Three days remained before the first official day of classes.
Morning light slipped quietly through the small window of the boys' house, painting soft golden lines across the wooden floor and the table in the center of the living room. The air felt calm, almost too calm, as if the world itself was giving them time to breathe before everything began again.
On the table sat three jade-colored appraisal orbs, glowing faintly like precious gems.
Kai, Duke, and Mike had been sitting around that table for quite a while now.
And yet…
none of them had the slightest idea what to do.
Kai rested his chin on his palm, staring intensely at the orb in front of him. His expression shifted between curiosity and growing frustration.
"So… how exactly is this thing supposed to work?" he muttered.
He picked it up again, turning it slowly under the light. The faint glow reflected in his eyes as he examined every angle. He even brought it closer to his face, squinting slightly as if expecting to find a hidden button or some kind of mechanism.
Mike, meanwhile, was sprawled across the sofa behind him, one leg hanging off the side, both hands resting behind his head.
"No clue," he said lazily. "They say 'figure it out yourself' like it sounds cool… but they don't exactly tell you how to figure it out."
Duke sat nearby with his arms crossed, his expression more composed but no less tired.
"I'm out of ideas too," he admitted with a quiet sigh.
They had already tried almost everything they could think of.
They had shaken the orb.
Tapped it lightly.
Set it down and waited.
Spoken to it like idiots.
At one point, Mike had even tried whispering to it like it was some kind of living creature.
And still…
nothing happened.
Silence settled over the room again.
Then suddenly, Mike sat upright.
"Wait… what if—"
He grabbed one of the orbs, holding it up with a sudden spark of excitement in his eyes.
"What if we're supposed to break it?"
Kai and Duke snapped their heads toward him at the same time.
"What!?"
Mike tightened his grip on the orb, looking strangely serious.
"Think about it," he continued. "Maybe the power is sealed inside. We break the outer shell… and it activates."
Kai immediately jumped to his feet.
"Hold on, hold on, hold on!"
Duke rushed forward as well.
"Don't do something stupid!"
But Mike had already raised his hand, preparing to smash the orb onto the floor.
Kai and Duke lunged at him at the same time.
"Don't throw it!"
"That thing's probably expensive!"
The three of them struggled in a messy tangle of arms and voices.
In the chaos, Duke accidentally shoved Mike's arm.
The hand holding the orb slammed straight into Mike's chest.
"AHHH!"
Mike lost his balance and fell backward.
Thud.
He hit the floor hard.
Duke immediately reached down, panic flashing across his face.
"Hey! Are you okay!?"
Mike slowly sat up, one hand pressed against his chest.
But then…
his expression changed.
His eyes widened.
"…I see it."
Kai frowned.
"What?"
"See what?"
Mike stared at his own hand as if something invisible was written across it.
"…It appeared."
Duke frowned deeper.
"What are you talking about?"
Mike took a slow breath.
"My blessing," he said quietly. "I know what it is now."
Kai and Duke immediately moved closer.
Mike slowly opened his hand.
The orb had changed.
The soft jade color was gone.
In its place…
a deep, pitch-black surface.
Duke blinked in disbelief.
"So that means…"
Kai nodded slowly.
"It activated."
Mike swallowed slightly, still processing.
"It didn't show up in front of me," he said. "It appeared… in my head."
Kai leaned in, unable to hide his curiosity.
"What did you see?"
Mike paused, trying to organize his thoughts.
"My blessing… lets me cast magic faster," he said.
Duke raised an eyebrow.
"That sounds pretty good."
Mike grimaced slightly.
"But… there's a downside."
Kai crossed his arms.
"Of course there is. What is it?"
Mike exhaled.
"I learn magic slower than others."
The room fell silent for a moment.
Duke scratched his head.
"So basically… if two people know the same spell…"
"You can cast it faster, but it takes you longer to learn it in the first place?"
Mike nodded.
"Yeah. That's what it feels like."
Kai leaned back slightly, thinking "So…like how long?."
Mike look at kai with confusion "What you mean?."
"Like if the spell is the most basic one….and let say it only took someone else a few days or a week to learn how to use it, then what will it took you…like a few weeks or….months" kai said
Mike thinking for a few minutes, his face full of concern "i…I don't know"
Duke shrugged off the concerns in mike face "let forget about it for a second, maybe it wouldn't take you that long" Duke turned to Kai "Alright. Your turn."
Kai picked up his orb.
"Fine."
He looked at it for a moment, recalling what just happened.
"So it activates when it hits your chest, right?"
Mike nodded.
"Seems like it."
Kai took a breath.
Then…
Thud.
He pressed the orb firmly against his chest.
Instantly…
his mind filled with strange symbols.
Ancient, distorted letters that should have been unreadable.
And yet…
he understood every single one of them.
Kai's eyes widened.
"…I see it."
He slowly opened his hand His orb had turned black as well.
Duke leaned forward.
"Well? What did you get?"
Kai stared at his hand.
"My blessing…"
He hesitated slightly.
"…lets me control….forces?."
Mike frowned.
"Control forces?" Duke tilted his head "What does that even mean?" He asked
Kai shook his head.
"I don't know," he admitted. "That's all it says."
Mike crossed his arms, thinking.
"Wait. Really? That it?"
Kai paused, searching through the information in his mind.
"…I mean…yeah."
Duke frowned "maybe you will know how to use it naturally…like breathing."
Kai shrugged.
"Maybe."
Duke picked up the last orb.
"Guess it's my turn."
He tightened his grip.
Then copied Kai's movement.
Thud.
A few seconds passed, Duke opened his eyes.
"…Got it."
Mike leaned forward immediately.
"So? What is it?"
Duke looked down at his hand.
The orb had turned black.
"My blessing…"
He spoke slowly.
"…lets me enhance weapons that I create."
Mike immediately grinned "That's amazing!"
"Weapon buffs? That's broken!"
But Duke didn't smile.
Instead, he frowned.
"No," he said. "There's a catch."
Kai raised an eyebrow.
"What kind?"
Duke exhaled "I can only enhance weapons…that's all."
Mike shrugged "That's still strong."
Duke looked at him flatly " What!? Hell no."
"Why?" Kai asked while narrowed his eyes.
Duke paused "Like the fact that…I don't know shit about making a weapon."
…
…
…
Silence.
All them look at each face.
Duke finally spoke.
"So let me get this straight." He pointed at each of them in turn.
"One of us can cast a spell way faster but maybe have to take year to lern it."
"One of us controls 'forces' but doesn't even know what the hell that mean."
"And i can enhance weapons… but I never touch or even see how smithing work in my entire life."
Mike groaned "That sounds… really bad when you put it like that."
Duke leaned back into his chair, staring at the ceiling "These blessings are way too vague…"
Kai let out a long sigh "Honestly…" He glanced at both of them, "These're all sound fucking useless!."
For a moment…
all three of them sighed at the same time.
The room fell quiet again.
Outside, the sunlight had begun to soften, drifting toward the calm of late afternoon.
Three more days.
Before the academy truly began.