Ash And Dust

Kaelen and Daren's fight had turned into a storm of tension. Although Kaelen blocked Daren's first punch, he quickly realized the disadvantage of his skinny body and stumbled a few steps back. His anger was rising. It wasn't enough that this stupid kid was going against him, but now he was actually trying to take him down, which infuriated Kaelen. The worst part was that Kaelen couldn't do anything about it.

Seizing the opportunity, Daren launched another attack. He threw his fists quickly, increasing the pressure to push Kaelen back. Thanks to his reflexes, Kaelen managed to dodge some of the punches, but a few hit his arms and shoulders. His body was weak, his endurance wasn't what it used to be. But that didn't mean he was going to give up.

Kaelen took a step back, trying to come up with a strategic move. When he noticed that despite Daren's bulky build, he was quite nimble, he furrowed his brow. This kid was physically strong, but what Kaelen had were instincts. Years of battle experience had become second nature to him. Despite how weak he appeared, he was a fighter. Remembering this, he decided to awaken the warrior within him.

After dodging another of Daren's attacks, Kaelen suddenly struck, delivering a solid kick. Daren was forced to take several steps back from the impact. But that only made him even angrier. With a roar-like sound, he charged forward. His fists cut through the air as Kaelen began to see them more clearly. Slowly, during the fight, he started to fall into a rhythm. A few seconds later, he began to read Daren's moves.

At that moment, Kaelen felt a faint energy form in his palm. He first thought it was just his imagination, but soon realized it was real. A small gust of wind began to swirl around his hand. His eyes widened. In a moment of distraction, he couldn't dodge Daren's punch and took a solid blow to the chest. His breath was knocked out of him, but he ignored the pain and instinctively raised his hand, releasing the power within.

The wind in his palm suddenly expanded, creating a small explosion effect. Daren was thrown backward. He tried to recover quickly, but his feet left the ground. When he hit the ground, he pushed himself up quickly with his arms. But in his eyes, there was a mixture of shock and anger. "Did you use magic?" he hissed.

Kaelen, out of breath, struggled to comprehend what had just happened. He had been born with fire, but now, in this new body, all he could feel was emptiness. And now, this wind that appeared in his hands… He felt as though he had forgotten everything about magic. Daren's words snapped him out of his daze, and he looked back at the kid in front of him.

Daren gritted his teeth and raised his fists. Kaelen narrowed his eyes.

Just then, Kaelen noticed the commotion around him. Children had gathered, watching the fight. Lyra was among them. Her eyes were wide with fear, trying to make sense of the conflict between the two friends. Seeing the expression on Lyra's face, Kaelen felt something inside him break.

But at that moment, Lyra's voice was heard. "Stop!" she shouted. The children around her began to stir. "Daren! Cut it out!" Lyra quickly moved between them. As more children approached, Daren's face soured.

He stared at Kaelen for a while, then took a deep breath.

This child was really strong for his age. What exactly would he have done if Lyra hadn't stopped him?

Kaelen was lost in his thoughts.

At that moment, the crowd suddenly fell silent. A few children turned their heads, focusing on a point. When Kaelen turned to look, he could feel the sharp gaze of Director Edric on him. As the old man walked toward them, Kaelen felt an urge to curse under his breath.

Edric first looked at Kaelen, then at Daren. He took a deep breath and shook his head. "Disperse immediately," he ordered. The children grumbled and stepped back. Then, he fixed his eyes on Kaelen once more. "This kind of incident will not happen again!"

Kaelen gritted his teeth, but nodded without saying anything.

Then both of them spoke at the same time. Daren and Kaelen.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, everyone, go to your rooms. If this nonsense continues, tomorrow's festival leave will be canceled."

"Aaaa!"

Some children groaned, but everyone had to obey the director's authoritative voice.

As the children went off one by one, Daren shot a menacing look at Kaelen. He turned his gaze away and headed toward the dormitory.

Ah, the youth these days.

Kaelen shrugged. As he made his way toward the orphanage, Director Edric stopped him.

Kaelen, watching the other children enter one by one, was curious as to why the director had stopped him.

"Kaelen, can we talk for a moment?"

Kaelen nodded in agreement to Director Edric's request.

"I know everything feels foreign to you, and you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed, but you need to learn to control yourself at some point. Daren has a dark black core, an enhancer. If the other children hadn't intervened, you could have been seriously injured. I'm saying this for your own good."

"I'm sorry, sir. I'll be more careful next time."

So this was all for this. For a moment, Kaelen thought he might ask himself if he could use magic, but he was wrong.

Just as Kaelen was about to make a move to leave, the director stopped him once more.

Kaelen grumbled to himself but didn't show it.

"Also, you need to apologize to Lyra."

"Ah... yes, sir."

And there was this too. Kaelen had misjudged some things. He had thought of Lyra as a nuisance, but she was worse than that. Everyone at the orphanage treated her like an angel. This, of course, meant she was probably an infamous troublemaker.

Kaelen should stay away from her. The little girl would likely be accepted into the academy soon. Though he wasn't sure about her abilities, there was always a need for a healer everywhere.

"Alright, I'm going inside then. Also, we'll be going to the festival tomorrow, so get some rest early."

"...."

As Director Edric walked away, Kaelen almost made a finger gesture but decided against it, as he had no idea what the old mage's abilities were, so he didn't want to risk it.

Once the director was out of sight, Kaelen went to the tree where he had been sitting and a great curiosity spread across his face.

He concentrated the air in his hands, looking at the green-colored mana.

So I'm a wind mage.

Kaelen wasn't sure how he would adjust to this new element. However, he had a much harder trial ahead.

He really wanted to know if he could create a mana core by tomorrow.