Jayhawk+ by Nick Venom (short novels in english txt) 📕

Let the light that binds me, pave the way. Release that which is bottled up towards my enemies. I’ll light up the path for my allies and bring peace to those in desperate need of it. Light Wall. Locus heard a voice inside of his mind, feeding him a long chant. Where or who was giving him the information was unknown, the best theory being Czeco himself---I am the reincarnation of him, he thought.

“Let the light… Let the light that binds me, pave the way. Release that which is bottled up towards my enemies. I’ll light up the path for my allies and bring peace to those in desperate need of it. Light Wall!” He emphasized ‘Light Wall’, watching with amazed eyes as his magic circle reacted to the chant. It released a bundle of light that shot through the air that slammed into the ground in between the men. The light ball materialized into a six-foot wall, taking the form of goo that encased a strange shape before revealing its appearance of a wall made of pure light. It was shiny in reflection but cold to the touch.

The men were taken aback by the sudden wall, stopping their chants halfway. The mana that they infused into the skill broke apart, exhaling a gooey substance that was brown in color, charred mana. This type of mana is what happens when skills aren’t completed, a substance made up of mana that died upon exhale.

“My name is Locus, the reincarnation of the Creation God Czeco. You two have been fighting in the royal castle, under the king’s nose. Wouldn’t that permit an execution as a punishment?” He asked, his eyes glaring down at the now timid men. His question was half, is that true, and half I don’t know what I’m saying.

The men turned towards Locus and kneeled. “We apologize for our outburst. We mean no harm, Holy Sire.” The men declared simultaneously.

Andrew, who had peeked into the room, noticed the entire fiasco. He bided his time to pop out with Hayden Underwood by his side. Once Locus stepped in, creating the light wall, the men burst through the door, attracting all of the attention.

“It is as Locus has stated, you dare to cause trouble in my castle? Shall I send both of your heads flying” Andrew asked? 

“No, your majesty. It wasn’t our intention to cause trouble.” The Red Circle Man said.

“It’s as Evan states, it was an accident.” The Green Circle Man said.

“Evan Gladwines and Alaw Winthropes. Considering your position as family heads, I will let you free. However, I must ask your families to leave today’s ball out of the disrespect you show towards my rule.

“Thank you for your mercy.” The Red Circle Man---Evan Gladwines---said as he stood up and motioned for his family to leave. The Green Circle Man---Alaw Winthropes---did the same, both families rushing to leave the ball before the king changed his mind.

The remaining participants avoided eye contact with the king, all of them feeling the tense atmosphere hanging over them. Andrew noticed this as well, remarking, “I apologize to everybody else here about the rude interruption. Enjoy today’s ball as it will be one of the few balls we’ll be having due to the ongoing war.” Hayden turned towards a waiter, asking for a cup. The waiter gave it to him before walking away. Hayden then handed the glass cup to Andrew, who grabbed it and raised it into the air. “Cheers for the future of our kingdom! Cheers for Wyvern!”

The remaining participants let out a vicious chant, repeating it until it died down as people began freely chatting with each other.

Meanwhile, Locus was dragged away by Andrew into his chambers.

“What’s wrong?” Locus asked, standing in front of Andrew’s desk.

“As I said in the ball, the ongoing war has been getting more and more dangerous for us. Soon we’ll be overwhelmed by the Slade kingdom and collapse. I believe-” He intertwined his fingers, resting them on top of the chocolate desk. “-it’s time to begin your training. Sleep tonight, but tomorrow you’ll be assisted by two trainers in your magic and strength.” He stared into Locus’s eyes. “You’re going to the battlefield soon, be prepared.

TBC…

“Good morning, Holy Sire.” A male cat beastkin said, bowing his head. Locus stepped outside of the castle into the backyard training area---a large square with a dueling circle in the middle and straw dummies lining all of the sides. The beastkin standing in front of him had black fur with white patches on his face. He was also equipped with a dagger that he sheathed into a hip holster, attached to his black jogger-like pants, ensuring that he wasn’t entirely naked. 

The cat beastkin motioned towards the dueling circle, forcing Locus into it. They then stood on opposite sides of the circle, Locus standing in the red half while the beastkin stood in the blue half.

“My name is Tedas Black, one of your trainers. As you can see-” He motioned towards himself. “-I’m a cat beastkin, but don’t let my adorableness trick you. I was born in the Slums and have been training myself every day since I was old enough to hold a dagger. That’s enough proof to show my strength.”

Locus nodded, thanking him. “I was recently reincarnated here and haven’t dealt with any real fights, so I’m not sure about my strength.” 

“Don’t worry about that. I was brought here to train you, at least enough for self-defense.” Tedas told him, unsheathing his dagger. 

“We’re starting!” Locus exclaimed.

