2 Getting Along With Each Other

Astarios, 3760 N. Dn.

„What's wrong with you? Is there even less in your brain than I thought? Your opponent is 5 meters away from you and you just destroy everything in a 20 meter radius, are you stupid? Every soldier in the field would have died just because of your stupidity. Why do I have to train with you, even a sack of potatoes would be more useful than you!"

„Ha, big words from the weakling who can barely hold a training sword. Even your equipment weighs more than you. At least I would kill a few enemies and not end up as fodder like you, you worm!"

Leo and Blade argued like every morning who was the more useless. Leo was the brain and Blade the hands but they just couldn't work together. This made the cooperation between the group even more broken, the other three students had to watch how the two blockheads argued every training day. It was clear to everyone that the two did not like each other.

For a month now, the five had arrived in this world. While Leo, Blade and Marah found it difficult to get used to it, Adrian and Luke had hardly any difficulties. Both were fantasy fanatics who were more fascinated by this world than frightened by it. While Luke got along well with people, Adrian preferred to be alone. Marah was overwhelmed at first. She was very shy and quiet, so she hardly fit into the group. She even fainted at the king's welcome and spent a whole day in the room set up for her. The others were tested directly by the Kyruth-Crystal. They closed their eyes and concentrated on the light that appeared in front of them. Depending on the color and strength of the light, the Krystal decided which types of magic and skills could be learned. How fast this happens depends on talent, dedication but also luck. Thus, in addition to the 4 natural elements, there was also dark and white magic. These were special forms that appeared very rarely and were very difficult to learn. With perfect mastery, you could even take out an entire army by yourself. If used wrong anyone using it could bring calamity to others and themselves. Furthermore, it was possible to learn and combine several types of magic at the same time, but this could take years and cause long-term damage to the user. The goal was to perfect magic with synchronicity to the user's body and weapon. This allowed one to fight normally even in emergency situations and without a materialized weapon. No matter what the situation, any form of magic was very useful.

The five of them could hardly process this mass of information at the beginning. Luke wrote down everything and literally learned it by heart. In his school he was a nerd who was very ambitious and demanded a lot from himself. He helped many classmates with their studies and was relatively popular, even the teachers quickly found this out and made him a tutor for other students. Soon he didn't feel like doing the job anymore but he could hardly turn down favors or say no.

Adrian was also part of his class but unlike Luke he wasn't the least bit interested in school or learning, no one really knew what Adrian was interested in.

Blade was also a student but spent most of his time on the basketball team, he was the captain. Despite his dedication to sports, he somehow always managed to do well on the tests, he was a natural. Later on that became his downfall, since he was the best on the team and no one could compete with him. Eventually Blade got bored and left the team. Marah, on the other hand, spent all her time studying alone, she had no real hobbies or interests. But she was not always shy and quiet all her life, it was more her past that forced her to be.

Leo was new at their school when he was suddenly summoned. He was 2 years younger than the others. His parents often moved away, so he hardly had any real friends. But this time he had planned to find as many friends as possible. Unfortunately his parents were very strict with him and hardly allowed him any free time. It was his 3rd day at school when the summoning took place. They were strangers to each other but they all had one thing in common: they had no excitement and tension in their lives. Tired of the constant daily grind, fed up with or simply uninterested in the world. That night, all five of them were lying in their beds, looking at the ceiling or the sky as usual. Their only thought was: Why is this world so dull? Those were their last words before they fell asleep and woke up here.

At first they thought it was a bad joke, but soon they realized that it was reality. Their desire for change and novelty was fulfilled...but at what price would be revealed later. There was a usual greeting like from a fantasy novel, the king and his entourage declared them the chosen ones and gave them their tasks. In less than 2 months they would go exploring outside the kingdom for the first time and learning how this world functions. Soon they would face the threads and dangers this world had to offer.

On the very first day, the magic trial was conducted. Blades Crystal immediately lit up in a bright red, his specialty was pure fire. Luke's Crystal turned light blue, he was a water mage. The light blue made it clear that he had a specific talent for healing magic in addition to normal water magic. This was rare, as special subtypes were actually only apparent after long training.

