A freshman student eagerly volunteering received amused chuckles from seniors. With barely a month of practising her element, she wasn't taken seriously by the second-year students working hard gearing up for the national competition in this dangerous sport.
"Sure. Let's see what she's got," it was their team captain, Muna, who made the call.
Injured but present to oversee and lead her teammates from the sidelines, Muna received a rebuttal from her teammates, but she was adamant. Her curiosity about Elena's abilities had been piqued since the recent incident outside the walls.
After deciding to humour her, Elena smirked as she entered the game field. The game was already lost without a player, so they planned to go easy on her and give her a chance.
Many students gathered to see what was happening at the centre of the courtyard. Maya, curious, observed closely. This was a girl who had been jumping over the rooftops earlier, after all. However, she may not fit the role a water player would have.
The game started and Elena killed it. Other players quickly realised she wasn't fooling around. Not only did she manage to stand toe-to-toe with them, but some couldn't keep up.
However, as her team gained a surprising ace for the attackers, what they lost was a dependable defence. The element of water was mainly responsible for the defence, but that wasn't Elena's style.
Despite her bombastic start, her team ended up losing because her powers were a too-foreign variable, making her teammates slip on her ice or almost lose an eye on her sharp manifestations. Elena ended up being scolded by supervisors, with serious threats to ban it altogether.
It was a spectacle while it lasted. No one had seen something like that before. And no one would until the end of the academic year. She was banned from playing again for using ice, a dangerous element for such a fast-paced game where accidents weren't uncommon.
The reaction to her performance was mixed. Some admired her, others criticized. Keith, who'd been playing on the opposing team, appeared displeased.
Maya overheard accusations of the two of them colluding to stage his team's victory with Elena sabotaging her own team. It was ridiculous, but Keith didn't like being accused of such dirty tactics.
Tachde-tu was a serious sport for Mellgrah students that can help spring them up to competent positions in the adult world. As a model student, Keith had a promising future in that field, but rumours about using underhanded methods to get himself to that position could stunt his reputation.
'Keith has it rough.'
Maya did not feel confident yet, but she decided to try out for the Tachde-tu team next year.
"I wonder if I would be even allowed to play, considering my four elements," Maya mumbled to herself.
"You alone could replace an entire half of the team," Leo chimed in. "One-woman team. Stealing victory once again," Leo began voicing in a TV commentator voice.
Maya chuckled and shushed him as she made her way toward Tanya for the end of classes. They were doing some light stretches while they waited for the courtyard to clear out.
"Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of school?" Tanya asked casually.
Maya furrowed her brow, surprised by the sudden question. "I like reading, but I haven't had time for it lately…"
"Hmm… Have you tried out writing, or something more productive? It's good to be learned, but it's better if you can turn it into money."
Maya shook her head. "I've been focusing on magic."
"Ah…" Tanya seemed lost in her thoughts for a moment.
"Why do you ask, Tanya?"
"It's not bad to start preparing you for the future early," she murmured.
"Future?"
Tanya fell silent for a moment, her gaze drifting toward the Tachde-tu players still having a heated team meeting nearby. "Maya, are you aware of why Tachde-tu players are so competitive?"
Maya glanced toward them. Never being a sports person, she couldn't tell what alluded to them. But it must be like with any other sport, right?
Seeing Maya confused, Tanya continued, "They are passionate enough to wish to break through with magic." There was a sense of dissonance in her words. "This world is small, and the world of magic is even smaller."
"Huh?"
'Mellgrah was introduced as a world of magic, why is Tanya making it a separate thing?'
"You saw at the last incident outside the walls. You had escorts, but they couldn't protect you from a magical beast. It was the students who were holding on."
Maya's eyes widened in realization, her mind racing as she connected the dots. "I did wonder why weren't they doing what you and Lady Kiana did," she murmured, feeling a sense of dread settle over her.
"It's because they couldn't. The warriors of the Night's Guard don't have a licence to use magic and—"
"Are you saying it was illegal for them to use magic against the threat?!" Maya was horrified.
