[Bank: $32,902]
Kira yawned, walking out of Weapon Smith's class. After a week of attending classes, the work seemed to become harder. She didn't hate this; in fact, she loved it. She loved to challenge herself.
Today's class was extra hard. She looked down at the giant sledgehammer she forged today. Symbols flowed around the head down the handle.
It was a lot better than her first attempt. Which went up in flames literally. She shook her head, remembering the disaster. She could still hear Gunther's laugh as he put out the flames.
She didn't feel bad about it, as many of the other boys also destroyed their weapons that day.
It wasn't necessarily anyone's fault. The symbols inscribed on the weapon were infused with magic. Just a smidge more magic than necessary could blow up your weapon.
"Hey!" A voice sounded behind her. She frowned, looking back.
She watched a group of girls walk her way. "I heard you have been attending all these damn classes and you haven't even gone on a mission yet."
Kira raised a brow. She had been going to all her classes every day. Except for magic and combat. She had no interest in sitting in either of those creepy men's classes.
"So?" She asked, confused. Other than Chris from the weapons class, and Darion and Anna. She rarely had interactions with anyone else in the school.
She had no idea that many people were paying attention to her. Or, more importantly, her bank.
Chris walked over with his boys. He frowned while looking at the girls who stepped towards Kira. "Is there a problem here?"
"It's fine, Chris. You guys go study without me today." He looked at her seriously. She smiled, nodding.
They weren't fighters. She knew this; even if they wanted to help, they would only be a hindrance to her. Slowly, Chris nodded and stepped back, but he didn't leave.
Kira's nose flared. She could smell the hostility on all of them. Her nose perked up to a familiar scent.
Looking over Lena and Sashi, both put their heads down. Lena gently touched her side. She still remembers that day.
This time, it was a short, almost chubby girl standing in front of her. She looked very cute, almost like a cat with her feline ears, whiskers, and tail.
"What? You don't want your boyfriend getting hurt?" Her shout had already drawn attention. A crowd was forming fast.
Kira looked down at her. "What? Are you that big a slut, you can't even have guy friends?"
"What did you just say?" The girl shouted.
Kira huffed her sledgehammer slug over her shoulder. "Let's not bullshit, I have a headache coming on. Either you challenge me or go away. I don't have time for you."
She paused, looking at the group. "Actually, I don't have time for any of you. I refuse to sit by and watch all of you come up to me one by one."
"What are you proposing, a group challenge?" The girl raised an eyebrow, amused.
She quickly frowned, seeing Kira shrug, uncaring. They had done their research beforehand and knew she never attended the combat classes.
They had been attending for a week now. They fought on a team mission twice, and now they were all confident in their teamwork.
Yet Kira made her doubt herself. She remembered she had the same bored look when it came to her fight with Lena.
Ginger walked out of his classroom. "If you're not issuing a fight, disperse immediately." He shouted, making his way to the center of the crowd.
He groaned loudly, seeing Kira. Since everyone was in front of Gunther's classroom, he came out to see what the noise was about.
He frowned, seeing Kira and a group of girls in front of her. He moved to Chris. "What's happening?" He asked.
Darion and Anna also showed up next to him. "I don't know. We were about to head to the library when those girls came over, bothering Kira. I think they're about to do a group fight."
"The group versus Kira?" Anna asked with a frown. Seeing Chris nod, she moved forward.
"You need help?" She stood beside Kira, who shook her head. "It's fine, just a bunch of shit."
Kira's eyes didn't leave the group. Anna nodded, stepping back away from her. Although she didn't think Kira could beat them, she respected the decision.
The girl turned towards her group. They all nodded with smirks. Everyone except Sashi. She looked anxious. Kira rolled her eyes. "Hurry up, I don't have all day."
"We want to beat this bitches ass." The girl pointed at Kira while looking at Ginger.
"I, Masi Los, officially challenge Kira Hale to a group fight. Match price," she looked at the girls. One of them stepped forward and whispered in her ear.
"$250,000." She smiled proudly.
Kira frowned, "Why on earth would your parents name you Masi Los. Like, did they want you to get bullied?"
"Kira, don't be an idiot, that hammer won't last five hits," Gunther whispered. His whispering voice was as loud as a normal person's speaking voice.
Kira snickered lightly. She knew he meant well. "It's fine, Gunther. These girls are too weak to even break a sweat."
Gunther and some of the boys in Kira's class frowned. They knew Kira worked hard in class, but also knew she worked hard so she could be lazy the rest of the day.
None of them had confidence she could win.
"Also, we would like to use the training area for our fight." Her smirk widened. A few understood her intentions.
"I'm fine with that." Kira nodded.
While they moved to the combat classes training area. Ginger collected bets.
"Put me on for 2000 Kira way." Darion handed over his card.
"Only 2000, you doubt me?" She looked offended.
"Yes, I do." He nodded. "Plus, any higher and Marcus is going to give me an earful."
"You two can talk to each other now?" Anna chimed in.
