Earth Magic trials, so now we're getting to the last and most difficult trial in Kuromu's magical career. A literal trial by Fire! It's the last step before completing his Elemental Magic training with the Charmers!
Striberx: Now, while yes there's still Lyna and Dharc, they aren't needed for the trials. They're just there because they're charmers and in a much different style than the others.
KRD: Then again, we could have Dharc as a sort of impromptu final trial.
Striberx: But that's up to Duelist since it is his work.
KRD: Right, right. It can't hurt to have a second opinion is all. ^^;
Striberx: Anywho, hope you all enjoy the chap.
Disclaimer: Same thing.
Last time on Silent Magi's Apprentice
Within the room to the realm, it was nothing more than a large valley of flora and a very dense forest. And in the middle of that valley was a very large tree, as crepuscular rays of light shone between the leaves of the tree's canopy. Kuromu slowly walked into the room with awe and wonder. It wasn't unlike Shizuka's home in their forest, but it was still impressive nonetheless. Given his sensory training, he could feel the life force of earth from the tree and the ground beneath.
"This is…" Kuromu muttered.
He was about to finish before he felt something tug at his ankles, making him look down to see a small rabbit tugging to get his attention.
"Hm? Well hello there." Kuromu looked down and smiled, kneeling on one knee. Though what was strange is that it had a safety helmet and a pair of goggles on him.
"You're the mage to train under Lady Aussa, right?" The bunny asked in a very cute, high pitched voice.
"Okay, the bunny talks." Kuromu stated.
…
…
…
"THE BUNNY TALKS?!" Kuromu cried out, landing on his butt.
"No need to shout, mister…." The bunny responded, holding its ears from his shouting.
"S-Sorry, forgot animals have sensitive hearing." Kuromu said, somehow getting over his shock. He should not be surprised anymore! "Er-hem." He cleared his throat. "Yes, I am."
"Aussa?" Kuromu tilted his head. "Are we… going to start training?"
"Um… w-we can… but uh… m-mind if I finish my book?"
"Uh… okay. Guess I'll just sit here and wait." Kuromu said, as he sat down on the ground Indian style and waited. As Aussa continued to read, she peeked over her book and saw Kuromu play with the dirt seemingly out of boredom, but then her eyes slightly widened when she saw him do hand movements and grains of dirt slowly rose up to his level.
"Ah…" Kuromu blinked in surprise before he decided to try something and mold the dirt in some geometric shapes. "Hehe… ah! Hahaa~!" He chuckled, as he was manipulating the earth to make all kinds of shapes.
"You can do it so easily…" Aussa said with surprise.
"Eh?" Kuromu said, looking at her, but the moment he did, he lost concentration and all the dirt fell to the ground, much to his disappointment. "Awww…" He pouted.
"You were able to move it already and so easily…" Aussa stated with surprise, "Normally… others had to wait months to finally even move a simple stone…"
"Really? It doesn't seem that hard to me." Kuromu stated.
"This trial is simple, just be one with the earth. Hence why we're in this mud bath."
"And… how long do I have to stay in here?" Kuromu asked.
"Until you understand how that feels." Aussa said, "M-Meaning… we can't get out until that happens…"
"...not unless it's an emergency?"
"No." Aussa said curtly.
"Ugh… okay," Kuromu groaned. 'I just hope I don't pass out like I'm in a hot spring.' He thought wearily.
"Now, I want to test something." She said as she made an orange orb of light, letting it float around the two to see how Kuromu would react.
"Huh? What's this?" Kuromu tilted his head curiously.
"Energy of the earth."
"Okay, and… what does this do?"
"That's for you to figure out." Aussa informed.
"Huh…" Kuromu muttered, reaching out towards it, but it moved away. "Eh?" He blinked, reaching for it again but again it moved. It then became something of a comical chase of Kuromu chasing the orb in a cat and mouse-like fashion as he tried to swipe it numerous times, only to fail. "Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiss…"
"You still don't understand what using the Earth truly means." She reminded him with a sweat drop, mainly because of Kuromu hissing like a cat.
"Mmmmm…" Kuromu pouted, sinking his body deeper into the mud up to his neck. He then got a sneaky idea and cupped his hands in a certain way and-
*SPURT!*
"Hah!" Kuromu fired a mud shot at the orb with his hand… only for it to miss. "Hah?!"
Aussa sighed as she shook her head, knowing that he's missing the point of being one with the earth and learning from the energy of the earth are very different matters.
'Concentrate… don't overdo it… just like with the Mana Crystal…' he said to himself.
Little by little the mud on him and the Earth Energy Orb gravitate towards his hand as the mud ball grew larger and larger, as it was now the size of a beach ball. Moments later, the Earth Energy Orb found itself being absorbed into the mud ball. When it was completely inside, the mud ball started glowing from within.
Kuromu felt the energy spiking from inside as he opened his eyes. "Uh… Aussa! I think I did something!"
"Good job! Keep it up!" Aussa praised him. But then her eyes widened, when the mudball something floated up higher and into the sky, then it started really shining bright.
"Uh… is it supposed to do that?" Kuromu couldn't help but ask, while staring wide-eyed at the floating shining mudball.
"I… don't know. I never seen it before."
Back at the house, Shizuka's eyes widened considerably as she kept her eyes on the 'screen' of the astral projection in front of her. Never did she think that her apprentice would have such an excellent aptitude in Earth Magic. However, it was because of that very reason, that it started to alarm her. Given the signs he got from the Mana Crystal training and the Healing Potions he had made… it would stand to reason that this accomplishing milestone is putting him in grave danger.
"Doriado." Shizuka said, alerting her friend. "You need to set up a barrier, quickly!"
"Is it-" Doriado asked, but Shizuka's nod was all she needed to know. The Elemental Mage nodded back as she clapped her hands together, forming the said barrier. She was thankful that Shizuka gave her a quick lesson on how to form it, as it was the same kind of barrier that Shizuka had used on her home to ensure the boy's safety.
"Huh? What are you doing, Master?" Lyna asked curiously, tilting her head in confusion. "Is something wrong?"
"Think of it as something only meant for Shizuka's eyes only." Doriado informed them.
"Oh… okay!" She chirped, before looking back to the 'screen' to watch the rest of the trial.
"Rather naive of her to… take your word for it." Shizuka stated.
"Innocence can usually lead to understanding." Doriado noted. "Still… it was a good call on your end. I hadn't realized that his progression became… significantly different from what you've told me."
"Yes. I can only hope that it was not enough for our enemies to notice…" Shizuka frowned.
