Jessica found Nick's outburst a bit silly considering the confrontation that they just had but she took it as a sign that it was okay to end their battle at a draw.
(Healing Cleanse)
Suddenly, water emerged from Jessica's facial pores and washed away all the blood that had been on her face. Afterwards, the water moved to other parts of her body and then receded into her pores again. Nick did not fail to notice what Jessica was doing as he wiped the feces off his shoe but he really wasn't interested in stopping it since he considered their fight over.
(Her breathing has steadied and I can see that her movements are no longer awkward. She must be using some kind of healing spell.)
After Nick finished cleaning his shoe, he addressed Jessica who looked to now be in better shape than him:
"Mind telling me what your initial attack was all about?"
Jessica shrugged her shoulders and replied:
"I wanted to get your attention, that's all."
Nick's right eyelid twitched at hearing that and he said in exasperation:
"You need to work on your people skills. Anyway, I'm done fighting with you, I have somewhere to be so I'm leaving. If you attack me again, I'm not kidding when I say, I will kill you."
Nick said the last part with a stern expression. Jessica slowly nodded her head in understanding and looked around at the aftermath of their battle, saying to Nick absentmindedly:
"Your spells are powerful, how come you used three different kinds of magic?"
Nick at first did not want to speak with Jessica but at seeing her power, he became slightly interested in her despite his dislike for her actions.
(I'm not surprised that she made a mistake counting the kinds of magic that I used. It was actually five kinds, not three which included rule, blade, soul, space and formation magic. After my eighteen months of cultivation, a few of my spells incorporate rule magic laws related to my spell, Big, that amplifies the amount of magic energy that goes into each attack, partly ignoring the limits of the spells' grades. Big Sever and Big Cleave are two examples. She probably thinks I only used blade, soul and space magic.)
Nick replied:
"I don't mind answering your question but since you attacked me first, you have to answer a question from me before I answer yours."
Jessica put on a thoughtful expression before quietly nodding her head. Nick took that as agreement and asked:
"What's that ring on your finger?"
Jessica raised her right hand and pointed at the gold ring on her middle finger, saying:
(Oh, you mean this. This is an advanced apprentice grade magic tool that defends against both soul path and wisdom path attacks. I received it as a gift from my sister.)
Nick nodded his head in understanding.
(So that's why she resisted the effects of Two Big Souls. Having the support of a Regular Magician is really something.)
Jessica became quiet as she waited for Nick to answer her question. Nick answered plainly:
"I have a few inheritances so I know a variety of spells. There's not much else to it."
Nick answered with a half truth but Jessica seemed to believe his explanation and replied with a question:
"Aren't you afraid that your magic will end up weaker if you don't focus most of your efforts on one type?"
Nick thought for a moment:
(She has a point but I'm just doing what I think suits me right now. I don't have a rhyme or reason for learning all these kinds of magic except maybe that I think that it increases my potential.)
Nick shrugged his shoulders and replied with an improvised rationale:
"Unlike you who has powerful Magicians behind you, I'm all alone and I have to do whatever it takes to gain an edge over everyone else. That means learning different kinds of magic."
Jessica did not fully agree with Nick's train of thought but considering the beating that she received moments ago, she did not think it wise to argue with him. She asked:
"Are you going to the undergrounds?"
Nick put on a weird expression, not expecting her to ask that. He replied:
"Why would you ask that?"
Jessica answered without a change in her straight faced expression:
"I'm asking because many students are now heading there because the Ministry of Magic announced that due to frequent earthquakes within the area, many magical resources are being unearthed. Haven't you heard?"
Nick shook his head in denial.
(Earthquakes? We should be fairly close to the undergrounds at this point but I haven't felt the shocks from any earthquakes.)
"I guess I'm the last to know but I was in fact heading to the undergrounds for some training. Since our little spat is over, I'm going to get going now."
Nick pointed his right index finger to the sky and was about to cast Space to make a quick and cool departure but Jessica interrupted him:
"Wait!"
