World of Laws and Magic

Nick made his stance clear:

"I appreciate the invitation but I have some time sensitive objectives that I have to complete so I will have to reject your good intentions."

Greg stepped forward and spoke with determination:

"Then let me ask anyway, do you want to join our group? You've got very interesting magic and if you have some objectives that you need to fulfill, if you join us we would be willing to help you, after all, two heads are better than one so to speak."

Marsha also stepped forward after Greg finished speaking and said:

"Nick, let me tell you, we have already killed over a few hundred wary dogs already. Can you match our efficiency with just yourself. We are only one group and there are definitely many more groups like us. If you continue traveling by yourself, you may even end up at the bottom of the rankings. Nick, we are friends so I don't want you to be careless with your own results. Join us."

Nick looked at Marsha with a calm smile and spoke:

"Once again, no thanks Marsha. I'd rather adventure on my own. This group is nice and all but it's not the place for me to be."

Nick turned around and started to run towards his destination without saying anymore. When the other Apprentice Magicians saw Nick's determination, they moved out of his way, mostly because they were instinctively wary of his magic power; none of them could tell what kind of magic he had used to enlarge that stone but they at least knew that it was not earth magic. The unofficial leader of the tanks moved close to Greg and whispered:

"Greg, we can simply use our numbers to coerce him into working with us. Why are you just letting him walk away?"

Greg frowned at Nick's disregard and was about to give a command when Marsha stopped him.

"Shut up Earl, if you mess with my friend, you mess with me. Greg don't act stupidly because you have some authority to use. Remember that this is only an exam and making an enemy out of a possibly powerful Magician can cost you your life later on."

Greg became solemn and squinted his eyes but reverted to his usual genial smile after a moment of consideration.

"What are you talking about Marsha, I would never try to coerce a fellow student into working with us. Earl here was just making a joke, right Earl?"

Greg looked at Earl with a calm smile and Earl took a step back saying:

"Yeah...I was only joking."

Greg nodded his head and commanded:

"Everyone, let's get back on track. We'll be resting for the next few hours to prepare for our next battle. Let's collect the beast carcasses first before doing anything else."

Greg walked away from Marsha feeling grudgeful.

(Marsha stopped me from 'convincing' Nick further. I wander what kind of business she has with him that would make her risk offending me for a rank 1 Apprentice Magician. Although he has a strange spell, that Nick doesn't seem that special to me. Hmph, whatever, I've still got three days of this exam left so I should let things be for now.

Marsha watched Nick running into the distance and thought to herself:

(You better be worth my effort, Nick. If you disappoint me, your time at this school wont be a peaceful one.)

...........

Nick had left Marsha's group an hour ago and was now running through a grassland, heading towards more woodland territory. Nick looked all around and saw traces of reddish black blood on the grass and he has been seeing these traces ever since he left Marsha's group so he could tell that she was being truthful about their activities.

(Hey Slade, what did you mean when you said that I was inaccurate when I said that most people had corrupt and rotten souls.)

[Oh, you're still hung up on that. I can explain what I meant but you have to keep in mind that what I will say is only the conclusion that I've obtained from my own experiences and that you shouldn't put it too much of it to heart.]

(I would like to hear what you have to say.)

[So be it. You say that most people have corrupt and rotten souls but that is not really true. In fact, most people are only the product of their environment and the culture that they were raised in; they act in a manner believing that whatever they do is alright without thinking too much about it as long as they see others doing the same. You say that they are corrupt and their actions may just be but they don't think so. Most people go about their lives thinking that their behavior whether positive or negative is acceptable and normal. It is truly a rare soul that objectively knows the difference between right and wrong, morally speaking. That's why human conflicts and wars seem never ending. With all this in mind, you should stop taking other peoples negative behavior towards you so personally, the problem is most likely how they view the world and the motivation behind their behavior probably has nothing to really do with you despite its effects on you. I'm not saying that there are not people who are truly destructive with malice engraved within their brain, but those people are relatively rare. Most conflicts and 'friendships' come down to benefits. If you have enough benefits associated with you, we'll treat you well, if not, then you're garbage...a very practical approach. If you look at it like that, you shouldn't feel too offended by anyone's actions. If other people can't see enough of your value to treat you well, that's their problem, after all, genuinely kind people are actually very rare, at least they were where I came from.]

