Seeds of Hope

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Jessika shouted, her voice carrying over the chaos of the battlefield. Without hesitation, she leapt from the walls, twin streams of fire blazing from her hands to slow her descent. As she landed next to Roman, flames still flickering from her palms, she whipped around to face him.

"How did you just do that?!" she demanded, her expression a mixture of shock and disbelief.

Roman blinked, confused, as he kicked away a small insectoid creature that had scuttled too close. "Huh? Do what?"

“That huge firestorm spell!” Jessika's arms gestured wildly as if trying to grasp the magnitude of what had just happened.

“Oh!” Roman said with a casual shrug. “I saw how effective your fireballs were and figured fire would work better than the lightning I was using. So I just… imagined the lightning as fire and, well, it did that.” He said it so nonchalantly, as though casting a mastery-level spell on instinct was the most normal thing in the world.

Jessika’s eyes widened, her frustration boiling over. "It took me six months of nonstop training to learn Fireball! And you just used the mastery version of it like it was nothing?!"

She punctuated her outburst by sending a massive fireball into an oncoming beetle, incinerating it instantly.

“I… I’m sorry?” Roman stammered, realizing too late how much he had unintentionally insulted her efforts. He glanced at the battlefield, noticing more monsters surging forward. "But I can't really chat right now—we’ve got a bet going on who can kill the most of these things." With that, he jumped away, disappearing into the fray before Jessika could shout at him further.

Jessika clenched her fists, flames sputtering from her fingertips as she fumed silently. She propelled herself back up onto the walls, using her flames to boost her jump, trying to keep her focus on the battle and not Roman’s absurd talent.

“You okay, Jessika?” Lexi asked, her voice full of concern as she watched her friend land beside her.

“No!” Jessika snapped, then quickly saw the shock on Lexi’s face and softened. “Sorry. It’s just—Roman. I don’t know whether to be amazed or furious.”

Lexi raised an eyebrow, curious. “What did he do now?”

Jessika quickly explained what had just happened, how Roman had seemingly mastered an advanced fire spell after just watching her. Sergeant Smithson, who had been standing nearby, listened in as well.

Lexi’s eyes widened as Jessika finished her story. "Wait, so he just thought about fire magic, and it worked? Is he some kind of magical genius or something?"

Smithson chuckled, shaking his head. "Not just magic. I watched him earlier when our quartermaster handed him a glaive—a weapon he said he’d never used before. Within ten minutes, he was carving through the enemy like a seasoned warrior. I’ve never seen anything like it. Whoever Roman is, I’m glad he’s on our side."

Lexi nodded, her brows furrowed in thought. "It’s like he’s able to pick up new skills instantly, whether it's magic or weapons. It’s almost… unnatural."

Jessika crossed her arms, staring down at the battlefield where Roman was still fighting, his magic flaring brightly with each strike. "That’s what worries me. He’s powerful, but he doesn’t even seem to realize how dangerous he is—or how easily he’s surpassing everyone around him."

Smithson grunted, his tone serious. "Dangerous, yes, but I’ve seen plenty of powerful men lose themselves to their own strength. Roman… seems different. He fights for all of you. That’s a good sign."

Jessika sighed, some of her frustration ebbing away. "Maybe you're right. But it doesn’t make it any less frustrating when he casually pulls off something that took me months to learn."

Lexi chuckled softly. "Don’t worry, Jess. We’ll make him work for it next time. Maybe teach him that some things do take time."

Jessika couldn’t help but smile at that. "Yeah, maybe."

Smithson, still watching Roman down below, grinned. "Until then, let’s just hope he keeps killing more of those things before they overrun us."

The sound of Roman’s laughter carried faintly on the wind as another explosion of fire erupted around him, scattering the monsters once more. Jessika shook her head, exasperated but unable to suppress the small, begrudging admiration creeping into her voice.

"Yeah," she muttered. "Let’s hope."

“I wonder if he can teach us as fast as he learns…like if his ability to just learn stuff insanely fast would translate to teaching someone else…you think or am I just being too hopeful?” Jessika asked after a bit.

“Might be too hopeful.” Lexi chuckled. “But hey let’s make sure he sticks around for a while and find out…I have a few things I want him to teach me too.”

“Oh? Like what?” Jessika asked, her voice raising in suspicion and her eyebrows lifting.

“like…what? What do you mean?” Lexi stuttered and then turned back to the wall. “Look at the size of that monster approaching!”

“Yeah, no. that’s not gonna work. What do you want him to teach you Lexi?” Jessika pushed making sugesstive faces and sounds as she leaned into the archer.

