Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters.
-The Enchanter of Fairy Tail-
Chapter 33: Trial by Fire
Year: X756. 28 years till Canon begins.
Cade POV:
"Golden Flames…?" I asked curiously to Mato.
"Indeed." Mato replied. "From the look on your face I can assume you have never seen flames like this before."
'He's right about that.' I sighed. 'I've never even heard of these kind of flames before! How will my magic fare against this…?'
"I've seen plenty of fire before in my life. And guess what? Every time I've extinguished every single one of 'em!" I stated confidently. "Tell me what's so different about yours then?" I asked, trying to goad Mato into revealing information about his flames.
"We can talk about my flames after we've finished this test!" He declared out loud.
'Aw dammit! Ah well, guess I'll have to learn the hard way then – not that I have an issue with that of course.'
"Well alright then!" I clenched my fist in determination. "What are the conditions of victory for this?" I turned to Master Han, asking him.
"I will decide when this little test is over." He answered, him turning his head to face me. "I'm sure you can figure out what counts as a fail in this trial here.
"Right…" I replied, regaining my focus back over to Mato. "Well I've actually been getting a bit sleepy with all this walking and talking. I think a good battle like this will help wake me right up! Come at me Mato!" I shouted with confidence.
"Let's see what you're made of!" Mato pointed a finger at me, as he took a battle stance, putting one leg in front of the other and holding out his hands, ready to cast fire at me.
"Cade! You better not fail this test!" My mother cried out to me. "If you do then we'll be probably be sleeping on the ground tonight!" She reminded me.
"Argh! Good point there." I said, as I got a serious expression and prepared to fight.
"Very well then!" Master Han shouted, as he snapped his fingers.
Suddenly the white chalk that made up the square we were standing in lit up, and blue see-through walls suddenly came up from the chalk, before they then all came together at the top of the square which trapped me and Mato in this light blue box. As soon as it happened however, the blue walls and roof disappeared.
"What? What was that?" I asked Master Han.
"This is a special energy box that I created a long time ago using the chalk as a reference of sorts. You shall be fighting inside of this. Mainly because we have a few audience members here to cheer you on." Master Han informed me, as he then turned his eyes in the direction of my mother and Fea.
"Don't let this man intimidate you Cade! You've fought worse then him!" My mother cheered with encouragement.
"I'm curious to see what kind of magic you have at your disposal. Make sure to remember what this test is actually about!" Fea shouted, reminding me.
'Right. Han wants to see my strength and skill. Well I'll make sure to put on a good show then!' I affirmed myself.
"If both parties are ready to begin then." Han said raising his hand in the air.
Me and Mato stared each other down, neither of us blinking.
Han then swiftly brought his hand back down, slicing it through the air. "Let the test begin!"
"Golden Fire Bombardment!" Mato shouted with him taking the first move. He fired off a golden burst of flames from his hand and sent them right towards me.
"Hmph! Ice Wall!" I shouted, creating a wall of ice from the stone below, to protect me from the flames. I had done my best to make the ice that I created just there as cold and as thick as I could.
"Oh Ice Magic! How exquisite!" I heard Fea say from outside the box, her impressed by my magic just there.
'Time to see how hot his fire really is.' I began to prepare for the worst.
Mato's flames hit my wall of ice, and they caused almost the entire wall to evaporate into steam! Only a small part of the wall was still protecting me. That would certainly not be enough to stop his fire for good.
'Damn his flames are hot! Here I was hoping the flames were golden due to kindness or something like that. They almost completely meted my Ice Wall like that! If I'm not careful I might end up losing more than the test here.'
"Golden Fire Eruption!" Mato yelled, as he thrusted his hands downwards towards the ground. I then felt the ground shaking below me ever so slightly.
'Oh not good.' I realised. 'Quickly! Soar, Soft!' I cried internally, as I felt the defensive enchantments flow through me. I then immediately leapt up into the air when the enchantments finished powering me up. I did that just in time it seems, because as soon as I did the ground beneath me erupted into powerful, bright golden flames.
I decided to fire off a spell at Mato while in the air. "Ice Double Beam!" I shouted with all my might.
The two beams were sent flying straight down to Mato. He responded by quickly bringing his hands back up, and then immediately slashing them left and right. This summoned a wave of golden fire which blocked and melted the ice I sent his way.
After that, I landed on the ground and found that the stone beneath me was now very hot, to the point where I had jump just a little to get onto cooler stone.
