Arene "Ren" Maxwell's POV
"Do we really have to do this, Professor? And why do I have to be the one to fight the new student?" I asked.
Professor Garrison gave me a kind smile and placed a warm hand on my shoulder. "You just became the third-ranked student in this class for a reason, I can hardly have the new student go against the number one or two. However…even more important than that, I personally believe you are going to learn a very valuable lesson after this match."
A valuable lesson?
My gaze drifted over to the new student, Voker. Despite being an adventurer, he had taken some time to select a weapon since he apparently didn't have one. The masked High Elf chose one of the Dwarven Steel short swords we used for practice. I offered to use one of the practice weapons, but he waved my concerns away and told me I should use the weapon I was most comfortable with.
I can't tell if he was being considerate or condescending. And isn't he a mage? Why would a mage use a sword?
Voker walked over to us and gave me a nod while turning to look at the Professor. "Can I ask you a question, Professor Garrison?"
"Of course, what's bothering you, Voker?"
"Is this a fight or a match?" he asked, sounding deadly serious.
Wait… what's the difference?
Professor Garrison's smile faded into a serious look. "This is going to be a match that I expect you to take it as seriously as a fight. You will be going against the princess. I hope I don't need to explain what would happen if you attempted to harm her seriously."
I felt Voker's gaze turn to me for a second as he let out a small sigh. "Does that mean if I hurt her, you will come after me? If that's the case, I would prefer not to do this at all."
The Professor's smile returned as he gave him a friendly wave. "That won't be happening, so don't worry about it. I'll know the difference. Anyways, here you two go."
The Professor handed each of us a leather harness with four giant purple crystals attached to it. I quickly put on the Sparring Vest while Voker seemed somewhat confused. "Just put it on. It's a Sparring Vest and it's supposed to block quite a few spells."
Voker nodded his head. "I've never seen ones so big before. Does adding multiple gems make the barrier stronger?"
"It does indeed, although only with diminishing results. And well, the vest has its own set of problems… but safety is our number one priority," Professor Garrison told us.
"I understand," Voker said in a flat tone.
Voker finished strapping on the vest, and I could tell he wasn't thrilled with it as he fiddled around to get it situated on his body. The Sparring Vests were cumbersome so using them in a real fight would be a waste of time. And any mage who had the intent to kill someone could easily break the barrier. These were just for training purposes. My eyes drifted up and down Voker as I took in the weird-looking Elf.
This adventurer was…. intriguing.
He was tall for an Elf his age and surprisingly big for a High Elf. His muscles were prominent through his thin workout shirt, and his thick muscular legs showed clear signs of training. Voker's hands were calloused in multiple places, and his arms were marked with small white scars on his cream-colored flesh. He was by far the biggest High Elf I've seen, but not so much that he was unnatural.
Maybe he is a Half-Elf? Or even a quarter Elf? Ah… whatever…
I took a deep breath of the fresh winter air and gazed up at the clear blue sky. The school's training grounds were like a mini version of the Arena of Heroes. The black and gray circular area could comfortably fit well over five thousand people, something I've witnessed a few times.
"Are you ready, Princess?" The Professor chirped with a slight grin.
"Yes, Professor."
"Voker, are you ready?" Voker simply nodded in response.
I watched the adventurer closely, and I couldn't help but feel disappointed. He was big and most likely very strong, but I didn't sense any kind of presence from him. He was over gripping his shortsword a little too tightly and he wasn't even bothering to enter some kind of fighting stance. Instead, he just stood there, shoulders square, watching me.
I can't believe I have to bully the new guy… but if he is in this class, he is undoubtedly strong, right? Since he is a mage I'll just get close and end things with one attack. Even if he fires off a spell I can cut it down.
I highly doubted this Elf knew anything about my weapon. Most people didn't even know it existed or was only familiar with people from the Mists using it. I was trained with this sword for a long time by my master… I almost feel bad for him.
Professor Garrison clapped his hands loudly to signal the start of the fight and I barely managed a few steps before I stopped in my tracks. Voker was just standing there, doing nothing. He didn't cast any spells and he made no attempt to strike me.
Is he mocking me?
