Chapter 12

Cold. I looked around and saw black; when I looked down at myself, I was perfectly lit. Where am I? "Your mana is very unique." I looked around and saw nothing still. "Sorry, but you won't be able to see me, reincarnate." My eyes widened and I instinctually covered myself with mana. "It'd be futile, anyway. I'm the reason your mana is the way it is. The horns you have are a byproduct of that."

"Who are you?" My artifact asked for me. "Oh, it can speak!" A feminine voice exclaimed, followed quickly by a giggle. "What'll it do?" Another voice asked. "Hopefully it'll be entertaining. I couldn't imagine someone with this power not being entertaining."

"Shut up!" I held my head and I could feel the sweat rolling down the side of my face. "A shame we have to part here. Ta ta!"

"Balere!" I opened my eyes and saw my father grasping my shoulders. "Father? What happened?" He hugged me tightly. "You were yelling in your sleep." I looked past and saw my little brother, along with the rest of my family.

"Are you alright?" I nodded slowly. "Sorry, I must have been having a bad dream..." I rubbed the back of my neck. "Just don't do it again," Adrian said before walking out. "If you ever have bad dreams, don't be afraid to come and get us."

They left the room and I laid back down. What was with that dream? I tried to recall it, but my mind was too foggy. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain on the top of my head, and I grabbed where it was hurting. I could feel my horns growing out of my head, causing the pain. It was only about an inch and a half, but it still hurt.

I stood up and walked over to my desk to write in the empty journal. That was weird, though. I can't remember my dream at all, but I can remember how I felt. I was terrified.

I got shivers just thinking about it, so I just looked out of the window. Thank god I can't see my reflection. I don't want another reason for my family to be awake. I looked up at the moon. A waning gibbous, that means it was just a full moon.

I sighed and sat back down in bed. Pardalis must be worried about how I'm doing right now. Are she and Laurence doing OK? I groaned aloud. "I'm worrying too much for people I probably won't see again..." I turned over and pulled my covers over me.

"School again... At least it won't be as bad as my previous life..."

I woke up in the morning to Lucille. "Mama told me to wake you up..." She said, rubbing her eyes. "Thanks, Lucille."

After getting dressed, I walked out to the living room. "Do we need to walk you to the school again?" Mother asked. "Just for today. I can probably figure it out after that." She nodded as I sat down to eat.

"Alright, I'm off for work!" Father said, grabbing his hat. "Alright, have a good day, honey." The two quickly kissed before my father left. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe he's a blacksmith. I shook my head and lifted my spoon to my mouth.

I stepped into my classroom and sat next to Celesse. "Ah, Mr. Advanced! How nice of you to sit next to little ol' me," She said, sarcastically. "You're the only person in this class that I know..." I rested my bag on the leg of the table.

Ms. Oriol entered the class and sat at her desk. "Such a nuisance..." I looked up at her, and I saw her head resting on her hand. "Is something wrong, miss?" She turned to me and said, "No, just a little headache..." I could tell there was something more to it, but I decided to not push the subject.

Soon, four students a few years older than me entered the class. "Ms. Oriol! How're you doing?" She frowned at the sight of them. "What do you need, Orion?" The boy in question had short brown hair and forest green eyes. "I just wanted to come to check on my old teacher!"

The boy's eyes drifted to me. "What're you staring at?" He hissed. I found the threat funny, so I scoffed and looked away. "Do you know that guy?" I asked Celesse. "No, but I assume he's from Ms. Oriol's batch a few years ago."

"I hear the headmaster picked a student in your class! You must be proud!" Ms. Oriol sighed. "You're already eleven, and yet, you act like a five-year-old. Aren't you about to miss your class?" He sighed. "You're right. See you later!" He scowled at me before leaving.

Once the class was full, Ms. Oriol went to the front. "Good morning, class. How're we feeling?" Everyone had mixed answers. "Today, we're going to learn the first spell of the school year!"

Ms. Oriol took us outside, where we found something similar to an archery range, with targets at varying distances. "Everyone, watch closely."

She took out a wand, which was long and made of metal, and pointed at the closest target. "Guardians of the earth, sky, and sea: amicum meum smite!" In the blink of an eye, something shot out of her wand and hit the target, leaving a small hole. The target began fixing itself as Oriol turned to us. "Now you try."

Celesse went up first. Oriol handed her a small, wooden wand. "All you have to do is recite the incantation, and the spell should work!"

The girl took a deep breath. "Guardians of the earth, sky, and sea: amicum meum smite!" This time, I was able to make out what it was. A thin bolt of lightning shot out of her wand, and it was a strange mix of white, yellow, and purple. When it hit the target, it made a hole slightly smaller than Ms. Oriol's. "Most excellent! Who would like to go next?"

Before anyone could, my hand shot up. "Balere? Alright." Celesse handed me the wand with a smirk. "Better be impressive." I stood at the booth and held my wand in between my middle and pointer finger. Ms. Oriol bent down to whisper in my ear. "Make sure to say the incantation."

I took a deep breath. "Guardians of the earth, sky, and sea: amicum meum smite!" I imagined the spell in my head when nothing happened for a second.

A black lightning bolt shot out of the wand at a high speed and tore a massive hole in the target. I felt my mana levels almost entirely deplete with just one shot.

I leaned forward and caught my breath. I turned to see the entire class stunned. "Uh... sorry?" I scratched my cheek. Ms. Oriol was the first to regain her composure. "I think I see why you were the headmaster's pick..." I sat down next to Celesse. "Good job there Mr. Bigshot."

I leaned back and felt my mana slowly returning. "I think I can only do that one more time in this lifetime," I groaned. The entire class went after me, after the target returned to normal, of course.

"Alright, class. Now I'm going to demonstrate something." She raised her wand and pointed at the farthest target. When she fired another shot, it pittered out halfway. "Does anyone know why that happened?" When no one raised their hands, mine shot up. "You didn't put enough mana into the spell?"

"Exactly. This spell— which is called Bolt— depletes you of mana, and uses it all to make the spell more powerful. That is, unless, you've mastered the spell as I have. I made it so it only used a little less than half of my mana. If I used more mana in my spell, I easily could have reached the target."

She raised it again and shot again. This time, it shot to the target and made a decently sized hole. "When you master a spell, that means you don't need the incantation," I noted this mentally, for an excuse further down the line.

"Does anyone want to try and shoot it to the target?" Before I could raise my hand, I heard laughing. We all turned our heads to see the upperclassman that was in the class before. "Do you mind if I also demonstrate?" Orion asked. "Fine."

He pulled out his personal wand, lower quality than Ms. Oriol's, but still better than the wooden ones we were using. He skipped the incantation, and his bolt almost destroyed the target. "There you go kiddies. Enjoy your day," He said before leaning on the wall with a smirk on his face.

"Comes just to show off..." I stood up and was handed the wand. I began soaking up the mana around me as I steadied my hand. "Guardians of the earth, sky, and sea: amicum meum smite!" I timed the spell perfectly, and I felt my control of the spell. It shot through the air, crackling along the way. When it hit the target, I felt the wind blow toward me.

The spell went through the target, almost entirely destroying it, and it hit the hill behind it, making a small crater. My muscles were restricted, and I knew I was feeling the backlash from using up too much of my mana.

"Ms. Oriol, I'm about to fall over. When I do, I need you to catch me, understand?" I asked in a hushed voice. "A-alright..." I tipped backward, and she caught me with her arms out. "I think I'm going to take you to the infirmary," She said, standing up with me in her arms. "That would be the smart thing to do." Right after that, my eyelids felt heavy, and I passed out.