The mudball continued shining brightly as it floated there while Kuromu and Aussa could only stare at it in awe and surprise. Just what was happening? Aussa didn't know it was supposed to do that. Neither did Kuromu. He didn't know what he just did. He was only doing what he was taught and now it was turning into something he didn't know he was capable and was starting to panic. "Uh… how do I stop this?!"
"I… I don't know… This is something entirely new to me." Aussa shook her head, unsure how to fix this.
As if things couldn't get any weirder, the World Tree started glowing as well.
"Now what?!" Kuromu cried out.
Motes of magical energy from the World Tree started seeping out of tree which was then absorbed into the mudball, and eventually started cracking. The rays of light from the Earth Energy Orb seeped through the web of cracks, before it finally shattered the mudball shell. The Earth Energy Orb was glowing brighter than ever and more powerful than earlier. After that, it slowly floated down and towards Kuromu.
Kuromu looked at Aussa in bewildered confusion. "What do I do?"
"I… I think it wants you to take it…" She muttered.
"Are you sure?" He asked unsurely.
"What else is there?" She pointed out.
Kuromu looked back at the Earth Energy Orb apprehensively for a few moments, before gulping and reaching out towards it. The next thing that happened was that it was absorbed into his body, which glowed intensely around his body frame before it eventually faded.
"This is…" Kuromu got out. "I don't know what just happened, but I think… I got some sort of power boost."
"I… think that was the World Tree accepting you…. I think you just passed the test." Aussa said with surprise.
"So… this means, mission accomplished?" Kuromu asked with a sheepish grin.
"Seems like it. Congratulations." Aussa smiled sweetly.
"YES!" Kuromu cheered, punching his fist into the mud pit… only for it to glow and… solidify! "Uh…" He said wide-eyed, before he tried to move, "Oh no, I'm stuck…! Ergh! Errrrrrrrrgh! ERRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!" He grunted, trying to free himself from the now dried up mud pit.
"Hehe, maybe you should relax a bit?" Aussa giggled.
"But I've been stuck here for hours!" Kuromu complained.
"Then think of a way to get unstuck. Can't be as hard as it is now." Aussa joked with a giggle.
"Oh very funny." Kuromu deadpanned, before he pushing his hands on the solid mud in an attempt to push himself out again. "Errrrrrrrrgh! ERRRRRRRRRRRRRGH! Come on! ERRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!"
"You can do it, just keep trying." Aussa giggled as she walked off to the entrance.
"Aussa, don't leave me behind! Help me out! AUSSAAAAAAAAA!"
"See you at the entrance, Kuromu." She said with a wave.
And now for the continuation…
"Mmmmmmmmmmm…" Kuromu grumbled as he was finally able to free himself from his predicament, slowly making his way out of the realm, clothes on mind you after cleaning himself off from the dust and sand when using his boosted Earth Magic to turn the dry mud into it. The fact that Aussa left him without helping, left him grumpy. They were supposed to be friends! And friends don't abandon one other in times of need! This was one of those times and she just ditched him!
At the entrance of her room, Aussa smiled softly with a gentle wave, "Seems like you got out."
"You ditched me…" Kuromu pouted.
"I mean, you know how to wield Earth Magic. You're never in any real danger now, no?" She pointed out to him.
"I thought you were my friend…" He pouted harder, making Aussa sweat drop.
"We are, but if I helped you out of that, wouldn't the lesson and trial be pointless?"
"I… uh…" Kuromu got out, as he thought about it for a moment, before sighing with a slump of his shoulders while hanging his head down, "Okay, fair enough…"
"Come, I'll lead you to Hiita." Aussa offered as she walked out of the room with him, back once more in the household of the Charmers as the Earth Charmer started to help him to the final trial room.
"I just hope she's reasonable… she sounds pretty grumpy."
"It does fit with her element of fire." Aussa pointed out, "Plus she has always had trust issues with others… After all, she was a child of a dark mage."
"A… dark mage?" Kuromu muttered with a frown. "What did they do to her?"
"It's-"
"KURO!"
*POW!*
"Oof!" Kuromu felt the wind knocked out of him as a white blur sped towards him and pounced him to the ground. "What the-" He got out, before noticing who his attacker was. "Lyna?"
"Hehe! I wanna play with big brother Kuro!" She smiled brightly at him.
"Lyna, he hasn't finished his training yet." Aussa chided.
"Ehhhh~? But I wanna play with him now!" Lyna pouted.
"Oh, it's fine, Aussa." Kuromu chuckled, patting Lyna's head. "Besides, all work and no play isn't good anyways, and I need to relax anyways before the last trial."
"You mean… you could use fun right now?" Lyna said to him, putting on a cute face to try and deter him from his trials.
"Yeah, I could use it right now." Kuromu chuckled again, ruffling Lyna's head again. He then looked at the Earth Charmer. "You don't mind, right Aussa?"
"Well… I guess it wouldn't be a problem since it's just a break…" Aussa noted.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAY!" Lyna cheered, hugging Kuromu tightly. "I get to play with you!"
"Hehe, well I can't play with you if you're still on me."
"Then come! We can play in my room!" Lyna giggled, taking his hand and pulling him up, to lead him to her room, or in what he could tell, her 'domain'.
"Whoa, easy! Slow down, I'm not going anywhere!" Kuromu laughed.
"We're gonna have so much fun, big brother!" She smiled cheerfully like the sun. It was obvious what her element was, as nothing else could be as brightful and cheerful as the others.
"Heh, yeah. Fun."
Unbeknownst to the two of them, Dharc was watching from afar hiding behind a corner. He grunted in annoyance and frustration. Why was he getting all the attention? He's just a stranger. He hasn't done anything noteworthy that would warrant him as a friend to him or his sisters. Especially towards his Master. Why was Doriado paying attention to Kuromu and not him?
Dharc loathed this stranger… Maybe he'll show him his power and make him so scared that he'll give up? Thus bringing Master Doriado's attention and praise back to him.
"Just watch me…" Dharc growled, before quickly leaving to scheme his next move.
Chapter 7: Trial by Fire
"Here we are~!" Lyna cheered as they found themselves in front of Lyna's door. It was like most doors in the manor, a door which was made of the same material as Wynn's door. Instead of a green magic circle, it was yellow, and in the middle was a symbol of 'Light'.
"Something tells me that this is gonna be a literal Heaven on Earth." Kuromu commented. But the moment the door opened up, it was nothing but nearly pure white within the room, save for certain furniture, toys and more. "Wait… that's it?" He blinked. He didn't expect for it to be a completely white room. He was thinking a divine palace sitting amongst the clouds in all of its glory and majesty! But it was just a simple white room!
