Jack should have really been paying attention to where he was walking. No shit, Sherlock. Anyways, Jack was currently suspended upside down by some vines around his left ankle. Despite the fact that blood was rushing to his brain, it actually wasn't that bad hanging upside down. You just had to say something. Word of advice never jinx yourself. Trust me on this. You'll learn the hard way that the universe is always against you. Jack waited for something bad to happen. He waited, and waited, and then waited some more. Nothing bad happened. Looks like today is Jack's lucky day. Did you not just hear what I said? Come on, hurry up and free yourself from the vines. But how exactly would Jack do that? It wasn't like Jack knew any spells. Jack gasped for breath as his body suddenly tensed up. Jack's body moved on its own as it sliced the vines suspending him in the air.
Jack inwardly flinched as he saw the ground towards him as he fell. But then, at the last second, Jack was able to blast wind to slow his decent and upright himself, landing on his feet. Jack put his hand on his chest panting in shock at what just happened. How was he able to do that? That wasn't you. That was me, using wind magic. Wow, that was pretty cool to Jack, but also very scary. Didn't that mean that the stranger could take control of his body at any time? The stranger didn't answer, but before he could question the stranger further, he felt a vine around his neck and pull him to the ground. Jack clawed at the vines around his neck. He couldn't breathe. The vines loosened enough for Jack to breath. Jack breathed in deeply, praising air for being so good. After he regained his breath, he noticed that someone was standing above him. It appeared to be a woman, that was covering in green leaves. Wait, is she a plant woman? Yes, she is. Now quick, don't mess things up.
"Why are you trespassing on my gardens?" asked the woman.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I got separated from my group of summoners and got lost trying to find them." Jack answered truthfully.
"A likely story." she said doubtfully.
Remember when I said not to mess up. Well guess what, you messed up. The vines around his neck tightened, making his eyes bulge out of his skull. Jack tried to speak to tell the plant woman that he wasn't lying. But Jack couldn't speak a word, let alone breathe. Jack's lungs were burning, begging for some oxygen. Jack's vision started fading. It was looking like the end. Jack's body tensed up, but before anything more could happened, Jack heard the plant woman scream in pain. The vines loosened as if it recoiled in pain. Jack wasted no time freeing himself from the vines and getting up to his feet. He saw a spear lodged in the plant woman's abdomen. Jack looked around looking for his savior. He saw a tanned woman, with white markings covering her skin clad in a fur loincloth and wearing a bone necklace. Jack didn't have time to appreciate his savior's beauty as he dodged out of the way of some vines.
The vines constantly redirected themselves as if it was sentient and following Jack as if he insulted its mother or something. That actually sounded very plausible for some strange reason. Runeterra was filled with a lot of strange things. Emphasis on both lot and strange. Jack ducked underneath a barrage of thorns shot at him like bullets. Jack pointed his hand towards the plant woman's direction as if on instinct. The plant woman was launched back like a rag-doll from a powerful blast of wind that emanated from the palm of Jack's hand. Jack's eyes widen at the result of the attack. How did he do that? Congrats, you copied your first spell. Wait that wasn't the stranger's doing? Nope, you did it all by yourself.
Jack would have celebrated upon discovering that he just cast a spell all without any help, but he had more pressing matters at hand. He expected the plant woman to get back up on to her feet, but she never did. Just how hard exactly did he blast her back? Okay, we are definitely going to work on control on how much force you put into spells. Jack moved over to the where he saw the plant woman landed. He discovered the plant woman's unconscious body.
"Wow, I didn't expect Zyra to be knocked out from that attack." said a female voice coming from behind Jack.
Jack flinched and toward around quickly, cracking his back in the process. The woman laughed at Jack's reaction to her presence.
"What? Did you forget that I was here after just saving you?" the woman teased with a sultry tone, leaning forward making Jack catch an eyeful of cleavage.
"W-what?" Jack stuttered out nervously, blushing profusely.
Jack had to force himself to look back into the woman's eyes, but somehow his eyes would fall back down to look at her cleavage. He was so embarrassed by his actions and had to apologize. I like what I saw. Look back, I want to see it again. What the hell man? Brother, I died a virgin so excuse me for being horny. Just let me revel in her beautiful body.
"Enjoying the view?" the woman teased pressing her breasts against his chest. She leaned in a whispered into his ear. "Would you like to see more?" She said, biting his ear.