"Yeah, it's a recent discovery." He frowned, thinking about the earful he got from Marcus about Kira.
He glanced her way, shaking his head. He has been laying off her these past few days on his insistence.
"Stop staring, creep." She glanced his way. He quickly turned his head.
It didn't take long for them to arrive at the training area. Maniac sees the crowd. He goes to stand between Gunther and Ginger. "What's going on here?"
"Kira's fighting a group of girls. You want in." Maniac eyed the group and then looked at Kira, who stood opposite of them. A sledgehammer slug over her shoulder.
"$100,000 on the girls." He said his eyes landed on the anxious looking girl with a head covering. A smirk appeared on his face.
Seeing his vote encouraged some of the other kids to also vote for the group of girls.
Chris and his group chose not to participate. Jinx and more people walked over. They were sweaty from the workout they had just had. Darion frowned, seeing her.
More and more people joined in on the bet. The obvious choice is the group of girls.
"This is going to be an interesting one for sure." He commented, stepping forward.
"Alright, ladies!" Ginger jumped up, landing on the raised platform the girls were standing on.
He stopped eyeing the weapon in Kira's hands. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off before he could.
"We will allow her to keep her weapon." Sashi stepped forward.
He nodded, "Then let's begin!" He quickly moved off the platform.
Mask was the first to shift. Her body didn't change much. Fur covered her body, claws extended, although short and stumpy, and fangs grew above her other teeth.
Kira laughed, seeing her. She couldn't help it. "That's supposed to be scary?" She laughed slightly harder.
Smoke covered the platform as a dragon flew into the air. Kira looked over at the other girls. The rest were elementals.
Fire, water, ice, earth. Elementals were the most abundant of all the races. Their birth rates were close to invasive.
She took her sledgehammer off her shoulder. She bent her knees, eyeing the girls.
Lena waited for the signal. She took a deep breath to gather her flames. She wasn't going to hold back this time.
Kira knew this. She watched closely. Now. She rushed at the group, sledgehammer ready.
Lena wanted to fire, but had to wait for her group to get out of the way. Surprisingly, Kira managed to dodge their attacks.
When she got close to them, she shot towards her. Out of panic, Lena fired. A wave of flames engulfed Kira.
She sighed in relief, seeing her body disappear into the flames. Her eyes widened moments later.
Kira shot from the flames, her clothes burning. The symbols on the sledgehammer glowed a bright blue. Energy surged from them, empowering the weapon.
Before Lena could move, Kira swung her sledgehammer at full force. With a loud boom, she struck her jaw.
Her brain rattled in her head. She felt dizzy before losing consciousness.
Kira looked at the hammer and frowned. She landed hard on the ground but got up as if nothing had happened. Her eyes locked on the sledgehammer.
"You liar! You said this thing could survive five hits. That was barely one!" She turned and shouted at Gunther.
"Well, no one told you to go fighting dragons! That's ten hits in one!" He shouted back. She scuffed, tossing the handle. The hammer part blew up on impact.
She looked at the girls, upset. That hammer had taken her two days to complete.
They glared back at her. Lena, still in her dragon form, lay unconscious behind them. They were angry. This was the second time she knocked out Lena.
Kira's claws came out. Longer and sharper than last time. Her face distorted, shifting to look like a wolf's. Her blood red eyes stared at them hungrily.
"Now, you really pissed me off." She growled, lowering her stance. Her claws are scraping against the floor. Some of the girls trembled, feeling the pressure coming off her.
Sashi frowned, stepping forward. "Last time you called me a coward." She unwrapped her head covering.
"I wonder how you feel now." A second head grew on the side of her neck. Then another.
Three heads stared at Kira. Sashi grew bigger, her bones cracking and shifting.
Kira waited; she took the time to steady herself. She focused. Watching as Sashi towered over her.
Her three heads shifting into dragon like heads. Her claws came out bigger than one of Lena's arms.
"A hydra?" Ginger looked at the platform with wide eyes. He looked at Maniac, who wore a calm smirk.
"You knew?" He asked, speechless. Maniac nodded merrily. "Now what would happen if she loses control and kills all of them?"
"Oh, relax, she chose a restraint platform. She couldn't kill even if she wanted to." Maniac sighed, uncaring.
"What are you doing? Shouldn't you stop the fight?" Darion came over.
"No need." Ginger folded his arms, looking at the match.
Kira stayed calm. She stood up, her claws retracting. She sighed, "I knew you were going to be big, but this is just ridiculous."
She scratched her head, looking upward. The three heads looked down at her. They huffed angrily.
"Ugh, and your breath stinks." Kira waved her hand to clear the air.
One of Sashi's heads opened its mouth. A large ball of water formed. Twice the size of Lena's fireballs.
It soon flew towards Kira, who dodged to the left. The second head opened its mouth, and an ice ball formed. Bigger than the water ball.
It shot out at her fast. She used all her strength to throw herself forward. A warm sensation ran down her arm as a blue light washed out.
It shifted under Kira's command, forming complex sigils that surrounded her body, shielding her from the ice shards that flew outward.
