Chapter ten: It starts here

Since I've accepted my new life as a recruit of the enchanted warriors, I had to make the most of it. It came to me so fast and suddenly I had magical abilities- and not what I thought I would have. So as the commander said, they and I will figure out my magic by training. I felt very alienated. With my family and Sam elsewhere, I didn't know what to do first. It was my first time walking in my shoes in the next part of my life.

 

In my closet on the left corner of the wall was where my attires were kept. A red uniform that had a Flash Warrior symbol on the front pocket with black pants and shoes. It's quite comfy as I wore it, especially the soft cushion of the shoes. The texture of the uniform wasn't itchy at all, yet too smooth to the touch. Well, here I am, the first day of school, I told myself. As I prepared myself for the class, a knock came from the door. I opened it as I came closer to reveal a girl with honey-colored hair and sky blue eyes, wearing a white uniform. She jumped a little at the motion, clearly startled. "Uh . . . hi," she stammered.

 

"Hi," I managed a smile awkwardly. Not an impression that I was hoping to show if she noticed it.

 

"Oh . . . I . . . uh . . . Captain Claes forgot to give you this." She passed me a folded note.

 

"I guess he was in a rush at the time." I took the note from the girl, just holding it to see what's inside. "Thanks," I said, her smiling with joy in return. It enlightens me that her aura was like the energy of jolly. I wasn't so sure how I could tell, though.

 

"You're welcome." Abruptly, she rushed off. I followed her with my eyes and saw her coming towards her companions who were waiting at the end of the hallway to the left, wearing different colored uniforms.

 

I unfolded the note. It was revealed to be the schedule.

 

Flash Warrior academy schedule

 

Welcome, recruit! Are you ready to know the ways of the heroes? Well, this class will serve as a special examination to determine your skills, experience, and even earning a rank while guided by the rules of what it means to be a Flash warrior. Similar to each novice, you will be trained by a professional Flash warrior assigned by the Head Flash warrior of this academy.

 

-Monday: 7:00-5:00: Physical, mix martial arts, and mental training

 

-Tuesday: 7:00-5:00: Melee and range weapon training

 

-Wednesday: 7:00-4:00: Magic training and lessons

 

-Thursday: 7:00-5:00: Beasts and monsters lessons, taming, feeding

 

-Friday: 7:00-4:00: Free day

 

My mind was like groaning for an hour because of these schedules, plus, I am not confident about meeting new people, because all I do was stay in the house and do whatever I want. I didn't even expect to make friends, they might think that I'm strange or something.

 

I jumped as a golden armored guy stood before me as if he just magically appeared . . . or was it part of the Flash warrior's magic, I don't know. I couldn't get ahold of his face because of his full-face helmet. He gestured toward the training hall, it was humongous, bigger than the dragon I fought. It was like a very vast dome piled with different kinds of terrains. Every area was occupied by Flash warriors who were undergone training- others were riding winged horses while using their bow and arrows to shoot the moving targets. It was like seeing a military boot camp, but more eye-catching. At the other corner, I saw two men fighting with magic. Their energies were powerful. Powerful enough to wipe out . . . um . . . maybe fifty men.

 

Similar to the armored man, they all wore cool-looking armors. Some wore short capes, some had hoods on, some wore long cloaks and a pointy hat, some even wore heavy and light armors- there was a variety of them.

 

Speaking of variety, some warriors indeed came from different races. Humans, elves, orcs, fairies (I swear, I saw them flying around while shooting lightning out of their wands), and dwarves. That was all I knew anyway.

 

I felt like I was being underestimated whenever they look at me, but I had to keep my focus. "Are there any recruits here because I feel a bit forever alone now, even though I'm here in this . . . magical castle." He did not answer.

 

The armored man brought me outside the training hall or should I say training dome. Wow. The trees were very tall, taller than the trees from my home. The grass was so soft, I want to lay on it all day (it's a good thing that I don't have allergies to grass). The blue sky together with the color of the rising sun was magnificent. The castle might have been big on the outside, but I have never would have thought how bigger it was on the inside.

 

The outside of the training dome looked like the top of a mountain. "Your training starts here," he spoke before leaving.

 

"Um, thanks." Again, he didn't answer. I looked around, thinking that my first day will change my lifestyle. This must be an area where every recruit has to train I guess.

 

I was curious about mom, how she knew this place, the warriors, and my abilities. That's odd. I hope I could make friends already, the girl earlier seemed very nice after all. I was brought back to the real world again by a familiar voice. "Ready for your first day of training?" I looked up to see Claes sitting on top of a tree branch. Sean just lied to me about Claes being afraid of heights. Great, nice one. "What are you doing here?" I yelled so he could hear me, also wondering how long he had been sitting there.

