They were in front of the forest Mares and Esen had seen from afar earlier. The trees were gigantic, their wood, if it was wood in the sense Mares was familiar with, was a mix of gray and red.
In front of the forest, there was a camp with various people, clearly from different species. Mares noticed that there were fewer of them that used clothes similar to Qiulei's, and most of the people there were youngsters, around his age, using what seemed to be the uniform of the academy.
"You are letting them enter a forest with those clothes?"
Mares asked with a raised eyebrow. Qiulei smiled from the corner of her mouth once she heard that question.
"Our uniforms are much more useful than you might think."
Mares got more curious but didn't ask more, as he noticed someone coming in their direction.
"Teacher!"
A girl with silver-blue hair and a horn sticking out of the right side of her forehead called for Qiulei as she turned to her when Mares and the orange-haired arrived. The girl looked happy to see her teacher, but when she looked to the side her eyes widened in astonishment.
"He is…"
She was about to ask for confirmation, but his silver shining eyes already were enough for Lhian to make sure it was the same gladiator she first saw fighting. Though she also realized now she didn't know his name.
"Hello." Mares said to her. He was a little curious as to why she seemed astonished, but just figured out Qiulei probably didn't have gone into details about who she was hiring.
'Oh… hihi, my Mares is as amazing as ever.'
Esen suddenly said, and for the long-haired, it sounded out of nowhere.
"This reminds me. I never asked your name boy, so, what should we call you?"
Qiulei noticed her disciple's surprise. Knowing that Lhian wanted to ask that question, she did it for her disciple. They only knew of his number in the arena, it was a common practice there. Even higher-ranking gladiators didn't have their names known by the public.
"You can call me…" Mares seemed to want to say something first, but he stopped for a second, contemplating something. Qiulei and Lhian got curious but waited for him to say something.
A few things were passing through his mind and he was consulting Esen.
'Should I say my name?'
'I don't see why not. But those monsters would get suspicious if your name spread. Just tell them to not tell others. It's a good thing for my Mares to improve his social skills.'
She replied with a shrug, not worried about the matter.
'But what if…' He didn't go on, but Esen knew exactly what he was thinking. In Mares' mind, two golden-haired girls appeared, and in his eyes, there was a rare light of hesitation.
'How would they…'
'Mars, I know nothing changed for them. Even if you did, I know they still love you.'
Various memories resurfaced in his mind, he felt nostalgic and happy, but also a little lonely. Esen's presence made him feel much better, but there was still a feeling of emptiness that was not easy to fulfill.
"Call me Mars. But, please, don't divulge my name."
Lhian tilted her head curiously and Qiulei narrowed her eyes. While it wasn't common for gladiators to spread their names, it also wasn't prohibited.
"Sure, Mars." The orange-haired ends up saying and then looks at her disciple. "And don't you have something to say?"
With her teacher's reminder, the silver-blue haired seemed to realize she still had to formally introduce herself to Mares.
"I am Lhian, my teacher's best student! I will be leading the group; we will be in your care Mars."
She said to him, presenting Mares with a huge smile and extending her hand to greet him.
The long-haired couldn't help but find her attitude, which seemed to radiate energy and friendliness, captivating.
'I like her!' And Esen seemed to share their impression.
"I will do my best."
The two couldn't see his face, but still, they had the impression that he would be smiling under the mask.
The silver-eyed looked around, he noticed that while he was talking with Lhian and Qiulei, everyone else kept a respectful distance, waiting for them. They were not too far, but just enough that they wouldn't hear their conversation.
"They seem to respect… and fear you."
After looking around he noticed that most of what seemed to be professors, looked at Qiulei with similar expressions, varying from respectful to wary.
"My teacher is amazing, isn't she?"
Lhian said proudly, puffing her chest. The action made Mares subconsciously take a fast look.
'Aham.'
Esen faked a cough. Though he knew she wasn't actually annoyed, he stopped looking.
"My student is quite charming, isn't she?"
Qiulei's voice reached his ear. When he looked at the pair of teacher and student he noticed that their expressions were the same.
'Oh, right, I never teach that to you. Do it like this.'
The information on how to create sound waves and send them to a particular person entered Mares' mind thanks to Esen.
"A bit." He replied, simple and short.
Qiulei smiled and didn't say more.
The orange-haired waved her hand, signing for the two to follow her to approach the others.
Mares noticed that most of the students, he counted that there was probably something around eighty to a hundred, were looking at him with curiosity, but a naïve type of curiosity. The professors, and what looked like bodyguards, also had curiosity in their eyes when they looked at him, but their looks were much colder. They seemed to be objectively analyzing him, trying to understand his worth. It wasn't a look Mares enjoyed; in reality, he downright hated it.
After all, he had already been looked at with those types of eyes for far too long.
As hostility started showing in his eyes and he started to leak his aura, Qiulei clapped her hands, distracting him for a short moment. He looked to see Lhian looking at him, in what he wasn't sure if it was concern or curiosity. Qiulei however had the same expression as ever.
"I hope you don't mind putting a little effort to prove to my colleagues you can protect their students. Also, take it as compensation for my gifts."
He realized the orange-haired had sent another astral message to him.
'Fair enough.'
'You just want an excuse to punch something.' Esen said rolling her eyes and with her arms crossed.
'Touché.' Mares didn't even try to convince her of the contrary.
'Oh, touché. Earthlings have some interesting expressions.' But the white-haired attention quickly went to something else.
While the couple was having their mental conversation Qiulei pointed to one of the bodyguards and asked him to approach. Even if he didn't understand her intentions, the guard wasn't going to disobey a direct order from Qiulei herself, so he quickly did as he was told and approached the trio.
