Fairy folk with maxxed out sprint speed.

Chapter three

Two young Fae folk of bewitching beauty practically glided through the detritus of the forest with haste that would make one's head spin. The leading member was this tall blue-haired man with glistening grey eyes devoid of pupils. He wore a woodland patterned traveling Parka with green pants and leather boots. The Woman falling behind his pace wore the same thing with the only notable difference being that she had two-inch heels on her boots and a Necklace. She had pure silver hair that fell straight down to the middle of her back and bangs that covered her left eye. Her eyes themselves were pupilless silver circles just like her male counterpart. Her eyes darted from the ground to her companions back many times. The distance between them was growing too great. With an elevated voice, she called out to him.

"Poppy! Wait up! You're moving too fast!"

Poppy didn't even bother to look back, too focused on his goal to even consider slowing the pace.

"I'm sorry I can't wait! It's a new spirit! We've got to be the first ones to find it! That way we can get promoted to junior tier Mages!"

Unease crept onto her face as she considered his response. She had heard unsettling things from her Master prior to this outing.

"I know but this area is really dangerous… Master Tryamon said that there were phantasmal beasts dragging the young Fairies away in this area."

"It's fine, Isaea. You know I've already passed combat training with Cain so we should be totally okay!"

He said as he jumped through an obtuse thicket Isaea couldn't pass through. Isaea balled her hands up and slid to a stop, screaming after him, but he was already long gone. Isaea understood that they needed this in order to get out of the lower stratum, but was it really so bad? They get room and board and they have good mentors that help them progress their magical studies at a personalized pace. Isaea honestly felt that this shortcut was not right.

With a great sigh, Isaea sat down on a fallen tree trunk and stared down at her leather boots, clapping the steel toe tips together.

"He really just left me behind…"

She gently grasped the Pendant that hung around her neck. It was a pure purple mana crystal that was carved in the shape of a Maybell Flower that had been given to her by her master. Her master had said that if she ever felt truly in danger that she should grasp the pendant and channel all her mana into it, no matter how much or how little. She appreciated and treasured this gift greatly and looking at it helped her curve frustrating emotions.

As if in an attempt to cheer her up. The prairie sang around Isaea as she sat, sullen and frustrated. Birds jumped down onto her shoulders while small fluffy rabbits with red eyes jumped over and sat at her feet, sniffing her ankles and the bottoms of her boots.

"Hello, little critters. ^-^ " She said with a smile as she released her pendant and bent down to gently scratch behind one of the bunnies' ears.

"Did you get left behind too? Here, let me hold you."

Isaea reached down and picked up two of the rabbits, scritching the tuft of fur underneath their necks as she rocked her left leg up and down.

Suddenly, in the direction Poppy ran, a deafening roar screamed out and scared away all the wildlife that had rested on Isaea aside from the two bunnies that instead burrowed themselves beneath her rather modest bust.

Visible drops of sweat dripped off Isaea's forehead as she stared in that direction, scarcely blinking.

"I-It's okay little bunnies… Big brother Poppy'll deal with it I'm sure."

Another one rang out that caused the bunnies to jump outta her lap and run away.

"Eeeeeek!" She squealed as this one was clearly closer than the other. She got up from the fallen tree trunk and began to walk backward away from the sound.

"...uuun"

"That sounded like… Poppy?"

"...uuuuun!"

Poppy was now clearly in view, the only thing was, his hand seemed to be stuck inside some small purple vortex.

"Ruuuuuun!!!"

"W-What is that?!?" Isaea said in shock and confusion, covering her mouth with both of her hands.

Poppy just grabbed her by her wrist, pulling her along. Her arm nearly got pulled out of its socket as she got dragged off her feet.

"We've gotta run!" He screamed in adrenaline-fueled glee as he kept on racing through the forest.

"What is that strange void that's around your hand?!? And what's chasing us?"

He chuckled and looked back with rosy cheeks, hiking up his eyebrows.

"This is the new spirit! At least I think it is."

She tried to slap him in the back of his head, but the speed at which they were traveling made it prohibitively difficult. Frustrated, she just kicked her feet out and squeezed her eyes shut.

