
"You should wash that down. It's very easy to choke with how much you've eaten so quickly."
There was a loud gulp.
"Later. So, whadya say? Wanna fight?"
"Why me?"
"Come on! Have you seen the look on Alicia's face? I've never seen her look so scared, and I've beaten her."
"If you've seen what I've done, why do you want to fight me?"
"Hmm… because it's more interesting to fight someone stronger!"
Elipto reminded me of the character archetype of people who seek out strong opponents for the sole purpose of seeing how their abilities measure against them to a reckless extent. They tend to be eccentric and only care about combat.
That's the impression I've gotten from him.
This will be a long year.
"How do you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Speak without moving your mouth."
"You're imagining things."
"Huh."
I made a mental note to figure out how I'm projecting my thoughts so that I can turn this ability off.
…
Is it weird to feel nervous, not because you need to bring your best, but because you need to hold back?
I mean, I've been told all of my previous life in various forms to always "give it your all", "give it your best" when doing anything. Presentations, job interviews, exams, anything meant to be a significant milestone in your life. Now I'm heading to a class meant to teach mages how to fight, and because Mr. Draco and Ms. Ilko can't say that I've been summoned into this world, or that I have multiple attunements, I'll have to limit my visualizations when performing magic.
Although I haven't done it much, I'll hate not being able to manifest mental images on a whim. They would've been more effective than imitating power usage under the constraint of an attunement.
"Are you feeling sick? You're making a weird expression." Kiori observed.
"I'm just realizing that I'll be limited if I have to fight."
"Considering what happened last time, I think you'll have to be. You didn't exactly hold back against Alicia."
"I was desperate, okay!? I realized, 'oh, she'll kill me' if I didn't do something, so I did the first thing that came to mind!"
"Your first thought was to throw a slab at her?"
"She grazed me! I thought it was fair game if she made me bleed!" I touched where the icicle cut my face.
I nearly forgot about that scar, considering everything that happened.
"Also, didn't you hear our conversation? Elipto beat Alicia. I can't hold back against someone stronger."
"Why do you need to hold back?"
"You- you were in the office, Kiori! I can't showcase having more than 1 attunement!"
"Tell me, Nolval. What's your idea of not holding back?"
"Umm… not having to restrict myself to 'having a single attunement'?" I air quoted.
"I don't believe you held back against Alicia. Can't you just do that again against Elipto?"
"He'd prepare for that!" I imitated the motion I would've used against Alicia, had Mr. Evenicht not stopped the fight.
"Not throwing a huge chunk of earth at him! Just make it seem like everything you do is only possible for an earth-attuned mage. Besides, I'm sure Mr. Evenicht would forfeit you if you would do something that could destroy the entire underground."
My mind immediately started visualizing possibilities only possible for an earth mage.
"Can an earth mage use Proa to conjure rocks and whatnot?"
"I guess they can, although it's easier to use already existing earth. Takes less Proa to move and boulder than it would to make one."
"I believe I've got some ideas."
…
Manipulating the earth, sizes from a pebble to literal mountains, isn't difficult to visualize. If I'm restricted to only moving the ground beneath me, I should still have plenty of options. The only thing I have left to worry about is how quickly and efficiently Elipto is with his attunement.
Still, I prepared some visualizations. Erecting walls, spikes, cutting out different shapes and using them as projectiles, and everything in between. In addition to preparing mental images, I asked Kiori what Elipto had showcased in all of his fights.
After repeating the various visualizations in my mind and cutting details to make manifesting them faster, I entered the giant underground arena under the school.
Everyone was standing around Mr. Evenicht in a circle, as if waiting for him to say something. A few pairs were quietly conversing with classmates next to them. After a few more people walked in and joined the circle, everyone became quiet, as if some collective instinct in the crowd knew it was his turn to speak up.
"I hope everyone enjoyed their 3-day break. I had a nice time relaxing in some mountain springs, eating sunbaked Scorpiongoats."
The crowd made various sounds of disgust. Although I didn't know what Scorpiongoats are, I had a feeling I'd share the sentiment if I saw them.
"You'll continue to do what you've been doing before. Find a partner and spar each other with your attunements."
Mr. Evenicht looked directly at me as he continued elaborating.
"Your goal is to fight until you've confirmed your opponent can't fight anymore, so please avoid doing anything too drastic, or else I'll have to talk to Mr. Draco about reconsidering your enrollments."
Everyone scattered, and I wandered away from the dispersing crowd.
A few immediately got to sparring, while the majority sat out and talked with their respective conversation partners. Mr. Evenicht didn't seem to disapprove of choosing not to fight.
"So, you ready?"
I heard Elipto's voice.
"You heard him, we need to avoid going too far."
I felt my heart beat faster. I didn't like fighting either, but I also knew I'll end up fighting sooner or later.
He nodded his head toward one of the empty squares, and we walked together towards it. I practiced some breathing exercises as I walked, making sure to keep it subtle.
We placed ourselves on opposite ends of the square. I prepared some visualizations to trigger.
I quickly recalled them a few times, as if I were reciting a speech at the last moment before its delivery.
A snowball suddenly hit my face. It was really cold.
I instinctively wiped it off.
"What was that for!?"
"I'm just checking if you're there!"
"I am!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed another student standing at the border of our arena. Elipto seemed to notice too.
It was Alicia.
She waved her hand, and an icicle, specifically an 8-sided diamond-faced polyhedron made of ice, appeared.
"The round begins when this hits the ground. Do both of you agree to this?"
"Sure!" Elipto gave a thumbs up.
I silently nodded.
The 8-sided icicle levitated directly between us. Good. Saves us the trouble of having to turn our heads towards our opponent.
I saw the icicle slowly spin as Elipto's form was partially covered by it.
I kept my eyes on Elipto while keeping track of the floating icicle.
I counted each time the outermost vertex pointed towards me.
Then the icicle dropped.
I triggered the visualization I had prepared.