Ken's bed was already empty in the morning while Oliver was still snoring. They had a different schedule, so Terran did not bother waking him up. Instead, he took a quick shower and headed out for his first class.
The first class on his schedule was weapons training. Terran still did not know why the school thought learning to fight was necessary, but he knew Sophie had learned to fight while at the academy. When he asked Oliver about it the other day, he had told him that he didn't have the ability to tell him.
Thinking about it now, Oliver's response reminded him of what Sophie had told him when he asked about what was in the Abyssal district. "I wonder what's stopping them from sharing such a small piece of information?"
Even though the similarity in language might have just been a coincidence, Terran could not help his imagination. The idea that the Abyssal District might have something to do with combat training floated around his head. However, this was mainly because he could not imagine another possible reason. As far as he knew, there was nothing to fight against. Everything in the world was dead or dying, and like Oliver had said, at this point, everyone would lose if a war broke out.
His thoughts ended there as he arrived at the room of his first-ever class.
The room was very empty. Instead of a typical schoolroom, inside was a large dirt arena roughly the size of a basketball quart. Lining the closest wall were dozens of swords, spears, shields, and other weapons ranging in great variety.
Close to a dozen kids were waiting in the room for the class to start. Surprisingly, Terran also saw Ken practicing with his katana in one of the arena's corners. To say he was impressed by his skills would be an understatement. Ken maneuvered as if he was fighting an opponent in front of him. Seeing his strikes collide in mid-air, one would think they were going def, expecting to hear the sound of two swords clashing. Only, as there was no one in front of him, naturally, there were no sounds. It looked as if someone had put a sword in Ken's hand when he was still in the crib.
As Ken was the only person he knew, Terran chose to greet him.
"Kenny, if you told me you were in this class we could have walked together."
For a second, Ken just stared at him like he was insane, but he soon snapped out of it. "Best you don't talk to me." He said before returning to his diligent practice.
Terran did not say anymore as he would not take the extra step to make a friend. Instead, he headed back to where most of the students had gathered and where more were trickling in.
When Terran got there, some of the kids in groups snickered at him, while the kids that stood alone were too busy staring at the ground to notice. As there were only about three minutes until the class was supposed to start, Terran didn't bother trying to talk to anyone else. Instead, he chose to sit down against one of the walls. Unfortunately, there were no chairs in this classroom.
Those three minutes passed rapidly, no one else started to practice alone, and no one else went up to talk to Ken. Then, the second the clock hit the hour, a medium-sized yet well-defined man with messy black hair entered the classroom.
However, perhaps his most noticeable feature was actually his choice of clothing. The man wore plaid pajama pants and a black tank top. Terran would not be surprised if someone told him the man had just rolled out of bed.
"Alright class, today will be no different from any of our other practice sessions: Split up into pairs, grab a weapon of your choice, and start sparring. I've said it once, and I'll say it again, you're not allowed to use your blessings while in this room. Got it?"
Agitated expressions appeared on all the students who filled the room.
One of the kids raised their hand but didn't wait for the teacher to call on them before they began to talk. "Teach, when are you going to teach us something? This is our third week, and you haven't explained jack shit to us! My friend's class started with footwork and yet she is already able to spin her spear as if it was a baton. Meanwhile, you haven't shown us anything, you haven't even offered us a word of advice!"
"Ahem, that's because techniques are useless if you cannot even wield your weapon in the proper state of mind. You think an enemy will surrender if they see you spin a spear in the air and catch it?"
"Then show us how to wield them! You're the fucking teacher for heaven's sake!" Another student chimed in.
Despite the evident lack of respect, the teacher didn't seem to mind. "Grab a weapon and step forward."
The girl who had been arguing grabbed a spear while the teacher picked up a shabby-looking sword and got in a readying stance. Then, as if she were mirroring him, she copied the teacher's stance.
"Ready?"
The girl did not look happy, but she nodded in affirmation all the same.
"Alright, I'll only defend for a minute, your only job is to try and hit me. If you are able to land a single hit, I'll start teaching you all that fancy bullshit your friend knows. Go!"
Dashing forward with shocking speed, the girl jabbed her spear towards the teacher. Meanwhile, the teacher easily misdirected the spear with a flick of his sword. He then lunged at her but stopped himself after a few inches. Despite it being an obvious taunt, the girl raised her spear defensively.
Clicking his tongue, the teacher commented, "You know if I had actually swung my sword your spear would have snapped in an instant."
"Bullshit! You said you wouldn't attack!"
"And I didn't, you only have 40 seconds left, you better hurry!"
Frustrated, the girl charged once again, ferociously poking and prodding with her spear. However, the teacher didn't even need to move his body, simply misdirecting the spear each time.
"Times up!" The teacher's sword was pressed against the girl's neck in a blink of an eye.
"Did you see me using any fancy moves? No, you did not. So, do you know why you couldn't hit me? Anyone can answer."
Despite having zero experience, it was Terran that raised his hand.
The teacher raised his eyebrows. "Oh, a new face. Care to enlighten the class?"
Terran didn't hesitate in his response. "It was all simply because of fear."
The girl immediately frowned. "Bastard! I'll show you who's afraid of who!"
But the teacher smiled and held the girl back, quickly shutting her up. "Oh? While you're not correct I don't completely disagree. Care to elaborate."
Hearing the teacher's words, the girl's face grew red.
"She was afraid of getting hurt, she was afraid of your sword, and most importantly she was afraid of her own spear."
"Interesting. Since you're so observant, do you care to test your theory? The same offer goes for you, if you can land a hit, I'll teach you whatever you want to learn!"
While it was partially true that the teacher wanted his students to enter a certain state of mind, it was also true that this was an excuse. Frankly, he found teaching large classes to be a mundane exercise. Many students were unlikable and had zero talent for combat. It was much more rewarding to train select individuals that could be properly molded. Of course, it was still his job, but he had recently received tenure, and as long as he hit certain benchmarks, management would not care how he ran his class.
Terran was currently staring at the wall lined with weapons. "Spears are definitely out. They are too large, and once someone closes the distance, there is very little for you to counter with. With my healing, I won't be needing a shield. An axe? No, their weight is too lopsided for my small frame. That just leaves swords and daggers."
His eyes then fell on two short sabers. "These could be fun." Terran thought as he walked over and picked them up, giving them a few swings.
"Large enough that they can improve the reach of my short arms, and small enough that they won't impede my movements."
"Quite the unique choice you picked there." The teacher commented as Terran made his way back over.
Terran shrugged. "I just thought they looked cool. I'm ready if you are Mr."
"Of course, I'll always be ready!"