Maya watched on with a sense of glee. She hadn’t seen Rai fight previously, and knew very little about his powers. All she knew was that he was an excellent physical fighter. She was amazed at how Rai could maintain Stormflow seemingly without it draining much mana.

The teacher, James, thought the same thing. Considering the power it imbued Rai’s body with, he’d personally put it a tier above Hiron’s legendary Justice technique. Maybe Hiron just hasn’t learned Justice to the level that it can be considered legendary. He must’ve only recently learned the technique, while Rai would have been practicing that lightning augmentation one for much longer.

The inferno cage went up. Both Maya and James were left wanting. They were both peeved off that Rai was so inconsiderate for his audience. Clearly everyone was watching and focusing on the bout, but then Rai had to go and obscure the fight for everyone.

The cage was up for half a minute at most, which was the only saving grace of the ability. Only one thing could be seen once the cage dissipated though.

Rai was holding Hiron up by his collar.

His voice boomed across the field, “My name is Rai, of bloodline Eld. Remember that!”

Following his declaration, Rai tossed Hiron aside onto the ground.

Maya watched as James nonchalantly walked over to the two of them.

James looked at Hiron for a moment. He’s drained of mana, completely. But he should be fine to continue observing for the rest of the lesson. James kneeled down and offered Hiron a helping hand.

Hiron slapped it away.

“I can stand by myself!”

“Cool. Go sit down with everyone else then.”

“Tch. Whatever.”

Hiron scoffed. Even though he said he could stand, he wasn’t exactly confident in his ability to effectively do so.

The backlash from Justice weighed heavily on his body. Hiron struggled to his feet and managed to hobble over to the seating stands without buckling.

James placed a hand on Rai’s shoulder.

“That was pretty nifty. Lightning is pretty cool, hey?”

“Yeah... It really is.”

“You’re the only known person in the current era with access to the lightning attribute right now, aren’t you?” James spoke with a hint of trepidation in his voice.

Rai thought that the question was weird, but he chalked it up to James just being a weird person in general.

“I wouldn’t know. I’m sure there are other people who can use lightning out there, you’d just have to find them.”

James thought for a second. Then he frowned, “I don’t know any.” His expressions always seemed to default back to the same old gloom. “Do you have a name for that technique you used? Where your whole body was imbued by lightning?”

“It’s called Stormflow.” Rai said with a grin.

“Ooo. That’s a cool name! Alright go sit down now.”

Rai nodded and headed back towards the seating stands.

As Rai walked back to sit next to the blue haired elven girl, James began to ponder. Bloodline Eld... I feel like I’ve heard of that name somewhere... oh well. Guess it’ll come to me when it comes to me. For the time being, James decided to give the class a little reprieve before the next display. In the meantime, he decided to have a little discussion with Hiron.

The students in the class talked about the display of magical techniques in Rai and Hiron’s battle. More than anything, they were excited about being able to see Rai’s lightning in action for the first time.

As Rai sat down, a bunch of the students from the centre of the stands moved spaces so they could talk to him. They felt like a swarm of bats trying to get his attention.

Maya was slightly annoyed at their presence, but considering the display that Rai had put on, it made sense that everyone had questions.

The students all spoke over each other and made a mess of their questions. Rai couldn’t understand what a single one of them said, yet they all looked at him, expecting an answer to their own individual question.

Rai let out a sigh.

“I’ll answer your questions... but one at a time please.” He pointed to a petite girl with auburn hair, “You first, what did you just ask?”

“What on Zenith was that lightning technique you used?! I’ve never seen anything like it, or even heard of anything like it.”

“It’s called Stormflow. It’s my own technique that I came up with, so you probably haven’t heard of it because it’s unique to me.”

She stared at him, dumbfounded. She whispered under her breath, “What the fuck...”

An elven boy with a plain looking face and a simple blonde bowl-cut raised his hand.

Rai pointed at him.

“Have you kissed that sexy redhead, the daughter of Deception yet? The whole school wants to kn-”

Rai interrupted him by raising a hand.

“If you really want to know, then come closer. I’ll whisper it to you.”

The boy blushed and his face brightened in a perverted way.

He moved in closer.

“That’s still too far away, people will hear. Come closer.”

The boy moved even closer.

Rai smiled at him. Flick.

Sparks of lightning shot off of Rai’s hand as he flicked the boy in the forehead with a lightning imbued finger.

The boy flew backwards into the sandy field. Quite comically, he stood up instantly and glared at Rai angrily for a moment. Then he ran away.

James saw this, but he couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it.

Maya stifled a laugh, “Pfft.”

She couldn’t hold it.

Maya burst out into full blown laughter. Many of the others laughed as well.

