"Congratulations on becoming a mage," Toris said, his voice tinged with pride.
"Thanks!" Ryan replied, a grin spreading across his face as he did a quick victory dance.
"Stop celebrating, you still have a very long way to go without much time. We're losing the war, quite quickly, and if it wasn't for the Great Mountains that separate our kingdoms, then everyone would already have died years ago," Toris cautioned, his expression serious.
"But what about the reason I was sent here—the reason the divine sent me here?" Ryan asked, his excitement dampening slightly.
"The monster or demon invasions? They do not, and never have, posed a problem for this world; this time will be no different." Toris reassured him with a slight grin.
That's a red flag, thought Ryan, smirking, as he recalled stories from when he was on Earth.
"Okay, now we need to find out which elemental affinity you have. Most magic-based heroes have even got two affinities!" Toris explained.
"To test your affinity, there are two different ways, im going to use the less common one which will require me to touch your forehead and send my mana into you. If my mana sense sees brown, for example, your affinity is earth, which is my one; if I see nothing, you have no affinity. I'm not sure what a combination would look like, but let's see!" Toris finished, curiously reaching out and touching Ryan's forehead.
Ryan's face began to relax as warm mana flowed into his forehead. But suddenly, his expression twisted into one of agony, and he let out chilling screams.
"AH-AHHH!"
Panicked, Ryan felt the mana coursing through him uncontrollably, overwhelming his senses. Causing him to pass out.
…
"What happened?" Muttered Ryan, slowly rising up while clinging to his head, which was sending out pangs of pain.
He looked around the room, trying to understand what had just happened, until his gaze fell upon Toris.
A splatter of blood was all that remained of Toris' head; the rest of his body was left kneeling up right.
A rush of footsteps could be heard echoing in the corridor outside.
James and Jared burst into the room, and Jared immediately rushed to check on Toris. Horror washed over him as he realised that Toris lay lifeless on the ground, his body motionless.
5 minutes ago…
Toris started panicking. "Why isn't it working? Ryan?" He shouted, confused.
Ryan suddenly stopped screaming and mechanically stood up. His eyes were perfectly yellow, with no pupils.
Toris stood up as well and began stepping backward.
"What are you doing, Ryan?"
Suddenly, Ryan reached out, picking Toris up by his throat.
Toris immediately reacted by casting "Terra Pugnus!" A hardened fist of earth crashed into Ryan's stomach, causing him to let go of Toris, who was now coughing while holding his neck.
Ryan slowly walked towards Toris, who was backing up while still on the floor.
"STOP! It was an accident, Ryan!"
"Non credo ita," Ryan uttered and waved his hand, before suddenly collapsing to the floor and closing his eyes and before he reached the ground:
Toris grabbed his head, seconds before it exploded.
Back to the present...
Drawing his sword, Jared turned to face Ryan, his eyes blazing with anger and accusation. "You... killed him!" he accused, his voice trembling with rage.
"No! It wasn't me, I didn't do it!" Ryan protested his heart racing with fear and guilt, remembering every moment.
But Jared dismissed his protests, unsheathing his sword. "It doesn't matter. You'll pay for what you've done," he declared, his voice cold and unforgiving.
Ryan felt a surge of panic as Jared advanced towards him, the blade of his sword gleaming in the dim light of the room. Desperate, Ryan cast a spell, channelling all his mana into his fingertip and closing his eyes.
Please work!
"Lux!" he screamed, releasing a blinding burst of light that temporarily stunned Jared and bought Ryan precious seconds to escape.
With adrenaline coursing through his veins, Ryan bolted out of the exit but slowed down as he heard more rushing footsteps.
Four guards turned the corner ahead of him, rushing towards the training hall. "Hey hero! Did you hear that screaming and shouting? What happened?" I asked the young guard from the entrance.
"I'm not sure, but I don't plan on finding out as I have been summoned to Commander Marcus! Bye!" Ryan quickly responded, trying to maintain his composure.
The guards continued rushing towards the training hall, and the second they disappeared into the hall, Ryan sprinted, turning and weaving, and occasionally walking as quietly as possible in order to hide his footsteps from those chasing him praying that they would turn the wrong corner, but they didn't.
Ryan began running again.
As he ran, his mind raced with fear and uncertainty, unsure of where to turn or what to do next, maybe he just had to try explain the situation, it didn't seem escaping would be possible.
Lost in thoughts, he bumped into an elderly man, the old guard, his eyes filled with concern and compassion. Ryan hesitated for a moment, his breath coming in ragged gasps, before finally speaking.
"I… I didn't mean to... I didn't mean to hurt him," he stammered, his voice trembling with emotion.
Before the old guard could respond, an unknown figure entered the dim hallway.