Saga of Atlantis

The ball that was within my grip left my hand as it started to float in the air.

Soon, I followed it upwards as the gravity within the court runes turned to zero.

With a few movements of my hands, I balanced myself to avoid turning upside down, reaching near the net with my face just above it.

Just on the other side of the net, Raoul was floating in the air with his arm crossed as he looked at me, smirking.

It took me very little time to get the hang of the feeling of zero gravity. I started floating around, like I was swimming in the air.

It wasn’t hard for me to balance myself in the air, as I literally fly when I use my {Wings of the Phoenix}.

The referee, who was within the court but at a very safe distance, said, "Since Eden is at a disadvantage, he will be the first one to serve. And as it is just a friendly match, one session will only last 20 minut—"

"Make it 5 minutes; we don’t have all day!" Geilna interrupted him.

I looked around and found her sitting in the spectator seat, with Grace sitting beside her.

—one session will only last 5 minutes, with the one with the highest score winning the session. Points will be given when the ball hits the white ring behind the opposite team."

As he turned silent, I used mana to cast a basic wind spell to bring the ball close to me.

I took my time to get the hang of the feeling, but I never touched the ball directly.

"I must say, Eden, you are good at it using basic spells without chanting it’s name," Raoul said, looking at me with competence as I played around with the volleyball.

"Of course I am," I replied, as it was a matter of fact.

"Start the match; we don’t have all day," he said again, urging me to start.

"Yeah, yeah," I replied, ignoring his words.

’Should I play with his feelings for a bit?’ I thought looking at Raoul before focusing back on the ball.

I played with the ball, using a basic wind spell to spin, swing, and move it, getting used to it. Then I used a basic fire spell to coat it with fire, but the ball didn’t burn even after that.

I didn’t use water and earth because there wasn’t much I could do with them.

I did the same with my body; using the wind to move around, the stiffness in my movements started to fade away.

"Please serve the ball, Eden, or your time will run out," the referee said, pointing towards the clock hanging in the auditorium.

A minute has already passed.

"Fine," I replied as I threw the ball with a little bit of wind.

It crossed the net, and the game officially started.

*Swoosh*

*BZZZT*

Almost immediately, the ball returned with lightning speed before it hit the white ring behind me.

"Two points to Raoul’s team," the referee shouted.

After a few seconds of silence, the auditorium buzzed with numerous murmurs, and some even started to laugh, pointing at me.

"Too scared to move, Eden?" Raoul snickered as the referee passed the ball back to them for serving.

He didn’t reply as the server on his team served. Chanting a fire spell, he coated the ball with fire and then served it, hitting the ball at the center of the white ring behind me.

*BZZZT*

"Two points to Raoul’s team."

As the game continued without me doing anything but sitting and chilling around,.

"Is he giving up?"

"Yeah, it looks like it!"

"Anyway, he was never supposed to win!"

"All talk but no action!"

The crowd immediately started to boo, shouting at me, but I just ignored them.

*BZZZT*

"The first set ends here!"

"Winner Raoul’s team by twenty points!"

The referee shouted as the five-minute timer ended.

As it ended, it was time to change sides.

I floated above the net, moving to the other side and meeting Raoul in the middle.

"Stop embarrassing yourself more, Eden; just admit you’ve lost the game," he said, his face filled with arrogance.

"Shut up, prick," I replied, shoving a middle finger on his face.

"Professor Geilna, we should end the match; he has already lost the game." Hiding his anger, Raoul turned towards Geilna as he requested.

"No, at least one more match before the game ends." Geilna denied it as she looked at me.

Grace tried to say something to her, but she just ignored her words.

"Fine, I will give you more humiliation, Eden." Raoul turned towards me as he said, but I just ignored him, moving towards the center and taking the same position.

"Not again!"

"End the game already; he lost!"

"He was at a disadvantage from the start."

"And whose fault was that to begin with!"

Ignoring the outburst of the crowd, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

{Phonecia’s Bloodline: Flame Manipulation}

Activating Sylvia’s bloodline I extended my hands as I summoned a small fire that flickered in my hand.

And slowly the flames spiraled, growing more with every second, until they formed four mesmerizing orbs of fire around me.

The air crackled with the warmth of the flames, and a gentle wind stirred.

Then the firey orbs bloomed, expanding and forming petals of fire that hung in the air, and then their tendrils formed as they swirled around.

The wind moved again as four mesmerizing plants of fire formed around me.

I looked around, and almost all the students were looking at the plants of fire in awe.

Well, they do look beautiful with their red and golden colors.

But the one who had the strongest reaction was Geilna; she stood there with her mouth wide open while her dark eyes fixed on the plants.

Only she understood what I was doing right now.

As no third year, and only a handful of teachers in the academy could do what I did.

"Pass the ball, reff." I said it with confidence, breaking the silence within the court, and even though it wasn’t my turn, the referee passed the ball towards me.

The ball was elegantly caught by the plant beside me as it took hold of it.

"Start the game." I said to the referee before focusing back towards surprised Raoul.

"SECOND ROUND BEGIN!"

*Swoosh*

As soon as his words were complete, the plant beside me threw the ball, hitting it in the center of the white ring before any of them could react.

"Two points to Eden!" The referee shouted.

"Too scared to move, Raoul?" I repeated his words from earlier, and immediately his face turned crimson with anger and shame.

The lingering silence continued until the ball returned back to me.

"What are you doing? Attack him!" Raoul shouted at his teammates as the ball once again got wrapped by the petals of the plant.

At Raoul’s words, his teammates started to prepare the spell, ready to throw it at me as I was allowed in the game.

"Protect me." I mumbled, and two plants arrived in front of me, ready to block any attack.

Though it may look like they have their own minds, I am actually the one who is controlling them.

It feels cool this way.

A myriad of spells were thrown at me by the five of them, as Raoul was the only one ready to intercept the ball.

"Throw it." I mumbled, and the plant holding the ball threw it with intense force, creating a fiery arc as Raoul tried to catch it.

But how could it be so easy?

The ball arched up and, with fluid movement, continued hitting the white ring.

"Two points to Eden!"

The crowd again got silent; no one cheered or shouted.

The ball once again returned to me.

’I am going to enjoy breaking their confidence.’ I thought while grinning.

"Throw it."

*Swoosh*

*BZZZT*

"Two points to Eden!"

....….....

...

"Throw it."

*Swoosh*

*BZZZT*

"Two points to Eden!"

.....…..

...

"Throw it."

*Swoosh*

*BZZZT*

"The second set ends here!"

"Winner Eden by fifty points!"

The referee announced the end of the second round of the session.

And boy, the look on Raoul’s and his teammates faces is something that I will never forget.

"ENOUGH!"

As I floated up to change sides again, a voice resonated throughout the auditorium.

"It’s a draw; let’s end the match here!"

Geilna said as she stood up, moving towards the court. Her face expressed shock and a slight anger.

"Should we, professor?" I asked, looking at her, and she shot a deadly glare at me.

Well, well, look how the table has turned.

"Check other first-year students." She said looking towards the referee.

"And, Eden," she turned back, looking at me, "how powerful really are you?."