Content - 73
"Yeah." Bell replied.
"Yup!" Marc exclaimed.
Juro's smile widened as he gave them the signal.
"Go!"
The moment the word left his mouth, both Bell and Marc immediately sprinted forward, their feet carrying them across the open field at impressive speeds.
Juro watched them run off, a smirk forming on his face.
"Look at those kids go..."
He casually began counting down.
…
Meanwhile, as Bell and Marc ran side by side, Marc suddenly spoke up. "Uhm, Bell?"
"Hm?" Bell replied, glancing at him.
"I don't know how long 100 meters is..." Marc admitted.
Bell simply smiled. "Don't worry about the number. Just focus on yourself and run freely. I'll adjust my pace to make sure we don't go beyond the 100-meter limit."
Marc's face brightened into a wide smile. "You're really cool, Bell!"
Bell returned his smile, and the two continued running alongside each other.
Then, without warning, a threatening presence emerged from behind them. Both boys turned to look, only to see Juro charging toward them at terrifying speed.
Bell immediately turned to Marc. "Marc, use your mana on your legs!"
Marc quickly nodded and reinforced his legs with mana. Bell did the same, strengthening his own legs as they continued running. However, even with the reinforcement, Juro showed no signs of slowing down.
Suddenly, a loud bang erupted behind them. Before either boy could fully react, Juro's hand was already reaching for them. Bell and Marc immediately split in opposite directions, narrowly avoiding his grasp.
"Hoh?" Juro muttered with a smirk, adjusting his posture mid-run before swiftly changing direction and going after Marc.
Marc immediately noticed Juro pursuing him and pushed himself to run even faster. However, no matter how much he accelerated, Juro continued closing the distance.
Thinking quickly, Marc poured mana into the soles of his shoes, transforming it into powerful gusts of wind. Each time his feet struck the ground, the compressed wind burst outward, propelling him forward and significantly increasing his speed.
Meanwhile, Bell continued running behind them, carefully maintaining the distance between himself and Marc to ensure they didn't exceed the 100-meter limit. He could easily keep up with their pace, but his attention remained on the distance between them.
Juro, however, was far from finished. Impressed by Marc's quick adaptation, he began pouring more mana into his legs. His speed skyrocketed, and he almost immediately caught up to marc.
"?!"
Marc was caught by surprise as Juro's hand reached straight toward his head. Acting purely on instinct, Marc quickly ducked, twisting his body to evade the grab before pushing himself forward again.
But Juro refused to let him escape. He continued closing in, repeatedly reaching for Marc. Each time his hand came dangerously close, Marc barely managed to dodge it, relying on his instincts to keep himself out of reach.
Then, another hand shot straight toward his face.
With no time to think, Marc instinctively released his mana from the front of his body. It immediately took shape, solidifying into a wall of rock just in time to block Juro's hand.
"Hoh..."
Juro's smirk grew as he observed the newly formed barrier. He had already seen Marc manipulate mana in various ways, but this was something different. Marc was beginning to learn how to release and shape his mana from virtually any part of his body, even without consciously directing it there.
And judging by how naturally he'd done it, his instincts were developing faster than Juro had expected.
Without stopping, Marc immediately turned and sprinted away. Juro quickly placed his hand on the ground, releasing a powerful surge of mana that traveled through the earth and rapidly caught up to Marc. Suddenly, a wall of earth erupted right in front of him.
"What the???"
Before Marc could react, several more walls rose from the ground, curving around him and leaving only one opening behind. Unfortunately, Juro was already charging straight toward him.
Thinking quickly, Marc poured mana from beneath his shoes, transforming it into solid rock that lifted him high enough to leap over the walls. However, Juro wasn't about to let him escape so easily. He jumped high into the air, quickly closing the distance between them.
Just as Juro's hand was about to touch Marc's shoulder, a powerful burst of fire erupted from the side, forcing him to turn and block the blast. The sudden interruption gave Marc just enough time to jump away and continue running.
"Thanks, Bell!" Marc exclaimed as he landed and dashed forward, with Bell following close behind.
"Sheesh, these kids..." Juro muttered, a smile slowly spreading across his face.
..
Meanwhile, Bell stopped reinforcing his legs with mana to conserve what little he could. Instead, he quietly muttered an incantation under his breath.
"Presto."
His body glowed faintly for a moment before the light faded. His speed had increased for a limited time, allowing him to run considerably faster without having to continuously pour mana into his legs.
But just as Bell began to make use of his newfound speed, Juro suddenly appeared in front of him, his hand already reaching toward Bell's face.
"Shit!"
Bell immediately bent his body backward, narrowly avoiding Juro's hand.
Marc glanced over his shoulder and noticed that Juro had shifted his attention to Bell. Worried that running too far ahead might cause them to exceed the hundred-meter limit, Marc stopped and watched from a distance, reluctant to leave Bell behind.
