The Third Party - Chapter 82

3rd Person’s POV (12 yrs., 8 months)

That same particular day after hearing the news that Ken came down with a fever, and after witnessing it for themselves how pitiful their friend had become, the group was short of motivation for the day.

Thoughts of worry and questions swam their minds as they and the rest of the town -yes the news was spread to the people of the town as well, by accident that is… eavesdropped upon- could not believe that their ever so hyper and active student was having an illness.

When most of the time they had seen the guy recover from large wounds, poison, electrocution, frostbite, burns, and many other bizarre conditions.

Knowing that Ken was down with a cold, does not sit well with them. Of course anyone who would like to understand further the situation would have to come and witness Ken’s current state of well-being.

But so far, not one had gone to his home, barged in unwelcomed, and blatantly stared at the said ill boy to observe him, whether his situation was real or not. Or maybe the doctors would be able to do so.

So far, everyone had just paid the little guy -if we could call him that- a visit, coming in groups or individually, and not everyone Ken had entertained, how could he when he’s sick.

Those he had the pleasure of talking with, thought twice to themselves whether they need to disturb this person or not, because he looked so… pathetic in that state.

Meanwhile, Ken’s group of friends whom had just finished lunch were in turmoil within themselves, they have visited Ken earlier, Ken had reassured them that he was okay, but somehow, that still didn’t sit well with them.

Allen shook his head from the thought, he had known Ken since they were little, and he knows how persistent and insistent the guy was, of course he’d be able to survive a mere cold.

Unlike him who had survival capabilities from the start and are immune to human standards of illness. Still, it bothers him. Not only him, the others were bothered as well.

But remembering that Ken had blatantly threatened them if they were not going to use this day productively, they would have stayed and just observed the guy the whole day.

So they’ll have to make most of the time today, and visit again on another time, this time, with some food to help in recovering.

Or at least that’s what Flin and Celine thought. They all prepared for afternoon class, combat and magic class, this time, they’ll train by pair.

Allen paired up with Glen, Lila paired Riyah, Icarus paired up with Wilbert, Flin paired up with Celine, and Princess Lang paired up with Saber. The masters watching at the sideline.

As always, the ten students created one huge barrier that covered the field, while also separating each pair into five corners, which wasn’t greatly proportioned considering that their pairing was in an odd number.

“Okay everyone, feel free to do what you want to do with your partners today, but make sure that no one gets hurt, understand?” announced Klein in front of the lined up students.

“Yes Master!” replied the ten. Klein nodded and that was all it took for the ten of them to teleport atop the barrier holding hands with their partner.

They did such a situation in order for the barrier to decide for them which area they will be placed, a handy feature since they were unable to decide who gets which of the area below.

And yes, we can blame Ken again for such an idea that his friends get to utilize.

A bright flash enveloped the ten people’s figure after coming into contact with the barrier, teleporting them to the area it desired.

Glen, Allen, Icarus, Wilbert, Lila, Riyah, Princess Lang, and Saber, found themselves on the corner with relative space to one another while Flin and Celine were on the much larger one, which was situated at the west side of the field.

The eight examined the corner they were in and nodded to themselves that their area was good enough for them and their partner to spar and or do some other things.

Meanwhile, the two whom were at the much larger room, thought to themselves, ‘How were they going to productively use this large area?’ as they both glanced at one another awkward looks thrown at one another since they had small plans for this afternoon.

That included discussing what they wanted to do for their next visit, although both of them do not know that both were thinking of the exact same thing. For Celine, she was just thinking that Flin would be of help to her in regards to preparing food for the visit.

While Flin was just thinking on how he could invite the other to brainstorm with him and decide whether they should bring sweets or not. He got influenced by Ken with the sweets thing, he had asked Ken to teach him in secret, and now he delves in the pleasure that is sweets.

“Are you sure this is a good thing?” asked Oldin to Klein outside of the barrier. Klein nodded.

“Yes, letting them learn from one another may or may not give them the necessary information as to whether the other needs an assistance be it in need of help or just a little boost to strengthen forth their moves.” explained Klein.

The other masters nodded, as they too were in a similar situation in their time where they had paired up with their co-masters and were sent out to learn one another’s move sets and spells in order to better understand the other’s skills in combat.

More importantly, to build the trust that they needed in one another since they were being trained under their elites at that time, and more importantly, since war doesn’t give out definite results, they needed to be wary and consider many things before engaging.

But that was before, now, it kind of felt like this strategy was a bit off, for before, it was useful since they were engaging in a war, but in this time of peace, it’s kind of, not useful.

Wait, considering that demons now can freely enter their plane of existence every after 12 years, then maybe it’s still a viable strategy to use, and who knows, the students might need it once they were able to travel freely on the outside world.

Speaking of traveling, when will they be able to do so, getting cooped up in their caves for 12 years was not something they enjoyed in the slightest, at least that’s what Nazir, Ras, Kilean and Kara thought.

“So… what do you think we should do first?” asked Flin to his companion.

“I don’t know as well, considering that I had other plans in mind, but being in this space, kinds of… neglects it?” replied Celine, taking out her bow, did a little stretch of the string.

Flin took out his flute as well, circulating his mana to get a feel on his power as a means of refreshing himself. Yes, the exercise from earlier was helpful in putting him back into shape as well as keeping his magic active.

But being in a position of duel is of a different situation, is it not?

He pointed his flute above him as a white magic circle appeared.

“Spirit Magic: Spirit Blast.” A white energy blast burst forth from his magic circle. The spell caught Celine off-guard since it happened within a split second, she wasn’t able to prepare.

