The feeling of being one with the earth coursed through my body, and Gold’s cheering chirps cascaded against my ears. My heart beat against my chest, as it always did when I was in the middle of a fight. The arena and its lit symbols had become a familiar place. As had the danger it presented.

“[Stone Grasp].” My voice pierced through the air.

In front of me limbs of stone broke through the dirt ground, reaching out toward my opponent. The stone formed a hand, its fingers grasping at the hem of a red dress.

Berlia was too fast for my spell. The stone smashed against the dirt where she had been standing, her shoes dancing across the arena floor as she made her way toward me.

There was a delicate balance between finesse, grace, and deadliness as she reached out toward me. Unlike my other opponents, she was a warrior through and through. Her only magical aid was the dress she wore. It was her own creation, a regent capable of complex maneuvers during battle.

I had fought my cousin a couple of times since returning to the academy from Gesti Sky and Berlia used a new fighting style in each battle.

My hands motioned forward and clumps of earth separated from the ground, twisting and writhing as they formed two sharp objects.

“[Earth Spear].”

The two weapons shot toward my cousin without hesitation. Because of my skill I didn't even have to think about their trajectory. They guided themselves automatically.

Berlia dodged the first. A simple kick off the ground sent her flying into the air. I could see several symbols lighting up across her dress as she traversed the sky. I knew she couldn't fly, but the regent made it hard to believe that fact.

The second spear went straight for her heart.

A symbol glowed and Berlia pivoted from her position, kicking off against the air as though it was solid ground. Instead of dodging the weapon, she brought her leg around and smashed it with her knee. Another symbol glowed near the hem of the dress, and the spear cracked before her bones did.

I watched the shards of the broken spear fall from the sky with my mouth agape.

Then I looked up.

The glint of razor-sharp steel was the last thing I saw before the symbols in the arena brightened, signifying damage being absorbed. A knife had cut into my side after I'd just barely avoided it. It had been stabbing directly into my chest only a moment before.

I hadn't seen it coming. The weapon was attached to the end of Berlia’s shoe. Another symbol had lit up, causing the knife to extend from a hidden pocket as she'd reached me.

With a single movement I pulled back and raised my hand, a wall of stone coming between myself and my opponent. There was something about escaping a knife that got my blood pumping.

A hand punched through the wall.

“Got you.” Berlia’s smug grin entered my vision.

She didn't pull back, and instead went in for another punch. Her fists broke through my wall, but I covered it up a moment later, and she stepped back.

My cousin had one of the strangest fighting styles I’d seen since arriving in this world. It was a mix of ballet and inscriptions that both worked together to form a complex dance of knives and magic.

"Don't count your luck until the match is over.” My voice was steady.

Even as I spoke my mind was working on solutions to defeat her. I'd given myself handicaps in this fight. I couldn't use continuous long-range magic to bombard Berlia. A person with ordinary amounts of mana wouldn't be able to do that, and I didn't want to develop bad habits.

The second was that I had to avoid flying or being raised into the air with my magic.

There was a glint of red light as Berlia jumped above my wall and kicked against it. This time the wall shattered completely. She used the momentum to propel forward into me.

Berlia stretched out her leg and at the edge of her shoe the knife appeared, jetting out of its hidden compartment at the press of a symbol. The knife cut through the air toward me, propelled by magic and glimmering dangerously.

It didn't matter.

With a flick of my fingers the knife stopped in midair and I threw it to the side. A moment later a block of silver appeared in front of me and a clang resounded through the air as Berlia collided with the metal. Feet first. The arena symbols glowed as they absorbed the damage that would have broken her legs in any other scenario.

“Fool me once, shame on me. But you won't fool me twice.” I clicked my fingers. "You can give up now."

The metal block split into five streams that wrapped around my opponent and threw her into the ground. There was no mercy in my movements, nor did she expect any. The ground writhed underneath her end exploded as spears of stone burst out and stabbed into her.

With a final buzz of light, a mark exploded into existence above her head, signifying the end of the fight.

A single groan escaped her lips, and I smiled as I bent over to help her up. She accepted my help with a scowl and shook the dirt off her battle dress. None of the symbols had been harmed. Whatever materials she used to create them were far stronger than a few specks of dirt and stone.

I’d changed into Koshima’s sports uniform for the battle. It wasn't too different from what I’d worn on Earth. Pants of rough make and a breezy shirt were covered by white robes with a single symbol etched in the middle in the vague picture of an eye.

Okay, the robes weren't the norm in my old world. But in Koshima Academy everyone wore them.

The one time I'd let Gerial gift me clothes and they'd had a religious theme. I should have figured that would happen before I'd asked.

"We’re a little incompatible.” Berlia still had a scowl on her face. “But give me a few more fights and I'll figure out a way to smash your head open.”