A feeling of anger rose in my chest as I forced mana into my legs and shot off at Voker. He continued his statue mimicking as I unsheathed my sword. The curved sword was blue along the spine but it was mixed with red at the blade's edge. It drew an arc as I sliced towards his shoulder that wasn't carrying his sword.
I'll just cut into his shoulder. He won't die, and Sylas will be able to heal him after.
However, instead of cutting into flesh, the sound of metal on metal rang in my ears, and I looked up at the masked man in surprise. "A katana, huh? It's been a while since I've seen one of those," Voker said nonchalantly.
He knew? But why would he let me get close!
I tried taking a step back and Voker followed me as he swung his sword. I dodged and blocked his wild swings, but he was so fast that I was having difficulty keeping up. He was like a hunter in the jungle, cutting away vines with his wild strikes. No… his strikes aren't wild… they are just unpredictable.
I was right when I imagined he wasn't some kind of prodigy with the sword. Voker's strikes were unpredictable because he wasn't using any technique that I was familiar with. However, his movements were precise as he blocked my return attacks or parried my blows with ease. He put a savage amount of strength into each attack like he was fighting for his life.
Suddenly, Voker raised his sword high above his head for an overhead chop. I brought my blade up to block, and the strike left my bones vibrating. I nearly dropped my sword from the impact because it was so strong. I was already preparing a quick slice to his gut when suddenly something grabbed the back of my head.
My head was forced down with immense strength, and pain radiated throughout my body as Voker's knee knocked the wind out of me and nearly broke my ribs. I managed to rip my head free, and I took a sharp painful breath only to see a blur coming toward my face.
"Mahhh knnose!" I yelled in pain. Tears filled my eyes, and I felt equal parts embarrassed and frustrated.
He just punched me in the face!
Blood was gushing out from my broken nose as I took a few shaky steps back, expecting another assault. The tears clouding my vision made it hard to see, so I tried listening for footsteps, but the only things I heard were gasps and muffled conversations of surprise.
"Did he really just punch the princess?"
"Who fights like that?"
"I don't think I've ever seen someone punch someone in the middle of a swordfight…"
"Stupid…stupid…stupid!"
The last one sounded like the girl Sylvia. Her voice was so beautiful I could pick it out in a crowd of thousands if I had to.
Wait! What am I doing?
I furiously wiped the tears out of my eyes with my shirt, only to see Voker just standing out in the open. Indignation and embarrassment burned in my core as I tried to stem the flow of blood from my nose. This guy wasn't even taking me seriously!
But that's fine. If he was going to give me time to cast a spell, then all the better.
A fiery sensation warmed the center of my chest and spread out through my entire body till it reached my fingertips. I forced over half my mana into a spell core, and I could feel my body weaken slightly from using so much mana at once. But it wouldn't matter.
Crystal Fields.
Purple crystals bigger than a Human man started sprouting out of the ground. The dirt floor was covered in purple crystals that twinkled in the morning sunlight. The arena became noticeably louder as sounds bounced off the crystals, creating a noise field. This spell was made with Elves in mind. Their hearing would be rendered almost useless as even the smallest of sounds bounced around the crystals.
They also blocked his vision of me. I raced around the ground floor, and as I approached the crystals, they obeyed my command with just a touch of mana from my hand. The crystalline structure gave away and created a path just large enough for me to run through.
Voices carried and the heavy steps of my boots distracted the Elf. I could also see through the crystals while he could not. It was the perfect way to ambush somebody.
I made it to the point where I was behind Voker, and I could see him through the crystal walls. I took a deep breath and empowered my legs while running at him. The crystal in front of me gave away, and I was already in mid-swing. I was expecting a clean cut on his back, but I blinked for only a moment to see Voker facing me.
Impossible?!
I barely managed to move out of the way as his sword grazed my shoulder. I attempted to kick him in the legs, but it was a futile attempt as Voker merely took the kick to his shin.
I never did see his leg kick coming.
My vision swam as my legs stopped being planted on the ground. I hit the ground head first, and I blacked out for just a moment. I was breathing heavily, and with a single wipe of my face, all I got in return was a mixture of rock and blood on my hand.