Adrian's Crystal turned green and lit up for nearly a minute, his potential was enormous. Marah's Crystal seemed to turn gray, but no clear color was visible. When they were about to get a new Crystal, her Crystal turned jet black, everyone in the room was amazed. There had been no black magic for many years. While everyone was wide-eyed, Marah just wanted to leave the hall as soon as possible, she hated the attention. While most people turned their attention to Marah, it was now Leo who touched the Crystal. Because of the uproar over black magic, no one noticed that Leo's Crystal did not turn to any color. Even after several attempts, the Crystal remained transparent. Everyone remained speechless and Leo also became restless. In order to get rid of this restlessness, the king ordered another test the next day. The rest of the day the five were informed about the kingdom of Astarios.

Astarios was one of the 5 kingdoms that currently ruled. Among them were peoples resembling dwarves, elves, beastmen, barbarians and the long forgotten folk of Erazal, which meant „ghosts" in the old languages. There were nearly no informations about them since they went extinct for hundreds of years. Although the kingdoms were at war with each other, this was not the greatest threat to all. For almost a year now, portals opened from which mutant-like creatures emerged. They looked as if they had been created in a laboratory and were equipped with heavy armor and weapons. Their appearance alone caused fear and panic among all races. The portals had no fixed location, they opened randomly and completely at will. These monsters didn't just kill, they ate their victims afterwards. After a short time, everyone realized that they alone had no chance against these creatures. Therefore, the rulers forged an alliance. As long as these portals appeared, all disputes would be put aside to fight together against these monsters. However, everyone was cautious, no one trusted the other completely. This situation was perfect for backstabbing and betrayal. Therefore, cooperation took place only on the battlefield.

The next day Leo was tested again, but again the Crystal did not react. Rumors quickly spread about him being magic-less and thus summoned unnecessarily. Soon it didn't stop at looks, no matter where he went people started insulting and cursing him. Everyone put their fate in the hands of these "heroes" but he was just a cripple. Even the king hated Leo, he remebered him of his son. At first Leo was not interested in all this, but with time he could not stay calm, he withdrew and often lost his temper. Nevertheless, he had to train with the others, which always went wrong. He was more of a target than a real opponent, but he had no choice. The king would not let him go, he would cause too much turmoil and destroy his reputation if he was to go in the city. Thats why he was „imprisoned" in the palace. In his training sessions he was mostly just defeated, no matter what he did, he had no chance against magic. Adrian whirled him into the air with a wind tornado, Luke attacked him with his whirl too but healed him immediately afterwards, Leo was very grateful for the help. Marah was rather afraid of hurting others and had a hard time in training, although her magic could be a decisive advantage in battle. She was given the most attention, but she couldn't handle the pressure at all. Leo wasn't angry that she didn't use her magic, although he would have used it immediately if he could. He seemed cold and envious on the outside, but had a big heart when it came to helping others. The worst training awaited him against Blade, who played with him rather than taking him seriously.

Soon there were only 2 weeks left until they would move out. Leo knew that he was just a hindrance like that. No one had any real expectations of him, but he wanted to at least prove the four of them wrong. With time he learned to keep a cool head and tried to become the eye of the group. He would not attack directly but analyze the environment and spy out advantages. Until late at night he read books about magic and how to use it, he learned these things not only by heart but also how to fight on with his full strength in exceptional situations like injuries or panic. With a sword he was as good as useless but with his head he was a weapon not to be underestimated. Although he was 2 years younger than the others, he seemed more mature than everyone thought. He had a plan how to use the training in his favor. Adrian and Luke's strengths and weaknesses he found out quickly, with Blade it was a bit more complicated. The only way was to provoke him to the point that he used his abilities with full force. But then there was Marah, who made little progress and had no desire to fight. She often hid to avoid having to train. Leo finally found her in her room. Of course she didn't feel like having company, but Leo didn't let up. Finally after 3 days she talked to him, when he heard about her past he was both surprised and sad. Her situation was way more complicated and sad than anyone could've thought.