Page 55 of Monster's Baby

We all shuffled forward, spreading out once we got to the middle of the stadium.

“Welcome, magical community, to the second event of the Olympics!”the announcer boomed.“Tonight, will be the ley line sky surfing event.As an added complication, the contestants will be provided with an item that they must transfigure into a rideable object.They will be given points on style, aerodynamics, durability, and speed of transfiguration, as well as for their flying abilities.There is a timed component to the flight; they must complete their turn within fifteen minutes, performing a minimum of five tricks in the air.The scores for each contingent will be added up, and the team with the highest score will win first place.The countdown has begun.Prepare yourselves.”

A ginormous clock appeared overhead, counting down from thirty.

“What item?”I asked frantically, looking around the stadium.There was nothing visible beyond the sand and the stands.

“Patience,” Aiden said.“They’ll probably appear once the countdown runs out.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.“Transfiguration,” I murmured.“Without knowing the material composing the item, that’ll be difficult.”

“You can do it.”

I squeezed his hand.“So can you.”

“I know.”He grinned cockily at me.

The crowd started chanting the last ten seconds, the sounds echoing around the stadium.

I shook out my hands and rolled my neck on my shoulders.“Let’s do this.”

“One!” they screamed.

The floodlights illuminating the crowd went out, leaving the contestants in the light.

I blinked, taking in my surroundings once more.Tables had appeared around the circumference with objects too small to make out on top of them.

Everyone had started running to the tables closest to them.I didn’t quite understand why, and instead, focused on an object and summoned it to me.

It sped across the sand into my hand, much to the crowd’s delight.

I looked down at what I was holding; a chipped and cracked china plate.

“Seriously?”I muttered to nobody in particular.

It was simpler to transform matter and shape at once, rather than one at a time.However, the broken quality needed to be fixed first, or else it wouldn’t be as durable.

Since we were in Cairo, one of the strongest nexus points in the world, I would only have to use a drop of my power in the transfiguration.

I squatted in the sand, placing the plate on the cool ground.It was a matter of seconds to use the sand to fix the damage.I colored the broken, jagged lines gold, giving the plate a shimmery marbling effect.

“Flying,” I muttered.“Not just flying, but trick flying.A standard broom would work, but not be super flashy.”I chewed my lip for a minute, thinking about what I could do that wouldn’t knock me off my feet.“They called it sky surfing.Why not take them at the letter of their word?”

The plate in my hands grew, elongating and thickening.I used the sand at my feet to craft more marbling into the surfboard.China to fiberglass wasn’t a difficult task, but I added the extra step of complexity by turning the material transparent.From the ground, it would look like I was surfing on golden lines.

Satisfied with my transfiguration, I placed the surfboard flat on the ground and hopped up onto it.They didn’t say that we couldn’t use a bit of help to stay on our object, so I cast a combination balance and sticking spell on myself before I took off.

“Ride this wave!”I shouted, taking off into the air.

A beep sounded in my ear, marking the beginning of my timed session.

There weren’t many people in the air yet.Running to the objects had taken a lot of time, and I was confused as to why more people hadn’t used my method.I shrugged.It wasn’t important, and it was distracting me.

I did a few slow loops, getting the feel for the movement of the board.I didn’t like how it felt like I left my stomach behind every time I changed direction.

“Okay,” I said, psyching myself up.“I need to do something more complex.”A cartwheel mid-air made me squeak, but I managed it, breathing hard afterward.

More competitors were in the air now, and it was getting crowded.I decided to do a drop like in skateboarding, using the audience as the ramp.At the top of the stands, I did a one-handed flip, grabbing the edge of my board with one hand.A sea of faces was looking up at me, and I made the split-second decision to ride along the edge of the stadium, reaching down into the audience to give high fives.

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