"Mhm! This is my room!" she beamed happily, as somehow glimmers of light, color and rainbows appeared within the room from her smile and happiness.
"Definitely… not what I was expecting." Kuromu blinked.
"Come, come! Let's play!" Lyna beamed as she took his hand and lead him into the room with utter joy on her face.
"You're just a bundle of energy, aren't you." Kuromu chuckled.
"I was told it was my 'shinning personality'!" She giggled before she swiftly skipped over to her bed, picking up a plushie white cat that was very stitched together as if it was almost ripped apart long ago, "This is Chompers! He's my best friend!"
"Uh… hi Chompers, I'm Kuromu." Kuromu waved to the plushie cat. "It's nice to meet you."
"Chom chom!" Lyna said, as she gently pushed the cat into him, as if it was alive and nuzzling him.
"Heh, heh, okay Chompers. I get it. We're friends too." Kuromu smiled as Lyna pulled back the plushie cat. "You and Chompers have been your best friend for a while, huh?" He said to Lyna.
"She's been with me ever since mama and papa we're as old as me." Lyna smiled, holding up the plushie with a smile.
"I see." Kuromu said, as he slowly took the plushie to look at. "You've been together for so long, and Chompers here has seen better days."
"Mhm, Master does her best to make sure she doesn't get ruined again." She nodded, before hugging the plushie. "But, even if she does get dirty and ragged, I'll still love Chompers."
"Maybe… I can try to fix her?" Kuromu offered.
"Hm? Can you?" she tilted her head, confused a bit.
"Well, I won't know, until I try. May I?" Kuromu held out his hand. Lyna saw no reason to lie to her, as she handed Chompers to him. He then went over to the table, the Light Charmer looking over as he sets the plushie on the table. "Alright, let's see here…" He said, before cracking his knuckles and then placing his hands over the plushie to concentrate.
"As Source of Thy Power, I Order Thee." Kuromu began as a magic circle appeared below the plushie. "Decipher the Laws of Creation, be reborn from what had been lost from the ravages of time. Restoration!"
At his command, the magic circle glowed brighter and the plushie cat glowed as well. It floated up a few inches off the table and to Lyna's surprise, the cat plushie moved erratically. It was as if it was going through a rewind of the events that happened before it was in its current state. When it finished, the light from the plushie and magic died down, and to Lyna's joy, the plushie cat looked good as new. The stitches were properly sewn, the fabric wasn't tattered, and best of all, it wasn't dirty. Chompers looked clean as the day Lyna first met her.
"Phew… there we go." Kuromu nodded in satisfaction as he took the plushie and handed it to Lyna. "There you go, Lyna. One good as new kitty cat."
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she said with utter delight, hugging the young mage happily as even the room began to beam brightfully, as if under a soothing, comforting sun.
"You're welcome, Lyna. Okay. You can let go, Lyna. Lyna, let go. Choking… can't breathe… need air…" Kuromu wheezed.
"But I have to keep hugging you! You did the best thing ever for me!" She giggled with delight, truly beaming like the light of the sun.
"And I'm glad you feel that way, but seriously, you're gonna choke me with that hug of yours!" Kuromu cried out, flailing in Lyna's embrace.
"Fine…" Lyna pouted, as she let go of him.
"Phew…" Kuromu sighed in relief, "Sorry, it's just well… I can't play with you if you kept doing that. I would've popped like a balloon."
"Sorry. I was just so happy!" She beamed a brightful smile, "I didn't think Chompers could ever truly be repaired like that…"
"Anything's possible, with a bit of magic." Kuromu winked. "Now then, how about we get back to playing? I'm sure there's a lot of things that you and Chompers want to do."
"Mhm! Let's, big brother!" she said happily to him.
"Oooooooh, look at the two of them! They're so cute!" Doriado gushed as she watched the 'screen' of Lyna and Kuromu having a play date.
"Lyna has already settled on seeing him as a brother." Eria smiled sweetly.
"At least he knows when to not overexert himself. He's learned well, thanks to me." Wynn puffed her chest out in pride, with her hands to her hips.
"Alongside putting lousy thoughts in his mind…" Aussa added with a shake of her head.
"I'm sorry, what was that? Were you taking a jab at me?" Wynn smiled at the Earth Charmer with a sickly smile and a twitching eyebrow. "Say that to my face why don't ya?"
"Guess even mud can travel into that empty head of yours." Aussa said, "If you'd shut up about my book choices, we wouldn't have had such an awkward time together!" the bookworm pointed out, now gaining a bit more confidence.
"Hoho~? What's this? You're finally talking back all of a sudden, huh? You wanna start something?" Wynn asked, and now the two butted heads, a spark of electricity between them.
"I don't know. Do I?" Aussa retorted.
"Do you?!"
"Do you?!"
"Girls…" Doriado warned them as she gave a smile with a overwhelming dark aura, as they felt a shiver down their spines, "Please be reasonable… Okay?"
"Y-Yes, ma'am." Wynn and Aussa stuttered, backing off from each other.
"HEY!" Hitta's voice suddenly shouted as she was stomping towards him. "Where is he? He's late!"
"Oh Hiita! Glad to see you." Eria smiled, "Well, Kuromu is having a nice play date with Lyna." She gestured to the 'screen'.
"Seriously!?" Hitta snapped. "I thought he was here to train, not to play! I already got my trial ready and waiting for him!"
"Well, with everything that has happened, Lyna thought maybe a break to let him just relax and not worry on such things would be good, no?" Eria smiled innocently, "Besides, could you really deny Lyna a new friend? He already repaired Chompers back to when it was first made."
"Mm. Mmmmmmm…!" Hiita pouted, crossing her arms while looking away.
"Come now, dear. No need to be so hotheaded and impatient." Doriado smiled sadly. "You weren't that much different like him. Always reckless and wanting to get things done right away without wasting any time. And you know what happened after that…"
"You don't need to remind me!" Hitta said, turning away from her. "I hated that part of myself… more than anything…"
"Then just relax and be patient. Maybe you'll even learn something new?" Doriado offered to her hotheaded Charmer.
Hiita remained silent for a while longer, before walking away.
"Hiita?" Eria called out.
"Tell him not to make me wait any longer!" Hiita shouted, as she kept on walking.
"Oh Hiita…" Doriado sighed. It was her way of accepting Doriado's words and advice. While her brother Dharc, had some trusting issues, Hiita had the worst out of the rest of them.
"Hm?" Eria soon realized something, "Say… where is Dharc? He surely didn't retreat back to his room."
"Now that you mention it…" Wynn pondered. "I didn't see him anywhere lately. Then again, he's always somewhere in the house sulking about whatever's bothering him." She huffed.