'Time to get serious.'
"Requip!" I shouted, as my body was covered with a blinding white light, and when it faded my casual attire was replaced by my Crimson Armour (my cape flowing elegantly.)
I could hear Master Han let out a small mutter or surprise at seeing that just there. Mato seemed a bit shocked by that, but it didn't faze him that much.
"Golden Fire Storm!" Mato called, as he swung his hands across from him in the air. Suddenly multiple bursts of golden fire were summoned from the air above us, and they were all sent flying down towards me.
"Ice Bomb!" I cried, sending a bomb of ice towards the closest bit of golden fire flying towards me. The bomb of exploded when it met the fire, and it caused sharp shards of ice to be sent flying into the other bursts of golden fire, causing them to break apart in the air.
"Golden Fire Spiral!" Mato shouted, as he waved his hands in front of him, and sent a twisting spiral of golden fire in my direction.
'My ice can't get through that fire. But I think I know what will.' I then reached both my hands to my left and right side of my waist, and unholstered my Kūki and Mizu, Mato gave a curious look as I did this.
"Now! Hurricane!" I declared loudly, firing off the fusion attack of water and air towards Mato's flames.
Something I've learned while at Fairy Tale is that some types of magic will be more effective against others. A fire mage will obviously be more likely to win against a grass mage. While my enchanted swords are only set to a fixed strength, they can still do decently well if they are used against an opponent that has a magic that my swords will be effective against.
Both water and air will be quite effective against a fire mage. In this case my Hurricane spell is made up of water and air, both types of magic that will be effective against Mato's fire!
As I expected, Mato's fire was quickly extinguished from my fusion attack which was now heading right at him!
Mato gave a look of shock at his attack being completely annihilated by my fusion attack just there. He then slammed his sandalled foot on the ground, and I swore I could see small golden wisps of fire beneath his foot.
"Golden Fire Cloud!" Mato boomed.
Mato then blew my mind, by suddenly launching himself up in the air, with a large amount of golden fire beneath his feet, forming a cloud of sort. The cloud of fire had a long thick spiral of fire that came back down to the ground.
My attack simply continued flying forward and hit the wall that Han set up earlier.
"W-What the-!? You can fly!?" I spluttered in disbelief.
Mato stood up straight on his cloud and crossed his arms, him looking down at me with a smirk.
"Golden Fire Cloud. A cloud made entirely out of fire that I am able to fly on. It range is limited, but in small spaces like this it's perfect." He stated.
'Great… As if things couldn't get any worse! How do I beat him now!? His fire was already really hot before, so it doesn't help that he can easily evade my attacks.' I tried desperately to think of a plan.
"Don't give up yet Cade!" I heard mother cry out from outside the box.
'Right! My mother is counting on me to pass this test!' I began to set my head straight and think of a plan to take Mato down – literally.
Mato however, didn't seem to want to give me the chance to properly think. "Golden Fire Cannon!" He cried out holding out his hand, sending a huge sphere of burning hot golden fire my way.
'Gotta move!' I quickly thought, as I began to leap to the side to dodge the burning sphere. Mato did I not give up however, and sent more spheres my way. I was forced to jump from side to side, praying that my Soar enchantment would not run out right now.
'Now, a wizard would normally just try to outlast the clock to win here. But I'm not trying to beat Mato necessarily. I'm just focusing on trying to impress Master Han. If I just win by stalling for time, it'd seem lazy and effortless; plus playing the coward isn't my style.' I remarked internally.
'Alright so what can I do?' I thought as I barely dodged one of Mato's spheres. 'How to impress the audience… hmm…' I tried to think of a way to wow the crowd, mainly Master Han. Just then, it clicked with me.
'That might work! I need to get Mato off that cloud of his! I think that's be a moment to remember!'
Master Han might be impressed if I could take down Mato's cloud. Seems like that's Mato's main way to fight. If I took it down then it might earn me some points.
'Ah, but how to do it…' I looked back up at Mato's cloud. Then my eyes caught the small wire of fire that connected the cloud to the ground.
'Ah ha! I bet the cloud needs that to stay in the air! If I slice a good air or water attack at it then it should be destroyed!' I grinned as my plan formed together in my mind.
I then began to dart towards Mato's cloud, dodging his spheres as he threw them at me. Mato realised this wasn't working, so he changed up his strategy.