 

"No mentor has ever encountered a boy like you, except me," he said.

 

"So, they don't like me?"

 

"They didn't say that. Most of them have complex feelings about you. I asked the Head Flash warrior to train you." Claes as he went down from the tall tree. He was wearing the black vest from the first time I saw him. "All right," I clapped my hands, rubbing them together, "Am I the only one?"

 

"Not exactly." Claes pointed above my shoulder. As I turned around, I saw the girl earlier with her friends coming this way.

 

"Oh, you're here," she said. "I thought a different mentor will teach you."

 

"It's a long story." Claes stepped forward. "Ahem, now, the four of you will become a part of one of the sacred organizations known across the Enchanted world. You will apply these teachings in your lives and that's that. First, as the recruits, you will learn every single skill, weapons, and, of course-" Abruptly, Claes was interrupted by a boy who raised his hand. He had dark brown hair, brown eyes, was very tall, always stands firmly, and wearing a blue uniform. His tanned face looked like one of those ancient statues. Despite his uniform, I could see his muscular figure. "What is it?" Claes asked with a grunt.

 

"Um . . . do we even have a break in every training?"

 

"Yes. So anyway, of course-" He was again interrupted by the boy. He sighed, "Yes?"

 

"Could we . . . um . . . bring our food during a break?" He asked nervously.

 

"It is optional for your break. As I was saying: the four of you will also learn-" As the boy raised his hand again, Claes scoffed, "What is it!?" My heart jumped at the abrupt high volume.

 

"I . . . we are curious how our training works. After all, we have magic and all"

 

"Be quiet," Claes said quickly. The boy stopped. Claes kept his cool and proceeded. "All right, the four of you will learn every skill, weapon, and magic that you inherit from your aura. Before we start, let us give our names. I am Captain Claes Vortecse, as my title mentioned, I am a team captain at this academy. I will be your mentor for the whole training." He nodded which meant it's our turn.

 

The lady went first. "I am Chloriette Voirgeese. Sixteen years old. From the Stalia town." The tall guy stood firmly again after shaking his body off. "I am Victor 'Micheal' Dutche. Sixteen years old. From the kingdom of Kortana." I heard the captain muttered okay then looked at their third friend. The boy who was shorter than the rest of us had yellow hair, light caramel eyes, wearing a violet uniform, and a nerdy look, but without the glasses. "I am Lenard Cass. Fifteen years old. From Carolline city." Despite his appearance, he spoke so straight with the right amount of confidence.

 

Finally, it's my turn. I didn't feel nervous, I just felt a little excited . . . okay, maybe my heart was pumping faster. "I am MaXabiere 'Gale' Berrygrewd. Sixteen years old. From Snowfall village, Northern Quarté." They all turned to me as if they just saw me coming. Yes, I said the magic word: Northern Quarté, my destroyed home. "Good." Claes interrupted. "I like when people just said their names to know each other. Now, shall we begin?" We all stood up straight, hands on both sides and ready for what was coming ahead.

 

"And no more questions. I meant you, Victor." Claes snapped his fingers and the world swirled like it was being sucked in by a black hole. Suddenly, we were in a chaparral environment, but the sky was different, covered with stars and colorful, bright clouds. We're out of space. Since we were the only ones who were recruits, this enormous place was only for us. "I can even see clearly in here without my glasses," said Lenard.

 

"I was expecting that we were training in an arena or something." Victor looked around as if he was lost.

 

"No." Claes gazed at every single one of us. "You are training here. This is the Equadaux. Master wizards created this place so we could train easier, better, and much greater especially for newcomers like you. The training dome is only for professional training. So, today is Monday, so it is about physical, martial arts, and mental training. Shall we start?"

 

***

 

The four of us are nearly exhausted from doing the push-ups, sit-ups, especially stretching. Nope, no sirey. All of us covered our ears since Lenard screamed because he finally managed to do the split by slipping on an icy river. Yeah, I'll tell you this, the Equadaux could change into different courses according to our training needs. It's weird, but satisfying, except for the part where Lenard shrieked. Goodbye eardrums. And thanks to my experience and dad's hunter training, I got used to the surroundings that could lead to possible danger.

 

During our break, we had food. It was nice to have a decent picnic after a painful training we had. Now's the time to get to know each other. "So," Chloriette panted before drinking her water. "You're MaXabiere, huh? Sounds odd."

 

"Same as yours, Err . . . Coley, is it?" I said.

 

"It's Chloriette," she corrected.

 

"I can remember and spell that." I smiled at her. Victor finished the steak that he brought earlier, together with his burger.

 

"I've heard about this guy," he told Chloriette. "Since I registered two days ago, plenty of warriors talking about how he made it out from the dragon attack." He didn't sound so serious because his mouth was full.

