“So sir, how can I use my flight skill?”
Kralus who was smiling watching my enjoyment, then flinched out as if he forgot something. Fumu, yea, he forgot to teach me how to use this flight skill.
“Oops, damn I almost forgot. Thanks for reminding!”
“Y-you're welcome..sir.”
“Hm. Imagine yourself getting pulled up by a mysterious force. Or think of it as if there is no gravity acting on your body, and slowly push your body up. Try it.”
“Okay sir…”
This...seemed a little absurd, but perhaps that’s how this world runs. Perhaps, that’s the order of this world…Whatever, I only need to follow what he says and do exactly as I am told.
Firstly, I Imagined as if gravity disappeared from existence and tried to pull up my body. I had my eyes closed, so I couldn't see myself moving up. But I could tell I was flying as my feet were not touching the ground anymore. The pressure on the feet slowly disappeared and I could feel myself floating above the ground.
To confirm, I slowly opened my eyes, and saw that I was indeed floating in the air without any support. I was clearly using the flight skill and magic for the first time ever in my life. It brought a bright smile onto my glowing face. Eyes sparkled, cheeks dimpled, and an expression of absolute satisfaction was built up on my face. This was something that I would never forget. This moment of unutterable joy and pleasurable excitement would remain in my memory for the rest of my life. But it wasn’t that only the pleasant feeling followed.
I could now feel that the top half of my body became heavier, like only the lower half of my body was still floating. I began to shake, trying to maintain balance, as my right leg seemed to slip out from under me and my head banged against the ground. Due to the sudden collision, I winced, trying not to fail about awkwardly in the upside down position I now found myself in. Yea, upside down position.
“Aaooww!!”
“Boy, you will take some time to have control over this skill, Flight is not easy to learn.”
Fumu, seemed like it. It was as if my premier attempt at surfing in the ocean, so failures are to be expected in the first try. As Kralus mentioned, it might take a long time for me to fully master this flight skill. Aya, upon seeing me upside-down, rushed to help me out.
“Hisashi! Are you okay?”
In the meantime I was trying to lift myself up fully, but all of those attempts were failures. But in my last try I was able to lift my body a little, but not enough to gain control and float straight, and fell again. It gave me a bit of hope though, that I could do it, I could lift my body on my own without additional support. So I declined Aya’s help, gasping slightly as I spoke-
“No, wait-”
-and had to pause for a moment to catch my breath, continuing-
“Aya, I-I can do it!”
Her face was filled with a worrisome look as I tried my utmost to lift myself up. Honestly, I do feel a little guilty for making her worry, so I had to get up quick no matter what. Thanks to that, I soon succeeded in lifting up my body fully.
This time I was clearly able to control my floating body in the air without shaking a single bit. Have I finally learnt it?! Wait, it only might be that I can stand without trembling, but moving might be difficult. But whatever, my excitement was more of my importance than worrying about other things right now.
“I...I did it!”
I yelled in excitement, but this came subconsciously. I wasn’t fully aware that I had let out a cry due to the joy of being able to control my body. Aya's facial expression conveyed relief and happiness which I believe is because of my success in overcoming the first barrier.
It was not that I was only happy as I had a tinge of sadness also. Why? Because of something that I was anticipating excitedly did not appear - Magic circle. Nothing like that formed wherever it was supposed to. I had no idea why it didn’t and thought of asking Kralus about it-
“Sir, why aren’t any magic circles or those weird floating lights appearing?”
“Unique skills don’t require magic circles. If you want to know why, then you need to know about magic circles first and what they do. It would take a lot of time if I start explaining these things now, since you two have class. So for the time being, just keep it in both of your heads like this- ‘Unique skills do not form magic circles’.”
Aya nodded along with me as I floated in the air. So these magic circles don't form when using ‘unique skills’, huh. It was a little...you know...a little obscure to me. Because till now, however many times I have experienced magic, never did I see any sort without these uncanny magic circles forming. So there must be some solid reasons for them to not appear.
Anyways, I mentioned that Aya was happy because I was able to overcome the FIRST BARRIER. First barrier because the main obstacle is something else, and that thing is - How do I move myself?
I looked at Kralus, who stood with a genuine smile of amazement, but was not that intense. It was a faint smile.
“Um...so sir, how do I move now?”
Kralus again shook his head faintly but quickly, as if snapping out of a thought he was stuck with. But this was the second time. Is he always like this? Lost in his own world? Lol.
“Oh. Now, you just have to lean your body towards the direction you want to go...But don't lean too muc-”
Oh no, I’m done for. I’m TRULY done for. Before Kralus could complete what he was saying I leaned towards the front, so much that I zoomed past all of them present in the room and crashed hard against the wall just below a hanging bookshelf.
Since there was a slight delay between Kralus’ sentences, I thought that he was done speaking and I did as I was told - tilt to move. But little did I know that he was also about to warn me to not lean too much, and this caused me to travel with an insane speed and strike against the wall.
