The town playground was alive with energy. Children screamed from swings and slides, their laughter sharp and bright, the air thick with the scent of barbecue, dust, and sun-warmed sand.
Brightly painted structures dotted the sand, and faint wisps of mana shimmered like morning mist--barely noticeable unless you focused, like heat rippling above stone.
As Dom followed Devon, weaving past kids and their colorful magic sparks, he stopped for a moment.
His attention was drawn to the tall fence beyond the playground, the boundary that separated the children from the forest on the other side.
But before he could dwell on it further, his gaze then drifted to the centre of the open field, where his grin instantly faded once he spotted a cocky, blonde boy, surrounded by a group of kids.
"Not this guy again," Dom groaned with exasperation.
Devon sighed. "I know. We all hate him, but Matt's the Chief's son, so play nice."
"No promises." Dom scoffed as they approached.
Matt lifted a brown, uniquely fenestrated ball as he spoke to the others, their expressions clearly uncomfortable under his presence.
"You're really awesome, Matt." A small boy said, his eager grin stretched too wide--the textbook definition of a lackey.
"They're all just too weak. It's almost sad." Matt scoffed, ignoring the frustrated glares from the other kids, before finally noticing the two boys approaching.
"Well, if it isn't Snow White." He mocked, a sneer fixed directly on Dom. "Still pretending to be a mage?"
Dom rolled his eyes. "Real mature, Matt."
"Don't tell me you're here to play, Dominic." Matt scoffed as he tossed the ball upwards, then applied his wind magic, causing the ball to hover and spin rapidly over his palm.
The air around it whistled faintly.
"You don't even have an affinity yet. So what can a magic-less loser like you do?"
Dom folded his arms, refusing to let his smile falter.
The words still stung… Every child his age had already awakened a magic affinity.
Elemental…Beast…Transmutation…Even the weaker ones had something.
But him?
Just raw mana… and years of people telling him to wait.
"You don't need magic to play Mana Ball, dumb-ass," He spat back, hiding his hurt surprisingly well…mostly from experience.
Some kids snickered.
"How dare you?" Matt's lackey snapped at Dom. "Don't you know who his dad is?"
Matt swelled slightly with pride.
"Sorry, Thing 1… but I don't care," Dom replied coldly.
Laughter broke out, sharper this time, and the lackeys' faces reddened.
Matt then stepped closer to Dom, his larger frame towering over Dom. "You really are an eyesore, Dominic. You make me want to puke." He said, his voice dangerously quiet.
Dom smirked, unfazed. "The feeling's mutual. So, are we playing or not?"
Matt fumed at Dom's unbothered expression--just before an idea brought a sudden smile to his face. "Fine. Then how about a bet?"
Dom raised a brow, curious.
Matt caught the spinning ball and held it up to Dom. "One game. You and me. Three minutes. And I'll be the Hunter. If I hit you once, I win. But if time runs out--you win."
Murmurs immediately spread among the kids.
"That's not fair." A girl whispered.
"Yeah, but Dom's the best target we have..." A teen responded.
"But Matt's magic always hit." A tall boy muttered, then glanced nervously at Dom. "Besides, how can Dom defend without an affinity?"
"It's impossible. You can't win without magic." Another kid whispered, with others nodding along.
Dom's fists tightened as he caught their words... their doubts... and he couldn't blame them.
After all, in this world, magic reigned above everything.
"Normally, you're allowed to block it with a brief spell, but since you don't have any magic to begin with…" Matt added, tossing the ball up and catching it casually. "You're just going to have to run and dodge it."
The whispers continued... all of which emphasized Dom's powerless state...
But despite their remarks, Dom smirked, amused by the challenge. "Fine." He said, "But if I win, you give me 100 credits. Should be easy for a daddy's boy, right?"
Some kids laughed, making Matt scowl.
"Okay. But if I win…" A sly smile crept onto Matt's face. "…you never play with us again, and you have to…" He trailed off, his eyes searching for a means to humiliate Dom even more, before his gaze landed on the woods beyond the tall fence. "… fetch apples from there. For everyone."
Dom silently counted heads—seventeen, excluding himself, then turned his gaze back to the forest.
For a brief moment, the discussions of the hunters echoed in the back of his mind... but the desire to prove himself to his friends and eagerness to wipe the floor with this pompous child completely overshadowed his doubts.