 

"Actually," Lenard finally recovered. "I had access to the academy's early research. Turns out that the dragon is known as the Devastrigon. I read some previous records of its appearances from the past years. And it was extremely terrifying."

 

"Lenard, you're still reading?' Victor asked.

 

"I always read, dummy. So anyway, to sum up, the previous records, it says that the Devastrigon will once again be awakened by the opening of Gates of the underworld. Once its slumber is over, it will climb towards the surface and kill anything on sight, for the lord from the underworld will step onto the earth and will proclaim himself as ruler. That's it." All of us stared at him like we just heard a documentary about an evil creature.

 

"But, it's already awakened," I told him. "It's true that it was awakened to kill thousands of people. Sean told me that the past warriors tried to kill it, but failed."

 

"True, which is why I'm scared of it." Lenard made a face that reminded me of his facial expression when he made the split. "But how remarkable. No warrior survived to from the dragon up close except you."

 

"Guys, let us forget about this for a while. Right now, we have to introduce ourselves to MaXabiere." Chloriette told them. We said our names again and shook our hands. When I shook Chloriette's hand, my hand became warm, almost making my face hot. The way her eyes looked at me.

 

We talked about our childhood, our ambitions, secrets, favorites, dislikes, and many more until our powers interfered to make us warriors for life (Best break ever! Unlike my ten-minute break back in elementary school). "Since when did you guys meet each other in the first place?" I asked them. Chloriette was the one who answered. "We've met each other at an unknown place because a witch and a wendigo kidnapped us." I went silent for a minute then I pretended to shrug the statement off like it was nothing.

 

"Okay, so how long have you been friends?" I asked.

 

"For about seven years or more." Victor grinned so wide that I can see some crumbs from his teeth.

 

"What about you, MaXabiere? Do you have any close friends?" Chloriette asked.

 

"Well, I met Sam when he moved to my village with his grandmother and aunt. We chat about anything we like to talk about. I went to his house for fun, sometimes pranking him, and reading books."

 

"You read books?" Lenard's eyes widened in surprise.

 

"Yeah, Sam and I read books every single day," I added, which made him smile. "I found my people. What books do you read?" Lenard leaned forward.

 

"Adventures, mysteries, suspense, sometimes romantic-comedy to get our moods up," I told him and he grinned creepily. I cleared my throat. "Other question, what and how did you guys get your magic?"

 

"Well," Victor finished his water. "I happen to have buff magic to my body in terms of strength, endurance, speed, reflexes, agility, and lastly power." He flexed his arms by showing his detailed biceps. "I started to develop these when I joined the Junior's Games of legends, which gave me a total coma when I bumped into a wall because I went way too fast."

 

"Cool," I commented.

 

"I, Lenard Cass, had been possessed by the magical power of words. This means I can understand and translate a variety of languages- which boosts my intelligence of course. My father saw me as I was reading a lot of books in which turned out to be written in different texts from his archives- I hadn't noticed it until he told me."

 

"Really?! That's incredible!" My eyes widened.

 

"Well, it's nothing really . . . thanks to my incredible comprehension. I studied this and studied that. I'm an addict to knowledge." Lenard bashfully scratched his head. "Although, I am just getting started learning in the Flash warrior academy."

 

"So that explains how you learned about the dragon." I pointed my finger at him.

 

"Hehe, glad you figured that out."

 

Chloriette's smile widened as she prepared to introduce herself. "My turn. I have the power of hypnotism by singing. I discovered my magic when the wendigo helped us the moment I sang a song of prayer. Because of that, I'm the one who saved our lives before we became closest friends."

 

"Hey, don't forget! My plan is the reason why all of us are still here," Lenard reminded.

 

"Oh right, thanks genius," Chloriette chuckled. "Okay, Mr. last-but-not-the-least-guy, it's your turn." But I don't know what to say to them. From what I remembered, my magic was way out of hand. "Uh. . . okay . . . um . . . my magic is indescribable at the moment. Although, I can produce flame energy." I concentrated my mind to get the flames out of my palm.

 

And it did. Flame dancing on my fingers. There was a smile on my face as I controlled the fire. They watched it in amazement. "I wanted to assume we already determine what your powers are, but there is something that I couldn't describe," Lenard said.

 

Like his friend, even Victor found the dancing flame amazing. "Lenard, is it an odd thing to say that I can't stop looking at it?"

 

"How and when did you started having it?" Chloriette asked.

 

I hesitated, but I wanted to be honest. "From hunting . . . and also . . . my magic was unlocked by fighting the Devastrigon." They all went silent for a moment or two. Finally, Lenard spoke up. "Wow. You don't get to hear that every day. At least I don't need to theorize how you survived."