"You dummy! You don't even know?!?"

"Well, the big monster kinda made that not a smart thing to do." He said as he thumbed backward.

Isaea looked back and saw nothing that looked like a monster. All that she could see were trees being trampled like blades of grass. Naturally, this unsettled her, so she reached into her travel bag and took out her magic casting glove. She placed the glove in between her legs as she attempted to slide her hand in during the escape.

"WE'RE JUMPING!!!!!!"

"W-WHAT?!?"

Isaea reached down for her glove and-

"Yahoooooooo!~"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Her glove… didn't make it.

*SPLOOSH*

A few hours later.

"I can't find my glove!" Isaea said in distress as she peaked up from rummaging through the bottom of the river.

"I'll just get you a new one with the promotion money! Don't even sweat it." Poppy said with a grin as he sat there, peaking at how Isaea's clothing and silver shoulder-length hair hugged her body in the river while tinkering with the vortex.

"Don't. even. Sweat. It? Are you… ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!? THAT WAS A GIFT FROM THE ARCH MAGUS YOU DUNCE!!! HOW ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY?!?"

All the blood from Poppy's face drained as she told him who the glove was from. He began sweating so profusely that a small rain shower was dripping from his brow into the vortex. He wiped his forehead clean and ran his hand through his unkempt blue hair, screaming internally.

"Ehehehe… um… Well, I guess you can take credit for drawing out this spirit…?"

Suddenly, the furious Isaea punched him super hard in the back of the head, leaving a tri-bump.

"What do you mean 'Ehe'? That will only be worthwhile if the spirit itself is a really powerful one.

Poppy winced as the bump throbbed painfully

"Did you really have to hit me so hard?" He said as he looked at her with a furrowed brow.

Isaea just huffed and turned back to the river shore.

Shaking his head, Poppy looked back down and refocused on the vortex. It's the first one he's ever seen so it's been trial and error, but he found this one to be particularly strange. It was completely unlike any of the ones that were in the old books back at the academy. Perhaps they actually stumbled upon something super rare!

He began to chew on the inside of his cheek as he zoned completely into the vortex as it required extreme precision in order to extract whatever new spirit lay within before the time it was ready.

Isaea looked back over her shoulder and softened her face as she saw at how diligently Poppy seemed to be working even though she knew that he was actually completely stumped. She rolled her eyes and turned back around to help him out.

"Need some help?" She inquired from behind him.

Poppy turned to reply to her but found that she was hovering right over his shoulder, peeking down at the vortex design.

"You're in my personal space Isaea -_- "

She just blew air into his face and gave off a cheeky grin with closed eyes.

"You totally don't mind anyway. I know you like me ♥ "

Poppy could only grumble and turn his head back around.

"Hmph. Just do whatever you want."

"I will ^^ So you did need help, right?

Poppy tilted his head to the side to allow for Isaea to get a better look.

"Yeah. I thought that I had studied enough to be able to handle any spirit vortex we may have found, but this one doesn't look like any designs that were previously recorded to me. I'm starting to think that we may have actually found something super rare. "

Isaea cocked her right eyebrow up and looked at the side of his face as he said that.

"I feel as though you're getting a bit ahead of yourself. I do remember you struggling with the fundamentals for spirit extracting. Let me go ahead and just remind you since I can't actually help you decipher the vortex pattern since I can't see it clearly. And no buts."

Poppy closed his mouth as he was just about to rebuttal.

Isaea ruffled his hair as she passed over his shoulder and sat down on a two-foot-tall rock in front of him.

"Alright, listen up. In essence, vortexes are something like what a chrysalis is to insects. Though the difference here is that one could actually draw out the spirit if they inject some nature energy inside to expedite the process. The catch is that once you start the process you must completely finish. If this is not done, the Vortex will draw upon the life essence of the one who is attempting to open it. Usually this isn't a concern though since this knowledge is largely forgotten to time for the rest of the world outside the Abyss from which we come from. Unfortunately, you're a bit of a dummy and forgot this part seemingly, so now we're here "

"Wait. Could you repeat that middle part again?"

"Which part in particular? That was a bit of a mouthful."

