A World Of Decree: And The Seven Laws

Calvin's plan on training Endless Sun revolved around one specific goal: for them to harness their full magic capacity and being able to use it efficiently. Since this can't be learned overnight, they started the following day.

As Calvin and the rest entered entered Arena 3, he terraformed the Arena, making it as large as possible. The Arena ended up stretching about a mile in each direction from the center, and a few hundred feet above into the open skies.

The Arena was simple, straight to the point, and perfect for this type of training. Clear grass fields covered the ground beneath them, gently flowing in the slight brushes of wind flowing through the air. A few trees were scattered about, seeming much taller than they truly were. A lake could be seen in the distance, giving Rina slight hopes for whatever would be d.e.s.i.r.ed from her.

Calvin made sure they were all listening, held his hands behind him, and spoke with an enthusiastic tone. "Starting today, you will all begin to learn how to harness you magic capacity. In simple terms, think of a bottle of water. The water inside the bottle is your magic," he stuck his hand out, pretending to hold a bottle, slowly beginning to tilt is as if he was pouring it out. "As you use more and more magic without rest, that capacity slowly begins to diminish until there is none left. However, to truly tap into your last reserves of magic requires pushing your limits past exhaustion, past consciousness, and past your mind's sanity."

"Me teaching you this at such a young age is forbidden, but it must be done."

"Young age?" Paris answered with a confused look, "We're 17. How old were we supposed to be?"

Calvin chuckled at her response, "Let me clarify… This isn't even taught at Princewood, let alone any other Alchemy school."

Paris gulped nervously, "Right, sorry."

Calvin adjusted his jacket, gave a quick nod, and turned to face the Arena. "Your goal for today is to use your magic as much as possible. Launch as many spells as you can without stopping, stand when you've fallen, run when you want to sleep, and fight when you think you can't." He turned back to face his students, friends, and guildmates, "Split up in different directions, I'll get to all of you."

Everyone nodded, running in opposite directions from one another. Faibel was the only one to remain in the middle with Calvin, knowing his practice will have to be at night.

"Faibel, I'd like you to assist me while circling around our group. Your judgements are one of a kind." Calvin said without looking at him.

"With p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e," Fiabel smirked.

After a few minutes of running, Atlas found himself surrounded by large rocks, a small collection of pine trees, and a rising slope beneath him. He wasn't sure how many times he can use Augment before his magic started wearing down, so like everyone else in the Arena, he started forcing out as many spells as he could towards the surrounding landscape.

Everyone else did the same. Rina in the lake, Paris in the trees, Cartuja and Leo in the open, and Laena not too far from Calvin and Faibel.

Clavin and Faibel witnessed the massacre of the Landscape in the distance, waiting patiently for it to die down. However, it never did.

Leo filled the air from afar with heat and flames, launching streaks of fire into the open sky. Paris cut down trees like paper in a single stroke of her luminous blade. Cartuja ran to his heart's content, back and forth across the Arena. Atlas made rocks and trees cease to exist, sending blasts of pure pressure across the shallow grass of the fields.

Laena struggled to show her capacity, focusing mainly on seeing how long she can have her healing spell last. She was the first to arrive to Calvin and Faibel, "Professor? May I try a spell on you?" She said shyly.

"Of course, that's what we're here for." Calvin replied with a grin.

She glanced at Faibel nervously, embarrassed of what he might think. Her hands shook lightly as she raised them in Calvin's direction, "Healing Light." Her voice came out trembling.

However, she kept the spell running for longer than usual, feeling the temptation to stop and rest but avoiding it as much as possible. He hands started to get numb after a few minutes, with her whole body following suite.

She was about to stop when Calvin noticed something particularly interesting in her commitment to the training. He could see her body tense up, her mind get sharp, and her capacity reaching its limit.

"Keep going!" Calvin yelled without trying to seem demanding. "Push to your heart's content.

Laena shut her eyes, "I'm tr-trying!" Her voice became louder, "I…" She dropped her hands, opened her eyes, and engraved a look of pure confusion on her face. "I can see."

Calvin looked worried, but simultaneously excited for the outcome of her spell.

Laena stared at Calvin blankly, "I can see your heart. Your organs, blood flowing, every fiber of muscle tissue…" He face became horrified. She looked at Faibel, seeing the same within him, "I can see…" She clasped her hands over her eyes, and screamed out of pure horror.

Calvin rushed to her quickly, grasping her with his arms, and cradled her in hopes of calming her. "It's okay. It's okay. Everything's fine.."

After a few seconds, her screaming ceased, and tears replaced it. She opened her eyes, realizing her sight was back to normal. A look of confusion and delusion appeared on her face, and Calvin let go softly.

"Laena. How are you feeling?"