Doriado began to ponder, before quickly looking at the screen. She could easily tell what was about to happen as she made her way to Lyna's room before any harm could be done.
"Master, where are you going?" Aussa called out, but to no avail. Shizuka meanwhile also noticed her friend's behavior and decided to follow her.
"Stay here, children. Doriado and I will handle this." She said, before leaving them, much to the confusion of the other Charmers.
After a few hours, Lyna was resting on Kuromu's lap, hugging her plushie with a soft smile on her face from being tuckered out.
"Phew… finally she's out cold." Kuromu sighed to himself in relief, gently combing her hair. While he was happy he could relax and play with the girl, he couldn't help but feel tired. Not that he blamed Lyna for it. She was a sweet girl. It's the fact that she had so much energy, he could barely keep up with her. But he didn't hate it. He couldn't remember the last time that he did anything normal for a change. Up to this point, all he knew was doing fantastical things with magic.
But as he sat there, he felt an unnerving chill down his spine. He couldn't tell what it was, just that something was wrong now. And when he attempted to move, his shadow grew before black tendrils shot up, covering his mouth so he wouldn't awaken Lyna before it began to slowly drag him into the dark depths of the shadow.
"MMMMMMM! MMMMMMMMMMM! MMMMMMMMMMMM!"
Soon the shadow 'consumed' him as he dropped to a hard floor, as when he began to feel around, it felt like he was now in a cave, with no light or even sound.
"What the- where is this?!" Kuromu demanded, looking around.
"You're in my room…" The familiar voice of Dharc sounded off all around him.
"Dharc? Is that you? What are you-"
"Simple… Giving you the option to leave."
"What? Why? I still haven't trained with Hiita yet!"
"Because I don't trust you. You're just using us to get more power! I've seen this before…"
"What?! That's ridiculous, I would never-"
"Don't lie to me!" He shouted as the shadows lashed out, striking him with the dark tendrils.
"Gah!" He cried out, tumbling to the ground.
"Tell the truth! You're just here for more power! You don't care about any of us, nor that 'master' you lied to!"
"Huh?!" Now Kuromu was really confused. "Where did you get that idea?!"
"It was obvious from the first trial. You didn't say one thing about her. One thing that you cared about or praised of! You see her as a tool, like every other mage."
"That doesn't mean anything!"
"It does! If you can't care to be there for your master, nor even say a single word about her, then you're just using her!" More tendrils lash out, striking the mage. Kuromu blocked with both his arms as he slid backwards until he was up against a wall. He then managed to pull out his wand.
"Gh… As Source of Thy Power, I Order Thee. Decipher the Laws of Creation, Bend to my will, embrace Life, and expose thyself to light my way. Light Sphere!"
An orb of light then formed at the tip of his wand and the dark tendrils seemed to slither away.
"You need to back off, Dharc." Kuromu said sternly. "I don't know where you're getting these baseless accusations, but it needs to stop!"
"I'm doing what I can to protect Doriado from another mage who lied to her!"
"What does that mean?!"
"You should know… your kind of mages only want power… You just lie to get what you want… Like other 'apprentices' that came to her door…"
"No, I don't! You're not making any sense!"
"DON'T LIE TO ME!"
A darker, fearful voice rang out as the light was swiftly consumed by the darkness, only for a powerful blow to hit him. He was slammed on his back, against the wall, knocking the wind out of him. He thought his vision was clearing up, allowing him to somewhat see better, but what he saw made his blood run cold.
Creatures… Monsters of the dark. More hideous, terrifying and horrific than the next. These were like the creatures kids would envision during nightmares or scary situations. Each one groaned or moaned as they began to crawl towards Kuromu like they were hungry.
"No… don't… stay away from me! Leave me alone!" Kuromu cried out, who was now fearing for his life.
"Get him…" Dharc commanded as they then charged towards the boy.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"KUROMU!"
Multiple spheres of light were shot towards the darkness, brightening the cave and the creatures of darkness shrieked and moaned from the brightness of the light, burning them out of existence.
Soon the darkness began to fade into the cave, leaving small traces of light from glowing rocks and moss as Dharc was shielding his eyes from the light.
"M-Master? What are you doing?" Dharc questioned as the two masters marched in.
"Kuromu!" Shizuka called out, rushing towards Kuromu's fallen form. "Are you alright? Speak to me!" She said, but as she looked at her apprentice, her eyes widened, seeing tears falling from his eyes.
"S-Sensei…" He whimpered, before suddenly hugging her tight, quietly sobbing in her embrace. Shizuka only closed her eyes as she embraced him in her arms.
"Calm yourself. You are safe." Shizuka whispered soothingly.
"Dharc…" Doriado frowned as she marched in, then quickly transporting them out of the caves, "What made you even think about doing such a thing, when I specifically said to let his actions speak for himself?" She questioned him, scolding the boy.
"H-He was lying to you! To both of you! This isn't the first time this happened, and I'm not risking your safeties for this liar!"
"Dharc-"
"I KNOW WHAT HE IS!" Dharc shouted, much to Doriado and Shizuka's surprise. "He's one of them, isn't he! I'm right, aren't I! You can't hide that!"
"Then tell us, Dharc… What is he?" The older mage questioned him.
"He's just another mage using us as tools for his own gain! And that teacher of his is being used too!"
Doriado sighed, rubbing her temples in annoyance from once again, Dharc overthinking something that isn't true.
"Dharc, we've been over this. That only happened one time. While he indeed fooled me once, it has never happened since." She sighed out, "I suppose I can tell what happened to the others who I founded as well…"
"Another time." Shizuka said, looking down at Kuromu who kept silently sobbing. "I believe his Elemental Magic will have to be postponed for the time being."
"I am sorry for my apprentice's actions, Shizuka…" Doriado bowed in apology.
"No. Do not be. You could not have foreseen this development." Shizuka shook her head. "I will bring him home today. It has been a while."
"Good, and don't have him ever come back!" Dharc snapped, to which Doraido used a spell to promptly clamp his mouth shut. "Mmmmmm! MMMMMMMMmmmmMMMMM! MMMMMMMMMM! MMMMMMMmmm!" He mouthed out, likely spouting out curses that shouldn't be told in polite company.
"You will be silent… Apprentice…" Doriado said coldly, enough for Dharc to flinch as she only ever used that on him, when he truly messed up as that made the dark mage to lower his head in shame. "We will talk about this later.. For now, go to your actual room and wait for me. Understood, apprentice?"
Dharc could only nod and walk away with his head hung down.
Doriado sighed at this, "Oh dear, Hiita is not going to be happy with this…"
"More like annoyed…" Hiita said, as she was now standing there with her arms crossed. But not as angry as it seemed as she looked at the situation before walking over to Shizuka.