"You're on." He said, and some of the kids cheered.
Minutes later…
A space was carved out in the sand, and the children shuffled back to form a loose boundary. Dust hung faintly in the air, disturbed by restless feet and anticipation. All eyes locked onto the two boys at the center.
A tall boy stepped forward, raising an old pocket watch. Its faint ticking somehow cut through the noise.
"Three minutes." He announced.
Matt rolled his shoulder, winding his arm slowly, a cocky smirk tugging at his lips as he watched Dom stretch.
Dom then exhaled slowly as he straightened.
A faint navy-blue aura seeped from his body, thin as mist, clinging to his skin like a second layer. It shimmered subtly--unrefined, but alive.
Since I can't block with magic, I'll boost my body and dodge like usual.
He smirked, his eyes glowing brightly.
Matt's expression darkened slightly, irritated by Dom's confidence.
Yellow mana flared to lie around his arm, brighter, sharper--controlled. It funneled into the ball, threading through its hollow gaps until it glowed from within.
"Get set…" The umpire announced, his arm raised-- then it dropped. "GO!"
Matt launched the ball with a surprisingly explosive force.
The air shrieked as it tore through it, a sharp whistle cutting toward Dom's face--
Dom's glowing eyes widened as he dropped instantly.
The ball skimmed his hair--close enough for him to feel the wind drag across his scalp--before blasting past him toward the spectators.
A girl gasped as the projectile headed straight for her, but with a twist of Matt's wrist, the ball stopped.
Mid-air.
It trembled for a second, then spun again as it snapped back.
Dom twisted hard, his shoes scraping through sand as he dove sideways. The ball tore past him again and flew straight into Matt's waiting hand.
The ball's glow flickered. Faded.
Then died as it exhausted the last of Matt's incorporated mana.
Dom rolled, then sprang back up to his feet, grin wide--breathing just a little heavier than before. "Easy peasy," He muttered, despite his pulse racing.
Matt clicked his tongue, irritation flashing across his face as he pumped mana back into the ball again before hurling it.
But this time, the ball stopped mid-flight.
It then spun rapidly as it began to haphazardly fly around, like an insect circling its target.
Then jerked sideways at Dom from an unnatural angle, cutting across the space like it had changed its mind.
Dom's eyes flashed blue as it tracked the ball's terrifyingly fast course--
--but his body moved faster.
With a grunt, he kicked off the ground, leaping back as the ball sliced through where his chest had been a split second earlier.
Sand burst beneath his feet as he landed.
Matt swung an arm, his wind magic redirecting the ball up, and then slammed it down like a thunderbolt.
But Dom leapt backwards, evading the ball once again as it snapped into the ground with a harsh crack.
Again.
And again.
Time blurred, tension rose, and the excited spectators watched with rapt attention.
Matt threw everything he had into each shot--his arm snapping forward, mana flaring brighter with every attempt. His wind was scattering dust in every direction.
But no matter what trick Matt used, Dom navigated the field like an untouchable force. His movements were far too sharp for a child his age.
"Thirty seconds left!" The umpire shouted.
Matt's head snapped toward him, panic flickering on his face.
Dom saw that expression and suddenly burst forward. His feet kicked across the dirt as he ran directly towards the startled Matt.
The crowd gasped as the ball whipped back toward Matt's hand, but before he could react, Dom was already there, slipping past him in a blur of motion.
"Time's almost up, daddy's boy!" Dom shouted, teasingly, as he slapped Matt's shoulder in passing.
Matt's teeth clenched.
"Shut up!"
He hurled the ball again--
--But Dom flipped out of the way.
A clean cartwheel, his palms slamming briefly into the sand before he kicked off and landed lightly on his feet.
His surprising agility and theatrics drew amused cheers from the spectators.
Matt's blood boiled.
His grip tightened around the ball as it snapped back into his palm, the faint hum of mana vibrating against his skin. His jaw clenched, teeth grinding as the cheers for Dom echoed louder than they should have.
As he prepared another throw, his eyes drifted-- for a second--to his lackey.
The boy met his gaze and made a subtle nod.
As Matt launched his next shot, the lackey's finger lifted slowly, almost nervously--
--and rippled with mana.