Nick frowned and asked:
"What is it?"
Jessica took off her gold ring and held it up in front of Nick, at which point Nick looked at it, confused at what Jessica was implying. She spoke a moment later:
"I want you and I to travel and work together, at least until the events at the undergrounds conclude. In exchange, I will pay you with this magic tool right here."
Nick immediately squinted his eyes in suspicion at hearing that request and asked:
"Why would you want that?"
Jessica answered simply:
"Because you are strong."
Nick felt like that answer was unsatisfactory so he asked another question:
"Why do you need me to accompany you? You seem plenty strong too."
Jessica surprised Nick with her rationale as she admitted:
"Since traveling out in the wilderness, I have fought many magic beasts and many other students and found myself almost depleted of magic energy on more than a dozen occasions. Although Magicians usually don't need numbers to win in a fight, our rank 2 magic energy reserves simply can't outlast a series of random battles. It's better to have someone with you to share the risks, preferably someone with skills that you don't have."
Nick was internally shocked at hearing that explanation.
(It was so candid and reasonable that it almost makes me want to cry. Hmmm...she's right but I never planned on being a part of a team, not to mention that I have a large magic energy reserve so her concern isn't as serious for me.)
Nick thought back to the fight that he had at the plateau eighteen months ago and felt that he had grown past the worry of his lone power not being enough, but still, Jessica was offering an interesting payment in the form of an advanced grade magic tool. Nick thought for a while before asking:
"Do you have any soul path materials instead?"
Jessica felt weird about that question.
(Why would he want materials instead of a powerful magic tool? Does he have a special need for them? I do have soul path materials that I've saved up from previous years that I received from my family and since they are mostly useless to me, I don't mind dumping them and keeping the Mystic Ring.)
Jessica replied:
"I have soul path materials and a large amount of them, how much do you want?"
Nick half smiled at hearing that and replied:
"All of them and I want payment right now."
Jessica frowned at Nick's overbearing attitude but she already guessed that he might want them for a specific purpose, so she relented as a way to show goodwill.
"Alright, come closer and I'll tell you about the soul path materials that I have within my space band."
Nick nodded his head and went closer to discuss things with Jessica. About twenty minutes later, after they had come to an agreement, Jessica summoned a large pile of dried plants and magic beast parts from her space band. Nick did not recognize most of the materials so he asked Jessica for an introduction of each type of material which took her an hour to do. During that whole process, not one magic beast came near them, mostly because all the magic beasts in close proximity to Nick and Jessica died as a result of being affected by their earlier battle. When Nick stored the magic materials within his own space band, he said:
"We're in business now, Ms. Jones. Let's get to the undergrounds quickly."
Jessica nodded her head and turned into a torrent of water that flowed towards the direction of the undergrounds. Nick followed suit and cast:
(One Meter At A Time.)
Nick took quick steps and kept pace with Jessica, sometimes passing her until he had to stop to recover his magic energy which she did as well after passing him by a certain distance. Like this, Jessica and Nick took turns out pacing each other and did not stop until they reached the foot of the hill that was covered with brown vegetation as the time approached nightfall. Nick suggested to Jessica:
"We should stop here unless you want to risk dealing with the nocturnal magic beasts."
Nick was able to tell by now that Jessica was not actually crazy and was fairly intelligent so he knew that she would make the right choice. Jessica looked around and replied:
"There's no cover here."
Nick tapped his space band in response to Jessica's words and summoned his safe-house, opening the door and waiting for Jessica to enter. Jessica looked at the large and well equipped container and asked:
"How can you afford this as a student? You're not supposed to have any background."
Nick rolled his eyes at Jessica and replied:
"Are you entering or not?"
Jessica did not like that Nick ignored her question but was too tired from traveling to make a big fuss so she entered the safe-house at which point Nick followed her and locked the door behind him.
