Monday night was the last training for Joshua, and the said person was sprawled on the ground while having rough breathing.
"Congratulations, Joshua," Kyle walked to him with a smile. "You're one step closer to your dream," he said as he offered his hand to Joshua.
Joshua grabbed Kyle's hand and got pulled up to stand. "Yeah," he finally spoke. "I am …." He smiled at Kyle. A smile that held his chance of winning had improved. However, his mood was instantly dampened by his apprehension.
A hand grabbed his shoulder. Joshua looked up and saw Kyle smiling. "Still nervous? Let me tell you something."
"As long as your body is able to move, as long as you're breathing. As long as you are able to take one step forward, you still have a chance to win. But most importantly, as long as your mind believes you are able to win, your body will fight for it."
"Kyle …." Astounded, Joshua said gently.
"Now, go rest and prepare your mind for it," Kyle patted his shoulder several times before releasing him.
"I will … thanks, Kyle," Joshua smiled warmly. He was glad to have a friend like Kyle. Someone who had helped him to improve. He then turned to look at Ninia. "Thank you as well, Ninia. I wouldn't be like this if it weren't for you."
"Yes," Ninia answered shortly. But her focus was elsewhere, not on him.
"Then, I'll take my leave …. Ow, my back," Joshua groaned while walking to take his bag and left the room.
.
Once there were only Kyle and Ninia; Kyle turned to Ninia and inquired, "How was your hand?"
Ninia lifted her hand to show him the minor graze on her hand. "It is not that bad. A surprise, but he did cut through my defense," she replied.
"Truly, I believe he would opt for speed, but I didn't anticipate him to want to be sharp first," Kyle smiled at the unexpected outcome. "Oh well, he did put in a lot of effort on his new spell."
After receiving help from his homeroom teacher, Joshua had created the first chant of his spell, which boosted his damage output rather than increasing his speed or maneuver flexibility.
"Do you think it is enough?" Ninia asked.
"Of course not," Kyle replied bluntly. He would be stupid to think that a newly created spell could defeat Julian from Class Seven. "Joshua's new magic requires more than just a simple application."
.
********
.
Wednesday.
.
When school was over, students and teachers gathered at Costina Stadium for a single purpose. To spectate the first event of the new term, which pitted Class Two against Class Seven.
The teachers came here to assess the potential of both classes and to ensure that nothing went wrong. Although there were other various reasons, they were not as enthusiastic as the students. For the first year, this fight would determine which Class was stronger than the others. Those who lost would lose their fame and influence among the other classes as well. For the senior years, they just wanted to see how capable their juniors were.
.
"This is something, alright," Ozi mumbled as he looked around inside the stadium. Everyone could tell it was a large stadium from the outside, but the inside was quite different. The majority of the seats were empty since the population of Costina Academy was less than 700 people, and the stadium could contain more than 7.000 people.
"So, what are the current odds for the bet?" Kyle asked while taking a seat.
"Currently, it's leaning toward Class Two as a whole. Individually, they believe Leonhart and Ferlando will win while Joshua will lose. Of course, the odds are skewed because other classes interacted more with Class Two. Whom did you place your bet on?"
"I bet that Leonhart and Ferlando will lose, and Joshua will win," Kyle said confidently.
"Are you sure about that?" Quinton inquired. "While we know Class Seven better than most, Leonhart and Ferlando are no laughing matter."
"Just wait and see," Kyle said with a mysterious smile.
.
.....
.
Inside the waiting room, Joshua was seated next to Leonhart and Ferlando.
"Hey, weakling," Leonhart called out to Joshua. The said "weakling" only gave Leonhart a sidelong glance.
"Oh? You have an attitude huh," Leonhart remarked, amused by Joshua's dismissal. "Fine, whatever. Anyway, I'm just letting you know. It'll be better if you quit early because I know you are too weak."
"Speak for yourself," instead, Fernando replied. "You are full of talk and put our class into this situation," Ferlando truly didn't like the fact that he had to fight without fully grasping his opponent's strength.
"What? Are you scared?" Leonhart turned to Ferlando and mocked him. "I will show everyone that I'm the strongest here. For that, I need to crush the notion that Class Seven is a special and powerful class."
"You have a frail ego," Ferlando sneered.
"Hah! You're a wuss!" Leonhart mocked him back.
Joshua simply remained silent. He didn't wish to join in their pointless insults to each other since he had more important matters to attend to.
In this fight, he had to win. Because he had to prove to everyone that he was a leader, he had to prove to Kyle and Ninia that his training didn't go to waste, and he needed to show that his dream was reachable.
{'I'm going to win,'} Joshua thought. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and someone opened it. It was their homeroom teacher, Mr. Clay.
"It's started. Ferlando, you go first. Your opponent is Vyn," told Clay.
"Yes, Sir," Ferlando responded, stood up, and walked toward the door. However, he suddenly came to a halt and looked at both of his classmates, who were supposed to be rivals.
"It's best you guys see who's the strongest here," Ferlando said before leaving. Leonhart simply laughed mockingly and stood up.
"What arrogance he has," Leonhart said before turning to Joshua. "Are you coming, weakling?"
"You go first."
"Heh, getting cold feet?" Leonhart mocked and walked out of the room.
With him alone in the room, Joshua exhaled a sigh of relief. All the tension he had toward his classmates was finally released.
"I'll prove them. I'll win," Joshua declared as he exited the room as well.
________________________
Author: Aida Hanabi
Proofreader: Lola
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