"I. I don't know, I-"

"It's okay," Calvin cut her off knowing she had nothing to say, "What you saw was Eye of Transparency, most likely an ability unlocked from depletion of your magic storage. It allows you to see through the outer layer of living creatures, making supportive magic more easily distributed. Professor Gradheart can do the same."

Calvin's reassurance made Laena feel more comforting, but still left her a little shaken by the amount of detail she saw. Every artery, vein, nerve and so on was visible to her. A sight she wasn't prepared to witness. "How was I able to see everything?" she asked.

"Think of it as a spell that requires no voice activation. Almost like a passive ability you can call upon at will." Calvin smirked, "Quite impressive, I never would have thought any of you would possess passive abilities. Their pretty rare in Harvoria."

Laena blinked a few times trying to clear her sight, opening her eyes to see her normal field of view back in place. A deep sigh of relief escaped her lungs as she walked over to Calvin, "Is it okay if I sit out for the rest of today? I don't even think I can muster another spell anyway." Her face went grim, looking accomplished but layered with fatigue.

Calvin welcomed her next to him, "Of course. You can help me see how the others are doing." He glanced around in the distance, noticing the abrupt movements slowing down and ceasing their span of destruction. "We'll give it another 5 minutes or so, then I'll call everyone back here."

Cartuja was the only one unfazed after Calvin called for everyone. One by one, Atlas, Leo, Paris, Rina and Cartuja came running back to the center where Calvin stood with Faibel and Laena.

Leo looked exhausted to the point of falling asleep in broad daylight. Rina and Paris were internally depleted of magic stores, but kept their composure in front of everyone else. Cartuja and Atlas stood as if they could go another round of recklessness.

Calvin crossed his arms over his c.h.e.s.t, gave his light stubble a quick stroke, and danced his eyes around them. "How do you feel? Tired? Amped? Ready for more?" He paused for a few moments to see if anyone would respond. No one did, so he continued, "How many of you feel like you cannot physically perform another spell at this current moment?"

Leo barely managed to put his hand up, Laena kept hers down since Calvin already knew, and Rina raised hers with Paris following suite.

"Now." Calvin raised his voice, "Perform the most advanced spell you know." A few confused looks glanced in his direction. "Paris, let's start with you."

Paris' face got fl.u.s.tered, "Why me? I don't think-"

Calvin interrupted her with a finger, "No buts. No matter how little magic essence you think you have remaining, fully focus on the spell, and release it from within."

Paris sighed, knowing she had no choice in refusing. She gripped her katana tightly within its scabbard, drawing in a deep breath into her c.h.e.s.t. Her body felt weightless on the soil beneath her, but stiff as a rock unable to break.

Although she couldn't feel any magic within her to guide the spell, everything seemed to be going smoothly. Her posture was perfect, her hand remained on the handle to the blade, and the open field in front of her turned black and white, seeming motionless from life and death around her.

"Lacerate." She released her blade into the open air as she gently whispered her spell. Her motion was swift, quiet, and untraceable. The wind dragged along with her blade, piercing the open air in unbelievable speed and accuracy.

Paris expected the spell to merely cut a few meters of grass in front of her. But the more milliseconds that passed, the more damage the spell did. It seemed as if at least a dozen meters of grass completely erased from existence in front of her, along with severely sharp winds for a quartermile further.

"GHHUUUGHH!" Paris exhaled an unusual amount of air from her lungs, almost collapsing on the ground from trauma.

Calvin quickly caught her in the act, reassuring her balance, "Shhhh… It's okay… You're okay." He calmed her like a child. Although it seemed foolish, it calmed her quite rapidly, giving her comfort and relief from sudden shock.

"This is why such things aren't taught at Princewood, or Alchemy Schools in general." He let go of Paris once he noticed her back on her feet. "Tapping into miniscule magic stores is incredibly dangerous. It leaves scars on people, changes their face of reality, and in some cases, take lives. Doing so leaves you at risk for these outcomes. But if managed and practiced properly, can be a crucial trick for a victory."

Calvin gestured for everyone to step back, "Rina. Your turn."

She nodded, thanking him for the extra space. Her concentration began as she closed her eyes, forming a triangle in front of her c.h.e.s.t with four fingers.

Small droplets of water began forming in the air around them, giving Calvin a slight bit of concern.

"Faibel," Calvin said with a concerned look, "Call the medical department, use the rift and get them here as fast as possible."

"If you know this is going to end badly th-"

"Just do it!" His voice became serious.

The droplets of water started to expand, slowly descending into the ground below them. The air around them became shallow, almost like the last breaths you take before drowning in the deep pressures of the oceans.

Rina burst open her eyes, revealing the blue and violet glow radiating off them.

Calvin could see his prediction was right, but it was too late to cancel her from the spell.

"BERMUDA!" Rina screamed the spell, and all the remaining water droplets suddenly fell to the floor like rain. A sudden shock of paralyzation struck her brain, and as she tried to take a breath, she fell like a broken branch in the midst of a storm.