“You have come far in a short period of time.” Ms. Fell remarked to Shae. “The application of your magic into your pugilist style of fighting has made you a fierce weapon. When you finally chose to forgo a weapon opting for free hand combat, I was skeptical. But with your size and decent level of fitness you have taken to free hand fighting naturally.”

Shae smiled proudly then bowed to Ms. Fell. “Thank you for your kind words teacher.” Shae had left out the fact that she had had previous martial training before starting at the college. It seemed more fitting than taking up a weapon skill. She just couldn’t imagine cutting into someone. The only other weapon she had chosen to learn was the bow. It had a separation of sensation to it. Shae knew she was the one firing the arrow, but it didn’t really feel like it was her doing the damage. True a gun didn’t kill on its own, but pulling the trigger was easier than cutting a throat.

Her magic control was getting better, she could even use magic while directly in hand-to-hand combat. Which was a necessity as she learned to use her force magic as an armor around her. She surrounded herself with an invisible layer of force, always expanding out of her, to act as an absorber to impacts of any kind. If she could see the blow coming, she was now able to adjust the outward push to counter the incoming blow. Swords were harder. There was not more impact force to deal with, but the cutting edge added a penetrating aspect to the blow. She had to expel her shield farther out to catch the whole of the incoming blade to slow its inertia. Like a hand wrapping around it and catching it in place. Clubs were the easiest as there was more area to disperse the impact over.

Using her aura to power her force armor almost took no power at all. Only truly strong hits would cause any noticeable drain on her. Even being thrown to the ground by Ms. Fell caused her no pain, as she would suck up the fall by using her force armor as a pillow type effect. It was almost like landing on a cushion of air. She did not even touch the ground, instead she was laying on a slight film of her magic once her momentum was halted.

Mr. Forest was teaching her how to layer magic now. Which she was trying to incorporate into her attacks. Flaming fists of fury was on the table! But not only that… She could add force behind her own throw punches and kicks to enhance the impacts. If she pushed too much behind the blow, she would damage her own limb or fist, as she had learned the hard way by fracturing her left arm. Luckily healing magic was a thing too. In fact, she was a very well-rounded magic user. Her weak points were earth and water. She was only able so far to use those elements to a lesser degree. Still having fresh water anytime, you wanted was nice. Light and darkness she was only slightly better. Wind, fire and lightning she exceled at. Force was her mastery ability.

Once she had asked about the concepts of space and time magic. While they did exist, they were an extreme magic to use. Requiring extreme ability of magic control. Tampering with temporal magic and losing control could lead to your own untimely death from instant aging. Or any number of issues. Space magic was the same. Nothing like opening a tear into this dimension only to have the tear explode and find yourself missing bits and pieces. Only the talented and wise, or crazy tampered with those types of spells. The safest use was to affix the spell to an object. Like a magic bag that held ten times it’s size in area. While not common. Storage items like those did exist. Some merchants even used large dimensional containers to ship goods over large distances to retain their freshness. Others to smuggle contraband. There was a very talented mage who had combined life magic and space magic to create a portable house, which was accessed through a spacial doorway only the owner could create and see.

It had been two months that Shae had been at the college now. She spent most of her time in the library studying about the ways others have used magic to both further their comfort and for combat. The use only limited by your imagination and ability to wield or control it. Or in the case of enchanting, you also needed to practice imposing your magic into something. Mental magic Shae discovered to her relief was not as thing. People were just not able to control magic well enough to work their way through the brain’s natural defenses. More like trying to override thousands of neurons Shae guessed. It would be like trying to control thousands of spells at once. Mental transference was possible, however. But special equipment was needed to overcome the lack of singular inability. There was a diary excerpt about a case study where two mages traded bodies for a day.

Shae was very much over the moon about delving into magic studies. So much so Mr. Forest had asked her if she wished to make it her later focus. Shae was unsure. Everything about magic was just fun for her. She had not put a lot of thought into what would come next. She was enjoying the moment.

Shae and Mel had not seen each other for the last three weeks. Their party having to earn a living. Something about needing money for food. Shae snorted at the jab. Since she was eating for free at the moment.

She was tired after her sparing session with Ms. Fell. Although she rarely got hurt anymore, though she still got suckered now and again by feints. She still found herself tired, even more so mentally now that she was including magic control into her combat style. It required a lot of focus in body and mind. While she could rely on instinct sometimes in combat, the magic part always needed conscious effort.

She had learned of this use for force magic from a book on “Magic in warfare”. It sparkled something in her imagination. She imagined herself like a superhero, or a manga protagonist. In the heat of hand-to-hand combat with multiple foes. Taking out the trash without them laying a finger on her.

The reality at first was a painful eye opener. She got hit a lot more in the first few days. Her inability to control the magic slowed down her reflexes and dulled her movements. Having to focus on the magic took away from her combat focus. She had almost given it up entirely until Ms. Fell pushed her to keep trying. Even going so far as to slow down the pace of battle to allow Shae to practice and slowly pick up speed. Now she was very glad and thankful to Ms. Fell for not allowing her to give up. “Because when you do get the hang of it, you will be a true force to recon with. Pun intended.” Her mentor said with a wink.

Combat class was becoming her most enjoyable part of her training now. Aside from her studying of course. She was done with her history and geography now. After all she wasn’t going to be a politician. Magic study in the mornings were fun, but ultimately frustrating as she was pushed to continue to grow. Mr. Forest never let her lax. Always pushing for more. She was looking forward to being able to layer her spells though.

“Flaming fists of fury here I come.” Shae grinned

Ms. Fell merely smiled. “No flaming fists of fury on me. Save that for monsters.” Then waved Shae off ending their day.

Shae had just realized. The two were getting along much better than teacher student lately. It was still teacher student, but it was no longer impersonal. A bond was forming Shae felt.

With a light step Shae went off to bathe, eat and do more studying. Getting better required study after all. And a good sleep.