Jack was speechless, he tried to move, but he couldn't. SAY YES! SAY YES! PLEASE SAY YES! He opened his mouth to talk, but ended up closing back shut.
"The name's Nidalee, what's yours big boy?" she teased.
"Uhhhh, it's Jack." he stuttered out abashedly, face turned away.
"Well Jack, looks like you're lost. Do you need someone to help you find where you need to go?" she stated ever so slowly and giving him a sexy wink.
Like her bed. Dude, shut up. Now is not the time for this immaturity. This was Jack's only chance to get back on track. Or you could lose your virginity. Screw getting back on track, just start screwing her if you know what I mean. Jack ignored the stranger and proceeded to tell Nidalee what he actually needed and not the ramblings of the embodiment of teenage boy hormones. Seriously wasn't the stranger wanting to get back on track before this all happened?
"I can help you get where you need to go but you owe me a favor.?" Nidalee purred as she drew circles on Jack's chest.
She stopped drawing circles when she felt something odd protruding out from Jack's chest. Without a word she lifted up his shirt and saw the electromagnet in the middle of Jack's chest. She gasped at the sight of the electromagnet, backing away from Jack, letting his shirt fall back down. She pointed at Jack's electromagnet and asked what it was. Jack had to give a brief summary of what happened to him and how he had an arc reactor in his chest powering the electromagnet in his chest. She tried to give Jack her condolences but he stopped her. He stated that he would prefer if people didn't feel sorry for him. Nidalee was going to lead Jack to where he needed to go, but Jack, being the great man he is, decided to take a small detour on his journey to deposit Zyra's limp body in the infirmary. Nidalee wasn't going to speak to Jack on their walk, because she was too uncomfortable after seeing the arc reactor in Jack's chest.
Jack noticed and decided to strike up a conversation on their way to the infirmary. Nidalee slowly started to respond to Jack's dialogue before finally starting to get invested in the topics Jack brought up. It was so interesting how easy it was to talk to Jack. It was almost as if he had an aura of calming around him. After Jack had dropped off Zyra to the infirmary Nidalee said that it was time for them to go their separate ways. Apparently she had a match scheduled soon, whatever that meant. Nidalee pointed to a group of summoners who were the summoner trainees.
"Hey Jack, don't forget that you owe me a favor." Nidalee called out as she sauntered away.
"Yeah, just come find me when you want to redeem your favor. I'll do anything within reason." Jack hollered out before jogging to the group of summoners.
"Ah, Mr. Rein, there you are. I was beginning to wonder when you were going to make your appearance. Care to explain your absence?" stated a man wearing purple robe adorned with a gold and blue crest above his left breast.
"I got lost in the beauty of the architecture. Then I actually got lost, but I eventually found a person who could point me in the right direction. Sorry for being late." Jack said truthfully much to the laughter of his fellow summoner trainees.
"Well try not to do that next time. It'd be a shame if you died, because you got lost." the summoner said after checking off a binder. "Anyways, today will be your orientation to the Institute of War. The Institute not only provides a more peaceful means of solving conflict, but also houses some of the most dangerous individuals. Now let's begin our tour of the place before meeting the champions whom you will be working closely with."
Jack walked with the others revisiting places that he already saw with Nidalee. The tour was more in depth than the one Nidalee gave. The tour guide loved to recount the wondrous tales of each of the sections. The Institute provided housing for both the summoners and champions to make it an easier transition between matches and regular life. The Institute was split up into different sections for all the different factions, but there were some neutral grounds in between where champions from different factions could socialize or taunt each other. Jack got to see some summoners interacting with some of the champions on the tour. After what seemed to be an hour, the tour finally ended and it was time for every trainee to meet their teachers of the Institute, the ones who were going to teach them the way of the summoner.
The next thing on the agenda, according to the summoner in charge of the group, was meeting the champions that we will be working with. Everyone was going to do a quick test to see which champion they would be most compatible with. While the test didn't necessarily bind one summoner to a certain champion, it certainly tells what kind of roles would be suited best for the summoner. The test consisted of placing both hands onto a scrying orb and waited for the orb to reveal a champion who was determined beforehand to fill certain roles. Each summoner trainee placed their hands on the scrying orb and waited patiently for their results. Support, Hunter, Mage, Bruiser, Tank, Assassin were all some of the various roles that people got. Most people got one or two roles, and some even got three. Jack was excited for his turn. He couldn't wait for the results of his test. Jack thought about the roles that would be suit him. Did he like helping others? He did, so would that mean he would get the support role? He also found magic extremely intriguing so did that mean he would get the mage role? How exactly did it determine one's roles? Did it look at one's interests or perhaps their hobbies?