"Hiita, I uh… this is…" Doriado stuttered.
"I heard it from my room. Dharc when a bit crazy, didn't he?" Hiita noted, looking to the boy.
"In a manner of speaking, yes…"
"Then I don't need to be explained. I get it. Dharc's using his greatest ability turns even me cold." She said, before handing Shizuka a red paper with her symbol on it.
"What is this?"
"Just a quick entrance to my domain. Whenever he's ready to come back and continue. He just needs to throw this into some place of fire or heat and it'll make a doorway to me." Hiita informed. "The least I can do to apologize for my brother's behavior."
"Thank you…" Shizuka said.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna throw some fire punches at my brother." Hiita said, cracking her knuckles, before walking off to see her brother and have a little… 'chat' with him.
Shizuka looked down at her shivering apprentice, hugging him before a quick teleportation sent them away, heading back to their home and in safer conditions.
Darkness.
It was the only thing that Kuromu was surrounded by. This same entity of emptiness that one cannot see, feel smell, or taste. This space of nothingness, uncertainty, and the unknown, everything was virtually endless. He was in it again.
"No… no, not again!" Kuromu called out. "Light Sphere!" He called out, trying to produce an orb of light. But nothing happened. "What? Why won't it work? Light Sphere!" He called out again, but again, no orb of light was produced. "No… no, no, no, no, no!"
Soon the creatures began to appear. Their glowing red eyes, the shades of their faces being somewhat visible but still hidden as groans and moans could only be heard as the scratching noises of their claws and hands began to reach out to Kuromu.
"No! Stay away from me! Get away!" He shouted, trying to run, but he tripped and fell. He then felt one of those creature's hands latch onto him. "NO! NO!" He yelled, trying to free himself from the clutches of them, but to no avail, as they soon crawled all over him. "No, I can't! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
Consume…
Consume…
CONSUME!
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"AHHHHHHH!" Kuromu shot up awake as he sat up from his bed. He looked around with wide eyes and cold sweat, realizing that he was back in his room. This was confirmed when he looked out his window and saw the outside enchanted forest he was familiar with. "Haaaaa… right, I'm back home…" He muttered to himself.
"Young Master, are you well?" A familiar voice said, as he looked towards the lamp on his desk and saw that the green-skinned genie came out from the spout.
"La Jinn…" He sighed, trailing off. "Forgive me… I was…"
"In a nightmare fueled by dark magic?"
"More or less…" He said. "What… happened…? When I got home?"
"Your master put you to bed and went to the kitchen, to cook."
"I see. Thank you, La Jinn. I'll see myself out." Kuromu nodded, before getting out of his bed and walking towards the door. However, as soon as he opened it up, another familiar face appeared in front of him. "E-Elesia…" He muttered. "Um, uh…" He tried to find the words, but couldn't. But then something unexpected happened as the Mystical Elf approached the boy and… hugged him? "E-Elesia?" He muttered in surprise.
"She was worried when Shizuka told us what happened." La Jinn informed him, "Seems she's finally warmed up to you."
"Elesia…" Kuromu muttered, as he attempted to embrace her back, but fell short, not wanting to do something unbecoming. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry… I'm okay now, I think."
Elesia backed off with a nod, but patted his head gently, as if to say that should he need her, simply call.
"Thank you, Elesia." Kuromu smiled sadly. To another of his surprise, Elesia simply smiled softly back, before bowing and leaving. "Huh…"
"KURO!"
"Mmmph! Oi, Nia!" Kuormu muffled out when Dreamsprite pixie hugged his entire face.
"Are you okay? I heard everything from Shizuka! Do you want me to beat that punk for ya? Want some ice cream?" Nia ranted on with many things to try and help the young mage.
"Nia, calm down. I'm fine." Kuromu sighed as he pried Nia off his face before holding her in his hands. "Seriously, I'm fine. Just… I just need to gather my bearings is all."
"Are you sure? I mean, I could curse him to the end of time?"
"That won't be necessary, Nia." Kuromu sweat dropped. "Dharc's just being… an angsty teenager with issues."
"If you say so… but if he makes you cry again? I'll make sure he gets bad luck for the rest of his days. And I mean by Bad Luck."
"Hehe… well, I appreciate the sentiment, Nia." Kuromu chuckled.
*GRUMBLE!*
"Looks like my stomach's done waiting." Kuromu said sheepishly, before making his way over to the kitchen, and there he saw the brooms assisting Shizuka with cooking. Though something was a bit different with her. For one, she wasn't wearing her hat, and two, she was wearing an apron over her usual dress.
She wasn't paying attention until a broom poked at her, making her turn to see her apprentice as she gasps before she rushed over and hugs him.
"You are awake!"
"I'm sorry, sensei…" He apologized.
"Nonsense. You have nothing to apologize for." Shizuka said, releasing the hug from him. "If anything, Dharc should be apologizing to you for his behavior. You are not at fault for a situation you had no control over."
"Sensei, I…"
"Come now, no need to fret over it anymore. Look, I made your favorite dishes." Shizuka smiled, as she gestured to the food she had already made.
"Hehe… I guess I am a bit hungry after yesterday." Kuromu chuckled weakly.
"Good, there are seconds if you want it." Shizuka giggled.
"Don't mind if I do." Kuromu smiled, as he sat down to eat. Shizuka then instructed the brooms to finish the rest of her tasks while she sat down at the table to join him.
"How are you feeling?"
"Besides, waking up from that nightmare, of… yesterday, I guess I'm alright… for the most part." Kuromu said. "Though I have a feeling I might have trouble sleeping every time I close my eyes."
"I am sure Nia can help with that. She is a Dreamsprite after all."
"Right. I'm sure she can."
"Are you… still bothered by what he did?"
Kuromu sighed, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. I don't know what made him think that way. I didn't understand anything of what he was trying to say. Me using the Charmers and Lady Doriado as tools? Using you for some nefarious goal? It didn't make any sense."
Shizuka sighed, "There was a time where Doriado took in many apprentices. But one day, a mage she brought in… used poison to weaken her and take nearly everything she owned only to pawn them to make it seem as if he was the one who made them… And with his influence, she nearly lost her title and authority to continue as a mage. She blames herself for it, for not realizing the danger and reaching out to the mage in question."
"I see… I guess that would make anyone weary of one's intentions." Kuromu nodded. "Though now the problem is, how can I convince him?"
"I wish I knew…" Shizuka sighed, "Although…"
"Although?" Kuromu prompted.
"Hiita did say something along the lines of 'throwing fire punches at her brother'?"
