//New writer here. Hope you enjoy. Next chapter out in a bit

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Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal striking against metal echoed throughout the surrounding woodlands as two individuals rapidly struck at each other, pieces of metal clashing over and over again. Their swings were quick but the force behind each hit was easily seen as the sparring duo gave it their all, holding nothing back as they sought to find weaknesses in the others defense. On one side, a young man with dark blue hair and bright white clothes, and on the other, an equally youthful boy with fluffy hair the color of the brightest red garbed in pitch black clothing. It was unclear how long the fight had been going on, but the two were obviously reaching their limit as they began to slow down, their striking speed dropping rapidly with each interaction.

The blue haired youth twisted the long metallic staff clutched in his hands, unwilling to be the first to give up as he twirled around, deflecting the redheads next strike with precision and grace, spinning on the heel of his foot. Quickly following it up, the boy slammed the other end of the staff onto the other youths ankle, aiming to break it and bring an end the spar. However, the youth didn't seemed phased by it in the slightest as he took the blow without flinching, instead taking the opportunity to swipe the long, blunt, katana shaped hunk of metal into the blue haired boys shoulder. Unlike the redhead, the other adolescent flinched a little at the pain he recieved from the strength put into the swing.

"Shall we end it here today?" The blue haired youth known as Mako Kunzite asked as he retracted the metallic pipe, sticking into the earth. After receiving the full force from his opponents strike, he no longer had any reason to continue, having already gone back and forth with the redhead for a few hours. "I think you almost broke my arm with that blow. It sure hurts like all hell. I wonder how many times I got to be reminded of your freakish strength, damn monster."

Jak Yanda let out a small laugh as he removed his blunt katana away from his opponents arm. Despite the pain that was currently running rampant through Jak's left leg, the result of nearly having his bone fractured by Mako's metal pole, the young redhead felt ecstatic. "You're no slouch either. That smack to my ankle was perfectly targeted, just as clean and precise as it always is. Not to mention your defensive magic which is just as sturdy as it always is. Ya damned wolf."

Jak let out a small breath as he took a look around, red hues scanning the area around them. Up until that point, he hadn't really noticed, but now that he had ceased his recreational match with Mako, everything became clear.

Upturned earth, damaged trees, flattened shrubbery, and large dust clouds that continuously swirled around them. Having entered into a sort of zone where he only focused on his opponent whilst forgoing his surroundings in order to react quicker, Jak had unknowingly rearranged the nearby landscape. While Mako only struck with calculated movements and wasted no energy in his attacks, Jaks style was much more wild, relying on overwhelming strength and speed to overcome his adversary, absorbing hit after hit without faltering. While this was effective in pushing Mako back and keeping him on his toes, it boded poorly for the landscape as most of Jak's attacks missed and ended up causing massive damage to things around him.

(("Maybe I went a bit overboard?")) Jak pondered as rubbed the back of his head. (("I should work on getting some actual skill with a sword."))

"All that aside," Mako noted, interrupting Jak's contemplation, taking a deep breath as he plopped down onto the ground, sweat pouring down his face. "I've noticed you've gotten faster. I could barely keep up.....although, you're still full of openings so I guess that doesn't mean much."

"Tch, at least you noticed though," Jak said as tossed the blunt katana aside, moving to sit beside Mako. He decided not to dwell so much on the nearby area, deciding that instead he'd just focus on improving his skill level. "You probably didn't notice much since you kept deflecting all my strikes, but my strength also went up quite a bit."

"Been forced into training with Hadok and the others again? Whatcha do this time?"

"Accidentally broke one of his prized plates."

"Ah, so that explains it. It also explains why you have such a drastic increase in stamina. Not to mention your recovery time." Mako glanced at Jak through the corners of his light blue eyes. From his perspective, the redheaded youth had already managed to recover and had already stopped sweating while he himself was only halfway done collecting himself.

"Oh shit," Jak muttered as he suddenly stood up, looking up through the trees to find the positioning of the sun. Having brought no time dial with him he was clueless as to what the current hour was. "What time is it? I'm gonna miss the trials!!"

"Just reschedule for tomorrow then. You can take it with me." Mako let out a breath as he watched his close friend rapidly gather his things, of which wasn't much, head of crimson bobbing all over the place. "We can compete to see who'll get the higher score."

"Not a chance," Jak replied, letting out a small laugh. He had already paid to take the trial, as well as paying extra due to not being of the proper age, and it would be completely stupid to not at least try and arrive at the WGC on time. "Wouldn't want to embarrass you too badly. Besides, I'd have to pay to reschedule, which I can't afford to do."

Mako let out a sigh as he reached into a small rucksack positioned next to him. Cocking his arm back, the blue haired youth chucked a small vial of red liquid, of which was easily snatched out of the air by Jak as he ran past. "At least take a recovery potion with you, ya impatient dolt. Going in at half your strength will hurt your score and we can't exactly have that."

"Thanks," He yelled back as he disappeared into the distance.

After a minute or two had passed and Mako was sure the boy had left, he pushed himself up from the floor and dusted himself off. "What an energetic fellow. Whether or not he'll pass isn't the question. Its whether or not he'll score higher then me. I'm getting excited just thinking about it."

Jak Yanda and Mako Kunzite, two youths on a quest to build the greatest guilds in the world, set out to make a name for themselves.

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