Chapter 4: The Purge (1)

It is said that in the Magic Institute, the ground seems to be on fire, and that it burns like a cooking stove as the weak becomes food for the strong. On the day of the final exam, its flame flickered and consumed the souls of many individuals and howled for several hours across long distances. Then as if satisfied by the meals, it became silent.

Or so it seemed to Morganna. As another wave of pressure emitted toward her, she calmly repositioned herself and readjusted her magic stance.

A sudden movement to her right caught her attention so she dashed to the right as one of the remaining contestants in tattered clothes staggered towards her and collapsed on the ground. Morganna offered her hand, but the contestant discontinued his fight. He clambered to his feet to join the rest of the unsuccessful students. Sweating, Morganna peered over around her shoulders. Only one other magician was also left standing; his mouth curled into a taunt of his egotistic dominance-- like a snigger deliberately aimed at her. His gazed focused solely on her. Without even shifting his head, he muttered a short incantation that knocked his attacking golem down.

He is going to run out of mana with all those exhaustive spells, she thought. Some ideas of how he was able to maintain all that energy pricked her thoughts, but none of these exceptions were very likely. She returned an insincere glance, but when she did, the golem she was fighting took the opportunity to land a critical hit.

She loathed this abhorrent jerk. Her heart screamed with fiery passion, Curse Him, letting out her rage in the form of a firestorm and defeating the golem.

In the shadow of the aisles, the headmaster stepped out to present their reward and next task. Morganna went ahead to dress in her new robe, examining her image against the magic mirrors. A thin sharp face. Long brown hair. No one had ever called her cute before but she could still look decent if she wanted to. Not as if she cared what others think. Her father said she looked as cute as a dog, but Morganna suspected he was teasing.

Morganna curved her body to her reflection and thought, perhaps if I looked this pretty in real life… Oh don’t bother. She couldn’t be distracted by such fantasy and stiffens at the thought of it being reality. With an aloof expression on her face, she turned away from the gaze of spectators.

----

“You cheated somehow,” Morganna said to the obnoxious boy.

He paused and replied, “What do you want?”

“You are lying and the headmaster is also lying,” she told him. “He wants us to capture an innocent woman.”

He scoffed with greater rudeness. “And why should I believe you?”

“I know her,” she replied, annoyed at his arrogance.

The boy grabbed her arm and considered for a moment and said, “Let’s pay a dear visit to see if she remembers you then.” Her heart sank as she realized his motives and then muttered another curse.

“You will take me to her,” he compelled, “Tell me her name and where she is. The headmaster knows I will not disappoint him.”

Morganna ignored him. She tried to twist her arm free, but the boy was too strong. Not only did he augment his magical powers but also his strength! He pulled her into the side of the streets, where no pedestrians would notice.

“Listen to me. My name is Guhine. You know the things I can do and the things I am capable of.”

Morganna looked up and her blood froze as the boy blew a cold breath up her neck.

He shouted, “Over here guys!”

Morganna gasped, finding herself surrounded by a group of enemies. They turn towards Morganna and an unpleasant scent filled her nose: it was the smell of blood and death. One of them sent a gust of red fire powder that caused her eyes to tear with pain. A steam of teardrops streaked down her face as she tried to rub off it off.

“Now!” Guhine bellowed. At once, his companions lunged forward. In the corner of her eye, Morganna saw the abrupt combined assail, and turned to see an arm swinging forward launching a small boulder in her direction. Despite knowing what would happen, she pulled out her fire cards and sent wind dice, calling upon the Breath of Luck. The dice smacked against something hard and invisible and dropped to the ground. She let out another breath as she threw the remaining dice on the floor, sending a burst of air that knocked them down.

A few of them looked up to watch the incoming dice soaring in the air and falling flat against their shield. They regarded her attack briefly and then rushed into combat, without any preparation, tactic and strategy. Clearly they were far weaker than Morganna. Morganna watched as her dice fell on the ground, all of the damage deflected or curtailed by a magician’s barrier.

She could see nothing, and hypothesized it was probably an air field barrier. Guhine was standing there motionless, enjoying himself as he plans to humiliate her. She veered towards the corner, unconsciously approaching the Apothecary’s shop. She heard the low chuckle of the insidious voice, seeing the wide grin now exposed.

“Let her run. She will lead us where to go.” His sense of magic were heightened to its peak.

“You showed her,” a brown hair warrior snickered as they head back to the Magic Institute.

---

Beyond the block was the faint smell of herbs. Something ached all over her body and her mouth was agape with unspeakable pain. Cold rushed through her body as she began to feel more sensitive to the environment. She followed the smell of medicine, that almost seems to soothe her sores and aches.

They must be looking for me, she thought suddenly. A normal player passed by her with curious eyes. She froze in terror, but his eyes slid away and became mingled in the background. “They don’t know where I am.” She sighed in relief.

By the time she was at the shop’s threshold, she turned around to check if anyone was following her. The door opened and a pair of hands extended and grabbed her. She felt all her energy inside her body let loose, unable to resist the need to rest. She fell backwards on the two supporting hands , but found herself staring at a pair of mysterious black eyes of a boy younger than her before she passed out.