Chapter 7: Solar Fire

Ken currently sat in his room, sitting in his small chair. Adjacent to own, another chair was placed next to his, the occupant being none other than the crown prince, Arthur. Ken was rather shocked to learn that he was being personally taught by one of the kingdom’s finest magicians. From all sources, he had heard that the prince was a lightning magician, but after some light introductions, he discovered that he had two cores! For one man to have two separate high-tiered cores, it was a miracle! He couldn’t imagine what it was like to master one element of magic, much less two.

His thoughts were interrupted as Arthur moved his golden hair out of his face, his eyes gleaming with concentration. “Focus Ken! We’re almost there! I’m sure that with just a little bit of effort, you’ll be able to release your magic!” He had spent all day attempting to get a reaction out of Ken, but a Solar core cannot awaken so easily. It had taken a considerable amount of effort to even sense his core, much less draw out its power.

“I’m trying! It’s just… I can feel my core, and I can feel the mana moving, but it feels like I can’t squeeze it hard enough. It’s like I’m trying to funnel it through a straw!” Ken was annoyed at his lack of progress. He was supposed to be a champion! A hero of the land! How could he live up to the others’ opinion of him if he couldn’t even cast magic?

“Ken, we have only been working together for two days. It takes most people months, if not years to release their magic, and you’re expecting to be able to do it out of the blue? The fact that you’ve been able to get this close in two days alone is amazing progress, especially for a solar core!” He set a hand on Ken’s shoulders, staring into his eyes. “Take that straw and turn it into a tunnel. Your perspective is the most important thing when it comes to magic, so force the magic to release by thinking bigger! You just need to be confident in yourself and believe that you can do this!

Ken took a step back, rubbing his hands together frantically. Slowly, he raised his arm forwards, and concentrated within himself, feeling the ambient mana lying dormant inside of him. It was there, in fact it was all throughout his body, swirling in mana currents. He metaphorically reached towards one of the strands of pure golden light, and tugged on it, bringing it towards him, as if he was giving it a hug. In one last, large tug on the energy, it finally released, expunging itself outwards from his hand, and causing the room to be bathed in a vast bright light, forcing both of them to shield their eyes from the distinct change of scenery. If this room was to be observed from the outside, it would look like a god himself had come down from the heavens.

Ken smiled brightly at the light. He had done it! He had released his mana and technically cast a spell! As he inwardly celebrated, he could feel himself tire, as if his own energy was being sapped away, as if someone was sucking it through a straw. After a few minutes, his bright light was severed, and he clasped his hand on his head, feeling a rather large headache approaching.

“Congratulations Ken, you have released your mana! For now, you’ll notice that you can only keep up your spell for a few minutes, which is rather impressive in itself, but that means you have more base mana than the average person. With the correct daily rituals and training, we’ll be able to reinforce your core, and allow for more mana to be gathered from within yourself. Remember, mana is all around us, through every living and non-living thing.”

Arthur put his hand on Ken’s head, giving him a pat of encouragement. “You’re probably experiencing Mana Drain right now, so I’d recommend getting some rest. Training is done for the day, so feel free to mingle with your other fellow students and heroes. Well done.” He said, grabbing the handle of the door and swinging it open, stepping through and closing it behind him.

While Ken laid down, to calm his head, Arthur’s mind was racing with excitement. Ken has extraordinary amounts of mana within himself. If he can start out casting a spell for several minutes, then he has undoubted potential! He smiled as he entered his chambers, grabbing a quill, some ink, and a piece of parchment. What a great pupil I have!

Around dinnertime, Ken stumbled out of his room, his headache fully cured after a few hours of rest. He made his way to the dining hall, where he saw a flurry of other heroes walking about, discussing ideas and magic to themselves throughout the room. As for the King, well he typically ate in his chambers, with his son and daughters, the princesses.

He looked around for Michael, but found him surprisingly absent, instead his eyes laying on Sarah, the Lightning Core. From what he had heard, she was being taught by a master of lightning magic, apparently one that was a legend throughout the kingdom. Ken made his way across the room over to her, where she was sitting alone, and sat down next to her.

“Hello Sarah, nice to see you again!” They had gotten off quite well, and Ken could consider all the higher cores as possible friends. Sarah merely grunted and swallowed her food, before putting on a nice smile.

“Hi Ken! It’s great to see you too!” She exclaimed, wiping off crumbs from her face. She had bright red hair, and was rather short, even smaller than Ken, but fierce all the same. Sarah was known to be rather aggressive towards people she didn’t like, which deterred many from getting close to her.

Ken however, was not so deterred. He chatted with Sarah for a while, talking about their magical experiences with their instructors. According to Sarah, she had just barely been unable to cast a spell so far. She wasn’t worried at all, as she was still ahead of most of the others, but she was definitely annoyed at the lack of progress, and the massive headache that came with it.

They finished their food and walked towards the large windows on either side of the room, overlooking the massive courtyard that stood between the stone fortress that was the castle. It was an amazing sight, seeing the setting sun slowly start to fall beneath the horizon. Ken was almost awestruck, finding himself unable to set his eyes off the amazing view. Outside the castle was a vast and lush landscape, filling his eyes with every shade of green he could imagine. A thought plagued his mind however, and he quickly turned to Sarah.

“By the way, have you seen Michael? I haven’t even heard of him since we all started our tutoring, and as my friend, it concerns me.” He asked, his hand worriedly placed on his chin as he thought. “I’m just worried something happened to him, that’s all”

“Oh Michael? I’m guessing he’s the one who’s always hanging out with you pretty much every change you two get. He’s right over there” she said, pointing to the outdoor arena with a straight arm. “Apparently his instructor was a mercenary or something like it, so he’s been almost non-stop training with a sword. I heard from one of the other guys that he only gets two to three hours of sleep each day, that’s how much he’s been doing it.” Her smile turned into a frown. “I feel bad for the guy, if anything.”

Ken blew out a sigh of relief, knowing his friend was down there. “Ah, well Michael has always been a bit stubborn with things. If he doesn’t get something right, he’ll just try and try again until he eventually does it, no matter how long it takes. I guess his instructor works well with him in that case, if he’s working that hard.” He smiled at the thought, finding it ironic that his friend was working harder than himself.

Sarah paused at that, thinking. “You seem like you’re pretty good friends with the guy.” That erected a nod in response from Ken, and she continued. “How long have you guys been friends? You’ve got a pretty good relationship, from what I can tell.”

“We’ve been best friends since Kindergarten! We’ve had a few on and off moments here and there, but it seems we just go back to being friends after that. We’ve never had a fight or anything, except for maybe some of the arguments we’d get in when he discussed interesting topics, but we’d pretty much laugh throughout the entire thing.” Ken said, remembering all the time he had spent with Michael throughout the years. “Michael might not seem like it, but he takes everything seriously. He’s quick to make snide remarks or jokes, but if there’s something he cares about, he’s not afraid to show it.”

Ken and Sarah talked like that for most of the night, before retiring to their quarters, sleepily falling into their beds and almost instantly falling asleep. As Ken lay there, his eyes slowly drooping, he thought of the excitement that happened today, and the adventures that were soon to come.

And he couldn’t wait!