A Crumbling Society

Part 2-5

Day 2

The next morning felt great, I had actually had some sleep to where I didn't feel like I was run over. Maybe I'm beginning to recover from the issues of the Legion a little, or maybe I'll take it out on someone later. Stretching felt good while getting out of bed and getting dressed. The sun was out but not too bright to where you can't look out the windows after waking up. When I was ready and fully dressed, I left my room to see what the rest of the academy was up to. I headed down the castle and passed a group of students clustered together. They were talking about how lucky the older kids were to fight Summoner, me. Not exactly something I'd call it, and also don't understand the importance of myself as a hero either. At least not for them, their eyes widened as I came close, and one girl squealed in excitement. A teacher appeared after me shooing them to join the others outside for today's tournament. I smirked because it's always funny to me when kids get in trouble like that. From what the teacher said, I guess the morning had gotten started, so I headed over to the arena where everyone was taking turns entering. You could see the tent again where the competitors were staying off to the side, it was white with a sort of roof on it. Large flags surrounded it and they even had things outside I assume are being used as target practice. Flashbacks popped into my mind, the tent looks big from here, but I know its massive on the inside. The line took a few minutes to get going because someone wasn't sure what section to go to. It took one of their friends to drag them sideways for them to move. I finally got up to where I was going to sit, and Tabitha was already waiting for me with her friend beside her. We beamed a glare at each other before I sat, and she began talking about how this was her favorite day.

"Oh good, you're here! I just love watching these kids, I'm hoping to see some promising magic as well", she said with excitement.

"It'll be interesting, for sure", I responded.

Some whispering from her other side and she spoke again, "yeah I agree, I'll have to keep an eye out"

"Keep an eye for what", I asked

"I'll be teaching fourth years, so I want to make sure to check out the Ankastle kids. It would help get a head start on what to expect from them"

"Oh okay", was all I could get out.

Third and fourth years are interesting, this is the time where they start picking a path to go down. They begin developing an idea for their magic and how they want to use it. Baby stages but potential to be molded with power. Fourth years have a little advantage which is what makes it better, they've had an extra year to keep working on their skills. You can see the start of some water magic and in another kid small balls of light. I looked away from him because he reminded me of her, only she isn't here anymore. Some of the others showed signs of their magic but they formed blobs of energy that could become better over time. It really isn't my favorite day, I'm all for the last day where there's real fighting. Tabitha leaned into my thinking and told me she heard that I was going to be a part of ARC this year. I made that look like "I wonder who told her that" and sighed with a "yeah, I am actually". She thought this was cool and said something similar to what the Highmistress had said.

"The kids could really use someone like you teaching them"

"Yeah?"

"No doubt! It would give them a taste of how serious the world beyond schooling is", there was firmness in her tone. She seemed passionate about the topic.

"I guess so", I told her.

"It'll be fun to see you in action too, I haven't exactly been able to see you as Summoner since you joined the heroes". Her eyes were shining, letting me know she was seriously looking forward to it.