Ty Varen
The tension in the air was palpable as Ty shook hands with Lanza, sealing their deal. Ty could feel the seventh seat's mana pouring out from him. It was almost blinding. If this were a duel of magic, Ty knew just from feeling that power that he wouldn't stand a chance. Fortunately, this was a cooking duel. Ty knew he was good at this, so he definitely stood a chance. His hairs stood on end from the electric aura, but he took a deep breath to calm himself. This wasn't like his duel with the first. It was just a friendly competition and if he lost, he'd have to cook. He liked cooking anyway. No big deal. He kept telling himself that as he put on his blindfold and the club members lined up the potatoes for him. He flared his mana and touched each potato once. He knew where the were now. He could do this. He folded his left hand behind his back, and the competition commenced.
Ty set the knife down and grabbed four potatoes, making a square in front of him. He could cut the four at a time to give himself an edge. Chop, chop, chop... Swift, efficient blows began to cube the potatoes. Ty had never done anything quite like this before, but as he brought the knife down onto his targets, he was actually a bit impressed with how well he was doing. Then, he heard the chopping next to him. Holy Shit! He sounds like a goddamn woodpecker! Ty thought, furrowing his brow and redoubling his efforts to chop more quickly.
He wasn't even halfway done when Lanza's chopping stopped. Ty felt a sinking feeling in his gut. He knew it was over. However, even in a marathon, someone had to come in last place. He'd finish his course and at least try to lose with dignity. Twelve potatoes chopped, and Ty set his knife down, rested his hands on the table, and stared down blindly at his pile of neat little cubes. "Dammit..." he muttered. It felt like the gap between him and them hadn't grown any smaller. "TY IS THE WINNER!" "Wait... WHAT!?" Ty ripped off his blindfold to see what the hell just happened. Did Lanza accidentally chop off a finger or something? That was always a risk when working this fast. He looked over to Lanza's table and saw a mutilated potato puree. Definitely not properly cubed.
Ty was conflicted. In a way it felt like one of those bullshit technicalities he wanted to avoid. But, no. This wasn't a fight, it was a chopping contest and the terms were perfectly clear. In a fair and honest duel... "I BEAT LANZA!" he shouted, throwing his fists up in the air victoriously as the seventh seat sank to his knees. The crowd was in an uproar at this upset victory. The cooking club was certain to get a whole slew of new members after this. Like any good rival, Lanza swore swift vengeance on him and Ty responded to the challenge with a smirk. "You're ten years too early to challenge me in cooking, Lanza!" Heh, he'd always wanted to say that. "But, I'll gladly accept once you're ready."
The Miracle Seven dispersed, and Ty nearly jumped when his professor addressed him out of nowhere. "I wasn't doing anything!" he blurted out, his reflexive response to being addressed by any teacher when he didn't know they were there. While Ty adamantly denied that professor Mavis's shock-based discipline had any effect, at least some part of it had rooted itself in his subconscious. "Oh, I mean, hi Professor Nyx. Apparently Lanza really sucks at cubing potatoes." Ty rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously. He couldn't tell if the professor was mad at him, or just mad in general. But before he could get a read on the guy, he melted into his own shadow. Just like casually, no be deal, shadow melding.
"If he can do that, then why was he like an hour late to class?" Ty mused, but he just shook his head and said goodbye to the cooking club. "I gotta go guys. If I'm late, my professor might blow me up." The club members exchanged concerned looks, both at how a professor could inflict such abuse on a student and at how Ty could talk so casually about it. But, Ty just gave one last wave and headed back to the lecture hall. He found his seat and actually sat properly for a change. His head was still buzzing from everything that had happened. He beat Lanza. He half expected to wake up from one of professor Mavis's shocks, but apparently it really happened. What a strange start to the school year. He couldn't wait to see what would happen next!
