Chương 25: Good odds

Ch 25: Good odds Felix checked to make sure none of his private parts were hanging out of the island clothes, then pulled open the door to Cici's room. He found a very sweaty, wide-eyed Silas.

"Alright, kid, calm down, and define monster, because…"

"Hurry!" Silas took off at a sprint. Felix didn't know what else to do but follow. They raced through the quiet halls of the three level resident building, dropping down the stairs a couple steps at a time. Felix could hear plenty of noise outside, maybe people shouting—but that wasn't so strange. It was a busy place. There were always students talking or laughing or shouting at each other. But when he and Silas reached the main door that led to the square, his blood ran cold.

There were people huddled inside staring out windows with terrified expressions. One kid had a bloody arm and what looked like claw marks. Felix was about to snake through and open the doors when he realized they were locked and barred.

"Open the doors," Silas said, a hand in his hair.

"There's more people out there. We have to help them." No one said anything. They just looked at Silas like he was a madman, then back out the windows. It didn't take much insight to see none of the terrified students were opening anything. Felix pushed past them. He ripped out the bar, and flung open the doors before anyone could do more than make inarticulate shouts of protest. A couple who'd been huddled outside ran in with mumbled thanks. Felix stepped out into the square. It looked almost empty.

A few people were scrambling down the cobblestone edges, a few others knocking at other doors and trying to get inside windows. Blood stained the grass. Some more on the stone. Felix was pretty sure he saw at least six corpses near the center. Something was eating one of them. He took a deep breath, and let the thing he was before the island take over. He didn't even have a damn knife. But he stopped and picked up the two feet of blunt iron that had been holding the doors, then walked towards the creature.

"Don't be a fool!" hissed one of the students with wide eyes and a pale face.

"Those are Asashi. Evil spirits. They can't be hurt with magic. We're helpless."

"Don't worry, I've got a club." Felix closed the door behind him, then winced as he turned and walked towards the 'spirits'. Immune to magic, eh? Joke was on them. He was still too shitty with spells to use any. But he could certainly use some magic on himself. With his newfound understanding of magic, he was still wondering how exactly he did that. Was it some kind of water or fire spell he'd just naturally understood? Was it like his fire magic's ability to just will something into existence?

That made more sense than water magic, because he'd never had to use any kind of math or mental tricks. He just pulled magic from the air and infused himself. It just worked. For the moment he stopped worrying. With deliberate steps, he closed on the furry looking humanoid eating a kid like a cob of corn. But how had this one short looking bastard managed to kill like six people? He supposed these students weren't used to violence. They felt safe here, protected.

They probably would have stood there and stared as they died.

"What's the plan?" Felix blinked as Silas jogged up beside him.

"Uh, the plan is you go back the fuck inside where you belong. Then I kill the monster."

"I'm not leaving." The young earth mage's already pale face was sickly white.

"Not until we find Lina." Well, he had some balls on him, Felix had to give him that. The kid would probably shit himself when it got nasty and be something to defend. Still, he couldn't fault him for wanting to help, or for his bravery.

"Stay behind me. You need a weapon, can you make a stick or something? They really immune to magic?" Silas shrug nodded with so much nervous energy he almost threw his back out, concentrating like he was considering a spell. Hopefully that meant he could make a spear, or something. Felix sighed and tried to tap into a little 'mana'. He was about to silently complain he wasn't at sea—that he'd have a lot more power to draw from if he could just soak up a little from the surrounding… Enjoying this book?

Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. But then he blinked, and remembered: he had his own mana. All that Lifestealer shit had been a lie. Or at least wrong. He was a god cursed wizard like all the rest of them. And he had a shitload of fire mana, right? Couldn't he just use that? Yet again he was reminded he didn't actually know what he was doing to strengthen his body. But he decided it had to be fire mana he was using—heat pulled from the air, and from himself without realizing it.

Lina had said a mage could use any kind of pool. So that meant even fire spells could be mixed with water mana, too. Right? He stared at the swirling fire in his fortress—the feeling he got almost… petulant after being punished for trying to escape with Cici.

"Stop whining," he muttered, wondering if talking to it was insane.

"I got you a release. Baby steps. Now I need some juice. So stop…" he trailed off and raised a hand to try to 'pull' a few strands of fire, just enough to… The fire surged and blew at him like a tornado. In seconds he literally felt the water mana on his front starting to evaporate and boil. He turned away, dashing through a gate and getting his back to a wall. The growing stream of magma bubbled and churned, but still couldn't do more than grow a little moat at the stone.

