The Warmth of the Hearth
The Examinations

“Forty-seven Pixies remaining.” The announcement blares across the field. The source of the announcement is nowhere to be found. Forty-seven, Luke thought as he struggles to catch his breath. He plops down underneath an oak tree, sweat dripping down his forehead.

Luke and his group were sent to an arena that resembled a forest, lined with different kinds of trees and plants. Their arena sported open landscapes along with patches of woodlands located across the map. As soon as the examinations began, all hell broke loose. Dozens of mages immediately engaged in firefights while others opted to run into the woods, Luke being one of them.

He stands up, his breath now steady after his stolen time of resting. An explosion occurs in the distance, followed by a couple more. The entire arena shakes as another announcement is heard. “Thirty-eight Pixies remaining.” The chain of explosions dies down. Silence follows, one that Luke does not appreciate. He looks up above him, scrounging for a way to gain the high ground. As much as possible, avoiding head-on fights is the best call for Luke, buying time until all of the bigger threats are gone. The leaves above him rustle as the breeze passes, with birds occasionally seen chirping and building their nests.

Luke climbs up a huge tree with massive roots and branches. He nimbly pulls himself up, leaping from branch to branch with ease. Once he’s decided that he has enough altitude, he focuses his senses. Colors immediately fill his vision, a combination of red and orange in every direction. He checks for the nearest clump of manna, which seems to be a few meters away from where he currently is. As he prepares to move, a blue flash catches his attention. He looks at the direction of the light, where he sees orange and blue manna clashing with one another. Explosions are then heard; a fight is occurring. He prepares to move to the opposite direction just as the bright blue manna violently engulfs the opponent. Luke knew what the cause of the blue manna was, or better yet, who. He has experienced what it was capable of firsthand, when Claire decided that she found Luke irritating. Luke leaps from tree to tree, hoping to avoid confrontation along the way. Below him, he sees incapacitated students who lay still on the ground. Sucks to be them.

As he attempts to take another jump, a fireball hits the branch he was perched on. The flame instantly engulfs the tree before Luke could make the jump, sending him free falling towards the ground. He gains hold of a branch below him and he swings himself upright. Before he could gain his balance, two more fireballs come his way, forcing him to dolphin dive to the ground. He breaks his fall and takes out his own flames, fire swirling around his right arm. Luke scans the area, searching for the culprit. His eyes catch a faint glow behind a thicket and fires a swift flaming bolt at the area. Flames erupt from the spot he shot at, instantly turning the plant to charcoal. His orange eyes glow brightly, knowing that his attempt at an attack had no effect. As if to prove him right, another fireball dashes towards him at a rapid rate. He rolls to the side, barely avoiding the projectile.

“Laisren! What a lovely surprise!” A blonde-haired male student appears from the smoke. He appears to have been in a fight before they met with visible holes on his pants and a missing shoulder plate. He traces right arm over his unkempt hair while his left arm remains extended towards Luke. “You’re surprisingly good at running away. Living up to your name as a rat, I see!” His dark eyes glow a faint yellow as a fireball begins to take shape at the tip of his palm. “Why don’t you do me a favor and just disappear?”

The fireball zooms towards Luke, forcing him to set a barrier up before it hits. The shot clashes against his conjured flame wall, causing it to shatter. The guy quickly dashes towards Luke, closing the distance between them in an instant. He throws a punch that Luke barely manages to dodge. Luke immediately answers with another flame bolt, which is blocked by a flame wall that seemed to be way bigger than his.

“Is it bad that I don’t know you?” Luke taunts, slowly stepping backward to increase the distance between the two of them. Think Luke, Think!. He scans the area for anything he can use to his advantage. His senses knew that he was in danger and it was on full alert. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FɪndNøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Well, I guess that means we’ll have to make sure you don’t forget me easily then!” His opponent fires another fireball at his direction. Luke quickly dodges and proceeds to sprint into the woods, leaping and swerving to avoid branches from the trees. He starts up his flames as he runs, calling for manna to come to him, feeding on its energy and allowing his fire to grow bit by bit.

A flame bolt hits him on his left shoulder, sending him sprawling to the ground. He rebounds himself and he stands upright, his left arm limp from the attack. His flame goes quiet, continuing to collect as much manna as it possibly can.

“Can’t run now, can you? I got to admit, you really have a way of pissing me off.” He approaches Luke slowly, fireballs in both hands. His eyes shine brighter as he extends both arms towards Luke. “Now, where were we?”

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