"Golden Flamethrower!" He held out a hand, and a large amount of golden fire suddenly erupted from his hand and was sent down towards me.
This attack seemed different than Mato's other attacks, as it seemed to be a continuous sort of spell. This was because I noticed that the golden fire did not stop coming out from his hand.
I was forced to run to my left to dodge the incoming Golden Flamethrower. Mato simply moved his hand in my direction and the fire kept following me from behind.
"Kch! Gale Wind Slash!" I immediately whipped round and sliced my Kūki sword to extinguish those flames of Mato's. However, to my shock the flames simply got much bigger and hotter, meaning my wind wasn't able to extinguish it.
'Whoa! Mato must be pumping more and more magic into that attack to make it stronger! I reckon even my Hurricane fusion spell would have a bit of trouble getting through it.' I quickly leapt back and kept running to dodge the ferocious flames. I looked back and saw that the flames were causing the stone that we were on to turn a ferocious red colour.
'That must be scorching hot!' I realised with wide eyes. 'Argh! If I keep running around the area like this, then soon I won't have where to stand without burning my feet! Even my boots would be getting burned.' I decided to re-holster my swords on my waist to help my balance while dodging.
'I have to get closer to him, but those flames aren't making it any easier for me.' I tried to think of a way to get Mato off his cloud without me getting burned along the way. A plan did come to mind… but it might be risky… and it might be too hot for me to handle. Alas, I was running out of options. It now or never.
"Ice Wall!" I cried out, as I prepared to summon a wall of ice to stop Mato' flames behind me. Sure enough, my wall of ice was summoned behind me but I could hear it was quickly melting.
"Quickly! Henshin!" I shouted as I gripped my hands on the stone wall, and began to turn it into smooth stone in less than a few seconds.
"What? How did you turn that wall of ice into stone?!" Mato shouted with confusion. I couldn't hear whether Master Han said anything about that move I made there, due to me just choosing to focus on what was going on in the square that we were fighting in.
"Doesn't matter if it's stone or not! My flames will make it to where the stone will be too hot for you to be near!" Mato declared.
'I sure hope I planned this right…' I took a deep breath before I planned my next move. Mato was unable to see what I was doing, and his flames were still burning away at my stone wall. Now was the perfect time to strike.
'Damn he wasn't kidding, the fire really is making this stone too hot to be near!' I felt a lot of heat now coming from the stone that was protecting me.
I bent my knees down as far as I could, and then suddenly leapt up into the air. Now I was at a (somewhat) even height with Mato on his golden cloud.
I immediately thrusted my right arm and hand out in front of me as fast as I could and casted a spell at Mato. "Ice Beam!" I cried sending a beam of ice right in Mato's direction.
"Such a simple trick won't work on me!" He stated, as he raised his hand that was casting his Golden Flamethrower spell, to melt away at the beam of ice I fired at him.
He did this easily, my attack melting away within seconds of the fire crossing it. However, but doing this he made a critical error.
When he raised his hand, I had had reached the ground again while making sure I landed in front of my stone wall. I instantly jumped back up normally (not using my Soar spell here yet) and kicked my feet off of the stone wall behind me, while using the Soar spell to propel myself forwards.
This caused me to go flying forward right towards the flaming wire that held up Mato's cloud. Mato only realised what I was doing when it was too late for him to response.
"You fell for it Mato! Now take this!" I cried as I pulled back out my two swords holstered at my waist. "Hurricane!" I shouted as I fired off the fusion spell of water and wind right at the spiral of flame that held up Mato's cloud.
My attack completely destroyed the spiral with me landing quite impressively not too far in front of where the cloud was.
Mato's cloud began to shake, and small bit of fire began to erupt from within it. Mato looked shocked to see this happen, him clearly underestimating my skill. His cloud then exploded into golden fire that honestly looked quite impressive to see.
Mato went flying up into the air, him now right above me.
'Time to finish this!' I grinned as I prepared my next spell at Mato, as he was falling down to me. 'I've shown skill and strength! I'm winning this test for sure!'
Then Mato started grinning. That confused me.
"Foolish move Cade! By destroying my golden cloud, you've allowed me to use my most ferocious and most powerful spell!" He shouted.
"Wait what!? What are-"
"Take this! Golden Fire Extinction!" He shouted with all his might, as he held out his fists.
