Magic.
It's is known to many as illusions, tricks, lies, deceit. But to the citizens of Arcadia, Magic means everything.
Magic comes from within. But not everyone can harness that power. Just as there are many ways to do martial arts, there are als...
"One must master all forms of combat to become an Elder. From the brutal and powerful Legions to the graceful and speedy Dynasts, to the flexible and structural Heralds." Grandma Nayeon announced to a crowd of 10 individuals all sat together.
"Now, you will see the power of the Elders firsthand." Grandma Nayeon stamped her cane into the ground, creating white rings all around them. The Elder Magic cast an ethereal halo around the group, forming it into a white light vessel.
"Now, Sana. Throw your hardest punch at me."
"What?"
"Hit me. Come on, don't be shy. Give me your hardest punch."
"But I don't want to!"
"Come on, Sana. We have other things to do."
"I don't want to hurt you."
"You won't hurt me." Grandma Nayeon bumped her chest. "Come on, give me your best shot."
"No, I don't want to!" Sana stomped her feet, irritated. Suddenly, Grandma Nayeon had an idea.
"Fine, then you can stay at the corner and watch as Shadow reigns forever. Sit down and watch as all your friends fail and die because of your cowardice. Because you're afraid."
"Why would you say that?"
"You need to step out of your little bubble, Sana and take a brave step forward." Grandma Nayeon added salt to the wound, trying to get a rise out of Sana.
"Come on, Sana. You can't be all this cute and bubbly forever! Because I know deep down inside you there's a little piece of doubt that you don't know where your place in the world actually is."
"Stop please, I'll hit you." Sana punched, but it felt like a small love tap.
"That isn't enough. You're an outcast, you're afraid. In fact, the only reason you ever took that mission was to run away from the Legion!"
"Shut up." Sana punched again, this time a little harder.
"Again, Sana! If all Shadow is going to feel from you are love taps, you might as well be his sex toy for eternity. Now stop holding back and PUNCH ME!!"
"AARGH!!!" Sana channeled her rage into that one punch, emitting purple lighting and flames from her fist as it met with Grandma Nayeon's chest with a BOOM.
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"IS THAT HARD ENOUGH???" Sana growled in anger, something nobody had seen before. Her eyes glowed with the power of a thousand suns. This was a side that Sana had locked deep down for a long, long time. A side she had kept hidden ever since she left the Legion. The cute, bubbly facade had finally broke open, revealing the ferocious warrior hiding within.
Grandma Nayeon flew back from the force of the punch, but landed skillfully on her feet.
"There it is. The Elder Magic has finally been opened. Now," She turned to the others. "In this situation, It's quite common for you to get your magic through anger, but it will be incredibly unstable when you first take a ride. Like Sana who is charging at me right now."
True enough, Sana was charging at Grandma Nayeon at amazing speeds. Carelessly dashing through tall grass before pouncing at Grandma Nayeon with intent to kill.
But the old and experienced Elder only needed to hold up her cane, and Sana being Sana, ran right into it, knocking herself unconscious.
"You see? So it's the fastest way but it won't be easy to maintain. Other ways include intense training montages and a blessing from the Gods, but I'll leave that part up to you."
"So Sana just unlocked hers?" Momo excitedly asked.
"No. It was just the Elder Magic peeking out. It'll fade when she wakes up. To make it last, it needs to come naturally."
"So how should we unlock it naturally?" Y/N asked.
"As i said, First you must learn to master the three ways of combat. Then you must learn how to control them and finally how to use them to your advantage. So, I've prepared this list of things we need to do before we go back to the Hanok tomorrow." She pulled out a list and read the first line.
"Sparring. Okay, let's start." She waved her hand and the paper vanished into thin air. "This will allow you to understand how others use their moves, and how to overcome them. Use your native ways and teach them to your partner. Everyone will have to spar with each other at least once. Pick your sparring partner. No two partners can have the same style of attack."
"We'll go together!" 2yeon raised their hands.
"We'll do it too!" Dahyun pulled Sana from the ground and ran off themselves.
"Ok...As for the rest of you...Tzuyu can go with Momo and Jihyo can grab Y/N." Grandma Nayeon slumped back into her seat. "Now run off, and teach each other your styles. Come back by nightfall."
"Yes, ma'am!" Jihyo saluted and dragged Y/N somewhere, while Momo and Tzuyu sheepishly went off to find a place for themselves.
"As for you two...." Grandma Nayeon slowly turned around, revealing the newly formed couple behind her. "You two might want to fix your hair and makeup before the rest catch on to what you just did there. Run along."
"Yes, ma'am." Chaeyoung and Mina ran off giggling and blushing as Grandma Nayeon sighed at the mischievous children.
