By the time I had returned to the cafeteria, it was empty, and the spot my summoner and I had sat was void of the food both of us were looking forward to eating.

  I licked my lips, realizing I was thirsty.

  I never got that drink in the end. Does this mean it’s 5th period now?

  I made a silent prayer for the food I never got to eat before taking out my map and searching for the location of my last class for the day.

  That was when I heard shouting.

  I looked up and saw one of the cafeteria staff members aggressively motioning for me to come over. Against my better judgment, I walked up to them.

  They then went back inside the kitchen, so I waited. Moments later, they came out with something wrapped in paper and a rope, tied in the shape of a cross.

  Curious, I moved to open it, but their shouting stopped me abruptly, aggressively motioning for me to go away. Not wanting to be subject to a further onslaught of loud and belligerent words, I ran, holding the unknown package in one hand and my map in the other.

  …

  This is it, right?

  I double-checked the route I had taken to my 5th period, and it led me again to this door.

  Standing imposingly before me at the bottom of the stairs was a large pair of double doors at the end of a lane of red carpet. There were a few locations that I knew had double doors, yet this would be the second time I’d enter a location through them.

  Should I just go back to the dorm? Just standing here makes me shiver from fear.

  The door itself and the corresponding room were labeled on the map. When Mr. Blonde wrote the numerical order of the classes I would be attending, he drew the numbers inside all of the rooms. This door had a curved entrance leading to it, something I paid little mind to when I was finalizing my optimal travel and escape routes. Now I regret overlooking such a peculiar detail, as nothing indicated I would be descending some stairs.

  What if there’s a monster that could attack me at a moment’s notice?

  I didn’t want to go in without a means to defend myself. All of my options so far have been non-lethal. I needed something that would be fatal.

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  Something that would work on a moment’s notice would be a projectile or beam.

  For projectiles, I’d have to imagine the object travelling from point A to point B.

  For beams, I simply have to imagine a line appearing between 2 points.

  Technically, both follow the same logic since energy is traveling in a direction, but a single, continuous beam is easier to manage than a barrage of projectiles. That, and it’s instantaneous.

  I conjured a golden orb identical to the one Mr. Blonde conjures, then imagined a beam being emitted from the orb. It attacked a nearby wall, but since I imagined the wall not taking damage, the wall was left unscathed. Next, I attached the curling motion of my index finger, effectively creating an imaginary trigger. When I pulled the trigger, a beam fired. All I needed to do was give the beam more force, and I had myself a viable means of defense.

  I rotated the orb to point in front of me, even though it looked the same from any direction, and held my trigger finger out, ready to fire.

  Weaponized orb ready, I pushed open the door and slowly descended the stairs.

  …

  I had to make another orb function as a flashlight so that I could see where I was stepping, but I was able to see light at the end of the stairs. Near the end of the stairs, I dissipated the flashlight orb, but left the weapon orb primed to fire.

  When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I couldn’t help but stare in awe.

  Before me was an entire underground field, about as big as the entire school’s floor plan, if not bigger. Suddenly, I believed the school was built on a hill not just to emphasize its wealth and societal status.

  Ahead of me were students clashing with each other using their respective magical abilities. Earth, Ice, Vine, Wind, Water, and Fire. Seeing different pairs of students clash reminded me of the fight I had seen between the Wind and Vine mages, although the nature of the abilities I was seeing was different.

  At the center of the underground field was the unmistakable figure of the old man, still donning the same robes.

  When I stepped onto the field, I noticed it was made of sand, reminiscent of the dirt track my high school had. I kicked some, but no cloud of dust formed.

  I looked back at the old man’s robe, seeing its tail touching the ground.

  Did he seriously walk all the way there with his robe? Is he not concerned about it getting worn down?

  I took a step forward, intending to meet up with the rest of the class for my obligatory lesson I likely wouldn’t understand.

  I wouldn’t take the next step, because in an instant, the old man was suddenly in front of me. I was so surprised that I ended up tripping backwards and fell on my rear, dropping the package I had gotten from the cafeteria.

  The bottom of his robe floated for a moment, revealing black pants from his ankle to below his knees.

  It made me wonder what the nature of his power was to knock me out and travel distances near instantly.

  Regardless, I was properly intimidated, so much so that the weapon orb I had primed to fire started fading into nothing. I must’ve been so scared that I forgot to focus on it.

  He spoke some words, and I got up, picking up the package I had dropped. Behind him, a few students who were not fighting took notice of me.

  Did I seriously consider retaliating against him with my current abilities? If he’s this fast with whatever his power is, I stand no chance.

  Even though I wouldn’t be able to understand the words that would come with this period’s lesson, I needed to learn something from this class.