As soon as Jessica entered, she went straight for the bed in the corner of the safe-house and jumped into it. Nick ignored her and went to the bathroom to take a shower, making sure to set the safe-house's motion sensors before he did so. When he finished showering, he sat at his desk and ate a meal before doing some meditation, making sure to prevent the formation of the usual magic whirlpool, which he could do now after many years of practising his meditation. Two hours later, Nick summoned a piece of paper and a pen and started to jot down notes.
(I thought that I would have to abandon some of my plans because I ran out of soul path materials but after getting some from Jessica, all I have to do now is make adjustments to my formations based on the magic materials that I have.)
Nick continued making notes until he fell asleep at his desk, however, a few hours later he was nudged awake by Jessica who seemed agitated.
"There are MOM soldiers heading this way."
Nick jolted to his feet and said:
"Then let's go outside so that I can store the safe-house."
Jessica nodded and they both went outside at which point Nick stored the safe-house within his space band and waited for the soldiers to appear since he new from the safe-house's surveillance that they were already close.
Jessica wore a visible frown because she did not like dealing with the soldiers in the wilderness because they were prone to being overbearing, sometimes making absurd requests like asking students to help them with their work or even asking for sexual favors. Those that refused were often put in painful circumstances although the soldiers never went as far as killing anyone. It was also worth noting that although students were not prohibited from fighting the soldiers out in the wild, the soldiers traveled in groups and each soldier was far stronger than the average student in terms of combat ability, not even considering that a rank 3 Magician could be among the soldiers.
Nick saw Jessica's unease and indifferently reassured:
"Relax, at worst, we can just kill them."
Jessica gave Nick a look of contempt causing Nick to chuckle as he waited for the soldiers.
(We could just try to move up and over the hill before they notice us but running away from possible problems out here usually makes the situation worse and the soldiers will see that as weakness on our part once they do notice our movements, making them 'restless', besides, it's not wise to assume that everyone you will meet has ill-intentions even if that might be the case.)
Five minutes later, a band of eight soldiers appeared from around a section of the hill, dressed in their green uniforms as they walked with tired expressions. When they saw Nick and Jessica, they seemed to become worried. The front most man in the group shouted:
"Hey, you're students, right? Get out of here, there's an undocumented magic beast tailing us and we are having a hard time dealing with its magic power!"
Just as the soldier spoke, a loud screech erupted from somewhere near the hill.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK!
The soldiers' tired expressions turned into frowns and Nick quickly spoke to the now stern faced Jessica:
"Let's go up the hill, if something's following them then they should deal with it themselves since they are not asking for our help."
Jessica nodded, saying:
"A magic beast that could make eight Magicians from the ministry flee is definitely trouble."
Jessica turned into a torrent of water that flowed up the hill through the five foot high brown vegetation and Nick suddenly disappeared and reappeared a far distance up the hill at which point he disappeared again.
The man who had warned Nick and Jessica earlier smiled bitterly in the direction of the fleeing students and then turned around to speak to his companions:
"Alright, our enemy should be a wisdom path magic beast. We have to at least probe for its details since this is a common route to the undergrounds which will be the focus of the ministry for a while. Everyone, we've had enough of a reprieve, get ready to dance!"
The other soldiers looked at their leader weirdly after he said that last part and one of the women in the platoon asked:
"Sir Greene, don't you mean that we should get ready to fig...cry?"
Greene replied:
"Huh? Shit, it's here! Everyone, drink your thoughts! No, I mean protect your thoughts!"
The moment officer Greene said this, however, his movements completely froze and two big, star filled eyes appeared above his head as a magic beast that looked like a fat, hairy child slowly appeared sitting on Greene's shoulders, tapping its head and smiling with its visible, jagged, yellow teeth.
One of the soldiers screamed in panic:
"It knows invisibility magic!"
The magic beast tapped the head of the frozen officer Greene and his head exploded like an electrocuted bird and his entire body turned into specks of light, soon disappearing from the area. The magic beast quickly landed on the ground and looked in the direction that Jessica and Nick escaped to before turning its head to eye the now semi-confused soldiers who started to mumble, seemingly for no reason, unable to say a coherent sentence.