It was faint. Controlled. Easy to miss if you weren't looking for it.
As Dom landed another flip, sand crunching under his shoes, a shallow pothole formed in an instant, the sand collapsing inward like it had been hollowed out from below… and his foot dropped right into it.
His balance snapped, and his body pitched backward--
But in that instant, his eyes widened, every sense firing at once as his head jerked toward the crowd and he immediately spotted the faint glow around the boy's finger.
"You litt—" Dom started, anger flashing sharp and immediate--
--but he was too late.
The ball smashed into his cheek, the sound cracked through the air--loud, flat, undeniable.
His head snapped sideways as pain exploded across his face, hot and blinding for a split second, while his footing finally gave out beneath him.
And just like that--
Silence.
Laughter died. Cheers vanished.
The entire playground seemed to freeze around that single moment.
A few seconds later--
The umpire's watch chimed, marking the end of the match. But it didn't matter anymore.
Matt threw both arms into the air, his grin wide--too wide. "Yes! I win!" He declared, voice cutting through the silence with forced triumph.
Only his lackey cheered.
The rest didn't move or speak.
They simply stared in awkward silence as Dom's hand rose to his cheek, pressing lightly against the spot where the ball had struck. The skin throbbed under his fingers, heat spreading outward in dull pulses.
"What's wrong, Dom? No more jokes?" Matt mocked, stepping closer, riding the moment.
To his surprise, Dom didn't answer. Not even a single glance.
Instead, he silently picked the ball up, got up, and walked deliberately toward the crowd, his fingers steady, his expression unreadable… and stopped in front of the lackey.
"You cheated," He said, low and calm.
The faint blue glow in his eyes flickered just enough to make the kids nearby stiffen without knowing why.
The lackey shrank back instantly. "I… I… I didn't! You're lying!" He stammered, voice cracking under the pressure.
Matt moved quickly, stepping between them like a shield. "No need to be a sore loser, Dominic." He said, smoothly, a smirk settling back onto his face. "I won fair and square." He turned slightly, addressing the others. "Or did anyone see anything different?"
Dom's gaze followed.
One by one--
Faces turned away. Eyes dropped. Feet shifted in the sand.
Silence…
Heavy and Complete...
Not a single kid saw what happened.
To them, he just tripped and fell.
It was a clean hit.
And even if something felt wrong… no one wanted to say it... not against Matt.
But Dom understood it anyway.
Matt's grin widened. "See? That's what happens when a talentless loser tries to compete with real magic." He shrugged, satisfied, before looking back at Dom.
"Now, be a good boy and pay up. Or were you lying about that, too, huh… Future Monarch?"
Devon stepped forward, anger flashing across his face. "Hey! That's going too f—"
"Fine," Dom cut him off, his eyes still fixed on the second lackey cowering behind cover. He exhaled quietly, acknowledging the loss, his anger buried but intact.
"We'll be waiting. Now..." Matt said, extending his hand. "...my ball?"
Dom didn't respond.
He simply stepped forward… and shoved the ball into Matt's gut.
Hard enough to make him grunt and stumble half a step back.
Then he turned and walked towards the fence without a word.
Devon moved to follow. "Wait, I'm--"
Dom raised a hand, stopping him immediately without a single word or glance. He didn't need to.
"What a sore loser," Matt grumbled, recovering as he rubbed his stomach. Then, louder, forcing the moment back under his control-- "So who wants to pay next? While the loser brings our snacks?"
"I'm good." Devon scoffed, throwing him a glare before turning and walking away.
The others lingered. Uncomfortable.
They didn't notice the cheat, but something about the outcome sat wrong in their chests.
One by one, they drifted off, their earlier excitement gone.
Until only Matt and his lackey remained.
"Don't worry about them, Matt. I'll be the next target." The lackey said quickly.
But Matt wasn't listening; his jaw tightened as he watched Dom reach the fence.
The victory didn't feel as good as it should have… in fact, it felt even more irritating.
Despite the tall fence built specifically to prevent these magically enhanced children from crossing over, Dom scaled it quickly with just his bare hands.
As he reached the top, he stared at the forest in front of him for a moment… then jumped down.
Unfortunately, he had no idea that before the day ended… he would wish he'd never climbed that fence.