A similar scene portrayed itself as I stood across from Jacob. I waited for him as he rolled up the sleeves on his uniform. It would appear that his fighting style would make use of brute force. Although this was quite unbecoming of a prince, this suited his personality perfectly.
Jacob finished unbuttoning and rolling up his right sleeve before looking me right in the eyes. "Let's do this."
I nodded, excitedly. Yanni definitely has more technique than strength. I had no doubt that Jacob would have a healthy dose of each. This made him a dangerous opponent for anyone at the same level. Even more so for me since I was below his level. He is a prince after all and has been trained since he was a young child.
Yanni swung his hand down and yelled. "Fight!"
Unlike the last spar, Jacob ran straight in, speeding forwards with long strides. He reached me in just over a second from almost 10 meters!
He jumped upwards, cocking back his right arm in preparation for a punch. In response, I assumed an athletic stance with my legs spread out in a very stable position. As it looked like he was about to throw his punch, his entire upper body rotated to his left, creating a spring with his midsection. I quickly realized that he was going to use my strategy from the spar with Yanni. I wasn't sure if he had already learned to do something like this, but if not, I would be shocked by how quickly Jacob could learn.
Jacob released a muffled grunt as he swung his right leg while soaring through the air. "HAH!"
I barely had enough time to set up any semblance of a defence as his leg flew towards my shoulder at blistering speed. He probably could have easily kicked me in the head but this was just a friendly spar, not a death match.
All I could do to block was shift my arms to at least soften the blow. Within a millisecond of me shifting my arms to my left side, the top of his foot collided with me. The force behind the kick was unbelievable.
I was shell-shocked as I got thrown across the court, rolling for almost 15 meters before coming to a stop. I had no doubt that without the reinforcement of my body from mana, my forearms would have been shattered.
I laid on the ground for a moment without moving. I yelled out in pain. "HOLY SHIT DUDE!"
Jacob laughed heartily. "Come on, get up. I know you have more in you."
I sighed as I hopped back to my feet, rubbing my arm that was definitely going to have a colorful bruise in the morning. "I'm gonna get you back for that."
Jacob chuckled. "We'll see about that."
I decided to take the initiative this time. It seems that I would be at a disadvantage if I allowed someone as strong and skilled as Jacob to take the initiative. Running in, I feigned left before dashing to the right.
Jacob read my feint perfectly. "YOU'LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT CALLUM!" He extended his massive left arm in an attempt to clothesline me.
I ducked under his arm, grabbing onto it as I went by. I then used it as leverage as I swung upwards, sending my knee right into his back. Following my momentum, I slid forward for about a foot before gaining traction.
Due to my knee hitting his back, he staggered forward. I took advantage of him being off balance, grabbing both of his arms by the wrist before pulling them behind his back. I then pushed my foot down into the crook of his knee, sending him down to his knees. Once he was down, I kept my foot on his lower back in order to keep his arms extended behind his back.
Jacob laughed. "Very nice. I haven't been put in such a precarious position in a while."
I scoffed. "Even when you got your ass handed to you during that MMA match?"
It appeared that this struck a nerve with him as I saw his ear visibly twitch. He must have still been quite sensitive about this. "You'll regret saying that."
Suddenly, I felt my entire body being dragged forward by an unstoppable force. Using his abdominal muscles, Jacob pulled me over his head, sending me face first into the floor in front of him.
I tucked my head and sumersaulted on the ground. Barely managing to land back on my feet, I immediately had the feeling that I was in danger. Unfortunately, I couldn't have been more correct.
With my back to Jacob, he was able to freely approach me unhindered. I felt two punches collide with my shoulder blades and my arms briefly went limp. Then I felt a strong foot land on my upper back, pushing me into the ground and holding me there like a vice.
Jacob stood over me, untouchable by me in the position I was put in. "Yield."
I sighed. "Fine, I yield."
Jacob chuckled. "You did better than I thought. I think you're a natural. Give it a few years and you'll be quite formidable. I doubt you'll be beating me anytime soon though." He laughed heartily after saying this."
I grumbled in annoyance as I rolled over. His teasing was like salt in my wounds right now. I grabbed his outstretched hand, accepting his assistance in standing up. "That finishing move was brutal. It really hurt."
Jacob shrugged as he rolled his shoulders. "You deserved it after that comment."
I shook my head. "I guess that's fair, but still."
Jacob rolled his eyes. "Stop complaining, be a man."
I sighed. "Ugh, whatever. Are you and Yanni going to spar now?"
Jacob laughed. "That isn't necessary. I'd just wipe the floor with him like usual!"
Yanni coughed in surprise. "You do realize you're only ahead by five wins."
Jacob shrugged. "More than enough to prove my superiority."
Yanni's eye visibly twitched in annoyance. "I hate your personality when you get riled up. I guess I need to take you down a notch."
I smiled, thinking about how I would enjoy this fight. Yanni and Jacob have had a healthy rivalry for a long time. They did grow up together after all. In addition, Jacob liked to know that his sister was being taken care of. "I'll officiate then."
They both nodded in unison and took their positions about ten meters away from each other.
I looked at both of them, gesturing to them. "Fighters, are you ready?" They both nodded so I swung my hand down. "Fight!"
Several minutes later, both of them were lying on the ground, lightly bleeding from some places and swollen everywhere. I quickly took out my first aid kit and wrapped them up in some bandages. This would help reduce the swelling as well as reduce their range of motion. These things combined would help eliminate some of the pain they were bound to feel.
I knelt down next to them, laughing internally at their matching black eyes. "I heard that they have this new drink in the cafeteria that boosts healing. You wanna go try it? I could use it as well despite my injuries being less… apparent."
In response, they both just groaned in pain. I took that as a yes so I grabbed their arms and helped the both of them up.
Our walk to the cafeteria was a long but quiet one. Usually the sounds of us messing with each other would fill the halls but right now it was silent. All three of us were in pain but as the saying goes, no pain no gain.
When our bodies heal, they will be stronger than they were before. Due to the larger amount of mana flowing through our bodies, they would get stronger over time naturally. The only way to speed this process up is to heal from injuries of any level.
Unsurprisingly, dinner was delicious. I was also pleasantly surprised with how good the medicinal herb tea tasted. I expected it to taste bitter since it was medicine but it was actually quite light and delicious. I was immediately able to feel a gentle but warm energy permeate throughout my body. My soreness was dissipating at a rapid rate.
Finally, I returned to my room around 10pm. I was absolutely exhausted. The only downside to the medicinal tea was that it did not provide energy for the healing process. It only facilitated the healing in becoming faster. Thus, it still used the body's energy.
I didn't even get to say hi to Okami, who stayed in my room. As soon as I hit the bed, I fell asleep, completely knocked out for the night.