Final Practical Match
2109 Words
They needed to reach the embassy before night deepened. The road ahead stretched long and uneven, cutting through sparse woodland and open fields. The capital’s outer district was still a good distance away. If they walked normally, it would take hours.
He didn’t want to linger in this territory longer than necessary.
Luckily, he still had a few spells left in his arsenal.
Not the destructive kind. Just the quiet ones.
“Why are you so lost in thought?” Her voice broke through his calculations.
“It’s nothing,” he replied. “Are you ready to keep going?”
“Yeah. But where are we going?”
“To the embassy. So you can go home quicker and safer.”
“Okay!”
He crouched slightly in front of her.
“Jump on my back. We’ll go there through the wind.”
“Hushes!”
He inhaled slowly and the air around them started to converge at his feet.
It wasn’t flashy. No swirling vortex or roaring currents. The wind simply bent, subtly adjusting itself around his body. Essence gathered around his feet and shoulders like an invisible mantle.
In a way, they started to fly through the sky with his spell.
“Are you not going to ask me anything?” she asked, her voice slightly muffled by the rushing air.
“I’m not interested in prying into other people’s matters,” he said evenly. “Unless you want to talk about something, I’ll just stay quiet.”
There was hesitation in her grip. “We came to this country because my big sister is getting married to this nation’s prince.”
He didn’t respond immediately.
Arranged marriage? A political move, most likely.
“Congratulations on the wedding, I guess?”
“I wish I could say the same to my sis,” she said quietly.
“She had this sad look on her face during our whole trip. Then out of nowhere I’m kidn*pped and they’re probably all worried until now.”
Her fingers tightened around his shoulders.
“Don’t cry,” he said. “Everything will be alright. I’ll take you to them safely. Trust me.”
“Yeah.” A pause.
“But um… are you not interested in helping my sis get out of this pinch?”
He slowed slightly.
“The way I’m seeing things,” he replied, “that’s not a simple pinch.”
Politics are knots that you can just unty with strength alone. There were treaties. Military leverage. Economic exchange. Influence.
Both sides must have something to gain. Not that it concerns me.
“Understood,” she muttered. “It was stupid of me to ask you for help on something that big anyway.”
“It’s alright.”
In the distance, tall white walls came into view. Guard towers stood at each corner, flags fluttering with the emblem of the nation they're currently in — Formyra.
“We’re here.” He lowered her gently. Before approaching the gates, he expanded his senses.
Essence spread outward in thin threads, barely noticeable.
Six presences.
They're armed with weapons. And also their breathing... it's relaxed.
“I can sense the six of you there,” he called out calmly. “Relax. I’m just here to bring little miss back to her family.”
There was a brief silence. Then laughter echoed from above the walls.
“Hahaha! Magnificent. Your sensory skills are excellent. You can even tell how many guards we have on standby.”
The gates opened. “Come on in. Your family has been worried about you.”
She turned to him. “You’re not going with me?”
“You’re already safe here,” he said. “You can go to them on your own.”
“…See you around?”
“See you.”
He didn’t wait for her to say more. He walked away before the gates fully closed.
Now I need to return to Arvalon by tomorrow morning. Even with Hushes, it would take hours.
He looked up at the darkening sky.
“…Guess it won’t hurt to go beyond for a little bit.”
He stood still.
Then quietly—
“Second Astral Seal: Release.”
The air changed. It didn’t explode outward. It compressed. The ground beneath him cracked in thin lines.
Nearby grass flattened under pressure. Essence surged upward like a pillar but remained tightly restrained within a limited radius.
Even with his restraint, the output was heavy.
Tch.
Even while holding back, this much leaks out.
His breathing steadied.
I need to tether my own essence better.
“Return.”
The pressure collapsed inward instantly. The cracks stopped spreading. Wind returned to normal.
“Finally home again,” he muttered after stepping through space in a compressed blink of distance. “That was quite the journey.”
But he knew. Someone sensitive enough would have felt it. And that might become troublesome.
“Time to sleep.”
Inside the embassy, tension melted into relief. Her older sister stepped forward immediately, pulling her into a tight embrace.
“You’re safe…”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to worry you!”
Their parents approached, controlled but visibly shaken.
She recalled what she experienced to her parents and her older sister. Starting from when she was kidn*pped and when she woke up being carried by the young Shueen.
“So it was a young man who saved you,” her father said. “He must be strong to defeat bandits in foreign territory.”
“Yeah! Too bad he didn’t come in. He rescued me but… his eyes were kind of indifferent.”
“So an indifferent man saved someone,” her sister said faintly. “That’s ironic.”
“Who is he? Where is that person?” her mother asked.
“He escorted me to the gate and left immediately.”
“He didn’t even try to introduce himself? Surely he recognized the necklace you’re wearing.” The girl shook her head.
“Looks like not. I even asked him about helping you get out of the arranged marriage, and he looked like he couldn’t care less.”
Her sister sighed softly. “I can’t believe you’d even ask a stranger something like that. But I understand.”
“Big sis…”
“Still, this marriage must proceed,” her sister said, her tone firm but tired. “Otherwise, the royal family will collapse.”
“I’m sorry for making you carry that burden,” their mother whispered.
“It’s alright,” she replied. “I’m doing this for our nation.”