Jack thought about multiple hypotheses before he results showed up. Jack looked into the above the scrying orb to see what kind of champion or champions it would display. However, it showed nothing. Jack's heart sunk. What did this result mean? Did it mean that Jack wasn't suited to be a summoner at all? The summoner in charge of the scrying orb let out a hearty laugh. Jack looked at him in horror. Couldn't the see how shocked expression on Jack's face?
"Whew. I haven't seen that result before." the summoner finally said after calming down. "Don't worry Mr. Rein, this doesn't mean you can't be a summoner, it just that you can assume any role."
"What?" everyone else screamed in shock to various degrees.
Jack heard the chatter behind him which made him extremely nervous. He overheard bits and pieces of people's conversations about him. Most of them weren't saying very positive things. Most were pretty jealous.
"I don't understand." Jack stated confused to why he was the only one to get a mysterious result.
"Don't be. I believe that the results are a reflection of your indecisiveness. Most people have strong convictions, that is why they can assume one role perfectly. Others who aren't so sure about their life will often lie between a multitude of role categories. You just happened to be very indecisive. Whether or not that is a good thing is up to you to decide. Although, my beliefs are just a theory so take it with a grain of salt." the summoner stated calming both Jack and satisfying the other summoner trainees.
"Thanks that was calming to hear. It felt like I didn't fit in for a second there." Jack said nervously scratching the back of his head.
"Don't worry about it. Here at the Institute, it isn't just about saving and protecting others. It is about building a community." the summoner said with a smile. "Well looks like I have to go and meet up with friends. Until we see each other again, remember to have some fun. Also remember to meet back here at 1:30 PM for the first lesson on being a summoner."
With the summoner's last words, he was shrouded with a purple mist as he channeled his teleportation spell. Then he was gone and another summoner took over leading the trainees to their rooms. Since they were just trainees, they were going to be rooming with a fellow trainee. Jack felt a little bit excited. A roommate would provide an opportunity for an excellent new friendship. He couldn't wait to meet his new roommate. Jack looked down at the room key that he was giving. Where exactly was Room 231A, West? What did that even mean? Jack felt like he should have been paying more attention to the summoner when he was explaining how to get to his room. Jack looked around to see that he was completely alone in the lounge. Looks like he wasn't going to be able to ask for help out this time and he was not about to get lost again. Was the stranger at least paying attention for him? Oh hell no! I'm not some kind of slave. But I did listen in to what the summoner said. Now, next time pay more attention and stop getting lost in your own thoughts. It is rather distracting. Anyways, head down the hallway to your right there should be a portal there that should take us to the West Section. Jack silently thanked the stranger before heading off to find his room.
Hey Jack, listen I'm sorry about before with Nidalee. I don't know what came over me. Jack seriously doubted that. No, I'm serious. I've been dead for so long that I forgot about my desires and sexual tensions. I even forgot about my horniness. I don't even know how that was possible. I was possibly the horniest teenager ever. There was no doubt in Jack's mind about that. Hey shut up! You aren't allowed to insult me when I am apologizing. Jack apologized for his rudeness. It's okay, it is my fault for forgetting in the first place. Jack got so distracted talking to the stranger that he didn't see the blue haired woman that turned the corner until he collided into him.
Jack opened his eyes to see that his face was planted in between the woman's breasts. HOLY SHIT! SHE HAS SOME HUGE TITIES! IF I STILL HAD A DICK, I'D BE SO HARD RIGHT NOW! Jack sighed in disappointment before quickly got to his feet and quickly glanced down to see the bluenette's appearance. He quickly shook his head to erase the perverted thoughts that flew past his mind's eye and noticed what appeared to be a musical instrument on the ground besides her. He held out his hand to help the bluenette to her feet as he apologized for not watching where he was going. Jack then picked up the instrument and handed in to her. The bluenette didn't say anything and instead looked into Jack's eyes. Jack felt a soft tickle inside of his head and hear a soft voice in his head completely different from that of the stranger's. Whose voice was that? I don't know, but it sounds alluring like a siren's beautiful voice.
