A God's Chess Piece

Chapter 12

"Running away is such a cowardly move for you, first- class magician"

Jenkin's taunting can be heard from the four corners of the exam hall.

Shit.

I hate the fact that he's right. Me running away from all his attacks, are nothing but a huge embarrassment as a first class magician.

"Bubble Barrage." – Jenkins.

A number of bubbles began to form from his opened palm, quickly rushing towards their target – me in fact. Again, I jumped from my prior position to evade his attacks.

"Are you really a first class magician? All you've been doing is avoid my attacks. You haven't attacked once."

I rubbed the sweat forming on my forehead.

Again, he's right.

But, I couldn't attack him recklessly. After all, can't really control my powers yet.

Just as I was thinking about how to counter him, I was suddenly enclosed in a capsule-like bubble.

Oh no!

"You won't be able to avoid my attacks once when you're in my bubble prison. Are you still not going to fight back? "

Seriously, this bearded guy is annoying.

"What are you doing?"

Suddenly, I heard Celes' voice in my head.

"I'm playing house, genius. What does it look like I'm doing?" I answered back with my thoughts.

Jenkins, who was a few meters away from me, steadily walked towards me with a wide grin plastered in his face.

This stupid bubble is strong, I can't pop it with my bare fists.

"Why aren't you attacking him?" – Celes.

"My power's unstable remember? What if I accidentally killed this guy? I'm not a fan of killing bearded old guys who look like Santa Claus, you know."

"You don't need to use that yet, genius. You could beat him without attacking him with your power."

Just how on earth am I supposed – oh!

Stupid Celes.

I smirked.

"My! You still have the strength to smile despite being in a full disadvantage since the start? What courage! INTERESTING! I'll surely enjoy grading you a -"

Tap!

Before Jenkins was able to finish his sentence, he fell face flat to the ground while I stood from behind him with a satisfied expression. My hand was still stuck mid-air from when struck his neck.

The entrance hall grew silent.

I felt the floor beneath me move, so I quickly jumped backwards. Jenkins was now standing with his backed faced at me.

"How on earth were you able to escape?" he asked in a low voice that was creepy enough to send a chill down my spine.

"Well, like this?"

Teleport!

I was now in front of Jenkins who was having a shocked expression plastered all over his face. I took advantage of that and kicked him where the shine doesn't shine.

The poor man fell to his knees while clutching his crotch.

Right, I didn't have to attack him with my power if I could win with my self-defense techniques don't I?

"I realized this a while ago, but in your battle with Diane, you knew that she was hiding in your shadow because you can detect her presence. You knew that she was travelling through the shadows, therefore you would have enough time to predict her attack. I, on the other hand, can move from one place to another in a matter of miliseconds. You won't be able to predict my attacks", I explained.

Thanks to that stupid god's advice, I actually thought of a way to beat him. He's gonna brag about this later.

Ugh.

"I see..."

I jumped back in surprise upon Jenkins sudden utterance. He was now standing on his feet like nothing ever happened but the sweat forming on his forehead was a clear sign that I might've given his goods a little more than just damage.

Wow, he was still able to stand after that kick? I'm impressed at his balls (I meant his guts!!!).

"You have quite the observation, young lady. That's correct, I haven't been able to guard myself from your attacks because of its speed. But..." he smiled maniacally.

WHAT'S WITH THAT SMILE?

It's like Santa being part of a horror movie or something.

I prepared myself for another onslaught of his attack. Knowing that he'll up his guard this time surely puts me in a disadvantage.

"Bubble Prison" – Jenkins.

Again?

I was about to teleport when my eyes caught a faint image of a bubble forming around the headmaster. So he's the one inside the bubble now?

I clenched my fists. He's quite a sharp old man. If I teleport again to get close to him, I'll be inside the prison and unfortunately I won't be able to teleport myself out quick enough to dodge any counter attack in that small space.

But if I don't do anything now, I'll be sure to fail the exam!

Should I use 'that'?

But what if I kill the man?

I instinctively clutched the necklace Celes gave me earlier. He said that this will help control my powers right?

Ugh, it's now or never.

"I'm sorry Santa, I've got to kick your look-alike's ass", I muttered in between my breathes.

With my hands outstretched, I positioned my palm upward – as if carrying a heavy object.

Jenkins threw me a confused look.

"Summon: Bazooka"

A bright light suddenly appeared in front of me and quickly vanished to reveal a long metallic pipe.

"Gods, don't let him die", I muttered and positioned my hand to pull the trigger.

Jenkins looked curious at the unfamiliar object I'm holding with no sign of evading my attack.

With a heavy heart, I pulled the trigger.

BOOM!

A mushroom-like cloud of smoke and few flying debris followed after the rocket launched. Thankfully, none of the other examinees seemed injured and the impact was a lot less than I actually imagined.

I seriously thought, it would be enough to blast away a whole building but thankfully, its power seemed to tone down. Is it because of the necklace? I don't know, I'll ask Celes later.

I quickly willed the bazooka to vanish and glanced around the premise. I hope he's not dead...

A few seconds passed and the smoke cleared, I could hear the chaotic noises coming from the examinees as they curiously peeked at the result.

"A grade. You pass", Jenkins said.

I heaved a breath of relief. He looked fine. Except for a few bruises here and there but he was still standing upright despite the dirt covering his face and the small pile of debris scattered on the floor.

Phew.

Well, I'm finally astudent!