On the day the four of them were supposed to meet, Ian overslept. Kevin and Emmett had already met up and were now waiting for Ellie to bring Ian.
Ian was peacefully sleeping in his bed, one leg hanging, a blanket on the floor, and a hand on his face. Ellie was patiently waiting for him to wake up, but she couldn't wait any longer. She walked upstairs and slammed Ian's door open.
Ian was startled by the noise and fell out of bed. In doing so he got tangled up in his blanket. He managed to get his head out to see the enraged Ellie. Ian looked like a deer in headlights when he saw her. He didn't say anything since he was filled with dread.
With a furious look, Ellie said, "You overslept. It's an hour past our meeting time."
Ian was still half asleep so when he heard this he became confused. The fear he felt had vanished as he looked at the clock on his wall. It took him a few seconds, but after a moment his face was filled with shock.
Ellie now realized that he fully understand what was going on so she walked out.
Ian quickly got up and began to get dressed. He didn't care what he put on as long as he was able to get out as soon as possible. He put on a basic t-shirt, some plain pants, and his work shoes before running out of his room.
Ellie saw Ian run out and she chased after him. Ian was halfway out the front door before he stopped and turned to Ellie.
"Soooo, what are we going to do today and where are we supposed to meet up?" Ian said now facing Ellie. He was still disoriented from waking up too fast.
Ellie barely managed to stop before running into Ian. She got annoyed and flicked him on the forehead before saying, "We're going to meet them at the market, you dunce."
"Oh," Ian had nothing else to say.
Ellie walked passed him and started heading towards the market. Ian didn't want to be left behind so he followed her.
At the market, Emmett and Kevin were looking around at the stands. "They sure are taking their sweet time," Emmett said while looking at some necklaces.
"They'll be here soon. And also, we're not here looking for gifts, you know." Kevin smugly said while hovering over Emmett.
Emmett jumped up without saying anything and walked away. Kevin stayed close by, constantly teasing him.
Not long after Ian and Ellie arrive at the market. Kevin and Emmett noticed them and started to walk toward them. Once they've grouped, the four of them started to head to the outskirts of the village.
"So what are we going to do today," Ian asked, still not having a clue about what has be planned.
"We're going to the training grounds," Kevin said. He was leading the group.
Confused Ian asked why they were going to the training ground. Kevin explained what it is they were going to do. Ian got worried after hearing what they had planned. It's been over a week since he took his test and he had to lie to everyone about his strength. If they find out how strong he really is, he doesn't know what will happen.
Once they reached the training grounds, Kevin said, "Emmett and I will spar first, you two will go next."
"But wait, it won't be a fair fight. I can't control my power." Ian was worried, he had no idea what they were thinking.
Kevin figured that Ian would say this, so he placed his hand on Ian's shoulder before saying, "Don't worry about it. When you and Ellie fight you'll be using your base strength."
Ian was about to say something but Kevin cut him off, "Ok, enough chit-chat. It's time to get this party started."
Ian wasn't going to say anything else, he knew there was no point trying to talk with Kevin. Once he cuts someone off no one can stop him. Emmett and Kevin went up to the training grounds while Ian and Ellie stood on the sidelines.
The train grounds were where Ian's dad and the guards he'd train would go to do their daily workouts. Ian's dad was a veteran who served in a civil war that happened over 20 years ago. After the war, he move to the village and became the captain of the guards. He is also one of the three crystal-ranked people in the village.
On this day Ian's dad let the four use the training grounds since he was going to take his group out for a jog for their daily training.
Now on the training ground, Emmett and Kevin stood facing each other. They were ten meters away from one another.
"It's been a couple of months since we last sparred," Emmett said, smiling at Kevin.
"It has been a while, hasn't it? But last I checked, I was the one who won. You didn't even stand," Kevin said mockingly.
"You may have won last time, but I've been training and am now much stronger," Emmett said while getting into a stance.
"Oh ya, let's see how strong you are now." After Kevin said this, Emmett rushed him
In a second, Emmett was right in front of Kevin. He threw a punch at Kevin, aiming it at his head. The punch moved so fast to where Ellie had trouble seeing it.