However, Juro wasn't finished. Even as Bell continued bending backward to avoid his grasp, Juro's hand immediately followed through, reaching down to tag him.
Bell had already anticipated the movement. While still leaning backward, he released mana from beneath his shoes, transforming it into an explosive gust of wind that propelled him backward. The sudden burst barely allowed him to evade Juro's hand, freeing him from the awkward position.
"Hm..." Juro thought, watching Bell's movements with interest. "He doesn't have nearly as much mana as Marc, but somehow, he knows how to use mana manipulation magic so precisely while conserving it at the same time."
Without giving Bell a moment to recover, Juro lunged forward again.
With Juro now pursuing Bell, Marc had no choice but to follow them from a distance, keeping an eye on their movements as he ran.
The brief burst of wind had helped Bell escape, but Juro was already in front of him again. Despite the sudden appearance, Bell didn't panic. While still being propelled backward, he positioned his hands beneath himself and concentrated a small amount of mana into his palms.
He quickly transformed it into another explosive gust of wind, this time directing the force downward. The blast propelled him upward, sending him into the air just as Juro closed in.
Juro simply leaped into the air, following Bell's movements. However, Bell was already prepared. He quickly cast magic.
"Megen."
A barrier appeared directly in front of Juro, but he didn't hesitate. He drove his fist forward, shattering it in a single blow.
Yet Bell had already anticipated that. Both his hands were pointed toward Juro, and the moment the barrier broke, he immediately cast another magic.
"Pyrini Sfaira!"
A powerful fireball erupted from Bell's palms, hurtling straight toward Juro. Bell smirked as he quickly turned his hands behind him, concentrating mana into them and transforming it into explosive wind. The sudden burst propelled him away, allowing him to escape while the fireball continued toward Juro.
"This little!.." Juro thought, noticing Bell's smirk as the fireball approached.
A loud bang echoed through the air as the fireball exploded. Meanwhile, Bell landed safely on the ground, where Marc quickly caught up with him. The two immediately continued running.
"Woaaa! Bell, that was so cool!" Marc exclaimed.
"The way you used the barrier as a quick distraction was really cool!" he continued, still excited by what he'd just witnessed.
However, before either of them could say anything more, a sudden chill ran down their spines. Both of them instinctively paused, caught off guard by the strange sensation. Even Bell was surprised to find himself experiencing something like it.
While Marc froze in place, Bell immediately turned around, trying to react to the sudden feeling. But by the time he did, it was already too late.
Juro was standing right behind them, both hands resting firmly on their shoulders.
"Gotcha!" he exclaimed with a wide smile.
Bell and Marc stared at him in surprise before exchanging glances. A moment later, they both dropped to the ground, finally giving up the chase. The mana surrounding Marc's body dispersed as he looked up at Juro with an excited expression.
"Waaaa! Teacher Juro, how did you catch up to us?!"
Juro simply shrugged. "You two let your guards down."
That answer was enough to make Marc burst into laughter, and Juro soon joined him.
Meanwhile, Bell remained lying on the ground, quietly reflecting on what had just happened.
"That feeling... I never thought that I, of all people, would experience it again."
He closed his eyes, a faint smile forming on his face.
"Hah... I guess being in a child's body really has dulled me. Or perhaps it isn't a matter of my body, but my consciousness... Well, whatever."
Before Bell could dwell on it any further, Juro suddenly spoke up. "All right! Now it's my turn! You two have to catch me!"
"Ehhhhhh But my body's tired!" Marc protested.
"Mhm. I'm really tired too. I think we should all just rest," Bell added, still lying on the ground.
"Eeehhh?! But that's unfair! I was the one chasing you two the whole time!" Juro complained.
Despite his protest, a smile remained on his face. Marc began laughing again, and before long, all three of them were laughing together.
Eventually, Juro gave up on getting them to play another round and lay down beside them, resting his hands behind his head as he gazed up at the sky.
The weather was pleasant, and the trees nearby swayed gently in the breeze. With the sky stretching endlessly above them, the three simply enjoyed the peace and quiet after their exhausting game.
Juro closed his eyes, keeping both hands tucked beneath his head, while Marc continued excitedly talking about how much fun he'd had. Every now and then, he would recall a particular moment from their game, his enthusiasm seemingly nowhere near fading.
Bell, however, remained quiet.
A gentle smile rested on his face as he took in the moment, appreciating every second of the peace surrounding him. There was no need to think about anything else, nor was there anything he needed to do. For once, he could simply lie there and enjoy the company of those beside him.
And in that moment, Bell felt a genuine sense of peace and happiness.
The three of them lay beneath the clear sky, content to do nothing more than enjoy the moment together.
All three were content.