“N-nothing! I meant like stealth! You saw how he moved with Seth and we didn’t hear anything! I’ve always struggled with Stealth!” Lexi argued.

“Mmhmm, If you say so. I’ve seen the way your eyes linger on him when he isn’t looking. You’re not tricking me! But hey go for it! Stake your claim now because after this battle he is going to be famous and every lady in a hundred miles is going to be clamoring for him! Especially after the King rewards us all with titles!” Jessika said which made Lexi blush hard.

***

Roman was having the time of his life. He was just playing around with fire…which, given the circumstances, felt both exhilarating and ironic. Each time he unleashed another burst of flames, it felt like the power inside him was growing, evolving, feeding off the chaos around him. The monsters didn’t stand a chance as he swept through them, his fiery blasts reducing the beetles and insectoids to smoldering husks.

This is insane, he thought, launching another cone of flame. How is this even happening? He couldn’t quite explain it, but somehow, it felt right—like he was tapping into something deeper than just raw power. Maybe it was the world itself or something about the way the magic worked here. But whatever it was, Roman couldn’t stop the grin that stretched across his face as the monsters scattered in fear of his next attack.

He summoned another firestorm with a simple gesture, watching as the fiery vortex obliterated everything in its path. I could do this all day, he thought, feeling almost giddy with the power coursing through him.

Then, suddenly, the ground beneath him shook violently, the force sending him staggering back a few steps. A deep, guttural roar echoed across the battlefield. Roman looked up just in time to see something massive lumbering out from the heart of the horde—a creature unlike anything he had faced before.

It was enormous, towering over the other monsters, its body encased in thick, shimmering armor. Its multiple legs dug into the earth as it moved with terrifying speed. A massive, spiked tail whipped behind it, smashing through the ruins and leaving destruction in its wake. It resembled a giant, armored scorpion, but with a twisted, almost nightmarish quality to its features.

Okay… that’s new.

The smaller monsters seemed to rally behind the creature, as if emboldened by its presence. Roman felt his adrenaline spike again, but this time there was a flicker of uncertainty in his gut. This thing was far bigger, far stronger, and far more dangerous than the rest of the horde.

"Alright, let’s see what you’ve got," Roman muttered to himself, his fingers sparking with electricity as he prepared for a different approach. Fire had worked wonders so far, but something told him he’d need more than that for this beast.

He squared his shoulders, focusing on the monster as it barreled toward him. He quickly scanned its movements, searching for any weaknesses in its armor, any openings he could exploit. The creature’s front pincers clicked menacingly as it closed in, and Roman could feel the weight of its power pressing against him like a physical force.

The scorpion-like creature lunged at him, its tail arcing through the air, aiming to crush him. Roman’s reflexes kicked in, and with a quick Flash Step, he vanished from its path, reappearing several feet away. But he could feel the raw energy of the beast—its presence was overwhelming, almost suffocating.

This thing is on a whole different level. Roman could see that brute force wouldn’t be enough here. He needed to be smarter, more tactical.

His mind raced, thinking of a way to hurt this beast then his mind landed on Kinetic Absorption. That ability had helped him earlier when he entered the fight, and now he needed to push it even further. Absorb the impact… then hit back harder with a touch of lightning as flavor.

As the beast turned, charging at him once more, Roman braced himself, letting the monster come closer. He watched as its massive tail swung down again, the force behind it enough to crush a house. But Roman stood his ground.

Now!

At the last second, he activated Kinetic Absorption, allowing the immense energy from the strike to flow into his body. It hit him like a freight train, the shockwave rippling through and rattling his bones, but instead of being thrown back, Roman absorbed the power, his muscles buzzing with the stored energy.

The beast reared back, confused, but Roman grinned, his body now humming with potential. He clenched his fists, feeling the raw energy pulsing inside him trying to go to his strength and speed like usual but he stopped it and pushed it all to his fist, and then released it all at once.

Lightning Burst!

A massive explosion of electrical energy shot out from Roman’s fist as he swung at its nose, amplified by the kinetic energy he had absorbed. The blast hit the creature dead-on, sending waves of electricity crackling across its armored body. The beast screeched in pain as the force of the strike rocked it back, its armor sizzling and smoking under the onslaught.

Roman panted, watching as the creature stumbled and there was a literal dent in its face, but it wasn’t done yet. It let out a roar, angrier now, and charged once again.

"Alright," Roman muttered, gritting his teeth as he prepared for the next round. "Let’s see who breaks first."