Chapter 121 Hoping For The Best

"Are you ready for your battle?"

"Yeah, sure."

Malice wrapped her arms around Lucas' neck and hugged him tightly.

"Be careful, okay?"

"I know. I will."

Lucas walked away and went through the doorway leading to the training room.

He arrived at the hall and saw Luu waiting for him.

"Good. Let's get started."

Lucas entered the training room and found himself inside a giant cage made of steel bars. On each side of the cage stood two mages dressed in white robes. One mage was holding a staff in his hand and the other had a sword.

"Welcome, Lucas. You should know what to do by now."

The mage with the staff pointed his wand at Lucas. A red beam shot out of his wand and hit Lucas directly in the chest. The impact sent Lucas flying backwards. He landed on the ground and slid across the floor.

"That's the pain spell," the mage told him.

"Didn't feel much. Is this going to be normal?"

"No. Every time you fight, the spells will get stronger. Also, the attacks will come faster and faster. After every battle, they will get even more intense. And, as you can see, our mages are very good at casting magic."

Luu confirmed the mage's words.

"They are. Now, let's finish today's training session. Get up and fight."

Lucas slowly got up from the ground and approached the mages. Both of them aimed their wands at him again. He quickly jumped over one of the bars and dodged both of the mages' spells.

The first one shot toward him and missed completely, while the second one grazed his shoulder.

He rolled behind the bar and came out on the other side.

"You did it!" Luu said. "You're learning fast."

"Thank you for taking such good care of me." Lucas bowed.

"Don't thank us yet. There's still a lot to learn. Stay focused and keep moving."

Lucas nodded and ran towards the next mage. He jumped onto the bars and dodged the mage's spell. He grabbed the mage's robe and threw him against the wall.

"Nice move," Luu complimented him. "Now, focus on the next enemy mage."

Lucas nodded and went after the next mage. He jumped above the bars and aimed his blade at the mage who was just about to cast a spell. But before he could use his wand, Lucas hit him hard with his sword. The force of the blow knocked him unconscious.

"This is going to be fun," Luu said. "By the way, the next mage you face will be armed with a bow and arrow."

Lucas looked at the fallen mage and understood what Luu meant.

"Then I guess I'll have to avoid his arrows and get close to him instead."

He jumped back into the ring and stood in front of the last mage. He readied his sword and waited for the mage to shoot an arrow. Just like Luu said, the mage started to shoot an arrow at Lucas.

But Lucas moved before the mage could fire his arrow. He dodged the first two arrows by jumping over them, and then he tripped the mage and knocked him out.

"Nice job, Lucas." Luu congratulated him. "You're getting better every day."

"Thanks! Can we go home now?"

"Sure, just give me a minute."

Lucas watched as Luu talked to the other mages. When he finished talking to them, he turned towards Lucas and smiled. "We can start the battle tomorrow the five against you, you will be ready," he assured Lucas.

"Okay."

Lucas nodded and followed Luu outside of the training room.

"How are you feeling?" Luu asked him.

"I'm fine now."

"Let's walk together."

They walked along the corridor until they reached the exit. Once they were out, Lucas opened the door and saw Malice waiting for him, sitting on the bench. He hurried to meet her, but she stood up and blocked his way.

"I want to talk to you."

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Nothing's wrong. It's just that I wanted to apologize."

Lucas didn't say anything, but he looked confused.

"When you came here, you made me realize how much my life had changed. You reminded me that I wasn't going to stay in this place forever."

Lucas shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Malice, "you can join me and my team once they all come back," he offered.

Malice smiled at Lucas. "I don't think so. I want to prove myself to them, and you too. That's why…"

"Why what?" Lucas interrupted her.

"Well…I wanted to challenge you to a duel, to show everyone how strong I am."

"A duel?" Lucas repeated. "Here? In the academy?"

"Yes, in the arena."

"Are you serious?"

Malice nodded. "It would be a great way to prove myself. And also, I know I'm not as good as you, so fighting you might improve my skills."

"If I win the duel, you won't tell anyone about the duel, right?"

"Of course not. If I lose, though…well, you know what would happen."

Lucas nodded. "So, when do we do this?"

"Tonight," Malice answered. "I'll wait for you in the arena."

"Okay, I'll be there."

Lucas left the academy and headed back to his dorm. He entered his room and sat down on his bed. The only thing that was on his mind was, 'Kali...' He let a long sigh out, knowing that it's been more than a month since she left for training her dragon form. She has already mastered the basics of her new abilities, so he hoped that she would soon return.

***

He closed his eyes and took a deep nap, after that, Lucas went straight to the arena, as instructed by Malice. He wasn't sure if he had enough time to prepare, but he tried his best to calm himself. 'first Malice and then five dudes tomorrow, should be fun.' a tingling feeling ran down his stomach, making him grin.

As he walked towards the arena, Lucas noticed a girl standing near the entrance of the building. He thought that she was one of the students from his class, but he couldn't be sure. As he approached the girl, he saw her face clearly. It was Kali. Lucas stopped and stared at her. He walked closer to her, but she didn't notice him.

"Hey, are you lost?" Lucas called out to her.

She jumped and turned around, looking startled. Then she recognized Lucas and smiled. "Oh, Lucas, hi!"

The source of this content is nov/el/bin[./]net'

"Hey, Malice, you scared me!"
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