Those shrouded in darkness burn you for light
Sitting in the auditorium between Brian and Drew, Flynn was scrolling through his phone that was so close to dying. Another report on a rogue mage exterminated by Eternity was on the top of today's news feed. Rogue mages were mostly unregistered mages, a large portion of them being people who undergone Mana Adaption from shady organizations. The rogue mage was supposedly a fire mage, also a serial arsonist. Burning down several buildings which caused the death of several Earthlings, he was listed as wanted for a good amount of time. Kevin, who was sitting behind Flynn also caught a glimpse of what he was looking at.
Kevin, nicknamed Bones because of his slim figure, was playing with a flickering flame in his palm. His slim figure was caused by a certain magic he was practicing, conversion magic. It allowed him to extract energy from different sources, than converting it into all kinds of energy. To practice conversion magic, he'd always turn the calories he ate into electricity or heat, resulting in his abnormal physiology. Before Flynn could read more about the article, his screened turned black. Frustrated, he pinched Brian on the thigh. "Charge it for me," Flynn said, tossing it to Kevin. "You sure? My conversion between calories and electricity is still unstable," Kevin said. "I have faith in you, Bones," Flynn said, patting Kevin on his shoulders.
Pulling out a paper clip from his pocket, Kevin inserted into the charging port. Taking a deep breath, sparks began to appear on his skin. His hair stood up from the electric current running through his body. Ding! The charging icon appeared on Flynn's phone, indicating that he had succeeded. "Yes! Finally I managed to..." before Kevin could finish his sentence, a pulse of electricity arced from his hand to the paper clip, instantly short-circuiting the phone. Smoke began to pour out from the phone, indicating that it was probably fried. "Darn it you walking skeleton, you can't even charge a phone!" Flynn groaned, as he quickly put out the sparks that were slowly catching on fire. "I do not specialize in controlling tiny amounts of energy, not to mention your phone was already an outdated antique," Kevin replied, shaking his head. "Oh well, I guess it's time for me to get a holophone," Flynn sighed. He liked the feeling of his fingertips pressing onto the hard glass. Holophones were miniature projectors that created a hologram, it was much lighter, cheaper, and more environmental friendly.
Just before Flynn could have anymore banter with his friends, the principal walked onto the stage. "Silence," he said in a booming voice, amplified by the microphone. The chatter among the audience slowly died down as everyone directed their attention towards the bald man. Adjusting his glasses, he wiped the sweat of his shiny head with a handkerchief. "As a student of Southern First Senior Mage High School, dignity, pride, integrity, and honor should have already been instilled in your hearts. But today would be a pivotal day for your lives, the first day you become a true mage. Wield the power with a benevolent heart, peace and prosperity would soon follow. Most of you would become brilliant people who will lead the world, be sure not to forgot gratitude and respect," the principal's opening speech ended with thunderous applause.
"Peace and prosperity of who? Mages?" whispered Flynn, not really impressed with the principal's "motivating" speech. Mages that held high positions such as the principal were mostly mages that detested Earthlings. "Don't be so negative, we could help more Earthlings once we finish the training," Drew said optimisticly. "I sincerely hope so," replied Flynn.
The next to step up to the podium was the Colonel. Assigned to every district, the Colonels were responsible for the recruitment of potential new mages. Although the world was mostly peaceful, there were still several dangerous factions of people that hunted mages. There was also the threat of rogue mages, who required powerful mages and Wardens to take care of. "As you all know, more and more rogue mages are appearing everyday as Mana Adaption is slowly being replicated by the underground organizations. We will need more recruits to combat the rogue mages, preferably fire type mages and lightning type mages. Electric mages are also much welcomed, also the same for healing mages. The army shall teach you the discipline of a powerful mage, also granting you the possibility of gaining knighthood," the Colonel said. Although the speech wasn't that persuavive and motivating to Flynn, it still managed the ignite the blood of a good amount of students. They cheered loudly, some even releasing a controlled pillar of flame. A small portion of the students were actually quite fond of the idea of attaining knighthood, since it also comes with lots of perks.
