Chapter 28:Brewing Bonds and Dueling Dreams

I responded after some thought." no, wait. I can't take you to him "

" Why not? "

" I promised I wouldn't betray his secret to the teachers. I won't break my word "

" Oh, why am I surprised? You're leonheart's student. You know this isn't a joke, don't you? If you don't find the cause of the ruptured magical Ligaments. It could happen again. "

What have you gotten yourself into, sam? I'll have to have a serious talk with her and find out the truth....

" Are you going to run to me every time and waste rare academy resources? "

" No I will solve this problem. I'll find the reason. "

She started laughing" you? A first-year student? Yes. Trust me. You have a lot of confidence. But you have a problem with wisdom... "

This is a failure. We'll have to bring Samantha in. Or find a compress somewhere else. 

Victoria bends down and retrieves a jar from beneath the desk. " but wisdom comes with experience. "

I stood there in shock. " I don't understand. You're giving me the compress? "

She responded " And experience comes with mistakes. Go help your friend. "

 I took the jare " thank you a lot. "

" But promise me that if you don't find the cause of his injury soon... You will come to me...." 

" You have my word, Victoria. Thank you. "

" I believe in you. Good luck to you. " 

That's great; now I can help Sam. But that needs to wait. I still have Sabrina's class to attend, and then we'll see.

I entered the class. " students, take your seats, class about to begin. The topic of today's lesson will be: stoneskin potion. "

" Excuse me.... Why do we need to turn our skin to stone, miss spellman? Won't that hurt? "

" great question. It would not. Sure the name may sound a little bit graphic and flashy. But In reality this potion makes your skin hardened and more resistant to magic. But no ' golem-like' appearance. 

Your skin will just get as strong as the armor or the stone . Hence the name ' stoneskin '. That's all "

" Oh that's why. I get it . thank you "

" Now, if there's no more questions, let's start brewing. Who's gonna be first? " 

A boy stand and approached the cauldron" Carter, who brews a stone-skin potion on such a low heat? You see how sloppy it gets? "

" Yes ma'am. "

" Reas the recipe again carefully, well try again next class. Now , have a seat. "

Then Grace's turn came. She stood and approached the cauldron. " grace, darling, it's a beautiful shade. But..... "

" It is, isn't it? I've tried hard. Thank you miss spellman. "

" I'm not finished. ( She took a bottle out of her desk ) And this is what stone skin potion look like. It's beautiful, but you've obviously mixed up the ingredients. 

I'm afraid what you've concocted will kill a man rather than save him. " 

After a couple of unsuccessful attempts by others, it was my turn. I stood up and began mixing. " stir a little faster, James. ( I did what she said ) That's it good. You have a natural gift for potions . " After mixing for a while, the potion took on the same color as the one Sabrina showed us. 

" Look at the hue of that potion. Just like mine...."

" Thank you. But it's all down to you, miss spellman. You must be a natural-born teacher...."

She placed her finger on my lips. " Okay, now we're both flattering each other. Let's stop. "

" Don't you like getting compliments ? " 

" I do. But not during class. Have a seat "

" class, I want you all to pay attention to these two grains. Perfect shade, nutty smell, no bubbles. I made one of those bottles especially for the demonstration. 

(No, don't tell me she decided. ) And the other one was just brewed by Mr. Pogger. Bravo, let's all give him a round of applause. "

" Bravo. Good jobe James. "

" Come on, guys. I just got lucky. " Damn, I was worried about nothing. It's nice to be the center of attention. It's like stepping onto the field again and hearing the support of the stands..

" That's the end of lesson for today. James , don't forget to pick up your potion. " 

That's right, I can take it back.

I Approached the desk " here's your reward. "

" What kind of reward is that? "

She looked annoyed" what do you mean? "

" Well, I brewed it. I can brew one just like it any time. Is that a reward? "

" Hmmmm... Well, what do you want as a reward? "

" I don't know... A kiss , maybe ? "

Sabrina appeared surprised, but then she burst into laughter. " ah-ha-ha "

Ouch, pretty painful reaction. 

" James, you can't be serious. You're my student, and how would it even look from the outside..."

On the other hand , she didn't say she didn't like me... I think it's just the opposite.... But it's better to lighten the mood now. " Come on. Miss spellman, it's just a joke. Just like you said. "

She looked relifed " oh... Victoria told me about those jokes of yours.... Lovely. Now leave "

I grabbed my potion and exited. As I walked out of the academy, I noticed Frollo again near the stairs, so I approached him. 

" Good evening, Mr. Frollo. "

" Oh, it's you, Mr. Pogger. Still trying to be a duelist ? "

" You bet I am, in fact, I've already learned the combat bolt spell. And I'm ready to become the new nortale champion. "

" Huh ... Ha-ha-ha-ha, you really are a joker, Mr. Pogger. Probably want to repeat your friend Samantha's success. "

" And surpass them, too "

" That's very interesting. I commend you on your presistentce. Let me tell you how the fights go. "

" I'm all ears "

" To win the duel, you have to be more skilled in battle magic. When the duel begins, you have to defeat your opponent with magic. You can also use potions to improve your chances to win. 

Now, about battle magic. You can only use simple spells learned from Victoria. Because this way, we can be sure you don't accidentally wreak havoc upon nortale. "

" Alright, that sounds reasonable ."

" At first, you'll only be able to create a combat bolt. You need to attend Victoria's lesson to learn more valuable spells. And believe me, you'll need them. 

And one more thing. The duels continue until until one of the contestants falls breathless....."

Wait what are he serious....