"To dispel any doubts or worries you all might have, this one here will prove his ability."
She said it as she took Lhian's hand and walked away, giving space for the two to battle.
"Wait, is this really necessary master?"
The silver blue haired had no time to react, from the second her teacher had declared the fight, they were already around the other members of the academy.
"Your master knows what she is doing."
The orange-haired said, pinching Lhian's left cheek. The girl could only pot as Qiulei didn't let her cheek go.
In the meantime, Qiulei also exchanged looks with another teacher, a woman that had fluffy ears on the top of her head. This one nodded to her superior and paid close attention to Mares.
At the moment Qiulei had made it clear to everyone the fight was happening, Mares had already jumped. He felt, and was, stronger than in his last battle. His body was tougher and he felt faster. Finally was time to test his advancements.
The long-haired was fast, but the bodyguard wasn't much slower. Mares only had to give a small jump and he was already in front of his opponent, that, though surprised, raised his arms and crossed them in front of his face, as the silver-eyed punched with his left.
Those that were watching had the impression that Mares' fist caused waves in the air. The bare fist met the protectors on the bodyguards' arms. Mares felt firsthand the hardness of the armor, but his opponent didn't do much better, being pushed five to ten meters because of Mares' punch.
Amazed gasps came out of those watching, especially the teachers and others that were in using similar armor. They were the ones that knew the best how strong Mares should be, to be able to pull that off.
"Amazing physical strength." Qiulei remarked.
"So cool!" Lhian also was impressed by Mares. There was a bit of admiration in her eyes.
Trying to not give time for the opponent to react properly, Mares followed with a second attack. With a thought, he activated the multi-weapon in its spear form and trusted it forward.
The sudden appearance of the spear on Mares' hand took not only who he was fighting against, but also those watching, by surprise. The bodyguard that originally was going to do something had to once again resort to defense only. However, instead of crossing his arms he extends them and defends himself using the palm of his hands.
A glow came out of the gauntlet of the armor and a barrier of two sizes of the bodyguards' hands was formed. Mares' spear hit the barrier, and the bodyguard was pushed way a little bit more, but this time it was only one or two steps, while Mares also had to back away one step.
Finally having a small opening, the silver-eyed opponent refused to stay passive. The barrier that formed on the palm of his hands retreated and elongated, becoming something similar to a blade that got out of the bodyguard's fist.
The two moved again and in a few seconds, the spear and the blade of energy clashed various times. Mares made a diagonal slash, a vertical slash, he threw the spear forward, moved back, and tried to walk around. His opponent defended each of his attacks, sometimes he almost missed, allowing the long-haired to leave small scratches on his armor, which already was a remarkable feat.
'He is well trained.' Esen said. She was watching the battle with total attention.
'As expected of this group. Just out of curiosity, what are my actual chances of beating him?'
He seemed fairly relaxed.
'I am not sure about all his gears, but if you used your techniques, I am pretty confident you have an eighty to ninety percent chance of winning without much trouble.'
For her, the simple fact that the bodyguard even had a chance against Mares, smallest as it might be, already was quite impressive.
'Hmm, not interested.'
Once more the head of the spear and the tip of the energy blade collided. Huge cracks formed on the ground where the two were standing.
Just as Mares' face was not visible to the others, his opponent's face was covered by his helmet. Even so, once they, again, put some distance between themselves, one could tell from their body language who seemed to have the advantage. Mares stayed still, but the bodyguard seemed to be panting, even if so slightest. It was a small detail, but that told a lot for the members of the academy.
"I believe everyone must be completely convinced by now, am I right?"
Before the two could proceed with their confrontation, Qiulei clapped her hands and declared an end to it. The guard's blade retracted, he gave a bow in Qiulei's direction and then looked at Mares.
"You are a monster kid."
There were no bad feelings about him. It truly was an accomplishment for someone he just battled against and couldn't help but admire a little. After all, from what Qiulei had passed to the others, the boy probably didn't have a third of his age.
"Thanks…"
Still, even if it was a compliment, it didn't seem something easy for Mares to hear.
'This guy has no fucking common sense!' If looks could kill, the way Esen's looked at the bodyguard through Mares' eyes would have pierced him already.
'Forget about it, little bunny. It's no big deal.'
Mares dismissed her worries, but Esen still pouted mentally.
"Ma-, I mean, sir." Lhian approached, taking Mares out of his mental conversation. The long-haired looked at her, and noticing she had his attention she went on. "I am going to lead the hunt, so I should also introduce you to the other students. Can you come with me?"
Mares nodded.
"Of course."
She smiled, and for a moment, Mares did so as well, even if she couldn't see.
[…]
While Lhian took Mares to meet the other students he would be responsible for protecting in case things go south, Qiulei had a small reunion.
"What do you think?"
It was the same woman she looked at before Mares and the bodyguard faced each other. It was another teacher, she was just a little smaller than Qiulei and had short dark hair, with two animalistic ears on the top of her head. If the silver-eyed were there, maybe it would make him vaguely remeber of something from his original world.
To Qiulei's question, she shocked her head.
"I am just as clueless as you. That boy…" She pinched the bridge of her nose before continuing. "It's so weird... I can't recognize his smell, but at the same time it feels somewhat familiar. As if…"
Her colleague's words sparked something in Qiulei's mind. Some of her doubts seemed to be clear now.
"As if he resembled various races together."
Silence took over them. Even if it was only a possibility, even if it was ridiculous, they didn't know to process that possibility.