Ava's POV
I realized that I was back in the real world, and I felt relieved. My chest was heaving, and my breath was heavy as well, but Jace helped me to stand.
“Well, I must say you did a great job even if you didn't get to finish. It's not really an easy task, and most people have never been able to finish up, but so far, you've gone the longest. Well done.” Professor Darwin commended me, and my spirit brightened up.
I smiled widely and bowed a little, thanking him for commending me. I had thought that I failed that way, but thanks to the moon goddess, I wasn't that bad.
Jace led me back to the dorm as I felt really weak and unable to do much, and then I sat on my bed.
“You should know when to ask for help, Ava. I watched as you looked horrified, and yet, you didn't shout to be released from where you were.” Jace said worriedly.
“How can I? I need to do well enough to get more points, and at least I got some. If I had given up like you're suggesting right now, then I would never have gotten more points.” I said and shot him a sharp look in the end.
Then he sighed and smacked his lips.
“I'm not saying you should give up every single time. It's tough, but I just want you to know that I care about you and would love it if you could ask for help sometimes when you need it.” Jace said to me, and I felt my cheeks flush.
Our eyes locked, and for a moment, it felt as if I was in another world. There were times we had to battle together and were on the same team, but each time we had physical contact, it caused a lot of nice, electrifying feelings in my body, and sometimes, it would be too much for me to bear that I would avoid him for the rest of the day.
Back to reality, my eyelids fluttered several times, and I looked away and then went under the bed covers.
“Thanks for caring about me. I think I've got to rest now.” I said to him and turned to the other side of the bed so I wouldn't have to see his face, but still, I could feel his eyes on me.
Well, it was much better than me seeing him.
~
The next day, Jace and I prepared for our class, which was a new course, and interestingly, we were informed that it was a magic class. I felt so excited to know all the things we would learn, and I couldn't wait to get to the class and begin to learn.
When we got to the class, we had our seats, and I waited patiently and excitedly for the professor in charge of the class to arrive.
“What do you think about this course we'll be learning?” Jace suddenly asked, without looking at me.
“I think it's going to be fun.” I replied with excitement bubbling from inside of me.
“Well, as exciting as magic might seem to be, It might be the most difficult, because magic can be really complicated at times, and the consequences of mistakes or using it wrongly can be dire.” Jace cautioned me.
While I saw that as a mood ruin, I understood that he was speaking the truth and only watching out for me, just in case, I didn't know how dangerous magic could be.
“Yeah, you're right.” I responded in a low tone.
Just then, the professor arrived, and to my utter surprise, it was Professor Harley, the man who introduced himself to us and also led us to the tailor.
He walked in with a smile that seemed to convey messages that I couldn't decipher as he looked at everyone.
“Good morning, students. We meet again, but I'll be reintroducing myself. I'm Professor Harley, and I will be teaching this course to you. This course is mainly about magic combat, and there are different things you must understand about this course.” He said, and we all listened keenly.
I took out my notepad as usual and was ready to note down more important things.
“Magic combat is a kind of battle where people use magical powers, spells, incantations, or supernatural abilities to attack, defend, or counter each other.” Professor Harley explained, and I noted it down.
“In order for any magic combat to happen, people who are involved in it must possess magical powers, which can be innate, learned, or acquired through magical artifacts or rituals. And all these, you will learn and know more about as we proceed further in the course.” He uttered while looking at each and every one of us.
“I think I might really enjoy this class.” I whispered to Jace, who was also noting some things down.
“Yeah, certainly.” He uttered, and I smiled.
“This course is broad, but we'll be doing practical and engaging in actions for most of it. You can't possibly write down all the things that have been found out about magic. If you are into notes, you could go to the special library provided by the school to read and understand more, especially if you are really interested in it.” He informed us, and some of us nodded.
“Alright, that's enough note for today. Who is ready for some action?” He voiced out, and most of us chorused excitedly.
“We are!” We chorused out.
I couldn't help but chuckle and feel really excited because things were getting more interesting.
“Good. Now, I'm going to pair you all up into groups of two just so you can do the task I'll be asking you to do.” He informed us and began to point hands at different students to pair them up.
While I was thinking Jace would be my partner again, it wasn't as I thought. He was given another partner, and to my shock, I was the only one left without a partner.
“As for you, Ava, you'll be my partner,” Professor Harley said to me.