An unexpected situation

Damian sat on a beach located behind the school. His heavy breathing and sweat would lead may to believe he'd just finished a grueling exercise, however the chaotic fluctuations in his aura proved otherwise.

the beach was actually part of a dock used to transport students to and from the school. however, after the invention of flying ships 22 years ago, the port slowly dried up until nobody used it. Damian came here to recover from his daily training session.

"Fuck old man, you trying to kill me?"

Roy sat (or more floated) next to Damian. He picked at his teeth before speaking.

"I think you should be a hybrid mage. I'm thinking battle and auxiliary."

Damian turned to Roy intrigued.

"I understand the battle Mage part but what do you mean by 'auxillary?'"

"Simple kid. as far as I know, you're the only one in this backwater planet that knows proper magic. that means everything you do will be different from the norm."

"what's a planet" Damian interjected.

"look brat, you are now a mage, meaning you need resources tailored to mages. by becoming an auxillary mage, you can learn potion brewing and spell enchantment" finished an irritated Roy.

Damian scratched his head.

"I don't quite get it but, basically I just need to learn how to fight, and some kind of... pill forging technique?"

Seconds later, Damian flew across the beach and into the water. Angrily, he stood up and glared at Roy.

"What the hell, you old coot?! you got brain damage or something?!"

Roy floated over before condensing a fist of mana to hit Damian over the head before snorting coldly.

"Don't compare that childish cooking to the intricate and arcane art of potion making! now quit whining, it's time to train."

Damian rose to his feet, still glaring.

"That doesn't mean you can launch me like a flying sword!"

No sooner had Damian finished that another fist blew him out of the water and back onto the beach.

"Your train has already begun!" spoke a smug Roy.

" Until you are used to using your mana subconsciously to defend, I'll be beating the ever-living shit out of you!"

Damian jumped to the side before the sand next to him caved into the imprint of a fist. Damian hurriedly spoke while preparing himself for the next hit.

"Hey you old shit, shouldn't you be conserving your power or something?!"

"I am, all these fists are made with your mana." Roy spoke indifferently.

"...shit"

"A word of advice, imagine your mana is a stream of water. from there, control the water to form Infront of you as a small disc."

"you old bat, suck my d-"

Damian was blasted onto his back before gasping desperately for air. unknown to him, Roy floated over with a cold look on his face.

"Your foes won't wait for you to catch your breath."

another blow to his chin left Damian disoriented, and his vision started to fade. then, he was fine. his sight was clear and he couldn't feel the impact of the previous punches.

As he rose to his feet, Roy smiled.

"Don't think fainting will save you. I'll make sure to 'train' you properly."

A few hours later, a couple walked towards the beach holding a hand woven basket full of food and wine.

"Honey~" spoke the woman.

"It's soo nice that you set this up for me~!"

The man rubbed his nose before grinning.

"As your man, this is the least I could do!"

As they created a nearby hill, they were greeted with the sight of a man covered in sand, flailing about like an overturned turtle, then the man jumped to his right before sprinting in a circle.

The woman squinted before saying in a shocked tone. "Isn't that the demon of the cauldron?!"

The man turned to her, puzzled.

"The what?"

the woman turned to the man, with a sly smile.

"haven't you heard? a student tried to commit suicide by cooking himself alive in a cauldron. However, they say before he died, he was possessed by a demon who climbed out of the pot! but that wasn't even the end of it! the charred remains of the student was so dangerous, the principal rushed down to fight him and as a result, was injured so bad he had to go into seclusion to recover!"

"That student... what was his name"

" If I remember correctly... I think it saw Damien."

The woman froze. The voice that spoke wasn't the man's voice. Almost simultaneously, they slowly turned their head to see a boy covered in sand staring back at them.

They started trembling.

'I'm dead! the demon will kill us both!' they thought.

Then, without warning, the demon shot back like a bullet. he kept going until he hit a rock sticking out of the water.

The couple dropped their basket before sprinting out of the beach, vowing to never go there again.

Once Damian got back to shore, he shook his head.

'I guess that was the reason why I was so popular... still, a demon? that kinda hurts'

*Boom*

Damian was flung back into the water.

"If you're so relaxed that you have time to daydream, then I guess we can step up our 'training.'"

And thus, the tortu- ahem, training continued.

The stars hung high in the night sky as they cast a bright glow on the beach. In the centre was a bruised and battered Damian. He lost consciousness an hour ago but his body still moved on it's own, dodging Roy's fists with less and less speed each time. until finally, He stopped. In front of Damian was a ripple. the ripple spread outward until it covered the front of Damian.

"Heh, not bad kid."

The ripple distorted Damian's appearance- as if Damian was under a clear stream of water. Then, he fell forward and didn't get back up.

Roy smiled.

'I gotta hand it to the kid. excluding the start of the lesson, he didn't once complain or ask me to stop.'

The stars shone down on the beach. highlighting a ripple that seemed to surround Damian. His mana covered him like a blanket as he peacefully slept.