Nick thought about what Slade said for a seemingly long time then said:

(If what you said approximates to the truth, then doesn't that mean that as soon as I lose value to the people that I come in contact with, I'll find knives in my back constantly.)

[Ha, that's a great way of putting it, kid. Welcome to the reality that most people face on a daily basis. There is no such thing as unconditional love, not for most people, no matter how successful they may seem. Most people just do what we need to in order to survive the best they can or to maintain their lifestyle. Morals and justice have its place, but in everyday living, those concepts mean nothing to most people. Do you understand?]

(...I think I do.)

[Good.]

Both Nick and Slade remained silent after that conversation while Nick moved through the woodland territory that he had entered into a while ago.

WHHHHHHOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH!

(That must be the sound of water. Slade's directions showed that there is a waterfall within this area. I need to wash myself, right now I feel really uncomfortable since It's been almost two days since the exam started...)

Slade interrupted Nick's thinking:

[Forget it. Continue with the objective of getting to the graveyard. You're already behind schedule and you feeling uncomfortable doesn't change the fact that there are still magical beasts roaming around this area.]

Nick felt exasperated with Slade's tone.

(I get that, but I just want to wash my feet, hands and face, alright. Judging from your directions, it should only take me about twenty minutes to get to the waterfall, wash and then get back on track. Is that really a problem?)

[Hmph, do whatever you want, kid.]

Nick took a detour towards the waterfall in order to wash himself. When he got there, he saw a forty feet waterfall flowing down the side of a cliff wall emptying into a large pool. Nick got closer but realized that there was someone else at this waterfall. Nick could tell because he could sense the magic energy being exuded by that person. 

(That person has to at least be a rank 2 Apprentice Magician. Sigh, I'm tired of my low rank.)

In a few moments, someone came up from under the water in the pool. This person was clearly female with light blonde hair, white skin and an athletic body; Nick raised both his brows in surprise as she was also completely naked. Nick stood in place staring for a while and did nothing. After a while, a bulge appeared in his pants and the unknown woman spoke with a carefree tone while swimming around in the pool of water:

"How long are you going to stand there watching me. I don't have all day, if you are going to try something, go ahead. It's been a long time since I killed another person. Here I was thinking that I wouldn't have the chance to do so for a while."

(Oh, she noticed me.)

Nick wasn't surprised, since he noticed her, of course she would notice him, considering that she was a higher ranked Magician. Nick walked closer to the pool while the woman had her back turned and when he was within three meters of her, she turned slightly towards Nick, not embarrassed at all about her current state of undress. Nick and the unknown woman looked into each others eyes for some time before she spoke while turning towards the direction left of her, Nick being at her right:

"You can stop eye fucking me for now, we've got visitors."

Nick came to the same realization the moment she said it and turned his head towards the magical beasts that just came into view some distance away from them, coming from behind the nearby trees.

"Three tiger sized wary dogs."

Nick quickly took out two of his throwing knives from his vest, waiting for the wary dogs to make a move but the woman made a move first from within the pool. She raised her hand while exuding a large amount of magic energy and the entire pool of water was raised ten meters into the air and the mass of water remained floating in midair in the form of a ball, the woman seemingly waiting for something. The wary dogs panicked at the sight of the phenomenon and rushed at the woman with crazed expressions. By the time the wary dogs were within six meters of the woman, the ball of water fell towards the wary dogs. The wary dogs quickly scattered, moving out of the way of the impact but at the moment of impact, the water splashed, spreading out about four meters in all directions and dragging back the wary dogs to the center of the mass of water. The wary dogs were firmly held in place within the rotating ball of water that stayed in position and in shape despite pressing against the ground constantly. 

The woman got out of the now almost empty pool and picked up her clothes that she had place an a large rock beside the waterfall. She proceeded to get dressed while Nick watched from the distance, unsure of what to do. While the woman got dressed, the pool filled up again with water. After putting on her clothes the woman walked up to the ball of water and released her spell. The water fell to the ground, soaking the nearby grass and soil. The dead carcasses of the three wary dogs lied on the ground, motionless - they were clearly drowned by the woman's spell; the woman tapped on the three carcasses with her space band and they all disappeared, one by one. She then turned to Nick, looking at his amateurish battle stance and the unsure expression on his face and said flatly:

"My name is Jessica Jones, by the way."