"Now I see why she never attended any of your magic classes." Maniac eyes Kira's sigils.
Ginger's brows furrowed. Only he knew how difficult sigils were to make compared to runes. For her to have made them so effortless was beyond his expectations. Even he would struggle to make them that effortlessly.
'Just who the hell is the Hale family?' He thought.
Kira wasn't fast enough to dodge the last attack. Another water ball.
She continued to dodge for an unknown number of times.
"She's a lot better than I thought," Anna commented.
A water ball shot out at her. Her shield burst apart, but she used that momentum to land underneath Sashi.
Sashi looked around, confused. She didn't see where Kira went with all this ice everywhere.
Kira lay on her back and took a moment to breathe. She got up, sighing, her eyes glowed, not the usual red but a bright blue.
Energy poured out of her hands. She knelt down, putting her hands on the floor. Blue energy washed out, twisting and turning across the floor.
Sashi lifted her legs hesitantly. Watching as the blue energy made out giant sigils that spread out around the platform.
She moved back, not knowing what was happening. Soon, Kira came into view, her hands on the ground. She was angry as she realized she had used her as cover.
Kira looked at her and smirked. "Hellsgate: Firestorm!" She spoke loud and clear.
Ginger's eyes widened, stepping forward. "Impossible."
A bright light flashed above the platform. Sashi looked up. Giant balls of fire formed. She gulped down hard, feeling the heat coming off them.
Loud explosions rang out as the fireballs rained down. They crashed, creating giant craters as lava spread out.
Kira moved unbothered to the group of girls. "Relax." She said her hands glowed once more, and a shield appeared above all of them. Lena included.
Her goal was to teach them a lesson, not to kill them. Sashi moved around too much for Kira to put a shield over her.
She got hit a few times before she was knocked out. The fireballs stopped shortly after that. The girls around sighed in relief.
Kira cancelled her shields, sighing as well. That took a lot out of her. Ginger moved up to the platform, and he checked Sashi, who was mostly fine.
"You still have several opponents." He said, looking at Kira, then at the girls behind her. She followed his gaze to the girls. They were all trembling, shaking their heads, and raising their arms.
"We admit defeat!" One managed to say. Kira looked at Ginger. "Ok then, you win!" He forced a smile.
"Now go put on some clothes." Kira raised an eyebrow. She looked down. Her clothes had been burned off, leaving her with scraps of her underwear.
She stretched uncaring. She wasn't ashamed of her body. Yes. It was filled with scars, but scars that she had earned.
"Ahem." Darion appeared in front of her, his shirt off. "Put this on." His voice was serious.
She raised her brows. Looking behind him, a lot of the boys eyed her body. Scars and all. She smirked, looking at him. His eyes narrowed, "Put it on." His voice was low and demanding.
"Sure." She said, not wanting to argue right now.
It was a button up shirt. She put it on, and it stopped just above her knees. "Oh, you're definitely not getting this back."
She loved big clothes, and this fit her perfectly. "You're going to have to take that up with Marcus." He rolled his eyes.
"Tell Marcus if he wants it back, come get it back in blood." She walked away, ignoring everyone. She needed a shower.
After her shower, her watch dinged.
[Bank: $657,902]
She shook her head. This place encourages you to fight. To turn you into animals. The lucky few who escape usually don't make it out sane.
Her mind drifted to her mom, then to the scars on her body. "I'm going to show you it's possible, Mom." She mutters.
She moved to the couch. Her eyes were on the bag on the table. She had ignored it for too long. It was now time to work.
She quickly opened the bag.
[Power dampener (Mid-Tier)- Seals your powers for one week.
Note: once the time runs out, the dampener will lose its effectiveness.
Note: Stopping the dampener stops the time. It will resume when the dampener is turned on again.]
[Storage ring (High-Grade)- Stores items into a small dimensional pocket that only the wearer can access.
Note: space size is 1,000 cubic feet (equivalent to a small bedroom)]
[Knockout spray (Mid-Tier)- Instantly knocks out your target
Note: Can be trained to resist.]
[Energy Stones (Mid-Tier)- Use to power spells and witches.]
"90k for four items." Kira shook her head in absurdity.
She put on the ring first. It was black with a small inscription on it.
She focused her energy. A warm current flowed through her hand and into the ring. The inscriptions lit up a bright blue before fading.
Her watch dinged.
[Storage space detected.]
[Would you like to connect? Yes/No]
She quickly pressed no. She couldn't trust that the Madam couldn't see what was on it.
She turned back to her storage ring. After putting everything inside, she closed her eyes. Her mind entered the ring. It was a large empty space.
She could move around freely. She moved, infusing her energy into the walls slowly. The room vibrated as she did so.
Slowly, sigils filled the walls, the roof, and the floor. "This should be good for now." She put the remaining items in the middle of the room on the floor.
She had used a protection mechanism to make sure no one truly could access the ring.
She opened her eyes and looked around. "Now it's finally time to accept a few missions."