It wasn't pleasant, but at least he had gained plenty of mana… His skin felt hot. But his strides increased like normal, his muscles fueling with strength as he crossed the grass. The 'thing' finally took notice. It turned with cat-like eyes and a furry face full of blood, growling as Felix approached.

"Very bad kitty." He slapped his hand with the metal rod, which he now realized was glowing from heat. How the hell did that happen? He glanced at it, then saw movement in the corner of his eye. The furry killer moved like a cat, too. It turned and bolted straight for him, from a kneel to a sprint on all fours in a damn blink. He swung on instinct. The creature came straight on without any thought of self-preservation. Maybe it was used to being so fast its opponent didn't react in time.

Felix's metal rod collided straight into the front of its skull. The sound of iron cracking bone echoed around the square. The creature's momentum rammed it straight into his legs, but it instantly dropped down in a broken heap and twitched with a disgusting moan. Felix kicked it away and shook his rod hand. The violence of the impact had made his fingers numb. He turned back to Silas.

"If there's really 'immune to magic' creatures running around, you boys need some weapons. And how the hell did something like this just wander in here like it…oh." He now noticed a dark circle on the wall on the far side of the square. He was about to ask Silas if a fancy earth mage like him could patch it when another cat creature squeezed through the narrow hole. And then another. And then another.

"Get the guards." Felix's mind moved to a deadlier speed, a sense of calm settling in.

"Get the king. Anyone who can fight. Now Silas, go!" The three cat-men loped across the grass, chittering and yipping like dogs talking to birds. Fighting three things that fast and deadly was no joke. There was a very real possibility Felix was going to die. It was almost like being back home. He'd been mentally prepared for death since he was a boy, and felt no fear. Only the same heat flowing through him, his enhanced body moving with a familiar, brutal power. He was ready.

The cat-men separated and spread apart, clearly intending to surround him. Again he got the feeling they were used to being faster than their prey—having all the time in the world to choose their moment. Felix kept his movements slow, like he was uncertain, afraid. Then he picked the prick on the left, and charged. It bolted but soon discovered the stone wall of the student building. It turned and glared with a hiss, clearly surprised how fast he was coming and realizing it didn't have room to escape.

It pretended to try and run, then bared its fangs and leapt straight at him. He swung too slow. He was forced to grab the thing's neck with his other hand, carrying it forward as it raked his arm with its claws. Together they smashed into the building right next to the door. Felix hammered it head first into the wall with enough force to crush a man's ribs. He saw a dozen wide-eyed teachers and students staring as stone and glass shattered against the creature's skull.

"Don't mind us," he muttered, squeezing the life out of the little bastard. Its eyes rolled back as its limbs slackened, but his intuition screamed danger. He spun and used the cat as a shield as number two came scrambling in. The second cat-man bounced off its friend with an angry hiss, up and attacking with lightning reflexes. Felix kept his hold on the first until he felt its neck crack. Then he tossed it left and swerved right, guessing correctly as the second cat-man dodged straight into his stick.

He hit its shoulder with another snap of bone, the thing snarling in pain as it dropped and rolled then hobbled away. The third stopped and crouched, not sure it wanted to try its luck. Felix's arms were throbbing. He could see claw marks on his forearms dripping with blood. They looked shallow, but time wasn't on his side. He walked towards the third creature, ready to charge whichever way it ran. The little hole in the back wall made a cracking sound as something smashed against its edge.

Stone blew off in chunks before several other creatures came pouring inside. There were two or three cats. What looked like a walking statue with two swords. Oh, and maybe an ogre. With wings. Felix sighed and looked at the statue-man, figuring maybe he could break those swords off. If he survived that long. And were these things all immune to magic? Couldn't the giant school of mages at this point maybe … The House Amadi door cracked open, and High Wizard Hasha came barreling outside. Without pants.

His face was red. His gut was poking through a missing button on his shirt. And he was holding what looked like a giant bucket.

"What is this outrage!" he roared. A blue swirling aura of power surrounded him, half a dozen others coming up behind. More doors flew open around the square. Felix grinned when he saw Isavey. She came from the palace with Silas and a handful of guards looking as beautiful as ever. She met his eyes and inspected his wounded arms, all concern and everything a man could want. He tried not to get too distracted. And apparently the odds had improved. But he was still getting that statue's fucking swords.

He flicked some cat-teeth off his door bar, and started walking.