Sitting up was difficult as all I saw were stars. I could vaguely hear someone walking toward me. For a moment, I felt an intense amount of dread as something closed in on me. My heart sank, and I was ready to pass out and forget the world. I imagined this is what it felt like to die.
A cold hand grabbed me by the shoulder, and that feeling of dread washed away almost as quickly as it came. Had I imagined that?
My neck felt like iron as I looked and focused my blurry eyes on the masked figure standing above me. "You fought well." His voice was deep and usually emotionless, but I felt like I heard a small amount of admiration in his words.
Voker lifted me up from my armpits like I was some child. "If you just—"
"Voker!" someone hissed.
I craned my neck to see Sylvia, the other new student striding toward us. "Yes?" he asked, sounding confused.
"You can't just touch her like that. She's a princess!" Sylvia yelled.
It's fine… I think.
"Ah, you're right. Sorry, Princess, you see, if you just made your sword swings less rhythmic and changed your attack pattern, I believe you would improve greatly. You fight like this is a training session. You are swinging like it's a drill, change things around and add more sequences to your moves or at the very least don't use the same ones over and over again in the same pattern. You fight like a mixture of a knight and someone from the Mists, why don't you throw in more acrobatic moves every once in a while?"
Huh?
My head was spinning and the bright light hurt my head almost as much as his words. Was he trying to teach me something right now? "Sure… okay…" I managed to get out.
"Good, now your magic. Tell me, what is it? Crystal magic or something?" he asked.
"Uh… yes, it is?"
What's going on right now?
"Interesting, I've never seen it before, and I don't remember reading about it. You can also affect the crystals after you have created them, right? Kind of like earth magic?"
I blinked a few times and wiped the dirt out of my eyes. "Yes… kind of?"
"Mmm… can you use your crystals offensively? Like, have them shoot out multiple smaller crystals at your enemies?"
"No… changing the crystals like that costs too much mana for me," I mumbled.
"But you were able to make a hole in your crystals big enough for you to move through it? That's fine, I suppose. However, I would recommend creating multiple holes in different crystals around your target before you strike. Even one more hole would have made me second guess and might have given you enough time."
"You act like that's easy to do… it takes all my concentration just to open a single hole in front of me while I'm running and I have to touch it. How did you even hear me coming?" I asked.
Remotely change my spells from a distance? Who does this guy think I am? Some Grandmaster?
Voker tilted his head at me. "I suppose that would be difficult… but you should give it a try regardless. And to be honest, I didn't hear you at all until the very end. Your echo chamber with the crystals was nearly perfect, and it was even making my head hurt quite a bit. It wasn't until you opened the crystal behind me that I knew where you were… exactly at least."
Is he saying I didn't even stand a chance? Echo chamber? What…
"Are you okay, Ren?" Sylas asked with only the smallest amount of concern possible.
"Can't you show a bit more concern for me, Sylas? I know I'm not Lin but still…" I groaned.
"Not possible," he told me flat out to my face.
I could only sigh at his words, which hurt my head even more than it already did. Sylas placed his hands on my head, and I felt the warmth of his healing magic envelope me. My nose started feeling much better as the pain began to dull while my vision corrected.
More importantly, my head started to clear, but that only helped me remember that absolute embarrassment I had just gone through at the hands of a person I'd known for less than an hour.
The two Elves were chatting amongst themselves in a whisper, and it seemed like Voker was getting an earful despite not showing any remorse as he shrugged his shoulders. Professor Garrison sauntered over with a broad smile, and Voker ignored Sylvia while stepping in front of him.
"You did this on purpose," Voker spat venomously.
I was taken aback by the harshness in his voice. I haven't heard him speak very much. His voice never sounded so angry before. But then again… I just met him.
"I'm not sure what you are talking about, Voker?" Mr. Garrison asked with a coy smile.
"In the future, I would ask if you refrain from doing such a spectacle again. I dislike being used for someone else's personal gain." Voker sounded like he was threatening the Professor.
I get that you're strong, Voker, but…
"Sure thing, although I believe you at least learned something from this match," Professor Garrison said with a wide smile.
Voker merely grunted and made his way back to the stands. Professor Garrison walked over to me and bent down. "What did you learn?"
"Not let somebody break my nose?" I said pointedly.
