As always, Mr. Faer was incredibly motivated during our session, his body emanating pure passion for his craft as he started reviewing what we would start practicing today and his well-sculpted muscles couldn't stop themselves from moving as he spoke.
"Today, we will start practicing kicks! With your claws, which can make it awkward linking attacks without leaving yourself open, I have decided that we will fill that gap by using your legs instead!"
Climbing up the small stairs into the octagonal ring, I could only agree with him. From the monster elimination class, I had quickly found that trying to rapidly use my claws to fight often did put me in situation where a swing would leave me open.
The problem with my claws was that they weren't suited to traditional punches. Instead they were used more like a sword in that I could either swing or stab, but as I had to be in close range, I could easily get caught if I swung at the wrong moment.
Crossing his arms, there was just one question that he felt had to be answered before we begun.
"So, how much experience do you have involving kicking?"
"Zero. None at all."
Unfortunately, this was the truth. As I had zero experience fighting whatsoever since coming to Augustus, there was also no way that I would have any experience regarding technique. Taking a step forward on the rubbery flooring, he didn't seem to mind at all.
"I see. Then, let's start with the basics! First of all, just like with punches, the power behind ones kick isn't just based on the movement of the leg. Instead, the focus lies on finding a balance between the rotation of one's body in relation to how much power you want to use. If you don't, you might find yourself in a similar position as when you swing too widely, leaving yourself open for counterattacks."
Using the storage artifact in the form of a ring on his finger, it didn't take long until he was standing with two large, red training pads in his hands. To this, I walked into striking distance of the man, knowing that he was insinuating that we should get started.
Wearing a bright smile, he continued to instruct me as I prepared myself to throw my very first kick.
"Make sure that you are light on your feet and that you are starting the movement by rotating your torso as well as your hips."
'Light on my feet, rotate my torso. Then, put strength into my thigh and lift...'
Going through the motions in my head, I tried to get the right feeling by test rotating and lifting my foot a bit. After trying it a couple of times, I felt like I was ready to go. And so, I did.
Rotating my body, I put as much power as possible into my thigh and shot my leg out towards the pad, wanting badly to impress my teacher even if just a bit.
"Hupp!"
*Pon...*
'Fuck...'
It was... less than impressive, one might say. Even though I had used a lot of strength, it was as if my kick didn't carry any power at all. And it didn't take long until my teacher told me the reason.
"You have to relax more. If your kicks are too stiff, you are sacrificing a lot of speed and sharpness. Do it again, but don't use a lot of strength. Instead, imagine your leg being a whip. You want it to 'snap' instead of pushing."
Preparing myself once again, my left foot forward, I took a breath before trying it again, this time not focusing on using a lot of strength.
*Bom!*
This time, when my leg made contact with the training pad, a much more audible sound was created, signifying my success. Or, at least my improvement.
"That's better, but you still aren't using your body enough! Again!"
"Yes, Sir!"
And so, the lesson began for real, with me kicking the red training pad over and over again, trying to correct my form while continually receiving feedback from Mr. Faer.
==========
"I'll see you next week then Aarick! Please don't forget to continue practicing your kicks over the weekend!"
"Yes..."
Even with my new and improved body, Mr. Faer made sure that I was completely gassed out when we were done with the lesson, with me having to drag my body out to the halls again.
As all students first lesson ended at the same time, the corridors were now filled with students, all of them walking in the same direction as most of them had their next class in the main building. Therefore, it wasn't surprising that there was someone ahead of me that I couldn't help but let my eyes land on.
With her blue-hair illuminated by the sun coming in from the windows on the side, Levi was also part of the part of the students that had to make their way to their homeroom. However, unlike me, she wasn't going there alone.
Because on her side, there was the guy that always tried to be as close to her as possible. Even though I only say him from behind, there was no way I didn't know that the broad back belonged to Will, as his red hair was all the evidence I needed.
Despite me knowing about what he did to me, I still surprised myself when thinking about just how little I actually cared about him. Although there was no question that I still held a bit of a grudge, I didn't care enough to actually try and get revenge on him.
To some extent, I also felt the same way about Levi. Not in the way that I held a grudge against her, but in the way that our pasts now felt so incredibly distant. Even if it hurt a bit to see how far apart we now were, I also didn't care enough about her to actually try and change it.
In the end, I had my sights set on just trying to live my life, as well as to make Lucifer's dream happen in the future. And for that, I would happily endure the torture that was trying to control myself while being around all these humans.
****
[Lydia's Pov]
Once again, I felt my eyes getting drawn to the white-haired Aarick in the front of the classroom, unable to concentrate on Ms. Zito's lecture about how humans were trying to make more of the wastelands habitable.
'I want to talk to him...'
It was an awkward situation, because even if I had made an attempt before to get along with him, he had once again made a scene that put him in the spotlight. For someone like me, who came from a middle of the pack household, I wasn't sure if I could take my chances of painting a target on my back just to fulfill my curiosity.
At the same time, it was incredibly frustrating! Because I knew that he was hiding something big.
There was no way he was an ordinary student when thinking about how his rank-up had completely changed his stature, as well as how he somehow appeared to have endless mental fortitude.
Peter had already told me when he heard about what happened between Aarick and the third-year that there was no way he would go along with my plans after that, with Celina readily agreeing with him.
Even if I felt like Celina had never actually wanted to be around him, it wasn't as if I didn't understand them. Astor aside, there was really no one that wanted to be around someone that only brought trouble wherever they went.
It was to the point where they had started to distance themselves from Astor as well, just to make sure Aarick didn't somehow appear out of nowhere. But it was still hard.
All my life had been taught by my parents that secrets were meant to be uncovered and that mysteries only existed to be dismantled. Yet, here I was, with a very large mystery right before my eyes, and I was not allowed to try and find out more?
"... with that, I will now end the class for today. Do keep in mind that all of this will be on the upcoming test as well, so I hoped that you all took notes."
Hearing what our teacher had said, I could feel my face getting pale when I saw the completely blank notebook on my desk.
"Again? Haaaa... Here, but please try to write your own notes next time."
Thankfully, I had a green-haired angel by the name of Stella at my side, who once again lent me her notes as she started packing away her stationeries. Unable to stop myself from hugging her, I threw my arms around her.
"Thank you!"
It was unfortunate that Stella had to become a victim of my restless mind, but I was still not sure what I could even do about it. Or rather, I was still not sure how I was going to go about trying to find out more about Aarick.
Also, it didn't help that I couldn't help but think that his blood-red eyes always managed to make me catch my breath.