Crimson Phoenix Guardian- Aspiration to the Heavens: Becoming the Supreme Mage 4

Episode 104: Truth of the Core

*Lei*

Aurelius jumped back and blocked my razor with one of his feathers. Vandavalian magic really was amazing. If only me and the others had gotten to see more Vandavalian magic during our winter vacation. Although, given his feathers were tied to the sleeves and collar of his signature green shirt, was that tooth necklace of his linked to another familiar of his? If so, what was it? And why had he made no use of it thus far?

"Not bad," I said, chuckling as I blew away his incoming feathers.

While I trained with Au in one side of a room in the stadium where he fought Shuai, Adela taught Ling in another. My sister ended up training Tamara too. Seemed Tammy originally wanted to train with me, but I wasn't the sound mage. My sister was. Luckily, Yen was with us. As for why Tamara sought me out, I had no clue. Well, other than that she might've mixed me up with my sister. It wasn't the first time such a thing had happened. But it was more common when we were kids. Since Yen was a bit of a tomboy growing up, people thought she, Kun, and I were all boys.

Aurelius stared at his feather shield as it suddenly got cut in half. He chuckled. "Right back at you."

"So, what can that necklace of yours do?" I asked, pointing at it. "Eri told me your clan use the body parts animals which in turn become familiar spirits."

He touched his necklace. "Oh, these are teeth from a Vandevalian Golden Wolf. Although, he's a hard one to control."

"You have another familiar? We barely got our first ones," Yen said as she and Tammy joined us.

Tammy's eyes were wide.

"Think we should take a break," Ny said. She, Kun, and Hika had been sparring against Zel, Wani, and Nahi.

"Sounds good," I said, grinning.

Wani fell to one knee and panted.

"Is this considered our win?" Kun asked, smiling at Nyima and Hika.

"Ny asked for the break, so it might be our loss," Hika said, sighing.

"You two worry too much about losing and winning," Nahimana said, her hands her hips.

Zel chuckled. "Funny to hear someone as competitive as you say that."

"Just like it was weird she didn't participate in the tournament last year," Kun added.

Nahimana glared at him. "Taking her side now, are you?"

Kun raised his hands. "I'm not taking any sides here!"

She sighed and turned away. "It's alright. Given my performance against Yen, I regret not having participated last year."

Yen grinned as she walked over. "Well, I'm glad I managed to get some wins at least."

Nyima glanced at me. "Yeah."

I glanced at the blue yonder. In two weeks, I was to fight either Burai, Adela, or Kaharu and then another one of them, assuming I won.

"Alright, let's get us some food and return to training," I said, marching on ahead.

"Seems Lei is returning to his old self," Yen said sighing.

"Yeah," Kun said, shaking his head.

"Hey, at least I am stopping to eat!" I countered. That was an improvement from before, right?

Wani walked over to me and patted me on the back. "Relax, bud."

I took a deep breath. He was right. Ugh. Why did my stupid nerves have to return? I hadn't felt this anxious since the entrance exam. At least I was more outwardly relaxed than back then.