They all somehow heard a voice penetrate their minds, though:
(I'll deal with you all first.)
************************************
Nick reached near to the summit of the hill within a few hours using Space and then waited in place to meet up with Jessica as well as to recover his magic energy. About four minutes later, Nick could see a torrent of water rapidly move along the ground as it approached the section of the hill where he stood.
Nick waved both arms at Jessica to notify her of his current position and the torrent of water quickly moved to his position and splashed down, revealing the blonde haired young woman.
Nick spoke:
"Based on the map that I have, we just have to get to the other side of this hill and descend it in order to advance to the undergrounds. All that's easy for me but you seem to be struggling with moving along the terrain with your movement spell. Don't you have a better one?"
Jessica looked at Nick with a bit of annoyance and replied:
"My movement spell is top tier within its grade and I've been using it well to ascend this hill. You're just showing off because your space magic gives you the advantage when it comes to crossing distances. I'll get to the foot of the hill on the other side at my own pace and don't you dare rush me."
Nick was a little caught off-guard by Jessica's obviously foul mood but assumed that it was borne out of having to exert herself to do the climb. Nick replied:
"Alright home slice, relax. I was only making sure that we don't separate from each other by too much on this hill. What happened with the soldiers is giving me a bad feeling that I can't shake. Let's get to the undergrounds as soon as possible."
Jessica nodded and remarked:
"Don't you have a space path spell that could teleport both of us?"
Nick went silent for a few moments, thinking about Jessica's question:
(Why didn't I think of that before? I created Space with the intention of using it to move myself around but I never actually considered whether its movement aspect could be used on another person. Hmmm...it should be possible since I can so easily make the magic power of Cleave or Sever instantly appear along any distance affected by Space after I cast either spell and I know from first hand experience that the spell has no problems moving a human body so moving another Magician should not be too difficult. I was alone for so long that I didn't think about Space being used in that way.)
Nick looked at Jessica and asked:
"I just might, want to be my test subject?"
(I shouldn't mislead her just in case the spell can't teleport others. I need her to have a certain level of trust in me in order to get the most benefits out of her...probably.)
Jessica frowned at hearing the word 'test subject'. She replied:
"Are you saying that you are unsure of whether you can?"
Nick nodded his head, saying:
"That's right, I'm unsure but I have reasons to believe that I can do it."
Jessica shook her head in refusal.
(Mama didn't raise a fool, I'm not going to let you test your magic power on me.)
Practising magic was dangerous, a fact that had been repeated to every person that was raised by a legacy Magician family and so no one with any awareness would agree to be another Magician's test subject unless they had no choice. Jessica knew that many poor students from the academy allowed the professors to use them as test subjects in exchange for spells, meditations and other things and many of those students had ended up disfigured or even dead in the past.
"I will continue using my own movement spell. Considering that I already paid you to accompany me, you should bare with having to wait on me sometimes."
Nick shrugged his shoulders and said:
"Have it your way. We aren't a long way from the foot of the hill on the other side so lets just get there before nightfall."
Jessica nodded her head silently and cast her spell, becoming a torrent of water once again and speeding up towards the summit of the hill. Nick looked around himself for a moment and observed the thick, brown vegetation all around. His map of the Never Ending Battlefield identified this hill as a land mark but did not include a clear layout of the hill itself so he and Jessica were just following the most logical route, in their own minds, to get past it.
(All the way up and over. There are no roads on this hill and the terrain of the surroundings are basically unknown because of the thick vegetation so going to the summit of the hill and climbing down to the other side should approximate to the best choice that we can make.)
Nick pointed his right index finger to the sky and cast:
(Space.)
Nick suddenly disappeared and and reappeared many meters up the hill and continued to do this for many hours after he reached the summit of the hill, occasionally having to wait for Jessica to catch up to him. In this way, Nick and Jessica were able to get to the foot of the hill by sundown.