Then—
The air trembled.
All three of them stiffened.
“That sudden pulse…”
“You felt it too?”
“Yes.”
“That amplification… If it came from a human, that’s arcanist-level essence.”
“And it vanished after about three seconds.”
Silence fell.
“You said he left right when he brought you here, correct?”
“Yes!”
“Could it be him…?”
“That’s impossible,” she insisted. “He didn’t radiate that much essence when we were together.”
Her sister narrowed her eyes slightly. “Enough about that man. If fate allows, we will thank him properly.”
But the thought lingered. Shuuen didn’t sleep well. He kept thinking about the recurring dream.
Just who are you?
Morning light cut through his window.
“Why do you seem so lost in thought, Shuuen?”
“I didn’t get enough sleep.”
“That dream again?”
“Yeah. It’s happening more often.”
“That’s troublesome. Good thing today’s test is chanting.”
“Oh right. I wanted to ask something.”
“What is it?”
“The Arvalon Royal Family. Do they only have two daughters?”
His classmate raised an eyebrow. “What made you curious about them?”
“No reason.”
“They have three children. The prince is the eldest. He’s currently exploring the Kunlun Mountains.”
“The place with high Eos concentration?”
“Yeah. But recently, Nyxus surges were reported at the base. Strange timing.” Shuuen listened quietly.
Could going there help solve their family crisis?
“The youngest daughter stays at the palace. The middle child attends this academy.”
“I never noticed.”
“Because you’re always detached from everything.”
He glanced ahead. “There’s a white-haired girl wearing the Arvalon emblem as a bracelet.”
“…You got that right.”
“That’s Sora Dryadell. Second to the throne.”
“So that’s her.”
“Don’t tell me you’re interested.”
“No.”
The bell rang. The training grounds were wide and flat, reinforced by barrier formations etched beneath the soil.
Students gathered in a circle.
“Glad you’re back, Shuuen,” the instructor said. “You returned just in time for your final practical.”
“Thank you for excusing me yesterday.”
“You’ll go first. Your opponent is…”
“Sora.”
Murmurs spread as she stepped forward calmly.
“Nice to meet you. Let’s have a good fight.”
He studied her stance.
Balanced.
Composed.
“Begin.”
For a brief second, neither moved.
Then—
“Sprouting roots, entangle.”
Sora’s essence sank into the ground before erupting outward. Vines burst through soil in expanding arcs, not wild but controlled, forming a tightening perimeter.
Shuuen shifted his weight. The initial speed wasn’t overwhelming. But the spread was calculated.
He exhaled.
“s***h through, wind cutter.”
Compressed blades of wind formed at his fingertips and shot forward. The first wave of vines split cleanly. But more replaced them immediately.
Sora didn’t change expression.
“It’s over now.”
Beneath the surface, something else moved.
A concealed vine, thinner and denser, shot underground toward his blind spot.
Shuuen’s gaze lowered slightly. He felt it. A disturbance.
Not loud. Just a ripple in the soil’s structure.
“Ancient land, tremble.”
The ground vibrated sharply. The hidden vine surfaced prematurely, exposed and disrupted.
A few students gasped. He sensed it?
Sora’s eyes narrowed.
Without pause, he infused essence into his fists. Nearby loosened stones lifted from the fractured ground.
He struck forward. The rocks shot toward her in staggered trajectories.
She reacted quickly. “Gusts of the heavenly sky, pierce through.”
Wind lances formed and shattered the incoming debris.
But the rhythm shifted. Her tempo broke for a fraction of a second.
That was enough.
Shuuen didn’t chase aggressively. He simply watched.
Sora straightened. “You sensed it underground, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“What gave it away?”
“A disturbance.”
There was no pride in his tone. She studied him carefully. Then—
“Teacher. I forfeit.”
The field went silent. “But your undefeated record—”
“I can’t win like this. I’m not in my rhythm.” After a moment, the instructor nodded.
“That settles it then. The winner of our first practical match for today is Shuuen.” Applause followed.
“Your senses are outstanding,” the instructor said.
“Thanks.”
Sora approached him once the instructor dismissed them.
“Would you like to be my sparring partner?”
He looked at her. “Sparring partner?”
“I want to improve my concealment,” she said. “You’re the first one who’s broken through it.”
“I think I just got lucky.”
“I don’t think so.” She held his gaze for a second longer, studying him. Then she exhaled lightly. “But I won’t force you.”
She turned, brushing dust off her sleeve. “I still have matters to attend to.”
He watched her walk away, posture straight, steps steady.
It’s probably about the arranged marriage.
Not that it concerns me.
“You bastard!”
He blinked and turned his head.
“You lucky fool!”
“What now?”
“The princess is interested in you!”
“Why should that matter?”
His friend stared at him as if he’d just said something unbelievable. “Because she’s the princess!”
“You’re simple.”
“And proud of it,” the other shot back without hesitation.
A staff member called out from the field.
“You’re up next. Go prepare.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He stretched his arms once.
“Wish me luck.”
“As if you need any more of it.”
He waved dismissively and jogged toward the arena, still muttering under his breath.
Shuuen remained where he was for a moment as Takeru turned away.
The training grounds slowly filled with noise again.
- Writer