I jumped back before he reached the ground so Mato didn't hit me. However, as soon as Mato hit the ground, a gigantic explosion of swirling and scorching golden fire was sent out from Mato's body across the entire square we were in!
I instinctively covered my face with my arms, holding them in front of me to not get my face damaged. I didn't feel my face get burned which was good. However, that attack sent me flying backwards at a very fast speed. I hit the scorching ground causing me to skid across the stone for a bit before I eventually stopped.
"GAHH!" I shouted in anguish.
All my limbs were sore to varying degrees when I hit the ground, and they only got more painful when I started skidding across the stone. My face felt fine which was a relief. But I could barely move my feet, and my arms and body felt like they had been burned quite badly.
"Argh! Dammit!" I cried out in pain.
I heard my mother scream from outside the square in horror at what happened to me there. "Cade! Are you alright!?" She yelled in panic.
I then heard her yell to who I presumed to be Master Han. "Open that square up! My son needs help!" She demanded with concern of my health.
"Of course. I believe this test is over now." Master Han immediately stated, as he snapped his fingers. I then heard the sound of the barrier that surrounded the square disappearing, showing that the battle was over.
'No… I failed… I'm sorry mother… I wanted to win here to make sure that we would have a place to stay… Sorry…' I thought weakly as I felt myself black out.
? Hours Later.
"…. He's ok….? … right….." Came a faint voice
'Ugh… What…?' I wondered, as I began to come to.
"….. said… sorry…..didn't mean…." Came another voice.
'What happened?' I thought as my mind came to. 'Why do feel a soft surface below me?'
"It's…. hours…. Wakes up….." The other voice said.
"I…. him…. He shall be fine…" Came a new voice.
I then moved my head a little to the side. 'Am I on a bed?' I pressed my head into the surface below me.
"Hey! ….. moved there!" Came one voice.
"Ah! …. Waking up?" Came the first voice I heard.
I then slowly tried to open my eyes. Me squinting them a little to help with that. My eyes then opened carefully and I felt a bright light hit them, as I did.
I held a hand over my eyes to cover the light until I got used to it, before then removing my hand and opening my eyes to see where on earth I was and who was speaking to me.
I saw that I was in a small room, with a smooth wooden floor and walls. There was a set of sliding shoji doors that led into this room. Light was dimly coming in through the translucent white paper, which lit up the room. There were a set of drawers at a corner of the room, which must hold all sorts of clothes. I looked down and saw two things:
The first was that my chest was bare for everyone to see. I could feel that I was wearing some rather smooth and comfortable pyjama bottoms (at least that's what I felt they were.) Someone must have undressed me when I fell unconscious.
The second thing was that I was indeed, laying in a bed. It was a single bed with some comfy covers. Had I been sleeping here since I fell unconscious?
"Oh you're awake!" Came a happy voice from my left. I turned around and saw my mothers chest, as she was coming towards me for a hug.
"Wha – OMPH" I was able to get out my mouth before I began to feel a tight squeeze around my chest.
"I'm so glad you're ok now! She said you'd be ok, but I was still worried about you!" Mother cried out with joy.
"That's… great… I… have… questions…." I croaked.
"Oh I'm so sorry!" Mother said as she quickly let go of me and took a step back.
"It is good that you are awake now young Cade. I felt a bit nervous when Mato's fire caused you to fall unconscious. Thankfully we were able to fix you up before your condition worsened." Came a relieved voice from my right.
I turned around and saw Master Han, Mato and Fea all looking relieved to see me awake.
"You guys! Don't worry I'm ok now." I said assuring them.
Mato then stepped forward and bowed his head. "Please allow me to apologise for seriously injuring you hours ago. It was rather reckless of me and I should not have done it." He apologised sincerely. "I simply got a bit carried away during the test."
"What? Oh, it's no problem." I said casually, waving my hand at him.
"What?! You are… fine with it?" Mato asked perplexed by my response.
"Well I mean, I don't like the fact that I was burned a bit. But you apologised for it and didn't mean to do it." I explained. "Plus I get knocked around in the Fairy Tale guild hall quite a bit. This. This was nothing." I said, remembering a time in which a drunken Gildarts accidentally threw a Crush sphere at my back.
Mato still looked a bit surprised by me shrugging off such a big issue to him.
"Well if you say so…" muttered mother from my left.
I then noticed something I didn't see on Mato's cheek. A small, yet visible red mark.