"The whole thing dies if you can't figure it out part."

"Yeah, well like I said, unless you're able to figure out the vortex pattern and have enough nature energy to nurture the spirit inside, it'll use your life essence instead."

"A-ha…"

"..."

"..."

"I'M REALLY GONNA DIE HERE!!!"

Poppy fell onto his back and began to roll side to side, drafting up the sand into the air. Isaea immediately began to cover her mouth as soon as she noticed him tilt back. After all, this is not the first time he's overreacted like this.

"You really are gonna die if you just freak out!"

Poppy stopped rolling around and pouted like a little child instead. Fed up with this attitude, Isaea jumped up and grabbed him by his Sash, pulling him up by it.

"And now you're trying to disrobe meeee!"

Her hair rose up like slithering tendrils and the veins in her forehead popped out from anger. She had had enough of his nonsense and it was almost too late for him. It seemed that Poppy may have forgotten how his antics had led to a one-sided whooping on occasions past.

"As if you little twerp! Stop messing around!"

"I just want the sweet and gentle Isaea back!" He cried out.

Half-terrified, Poppy jumped up out of her grasp, completely undoing his sash. Fortunately, he leaped into the water as he escaped and so nothing was shown, but that didn't matter for Isaea.

Her face grew bright red as she stared at his waist sash, unbelieving of what he had just done. A moment later was all it took for her to throw the sash at the senseless pervert who was hiding in the water.

"Y-You pervert! What is wrong with you?!?" She said as began to launch ten-foot tall waves of water. They would be twenty-foot waves, but without her catalyst glove, she only had her mind as a mold for her magic.

Poppy held out his hands… well hand and vortex and began to plead. He had not thought that his sash would come undone and cause his trousers to come undone. Thankfully for him, he had landed into waist-deep water.

"Please Isaea it really wasn't on purpo-"

Suddenly the vortex widened and began to slowly drag him in. His eyes went small as he realized the situation. He began to furiously channel nature energy into the seal.

This had been too soon. Sure he wasn't well-read on vortex academia, but he was sure that the draining faze never started this early. It was simply unprecedented. His attempts were futile though, as the rate at which the vortex began to consume him was increasing by the second. While before it had only taken hold of his hand, it was now all the way up to his elbow and making haste.

Isaea ceased her assault as she too realized what was happening and rushed over into the water. Unfortunately for the both of them, the vortex had also begun to suck in the river water which made approaching Poppy impossible as the current swept everything inside the water into the vortex itself. Isaea began to panic as she lost control, losing her ability to manifest her magic as it required dedicated thought that her brain simply couldn't afford. In fear, She grasped the pendant that she had also acquired from her master, and screamed.

Suddenly a slice in reality formulated next to her. It expanded into a rectangular doorway with celestial constellations inscribed on the four corners indicating the blessings of said constellations. Inside the doorway stood an older Fae woman. She was draped in beautiful white robes and glistening Silver form-fitting armor that exuded a harsh radiance that blinded both her and Poppy. With alien eyes that looked similar to pearls, the Fae woman scanned the environment before her. Her eyes lingered on the portal for a brief moment before settling on Isaea's form. The Fae woman took one step, and time around the space stopped. She descended on steps made of light down to Isaea and took hold of her wrist. Isaea could only watch as she was slowly dragged through the still air, unable to even close her eyes. She wanted to ask the Fae warrior to save her friend. She wanted her to help them both! But those feelings too were frozen as she fell into unconsciousness upon entering the door.

For Poppy though, it seemed as if she simply vanished into thin air. The only indication that she had been there before was her leftover travel luggage on the shore and her summoning glove, which was being swept to him from downstream. Poppy reached out for it as he struggled against the vortex which had now nearly taken in his entire body as it seemed that it was the only thing that was unaffected by the time stop.

Just as Poppy grabbed the glove, the vortex had closed completely around him, leaving him alone inside the pocket dimension of the vortex.

Poppy looked around in terror and awe as the realm flitted between a million different images at once. Both of places that he could recognize and strange worlds that he could not even fathom.

And in the center of it all… was a floating blue flame.