“Do you think Octavia is going to do something reckless?” Julia asked as she held her tower shield and gazed at the direction the rogue had ran.

  Derrick stared into the forest, barely able to discern what was happening through the cluster of trees. His jaw clenched as the copper smell seeped into his nose. “More than likely. She’s going to see an opening and take it, if I know her well enough.” The man’s eye wandered from the blood filled plains, and towards Julia’s face. She was beautiful in his eyes, almost heartbreakingly so. However, It was something that he couldn’t admit. He cherished her friendship and couldn’t bear to lose it.

  “I’m worried about her. She seems different.” The corner of her lip trembled slightly as she stood next to Derrick.

  “This system has changed all of us. But people like her are going to be the most affected.” A sigh left Derrick’s lips before he brought his hand up, running his fingers over his short hair. He knew the fundamental truth of who Octavia was. Derrick was no different. Both of them were on the same path in life, yet they began in different areas.

  Octavia was a driven woman with a father who had a death grip on the conglomerate he built from the ground up. She would embody that, but with this system, it opened up another path to be taken. One that was focused on pure self growth, and for someone like Octavia that meant the sky was the limit.

  Derrick was no different, and he knew that. His parents may have lacked the pedigree that Octavia’s did, but they treated him no different. It was the desire for a better life that drove his parents, and one that pushed him forward. His children didn’t need to suffer as he had.

  “Yeah, I understand that. I suppose we all tread a thin line.” Julia’s eyes narrowed as she stepped back into the underbrush. “I refuse to fall behind. We have to come out of this as strong as we can.”

  “That we do Jules, that we do.” A cruel grin crossed Derrick’s face as he brandished his wand. “Should we go hunting? Something tells me Octavia is going to solve this on her own, so we might as well get something out of it.”

  “Aren’t we going to wait for Octavia?” The woman whipped her head around at Derrick, who was already diving back into the forest.

  “No need. She will find us I’m sure. Come Julia! Let’s find something to kill.” Derrick chuckled as he pushed his way through the bushes. His blue robe easily blocked the sticking prods of thorns and branches. Just like Octavia, this was a new chance at life, and he would take it by its throat.. He loved his parents and what they taught him, but this new life would be his own doing.

  “Ugh Derrick.” Julia struggled through the underbrush, the branches cracking against her shield.

  A grin crossed the man’s face as he plunged deeper into the forest. Truly, he understood what his best friend felt. Here, he felt free, and like his life was truly his own to control. The man clenched the handle of his wand, and his mind wandered as his eyes took in the forest. He felt like a bomb on the verge of exploding, not from wrath, but from excitement. All his childhood dreams sat on the tips of his fingers, and he would be damned if he couldn’t experience them.

  “Derrick, wait up!” Julia called out to him as he plunged deeper into the forest.

  “Well, hurry, then slow poke.” The mage stepped through another set of bushes and came into a tiny clearing that was ten meters across. Small boulders dotted the clearing. A small sea of grass covered the ground, and in the middle of the clearing sat a giant squirrel with brown, dotted fur. Its black eyes were glazed over with a strange blood red tinge. Its teeth clicked against each other with a clatter that filled the clearing and underscored the distant sounds of fighting. The creature whipped its head towards Derrick as he stepped into the clearing. A low growl escaping through its lips as the hair on its back stiffened.

  Its brown lips peeled back, revealing a row of jagged white teeth, stained red with blood and chunks of flesh.Derrick grinned as he brought his wand to bear, pointing the wooden tip at the squirrel. Growing up, Harry Potter had been one of his favorite series, though he found himself not as fond of the movies. The man knew that it was what drove him to pick a wand. Perhaps one day, he too could cast spells like they did. But for now, he was content with the hydro blast spell.

  The mage flicked the wand and felt the familiar tug of mana as it rushed from his chest. It flowed down his arm and focused through the wooden medium. Water appeared in the air, light coruscated across the rapidly forming ball, and with another flick of his wrist, a small stream no larger than the size of his wrist shot out. Water slammed into the giant squirrel, pushing it back and drenching the ground. The creature hissed as it rolled before coming to a stop.

  Julia, cursing, finally broke through the underbrush and rushed over to the mage. No words were spoken between the two as she brought her tower shield to bear, placing herself between the man and animal.

  In a flash, the giant squirrel shot up, gliding over the ground, only for Julia to step in front of Derrick ,slamming the tower shield into the giant squirrel. The tank swore, as she brought her sword up, sending it forward in tight jabs. Sparks flew as the beast’s claws scrambled at metal’s surface.

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  The mage, seeing his chance, stepped around the tank and mentally cast his spell once more. Another stream of water shot out, slamming into the monster’s furred flank, sending it sprawling. Water turned red as it rushed around the squirrel before flowing into the ground. A weak mew escaped from the creature’s lips as it tried to stand. The dirt under it became wet with the blood pouring out of the rodent.

