Just as my conversation with Sylfie ended, a blur of movement caught my eye. A flash of hostility pricked my senses, and the whoosh of a flying object forced me to duck, pulling Sylfie with me at the same time.
A large hammer with a short handle came crashing over, smashing into the tree beside me. Splintered wood and tree bark scattered into the air as I unslung my battleaxe and swung it in a wide arc.
Dong—!
The crisp bell-like toll of metal colliding rang in my ears, shaking my wrists and forcing me a step back. The weight of another thrown warhammer was hefty, packing a punch greater than I had expected.
'This isn't some small fry,' I thought to myself.
My initial numbness to this entire scenario disappeared in an instant. What I thought was another ambush by some weak first years to probe my strength was turning out to be something different.
Clang—!
This time a javelin came flying towards me, piercing through the air with deadly accuracy. I parried its sharpness and redirected it to the ground.
I was frankly flabbergasted. Did they legitimately want me dead? Did they not fear the repercussions of murder?
I sent a glare in the direction of the perpetrator, and there I found the first year's rank 5. He stood there, shaking his head with a contradictive expression of praise.
"Jiontar of the Phristines." I muttered under my breath before speaking up, "What business do you have with me to attack with such hostility?"
"Aha~" Jiontar walked forward with a slight laugh, "My apologies, Sun Saint. I just couldn't help my curiosity. I wanted to see how weak I was compared to you."
His words were full of humility but sarcasm laced his tone like a vicious poison.
"And indeed, you are worthy of your place as our rank 3."
Jiontar snapped his fingers, sending a small ripple of soundwaves to bounce around. From behind the trees and bushes beside him, a few students emerged, all holding their weapons with greed in their gazes.
"Please," Jiontar made an expression of pleading, his sarcastic tone still there, "Enlighten me further."
I couldn't help but frown as his lackeys charged at me with fervour. Sighing, I prepared to brandish my battleaxe.
But, in the blink of an eye, I realised that my feet were no longer on solid ground. I was flying through the air as one of Jiontar's hammers slammed into my gut. I was then dragged through the dirt, and thrown far from the battlefield.
I only gained a chance to recuperate when Jiontar's hammer left his range of control.
"Ugh," I felt like throwing up as a cold, numbing pain emerged from where the hammer had hit me. I gasped for air and coughed up a bit of stomach acid.
"Hm?" I heard Jiontar's voice from afar, but this time it didn't seem to be directed at me. "Commoner... that gaze of yours is unpleasant. Why must you direct such a gaze at this weak one's self? I did nothing but test my own mettle against one stronger than I."
Jiontar paused, seemingly waiting for Sylfie to respond. But the latter simply prepared a spell, wary of what Jiontar could do.
A frown surfaced on Jiontar's expressions of humility, and a bad feeling surged in my heart. I lunged towards Sylfie's side, but I was still quite a distance away. No matter how fast I could run, I wasn't faster than Jiontar's hammers.
Crack—!
Sylfie blocked the javelin from piercing into her with a Mana Shield. A pillar of earth surged up and redirected one of the hammers that were flying towards her. Mana programs were shining around her wrists and fingers as she manipulated the element of earth.
Her status as a mage was displayed at this moment.
"To your left!" I yelled out as I ran. "He's mine!"
I leapt into the air and slashed down at one of Jiontar's lackeys, barely keeping Sylfie away from harm. My battleaxe cleaved through the shaft of a spear, smashing it into the ground and leaving a large cut behind.
"Sylfie, duck!" I roared as my eyes flashed with a blazing fire within them.
These rascals... Why did they have to target my friend too? Wasn't their feud with me?
Sylfie had swiftly heeded my command as she dropped down without an ounce of hesitation. My battleaxe then swept up a small storm of leaves as I spun around, deflecting all the incoming weapons and drawing a bit of blood.
Clang— clang— clang— clang—!
Energy coursed through me as the scent of blood appeared. It felt as if my creaking joints were being oiled up, and my bruises were healing at a rapid pace.
"What a wonderful display!!!" Jiontar exclaimed from the side with an irksome amount of fervour. He was overreacting, flaunting the derision in his tone. He was mocking me with the words of the humble.
I did not like his personality at all. Everything about it pissed me off. Pretentious, deceptively humble, condescending, and sarcastic. He had coated his persona with honeyed venom.
Clang—!
Steel rang against steel once again as I successfully parried Jiontar's ambushing hammer. That little trick of his wasn't going to work on me again.
Crack—!
Sylfie's Mana Shield shattered as the other hammer blasted straight through after slamming against it a few times. It was soon met with an earthen shield, barring it from continuing further.
I watched as Jiontar's frown deepened. He pulled his three weapons back into his hands, their enchantments shimmering with the glow of mana.
"Pesky fly," He cursed at Sylfie's presence.
He then did something to his weapons, and the bad feeling in my heart grew. There was something about those weapons that unsettled me. Perhaps they had some hidden mechanic that I was unaware of.
They felt familiar... as if Jiontar had taken inspiration from Caelum's battle style. It was mysterious and most likely full of tricks.
In the next moment, his two hammers came flying towards us. One for me, one for Sylfie.
Clang—! Crack—!
We successfully blocked them both, but then,
BOOM—!
I watched as flames bloomed from the weapon's enchantments, swallowing me whole.