Jessica spoke to Nick with tiredness on her face:
"I need a few minutes to rest before moving on."
Nick replied:
"Sure, I've got no problem with that."
Jessica went to sit on a nearby rock and closed her eyes at which point the magic energy within the surrounding atmosphere moved towards her in waves.
Nick raised his right eyebrow at seeing this:
(She's meditating right here? Hmph! She's banking on me protecting her if magic beasts or other students suddenly show up, that's a little naive since we only have a word of mouth agreement. Do I really look like the protecting type?)
As Nick thought this, something else that had been gnawing at him since this morning surfaced within his mind, making him feel uneasy.
(What happened to those soldiers, did they deal with the magic beast that was pursuing them?)
Nick frowned at this thought:
(One magic beast that could force an entire platoon of rank 2 or higher soldiers to flee is no joke. What kind of magic beast was it?)
Nick summoned his map of the Never Ending Battlefield and took note of their position. They were currently on a plain leading away from the hill behind them and it would take another day's journey by foot to get to the undergrounds, probably less than half a day using their movement spells.
Nick stored the map again and said to Jessica:
"Are you finished resting? We should push to get to the undergrounds now even though it will soon be nightfall, it shouldn't take us all that long to get there."
Jessica opened her eyes and was about to speak when she looked at Nick strangely. Nick saw her expression and asked:
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Jessica replied with a slightly disgusted tone:
"That spell of yours is really creepy. Having a pair of blood shot eyes hover above your head is just off putting. What does that spell even do?"
Nick raised both of his eyebrows in confusion.
(What the hell is she talking about, is she trying to make a joke?)
"We haven't been traveling together that long but I'd like you to know that I don't appreciate people speaking nonsense around me."
Jessica frowned and cast a spell:
(Water Mirror)
An orb of reflective water suddenly formed in front of Nick and humoring Jessica, Nick looked at the reflection to see what she was referring to. Nick focused on his reflection and soon realized that there was indeed a pair of big, round, menacing eyes floating above his head.
(Floating? No, that's not right, now that I think about it, my shoulders do feel slightly heavier than normal.)
Nick opened his eyes wide as he had a sudden realization.
"Shit!"
Jessica went on the alert in response to Nick's outburst and seeing the frightened expression on his face, she asked:
"What's the problem?"
Before Nick could say anything more, however, the pair of menacing eyes looked at Jessica and became filled with 'stars'. Jessica's mind immediately became chaotic as a scene from her childhood played out as if she could see it right in front of her:
Ten year old Jessica sat on the floor of a large, luxurious living room in front of the fire place, reading a book when suddenly, a middle aged man with grey hair and wrinkles all over his face walked into the room. The man spoke with a deep, soothing voice:
"Jessica, how far have you gotten with that book on spell casting principles?"
Jessica grumbled and replied:
"I've only read through half of it. Gramps, why do I even have to study magic, it's so boring?"
The old man put on a doting expression and asked:
"Don't you want to become a promising Magician like your sister?"
Jessica's voice became a little more jubilant as her sister was mentioned, saying:
"Gramps, everyone says that Rebecca is a genius. Can I even catch up to her with this studying?"
The old man laughed heartily at hearing that and when he was finished, he said:
"You know, Jessica, when I started going to an academy to become a Magician, I wasn't even counted within the top five hundred of my school year while a woman in my class who was considered the best out of all of us basked in the glory of being number one for most of our time at the academy. They called her a genius and me a loser, so one day I decided that I wouldn't let all the labels define me and that I would work hard to carve out a bright future for myself. Everyday after classes, I would study various books and practise my magic as much as I could; I believe that's all I did except for eating and sleeping and one day before I knew it, I was ranked within the top one hundred of my year and a few years after that, with more studying and focus, I was officially ranked number two among my peers with only the same woman ranked above me. In my mind at the time, I thought that I was competing with her but I was really competing with myself, everyday trying to be better than I was the day before. I remember when that woman confronted me one day and told me that a loser like myself could never beat her; she said that I was just a trouble making nerd and you know what, I guess she was right. However, I never stopped studying and working on my magic and at graduation, I was chosen by the dean to give the closing speech as the top ranked graduate at that academy. After that, I went on to work in a very prestigious position within the Magician's Association while most of my former peers either had already died or worked menial positions in other places."