I didn't take it personally. My cousin was as headstrong as she was blunt. If she encountered an obstacle, she didn't care who saw her anger as long as she overcame it. Unfortunately, I was the obstacle.

“I do better against close range opponents. At least, usually I do. William still says he'll kick my ass for years to come.” I strode to the end of the arena. "I still don't know how you do it."

Berlia gave a small twirl at my words. Her brilliant red dress cascaded down over the floor, each section glowing with symbols as it flowed.

An inscription-laden battle dress. It was the only one of its kind that I'd seen. My cousin said that was because nobody else thought it was a worthwhile investment.

Armour was cheaper and less destructible.

"Yes, I'm amazing.” She smiled.

She wasn't wrong.

Symbols had to be charged with magic either from an external source or by the natural mana around it. They also had to be intact without any blemishes, or they wouldn't activate.

My cousin used a dress that flowed in different directions as she moved. Theoretically the symbols would overlap or break and be unusable.

But in battle, it was a completely different story.

She used her dress to activate different symbols each time with differing abilities. I’d even seen her fingers grow stone over them protectively like an armour, and ice had fired from her palms in our second fight.

"As soon as I'm done trialling it, I'm hoping to convince my mum to give me the initial funds for a limited production.” Berlin gave me a light tap on the shoulder. “Look, the wires broke again."

She raised a section of her dress and I saw an intricate layer of wire, separated from her skin by thick shorts. The regent was a delicate balance between illusion and practicality. My cousin wanted her regent to be hidden in plain sight, and also easy to use. The wires allowed her to stretch sections of the dress taut while fighting so that the symbols would be perfectly aligned for use. It was a work around to make sure that the symbols didn't overlap and cancel or become inactive, but it wasn't easy to do or manipulate in battle.

The wires were also very fragile, or they'd have weighed the fighter down more than was practical.

"I'll get that for you." I said.

Connecting the wires back together was easier said than done, especially because they weren't made out of silver. If I wasn't working with silver, then my proficiency in manipulating the metal lowered greatly.

[Metal Manipulation (II) has reached level 3]

I blinked in surprise as the blue box of a system message appeared in front of my eyes. Then a feeling of elation broke through my heart. I'd been looking forward to leveling my metal manipulation skill for two weeks. Between fixing houses and fighting it was growing swiftly, but as a mid-tier magical element, metal was difficult in general to level.

"Heh, looks like I'm an awesome cousin after all.” Berlia smiled. She'd read me like a book.

"I never said you weren't." I shot a smile back at her. “It's refreshing not getting burned alive during my arena fights.”

“You're a weird person, cuz.” Berlia responded.

With a silent thought I willed my system status screen to appear.

Name: Andross Silver

Class: Second Chance

Level: 1

Health: 100/100

Mana: 28,450/28,520

Vitality: 10

Intelligence: 83

Wisdom: 11

Stamina: 8

Dexterity: 14

Available stats:

Class: 10% to any stat (unassigned)

Free stats: 10 (unassigned)

Skill list:

Earth Creation (VI): Level 4

Earth Manipulation (VI): Level 1

Earthen Spear (II): Level 4

Stone Grasp (II): Level 1

Metal Manipulation (II): Level 3

Meditation (VI): Level 1

Fear Tolerance (II): Level 2

Pain Tolerance(V): Level 3

Manapool Enhancement: Level 1

Mana Manipulation (IV): Level 3

Mana Sense (IV): Level 2

Mana Affinity: Level 1

Mana Vitality (II): Level 1

Mana Sanctuary (II): Level 1

Mana Communication(I): Level 3

Spirit communication (II): Level 3

Symbol Inscription (II): Level 2

Celestial Convergence: Level 1

Mark of the Crijik(III): Level 2

There had been a lot of changes over the past three months. For my age and the amount of time I'd spend on these skills, they were growing rapidly. It was a testament to my dedication, but also an indication of my giant mana pool helping me in all aspects of magic practice. As long as I was awake, I would always have enough mana to cast spells.

The silver floated back into my inventory, and I gazed inside. There was enough dirt, stones, and metal to create my own mountain. Each section had been compartmentalised during my own time and to the side I had put several sticks glowing with symbols, a few rocks that also had symbols on them, and finally, a single book.

I took the book out and gazed at my texting regent. It was similar to a phone that only sent text messages. I tapped it and the symbols across the regent glowed bright.

[Are you still up for tomorrow?] I sent a single message out to Amanda.

I closed the book, knowing that she could take a while to respond. When I turned back my cousin was smiling at me, and there was a newcomer tapping at the ground beside her as she fed him treats.

It was a purple and black bird, rotund in shape and cocky in nature. His eyes glanced at me, and I could see amusement and challenge in them.

