Chapter 29:Training Part 3
Eliana quickly blocked Larsanel's sword the moment it zoomed into her face. The collision created a loud clack. Larsanel was strong, Eliana could barely stop her aim.
Their swords swing around in different directions, Larsanel was continuously attacking her. The consistency left no room for Eliana to fight back, she was always on defense. With every aim Eliana would step back from the impact, they circled around the mini arena.
Larsanel pounced to her side but Eliana reacted quickly switching the line of her sword to the other side. The victorious moment was cut short when Larsanel kicked her ankle making Eliana trip.
Her back painfully crashed to the ground. The sword slipped from her hands. She grunted momentarily and immediately rolled over when Larsanel's sword came closing in to cut her. She kept rolling, avoiding the Sixth ranker's attacks.
She waited for an opening to decapitate the girl, but it was impossible. Just then, Larsanel stepped in between her legs, she took the chance springing up to grab Larsanel's foot and pulled. Larsanel met the floor. Eliana immediately picked herself up and grab Her sword from the ground.
"Don't ever trip me again Lars." She grunted.
The leg that Larsanel kicked was slightly throbbing. However, from the adrenaline she was feeling at the moment, it was barely noticeable. She gripped the sword tightly around her fingers standing in position, on guard for the next attack.
Larsanel stood up giggling. She looked better than Eliana, calm, complacent and stronger, no sweat at all or difficulty.
She pointed the sword to the one in Eliana's hand. "Rule number one, never let go of the weapon in the middle of the fight. A sword fight is meaningless without a sword, try harder Eliana." Larsanel stood in position.
They circled each other for a moment, waiting for the other to attack. Eliana's sweat trickled down to her jaws rolling to her chin. It was plain to see Larsanel isn't using her full strength. If anything, this was Lars' average strength. And the thought of it was frustrating for Eliana.
It was a while and Eliana was getting impatient, she made an impulsive decision to attack first. She brought her sword to the back to gain momentum. Just as she was about to swing it, Larsanel pointed her sword to the front attempting to stab Eliana.
But Eliana already had a tactic in mind, her swing was a decoy. Once she was in front of the Sixth ranker she immediately ducked down. Her stunt caught Larsanel off guard.
With all her might, Eliana swung her legs to trip Larsanel. Larsanel landed harshly on the grassy ground. As she fell, Eliana quickly stood up and stepped on the ranker's vest to prevent her from raising.
Larsanel raised her hand with the gripped sword but Eliana was quick to react. She used both hands to swing her sword like a baseball bat against Larsanel's. The impact was strong that Lars' hands ricocheted back to the ground, the sword still in her hand.
Panting, Eliana pointed the wooden sword to Larsanel's neck. She was trying to catch her breath.
"Did I win?" She breathed.
Larsanel was staring at her with a puzzled look. She belittled Eliana thinking her inexperience was not worth an effort. But she was obviously wrong, Eliana surprised her with a strategy she did not expect. She was going too easy on her that she caught her off guard.
"I'll give this to you for now." Larsanel was smiling as she eyed the shaking sword pointed at her. Eliana was trembling.
Eliana dropped herself to the ground. She felt completely relieved it was over. She tried to regain her messed up breathing. As she relaxed, she could feel the throb coming from her left ankle. She pulled the sleeve of her pants up, a bruise was forming on her pale skin.
Larsanel sat up looking untouched and fresh. "Are you okay Eliana?" She traced where the girl was looking and saw the bruised leg. "Oh Gods! I'm really sorry El." She yelped, her face showed concern and panic.
Jett and Bastion jogged to their spot, the others were behind on their trail they preferred to walk.
"You did great Eliana!" Jettam complimented.
Sure enough, everyone was surprised with Eliana's boldness. They were truly judgemental about her being a human.
Bastion nodded his head agreeing with Jett. "You surprised me there, keep it up." He encouraged her.
Eliana smiled at them feeling her cheeks heating up. "Thank you, I still have a long way to go though. I'll do my best." She was all fired up.
"Hah." Emery crossed her arms smirking at Eliana who was on the ground. "Look at yourself sprawled on the ground. After this, do you really think you can be like us? Pathetic."
Larsanel frowned from what she heard. She gave Emery an upset look. She's friends with Emery, but she didn't like how Emery treats Eliana.
She pouted. "Emery be nice will you just please."
Emery rolled her eyes. "My apologies Lars but I don't think I'll ever like this human."
Eliana faced her with an angry look. Emery raised her eyebrows challenging the girl with a stare.
Eliana felt her body getting heavy. She was tired and all she wanted at the moment was to return to her dorm room.
"Your ankle..." Anzai pointed at her bruised leg.
All of their eyes followed his fingers. Concerned expressions flashed on their faces. Even Emery but it was quick and hard to catch. Bastion, who saw it smiled softly.
"Ah gods, yeah I need to get some ice for this." Eliana rambled.
"Ice?" Bastion asks from pure curiosity. "Does ice help?"
Eliana sported a look of disbelief. Really? If they don't use ice then what does Praediti use to treat with their medications?
"Ice works like a charm for bruises like this, don't worry. So where can I get one?" She explained.
The others stared at her like she was someone from another planet, which was ironically the case. She suddenly felt stupid for saying those, but in her defense that was basic knowledge for a human who lived on earth for as long as she can remember.
"No, we need you to go to the infirmary. They have healing bandages there." Anzai insisted. The others gave him a look but he ignored it. He was acting differently than his usual i-don't-give-a-care self.
He turned to Jett who was startled. "Jettam, you can bring her to the infirmary."
"Yes of course, Anzai hahaha." Jett laughed, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. He felt embarrassed since Anzai caught him giving the guy a judgemental look.
Eliana who was watching the scene smiled at Jettam's awkwardness. She shifted her eyes to the first ranker and was slightly surprised he was already looking. She gave him a wondering look but his face was blank. He sighed softly before turning around walking away.
"Take care of her." Zathur said before following the first ranker.
Eliana was confused but it vanished when Jettam came to her side. "What are you doing?"
"Don't move too much."
Eliana panicked when his arms snuck under her knees and her upper back. She yelped in surprise when he easily picked her up from the ground.