This is what I've learned from what Kiori explained about his relationships with his friends.
Sebastian once saved him from a bullying attempt, and they've been friends ever since. Staying near him meant he wouldn't be bullied as much, though it still happened when Sebastian wasn't near.
Emilie, or YevanStrategyPollux (or whatever her real name is), was once his partner on a group assignment. He once asked her out on a date, but she rejected him.
"Wouldn't it be awkward to stay friends with her?"
"What do you mean?"
"You had a crush on her, right? Wouldn't it be awkward being near someone who rejected you?"
"Ah. Well, you can't do anything about someone not being interested in you. And after getting to know her better, I've learned she isn't the type to be interested in romance. In time, I got over it."
That's surprisingly down-to-earth. I'm not sure many people could handle rejection so calmly.
"Also, I'm fairly certain she has a crush on Sebastian, though I never asked her outright."
Ah. He lost the war before he could even participate.
Alicia was another classmate he was paired with for a different group project, and they became friends because of a shared interest in ascending mage tiers, all of the techniques required to rise, and its history. Specifically, an admiration of one of those 10 figures I saw at the side entrance of the school.
"Which one of these specifically?" I asked, producing a 3,4,3 array of floating yellow orbs arranged similarly to the 10 statues. Their likenesses haven't left much of an impression to make them accurately, so I used yellow balls of energy as substitutes.
He pointed to the middle-left orb. I created a miniature stair-shaped shelf and had them levitate on each step to ensure we shared the same perspective. This time, he pointed to the middle-right.
"Kapali Avera, the first mage in history, was considered to be a Tower Mage long before the criteria had been established."
"What attunement did he have?"
"Plant. It's been said that he had control over all existing plant life and was able to bring about never-before-seen species of trees, flowers, crops, and herbs."
"So who does Alicia admire? From-"
"Oh, she-"
We stopped talking, not wanting to talk over each other.
"You can go first," I spoke before he did.
"I admire Kapali Avera because I've heard he achieved a mastery over his attunement that made him turn vines and roots into terrifying weapons. So I've taken inspiration from his skills to improve my own."
"Did she ever tell you who she admired?"
"No. All I've been told is that she's their descendant, and that she must live up to the legacy that person left behind."
"Huh…"
"Your expression is weird. Is something wrong?"
"Oh, I'm just thinking."
I didn't tell him that I became more curious after this figure, considering she proposed to me. I wonder if this legacy has something to do with that.
Richter, the brown-haired boy, sort of just became part of the friend group. Apparently, he and Emilie knew each other, and that was reason enough for him to enroll here.
"What about the Ice boy with white hair?"
"Ice boy? You mean Elipto?"
"The one who seized my hovercraft before nearly crashing and hurting himself?"
"Yeah. That's him. He likes to fight, so he's constantly looking for anyone to challenge him. The only one who can hold a candle to Elipto is Sebastian. Everyone else is either a challenging warm-up or not worth his time." He said with a bitter expression at the end.
"Did you end up having to fight him in 5th period?"
"Yeah. He just encased my hands and feet in before I admitted defeat. If it weren't for that rule, he would've stepped out of the arena as soon as I could no longer move."
…
Currently, we're in the arena where we first fought each other with dodgeballs. He wanted to continue the subject of magic and how a mage goes about utilizing their attunement.
"There are different practices and techniques used to bring out the most of an attunement's potential. Techniques for a Water-attuned mage wouldn't help a Fire Mage get stronger, although the base of a technique can be changed and refined to make using it compatible."
He produced a ball of string.
"For example, I'm right to implement the technique used by Earth mages to turn a portion of their Proa into a rock. I've copied the technique perfectly, but of course I can't actually produce a rock."
Kiori then put his hand on the ground.
"Now, I'm trying to conjure vines, similar to how a Plant mage would do it. Of course, it doesn't work, since I lack the amount of energy needed to make vines burst from the ground."
"Are you saying that any mage, with sufficient understanding and available Proa, can copy a technique from another mage with a different attunement and achieve a similar result?"
