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

“Because of the look in her eyes when she spoke of foresight,” Gregory said.

“She’s focused on him right now,” Yukiko agreed.

“Are you ready?” Gin asked both groups.

Sharing a look, they nodded and turned back to face Gin and their opponents. “We are,” Yukiko said.

“We are,” Vemril said.

“Very well. Bow to the audience,” Gin commanded.

All seven combatants moved in near unison to face the small crowd and bowed. Once they had, they faced Gin and bowed, then bowed to each other. Gin backed well up before he called on them to fight.

Gregory was already using foresight when the fight began, and called out to the other two, “Back left is fire, back right is wind!” That was all he managed to get out before he had to bring the naginata around defensively, as Vemril was nearly on him.

Yukiko dodged to the left and Jenn to the right, both of them just being missed by the fire and wind magics thrown by two of the opposing four. The fourth opponent merely stood still, watching the fight.

The clack-clack of the wooden training weapons came fast as Gregory and Vemril clashed. She had greater strength and speed because of her magic and level of body path cultivating, but Gregory managed to keep up with her. He was entirely focused on Vemril, needing everything he had to deflect and push her attacks away, as a solid connection might snap his naginata.

Yukiko called out to Jenn, “I need two seconds, Jenn!”

“Okay!” Jenn called back, her legs becoming engulfed in blue flames. Her body blurred as she streaked toward the three not fighting Gregory.

“Jenn, right!” Gregory screamed when his foresight told him what was about to happen.

Jenn did as he commanded, more on reflex to his tone than anything else. As she pivoted away from her line of attack, she still caught the edge of the force wall that’d sprung up and was sent sprawling. She went into a roll to regain her footing, and both the fire and wind magi turned to focus on her. Yukiko took that second to let the shadows swallow her.

Jenn figured she had at least one attack coming her way so, as she rolled, she planted a flame-covered hand and used it to spring her up into a twisting flight. She watched the fire and wind connect and become a small firestorm where she would’ve been.

“Behind!” the force magi yelled to Vemril. Thinking Yukiko was going to come up behind her, he put up a shield there to block an attack. He grunted when a wooden blade hit him in the back of the neck.

“Yes, behind,” Yukiko said as she let the shadows swallow her again.

“Out,” Gin said calmly, watching his students.

The magi Yukiko had attacked raised his hand and started for the far tunnel.

Vemril, hearing the call, grimaced. “That was not what I expected.”

Gregory didn’t reply as he looked for a way to beat Vemril. He was technically better with a weapon, but she was burning her aether fast to compensate. I guess I can just outlast her?

Yukiko had gone from behind the force magi to all the way behind Gin. She was glad she had— all of the other magi lashed out behind them, and even Vemril gave a kick backward. That moment of uncertainty and distraction allowed Jenn to close in on the wind magi.

That instant opened Yukiko’s and Jenn’s eyes. As the fire magi threw a ball of fire at the wind magi’s back, Jenn saw it coming and grabbed the wind magi, intent on using him as a shield. The wind magi smiled as he held her firm. The fireball split around him, engulfing Jenn.

Jenn smiled back, as the fire had only lightly singed her. She snapped her head forward and plastered the wind magi’s nose to his cheek. The wind magi let go of her as his eyes watered and his knees wobbled. Jenn used that to slam the man over her hip and to the ground before tapping his head with the training blade.

“Out!” Gin called.

The fire magi was shocked that his spell had done nothing to Jenn. He had dampened it down to mid-apprentice level, but it should have at least covered her with light burns. His shock over Jenn being mostly unaffected was trumped a moment later when Yukiko tapped his neck.

“Out,” Gin called with a hint of pride in his voice.

Vemril’s eyes went wide as she heard her helpers called out in rapid succession. “Out!” she called.

“Very well,” Gin agreed. “Match to Aether’s Guard.”

Yukiko let go of the shadows holding Vemril and hurried over to where Jenn was.

Vemril turned to her men, finding one of them down on his knees, holding his bleeding nose, and the other two not meeting her eyes. “What in Aether’s name happened?”

Mindie was rushing out to heal those who’d been injured.

“I’ll recount the fight, and we can pause to answer any questions as they come up,” Gin said, coming over to join them.

“I got caught up thinking they would take you out first, because taking a leader can demoralize a unit,” the force magi said. “I won’t be blindsided like that again.”

“She survived my flames...” the fire magi said, looking at Jenn. “How? I know they were weak, but you should at least have burns.”

Jenn nodded and let him see the small blisters that she had here and there. “I am burned, just not as badly as it could have been. This training will be expensive if I have to use my enchanted items, though.”

Gin nodded slowly. “Hmm... Yes, there is that. Are your four equipped?” he asked Vemril.

“A ring and necklace each,” Vemril said. “That is what most of the apprentices might have, outside of the merchant clans and the