'Hmm? That wasn't there when we fought. I can't remember seeing it there.' I wondered curiously. Then it hit me. 'Wait… Did… mother slap him for how he knocked me unconscious?' I realised, as I now imagined that scene playing in my head. 'I'll er, ask him about that later. Now doesn't seem like the right time.' I decided.
"Hey now that I think about it. How did you guys heal me up so well. I actually feel pretty good!" I said as I clenched my right fist.
"I used my healing magic to heal your burns and and restore strength to your injured limbs." Fea replied.
She reached her hand out and put her palm close to my bare body.
"Healing magic is very rare." Fea explained as she closed her eyes. "I believe it is known as a lost magic in the outside world. I can use my magic to heal broken bones, burns, bruises. Though it doesn't work on anything internal, like diseases for example."
I then felt a warm fuzzy feeling all throughout my body. I looked at Fea's hand and saw a lovely blue colour come out from her palm and go into my chest.
"O-Oh! Is this the healing magic?" I questioned as I felt the energy flow through me.
"Yes it is. You have no injuries at the moment so all you are getting is a nice feeling going throughout your body. If you did have serious injuries, then my magic would instead heal you." Fea smiled.
"Ah right." I muttered back in understanding. I then turned my body along with my head to face Master Han breaking Fea's hand away from my chest, as I had a question for the man.
"Excuse me Master Han? I may be a bit stupid for asking this… but is the test over?" I asked nervously.
"Indeed it is. When you fell unconscious, Mato quickly picked you up and took you to one of the beds in here so Fea could comfortably treat you. You had a few burns, and your limbs took quite a fair bit if damage despite the nice armour you wore there." Han explained to me.
'That's gotta be the first time my armour has failed to stop any serious damage from injuring me. I really underestimated Mato and his skill at magic.'
"I see. Ah! What about my armour? Is it damaged in any way?" I asked Han curiously.
"The armour took some damage but is still intact with it not needing repaired in any way. You have quite the strong set there." Han told me. "In case you are wondering, your armour is in that drawer over there." He pointed to the drawer I spotted when I opened my eyes.
"I see, Thank you." I nodded my head in thanks.
"I was surprised to see you Requip into it throughout your test. Among other things of course." He remarked, putting a finger on his chin in deep thought.
"Ah, the test!" I exclaimed. "Erm… did I fail Master Han…?" I asked sheepishly.
'Aw man, no way I'm passing now! I totally messed up at the end by getting hit by that huge move Mato used there! If I could go back and do it again, then I'd do so many things differently!' I screamed in my head at all the mistakes I made, now that I was looking back.
"Before I answer that, I would like to ask you how you think you did during the test young Cade." Master Han said, which surprised me.
"Huh? Oh, erm ok!" I said regaining my composure. "Well… now that it's all over, I'm looking back in my head and seeing a bunch of things that I could have done differently to maybe last a bit longer in the fight." I admitted. "I think I made the right move to destroy Mato's cloud of fire. I just didn't expect such an overwhelming counter attack."
"It wasn't a perfect fight for me that's for sure. I made some mistakes, but I think I also was quite smart in some areas of the fight." I finished explaining.
"And what do the other people who watched the test think of Cade's performance? Know that it will not change my decision." Han stated, as he turned his head to look at the others.
"Well I think he did a splendid performance!" Fea smiled at me. "His use of Ice Magic was rather elegant and fine tuned."
"I think my son did the best he could out there! If you ask me I think he deserves your time Han!" My mother answered Han. "Alsoifhefailsthenwearekindofsleepingonthegrounduntilwefindaplacetostay." She blurted out at speed of sound.
I think everyone in the room, including me raised their eyebrows at that. Han then turned back to me and put his arms behind his back. He then spoke up to me.
"During your test with Mato I found that you do possess a rather unique skill with your Ice Magic correct. Being able to turn it into stone is quite impressive." He complimented. "Then there was those swords of yours. They felt quite different to the regular Lacrima powered items I have came across in my life."
"Oh uh, thank you." I replied back to the Master. Han looked to continue speaking.
"As for how I found your performance during the test… I think you performed… adequately for someone so young."
'Does that mean…?!'
"You showed some quick thinking trying to take down Mato's Golden Fire Cloud. Distracting him so you can fire yourself forwards to destroy the spiral of flame that held it up. Even though you had Ice Magic, you did not give up and instead continued to push forward to try and find a way to win." Han praised, which was making we think I was still dreaming.
