Light vs Dark

Some time later...

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"I want to hear an apology from each of you. Otherwise..."

"Pow~~" The blow is strong, and John emits a groan of pain...

I am outside my room, with a few young men lying around me, some with missing teeth and others with swollen eyes from my accurate strikes. Obviously, I controlled my strength. If I used my full power, I'm sure I would have knocked the heads off these pathetic aspiring acolytes.

My foot is on John's head, a warrior with the attributes of an experienced fighter, but nothing I can't handle. It was this bastard who first told me to shut up last night and still didn't respect me.

I took a deep breath, waiting for the obvious.

The weaker ones were the first to scratch their heads and bow, saying, "Sorry... I was a bit tired, please... Forget what happened. I promise it won't happen again."

"Really, I am truly ashamed..."

"Sorry..."

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John, with his face under my foot, raised his voice saying, "Mercy! I am an ignorant fool..."

I take a deep breath and lift my foot off John's face, but before he can get up, my face twists in anger, and I land a kick to his stomach.

"Pow~~"

"UllllRR~~" John writhes on the ground, bitterly regretting having said the words yesterday without checking who he was addressing. Until yesterday, he was the strongest among the aspiring acolytes, a warrior who trained his whole life.

But then, in the morning, someone entered his room by forcefully kicking the door and attacked him like a monster with such power that he was helpless. Besides the blows being fast, they were so strong that with each punch and kick he received, it felt like a train had hit him.

But, fortunately for John, I didn't want to hurt him fatally.

I sit in a chair I ordered Brandon earlier to bring from my room.

I look at John on the floor and say, "What is your talent for magic?"

John gets up from the floor, still feeling his broken nose bleeding, and says, "I am a Moon!" Upon hearing this, everyone around looks at him with a bit of envy because it seems he is the only one with above-average talent.

I nod, understanding, and say, "Interesting... But! What about you?" I point to a scrawny boy with no muscles, who stammers, "I... I... have only one star."

I observe the boy for a moment, pondering the glaring discrepancy between the talents present.

"One star, huh?" I say, with a mixture of disdain and reflection. "And yet you had the audacity to disrespect me?"

The boy trembles, his legs barely holding him up. He opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out.

"I don't care about your talent," I continue, my voice low but firm. "As long as you don't dare disrespect me again, then remember that. Now, all of you, get out of my sight before I lose even more patience, except for John, we need to talk a bit."

The aspiring acolytes start to move quickly, spreading out through the cabin. John, who was on the ground, clenches his fists and says, looking at Brandon, who was the second weakest boy, "Help me up!" Brandon, finding John's furious eyes, quickly obeyed and approached, helping him up while the scrawny boy still struggled to keep his balance.

"I traveled about seven months on a dirigible, now, I will ask some questions, and I expect you to answer me sincerely."

I smiled like a demon at John.

John feels the weight of the situation. He knows that if he tries to lie, he will be beaten again. He raises his hands in surrender and responds, saying, "No problem, man..." He looks to the side, where a group of girls with level 1 and 2 talents nervously watch the scene. "Get a chair for me!"

One of the girls quickly enters her room and fetches a chair. The chair is a bit dusty, but John doesn't mind. He sits in front of me, whispering, "These nobles are so weak..."

I ignore his whispers and ask, "Do you know this place where we are?"

John hesitates for a moment, but realizes he cannot afford to irritate me any further. "Yes, I know," he responds, trying to keep his voice steady. "We are at the Lunar Veil Magic Institute. It is one of the most renowned, where every year the

conference of magical schools takes place. Or at least, that's what I thought..."

I nod, indicating that he should continue. "Tell me more about the Institute."

John takes a deep breath, clearly uncomfortable. "The Institute is divided into various factions, each led by powerful mages. I only remember that there are some very wealthy mages sponsoring new blood every year, for some reason."

I listen carefully, absorbing every word. "What do you mean by sponsoring?"

John furrows his brow and says, "On the dirigible I traveled on, there were some noble descendants of mages, and they were very strong and talkative, different from the usual noble descendants. I overheard some things, and it seems that someone is spending a lot of magical crystals so that we common humans can become mages."

"Do you really think a sane mage would waste about seven months to carry a bunch of youngsters on a dirigible just for entertainment? Obviously, they are getting paid to do this. Besides, the money they charge us to allow us to enter here is just them trying to squeeze as much profit from the weaker ones."

I pause, reflecting on the information. "That makes sense..."

John smiles and says, "I was also a bit thoughtful when I heard this for the first time, but all I can do is thank those wealthy mages who are doing this. HAHAHA... If it weren't for them, I would certainly never have the opportunity to use my five-star talent."

As John laughs and begins to relax around me, I hear someone entering through the door with a loud bang.

"PAh~~"

"It's time. Follow me and don't fall behind. Anyone who falls behind will be killed!"

The authoritative female voice that resonated in the small cabin where we were was obviously Elara's. I stand up from the chair and bow in respect before the mage of light.

Everyone inside the cabin heard her voice and began to move, lining up in front of her. Being the tallest, I was at the front. John stood right behind me, and behind him was a girl named Benina, with a three-star talent, and so on until the last person.

"Good... Now follow me and do not dare stray from the path!"

I bow again and nod, accepting her orders. After all, no one here wanted to die.

As I followed in silence, I couldn't help but notice Elara's seductive body. She was a mature woman, extremely attractive. Her long legs and slender waist formed a truly tempting silhouette. However, I dared not express these thoughts in any way, keeping my face impassive.

The large field around us seemed to be coming to an end. All the tents were being dismantled, and in the distance, some giant animals were flying, certainly carrying students on their backs. The environment, previously extremely busy with people coming and going, was now starting to empty. We walked for a few more minutes until we encountered Raven's group and his aspiring magic acolytes.

Raven was standing as if waiting for someone. Behind him was a large number of young people, certainly between 40 and 50, much more than our group, which did not total 20.

Raven, with his skeletal body, looked at us. The yellow light in his eyes changed color and became black, glowing in such a way that it sent horrible chills down my spine and the spines of everyone watching this scene.

In contrast, Elara's light shone intensely, almost blinding everyone who looked directly at her. Observing this small conflict of light and shadow, I realized that light and shadow mages really hated each other to the bone.

Raven took a step forward, his voice echoing like a whisper of death. "Elara, always so bright and impertinent. I see that this year, the Tower of the Sun Mountain has few students."

Elara was unfazed. Her voice was firm and clear. "Raven, your taste for drama is as predictable as the darkness you embrace, but unlike the Tower of Eletial that prefers quantity, we prefer quality."

I could feel the rising tension between the two leaders. The other young people around me were also nervous, but no one dared to move a muscle or look away.

Raven laughed, a dry and joyless sound. "We shall see, Elara, we shall see. But remember, darkness is always lurking, ready to swallow the light."

Elara lifted her chin, defiant. "And the light will always find a way to shine, Raven. Always."

The two stared at each other for a moment that seemed like an eternity. Then, Elara signaled for us to continue, and we began to move forward, leaving Raven and his group behind.

As we walked, I could feel the impact of the confrontation between the two mages. It was not just a matter of power or the number of followers. It was a battle of ideologies, an eternal war between light and shadow.

I took one last look at Raven's group and noticed someone waving in my direction. It was Mavia, her yellow hair seemed to be changing, and... Wait? Her dark skin is turning white?"

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1623 words

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