The Dragon Stone ↣ Riven ↢

05: It's Definitely Not On My Schedule To Go Third Wheeling

''I see fire burning the trees''

'Again!', a voice demanded from outside of one of the simulation rooms.

The simulation rooms were big square rooms in which trainings could be held against simulated opponents.

Rose heard a groan coming from the red-haired girl next to her.

'Do we really have to?', she complained, desperation clear in her voice.

Rose couldn't blame her. The simulations had been tough on them. As a matter of fact, Rose was currently flat on her back on the ground after being hit by yet another magic air blast.

'Yes, Bloom, keep going.', Professor Palladium responded in a stern voice.

At that, Rose struggled to get up, getting a helping hand from Bloom. They got back in position as they waited for the next fairy to appear. A simulated fairy at that, who'd appear out of nowhere for about ten times a session and let it be known that, even though the fairy was a simulation, the blows it delivered felt very real.

The assignment was to take out the simulated fairy before it could attack you. Two against one, easy enough you'd think. Well, it was not, as they hadn't managed to take even one simulated fairy out in the past three sessions. The cause? They weren't able to control their magic properly.

As soon as Rose detected the fairy, she summoned her magic. Instead of sending a ball of energy towards it, her magic let her down again. It backfired and crashed right back into her, causing Rose to be hurled through the air. Again.

Look at that, she thought, this time it wasn't even the simulation taking her out. She had done a fine job of that herself.

She looked over at Bloom, hoping she'd have more luck, and she watched as Bloom opened her hands, two flames forming in her palms. She tried to aim towards the fairy, but the flames came nowhere near enough to do any damage.

After Bloom's failed attempt, it was the simulated fairy's turn to retaliate, causing Bloom to fall on the floor next to Rose. They sucked.

The last four weeks had been peanuts with the main focus on lessons in transformation, teaching the fairies to control a full transformation. Fully transforming was easy enough but the lessons in combat that had started this week were being a pain in the arse.

Actually, that wasn't completely true, it was a combination. Fully transforming allowed fairies to be stronger, but that strength had to be controlled. Clearly, Rose and Bloom did not have it under control.

After Bloom's not so graceful landing, she turned to Rose.

'I have to tell you something', she panted.

'What? Are you serious, right now?' Rose asked, clearly sounding out of breath.

Bloom groaned as she tried to get up. 'Yes, we have a minute or so before the next attack.'

'Well, that's where you're wrong.', Rose quickly rushed out before spreading her wings and getting back in the air. 'There she is again.', Rose said, her voice filled with dread.

-

On the outside of the simulation rooms, professor Palladium was observing. Rose and Bloom were no exception, but they weren't particularly excelling either. Most of the students had already passed the simulation, but a few teams were still going at it as they hadn't been able to defeat their simulated opponent. Professor Palladium couldn't quite figure out why Rose and Bloom failed so terribly. He had selected them to be a team himself, since he could sense that they were both powerful.