Hendrix and his classmates followed Mr. Adam to the gym, and once they arrived, they all grabbed training weapons for themselves.
The gym looked normal except for four arenas, the weapon racks, and the weak gravity chamber.
"Now that you all have grabbed your weapons, I'll set rules for this competition. The first is no killing allowed. If you kill someone, you will be banished and not be allowed to return to earth." Mr. Adam announced solemnly and gravely.
Almost everyone felt a chill down their spine, thinking not being able to return to earth and never seeing their families again was a fate worse than death.
"Two, you cannot use your talents or skills in this battle. It would defeat the purpose of this combat exercise if you could use those. Passive talents and skills are the exceptions." Mr. Adam's stated.
"There are three methods to win. They are to make your opponent surrender, disarm them, make them stay on the ground for five seconds, or knock them out of the arena. However, if you choose to surrender, you must run five miles tomorrow." Mr. Adam explained with a smile as he chuckled before pulling a group of paper slips and a marker out of his pocket.
"You can use dirty means to win if they aren't breaking the first three rules. Now everyone, please take one piece of paper, pass around the marker, and write your name on it." Mr. Adam instructed.
One by one, each student followed Mr. Adam's directions until only Hendrix was left. And he quickly grabbed his paper and wrote his name on it when he got the marker.
"Everyone, please give them back to me. I'll put them in my pocket and draw them out randomly." Mr. Adam's instructed
All the students obeyed Mr. Adam's instructions and waited patiently for his verdict.
"Hmm, the first match will be Allura vs. Theodore." Mr. Adam proclaimed while looking at both students.
The duo walked out towards the arena, determined to win and get rewarded. Once Allura and Theodore reached their positions across from each other, they waited for Mr. Adam's go-ahead.
"You may begin." Mr. Adam announced as he smiled.
Theodore readied his mace, and Allura grabbed her rapier as both ran at one another quickly. Theodore swung his mace at Allura from the right and vertically with all his strength.
Allura sidestepped to the left as the mace hit the ground, causing a loud sound. Quickly she pierced Theodore's right hand, trying to disarm him. Meanwhile, she was neutral in expression.
Theodore smirked as he blocked her rapier with his maces rod just in time when he reached for her hand, which held the rapier, intent on disarming her.
Allura noticed this and jumped backward just in time and swung her rapier horizontally to cut his hand.
"Agh!" Theodore yelled in pain, unable to stop the rapier in time. His left hand was no longer usable and was bleeding heavily. Subsequently, he ran at Allura while narrowing his eyes as he swung his mace at her from above with a burning gaze and Adrenaline boosting his strength.
Allura's gaze eyes contracted as she barely dodged Theodore's mace by sidestepping, as it made a quaking sound when it hit the ground, causing the floor to crack a bit.
Mr. Adam narrowed his eyes as he knew it could have killed Allura if the hit landed on her, but he didn't interfere as nurses will hurry inside with stretchers in case of serious injuries.
Allura spun around Theodore's mace as he tried to get it out of the ground. She also stabbed his other hand, causing it to drop the mace.
"Ack! How dare you!?" Theodore yelled as he tried to tackle Allura but hit the ground face first, and she dodged him easily.
"Allura wins this fight. Theodore, the nurses will take you to the medical ward." Mr. Adam instructed with a solemn gaze.
"Fine, I'll have a rematch, Allura, later." Theodore replied as he was left lying on the stretcher as the nurses took him away.
Allura returned and stood by Natasha and Valentina.
Mr. Adam grabbed and pulled two more papers out of his pocket before he looked at them and smiled.
"This match is Hendrix vs. Benjamin." Mr. Adam announced while smiling and gazing at them.
'I hope I don't reveal any of my fighting styles accidentally. When I escape into the crown world, I need fewer leads for people to track me. I also need as many trump cards as possible." Hendrix thought as he walked to the arena while using his cane.
Benjamin had short brown hair and green eyes and was skinny. He had a quiver on his back and a bow in his hand. And he also walked to the arena. His expression was a relieved one, thinking Hendrix was too weak to be a threat.
Once both students arrived on either side of the arena, they waited for the go-ahead.
"You may begin." Mr. Adam announced with a smile.
Benjamin quickly grabbed an arrow from his quiver and aimed and fired it at Hendrix's arm.
Hendrix had a content expression as he sidestepped to the left of the arrow with ease. This attack was nothing like dodging varmints in the citadel before he threw the arrow out of the arena and walked towards Benjamin while using his cane, giving the illusion of him being harmless.
Benjamin narrowed his eyes as he grabbed another arrow aimed and fired at Hendrix again, hoping Hendrix dodging was a fluke.
Hendrix moved his hand to the side as the arrow whizzed past it before continuing to walk at an unhurried pace and picking up the arrow and throwing it out as well.
Benjamin tensed up as he realized he couldn't get the arrows Hendrix threw out without losing. But he continued to fire, hoping one of them could disarm Hendrix.
Hendrix, one by one, dodged each arrow and threw them out of the arena. And this pattern continued until Benjamin ran out of arrows.
"Ugh, I can beat you. You're weak in body." Benjamin grumbled as he ran at Hendrix, thinking he could still win by picking him up and throwing him out of the arena, just like was done to his arrows.
Hendrix waited patiently, and after Benjamin tried to grab him, he sidestepped to the left and struck Benjamin's left leg's ankle before backing away, biding his time.
"Agh! That hurt! Get back here!" Benjamin yelled, not wanting to surrender, as he reached for Hendrix again.
Hendrix sidestepped to the right, just out of Benjamin's reach, before striking Benjamin's left hand, which held his bow. And he dropped the bow, losing the battle.
"He used an unorthodox method, but Hendrix won." Mr. Adam announced, smiling, already impressed with Hendrix.
"Agh, fine, I lose." Benjamin accepted, sighing as he walked to a stretcher, and the nurses took him to the medical ward.
'I'm glad I saved most of my stamina by fighting leisurely. Though I doubt I can do that in most fights." Hendrix thought cautiously.
{Indeed, you'll have to do a lot to hide your abilities and earn three requests simultaneously.}
'If I ever am In a fight where I can only win if I show them, then I'll lose on purpose. If I fail to conceal my means, it may jeopardize my escape plans." Hendrix thought as he returned to where the other students were.