"Can you hear me?" asked the unfamiliar voice.
"Hey, do you hear a voice coming from your head?" Jack asked the bluenette.
"This voice is mine. I can't talk normally because I am mute. What is with the other voice you have in your head?" the bluenette telepathically spoke.
"Oh, he is a dead soul that is temporarily residing in my body." Jack answered truthfully much to the stranger's annoyance.
Seriously Jack, you just had to tell the truth about me. You know how you can make it up to me for you mistake. You can start by convincing that divine goddess to show her tits to us. Dude, what the actual fuck? Jack only look at the bluenette's reddening face. Looks like the bluenette could hear the stranger, so ehe stranger should probably stop being annoying. Too late, I'm horny as fuck now. Jack apologized for the stranger's perverted tendencies. The bluenette said that it was no problem, but it was clearly a problem as evident by her uncomfortable stance and bright red face.
"I'm Jack. What's your name?" Jack signed using Universal Standard Sign Language trying to distract bluenette from the past embarrassing moments.
Screw introductions, skip right to the sex. Okay that is enough from the stranger.
"You know sign language?" the bluenette signed back ignoring the stranger's antics.
Of course he did. How could forget all the days with his best friend using sign language to have a conversation during the middle of class. It was a genius idea from his friend and a useful skill for now.
"Did you stop using telepathy to talk to me?" Jack asked.
"Yeah, I didn't want to hear that perverted person in your mind." Jack blushed at her response.
"Sorry about that. He just doesn't know anything about respecting women." Jack said throwing the stranger under the bus.
"No problem. The name's Sona by the way."
"As in Sona Buvelle, the musician?" Jack asked aloud in sudden realization. "Wow, I feel incredibly stupid for not noticing until now."
Now that Jack thought of it. Sona did say she was just mute not deaf, so he didn't necessarily need to use sign language. Jack sighed at his lack of common sense. Like it is common sense for you to seduce her instead of just talking. Anyways tell me what she is saying I can't understand sign language now. I haven't used it in so long. Wait, doesn't that mean he had learned sign language once upon a time? The stranger seemed to become more familiar and familiar to Jack, almost like they were friends. After all the stranger did call Jack an old friend. Could that mean that the stranger was actually someone he knew? No way, Jack didn't know any people with magic and if he did he was sure that he would have known.
Jack mentally face-palmed how could he forget what his favorite musician looked like. Guess he had to revoke his own self-proclaimed title of number one fan.
"It's no problem honestly I don't mind." Sona signed. "Anyways, do you happened to play any musical instruments."
"Surprisingly yes, I am pianist. Does it look like I am someone who plays an instrument?" Jack asked aloud.
"Oh no. I was just wondering. Say what kind of genre of music do you like to play." she signed.
"I like to play jazz or romantic pieces, but I do play and sing comedy songs that I made with my best friend." Jack answered instantly without a doubt in his mind.
"Well maybe we could play something together some time." she signed a slight blush.
"That'd be lovely, just come and find me anytime you want to play something together." Jack said aloud.
Why did you stop there? Come on you have to tap that ass! Wasn't the stranger, before encountering Sona, apologizing for being a pervert? Jack sighed in disappointment. Why did the stranger just start showing his horniness after arriving to the league? After all, didn't they have an encounter with Zoe. Dude, I know that I am horny, but I am not into little kids. Zoe might be a couple millenniums old, but she looks like a kid. Wait, are you into little kids?! Jack ignored the stranger and said his farewells to Sona before heading back towards his dorm room. Thankfully, Jack decided to pay more attention to where he was going and didn't crash into anyone else.
Jack opened the door to his dorm room expecting to see his future roommate waiting for him, but much to his disappointment there was no one there. Did his roommate get tired for waiting for him and leave, or did his roommate not arrive yet? Or worst of all, Jack didn't have a roommate at all and convinced himself that he wouldn't be the only lonely person. He really hoped that it wasn't the last. Jack glanced around the small room that was going to be his living space during his stay here as a trainee. It was spacious and each room flowed into each without any walls separating them, with the exception of the bathroom. Jack examined the kitchen with a critical eye. Inside the kitchen was a modern-day electrical stove. Jack preferred gas stoves, but electric stoves would be just fine. Jack opened up the fridge to see absolutely nothing. Jack mentally noted that his first order of business during his free time was to go and get some groceries.
