Elio woke up early, but remembered that the Academy gave them an exam leave. He sighed– this was the first time he woke up this early. Suddenly he recalled the promise he made to himself.

  He got out of the bed and started stretching. He trained his legs and went straight to the punching bag in the corner of his room. He taped his fists which were filled with bruises. Elio’s knuckles in the past few years became dark and thick – skin around it hardened. The sound of his punches echoed in the entire hallway.

  His landlord, who stayed a floor below him, got annoyed by this. He never liked Elio in the first place. Whenever Elio used to train, the entire building used to tremble.The building was old and mostly made up of wood.

  The landlord with his long wooden staff, which he used to walk on, tapped on the ceiling. “I wanted to enjoy my life after retirement. I am old now let me rest you fool.”

  → After a few hours.

  Nulifer came with Elio’s monthly budget. She knocked on the door and entered.

  “Here! Take this.” She said by giving out some money wrapped in a paper.

  “Thanks.” Elio said, his head down.

  Nulifer looked stunning with her hair tied up in a bun, long eyelashes complimented her deep blue eyes. She always had a smile on her face, even though she went through difficult conditions. She consistently smiled.

  Elio always used to get ashamed whenever Nulifer came and gave him some bills. He felt awkward around her, he wanted to be independent. He was unable to land on any part-time jobs because of his reputation in the city.

  It got quieter, he assumed that a small talk can make the air a little bit lighter. “You came early this month.” Elio asked, forcing a smile on his face.

  Nulifer brushed her hair and smiled. “Yeah! Well I got a promotion as a private guard for an official. For that I added some extra money. Go treat yourself, and don’t be ashamed everytime I walk in.”

  Elio got more embarrassed and started to walk away from her.

  “Oh! All the best for your exams. Don’t lose your confidence, you are a great talent.” – Nulifer said, closing the door behind her.

  “Thanks..” Elio with a soft voice. “She’s already gone, isn’t she?”

  Elio’s stomach growled, and he decided to prepare some breakfast. He went outside to buy some groceries. Also, he wanted to treat himself today. He thought of buying some expensive meat with the extra money that Nulifer gave him.

  → After a long hour of shopping for groceries.

  Elio was exhausted from the heat, the sun was shining bright today with no clouds at all. Sometimes Elio hated the sun, six months was a very long time for him to wait for chilly weather.

  Elio walked down the pavement, his hands full with groceries and mind jammed with thoughts. “It’s time for the meat now, I should go and try that new shop. They may give me a discount.”

  He advanced towards the shop which was at a distance. He was drenched in sweat.

  Just then, a man with a gravelly voice called out Elio. “Hey you boy!”

  Elio looked towards the sound, with a confused look, Elio pointed towards himself. “Me?”

  The man rubbed his hands –-had a mischief and witty smile on his face. “Yes, you want to buy some weapons?.”

  “No thanks.” Elio replied without looking towards the man and kept walking straight.

  “You have a good physique, a sword can help you achieve more greatness. Lucky you! It’s already on sale. Just have a look.” – The shopkeeper continued.

  “Yeah! You have to try way harder, no one can fool me now. I have been through this a hundred-times.” Elio thought, as a proud smile appeared on his face. “I have been tricked so many times that I can sense when someone is making a fool out of me.”

  “This sword can block and deflect magic also!” – The shopkeeper shouted.

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  Just then something struck Elio’s mind. His eyes wide open, he froze where he was. He gulped down a large spit down his throat. “Can it block and deflect magic?!” ELio asked, his eyes filled with curiosity and hope.

  The shopkeeper smiled within. “Yes! Yes! Of Course. Why should I lie to you child?”

  “A weapon, a sword”, he thought. “I have confidence in my physical abilities. But, the students would use magic in the exam. A sword can help me boost my combat skills.”

  “Great! There goes my fancy dinner,” Elio sighed. He approached the shop.

  The shopkeeper’s smile widened. “Have a look at this sword, it is said to have fought great battles. It is only for thirty–mudras.”

  “Why so low? This looks like a fine katana.” Elio enquired.

  The shopkeeper with a mischievous expression. “Consider yourself lucky, this sword is said to have the blood of many warriors.”

  Elio picked up the sword, his mind crowded with thoughts. He felt a connection when he held it. “This feels like a part of me.” Elio swung the sword, “this is light too, but seems very strong.”

  “But, thirty-mudras for this? What about my dinner?” The conflict in his head made him lose concentration as he dropped the sword.

  “Swooosh…”

  The sword dropped as it scratched Elio’s palm who tried to catch the sword. “Damn this thing is sharp,” Elio said, sucking the part of his hand which bled.

  “I’ll give twenty-five-mudras. I don’t have much.” – Elio offered a price to the shopkeeper.

  “Deal it is, trust me you’ll never complain about this.” – The shopkeeper rubbed his hands and was filled with joy.

  Elio handed him the money, and took the sword. He turned and walked straight towards his home.

  The shopkeeper smiled as he quickly started packing his belongings.“Finally, I got rid of that cursed sword. Also, twenty–five mudras for that piece of junk; lucky me.”