"Umm… yes, actually, but getting to that level is easier said than done. A wind or flame mage can't expect to copy an intermediate-level Plant Mage's vine conjuring while being an intermediate-level themselves."
"So you're saying an advanced-level Flame-attuned mage could potentially do this."
I produced a flaming rope in my hand. The imaginary flames that enveloped the rope didn't burn me, even though it was touching my skin. Although I imagined it not emitting any heat, I kept my focus on that quality.
"Yes, although I imagine it's relatively easy for a flame-attuned mage to set a rope on fire."
The flaming rope disappeared by my will. Instead of a piece of rope on fire, I produced a rope made of flames, enveloping my hand in a golden, transparent energy shield to block the heat. The improvised glove extended halfway down my forearm. The handle of the whip made of flames was simply an energy construct that wasn't on fire compared to the rest of the whip.
I used telekinesis to make the flaming length levitate above the ground. It moved as if it were a snake slithering across tree branches, ready to pounce on its prey.
"Nolval? What is that?"
"A flaming whip," I replied, before dissipating the weapon.
And if I had to set someone or something on fire, it'd be easier to imagine something spontaneously bursting into flames.
"I've heard of an Ice Tower mage producing something to a similar effect."
"Was it a chain?"
"Huh?"
I produced 4 interlocked chain links. Specifically, the ones that looked like tubes bent into an oval shape by machinery. They were floating in the air, as if held by an invisible hand.
"Also, why does seeing a flaming whip remind you of an ice chain?"
"Because it's the only time I've heard of a non-plant mage producing something with the same flexibility as a long, thin vine."
"Huh. Alright."
The floating chains vanished.
"What did Mr. Draco specifically say about your abilities?"
"It's difficult to explain the nature of my abilities," I recalled the meeting spoken in a gold-veiled room, and how he told me Kiori could be sentenced to death. "Although he didn't say it outright, I think he's warning me not to get too creative with my power, unless I want to risk exposing you."
I'm a little glad I didn't immediately start exploring every conceivable possibility of my power the moment I got into school. If I had reincarnated at a younger age, I probably would have made every conceivable excuse to be alone with my power and would have developed an ego of being the uncontested strongest person in the world, given how much I could accomplish with it.
Kiori had a sour look on his face.
"Is something wrong?"
"It's just… we're encouraged as mages to realize the greatest extent of our potential. For him to say you must do the opposite-"
"Means it's simply another challenge I must conquer as an aspiring mage."
Truth be told, I didn't like the idea of having to limit my power, since I'd have to both limit my creativity and options, but I also didn't like the idea of making a mistake that results in someone's death. Between the 2, it's obvious which I'd rather tolerate. Besides, it shouldn't be that difficult. Just think of it as a modifier in a game, except that game is life, and I've got Minecraft Creative Mode, more or less.
"As for what my 'attunement' should be, I think it's fairly obvious."
My options were either the Wind attunement, as that would explain my ability to make objects levitate, or the Earth attunement, as I've showcased such against my fight against Alicia. Between those, I'm leaning more towards Wind, since I could get away with disguising telekinesis as that. As for splitting her ice spike into multiple pieces, I'll just say I'm not that proficient with Wind Magic, and cutting large, heavy things was a part of my training.
Hmm… what do I do about the stuff I've made with my power that no amount of Wind magic proficiency can explain?
There was my hovercraft, my comic books, the clothes I first wore… pretty sure the comics were a localized instance, and I could just say I put it in a custom order for my clothes, but the hovercraft I made doesn't have any logical real-world explanation. Looking at the vehicle, it seems like it functions on some non-existent technology that's powered by alien energy.
Maybe I could pass it off as something my 'familiar' summoned.
Seconds after I finished speaking, the giant door into the arena opened slowly. Its movement was silent, despite its massive size. Kiori followed my gaze, and we both saw someone walking in.
It was the brown-haired boy, Richter.
He walked up to us until we were 5 paces apart from each other.
"Nolval, I challenge you to a magic duel." The boy spoke, staring me directly in the eyes.