"Only insane people would join the army. Wars and crimes shouldn't be happening in this day and age," Flynn said. Most of the crisis that humanity used to face were easily solved by the introduction of mana, and the multinational enterprise should've solved the issue of different countries ages ago. Although Flynn understood why there were still conflicts, he hated how the ruling class was responding to it. Other factions came up to the podium one by one, each giving their own speech trying to recruit some prestigious students. The only factions that didn't bother to show up was the Doctor's Union and Tech Union, since they knew most of the students will be begging to join their faction.
As all the speakers finished their speeches, booths were set up outside of the auditorium, where students could sign up for different factions. Knowing that there will definitely be a long line in front of the Doctor's Union's booth, Flynn raised his hand. "What's the matter?" the teacher said, noticing Flynn. Pointing at the restroom at the back of the auditorium, the teacher got the message. Nodding, he allowed Flynn to leave his seat. Quickly walking towards the toilets, Flynn pretended to be in a hurry.
Entering the restroom, he looked around to see if there was anyone in the stalls. Making sure that there was no one here, he opened the windows. Leaping out the window with his enhanced strength, he landed gracefully on the grassy field outside the auditorium. He walked towards the booth happily, humming a light tune. From the distance, he could see that there was already someone in front of the booth, waiting. Getting closer, he recognized the silhouette. "You bastard," he said, kicking the slightly chubby person in front of him. "Fatty, how did you get here so fast?" Flynn said. "Lunatic, I couldn't be more surprised," the teenager replied.
It was Jasper, also a childhood friend of Flynn and Brian. They attended the same schools since they were little. Unfortunately, they were assigned to different classes. Jasper is also a talented Healing mage, his father also a doctor. "The backdoor?" Jasper asked. "Nope, the window behind the toilet stalls," Flynn replied. "Wait a minute, you slipped out from the back door?" Flynn asked. "What do you mean by that?" Jasper replied. "How can a fat person like you slip through the door unnoticed?" Flynn teased, as he slowly backed off. "Get your ass over here," Jasper said, pretending to be angry as he began to chase Flynn. Catching up to Flynn, who wasn't really trying to escape, Jasper pounced on him. Flynn's knees instantly buckled, as he felt to the ground. "Oh lord, you are a reincarnation of a mountain , aren't you?" Flynn said, barely able to breathe. "You really are courting death," Jasper said, as the two began to wrestle. With a huge weight advantage, Jasper easily overpowered Flynn.
After a rough battle, as least that what Flynn thought, he surrendered. Getting up, he shook the sand and dust off his clothes. "You know I just finished wrestling Brian earlier, right?" Flynn said, panting as he healed his wounds. "Let's get in line first, they are going to come out soon," Jasper said, checking his holophone. Standing in front of the booth that has yet to open, Flynn asked, "Surgeon?" Surgical mages were actually not that different from Earthling surgeons, but they specialize in magic that allowed them to cut through mage tissue easily, which was almost impossible for normal surgeons since a mage's body was much more robust than Earthlings. "Probably, the other ones seemed quite boring. How about you, mind magic?" Jasper asked. "Of course, you know that I've always been fascinated about the human brain," Flynn replied. "If only you could fix your own damaged brain, you crackpot," Jasper pretended to sigh. "The first brain that I'll be fixing is your's," Flynn replied. Mind magic was a extremely unique type of magic, that allowed mages to alter the chemicals and structures of human minds. Powerful mind mages could not only cure almost any kind of mental illness, but also has the ability to create illusions and forge fake memories in the minds of others.
"Dismissed," the booming voice of the principal could be heard from the auditorium, both Flynn and Jasper quickly pretended to queue up as the students exited the building. "How did they get there so fast?" the first group of students to exit the auditorium noticed the two people already in line. With a smug grin on their faces, Jasper and Flynn chuckled.