Jessica seemed to be interested in her grandfather's story and asked:
"What happened to the woman who was number one before you?"
The old man smiled and replied:
"Oh her, well, she's in the next room looking after our other grandchildren and you better believe that I give your grandmother hell about it every time she wants to argue with me. Ha, ha, ha..."
The old man continued to laugh heartily and Jessica pursed her lips, then asked:
"Can I really be as good as Rebecca?"
The old man rubbed Jessica's head and replied:
"Only if you work for it to be so, my dear."
A subtle spark appeared in Jessica's eyes after hearing that.
*********************************
The orb of reflective water suddenly collapsed and Nick quickly pointed his right index finger to the sky and cast his spell:
(Space.)
A formless magic power enveloped a radius of eight meters all around him and he quickly disappeared from his current position and moved to Jessica's side. When Nick saw that Jessica was sitting down, somehow in a daze, he internally cursed and then looked towards the direction of whatever it was that obviously caused Jessica to be in a trance.
The pair of star filled eyes from before were now closer to the ground as the rest of the creature's body was now slowly being revealed. Nick's face became stern.
(This thing has some sort of invisibility related power but how did it get onto my shoulders without me realizing it?)
What Nick saw after the creature fully revealed itself was a child sized magic beast with silver hair all over its body that had big, round eyes that had lights that twinkled in them like miniature stars.
(This magic beast looks like a small ape, similar to some that I met before but something seems fundamentally different about this one.)
The magic beast stood six meters away from Nick and just stared at him with a blank expression, seeming to be waiting for something. Nick didn't know what it was waiting for and he didn't care. With Space still being active, Nick flicked his finger and a small pebble that was at his feet disappeared and reappeared two meters above the head of the strange magic beast.
(Big.)
Since the special space created by his spell, Space, acted as a sort of extension of himself, Nick could use it to cast Big on an object from a distance. The small pebble instantly grew into the size of a bulldozer and fell towards the magic beast. The magic beast looked at the falling boulder with its starry eyes as the boulder fell on top of it with a loud crash. Nick became excited:
"Did I kill it?"
Slade quickly dispelled his naive hopes:
[Kid, even with my current limited abilities, my intuition is telling me that that magic beast is stronger than anything that you have encountered within this realm. I can guarantee you that it's not dead.]
Nick frowned at hearing that and replied:
(Are you sure?)
Before Slade could answer Nick's question, a flat, unfamiliar voice sounded within his mind:
(You're weak.)
Nick's frown intensified.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Nick's mind erupted with memories that he had long since buried deep within his mind and that begun to play out like a movie right in front of him.
"Hey Nick, do you want to hang out with us after classes end today?"
Thirteen year old Nick silently shook his and a replied with a soft tone:
"I need to spend time studying."
The young man who was sitting at the classroom desk in front of Nick frowned and replied:
"What's wrong with you, why do you study so much, are you trying to become a rocket scientist?"
Nick nervously replied:
"N...No, I just like learning about new things."
The young man in front of Nick got up from his desk and said:
"You're weird, you know that."
The young man quickly joined a group of other boys and they left the classroom. Nick looked at the door that they went through, then lowered his head, saying:
"I'm not weird..."
The scene suddenly changed to one where Nick seemed to be a few years older.
As Nick walked out of the library with a few thick books in hand, a young girl was about to cross his path and Nick greeted her with his usual serious expression:
"Good morning."