  “Hold its attention Julia! I’ll keep slinging magic at it!” Derrick laughed as he flourished his wand, and used [Hydro Blast] once more. In this moment, he felt like one of his favorite characters, with his wand resting loosely on his fingertips, almost dangling as he brought his arm around in a wide circle around him

  Another [Hydro Blast] sucked away more mana from his chest as the spell formed at the tip of the wand. The magic felt cool, and it flowed gently through his veins. The magic felt right, as if it was a part of his very being. It was a sensation that Derrick had no words for, yet it brought nothing but comfort. Another jet of water ripped through the air, cutting through fur and forcing the giant squirrel back into the growing mud pit.

  Derrick drew on his mana reserves again as he advanced, carefully analyzing how the mana flowed through him. It came from the center of his chest and flowed through what seemed like channels carved into his body. He wanted to explore the world of magic, and how it operated. He wanted to dive into the depths of it all, and wield with the ease all of those wizards and mages did. In this moment, he did feel like all of his favorite book characters, and it gave him life.

  The squirrel screamed in agony as it skirted out of the range of the skill, and rushed towards the mage once again. With fury in its eyes the giant squirrel lunged barring its white fangs at the man. Derrick stepped back allowing Julia to step in front of him with her tower shield. The beast’s eyes widened, unable to arrest its momentum as the woman slammed her shield into the creature's face with a sickening crunch.

  “Thanks for the save, Jules.” Derrick huffed as he took a deep breath. His heart raced like a runaway train as a distant headache pounded the back of his head.

  “No problem! Say Derrick, what made you want to become a mage, anyway?” The woman frowned as she saw the blood trail dripping down the front of her slate grey shield.

  “That’s a long story. Though if I tell you, you can’t tell Octavia, otherwise, she will not let me live it down.” The man placed his wand back into his oversized sleeves and stepped towards the corpse of the giant squirrel. Butchering the thing was going to be frustrating with Julia’s sword. The thing was sharp, but it was just too unwieldy.

  “I promise. I know how she can be.” Julia giggled nervously as her eyes stayed glued on the shield. “Hey, do you mind using your hydro blast on my shield to clean off some of this blood? I don’t enjoy watching the blood trickle down the front of my shield.”

  “Sure.” Without a second glance, Derrick drew his wand and used his [Hydroblast] skill. It slammed into the shield, quickly cutting through the built up blood and dirt on the shield. As the water sprayed into the air, sunlight cut through it, and formed a strange rainbow that hovered in the air for a few scant seconds.

  “Thanks. Anyway, tell me more!” She waved her tower shield, forcing the water to drip down to its edge.

  “Not much to it, really. I read a lot of Harry Potter growing up. Not to mention a few other popular fantasy novels at the time. So it was as much an escape from reality as it was a dream.” He shrugged as he deposited the wand back into its home. “Not much else really to talk about there.”

  “Mm. Who was your favorite character?” Julia’s eyes took on that distinctive glimmer whenever she fell into a topic she was passionate about. It was something that caused the man’s heart to leap up to his throat. She was just so beautiful, and it drove him crazy.

  “A few actually, Snape and Grindalwald were my favorites, but there was really none that I would go crazy over..” He shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.

  “I see interesting picks.” She brought a hand up to her face just under her chin and nodded her head. “Snape wasn’t bad. I liked him more in the books, though. I’d have to say Dumbledore was one of my favorites. He was playing the long game, though, so I can respect that.”

  “Anyway, enough about that. Let’s get this squirrel cleaned up. Knowing Octavia, she will either be finished with whatever she was doing, or trying to find us.” Derrick walked over to the dead creature, his feet popping as he moved through the mud with wet squelching.

  As soon as the words left his lips, a pulse rustled the trees, and the pungent scent of blood faded.

  The two friends shared a glance, before shaking their heads. Words didn’t need to be shared between them as they both already had a feeling Octavia would have done something like this.

  “Welp, that's one thing done I guess.” Derrick grabbed the scruff of the dead’s squirrel's neck, dragging it through the mud, and towards a small cluster of rocks near the forest’s edge. He guessed he should be bothered, but that's par for the course with that woman. If she was capable of doing it on her own, she would. If it was too much she’d come ask for help. He had nothing but faith in Octavia, and he knew she'd be okay.

  “Should we move on and meet back up with Octavia?” Julia put her shield against a nearby tree before scurrying over to help Derrick move the dead creature towards a dryer spot of land.

  “Nah, she will find us the woman is a blood hound when she wants to be. Besides, it gives us a chance to settle in and get this thing cooking.”