Jack heard a knock at the door. Could it be his roommate? Jack scurried over to the door and opened it without gazing through the peephole. Jack was surprised to see a female summoner standing behind his door. On the summoner's robe was a gold and blue crest, the same as the one of all the other teachers.
"Hello Mr. Rein, I've come here to inform you that you won't be having a roommate. Also, we expect to see you at the summoning hall after lunch. So try to arrive a little bit earlier next time." the summoner said before leaving.
Jack's heart sunk, so he wasn't going to have a roommate. Jack was really looking forward to having a roommate, but a summoner had to come along and personally crush his dreams. Jack closed the door and sat down on the floor, leaning his back against the door. Jack was beginning to lose hope on making new friends with his fellow summoner trainees. Someone must have heard Jack's prayers because there was a knock on the door. Jack got up and answered it.
"Hey, I'm one of your neighbors to the left of your room. I was wondering if you had any silverware that we can borrow? Apparently, there isn't any in the kitchen drawers so I was wondering if you had any." said a tall dark skinned man.
"Oh I'll go check right now. You can wait in the living room while I search for some silverware." Jack said retreating back into his humble abode.
Jack searched for his kitchen drawers for any signs of silverware. What good was giving everyone a kitchen if it wasn't fully equipped? Jack couldn't find any silverware in his drawers or the dishwasher. But not to worry, Jack had packed some silverware in his luggage that he brought with him. Wait a second, where was his luggage? Jack didn't remember bringing it into his room. Now that he thought of it, he didn't have it during orientation. That meant that Jack had lost his luggage during his commute from the train to the where he met all of his other summoner trainees. Jack quickly apologize to his neighbor after coming back empty handed. The other summoner trainee took no offense for Jack lacking any silverware. After all, it would seem unfair if some people had silverware and others didn't. It just didn't make much sense at all.
Jack closed the door after the summoner left. Jack had to think of where his suitcase could've gone. That suitcase contained his pajamas for god's sake. God knows that Jack needs his pajamas to sleep. It was a totally normal occurrence for one to depend on a certain item to sleep. Like a favorite blanket or a favorite bed. That is not normal. I don't believe any of your bullshit. Could the stranger at least try to be useful and help Jack find out where he left his luggage? Do I really have to do everything? *Sigh* We lost our luggage when we got attacked by Zyra. Why didn't the stranger say anything about his luggage being missing after Jack and Nidalee defeated Zyra? Could it be that the stranger was too distracted by Nidalee's beauty? Well, I wasn't going to answer that way, but I will take it. Come on, we could make it to our suitcase and back before you even know it. Jack seriously doubted that. Fine, let me show you how.
Jack's body tensed up. Jack spouted out a short incantation which made his body transparent and surrounded by a faint white aura. Jack that launched himself towards a wall. Jack mentally flinched as he came into contact with the wall. However, instead of rebounding off the wall or at least putting an imprint of himself on it, he phased through the wall like he wasn't a solid object. How could this be possible? Listen, if there's a will, there's a way of using magic to do it. I just happened to copy a phasing spell before I died. And before you say anything, I'll explain how I learned magic and subsequently how you will learn how. Jack landed in the area where he was attacked by Zyra. Jack quickly picked up his suitcase and launched himself back towards his room.
As soon as Jack made it back to his room with his suitcase, he collapsed to the ground as he slowly regained control of his body. Jack pulled himself up using stool. Jack tried to stand up but ended up falling back down. He sighed in annoyance. Why were his knees weak now? That's probably my fault. I still don't know the full extent of the side effects of me taking over your body is. That probably means we should limit how much I take over control to avoid any unwanted repercussions. Jack snorted, a little bit late for that now. Jack eventually made it back onto his feet and began unpacking until it was time to eat.
Jack didn't know what kind of food was going to be offered in the cafeteria of the Institute, so he was pleasantly surprised when he saw dishes from various cultures. Guess that made sense because of the diverse population of the Institute. Jack wasn't feeling that adventurous today after all the events in just today alone, so he just got a bowl of Chow Mein with a side of sweet and sour chicken and a healthy glass of water. The hardest part about eating was finding a place to sit. He wanted to sit down next to people to socialize, but he didn't want to intrude on other people's personal space. Jack scanned the room for any perfect opportunities. Maybe he should just sit down already at one of the empty tables and hope that other people will sit at his table. But Jack wasn't about to let a little bit of self-doubt get in his way. It was time to be bold and establish meaningful relationships with the people around him. If not friends, at the very least Jack will make acquaintances.