"Yeah, I figured that's what she would do." Kuromu sweat dropped. He was then given the red slip of paper by his teacher. "What's this?" He asked, taking it into his hands.
"That slip of paper would lead you to her domain. Throw this at the fireplace and the door will open."
"Uh… are you sure it's alright for me to go back there?" He winced.
"She said you can come to her domain when you are ready. Do not fret on going just now." Shizuka reassured.
"Very well." Kuromu nodded.
"But in the meantime, relax and spend time with us. You need this."
"Alright, sensei." Kuromu nodded with a grateful smile, before the two went back to eating. It wasn't long before Elesia and Nia, and even La Jinn joined in, as they ate and conversed, telling stories of what happened during Kuromu's training and what happened at the house while he was away. All in all, it was anything but boring, and the young man couldn't help but feel grateful that he was surrounded by people whom he would consider a family of sorts.
The next day, things started to happen. After resting up, Kuromu stood in front of the fireplace holding the red slip of paper in front of him. He looked towards Shizuka and the others who were standing behind him.
"Alright. Here goes something." He said, before turning back towards the fireplace and throwing the red slip into the fire.
Soon the fire bursted from it, spreading forward and growing in size as it moved upward. More flames of color formed and took shape before long a door of fire stood before him as it turned solid like it was made of rock and brimstone. Moments later, the doors slid open and a heat wave suddenly burst out from the other side.
"Ahhh, hot!" Nia cried out as she hid behind Elesia for cover.
When the heat wave died down, Kuromu was met with the sight… of a barren wasteland. In the distance was a large volcano constantly spewing out lava, which spilled out from its top and trickling down the slope and into lava rivers.
"This is a literal Hell…" Kuromu paled considerably. "All this Molten Destruction…"
"Yet you won't find a place with primordial flames than there." La Jinn informed. "Have confidence, young Master and see through your trial without fail."
"Right… right…" Kuromu muttered, before slapping his cheeks. "Okay, you got this!" He said, before looking back. "Wish me luck!" He said, before he walked in. However the moment he did.
*HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISS!*
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Hot! Hot! Hot! Owowowowowow!" Kuromu cried out as he was jumping around like a mad man, as if he were stepping on coals. Moments later, the door closed on him.
"I'm surprised to see you so soon!" Hiita's voice rang out, "Well, since you're here I'll tell you the first trial. Run."
"Just run?! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ow, ow, ow!"
"Yup! I'm gonna make you work for it, and I mean it! You're gonna run through this lava field while finding my hut. That's the only place where you can actually touch cool ground. Also, no using your other Elemental Magic."
"Why not?! Ow!"
"Cheating. If you want to use the full extent of Fire Magic, you have to take the heat!"
"Ugh… alright, fine. Ow, ow, ow! Can you at least tell me where your- ow! Hut is?" Kuromu groaned.
"Gotta figure that out yourself. Good luck! Try not to fall into any lava pits. Otherwise you'll see what remains of those who failed my test."
"Argh… ow, ow, ow! I better- ow! Start- ow! Running- ow, ow, ow!" Kuromu said, before he started running around, looking for the hut.
For the past hour, he had kept running around the hardened lava fields. Each step he took was pain in his feet, and each time he took it off of one foot was temporary bliss. But it was still painful, not to mention that he was sweating profusely, his sweat dripping off so much that he had to go topless, revealing his athletic features. And he couldn't afford to take off his shoes either, lest he wants to burn his feet off. It wasn't helping that the bottom of his shoes were also melting from the heat. After what seemed like an eternity.
"Finally found it! Ow!" Kuromu sighed in relief, having finally found the hut he was looking for. It was a simple hut made of straw and the surrounding ground was nothing but dirt. When he finally touched, he tumbled on the cool ground. "Ahhhhhhhhh… that was brutal…!" He panted heavily, staring at the smog-covered sky.
"Welcome. How was the trip?" Hiita smirked playfully, standing over him.
"Shaddap… it was torture…" Kuromu growled.
"The trial is meant to show your resistance to not just searing heat, but how long you can handle being in the 'oven' so-to-speak." She pointed out.
"So I've noticed…" Kuromu groaned, as he slowly sat up.
"Come on in. The least I can do is cool your feet." Hiita said, walking over to the hut. The young mage bemoaned himself as he slowly got up to his feet and carried himself over to the hut, despite being in pain. When he arrived, the inside of said hut looked pretty simple. The walls were of mud and there was simple furniture.
"You're the most basic out of everyone else." He said, looking around the hut.
"Just who I am." She shrugged, "Now cool off. Your next trial will be ready soon." She gestured to the mud chair that with a tub of ice water at the foothold. Kuromu wasted no time sitting down and after taking his melted shoes off, he sank his feet into the ice cold liquid.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…" Kuromu gasped loudly, before sighing in relief, slumping back. "This is what I need…"
Hiita smirked as she stuck her finger in the water, as in moments it started to get hotter and hotter for the boy.
"Oi! What are you doing?!" Kuromu snapped, taking his feet out of the water. "Not funny!"
"Hehe, just wanted to try this once since you are the only one to have made it this far." She said, as she instead absorbed the heat, making it back to the ice cold temperature as before.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…" Kuromu sighed, dipping his feet into the cold liquid once more. "So… what happened with Dharc?"
"He's been grounded for a month after his stunt, and he'll have to do many chores without magic while making an apology to you." Hiita sighed. "I may not like ya that much either, but even I wouldn't go that far."
"Well, I… guess that's good to know where we stand." Kuromu got out. "And… it's nice of you to stick up for me."
"Don't get too comfortable. Like I said, I still don't like you… But I obey what Master Doriado requested. That is my purpose and duty for the seer of this trial."
"Right…" Kuromu said, as the two remained silent. "So… what would this next trial be?"
"You need to find a certain ore mineral in the volcano and bring it here."
"What kind of ore mineral is it?" Kuromu asked.
"Dunno, like I said. You're the first to do this." Hiita shrugged, "Just let your heart and magic guide you."
"Uh… right." Kuromu muttered.
"Oh one more thing. Fox Fire!" Hiita called out, to which her fox familiar with the flame on its tail appeared. "Go with him. Make sure he doesn't kill himself."
The fox nodded as it walked over to Kuromu, sitting down as it waited for his response and his next trial.
"Glad to be working you, Fox Fire." Kuromu waved at it, to which it responded with a wave of his paw.
