Magi's Path (Aether's Revival Book 3) by Daniel Schinhofen (motivational books to read txt) 📕

Someone was waiting at the exit of the tunnel, and Gregory felt a smile come to him.

“Adept Mindie, are you here to make sure we’re healthy?” Gregory asked.

Mindie, still wearing her healer kimono, turned to him and bowed her head. “Apprentices, it is good to see you all again. Yes, I have been contracted via the academy to help with the training you’re going to be doing.”

“Then we will be in good hands,” Yukiko said. “If not for you, we wouldn’t have gone as far as we did in either tournament.”

Mindie smiled at her. “Thank you for saying so.” Her eyes darted from Yukiko to Gregory, then back. “Was your wedding good?”

Yukiko nodded warmly. “It was. We should have invited you. I apologize for that oversight.”

“I wouldn’t have been allowed to attend,” Mindie replied. “I would have wanted to, but I had restrictions because of my circumstances. Congratulations to you two.”

“Thank you,” Yukiko bowed her head to Mindie, then looked at Jenn. “Jenn has also married.”

Mindie blinked. “Oh. Congratulations to you, as well. I’m sure he is a good man.”

“A very good man,” Jenn grinned. “Isn’t that right, dear one?” She nudged Gregory.

Gregory laughed awkwardly, and Mindie’s eyes went wide. “I would say I’m a very lucky man. Oh, Gin is looking at us. We should go. Thanks for helping with this, Mindie.” He quickly left the tunnel, leaving his wives giggling behind him.

“Both of you?” Mindie finally asked when Gregory had left. “That explains why I thought you and he were in a relationship,” Mindie said to Jenn.

“We weren’t then, but it was my deepest wish,” Jenn replied. “Yuki helped us see that it could work. Thank you for your help, Mindie.”

“Thank you,” Yukiko added with a mischievous smile as she and Jenn went after Gregory.

Gin gave the three of them a long look before shaking his head and turning to face the other tunnel. Nearly a minute went by before the sixth bell chimed. As soon as it did, four people left the tunnel, heading their way.

The three men and one woman were not smiling as they crossed to Gin. All four of them were wearing padded armor and carrying helmets. Each bore scars on their hands, and a couple had scars on their faces, attesting to the violence they’d endured.

“Armsmaster Watashi, we are here as the contract states,” the woman said. Her voice was surprisingly pleasant, a contrast with her harsh features.

“I recognize the contract has begun,” Gin replied. “Magus, these are your opponents. You have heard of them, I am sure.”

The woman turned her attention to the three apprentices. “Gregory Pettit, champion of the first tournament, and user of foresight magic. Jenn Bean, champion of the second tournament, and user of physical enhancement. Yukiko Warlin, final eight competitor in both tournaments, and second place in the first one, accomplished user of shadow magic. Yes, I’ve heard of them.”

“Apprentices,” Gin said, turning to them, “your opponents for the week are going to be members of the Hardened Fist. It will be group combat, using aether. We have a healer on hand to make sure that things are safer. Your opponents will be limiting themselves to apprentice-level magic and will only use as much aether as a high tier apprentice could. Questions?”

“Will they change every day, Sensei?” Gregory asked.

“My subordinates will,” the woman said. “I will be here for every match. I am Magus Vemril, and I am a physical enhancement magi. I look forward to seeing what a foresight magi can do.”

“What are the rules of the engagements?” Jenn asked.

“Tournaments rules,” Gin replied. “If I call on you to stop, you do so. If you wish to remove yourself from the combat, just raise an arm and walk away. Otherwise, combat will continue until one side is rendered unable to go on.”

“This is every day from sixth bell until when?” Gregory asked.

“Seventeenth,” Gin replied. “We will have breaks between each match where you can ask questions or for pointers.”

“Won’t this give away our capabilities to their clan for the tournament?” Yukiko asked.

“The contract states that we will not divulge anything we learn here to anyone who has not participated in the matches,” Vemril replied. “The fine is quite steep. The clan would have me flayed if it is broken.”

When none of them spoke up again, Gin nodded. “Very well. Back away so there’s room between you. I will give you a few moments to discuss strategy with your groups before we begin.”

They backed away, and Gregory whispered to his wives, “We should hold back the very edge of what we’re training and use only what we’ve shown so far. I know what she said, but if they’re offered enough to offset the cost, they might talk.”

“No. They always hold to the letter of their contracts,” Yukiko told him. “We should hold back today, but if it was Gin or Dia who set this up, I’m sure the contract will be solid.”

“I think Yuki is right,” Jenn agreed.

Gregory nodded. “Okay, so how are we going to tackle this?”

“We don’t know what their magic is,” Jenn said, “besides Vemril’s. This first match will be the toughest because of that.”

“They know what we were able to do in the tournaments,” Yukiko said. “They won’t be surprised by shadow leap or entanglement. Do we go all out here, or do we just use this match for recon?”

“Recon, but try to win,” Gregory said. “Vemril will come for me, and I should be able to hold her off. The other three might try to tie you both up. If they do, Yuki, leap behind Vemril and take her down. That’ll leave you alone, Jenn, but if you go for speed, you can probably handle them until we can get back to you.”

“Why do you think she’ll