- You lost, Gancelot. says, Noah
Gancelot gulps
- Master... huuhh.... You got to understand.... Ever since we were kids my sister has always been better than me at everything. says Gancelot says while stammering
Noah tilts his head sideways a litlle
- Why would I care about that? Don't you know that today you lost because you kept making the wrong decisions? says Noah
- Master I am sorry! I won't do it again
- What is going on? asks Juliana
- You don't want to know. All you need to know is that he won't make the same mistakes for a long time
- I guess we need to double the intensity of your training. says Noah
- You know what. Scratch what I said earlier. He will never make these mistakes. Ever again. Abel says with a look full of sympathy while looking at Gancelot
Noah jumps off the stand and land in the arena. He looks up at Aos and Wilmo who are still in the stand
- What are you guys waiting for? Noah says with a smirk
- Tsk! You really are getting on my nerve. says Wilmo who also jumps down.
A few seconds before he lands he activates a Body Art
- Body Art. Reinforcement.
A golden energy surrounds his body and he lands. He goes to the wooden weapon rack and takes a great sword.
- It's been a while since I grabbed a sword! says Wilmo with a smile
- Is that so? asks Noah
- Yeah. All we do is train our Body Art; Reifrocement. So we don't have the time to train with a sword.
- Do you two really possess origins from nobility ? says Aos while walking down the stairs from the stands to the arena
- Can you simply ask you're questions without going around in circles and without trying to sound sophisticated. says Wilmo with a pissed-off expression
- So, you want me to be more straightforward, huh? I was asking if you two were monkeys.
- WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY? yells Wilmo
{Noah}
" He is trying to rile me up. Unfortunately for him, that won't work on me but it did work on his partner. Still, this might be more difficult than I thought. A great sword wielder and a rapper wielder, in other words, a power-type swordsman and a speed-type swordsman. Without even noticing, they created a pretty good matchup."
{Demonic Instinct}
" KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL"
Noah puts his left hand on his face
{Noah}
" DAMN IT! SHUT UP WILL YOU!"
- Are you ok, Noah? asks Wilmo
- I... I am... I am fine. Noah answers with difficulty
{Noah}
" The voice is not as loud as it was yesterday but my Demonic instincts are still strong. I need to end this spar quickly, otherwise, I might lose it again."
Noah, Aos, and Wilmo take their fighting stance
- 1... 2...3...GO! yells Turo
Wilmo starts running toward Noah and Aos follows him behind. Wilmo brings his sword back and swings it at Noah. Noah manages to dodge but behind Wilmo was Aos that trusted is rapier at Noah and it hit him.
{Noah}
" Wilmo takes care of the close combat and as soon as I show an opening, Aos attacks me. This is a little harder than I expected."
Noah swings diagonally at Wilmo but he blocks it with his sword, however, the impact was so strong that Wilmo was pushed back but as soon as he was pushed back, Aos took the opportunity and thrusts at Noah three times and they all hit him on his left ribs and he backs off.
[In the stands]
{Guro}
" How is this possible? asks Guro. Wilmo's body is extremely strong since he is a martial artist but Noah pushed him back? That shouldn't be possible."
[On the arena]
- Damn! You got some serious power in your arms! says Wilmo with a smile
{Demonic Instinct}
" KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL"
{Noah}
" This is... not... good."
Noah runs toward Aos and when he reaches him, he swings his sword at Aos. Aos dodges his first swing then he dodges the second but in his third swing, Noah adds more power to it. Right at that moment, Wilmo reaches Noah and swings at him in the back. Noah doges sideways and he then gets attacked by Aos who is still targeting his left rib, fortunately, Noah manages to block all of his thrusts.
{Noah}
" Wilmo's attacks are simple but powerful and Aos's are precise and fast but they lack power, however, if I continue to take damage from his attacks it will build up, and that is not good."
{Demonic Instinct}
" KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL"
Noah takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and starts focusing
{Demonic Instinct}
" KILL KILl KIll Kill kill kil ki.."
The voice of the Demonic Instinct fades and disappears.
- Now, this is better. he says while opening his eyes
[Within Noah's Inner Realm]
- How is this possible? asks Bright. This is not something that is supposed to happen, right brother?
- You are right. This is the first time seeing a Demonic Instinct geet suppressed to the point that we can't hear its voice anymore. Normally, no matter how much you suppress your Demonic Instinst you would still hear it.
- This child is truly full of surprises. says Bright with a smile
[Outside world]
{Noah}
" I can finally concentrate."
Noah dashes in a straight line toward Wilmo. When Noah reaches Wilmo, Wilmo had already raised his sword and was now swinging it down on him. The sword comes down on Noah but Noah blocks it with his forearm.