'Why did they stand back? Students could have been slaughtered and they feared repercussions from the law?!'
"You need a freaking licence??"
"Sorry, it came out wrong," Tanya shook her head. "You do need a license to use magic, but rarely does any graduating student have enough magical power to apply." She struggled to explain with regret in her voice. "And not many professions have a license for magic."
Maya stared at her wide-eyed.
"Priestesses are a popular option for girls," Tanya continued. "Some specialized warriors can use magic but they are a rare breed and wouldn't be wasted on the task of standing guard around students…"
"H-how?" Maya was bewildered. Are students the only citizens who can use magic freely? "Wouldn't guards at least need magic? More than priestesses anyway."
"Would guarding truly need something as dangerous as magic to protect us? Their enemies don't use magic. Even Hunters don't use magic and they are still commendable, frighteningly so… Well… were," she progressively got pensive. "Before they fell, that is…"
Maya's thoughts swirled with confusion.
"The students who participated in the relay race finale are who will most likely be the only ones who will be able to utilize their magic to some degree by the time they graduate," Tanya continued, her voice tinged with resignation. "You know, people give that roommate of yours a lot of flack, but I bet she will have the least trouble later in life."
Maya blinked in surprise, her thoughts momentarily derailed by Tanya's unexpected praise of Elena.
"Yeah. It was surprising she could already play as a freshman," Maya murmured, feeling a pang of jealousy at the thought of Elena's success.
"No, I don't mean her magic."
"You don't?"
"I don't know if it's by accident or if she is astute…"
'Astute?! Elena? Funny hearing that about the student who recently achieved a failing grade at Potions, the easiest subject of the first trimester.'
"I mean, taking commissions, investing in her art skills… She's already making money."
"Ah… So you mean she will have something to go back to if she fails at magic?"
"Yes. You can use her forward-thinking as a model."
Maya didn't know what to say. The reasons why Elena seems 'forward-thinking' are entirely selfish and without too much forethought. At times it felt like she was just acting according to her whims.
Although Maya was surprised to learn Elena had joined Warrior's Practice with some further goal in mind. But they were talking about the girl who doesn't mind hurting her own body because she doesn't expect to live for too long. Isn't it ridiculous that such a person has a prospective future?
"Magic will get you nowhere," Tanya stated with regret.
Maya was confounded. Tanya was already hinting toward that conclusion, but Maya didn't think it would relate to her. To her, magic is, and has to be, the most important thing in the world.
Somehow, she remembered what the Headmistress said about Tanya and her opinions…
"Isn't the whole point of this world to have magic?"
"Maya, when you are asked to choose subjects in the future, if there's anything non-magic related that you have an interest in or are good at, pick it over any sparkling magical one. That's what you are going to use later in life."
"B-but—"
"It doesn't matter if you are good at Potions or Spells, the best thing that can get you is to be a collector of spells or recipes you aren't even allowed to use. All magical fields are strictly regulated, and the licences required for them would constrict you more than serve you. You will hardly be able to make a career out of it… I'm not just talking out of my ass. I know from seeing my generation dealing with those challenges."
Tanya was a fourth-year student. They were basically already considered graduates. It meant they were released to the world a couple of months back. Whether they applied for apprenticeship or started working, they must have a grasp on the world by now.
"The top students are struggling now, unable to find suitable careers that would allow them magic licences, while the ones who didn't have much academic success and were struggling to keep above the line not to end up in the Slums are now joining the fashion industry, opening their own breweries, and becoming successful."
Maya thought about many possible jobs that could use magic in optimising or replacing something that wasn't easily available in this world. But are they all just workers in factories, miners, and labourers?
"I am only riding a fortune brought by my peers' deaths to postpone the misery that would await me otherwise. I will likely be offered a job as a supervisor here, making me, within my generation, probably the only one who gets to use magic in her job and not despise it. And it's to teach the new generations something they will not have use for in the near future…"
Maya was completely stunned by this monologue.
'I can't give up magic. I have to save the world.'
If Anastasia herself was communicating with her, she had a future for her magic, yet.