Since the impact was massive, the books that were on the bookshelf, all of them, fell on top of my head one by one and I slowly slipped down and fell on the ground.
“Hisashi!”
I could see Aya rushing up towards me to help me out. I staggered and moved my head to look around me, and saw my body lying on the ground within a pool of some red tinted liquid. The world slowly faded into pitch black as I lost consciousness.
I only began to slowly regain my consciousness once I felt drops of liquid material on my face, and it kept on falling drop by drop.
“Hisashi...Get up please! Hisashi!”
While regaining consciousness, I could hear faint voices getting louder by the second and by the time I was fully under control, I found myself lying on someone’s lap. I felt a really soft sensation on the skin of my face as it lay on the bare and warm, unblemished thighs of...whom? Since I was facing sideways, I couldn’t see whose face it was, until drops of water fell on my face again. I moved my head and looked at the source of this water and of the faint voice that grew louder, and guess what, I saw Aya.
“Aya...?”
I muttered, lifting one of my arms up and noticed my hand covered with a liquid red substance which had the smell of iron. It was recognizable that my hand was covered in blood.
We get the smell of iron because the oils present in our skin breaks down once it comes in contact with the iron element, giving off this metallic smell. Since our blood also has iron (present in haemoglobin), the metallic odor is produced once it comes in contact with our skin.
What actually happens is that perspiration from the skin causes the iron atom to gain two electrons, thus becoming negatively charged. And the electrons react with the oils in our skin, forming an organic molecule. This is the organic molecule having the metallic smell that forms when certain oils in our skin decompose.
Okay, enough with the science stuff. As I noticed my bloodied arms, I slowly got up and sat on the floor, gazing at my red-dyed hands.
“Blood…”
I could see Aya who was just beside me, letting out a faint cry and hugging me, locking her arms around my neck. She had thrust her face onto my shoulder. I was bewildered with confusion, because Aya began to sob?! The area near my shoulder was slowly becoming chilly, as my shirt got wet from the tears that emerged from Aya's eyes and welled down her face. But why? Was it because I fainted? I guess...
Kralus who stood behind Aya had a blank expression with a slight bit of concern, while Julian stood beside and a little further away from Aya, on his knees.
“What...happened...?”
I was actually perplexed by the situation. What was happening? Why do I have blood-covered arms? I was fully aware that I fainted after hitting the wall...wait...Did blood come out after my collision with the wall? Well it seemed like it, because I couldn't think of any other reasons for the same.
“Boy, do not worry, you’ll be all right.”
Said Kralus, stepping towards and approaching Aya and I. He then faced his right hand’s palm towards me and chanted these uncanny ‘incantations’ I believe-
“Fluit. Aqua. Horaiz. Heal!”
His hand emanated a faint bluish glow and a sapphire blue tinted light appeared floating in the air, creating a formation just a little beyond his palms. It was a magic circle with lots and lots of those same, mysterious symbols! Aya who was embracing me with her arms around my neck, upon seeing it, moved a bit away from me while still sitting on the ground. And Julian got up and took a few steps back.
Drops of water formed beyond the circle, and a thin layer of water-like sheet came out and engulfed my body. It was as if a layer of polythene was wrapped around my whole body, but that layer was liquidic enough to be perceived as a water bubble.
Since they covered me entirely, the wounds were also under the thin layer and I could see them getting healed with my own two eyes! Small bruises and cuts on my arms and legs were getting closed (I don't know how or why I got bruises on my limbs), blood disappearing into nothingness and my blood-soaked uniform getting so cleaned as if it was just brought out of a washing machine.
By whole body, I even mean my head. But surprisingly I was clearly able to breathe inside! Was this also because of magic? Fumu. Seemed like it.
After a minute or two the thin watery layer disappeared, exposing my unblemished body. I was really amazed! To be able to completely heal me, he was seriously good at magic. And is this what Celesta ma’am mentioned as the ‘healing class’ magic or something? I think so.
“Your wounds...are healed...!”
Exclaimed Aya, muttering in her ever soft voice and I replied-
“Yea!”
-with the same tone as hers, but Kralus interrupted in between our conversation.
“So, next is you. Girl.”
“Y-yes sir.”
Well I didn’t dislike the interruption, because we had classes and had to complete as soon as possible. So Aya and I, who were sitting on the floor, both got up as Kralus came up to her and placed his hand atop her head.
He did the same thing as he did with me, blurting out those uncanny words whose meaning neither of us knew, both could tell they were some other words than before-
“Imperium. Profer. Augere. Augment!”
Again, his hand emanated the dark purplish glow. And again, he got shocked, augmenting her powers. I mean, his expression looked like it and I don't really know if he was actually shocked. It might even be that it’s just an expression he makes while augmenting other’s powers, though it would be weird. But now, I think I was right-
“Has the...promised one finally arrived…?”