Instead of getting mad, the Professor just continued to smile at me. "Well, yes, that is one thing. But more importantly, this is the difference between someone like you and someone who fights for their life."
The difference between someone who fights for their life?
"I think I understand," I mumbled.
"Good, then all is well. Thank you, Sylas."
Sylas nodded at the Professor and turned back to me. "Can you walk?" he asked while letting go of my head.
"Yeah… I can manage," I grunted.
My head doesn't hurt anymore, but my pride has never taken such damage before. I haven't been this embarrassed and confused since I returned home from my trip to the Mists…
I took my seat, and I didn't even manage a sigh before Lauren was already in my ear. "Wow, are you okay? I haven't seen you get your ass kicked that hard in years," my wonderful sister chirped in my ear.
"Please don't start…" I groaned.
"Was he really that strong? He was moving so fast! I was expecting him to be more of a mage, but I guess not!" Lauren said excitedly to no one in particular since I stopped listening to her after her second sentence.
"Why don't you just ask him?" Sylas suggested.
"Ah… you're right." Lauren didn't have to go far as Voker was sitting just a few seats away from us. "Hey, Voker!"
Voker turned his head and gave Lauren a nod. "Yes?"
"How are you so strong?"
"I've almost died more times than I care to admit." He said that in the most deadpan voice possible I thought he was trying to be funny, but I realized he was dead serious.
Apparently, that wasn't what Lauren wanted to hear as she just pouted at him. "Well, that sucks…"
"Yes," Voker said flatly.
I looked over my shoulder and saw Linnetia just watching us silently. She usually was a lot more talkative. Maybe she didn't get enough sleep last night. But she does sleep all the time…
"Something the matter, Lin?" I asked.
Lin quickly turned and gave me a weak smile. "I'm fine, just a little tired. But are you okay? He beat you pretty hard…"
"I'm fine," I repeated for the millionth time.
"If you say so." Lin never did press me. If I said I didn't want to be bothered, she often dropped the subject.
I wish a certain sister would take a note out of Lin's book.
"I told you to go to bed, Dear Sister," Sylas said in a fatherly tone.
Linnetia merely let out a sigh and put on her best smile for her overly protective brother. "I know, I was just nervous about today, so I didn't get much sleep last night."
"Is it because of those new pillows? I can—"
Lin lightly pushed Sylas out of her face. "It's fine… the pillows were not the problem."
"Well then—"
I used my skills that have been honed for well over a decade and tuned out the brother and sister quarrel as I gazed towards the arena that had just been cleaned by another teacher with earth magic. Standing in the stadium now were Sylvia and Varnir.
Sylvia was using some kind of small silver sword with red lines running down the blade, while Varnir was using his usual Dwarven Steel short spear along with his B class dungeon shield. The shield just looked like a slab of brown bark that had been ripped off some tree, but I knew firsthand that thing could be dangerous.
His pink eyes peaked out from underneath his long black hair, and I could see him flashing a wide grin as he twirled his spear around. I'm not mistaken Varnir was around the eighth or ninth place in the class, so he was far from being some hack.
"Is it me, or is it hard to tell how strong she is?" Lin asked from beside me.
"I feel the same. I underestimated Voker, and well… you saw what happened. If they were both adventurers of the same caliber…" I trailed off.
"So Varnir is getting sent to the infirmary, huh?" Lin mumbled. "Hey, Voker! Are you worried about Sylvia?!" my sister shouted.
Voker turned his head again. "Worried about her? No. I'm worried about him," he said with his usual emotionless voice.
Oh…
"Don't worry about it, Sylvia. This is going to be fun, right?" Varnir asked playfully from across the field.
Sylvia scoffed loud enough for everyone to hear. "Yeah, for me."
Lauren elbowed me in the side that was still tender from Voker's knee, and I winced in pain. "She's interesting too… both of them are just so…"
"Interesting?" I grumbled.
"Yes!" Lauren giggled.
I couldn't help but laugh alongside her. Sometimes she gets on my nerves but… well, what are sisters for?
Sylvia and Varnir both gave their nods of readiness to the Professor, and with a single clap, the battle began. But unlike Voker, Sylvia wasted no time in closing the distance.