  Elio reached his home and started preparing his dinner. His eyes unfixed, he kept looking at the sword. “I have a feeling, this sword is going to be very advantageous for me.” He poured the soup in a bowl and took out the dumplings he bought with the remaining five mudras.

  → Few days later

  Elio trained with his new katana everyday. He added special sword training routines. He started combining his physical abilities with the weapon; there was a drastic change in his fighting style.

  Elio practiced with his katana, he positioned the sword above his head, holding it from both hands and swinging as hard as he could. His shoulders started hurting with the continuous exhaustion they faced. “I feel very accustomed to the sword. It felt very natural from the day I touched it. With some work, I can do wonders.”

  After a while Elio weary dropped on the floor. “No doubt, it is a good weapon. But, will it block and defend magic?” Elio thought while he kept staring at the damaged ceiling of his room.

  Just then a thought struck his mind, he got up and screamed, “I should test it!”.

  He took the sword and went outside. He searched for people who used to bully him, but he was not able to find anyone. “Come on, where are you Asher when I need you. Bully me, you junk near the trash can.”

  He dashed in search of someone who could use magic against him.

  Elio was not able to find anyone at that hour of day. Elio’s energy was completely drained, so he decided to go to a cafe. “Some of the students from the academy visit this place. I might find someone to spar with.”

  Elio entered the cafe. “Splendid! No one’s here.”

  There was no one in the cafe except a woman– who worked there, her face covered with a mask. She wore a cap, with the shop name engraved on it. Elio could see her eyes smile, as he entered the cafe. “What would you like to have sir?” She asked with a soft voice.

  Elio got closer, he saw the badge on the woman's chest. “Raven”, Elio gazed at the woman's dark eyes which felt like a void.

  For a moment there was complete silence, the woman waited for Elio to say something. “Stop staring already! Maybe I should break the ice.” She showed the menu to Elio. “Sir! May I help you with the menu?”

  Elio snapped and cleared his throat. “Miss. Raven tell me why’s the cafe so quiet today?”

  Elio could see the woman’s eyes roll. “Sir, it’s 2 in the morning. No one drinks coffee at this hour.”

  “Fine, let me have a regular coffee.” Elio sighed. He turned to find a place to sit.

  “I am tired, I shouldn’t have sprinted all across the city.” Elio thought as he yawned. “I need some rest, nowadays I work out a lot.” Elio sipped his coffee slowly and went through some headlines in the newspaper.

  Suddenly the cafe door opened wide. Three people, two men and a woman entered. All three of them approached the counter. All three of them were covering themselves with a black robe and a mask on their face.

  All three of them started discussing the order, the cashier oblivious of the danger around her. She was genuinely helping her customers. “Ma’am you all could try these, it comes with a complimentary cookie.”

  Elio gave a side eye to the cashier. “Wait they are getting a complimentary cookie, she never mentioned such a deal to me how ignorant.”

  But from their behaviour, they didn’t come just for a coffee but for more. One of the men kept on fidgeting with his hands, in his pocket, while the other stared down Elio.

  This made Elio conscious, he drank his coffee but now his guard went up. Elio kept a clear vision on all three of them.

  “This is fishy, who covers themselves with a robe when the fucking sun is out 24 x 7.” Elio put his newspaper down and approached for his sword.

  A man slowly approached and sat on a table adjacent to Elio. “This might get dirty. I just hope the cashier can defend herself. I don’t want to play hero here.” Elio drank a large sip of coffee, putting the cup aside.

  There was complete silence in the room.

  Just then, the woman threw away her robe. She pulled a huge bag attached to her waist. “Hey lady! It would be very co-operative of you,if you just put down all the mudras right in this bag.”

  The cashier panicked, as a blank expression could be seen in her eyes. “What! You don’t need coffee? Wait! Wait! You shouldn’t do this.” She thought with an ignorant attitude, “I might be able to talk them out of it. They shouldn’t do this. Why do I always get entangled with goofballs? Come on Raven think.”

  The man beside her, drew out his weapon. It was twin daggers. The daggers were sharp and it was enchanted with magic.

  “So, they are strong. They know how to enchant their weapons.” Elio thought, a sword inches away from his throat.

  The man beside him, pointed a sword towards him. “Don’t you dare move boy, and yes you never saw what happened.”

  Elio sighed, he reached into his pocket to put down his charge for the coffee on the table. “Are you sure you want to do this kid? Don’t move bi*ch” The man said as he moved the sword closer to his throat.

  Elio with his dark eyes looked directly into the man’s eyes. “I can sense, you don’t have any intentions to kill me.”

  Elio’s confidence startled the man. He put his sword away, and started laughing. “Hahahahaha!” Hearing the man laugh, his other two members also started laughing.

  The quiet cafe echoed with sounds of laughter.

  The man at the counter sliced the coffee brewing machine in half. Raven, now more defensive, took a step back. The sound of steam coming out of the broken machine could be heard. “What the fu*k are you doing, standing still. Put the mudras in the bag!” The woman shouted.

  The man put his hand on Elio’s shoulder and smiled with his pale yellow teeth. “Hahah! Don’t you know brat. We are the Resistance.” He punched the coffee table with his fists enchanted by magic. The table broke in two pieces. “We don’t hesitate to kill.”

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