* CRACK*
The noise of Noah's bone breaking.
{Aos}
" This is bad!"
Aos rushes toward Noah and Wilmo but it's too late. After Noah blocks Wilmo's swing with his arm, he immediately swings on Wilmo's wrist which makes him let go of his wooden great sword and as soon as the wooden great sword falls on the ground, Noah breaks the sword. Aos that finally reaches Noah, decides to take a step back when he sees Noah break the wooden great sword that Wilmo used.
{Aos}
" Damn it! This is bad"
- It's over, Aos. You have already served your purpose in my goal. says Noah
{Aos}
" What? Wait... Does that mean... that from the very beginning.... He was the one using me? Not the contrary?"
- NO! I REFUSE TO ACCEPT IT! yells while running toward Noah
[In the stands]
- Noah won. says Guro. What the hell is Aos thinking? Using a rapier in close combat? That is asking for death!
[On the arena]
Aos runs toward Noah. Noah sighs and as soon as Aos reaches him and thrust at him he counters by swinging at his rapier which sends it flying. Aos falls to his knees.
- Wilmo was a good opponent but I can say the same for you. Noah says while turning around and walking away.
Wilmo and Aos both walk back up in the stands.
- Wilmo you did a good job but your attacks were too simple and too easy to read! says Guro
Guro turns and faces Aos
- AOS!
Aos jumps of startlement
- Yes, teacher.
- What the hell was that, huh? What the hell were you doing at the end of the spar? asks Guro
- ...
- Why do rapiers fight at a distance, Aos? asks Guro
- Because the rapier is a light weapon therefore it can easily get knocked out of the hand of the wielder. That's why when a rapier wielder fights against someone who is using a different weapon they keep their distance and even if they get close there is enough distance so we can step back just in case.
- So, do you mind explaining why you ran at your opponent like that? asks Turo with an angry voice
- I have... no excuse teacher. replies Aos. I panicked and... and I lost all sense of rationality.
Guro sighs and approaches Noah
- You can keep the sword and the quest.
- They were both mine to begin with.
Guro frowns
- You have skills and strength but I still won't accept the fact that you, a mage, are wielding a sword. That kind of thing should not happen and is an act of disrespect toward all martial artists.
Noah lowers his head and grabs his neck. He sighs, lets go of his neck, and raises his head
- Why should I care about you guys's feelings, huh? Noah says with widened eyes. Just so we are clear, I knew that I was gonna win but even if, by the slightest chance, I lost I wouldn't have let you take either from me.
- You have quite the confidence in your strength, huh? says Guro
- You don't wanna know why. says Noah
*The bell rings*
Turo uses the artifact to change the arena back to its training ground mode.
- Class is dismissed you all may leave.
Every student leaves and the teachers too.
[With Noah, Abel, Juliana, and Gancelot]
- So what are you gonna do, Boss? asks Abel
- I am going to the library. What about you three?
- We already reserved the training ground, master. says Gancelot. Are you coming with us, sis?
- No. I will also go to the library. answers Juliana
- Huh? But why? asks Gancelot
- I am just curious. That's all. she answers
- Well, ok. see you guys tomorrow. Gancelot says while leaving with Abel
Abel and Gancelot leave
- So... Why are you really going to the library all of a sudden? asks Noah
- I already told you. I am just curious. she answers
- About the library or about me? asks Noah
- A little bit of both. But I really do wonder, why do you go there so much? It's... It's like you are searching for something.
- I am not searching for anything. I am hoping to find something. says Noah
- Hoping to find something? What are you hoping to find, Noah? asks Juliana
- The library is from the Dark Ages and during those times, magic was at its best. So, maybe, just maybe there might be a magic that allows me to see the past.
- Why do you want to see the past?
- Why do you think I train so much even though I am already that strong?
- I don't know. Maybe you just like training.
Noah's face twists out of anger
- I train for revenge. he says in a glacial tone. To find and kill the bastard that killed my mother! And I need to be strong. Strong so I can kill him, so strong so that no matter what his rank in society is nobody would stop me. Revenge is why I seek strength.
- I see...
They arrive at the library. When they enter Noah heads to the second floor and Juliana tries to follow him but is pushed back by the mental barrier.
- Are you ok?
- Yeah. I guess I am gonna read on this floor. she says while walking down the stairs.
Noah starts reading the books
[An hour later]
Noah read half of what was left to read on the second floor and he still hasn't found what he is searching for. He looks at a window
{Noah}
" It's late."
- Time to go, huh?
Noah leaves the second floor and enters the first one. He sees Juliana sleeping on a chair. He wakes her up and they leave. After dropping her off, he heads to the forest.
- Here we are. There is no strange noise though
A bush starts to rustle and something jumps out of it.