And so after cooling off his feet, Kuromu dried off his feet and then repaired his melted shoes with the Restoration spell, then reinforced it with earth magic so as to not burn his feet while walking around the lava field. With a wave goodbye, Kuromu and Fox Fire set off on their journey to the volcano to find that certain mineral ore. Using his sensory magic that he learned from Eria, he used it to guide way up the mountain, making sure he didn't run into any lava trickling down the mountain while making his ascent. The higher he went, the more difficulty he had to breathe, so using his wind magic, he cleaned the air surrounding him so he could at least breathe. Fox Fire on the other hand, stayed by his side, making sure he was going down the right path while not running into any trouble.
"It should be around here somewhere…" Kuromu muttered, his eyes scanning the area, before looking overhead. "Man, we must be way high up." He said, before looking down, and his acrophobia kicked in. "Whoooooa, okay, don't look down, don't look down!" He panicked momentarily, almost losing his balance, before regaining it. "Phew…"
Fox Fire gave a slight nudge, before it began to 'point' forward as not too far off was what looked to be a molten cave, recently cooled off enough for them to enter.
"Good find. We can rest in there." Kuromu said, before the two of them made their way into the entrance of the cave and sat down. "Ahhhhhh… finally made it."
Fox Fire sat next to Kuromu, keeping him warm and cozy, but also making sure any burns or singes he had were taken care of. Much like Hiita, it too understood the meaning of what Fire can be. As he sat there, he stared at the flame that was on the tip of the fox's tail. For some reason he didn't know, his hand started reaching out towards said flame.
Fox Fire took notice but allowed him to reach to the flame, as if hovering over a small campfire. One that was comforting, cozy and-
*ZIIIIING!*
"Ergh!" Kuromu held his head with one hand, his eyes shut tight. The mental pain returned, hammering into his skull once more.
Moments later, his eyes snapped open and everything in his vision went white.
In his mind, another fragment of a memory came into his vision. This time he saw his younger self prone on the ground after the stranger that surrounded him had their fill of beating him to the ground.
"Heh, looks like you survived this time kiddo. Though maybe next time, you'll finally do us a favor and just beat it." One of the strangers then went towards Memory Kuromu and tried to wrestle something out of his hands. The latter was curled up, but there was a reason for it. He was protecting something, but he couldn't see what. When the stranger pried it away from his hands, Kuromu himself couldn't see what he held.
"So this is your so-called prize. It's not anything special if you ask me." The leading stranger said.
"Hey, we should either rip it up or burn it slowly in front of him!" One of the strangers cackled with delight.
Rip? Burn? What exactly was it they were trying to rip or burn?
"Hmmm… I think burning them would do nicely. Hold him down!"
"No… give it back! Give it… back…!" Memory Kuromu pleaded. "Please… give it back!"
"Sorry kid, but you don't got anyway to stop us." The leader grinned, kicking him in the stomach hard. Once that was done, his goons held him down prone. Memory Kuromu tried to reach out, but the strangers kept him held down. The leader then set whatever object they had in their hands down and pulled out a bottle of liquor and a lighter. He proceeded to douse the object in liquor from the bottle down to the last drop, before lighting his lighter.
"Now lets see those tears…." The leader grinned as he placed the lighter against the hidden item, setting it ablaze.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Memory Kuromu wailed in despair as he saw the flame now engulfing the hidden item, the censor of said item now taken away. He could only reach out in vain, watching in horror as the leader of the strangers and his comrades all laughed at his misfortune.
"GAHHHHH! Haaaa! Haaa!" Kuromu returned to reality as he tried to catch his breath, looking bewildered as ever. "That was… that was…"
Fox Fire nuzzled him out of worry, showing concern and if it needed to stop the trial now before anything got worse.
"Oh… sorry, I'm fine." Kuromu took the time to calm down. "I'll be okay. I just need to get my bearings before we continue."
Just as he said that, there was a strange glow deep in the cave they were in. "What's that?" He wondered, slowly standing up and the two of them walked towards the glow. The closer they got, the brighter the light was.
As he ventured further in, he was soon brought to what looked like a gem island, as many gems, minerals and such laid all around him as he could see the lava around them, only stopped by the gems and minerals, as if encased.
"Whoa… a cave of Mana Crystals?" Kuromu said in awe. As he looked around, he only noticed one glowing brightly as if calling to him. "That must be it." He said, slowly jogging towards the Mana Crystal shining brightest. Looking at it with awe and wonder, his hand reached out towards and grabbed said Mana Crystal, holding it in his hand. He then looked to Fox Fire. "Well, whaddya think?"
It nodded in response before it turned around to lead him out of the volcano and back to Hiita. But not before gathering a few more Mana Crystals for himself, as he wanted to use them for something.
"You actually got it." Hiita said wide-eyed, staring at the ore mineral that Kuromu presented to him.
"Yup!" Kuromu grinned. "So~ do I pass?"
"Yes you do…" She sighed, shocked that it was so swiftly completed.
"Great! So~ what are you going to do with this?"
"Well, do you have your wand?" She asked.
"Uh… yeah, right here." Kuromu said, pulling it out.
"Good." She took it as she gripped it tightly until….
*SNA~P!*
Hiita snapped the wand into two.
"HEY! What was that for?!"
"I'm going to use the ore with your wand and meld it together to make it more suitable for your output and control." Hiita explained. "You use so much magic a lot of the time that you pass out or just become slumped afterwards, no?"
Kuromu gawked at this, before slumping, "Okay, that totally makes sense…"
"Mhm, the ore is meant to represent a new you. One that can handle your magic aptitude and grow alongside you." Hiita explained.
"And~ would this also compensate for my Elemental weakness?"
"Correct."
"So then… what about my Fire Spell lessons?"
"Oh that's next after this is reforged." She informed as she walked over to her station. "This won't take long." She said, before conjuring up a hammer of pure fire and plasma in thin air. She then set to work.
*CLANG! BANG! CLANG! BANG!*
"So… what did you see in there?" Hiita asked.
"A cave full of Mana Crystals." Kuromu said, before pulling out a few from his pocket. "I even got a few."
"I wasn't talking about the cave…." She responded.
"Huh?" Kuromu looked confused.
"Fox Fire told me you had some kind of 'episode'. So what was it?" She asked once more.
"Oh… uh… another part of my memories returned." Kuromu said. "I was held down by these stranger. And… their leader burned something in front of me… what it was, I don't know."
"Hmm… well… it must've been something important if you went into the cave. Only Master and I have been in that before, others had to find it outside of the volcano and the edges."
"I see." Kuromu nodded.
*CLANG! BANG! CLANG! BANG! CLANG! BANG! CLANG! BANG!*
"And done."
"That was quick." Kuromu blinked as Hiita turned around and presented him his new wand. Kuromu looked at it in shock and awe as he took it into his hand. The wand itself had the unicorn horn aspects to it, but now there bits of gems embedded into wand handle and even the core of the gem on the bottom of the wand.
