There were a lot of 'oohs' and 'aahs' as the winner of the duel removed the mask from his face
The man who had just unveiled himself was a tall, light skinned man with slightly broad features, he didn't look like it from afar but he was taller than everyone in the room by at least an inch.
His blond hair came loose with the mask falling just beneath his neck and his dull gray eyes which made him look almost incapable of wielding a weapon stood out
The mask that came off his face was like a second skin, the mask made him look younger even though he already looked young
He looked right in the middle of plain faced and handsome, some of the first-year girls were already gawking at him
"Don't feel so down" he said to the student who lay on the floor, offering his hand to help him up
"You did your best. However, no one here would have been able to best me in a duel. That's because I'm the weapons master of the school"
Another round of 'oohs' and 'aahs' erupted from the students
There was a glint in his dull eyes after his little introduction which anyone observant enough would have noticed. He loved playing pranks
Derek was the most surprised of all, he could only stare open mouthed in awe. He completely though he was a student who was trying to get him in trouble, but weapons master?
"You can call me Zayn"
This was the first weapons class the first years were having due to an issue with the previous weapons master, so Derek was quite lucky to witness the spectacle.
The class started with Zayn identifying the different weapons for the students, it was a first for Derek. He was hearing a lot of names of weapons he didn't know existed.
When they had done a full circle round the weaponry, they were back to where they started which was the spot for duels.
Zayn made them pick weapons of their choice and selected two students each based on a report of their ability level which he had received on his tab.
Most of the girls were unconcerned with the duels as they could not get enough of Zayn's face, they kept staring as though the face might suddenly vanish if they stopped staring.
The time was not enough for everyone to duel against each other, so Zayn only let half the class go and reserved the other half for the next class.
Derek was one of the last persons to leave the weapons class, just before he stepped out the door, he saw Zayn beckoning to him.
He turned back to answer the weapons master
"Derek?"
'What? How did he know my name, is he a mind reader of something?' that was all Derek could think of as Zayn called him by his name
"No, I can't read minds" Zayn replied pointing at the watch on his wrist." Your expression says a lot about your thoughts and you make it very obvious what your thoughts are"
Zayn slowly replied his unsaid questions while walking around the weaponry, Derek silently followed him, while closely looking at his watch.
His name Derek was on the watch in little letters, among a few other different things displayed on it.
But you would have to look closely to see the name on the watch, which made Derek wonder if he had the eyesight of a bird to be able to read the tiny letters on his watch from that distance
"Most people do not understand the significance of a weapon. That is why they fail at wielding it." Zayn began talking without looking back at Derek
By now it was only them both left in the weaponry, every other student was long gone.
"If you are going to use a weapon you have to see it as an extra limb. Can you function properly if one of your arms were severed from your body?" Zayn suddenly asked out of the blue
"Ermm. No" Derek replied
"Exactly. The weapon is like an extra limb, it shouldn't be used as an attachment. But it should be used like it is part of you.
Only then can you fully bring out the full potential of a weapon" Zayn concluded
"I saw you looking at this" Zayn stopped abruptly and turned around holding the chain whip in his hand
Derek's eyes suddenly shone in delight seeing the chain whip up close.
"I have the feeling that the full potential of this chain whip will be achieved in your care" Zayn concluded as he handed the weapon to Derek
Derek didn't know how to use any weapon but he was simply delighted having one all to himself.
When he got back to the dorm, he was glad Chuck wasn't there. He was not ready to listen to his yapping every second of the day
Derek couldn't get enough of his new weapon; he kept turning it around in his hands and feeling every edge of it while thinking of where to put it in his room
When Chuck eventually came into the room, Derek was already on the bed scrolling through the pad the school had given him.
The pad was connected to his watch, so everything displayed on his watch was also on his pad. It was mainly for communication and research purposes.
Derek had ignored him when he entered the room and surprisingly, Chuck hadn't said anything to him either and Chuck was usually very chatty.
Derek watched Chuck from the corner of his eyes and he could see him take off his shirt, he was not interested in that and he instantly diverted his eyes back to his pad
'Wait-' there was something red on the sleeve
'Was that blood' when Derek turned to look again Chuck had already taken off the shirt and folded it into a ball, and was now walking to the bathroom
'Maybe it was just my eyes playing tricks on me Derek thought
Putting his pad on the table, Derek put on a hoodie and left for the store which was a ten-minute walk from the dorms
He looked at his watch and he still had a whole hour before curfew, but he was still hungry after the measly portion of dinner they had in the cafeteria
So he thought he might go get some snacks
His ear was plugged with an earpiece as he made his way to the store. Trotting with the melody of the song, it didn't take him long to get there
He quickly picked out some snacks and a bottle of soda and then he got a few supplies for Chuck assuming he was right and what he saw was actually blood before starting his journey back to the dorm.
He had picked out these things very quickly and paid at the cashier, he wanted to get back way before curfew.
While going back, he didn't have the earpiece in his ears anymore. He had just decided to stroll and clear his head.
Derek had only walked three minutes when he heard someone wince in pain, when he traced the noise to its source, he could see three boys at the corner of one of the blocks
The three surrounded a single boy, it was already dark and Derek couldn't see what they were doing to him from that distance
But he was sure they didn't bring him out here by this time of the night to solve equations and share candy
Derek didn't have any abilities, but he hated seeing these things, he was yet to understand while people bullied those weaker than them.
"Phewww" Derek put his hand on his mouth and blew a whistle. The boys immediately stopped their assault and raised their head up.
They were about to flee, but they stayed when they saw it was just a student and one student
As Derek got even closer, he could recognize their faces. It was the students that tried to bully him during the day.
But there were only three this time, when they saw it was Derek they left their previous victim and turned their focus on the new one
Their victim immediately ran away when he saw that their attention was no longer on him
"It's the new student" one of them snickered. The rest laughed in scorn as they surrounded him.
Derek was ready for a fight, he dropped his supplies on the floor and clenched his fist but. The boys were having none of it.
The first student rushed in and kicked him in his stomach, Derek was too slow to dodge. He countered with a weak punch but it was easily dodged and the student leaned in and punched him in the gut.
Derek reeled back in pain clenching his teeth hard, he thought they would break, he remembered Zayn's stance at weapons class earlier.
And was now ready to fight seriously