The girl frowned and twisted her face in disgust as she stepped away from Nick and avoided him completely by running to the other side of the hall. Nick looked back at her as she ran away and then turned around with a sad expression, asking:
"What's wrong with me?"
Another scene played out, depicting a time when Nick still lived at his grandaunt Irene's house.
Nick came home from school at 6 pm because he had joined the chess club recently.
(I don't usually spend my time playing games with others but chess is fun. I lose a lot but weirdly enough, it doesn't feel like losing because I always end up learning something from my opponents.)
Nick felt pleased with the day that he had and soon reached near to the kitchen entrance as he was walking to his room; he overheard Irene and his sisters having a conversation:
"Hey auntie, where's Nick?"
"I don't know, that boy doesn't really tell me anything."
"Do you think that he is playing with his friends?"
After Nick's older sister, Narissa, asked that, the three burst out with laughter and Nick's younger sister, Tracy, spoke with mockery in her tone:
"Are you joking? We all know that Nick is a friendless loser."
Nick stood at the entrance, behind the wall where they could not see him and listened to what they said. A tear was silently shed from his right eye and slid down to his cheek; Nick quietly went past the kitchen and entered his room without anyone noticing.
***********************************
The small, hairy magic beast walked up to both Nick and Jessica as they both seemed to be in a trance and not able to respond to their environment. The magic beast went close to Nick and said with an eerie, callous tone:
"Since you had the guts to attack me, I'll devour you first."
The magic beast suddenly floated into the air until he met Nick at eye level; Nick's eyes seemed completely blank and he was evidently at this moment, as defenseless as a new born baby. The magic beast tapped Nick on the head with one of its right hand's fingers and the stars in its eyes lit up as it began interacting with Nick's thoughts.
The magic beast smiled as it felt the pleasure of consuming thoughts mixed with deep emotions. A few moments later, however, the magic beast frowned as the scene around it suddenly became covered with darkness, the ground was now filled with bones and there was now a decrepit temple that stood erect a few meters away from it. The magic beast spoke with anger in its tone:
"What is this situation? When did I return to the ground?"
The magic beast had unknowingly found itself on the ground, standing among white bones when it had been using its magic power to levitate only a few moments ago and this confused it because this was the first time that it experienced such a turn of events.
Suddenly, a tapping sound came from the top of the temple that stood in front of it and the magic beast looked up with its starry eyes and saw a figure cloaked within the ambient darkness, its ruby red eyes being the only thing that was clearly visible. The magic beast hissed and attempted to use its magic power on the figure and so the stars in its eyes lit up with an intense glow but after a few moments, there was evidently no effect.
"Why did my power fail?"
The tapping sound coming from the top of the temple intensified and the figure resting on the temple's roof spoke with a menacingly cold voice:
"I am losing my patience with that boy, being put into such a desperate situation by a measly thing like you. Who exactly gave you permission to prey on my belongings?"
The magic beast continued to hiss at the mysterious figure at which point the figure became disinterested and said:
"A beast is just a beast after all, even at rank 3. Hmph, since the boy has made such decent progress in his growth over the past few years, I'll give him a gift for his troubles. If he can't make good use of it, then he won't be of any use to me anyway."
The figure stopped tapping the edge of the roof with his finger and raised the finger in the direction of the hairy magic beast. The hairy magic beast stopped hissing and its expression became filled with fear; it quickly tried to run away, turning to the other direction but its reaction was futile. The figure on the roof made a slight swing of its finger and the magic beast was cut vertically into three pieces, from head to toe; the three pieces of the magic beast fell onto the bone covered ground with no resistance whatsoever. The three pieces of the magic beast were soon covered with darkness and removed from sight. The ruby red eyes of the mysterious figure turned away from that area as if nothing had disturbed him in the first place.
********************************
PLOP
The silver haired magic beast fell to the ground from its floating position and became as lifeless as a stone. Nick quickly snapped out of his trance and looked down at the magic beast's carcass with confusion.
(What just happened?)