The Divine Demon - Book 1: A New Beginning

24. A Golden Ticket (Part 2)

"Riarshi and Tabito, your match begins... now!" Professor Khohn shouted. His hand shot toward the sky, signalling them to start.

At that exact instant, their eyes flashed. Small blue sparks fluttered around Riarshi's feet in the form of thin bright lines, while orange, roaring flames whipped around Tabito's arms.

Riarshi knew he was at a disadvantage when Khohn announced that today's class would be a one-on-one duel. Tabito's prowess with his flame magic was almost on par with Hara's competence with her overpowering matter magic. He had also seen firsthand how lethal it could be. 

Throughout the entire program, Riarshi had used Tabito's immense skill as a crutch, relying heavily on his power to pass each assignment thrown their way. Riarshi, with his feet planted firmly in the field's loose dirt, realized it was his time to show his progress - to prove that even a low magic user like himself could compete with someone as highly skilled as Tabito.

There was no other motive. At least that was what he told himself.

Tabito blasted toward Riarshi like a fiery rocket. His feet sunk into the field's dirt and the flames bursting from his body and hands propelled him forward, launching the ground behind him in an explosion of dirt and debris. Even the strongest kind of Intel magic couldn't have detected Tabito's tremendous burst of speed.

Wide-eyed, Riarshi swiftly side stepped, shifting his spark-covered feet, and slid out of the way of the flaming comet. Blue sparks glided along the battered ground.

Despite the successful extra training with Tabito and Hara the week before, he couldn't quiet the inner worries he had about his magical strength. Riarshi, however, promised himself that he would take his skills to the utmost limit in this fight.

Tabito came to a sliding halt about twenty feet behind Riarshi. He pushed hard with his right foot to break his speed, causing dust to flood the field.

"Hmm, not bad, Riarshi," Tabito sneered with surprise in his voice. "You're definitely faster than before. I guess that extra bit of training we did paid off." The dust floating over the field cleared just enough to show a pair of glowing orange eyes in the distance.

Riarshi clenched his fists and tossed Tabito a smug look in reply. "Don't underestimate your friend, Tabito."

Tabito, still crouching, straightened himself up from the ground and dusted off his shoulder. "I guess I shouldn't."

After a series of dodges, slides, jukes, and bursts of speed from both Newbies, a dry wasteland replaced the remaining grass beneath their feet. Loosened dust and dirt polluted the air. 

Although Tabito's blazing speed was enhanced with flame magic, the sparks around Riarshi's feet never faltered, allowing him to pivot and launch himself out of the way of Tabito's attacks just as quickly as they came.

Hara and the other seven class members spectated the fight from the field's sideline. Her blue eyes, darting back and forth along the field, traced each move in succession as the high magic flame user and the static commoner fought to determine who won the free ticket to the Internship Tryout.

Several other students on the sideline hollered in Tabito's favor.

"Come on, Tabito! Crush that commoner!"

"Stop messing around and beat his ass!"

Riarshi's mind buzzed a mile a minute calculating Tabito's movements. His eyes flashed, searching for an opening. Hearing the voices echoing from the sideline, his brain suddenly sidetracked for a moment.

Riarshi realized that Tabito was one of them - a high level magic user destined for greatness in this magic-ruled world. If someone had power, society expected them to become a Hero or any other noble occupation. They were practically demanded to use their powers in an effort to better the world, rather than waste them on something meaningless.