I quickly got myself back together. "I wasn't trying to win per say. I was mostly just trying to pass the test." I admitted to Master Han with a shrug."
"As you should have." Han gave a small nod. "If you simply always focus on winning, then you will often lose track of what is currently most important to you." He stated to me.
"In this case, it was me trying to pass the test right?" I wondered.
"Yes it was. And I have kept you waiting long enough, I think. It is time for my answer." Han took a deep breath.
'Oh I'm so screwed here. Sorry guys…' I thought if everyone back home who was cheering me on to complete this training of Han's.
"I would be happy to take you in as a student." Han answered to me.
I swear I almost fainted due to that news. "Really?! You'll let me train under you!?" I could hardly believe it.
"It will a long and tough road ahead. You will be bound to face roadblocks and challenges. I however, shall be here to guide you through these next two months. By the end of this course, you shall have learned how to combine magic together before it leaves your body." Han stated, as he now turned away from me.
"We shall begin tomorrow." Han explained to me, turning his head to look at me. "I think you should use the rest of today to get to know the village a bit more as you haven't got much time to do that since coming here. You will be here for the next two months so it might be for the best." He suggested afterwards. "I'm sure Fea will be happy to guide you if you need it."
Han then slid open the shoji sliding doors, letting a lot of the light into the room. "Ah, one more thing. As you are training under me now, this monastery will act as you and your mother's accommodation. I asked Mato to bring your suitcases up here while you were unconscious. You can find them in your rooms."
Han then exited the room, closing the door behind him as he did so.
"I… did it… I DID IT!" I cried out with exhilaration, as I turned around to hug mother with a big smile on my face. She hugged me back of course, her happy for me. "I did it mother! Now I can train under Han!" I shouted with joy.
"Oh I'm so happy for you Cade! You've been looking for this opportunity for a while now!" She said to me. "Han actually told the three of us here that you had passed before you woke up. He then showed me to my and your room, so I can take you there and show you!"
"Aw that's great! Thank you so much!" I hugged her a bit tighter after she said that.
I then saw that Mato looked like he wanted to say something. I turned to look at him, breaking the hug from mother.
"I er, have to go now." He said as he turned to look at the door. "Got some work to do with Redd today outside of the village."
"Oh ok, guess I'll see you around then. Oh wait one thing before you go!" I called out to Mato before he left.
Mato turned to look at me before he left, his face puzzled.
"I'm er… sorry about what I said before the test began. You know, the stuff about me being much better and stronger than the others in the village." I said to him sheepishly.
Mato then turned round to face me. "Ah that. Listen. I'll admit before the test I mostly just saw you as an excited young boy who just wanted to learn from a wise and experienced man. When you said that you did think you could do better than the others in the village, I was frustrated as I thought this was a just a young kid thinking that just because he got magic he can believes he can do anything. Well it was during the test I actually realised something. You were right."
"Right… about what?" I asked.
"You did show more strength and resilience than those in this village. I was completely blown away by your ability to break through my Golden Flames, and the fact that you destroyed my cloud. That was what proved to me that you weren't some young cocky upstart, but rather a young man who was committed to what he wanted. Most of the villagers your age here that fight me fail to do such things." He finished saying.
"Oh!" I said with shock. "Well thank you for that." I smiled at him.
"Well I'm glad the both of you have no issue with each other now." My mother breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm er, sorry about the… you know…" Mother gestured her hand to her cheek.
"Oh that!" Mato said in realisation. "Erm… don't worry about it!" Mato reassured her. "Anyway I really have to be going now. I'll see you around this place Cade." He said as he went through the door and closed it behind him.
Now that just left me Fea and mother here in the room. Fea seemed to notice that it was her time to leave as well. She stood up and walked so she could face me and my mother.
"I shall be leaving so you can get changed Cade. I will be outside this door waiting. After all, I still have to show you around this village!" She smiled at me, before exiting the door and closing it behind her.
"I suppose that's that then." Mother said to me with a sigh of relief.
"Yep! That's us got approval to stay here until I'm finished with my training." I replied with determination. "Say… what time is it?" I asked curiously. During the entire time I was awake, I was wondering what the time was.
"Oh right. It's currently 10:00am in the morning." Mother replied casually. "You were out for quite a while."
"Ah ok - wait what!? 10:00am in the morning!? I really was out for a long time…" I muttered in disbelief. "Uh hey, where are some clothes for me to wear?" I asked curiously, as I saw my mother stand up and make her way to the door.