Rai made it clear to everyone else, “If you disrespect any of my friends like that, then you’ll get a fist instead of a flick. Got it?”

Everyone nodded.

“Good. Any more questions?”

A boy’s voice came from the crowd of people. “Are you going to Zoe’s party after the technique evaluation tomorrow?”

“Nope.”

A gnome boy hopped up on another student’s head. “What was that massive flame wall that appeared in the fight?”

James shouted from the other side of the stands. He was sat beside Hiron, “It wasn’t a fight! It was a display!”

The boy corrected himself. “Display, then.”

James watched for another moment as Rai continued his impromptu interview. He turned back to Hiron, “Well? What do you think?”

Hiron wanted nothing more than to ignore this man. For all he knew, James had no backing. No nobility. No name. But Hiron was in class. He had to at least pretend to respect the teachers.

“Rai’s strong, sure.”

James shook his head and showed more emotion now than he had for the entire lesson.

“No! Not about that. About my offer.”

Hiron mewled over it again for a few moments.

“I don’t need more tutors. Especially when I don’t know anything about you. Besides, I have my own mentor at the Academy, so I don’t need even more on my plate.”

“Oh, come now...” Hiron wasn’t budging. “... Fine. But the offer still stands whenever you feel like you’re lacking.”

Hiron scoffed. I’m only lacking in experience. The more I use Justice, the longer I’ll be able to hold it. Then I’ll show that nameless... fuck. What the fuck even is the bloodline of Eld? I’ll ask father about it when I get home.

Hiron heard Rai mention his name. He looked over at Rai and listened.

“No. Hiron’s strong. He just wasn’t used to his technique. I think he’ll get stronger with more time. I’ll always be stronger though!” Rai shot the student he was replying to a cheeky grin.

Hiron didn’t visibly react, but he felt surprisingly frustrated. I don’t need you to look down on me as well... fuck.

He sat back in his seat and let out a long sigh. If he’s in the next lesson then I’ll just ignore him. There’s no way we end up fighting twice somehow.

James let out a loud whistle, gathering everyone’s attention. Though, it probably just annoyed everyone considering how loud and high pitched it was.

“Now then. That was a great display. Hopefully some of those techniques will be mentioned tomorrow at the technique evaluation.” He checked his timepiece before moving on, “We have time for one more display. Would anyone else like to volunteer?”

The students looked around at each other.

Three people raised their hands. The petite girl with auburn hair, the gnome boy, and Maya.

“Well... that won’t do. Uh. I’ll just. Roll dice for each of you. If you have the two highest numbers then you’ll fi-take part in the display.”

The students noticed his slip of the tongue, but they didn’t really care since it was all exciting and fun anyway.

James pulled a die out from his robe. “For the short girl first,” She frowned a touch as he rolled the die, “It’s a four!” Her frown quickly converted itself into a hopeful smile.

James readied himself for the next throw, “For the gnome kid next,” He rolled the die, “A five!”

Maya looked optimistic. She willed it as hard as she could. Her mother always said that if you wanted something enough, then it was likely to come true!

James rolled the die.

“A one? Ouch.”

Maya’s arms sagged from their once hopeful position.

Rai put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s better if I don’t know your techniques, or you’ll get destroyed in the tournament.”

Maya’s face suddenly brightened. That’s right! I can’t show him my moves when he’s this strong!

“All according to plan.”

Rai stared at her, deadpan, “How? You were nearly forced to show me and surely that’s-”

Maya put a finger on Rai’s lips to shut him up. “Listen, dear lightning freak. Greatness cannot be understood by the minds of mere mortals. Simmer down and prepare for your next mental test!”

Rai simply accepted that Maya was just a little bit crazy and decided to move on. He nodded and kept his mouth shut.

“Good!”

“Take your seats, and let’s enjoy this display of magical talent.” James announced to the class

Rai and Maya watched for about five seconds before tuning out.

The gnome was atrociously bad at using magic, but he had a strong spirit.

The girl wasn’t half bad, but she lacked cohesion in her arsenal.

The battle ended with the gnome’s loss.

Rai stretched as the bell rang.

“Don’t forget to eat a balanced lunch! So long, little people.” James said before teleporting away.

Rai and Maya stared at the empty space where he once stood.

“That might be the most jarring teacher I’ve met yet.” Rai said.

“He was definitely a unique one.”

“Let’s go meet up with the others at the cafeteria.”

“Yeah, I’m proper hungry.”

Both Rai and Maya’s stomachs audibly growled at the same time. They giggled with each other.

The two of them went to the cafeteria to meet with their friends and fill their empty stomachs, then prepare for their next lesson.