"Now for some spell practice. Can't use fire without understanding it more. Follow me."
Hiita walked out of the hut with Kuromu following her. From there, she used her magic to set up training dummies from the soft ground.
"Alright, so now what?" Kuromu asked.
"Fire away."
"Uh… okay?" He said, before pointing his new wand towards one of the targets and closed his eyes to concentrate. A magic circle appeared below his feet as a fireball appeared at the tip of said wand. "As Source of Thy Power, I order Thee. Decipher the Laws of Creation. Burn my enemies and embrace them with your flames! Salamandra!" He shouted, before attempting to throw it-
*BOOOOOM!*
"Gah!" Kuromu cried out, as it backfired and sent him to the ground.
"Too much power into it. Again." Hiita ordered.
Kuromu got back up to his feet and stood in front of the target once more. The magic circle appeared below him and chanted once more. "As Source of Thy Power, I order Thee. Decipher the Laws of Creation. Burn my enemies and embrace them with your flames! Salamandra!" He tried to it again.
*SIIZZZ…*
Only spark came out this time.
"Ehhhh~?"
"Not enough passion, Again!"
"Ugh…"
As the hours passed, the spells were either too much power into it, or not enough passion to draw it out as Hiita kept telling him to try again and again without a single break.
"Not enough! AGAIN!" She shouted at him.
"I can't… no more…" He groaned, before falling flat on his back, panting heavily.
"Pathetic…" Hiita sighed, shaking her head. "Do you even know what fire truly is?"
"Besides burning and warming something up? No…"
Hiita frowned, slapping the boy on the head.
*WAPISH!*
"Ow!"
"Wrong. All Wrong." she shook her head. "You don't know a thing about what fire is meant to be. Just like many others, you only see the simple basics of it."
Hiita soon had him hold out his hands, only for her to ignite and make a small fireball before placing it into his hands.
"Ah-"
"Don't drop it. Hold it." Hiita ordered, making him flinch and wince at how hot it was burning.
"Errrgh…!" He winced, shutting one eye tight.
"Now… what do you feel? Other than the obvious…"
"I feel… fear… fear from being burned."
"That's what you fear… But what do you feel from the flame?" She asked once more.
"I feel…" Kuromu trailed off. While he felt the normal stuff from flames and fire. He soon felt something else… like a…. Heartbeat? The fire was pulsating, like a heart. Not just searing pain or agonizing heat or even fear of dying from it but like it was a small form of life as well. "There's life… inside the flame. It's alive."
Hiita soon smiled as she nodded, "Fire isn't just all about destruction. It also can create life from the ashes too. Fire is more than just one little thing, but a multitude of many things as well. That is what Fire truly is."
"I see…" Kuromu muttered. "So I need to treat it as if it were alive…"
"Now you're getting it." Hiita smiled as in moments that intense heat and pain from the flame became calm and welcoming to him. "Now try again."
Kuromu nodded, before slowly standing up and placing the flame in front of the wand before pointing it at the target. The magic circle appeared once more as he chanted the words once more. "As Source of Thy Power, I order Thee. Decipher the Laws of Creation. Burn my enemies and embrace them with your flames! Salamandra!"
This time, the small flame became a stream of flames, in the shape of a dragon, as it was proper and precise, burning one of the targets.
"YES! I DID IT!" Kuromu cheered, jumping in the air.
"Congrats. Trial is complete now." Hiita smiled softly with a nod. "Just make sure to keep that in mind, otherwise the flames will consume you. And now for your reward." Hiita smirked as she snapped her fingers. And soon, part of the ground magically collapsed on itself, and when the dust cleared, his eyes widened considerably at what he saw.
"A HOT SPRING!" Kuromu with a very wide smile.
*DONK!*
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…" Kuromu sank deep into the hot spring, just to his neck, a towel on his forehead.
"How's the water, Kuromu?"
"It's perfect…" Kuromu sighed in content. "I missed getting in a hot spring…"
"Hehe, seems like it was a good idea now to have Hiita as your last trial?"
"Yeah, I- huh?" Kuromu blinked, as he turned his head, before his eyes widened considerably at who he saw.
"S-Shizuka-sensei!" Kuromu cried out as he blushed madly, before turning around with his back facing her. The towel did nothing to hide her curvaceous body that was tantalizing in all the right places, not to mention her breasts were a decent size which were above average. "W-What are you doing here?!" He stammered.
"Why I was asked to join you in the hot spring." Shizuka said with a blink of confusion.
'That Hiita, why did she…' Kuromu grumbled in his thoughts, but then calmed down. "I should've asked Hiita to make a wall between us… I don't want to… accidentally peek…"
"Hmm? What was that?" Shizuka asked as she didn't hear what he said.
"Uh… nothing…" He trailed off.
"Ahh… it feels so nice…I feel like my body is being reborn again…" Shizuka moaned into the sensational feeling that made her give a cute look of relaxation.
'She's close… too close…' Kuromu thought to himself. The glance at her earlier, certainly give him tantalizing aspects of his imagination. He knew all too well that it would be so very easy to get another glimpse of paradise. 'If this keeps up, I'm gonna lose my mind…!'
"…I am very proud of you, Kuromu, for accomplishing every trial." Shizuka smiled happily, "I have never been happier than I am now, knowing my own student did something many others could not claim."
"I mean… ever since coming to this world, and learning magic, I… never knew that I'd discover this side of myself. To learn something that others would deem a fantasy and actually feel joy from it."
"It is because of your hard work and dedication that we even can do this at all."
"Heh, yeah, I guess so." Kuromu smiled a bit.
His body then suddenly stiffened when he felt something soft and squishy pressed up against his back and a pair of arms wrapped around his waist. His head slightly turned, hoping it wasn't real, but it was. "S… Sen… sei…?" He uttered out.
"Think of this as… my reward for your accomplishments… thus far." Shizuka smiled brightly at him.
Kuromu looked away with a heavy blush.
"What is wrong? Do you not want this?"
"I-It's not that. I don't mind, but… I've never… experienced anything like this, before…" Kuromu muttered.
"Then I suggest you enjoy it while you can, my apprentice." Shizuka smiled.
"Mmmm…" Kuromu blushed heavier, feeling even more embarrassed than ever. However… he didn't hate it. As his teacher said, he might as well enjoy the moment while he can. Though he couldn't help but feel something stir in his heart. What that feeling is, he didn't know. But whatever it is, he hopes he can if you cooperate with it with an open mind and a welcoming heart, just as Minerva had told him.