"If you keep feeding Gold, he's just going to become spoiled.” I groaned.

My cousin waved her hands dismissively and continued to feed the puffer.

I shook my head and sighed. It was already too late for Berlia. Gold had her trapped with his puppy-dog eyes and preening disposition.

"You know, if you want to fight for real then we can do that sometime.” Berlia glanced up at me. “I know you first years are always trying to rank up this time of year.”

"We are?" Curiosity stirred in my heart. “Do you mean the military students?”

“I mean all of them.” She lowered her hand and Gold jumped onto her arm. “The excursion marks a major turning point. Even if we're part of the Jâl family, we can't ignore the rewards that come with a visit to the holy land.”

"Rewards.” I repeated the word slowly. "This is about the early entry into the holy land, isn't it?"

I'd heard the rumours spreading around the school. They said that Koshima academy was going to start allowing students into the holy land early. It had my classmates in an uproar. The holy lands were called treasure troves for a reason. They were filled with magically attuned plants and treasures that could change a family’s fortunes overnight.

“You know, I think I might know someone who can help you with that stuff.” Berlia hummed. “Just if you want to get into the fighting later on. I think you'll make our family proud.”

I didn't really care if I did or didn't. The Jâl family was my family, but my emotional attachments were with my parents, and recently my grandmother and cousin. The rest of the family members might as well have been black shadows against a darkened sky.

The treasure was another matter.

"I appreciate the suggestion. I'll take you up on that offer if I have to, but for now, I’ve got an appointment.” I motioned to Gold. "Or don't you want to see William?”

Despite his reluctance, Gold flapped his wings and hopped off Berlia’s shoulder, flying toward me. He hopped onto my arm and nestled against my neck, using my shoulder as a perch.

Then he gave my cheek a soft peck for interrupting his snack time. It didn't hurt. It never hurt. But I still poked him back.

"You're a busy guy, cuz.” Berlia walked up to me, her dress flowing freely now that she was out of battle mode. "When are we doing this again? It's pretty fun to train with you, and it's giving me good data for the dress. I never know what you're going to throw at me next.”

“Said the person that uses a different element every fight.” I huffed. "I'm enjoying it too, but doesn't your mum hate you meeting up with me?”

“That's just a bonus.” Berlia poked her tongue out. “Honestly, I wouldn't mind fighting you officially. You’ve only had one official fight and that's a travesty in itself. I know people have challenged you after seeing that. If I were you, I would be accepting every challenge against chumps with a higher arena rating and smashing them so hard their grandchildren are going to hear about it.”

I laughed and then stopped as I saw that she was deadly serious. To the students at Koshima Academy all kinds of reputation were important for future endeavours. My branch of education, the magicians, weren't too focused on physical fighting. However, some of the students overlapped with the military division and used their spare time fighting each other for official rankings within the Academy.

What she’d said about the rewards also echoed in my mind.

The top students were each provided rewards beyond the norm. Some were given scholarships. Others could be given materials that would help them improve their abilities.

"Maybe someone else would be interested in that." I shook my head. "But I have my reasons for not fighting too much."

“Then clearly you haven't studied enough on holy lands. The things you can find inside are bigger than reputation or pride.”

My cousin rolled her eyes at my vague explanation. I didn't blame her. To the ordinary person it would look like I was hiding from a fight.

However, I had things I wanted to keep hidden from the other students, and any fight could lead to a higher risk of my secrets being exposed. Primarily, my massive manapool could lead to suspicion. Even now a couple of the students had approached me asking about my last fight and how I had been able to use so many spells in succession.

Thankfully, none of them had concluded that I was the Marked One of a Divine. That was too much of a leap in logic even for a magician-in-training. Most assumed it was a bloodline of some sort that I'd kept hidden.

Gold also added to that illusion. A magical companion could be tamed by a non-communication magician with the use of a bloodline.

I gave my cousin a final wave goodbye and a promise to train again with her soon. It was fun to get to know my family, especially after they'd loosened up. My trip to Gesti Sky had proved that the Gesti family wouldn't hold an active grudge against me that would impact the family. There hadn't been a definitive statement made, but apparently the fact that I had gotten out of the massive amusement park without any ‘major incidents’ had been a sign that I could be approached, even if it was with caution.

Not that they knew what had really happened there.

I'd have thought nothing would change, but I wasn't the one that decided that. Noble politics still confused me on a fundamental level.

"Trust me, I don't think anyone wants me to fight.”

****

I sat cross legged in a meditation position, breathing in and out in unison with William as we focused on calming our minds in preparation for the day’s training.

“You should fight.” William’s voice beat against my ears.

I opened a single eye and stared at him. “You too?”

He chuckled and the air shifted, becoming cooler.

"Its the wise thing to do."