I swear her legs seemed bigger for some reason as she started running towards Varnir. But Varnir wasn't holding back either as he ran straight ahead to meet Sylvia in the middle. Varnir's spear was the first to make contact as he thrust it toward her. Sylvia's sword was long, but it wasn't nearly as long as a spear.
His spear was a blur as he continuously thrust it at Sylvia from behind his shield. The masked High Elf was put on her back foot as she swatted away or dodged each strike. Varnir had a wide grin as he disengaged from Sylvia and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "You're pretty fast. Maybe not as fast as Voker, but damn close."
Sylvia tightened the grip around her sword and huffed making hot breath seep out from her mask. 'Uh, huh…"
"Does she sound kind of annoyed?" Sylas asked out loud.
"That's because she is. I guess Voker might be a sore topic for her," Lauren answered with a giggle.
I looked over to Voker, and his shoulders slumped ever so slightly. I think I even heard him sigh a little. Maybe… they're together or something?
"Wow, did she get faster?" Lauren asked in disbelief.
I stopped looking at Voker and turned my attention towards the fight. Varnir wasn't grinning anymore as Sylvia was pressing the advance. Her silver sword cut through the air as she constantly poked and prodded at Varnir. The Dark Elf was clearly ready, as he blocked all of her strikes, but he seemed to be having a hard time, considering he gritted his teeth before every impact.
Varnir scowled for a moment and swung his spear low like a staff at Sylvia's legs. The girl jumped into the air and sent a kick straight into his shield, sending him rolling through the dirt. Sylvia didn't let Varnir recover as she continued running into him the second she landed back on her feet.
Varnir was slow to get back on his feet, but I knew all too well what that grin meant on his face. I once made the same mistake Sylvia was about to make. Varnir pretended to leave himself open as he stumbled upwards, but the second Sylvia thrust her sword, he forced mana into his shoulders and arms and swung his shield around.
Her sword bit straight into the weird bark and sank into it. Suddenly wooden tendrils sprouted out from the shield and grabbed ahold of Sylvia and her weapon, immobilizing her. Sylvia thrashed around but the vines continued to tighten around her body. Finally, one of the vines still connected to the shield snaked back and handed Varnir Sylvia's sword, which he tossed behind him.
"Well, this was fun, Sylvia. But I believe I win now. You can't—hey… HEY! What are you doing!?" Varnir shouted.
Sylvia let out a deep growl as her arms and legs pulsed with power. Thick red veins popped out from her pale neck and arms as she strained against the vine's hold. But there was no way she could break those without…without… what the?
Sylvia ripped free of the vines with her bare hands, and Varnir stabbed at her in panic. Sylvia grabbed the spear mid-thrust and yanked it free from his hands launching it across the arena. The Dark Elf tried taking a step back, but Sylvia grabbed his shield and tore it out from his grip.
Varnir let out a yelp of surprise, only for Sylvia to toss two wide punches into Varnir's ribs, followed by a quick punch to his face. Varnir's body straightened out and went rigid as he fell to the dirt, unconscious. It happened so fast that if I had blinked, I might have missed it.
Sylvia took a step back and raised a single fist into the air. The entire male population of the arena roared in approval, and I involuntarily let out a sigh. I mean I get that she is attractive but… come on…
What about Varnir? You guys have been going to school with him for ages? Look at him… is he dead?
Sylas rushed down to help Varnir while Professor Garrison gave everyone a wry smile as he walked onto the arena floor. "Well, this was fun, right?" he chuckled awkwardly while rubbing the back of his head.
I don't think the Professor was expecting things to go like this…
The entire stadium just watched him silently until he eventually shrugged and continued. "Anyways, everyone, let's go ahead and start—"
"Professor, I have a question," Voker interrupted him.
"And that is?"
"Will you have a match with me?" Voker asked.
What?!
The Professor grimaced slightly, but his smile returned just as quick. "I mean… maybe? But—"
"I believe you owe me for using me in your little example," Voker said flatly.
"I suppose I could have a friendly match with a student. I'm not the only one that enjoyed the winter break. But I must warn you… I'm quite strong."
"I know. You're a War God, aren't you?"