Kevin moved to the side, barely dodging the attack. His cheek had a slight scrape where the punch had passed by. Kevin stumbled to the side as Emmett flew by.
"You're faster. You almost got a clean hit." Kevin said as he held his cheek.
Emmett gave Kevin a smile and said, "Told you I got stronger."
Kevin didn't say anything, instead, he returned the favor. He launched forward to punch Emmett. However, he didn't run at Emmett. What appeared as a burst of air pushed Kevin forward. He moved faster than Emmett did.
Emmett saw Kevin approaching quickly and tried to dodge, but he wasn't fast enough. Kevin landed a punch on Emmett's stomach, pushing him back two meters. Emmett crouched to the ground holding his stomach.
"You're not the only one who got stronger." Kevin smugly said.
It took a moment for Emmett to regain himself, but once he did, he said, "Ok that's enough of a warmup. Time to get serious."
Emmett rushed Kevin again, but this time he didn't land a single punch. Emmett threw a flurry of calculated punches. Each one was aimed for either his chest, stomach, or face.
Kevin wasn't expecting the multi-hit attack but was still able to dodge them all. He constantly kept moving to the side evading all of the incoming attacks.
Emmett was getting frustrated by the results, so he sped up. His fists were starting to get closer to his target, but even so, he still couldn't land a hit.
Kevin had a smug look the entire time. Eventually, he began to chuckle. This pissed off Emmett even more.
Emmett stopped his barrage and distanced himself before saying, "You think you're being cute, just because you can dodge my attacks. Well, let's see how you handle my next attack."
"What," Kevin looked confused as Emmett spoke.
"Let's see how you handle thi…"
"Ever," Kevin cut off Emmett before he finished his sentence. The smile on his face was evilly taunting Emmett.
Emmett was dumbfounded. He stood there not saying anything. The fact that Kevin had done that to him was mind-boggling. The way he was standing looked like someone could blow on him and he'd fall over.
After a few seconds, Emmett dashed forward. This time, he moved much faster. Kevin was too surprised by this sudden increase in speed Emmett was showing. He was too stunned to dodge Emmett's punch, but at the last second, he managed to block the attack.
Emmett's fist was heading for Kevin's chest. However, his punch landed on Kevin's arms which were crossed over his chest. The force behind the attack was able to lift Kevin into the air by a few inches. This allowed Emmett to land another hit on Kevin's face. The second punch sent Kevin flying backward four meters.
These attacks were more than what Kevin had imagined. The sudden speed he was showing was far faster than anything he's shown before. Even Ellie and Ian were surprised. No one could explain how he was moving so fast.
Emmett got cocky and ran after Kevin to hit him with another barrage of attacks. This time, Kevin was not able to dodge the attacks, he was only able to block most of them. Every fourth punch would land.
Emmett kept up his flurry of blows, not letting Kevin have a chance to counter-attack. After a few minutes of Emmett's constant attacking, He ended it by landing an uppercut, sending Kevin a foot in the air, before roundhouse kicking him away by a few meters
Ellie was stunned by Emmett's performance. She knew he had been training intensely these past few months, but she never expected him to improve so much.
Ian was also shocked but he was more confused than anything. He had seen Emmett train and knew that he wasn't practicing anything that would help with speed. When he saw him training, he'd be practicing to use his element more efficiently.
"Why would practicing to control earth help with someone's speed?" Ian thought to himself.
After Kevin landed, he took a moment to catch his breath. When he was finally done he said, "I don't know what it is you did to get so fast but it won't help you anymore."
Emmett did not like the sound of that so he ran up to punch him again. However, right as his punch was about to land, his fist stopped. Emmett was confused, he was putting a lot of force behind his punch but it wouldn't move.
Kevin saw Emmett's confusion and gave him a smile. Afterward, Emmett was sent flying back. When Emmett landed he was fifteen meters away. He quickly lifted himself up to look at Kevin. As soon as he saw Kevin, his eyes widen.
Around Kevin, there was a sphere of air, about two meters in diameter, swirling him. Kevin was standing proudly in the center of it. His smug evil smile was back and bigger than before.
"Now I'm going to get serious," Kevin said.