"Oh they'll just be inside that drawer there." She pointed to the drawer that held my armour. She then exited the room and slid closed the door.
Now alone, I got to a moment of silence to reflect on everything that happened recently now that I was no longer tired and half asleep.
'We finally made it into Lavender Village, a huge underground village that hardly anyone in the outside world knows about. I met Mato, Elder Lotho, his daughter Fea, and Master Han. I was welcomed into the village, but some of the villagers seemed a bit skeptical about that…'
'Afterwards, I had a test to fight Mato and ultimately lost due to his Golden Fire. I was thankfully, able to impress Master Han enough for him to let me train under him. Now I'm going on a tour of sorts in the village with Fea.'
I finished going over all that in my head, and then got up out of bed.
'Time to get dressed. After that, I'm looking forward to exploring this village for all it has to offer.'
No POV, Mato Tellum:
Mato quickly made his way down the stairs of the monastery. He had just left the room Cade was in and he immediately headed towards the stairs to see his old Master about a thought that crossed his mind during the test hours earlier.
Upon reaching the main floor of the monastery, Mato made his way into the main meditation chamber where Master Han could usually be found. He slid open the door and his old Master making some tea in the far right corner.
Master Han turned and saw his old student, and gave a thin smile.
"Ah Mato. What brings you here? Should you not be helping Reed today?" Han quizzed him.
"I should." Mato admitted. "But I have a curious question about the boy Cade. I was wondering if you could help me with it." Mato walked over to Master Han hoping for answers.
"I see." Han said looking away from his old student. "Why didn't you come over here and we can talk about it over some tea?" He suggested, as he snapped his fingers together and a table and two chairs materialised from thin air.
"Yes of course." Mato nodded, as he then took a seat at one of the chairs.
Two teacups then appeared out of thin air on each side of the table. Master Han then took a seat opposite of Mato and poured tea from the teapot he was holding into the two tea cups.
"So what is you inquiry?" Han asked.
"Well from what I can see, the young wizard uses three different types of magic. Ice, Requip and… something else." Mato explained. "Was wondering if you knew what kind of magic turns ice into stone. Certainly threw me for a surprise back there."
"I believe I have an answer for that. That magic is known as Enchantment Magic Mato." Master Han confirmed with some seriousness in his voice.
"I… have not heard of such a magic before." Mato spoke with curiosity and interest.
"Many say that Enchantment Magic is a lost magic like Gate Magic. However I would go as far to say that it is much more of an ancient magic. It is even rarer than most lost magic." Han explained.
"Enchantment Magic can allow the user to do many, many things like change the weather, change the geography of the landscape, change the physical material of a property, enchant weapons with magic and turn weapons into living creatures." Han said with seriousness.
Mato felt his head spin at all that information. "E-Excuse me!? Change the geography?! Turn weapons into actual living creatures!? How does a 13 year old have this magic!?" He shouted.
"That is what I'm curious about." Han said back. "It was one of the reasons why I took him in. But not the main one."
"Do… you think he is a threat?" Mato asked carefully.
Han seemed to think about this. "… I do not believe so. Cade seems like a good boy that has been raised well. Plus he is part of a guild that I know well from Elder Lotho." Han answered. "We can trust him."
"Right." Mato said still in a bit of disbelief die this groundbreaking information. He thought he was impressive for flying in a cloud made out of fire. And now this kid can apparently learn how to change the landscape of the earth!? He needed to get out and see the outside world more.
"That… is all I had to ask you. Thank you for that Master Han." Mato bowed his head and stood up. "I have to be going now. Reed probably needs my help."
"Good day." Han said as his old student left the room.
Han then sat back and thought to himself about the young boy. Yes, he would be keeping a watchful eye over him during his time training here.
"Yes. It has been a long time since I have seen Enchantment Magic…" He hummed to himself as his thoughts then wandered to his past experiences.
There we go, another chapter done! Do leave a review on your thoughts.
Cade has now gotten accepted as Master Han's pupil for the next two months! Master Han and Mato do seem a bit suspicious of the fact that he has Enchantment Magic, but I'm sure they'll grow to trust him even eventually.
We now have the training with a Master Han coming up soon! Will Cade be able to learn how to combine his magic together! Well he has a small tour of the village first, but he'll soon see!
Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Look forward to seeing you in the next one!
