"It's lovely to see you react like that."
Openly smiling with glee, Stiel looked over the class before finally softening up his expression and raising his hands in a defensive gesture.
"Don't you guys worry. I will make sure that he will remain safe no matter what you do, while he will ensure that no harm will come to you. There are just some things that cannot be taught unless you go at it without any restraints. And since you guys are standing already, how about you give it a go, Kaisha?"
Right off the bat, Stiel managed to surprise not only the two of us but the entire class altogether. Given how we just happened to be in the unlucky spot of being right in the open, it was rather expected that the teacher would pick one of us for the example sake. Yet, to think that he would pick a girl instead of a man was a surprise!
It's not like being a girl arcanist had any kinds of downsides. In the short time that Fen spent in the city, he already managed to learn about all kinds of great exploits of both the legendary female arcanists from the past and the great women sages of the current age. Yet, when it came to fighting, wasn't the physical prowess an important element that was supposed to play a huge role?
On the other hand, when hearing Stiel's call, Kaisha slightly tightened her grasp on Fen's fingers, before breathing out and forcing herself to relax her hands. Letting go of her classmate, the girl stepped forward.
This time, as she pulled more air into her lungs, a slight, reddish aura surrounded her entire body, tensing as more and more air continued to puff her chest up.
"I'm ready."
Unwilling to let any of the distractions around to dampen her concentration, Kaisha turned her eyes into slits, fully focusing her pupils on the figure of the soldier in front.
Yet, as if this was just yet another duty that he had to take care off, this lightly dressed man didn't show any signs of stress or anxiety. His palm comfortably rested on the handle of his sword, with his back resting against one of the corner pillars that supported the light, glass roof above their heads.
"Okay then. Fight!"
Turning into some kind of jury, Stiel backed out a few steps, pushing Fen to the edge of the classroom in order to give the fighters more space to fight. It took only a split of a second for this decision to be proven to be correct.
"Ha!"
Using the air that she previously gathered in her lungs, Kaisha suddenly shouted. As if following the heed of her voice, a huge chunk of her aura split away from her surroundings. At this point already, Kaisha showed off how skilled she was. Even with all the teachings of various monsters, ancient beasts and the teachers themselves, Fen was still barely able to control his fires once he surfaces them. But to keep them in the perfect cold and stale state while retaining full control over them? That was something that even now, this young man couldn't be sure to claim he was capable of achieving!
"Good, without igniting the flames…"
Seeing the move of his student, Stiel smiled. Sadly, his happy expression quickly turned sour. Kaisha's eyes suddenly flared up, instantly igniting all the aura around her body as she jumped towards the enemy.
"Eh?"
Even before his teacher could explain what went through his head when he stopped his praise midway, Fen already noticed a huge mishap on the end of his lovable classmate. She had the advantage of the distance over the soldier, who was arrogantly still standing on the spot even despite a ball of flame flying his way. Yet, even before Kaisha could gauge the prowess of that man by observing how he would react to her attack, she already went on the offensive!
This kind of thing could work if she was facing against her equal, but this move was excusable only in that kind of specific scenario. If her enemy were to be weak enough, then her fireball would be enough to deal with him. That would in turn mean that she put her own safety at risk for no reason whatsoever!
On the other hand, the more likely scenario. As long as the enemy was capable of sustaining her first attack, then by closing the gap between the two of them, Kaisha would lose the main and only advantage that she had over him!
The distance.
And then it happened. Just like if he was an icy statue that would melt in the face of overwhelming heat, the soldier simply bent his knees, allowing the ball of fire to swoosh past him. Yet, right at the moment as his position was just right, the man pulled out his sword, and submerged its very tip into the middle of the ball of fire!
Allowing the momentum of the attack to swing him in a full circle, the man used the free speed-up to jump a bit, appearing above the girl with his sword now ready to slam hard down on her head!
"Halt."
The entire fight was over in a flash. Before Kaisha would even get close enough to even think of touching the soldier, his sword was already dangerously close her throat, serving as a testimony to the guardian's skill. With the position he was in during his attack, guiding his blade right beside Kaisha's head to bring the cutting part of his weapon right at the side of her throat was a feat that only a few in the empire would be capable of!
"I guess I'm next."
Even before the results of the fight and the lesson about Kaisha's mistakes could be conducted, Fen stepped forward, pushing his classmate to the back and putting himself between the girl and the soldier.
"Fen, why so hasty? It's not like you will miss your turn…"
A strange, burning feeling was ravaging Fen's insides. Even though he knew that Kaisha was ultimately in the faction that would give the kingdom for his head, seeing her so defenceless and humiliated by the prowess of this man still managed to infuriate the young man. Even if they would soon turn to be real enemies, all this time and effort that she gave to him was not a lie. In fact, once their current relationship would fall apart and shatter into myriad pieces, Fen would have no one but himself to blame for that!
"Can we begin?"
At the same time as the young man was fighting his urge to just leap at the man and tear his throat apart with his bare fingers, his mind was diligently analyzing what just happened a moment ago. There would be no greater shame to him to hastily go against the man, only to repeat the same mistakes that Kaisha presented.
Yet, no matter how much the young arcanist apprentice thought about it, closing the distance seemed like the best option. Considering how that man's sword allowed him a certain degree of control over the fires created by someone else, letting go of his own power was a huge no-no. But as stupid as leaping directly at the armed soldier sounded like, there was one distinct advantage that Fen had over Kaisha in terms of close-quarters combat.
He actually practised it a lot!