Abelard had been researching on the blond boy for some days now. This boy, whom he recently found out was called Mane, was more impressive than he thought. It took some time, but he finally understood what the boy had done during their last class. This was the first time since Abelard was born, that he had met someone his age who could compete with him on an intellectual level. Well, calling it a competition would be a bit of an exaggeration. It was pretty clear to the Prince, that the blue eyed boy was better than him. They were not on the same level. He was far from the being the blond boy's match. This left him depressed. He could accept it if the boy was a bit smarter than him. But, looking at how much time it took him to understand what the boy had done, he had no choice but to admit defeat. It was pretty obvious to Abelard that the handsome boy developed that strategy in class. It was in no way pre-planned. He sighed in frustration when he realised this.
So, he spent the weekend learning more about the one he had deemed to be his rival. Regrettably, he was not able to uncover much. The 'commoner' had kept a low profile all this while, achieving no amazing feats. His search was not fruitless though. He found out that Mane had two roommates- the gullible and cute twins that were in his class. He knew about these twins. They were the sons of the grand duke of the Northern Empire! That was a pretty illustrious background. However, that was not enough to draw his attention. It was the fact that the three boys were missing a roommate.
He really wanted to be close to Mane. He reckoned that being close to someone like that would challenge him intellectually. Normally, it would be extremely difficult to use his family's influence to bump someone off the dormitory list. After all, the Wielder Academy was an independent power, insusceptible to interference by noble families. But in this scenario, there was no one to bump. It was pretty easy to get onto the list, and be registered as the fourth roommate.
Abelard watched as the coachman and a few guards, moved his things into the room. The eyes of the twins were filled with curiosity as they asked so many questions that Abelard felt mentally exhausted. They told him that Mane had gone home for the weekend. According to the twins, he was to arrive today. Abelard sat on the lower bunk bed after he had settled in. He did not need a genius to tell him that the upper bunk bed belonged to Mane. He looked at the door in anticipation as he thought to himself, "These next few years are going to be interesting."
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Mane looked at the creatures that were flying a few feet above his head. These beasts were grey in color with a patch of black on the feathers of their necks. They were as large as an average ten year old and looked like large sized crows. And they were extremely tricky. Mane wrinkled his brow at how much work these crows had given him. These birds were called black necked crows. They were known for their speed and evasiveness, as well as their high attack prowess. Fortunately, these birds had very poor defense and so that could be exploited. Unfortunately, their great speed made that weakness almost negligible, and unless the opponent was faster, it was better to flee from them.
So far Mane had only been defending. The crows were extremely troublesome. Immediately after they attacked, they took to the skies again, making it impossible for the boy without wings, to launch the offensive.
*caw*
Mane immediately ducked, performing a sideways roll to his left, as one of the birds swooped down and took a swipe at him with its claws. Upon realizing that it had missed, it took to the skies again. Mane pattered the dust off his clothes, as he stared angrily at the trio that seemed to be enjoying his misery. He looked down at his feet and noticed a few small stones he had not detected initially. He felt a little ashamed that he had not seen this, as he always boasted of his great observation skills. He smirked as he finally realized what he had to do. He readjusted his posture and took the stance of one about to throw a javelin. He looked at the birds as he analysed their flying patterns. He held three stones in his hand, one for each bird. He noticed that there was a pattern to their flight. The way they flew ensured that they could see each other's' backs at all times. In a sense, they were literally, watching their backs. Fortunately, this method was not full proof. There was an extremely short window of time- about 2 to 3 seconds- where they lost that comradery. And that is when they had just finished with their attack.
For this to work, Mane had wait for them to attack, and then launch his counter during that brief interval. After about five minutes, they attacked again. This time, only two of them launched the attack, leaving the sole level 2 combatant, gliding in the air.
*caw* *caw*
Mane rolled forward to escape the first crow, and jumped to the side to avoid the second, while at the same time regaining his footing to resume his javelin throw posture. He immediately went on the offensive, wasting no time to use his skills.
"Star flicker, extreme burst"
"1st move"
"2nd move"
"3rd move!"
The sweet sound of the stones whizzing through the air, lost out to the sorrowful cries of the crows. Amongst the three creatures, the sole survivor was the level 2 bird, which had fallen down, along with its comrades. Unlike the dead crows, its slightly faster speed caused the stone to miss its skull and strike its breast instead. The redness in its eyes expressed its anger at the one who shot it down. Looking at the struggling bird, Mane sighed as he prepared to cancel the simulation.
*caw*
Mane felt the temperature plummet all of a sudden. Without thinking he shot forward and performed a quick roll as he avoided a small but concentrated ball of fire. He had ignored the fire bloodline of the crow. At its level, it was difficult for this bird to produce more than two balls of fire before exhausting its qi. Normally, it would rather not. But right now, all it wanted was to burn this human child into cinders.
After performing his roll, Mane dashed towards the creature as he gathered qi in his right hand. The crow was gathering more qi in its beak, ready to shoot another fireball.
"Oh no you don't."
Mane delivered a downward right hook which landed on its upper beak, effectively closing it and destroying the almost ready fireball.
*BOOM*
The uncompleted fireball exploded in the creature's beak, effectively killing it and blowing Mane back by a few meters.
"Whew", Mane wiped the sweat of his brow as the simulation ended, returning him to the simulation chamber. This was by no means the toughest fight. But, it was the most taxing. He had to be constantly alert, and always defending due to the type of opponents he had faced. This was his longest battle yet, with most ending before the ten minutes mark. Mane looked at the time, it was almost three. He had to leave now, if he was to return to school before dark.
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Mane entered his room and caught sight of an unfamiliar yet familiar face. He recognised the boy as the Prince of the Western Empire, the one he had deemed worthy to be his friend. But he did not know what he was doing in his room.
"Oh, you are finally back. Let me formally introduce myself. I am Abelard- Abelard Smith. I am the newest addition to this room. Please, do take care of me." Looking at the brown haired boy who was looking at him expectantly, Mane could only say this in reply.
"Say what now?"