Jack puffed up his chest and stood up as straight as he could. He narrowed his eyes and put on his game face. He strolled around and spotted a table of four people who Jack recognized as fellow summoner trainees. They were sitting at one end of a table. Jack glanced at all of them. There were two guys and two girls. They were chatting like they had known each other for a long time. Jack decided to make his move, sauntering over to the edge of the table.
"Hey, can I sit there?" Jack asked pointing at a seat next to the two guys.
The four summoner trainees stopped their conversation and glanced at him. The two guys scooted over without a word, making room for Jack to sit down. Jack place his tray down and sat own and expected one of the four summoner trainees to say something to him. Instead the four went back to their own conversations as if Jack wasn't there. Jack felt his pride and fragile male ego deflate just a little bit. It hurt being ignored, but he guessed that it made since. He was a random stranger, he had to at least introduce himself.
"My name is Jack. What about you all?" Jack began, starting to hopefully break the ice between them.
"Tom."; "Conner."; "Cynthia."; "Rosella." they all said in rapid-fire succession.
"Uhh," Jack began not knowing what to do with their plain responses. "Want to play a game of truth or dare?" Jack asked hopefully.
The group of four glanced at one another, then at Jack, then back at each other, then back to Jack. They seemed to be a wordless argument going on between the group of four. It was almost as if they were using some kind of communication magic to talk with each other privately. That is telepathy, you imbecile. How dense are you when it comes to magic? As dense as the stranger was to women. Touché, touché. The summoners' conversation ended and they all look back at Jack.
"We've come to the decision to participate in your game of truth or dare." Tom said in a monotone voice.
Jack started to sweat a little bit nervously. Way to make a person feel welcome. I'm pretty sure that they aren't trying to make you feel welcomed. Well why couldn't they be a little less… off putting. It was awkward for all of them to stare at him like a slab of meat.
"I'll start; I dare you to play that piano over there." Tom pointed to a piano in the back of the cafeteria a decent distance from where Jack was sitting.
Jack was going to point out what Tom was doing wasn't how to play truth or dare, but Jack digressed. Jack got up out of his seat and headed over to the piano. He pulled out the piano stool and sat down. What was he going to play? Jack thought of a song to play as he stretched his fingers. Jack had to choose something that would impress his table and let him stay at the table. But what song was perfect for that? He had no idea what their favorite music genre was. Jack sighed as he finally settled on playing Be Our Guest from the movie Beauty and the Beast. It was one of his all-time favorite ragtime pieces. Jack started playing and he could tell that all eyes were on him when all conversations seemed to stop. Jack focused on playing his piece so he could walk back to his seat and dare Tom to do something embarrassing, he had it coming.
Jack soon finished playing his piece. While he got up and turned around to head back to the table he ran into a small child.
"Hey mister, can you play another song?" the small child asked sweetly.
"Sure thing," Jack said after looking at the child's puppy eyes.
Jack sat back down at the piano and thought of another song to play. He had to please the small girl that asked him so kindly. What kind of person would Jack be to refuse the small girl's request? Jack decided to play a fast ragtime piece, so of course Dizzy Fingers by Zez Confrey would the best choice. Jack watched as the girl's face light up in wonder as Jack played. It was nice to brighten a kid's day. The kid requested more and more songs from Jack and Jack happily obliged. The girl asked Jack if he could play any Snowdown Carols. Of course he did, was a thinly veiled insult. She was too young to be that nefarious. Jack couldn't decide from between Jingle Bell Rock and Chestnut Roasting Over an Open Fire. Jack decided to play her Jingle Bell Rock before going back to his table and eating.
However, the girl was insistent that he keep on playing her some more songs. Jack tried to explain that he had to eat, because he was feeling quite famished, but the girl just wouldn't seem to take no for an answer. Jack couldn't leave the girl angry so he stayed. He sometimes hated his inability to be rude. It also didn't help that Jack felt like he shouldn't upset the little girl.
"What's your name? My name is Jack and I'd just like to know who the little sweetheart that I am playing for."
"My name is Annie. Can you play me twinkle little star?" she asked sweetly.
