While the duel was about to start, all 30 or so students stood by, watching and whispering amongst themselves. "Ha-ha, I want to see this dumbass keep talking after he gets his ass handed to him."
"Yeah right! Who does he think he is? On our first day, we all got to fight the teacher at once, even then none of us landed a single hit."
"Quiet! Don't let him hear you or he might chicken out! Then we won't get to see him embarrass himself."
"Look, he's walking forward! He's really going to fight after seeing Milla lose so badly."
Once in range, Terran casually swung both blades from two very different directions. Unfortunately, this movement left his entire chest open. The teacher feinted towards his open chest, but Terran didn't even flinch, unlike the last girl. His swords only continued on their set paths.
Unable to block from two directions, the teacher was forced to retreat backward.
"Damn, I guess it's true he never said anything about moving." Terran inwardly complained.
He then charged with more vigor. While his attacks were clumsy and lacked all discipline, he still managed to keep the teacher on his toes. This was, of course, only because the teacher was not fighting back.
The sight could only be described as a blind person trying to play tag. Sadly, in this case, Terran was the blind kid. As if drawn by the sound, Terran swung in the direction of the teacher. Only, with minimal movement, the teacher simply moved an inch out of his reach, making him doubt his hearing, or in this case his sight.
Terran was sure he would be beyond frustrated if this had not been within his expectations.
"You have 15 seconds left."
However, this was not until the end of the match, but until the teacher started fighting back.
These 15 seconds passed fast as Terran's sabers continued to chase the teacher around but to no avail.
"Time!" The teacher swung his sword at Terran's neck the same as he had with Mila, the girl that had lost in the last match.
However, at that moment, something unexpected happened. Contrary to human instinct, Terran stepped into the teacher's slash with more vigor than any of his previous movements. The sword, which previously would have stopped before his neck, sliced clean through his left arm.
The whispers echoing around the loud arena fell silent, replaced by the sound of rain splashing on the dirt floors. Only, the rain was not water but blood, and yet, that was not the cause for the stillness that had fallen across the room. Instead, it was the fact that Terran's right saber was placed against the teacher's neck, a single trail of blood flowing down.
"Well, I guess this means I won the bet. I'll be heading to the infirmary now," Terran said as he bent down and picked up his own arm. Then, without saying another word, he carried his arm out of the classroom, a trail of blood following behind as everyone stared with their mouths agape. Even the teacher stood there shocked at the masochistic actions of his new student.
It was not until the sound of the door slamming shut that the teacher reacted. "Ken, as you are the only other one that has moved on to lessons, I want you to go help him get to the infirmary."
"Come on, why do I have to waste my practice time for Terran's idiotic choices?"
"Just go! I'll spend extra time after class to spar with you."
"Tch, fine."
Just like that, Ken ran after the trail of blood leading out the door. "Alright, chop-chop, we don't have all day. Find your partner, pick up a weapon and start sparring."
"Teach, do you expect us to lose an arm if we want you to actually do your job?"
"Ha-ha, you're so funny, of course not." However, these words did not sound very reassuring. Seeing the looks he was getting, the instructor continued. "You should never sacrifice an arm in training, it will only cause you to fall behind. That being said. While that boy took his actions too far, he did have a point. Being afraid of danger will only help danger find you. Risk comes hand and hand with reward, you must swallow your fears and attack when the opportunities present themselves. Consider your weapon as an extension of yourself, when it shatters, so do your chances of winning. Hiding behind your weapon only delays your defeat. Honestly, I would have passed the kid even if he had suffered defeat. So, swallow your fears and become comfortable wielding your weapons as fast as possible. Until then, techniques will only further cloud your judgment, making your reactions sluggish and indecisive."
Damien was the name of this instructor. While he often avoided his job, his melee skills were the real deal. In fact, Terran losing his arm had been no accident. Technology in this day and age was good enough to reattach an arm. With such a safety net, Damien would simply be a bad teacher if he allowed his students to develop such harmful habits at such a young and tender age. Right? While not everybody would agree with this mentality, it was the thought process of the eccentric man.
However, Damian would be lying if he said he wasn't caught off guard when the student didn't even flinch after losing an arm. "Did that kid really think I would pause my swing just because he stepped into it? No. It was clear his heart was at peace with either outcome. What a crazy little kid, maybe this job won't be boring after all."
Terran did not realize that the sacrifice of his arm was unnecessary, and he was no longer around to hear the teacher's words. After leaving, Terran planned to stick his arm back on and head to the library to try and find information for his quest. While he would have also loved to stay, he knew his system had a reason for hiding the power of his ability. Meanwhile, medicine was quite advanced, and reattaching an arm would not be an issue, so the infirmary was the perfect excuse.
What exactly is pain? In the simplest terms, pain is the body's response to tell its owner that something may be wrong. Sure, nerves play a significant role in pain. But, while some of it is physiological, a big part of pain is purely psychological. Terran, who knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that his body was ok no matter what happened, did not perceive pain the same way as an average person. This was not to say that getting his arm cut off did not hurt, but it was a very different experience. A few seconds of pain was nothing to Terran. After all, it was his old friend, and on the other hand, he treasured skills and knowledge. If a little bit of pain was all it would take to fast-track his learning, then he would happily pay the price.
Happy with his exchange, Terran raised his arm to its empty socket. He could feel that a new arm would begin to sprout in its place if he did not connect it soon.
At the moment, he was not in the market for a human arm. What would he do with his old arm if a new one replaced it? Letting a new ligament grow would only give him one more complication.
However, before he could position it correctly, a voice sounded from behind him.
"Oi, wait up psycho! You're not even headed in the right direction!"
Seeing Ken running after him, Terran used his disconnected appendage to wave, letting his lifeless arm flop left and right as blood dribbled out of the socket. This earned him a disgusted look, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Ha-ha, I must have gotten lost. Terran said as he lied through his teeth, he did not want to visit the infirmary as it would be a waste of time and expose how potent his healing was.
"Master Damian told me to make sure you get to the infirmary. So just follow me."
"Master Damian?" Terran inwardly chuckled hearing how his roommate addressed the teacher. He could see the look in Ken's eyes. It seemed he was the type that followed orders when given by the right person. Because of this, he would not take no for an answer without a good enough excuse.
"Is that so? I lied; I'm not going to the infirmary. Enjoy your free time!"
While it was far from a sure deal, he had gathered that Ken did not have many people to talk to, so it was unlikely he would tell anyone. Additionally, this allowed him to tell a half-truth, which would be far harder to see through.
"But your arm! If you don't get it attention soon, you will lose the chance to reattach it, and you will have to live the rest of your life with only one arm!"
"Aww, look who cares." Terran laughed.
"I'll let you in on a little secret if you promise not to tell anyone. With a few hours of rest and a little help from my blessing, I'll be able to reattach my arm as good as new. Now, if you don't mind, I'll be on my way."
As it was improper to ask about others' blessings, Ken was left without any rebuttals.