"What do you mean by what's wrong with me? It's the same day-to-day me, alright?" Hespar squinted his eyes towards Paul while replying. Was it not because he's still holding the sack of foraged goods weighing him down, Hespar would likely use his hand to knock his friend's head.
"Wha... What's bringing the top student of our class here this early morning? Don't tell me you're worried about the exam coming up nine days later?" suddenly, the friendly chat was interrupted by another voice coming into the class.
"Damn! It's Lucas and his gang." Paul lightly cursed. His words obviously showed much scorn on the owner of that voice interrupting them.
It is natural for Paul to be intimidated by Lucas, the second-best student after Hespar. As someone ranked around the hundredth in the whole class, Paul wasn't even qualified to be counted as a part of the stronger halves.
"I thought there's nothing to do, so I came earlier. Who knows that I would step on some hyena's shit just after entering the classroom. No wonder it was so smelly in here." Hespar retaliates. And to make sure his reply hits where it hurts, he purposely mentioned [hyena] as Lucas' family were all hunters.
"Are you itching for a fight right now, number one in class, huh?" Lucas' expression seemed slightly uglier than before while he was trying to control the outburst of his temper. It seems that mentioning the word [hyena] hit his sore spot.
"Ah, look. Even the class's second strongest admits I'm the first in the class. Is there anything else I can say?" Hespar grinned and handed what was in his hand over to Paul. He would have taken a punch from Lucas if he was a few seconds slower.
The two of them were caught in a fistfight in a flash.
As for those bystanders, everyone was getting fired up as their spectators.
"I'll take the title [first] from you today!" Lucas shouted while sending punches after punches at Hespar. Meanwhile, all Hespar did was respond to the attack calmly without losing his cool.
The reason he's approaching this fight in this manner was due to the differences in their expertise. While Hespar is indeed better, his proficiency was all on the sword. But that doesn't mean he could do the same against a martial specialist like Lucas.
Being the strongest in class means nothing if a sword user has no access to his sword in a fistfighting. No matter how much Hespar was used to fighting, all it takes Lucas might be a few uppercuts to bring him down.
"Come on, Hespar! Why are you on the defensive side?" the spectators, who lack commonsense, taunted Hespar to counter Lucas' attacks. But with how shallow he was, how could he notice that Hespar is walking on a thin thread here?
A simple mistake could immediately lead to a defeat.
In the meantime, Lucas' attacks only get fiercer as it goes. From the initial punches at the beginning, he started to add in a few uppercuts and grappling techniques in between.
None of them realized that Hespar was trying to lead them somewhere as they moved around the classroom, making space for the fight.
'When did we end up moving to the sword's rack?' a hint of worry came into Lucas' mind when he noticed they were just a few steps away from the wooden swords. But even if he realized what Hespar was trying to do, it was too late for him to do something.
(What a foolish child. As a martial artist, he could just use his body to disturb his opponent's footsteps. This kid has a long way to go...)
Somebody whispered while standing outside the classroom and observing the fight.
(Instead, the other child is quite good. I heard that he's the child of the squad leader, am I correct? It seems he's already at the level of manifesting his Aura...)
The whisper belonged to a second person can be heard. From how it seems, the number of people observing this fight wasn't just one.
The distance between where they started and this sword rack was roughly twenty steps away. After successfully guiding the opponent along with him here, Hespar finally retaliates.
Using the slight advantages in their height difference, Hespar sent a kick out randomly. But as random it was, the kick missed Lucas as the latter lowered his entire body in a boxer's stance.
"Not fast enough--- Urgh!" Lucas' happiness came too early. Another kick came as he finished mocking Hespar with his words. Since the first kick was just a feint, it allowed Hespar to follow up with the next attack half a second faster than Lucas.
After all, Lucas' entire body was in a crouching position. Even if he's fit enough to respond immediately, his experience barely makes up for it. And in comparison to Hespar, who sparred against his father daily, this is just a walk-in-the-park trick.
Lucas' sat on the floor as he lost his balance. Meanwhile, Hespar took the opportunity to grab a wooden sword in hand and prepared himself for the second round.
(Hey... Look at that... Do you see what I am seeing?)
The second spectator outside the classroom was getting a little excited by what he saw.
(We're both looking at the same thing. How can I not notice that?)
The first spectator replied. A smile was seen on his face while looking at Hespar, who now had a sword in hand.
(This child's Aura seems to manifest quicker while holding a sword. Could it be that his Aura is related to the sword's ability?)
Asked the second spectator. But all he got in response was deep silence from the other individual. Instead, there's a hint of solemnity on his facial expression. There seems to be something more than surprises.
(Why are you making that face?)
Whispered the second spectator again.
(As you know, our Auras are differentiated by colors. Those in control over the four elements get a respective red, blue, yellow, and green according to the one they're proficient with. While those gifted as emitters will have a silver hue coating their Aura...)
(And to those doing well as spiritualists would have a black hue instead. But this is the first time I've seen an entirely white color from someone's Aura... Doesn't this means... Its a flop?)
The first spectator said.
(Wait... A flop, you said? With that talent and skills?)
The second spectator couldn't believe it and turned his head back to the fight. At this moment, the sparring between them can be said to reach its end as it took less than two minutes for Hespar to force Lucas onto his knees.
"Do you admit defeat?" Hespar asked.