Jack started to play adding a couple of improvisations and flairs to make the rather simple piece into something more substantial. Did you know that Mozart actually had a variation of twinkle little star that progressively got more complicated as you get further into the piece? Well, Jack didn't know how to play Mozart's version so he had to get by with his improvisation. How did the stranger even know about Mozart? Hey, you can't just assume that I don't appreciate the classic, I'm deeply insulted. Jack mentally apologized and continued to play music until the girl finally got bored and said her farewells. Jack internally sighed in relief as he saw Annie leave. Jack got up from the stool and pushed it back underneath the piano. He turned around to come face to face with Vi.
"You never mentioned that you could play piano." Vi accused.
"You never asked," Jack played off. "I didn't think it was that important."
"You never thought that I might be interested?" Vi asked.
"Well, when you get rejected for being able to play an instrument like piano instead of being the captain of the football team, you tend not to mention it. I can't even reasonably try to serenade a girl outside of her house with a piano." Jack reasoned.
"Well, I certainly believe that your musical talent is beautiful enough to get any woman to fall head over heels for you." Vi flirted.
"And would you happen to be one of those women?" Jack flirted back with a grin.
"Who knows? Why don't you tried to find out?" Vi said suggestively, accentuating the natural curvatures of her body.
"I rather not. I find the suspense and mystery more engaging than the chase." Jack said walking over to his table.
The four summoner trainees who had once sat there were long gone. They had probably used the piano dare to ditch Jack. Couldn't they at least provide him some common courtesy? Perhaps they had a different idea of common courtesy? After all people often had different perspectives of what is and isn't common sense. Jack refused to be ignorant of the differences of people. Not after what happened in '06. Especially not after what happened in '06. Jack shivered from the memory. Jack sat down and began to chow down on his Chow Mein. Jack groaned, he had played so long that his food got cold. Vi sat down across from Jack.
"Did you already finish eating?" Jack asked before shoveling down more Chow Mein.
"Yeah, I was just eating a steak when I heard some music coming from across the room. To my surprise I see you. To be honest I thought that Sona decided to play something, but it was you."
"Well, you know what the saying is: Life is often full of pleasant surprises." Jack quoted.
Vi laughed. They held some small talk before Jack had to go.
"I don't want to be late again. I already ruined my reputation on the first meeting. Now I have to work twice as hard to redeem myself." Jack stated looking down at his wrist watch. "See you soon. Sorry for making this short, but I have to go."
"Sure thing, no problem." Vi said with a smile.
Vi dropped her smile as soon as she saw Jack round the corner. Could he honestly tell that she was into him? She wasn't exactly being subtle. Maybe Jack knew and was just messing with her, but honestly Vi had no clue. Vi got up and headed to the training room to clear her head from her disappointment.
"Mr. Rein, it is a surprise to see you so early from your rather late arrival for orientation." a summoner stated formally.
Jack recognized the summoner. He was the person who was the guide around the Institute. If Jack could remember correctly the man said that his name was Isaac. Congrats, you remembered something. Why did the stranger have to be such an ass sometimes? Well, sorry you are so boring. Jack gave up trying to calmly reason, well he wasn't really calm. He did call the stranger an ass. So maybe aggravated is a better world.
"I try my best to make up for my mistakes." Jack answered. "I rather not tarnish a reputation that I didn't even create."
"Well said Mr. Rein." Summoner Isaac complimented. "Do you perhaps read a lot of philosophy?"
"Of course. Living in Piltover, one must be ready to hear the differing perspectives of any individual. Also there are so many articles posted that are so interesting to read. It also helps that I am part Ionian, so I have the influence of Ionian philosophy in my life. I never really applied Ionian philosophy to my everyday life though, I don't think that it is necessarily correct but it is a nice read. Anyways, I'm curious to what you exactly do here in the Institute. You don't have to answer if it is too personal."
"No, it is quite alright. I work in maintaining the arcanic rune seals that we place onto each of the champions to limit their power, whether to keep them in check or to set up a fair fight. I just happen to be the one that the Head Summoner uses for introducing the new trainees."
"Do you like working at the Institute?" Jack asked curiously.
Isaac was about to answer but more of the other trainees started to arrive. Isaac quickly apologize for not being able to answer Jack's question before walking towards the other trainees to check off those present. After everyone arrived Summoner Isaac told everyone what they were going to do.
"Since everyone is present, we will now begin learning the basic spells that every summoner has to learn, whether or not you are a representative summoner or a summoner that maintains the runes.