Tedas nodded, smiling an overconfident smile. He charged forward, racing towards an unarmed Locus. “Dodge this and you pass lesson one!” He shouted. Locus dropped to the floor, escaping Tedas’s straightforward attack.

Locus stood up after Tedas passed by him, turning to face him. Tedas now stood outside of the circle while Locus remained in the dueling circle. “Are you crazy? If it wasn’t for me dodging it, you would’ve hit me!” He exclaimed.

Tedas turned around to face him, smiling. “Come on, a little wound won’t kill you. A larger would may, though.” He laughed.

“Oh, is this how you treat the reincarnation of a god?” An unfamiliar voice asked him, appearing behind him. Locus turned to face the person, noticing a female mage, wearing the appropriate cloak and hat to match her profession. “Good morning, my Holy Sire.” She performed a curtsy, showing her respect to him. “My name is Stellar, your magic trainer.”

“Magic trainer? Can you use the light element?” He asked her.

She shook her head. “Only gods and their reincarnations can use the light element. Us common folk can only use fire, water, earth, wind, space, gravity, metal, and a few others. Demons and demonkins can use the negative elements such as chaos, shadows, darkness, Ruin, and death.” She explained. “However, even though I can’t use your element, it shouldn’t be too different compared to the other elements.”

“Do you have to say chants for every skill?” Locus asked, sitting down on the dueling circle, looking up at her like a kindergartener waiting for storytime. 

“Yes, but each chant is different. If you want to use three skills, you need to remember three chants. That’s why many are proficient in using fewer than three skills. I, myself, can only remember three chants. Any more and I’ll begin forgetting everything.”

“There aren’t any skills that use the same chant?” Locus asked.

“Nope, if there were, many people would have access to more skills.” Tedas chimed in. “Imagine the chaos if armies of men could use ten skills with the same chant. It would be the downfall of this kingdom or the Slade kingdom if the army’s on our side.”

“Tedas is right, there have been no recorded people to use a chant for two different skills.”

Locus stood up. “Can I try it? Maybe I’ll be the first.” For some reason, he felt confident. Whether it was because of Czeco’s help or himself, he was confident that he could reuse a chant.

“Go ahead, it won’t kill you.” Stellar said, taking a step backward.

“Let the light that binds me, pave the way. Release that which is bottled up towards my enemies. I’ll light up the path for my allies and bring peace to those in desperate need of it. Light... Light Sword.” He said, stumbling over a word. He pointed his palms, which had a magic circle attached to them, and watched as a sword made of pure light materialized in front of him. Stellar and Tedas watched in awe as the sword formed in front of their eyes, created from his mana.

“How… How did you do that?” Stellar asked, her eyes widened.

“What do you mean?” Locus asked.

“If you make a mistake or a long pause, the chant doesn’t work. You would have to restart to reinitiate the magic circle.” Tedas explained. “You messed up and repeated a word, yet… it worked?”

“That’s not possible. It shouldn’t be possible. How is it possible?” Stellar was freaking out, her idea of magic being exploded out of the water.

“I can do another skill.” He pointed his palms at one of the dummies lining the side of the training area. “Let the light that binds me, pave the way. Release that which is bottled up towards my enemies. I’ll light up the path for my allies and bring peace to those in desperate need of it. Light Wall.” A ball made out of light was shot out of his palms and collided with the dummy, creating a wall in front of the dummy. 

“That isn’t possible!” Stellar explained, fainting. However, she regained consciousness as quickly as she lost it. “Tedas, I’m sorry, but I need to test his limits. Save physical training for another day.”

“Sure, but he’s being dispatched tomorrow.” He looked at Stellar’s excited face, sighing to himself. “Well, I’ll be by his side, so I’ll teach him another day.” Stellar quickly thanked him before approaching Locus, testing his limits. She forced him to use his mana in creating a plethora of skills, Light Wall, Light Spear, Light Sword, Light Ball---a ball made out of light that Locus could play with, but it disintegrated upon Stellar’s touch---Light Bow, Light Dagger, Light Strikes (an attack of several bolts of light that pierced and tore a dummy part). 

However, weirdly, Locus couldn’t form any modern weaponry. His abilities were limited to old technology like bows and swords and fantasy attacks like Light Strikes and Light Wall. His mana pool was discovered to be large, but not limitless. After chanting fifteen skills, he felt drowsy because of mana exhaustion, forcing the experiments to end. Even so, Locus was now familiar with his light skills, enough for the battle he’ll be part of.

“In a few weeks, I’ll go to battle. Hopefully, I don’t freeze… because I’ll be killed if I freeze.” He thought aloud, resting in his room after parting ways with Stellar. He was afraid of the potential outcome of his body dying for the second time, this time by swords and arrows and not a car. “I’m prepared. I’m prepared. I’m prepared. I’m… not prepared. I’m going to die.”

TBC…