“What did you do that for?” she asked, mostly shocked. Flin sheepishly scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“Sorry… I just wanted to test out the durability of our barrier.” He said, Celine tilted her head slightly to the side in question.

“Why?” she asked.

“To test out how strong we are now.” Flin gave a sheepish smile.

“O-kay…” Celine shrugged, the topic did give her thought, how have they been faring since before, she knew that they were able to hold up against demons now, and may be just able to defeat one.

Despite that, why was her friend under some illness, after all, he’s the most powerful one of them all. Will that happen to them too? She shook her head, to rid herself of such thought, if such a situation may arise, then she can only resign herself to fate.

“Shall we start?” she asked Flin. To which the guy nodded, revealing his nine white tails and ears.

“Shadow Magic: Shadow Hunt.” Immediately, she buffed herself with the spell she and Lila shared in common, giving her insight of the vitals of her opponent.

She drew her bow in a fast fashion, and quickly released an arrow, shadow magic trailing behind. Flin barely stepped to the side as the arrow grazed his left cheek, missing him.

But he didn’t mind, he caressed his wounded cheek with his tail, healing it right after, he jumped forward in incredible speed, closing the gap between him and Celine. He tapped his flute on the girl, creating a loud ringing sound, with a visible white ring forming.

The ring collapsed in on itself sending a shockwave towards Celine, pushing her backwards. In Flin’s state of holding his flute and letting his nine-tailed fox features show, his normal attacks become area of effect.

In the form of white circles, that sends out shockwaves, this state did not require him to cast or use any trigger as it was natural for him, switching from normal to power mode.

Celine flipped in mid-air and landed safely on the ground, but she still remained vigilant, she withdrew her bow and took out her daggers.

The two clashed mid-dash, trying to topple the other. Celine pushed Flin away, she used the momentum of opposite movements to plant her feet on the ground and push herself forward.

Daggers brandished, aiming for Flin’s shoulders. Flin casually used his tails as a shield, resulting in a spark from the collision. Celine was surprised on how durable Flin’s tail was as it did not sustain any damage.

Flin used this window of time to flip backwards, plant his feet on the ground, and with a push, he propelled himself towards Celine, issued a kick on her gut, sending her away.

The kick didn’t hurt that much for Celine, but it was still evident on her face that she felt some pain on her abdomen, she braced herself for impact as her back collided with the ground, tumbling backwards a few times.

She collected herself right after, and dashed towards Flin, expression serious and focused. The two continued sparring, blades and flute colliding with one another.

“Hey.” said Flin, while the two of them were still in combat.

“Yeah?” replied Celine.

“I have a favor to ask.” Celine dodged the spirit blast that came out of Ken’s flute, casually stepping to the side and continued sparring.

“What is it?” she asked, mid slash.

“Can you accompany me in making food for the next visit?” Celine’s eyes widened in surprise but she quickly regained composure, parrying the tail that threatened to hit her sideways.

“Sure, I was also thinking the same thing.” The two people smiled at one another and continued on sparring with each other.

The masters watched as the students went on with their activity, different styles and spells were showcased on the five pairs of individuals, fully maximizing both their strengths and area where they are training.

“Come, let’s take a closer look into their techniques.” said Klein out of nowhere. The other masters except Lana and Ulysses did not quite understand what their leader meant, they subconsciously gave Klein a confused look.

Klein walked to the edge of the barrier, held out his hand as it glowed, a pulse resonated on the barrier as it applied and recognized Klein’s mana, Ulysses and Lana followed.

“Input your mana on the barrier to allow access for you.” Klein said, the other masters nodded once, understanding what their leader meant.

All the masters except Dawn who was not present as she has other duties to attend to, each imprinted their mana on the barriers, Klein got to work of adjusting the feature that will allow a person access to each area.

Right now, the only ones who could freely walk from each mini barriers were them, they then separated to observe the other students performance.

Occasionally they would avoid a stray spell that propelled their way, just as Ulysses avoided one of Icarus’ fire spells.

Nazir didn’t fare better, as he was caught in the crossfire between Lila’s shadow dagger barrage and Riyah’s blizzard. The scene was one of merry as Nazir tried his best to avoid the projectiles coming his way.

Apparently, Lila and Riyah entered an empowered state where they are channeling one ability while also increasing its power and accuracy. Leaving them in a suspended state, eyes glowing, and body motionless.

Ras nonchalantly strolled in between Glen and Allen’s spells, seeming as if their magic didn’t bother him, the two students were concerned that they might accidentally injure their master, they each wearily looked at Master Ras.

Ras reassured them that everything was fine and that they did not need to worry about him, when in truth, he wanted to have a feel both individual’s power. After a moment of hesitation, the two students returned to dishing out spell after spell at one another.

Oldin watched at the sideline as the princess of the Dragon Kingdom fought with Saber, both showcasing their technique in the sword, but since he was using blunt weapons, there wasn’t anything much that he could teach.

He resorted to observing the movements of the two.

The afternoon went on with no one sustaining serious injuries, although their means of fighting were questionable as there were many times that they had used a huge amount of their magic in their fight.

Nonetheless, the students were satisfied of the result they gained from the afternoon session.

Back in Ken’s room, a distinct silver hue emitted from Ken’s body, turning his black hair into silver, but this time, twinkles of starlight were visible on his hair, and a white circle formed on Ken’s forehead.

The phenomena happened within a few seconds, and Ken’s constitution returned to normal, as if nothing ever happened in the first place, the boy in discussion sleeping soundly.

——-