The basic spells are flash, teleport, ghost, ignite, barrier, cleanse, heal, exhaust, and smite. Flash is a quick transportation spell that will only transport a person up to a meter away. Teleport is a transportation spell with infinite range that can be used as long as you know where you are teleporting to. Ghost is a speed spell that temporarily boosts the speed of the person and allows them to phase through objects as long as it is not too dense or too thick. Ignite is a simple fire spell that will simply catch a person of fire, a fire which can't be put out by physical means. Barrier is a protection spell which shields a target and protect them from incoming damage. Cleanse is a purifying spell that remove any ailments that an individual might have. For instance, the types of conditions cleanse can cure is a concussion or any other debilitating effect. Heal is a novice healing spell that can close up small wounds and scrapes, as well as make bruises fade away. Exhaust is a debilitating spell that slows down a target which also makes them slower to react. Smite is a lightning spell that strikes down a target with a bolt of lightning." Summoner Isaac explained.
Summoner Isaac quickly demonstrated the spells on his assistant teacher.
"The first spell that we will be practicing is flash. Remember before casting flash to think of the location you want to appear at. Otherwise you won't go as far as you would like or you could end up somewhere else entirely."
Jack tried to follow Summoner Isaac's instructions verbatim, but couldn't do it. Just do what I say. Our magic is different from theirs. We have to mimic others to cast the same spell. Just remember how Summoner Isaac did it and you will be able to do it. Jack tried to do what the stranger recommended but to no avail. Try to close your eyes so you can better visualize the exact movements that Summoner Isaac did. Jack closed his eyes and try to remember everything that Summoner Isaac did. Jack opened his eyes and focused in on a location on the ground. Jack felt himself disappear into a flash of light and appear in his target location.
Jack breathed in shock. He actually did it. But it was strange, didn't most people who use magic say that they can feel the magic flowing through them as they cast spells, so why couldn't Jack feel any energy flowing? Don't worry about that, it probably because it is my magic that you are using. Now try to do it again but do it while running towards a location. I want to see the limits of this spell. Jack listened and started to run. He looked away from where he was running to and focused on where he wanted to go. Jack flashed in mid-stride and stumbled forward when his foot landed on the ground. We can work on the execution later. We still need to test the limits of this spell. Let's see if we can teleport into the air with the spell. Jack tried to visualize a space in the air where he wanted to flash into. Jack wasn't prepared when he was able to flash three feet into the air and ended up falling on to his back. Jack got up and dusted himself off. Ok from what I can assess from the information we gather, the flash is versatile. You maintain the same orientation when you begin the flash and you are able to flash into the air so overall a nice spell to remember and have. Devote this spell to memory, because you won't be able to use the spell if you forget.
Jack glanced to the other trainees to see their progress. They were all struggling to various degrees. It looks like Jack was able to master the flash spell before anyone else. You didn't master the spell. You didn't even have to learn it. You just copied it. Everyone else has to learn it the hard way, so don't be so cocky. Jack mentally apologized. He forgot that he took one hell of a shortcut. Jack practiced the execution of flashing while running as well as flashing into the air. Jack then tried multiple times in a row to see how high in the air he could get. He cramped up after the four flash and started to fall to the ground. He was falling a solid four meters to the ground. Jack closed his eyes and braced for impact. Jack felt himself tense up and open his eyes. He used bursts of wind to slow his descent and land on the ground safely. Jack immediately clutched his chest as soon as he regained control of his body. He was breathing in hard. Looks like we can't flash too many times in a row or else this will happen. We'll have to test out whether or not it is because of the rapid succession of flashes or number of flashes. We'll find out the limits of this spell one day.
"Okay we will be moving on to learning the next spell which is teleport. Don't worry if you weren't able to properly cast flash, because we will have more lessons to practice and you can practice in your free time in a wide open area."
Jack smiled, it was exciting to learn new spells. We don't learn new spells, we copy them. Well, he was excited to copy new spells and couldn't wait to copy the rest of the basic summoner spells. Jack then briefly wondered to what extent could he copy other people's spells. As long as it is based in magic, we can copy it. The only limitation is whether we remember all of them or not. I already memorized a lot of spells so it is up to you to remember the rest of the spells we are going to use. Well in any case Jack was looking forward to copying new spells. After all this was the only chance he has to follow his dream. He could only hope that he'd be prepared for the danger that the stranger forewarned about.
