"Yes sir." He received a death glare from Kayden. "I mean, Kayden, you have a reputation among normal people at school as the genius with no future. Not that I think so, sir... Kayden, I think you have a lot of potential." The boy said the last part quickly and nervously.
Kayden let out a small laugh to himself and gave a scary smile to the people around him.
'Without future? What a joke, I will overcome everything and everyone.' His mindset came ruthlessly into his thoughts.
"Kayden, stop smiling like that, you're scaring me." The one who called him was Maria, making the boy notice his devilish smile. Kayden coughed embarrassedly.
"Sorry, it was unintentional." It didn't seem like it at all. "Now let's talk about training." Once again a devilish smile appeared on Kayden's face, but this time it was quickly hidden by him. "I don't know what you do, but on my team, you will do what I specify or you are out."
It seemed like an outrageous and self-centered request, but well, it was. Kayden doubted that any of them knew how to fight properly, if they did they would have joined the elite team directly and not through invitations. Seeing that none of them opened their mouths, Kayden began:
"First, Maria, I want you to train your spells, whatever they are, to be cast incessantly and I want you to be able to recover quickly for another volley of spells. You can do it?"
"The first part I can, but when it comes to mana recovery, I don't have much beyond the basics." Now it was time for Kayden's little knowledge to come into play and start putting together the little pieces of his new plan.
"Go to the library and look for techniques swordsmen use at rest. We will protect you in combat, so you can use this kind of immersive technique." It wasn't a secret, it was just a simple technique to capture more mana in a resting state. It was of no use to mages and knights, as this fast mana was imbued with the will of the world, making it impossible to cultivate with it. The girl left as soon as she received Kayden's instructions. It was difficult to find a team around here and their time was running out.
"Carlos, I want you to learn techniques for explosions of speed and strength, I want a quick and decisive attack from you." The boy quickly agreed with Kayden, he didn't have a definitive fighting style.
Kayden turned to Jean, but before he could say anything the boy surprised him.
"You want me to learn strong defense spells that give stat bonuses aimed at explosive strikes, don't you?" It seems that Jean had discovered Kayden's plans.
"Yes, that's right." Once again, another member left after receiving his instructions. Kayden expected them to debate a little more, but apparently, he underestimated the guests' desperation to join a team. They certainly had pressure from their parents and society on their shoulders.
"What about me? What's your plan, Kayden?" Carlos asked.
"I need you to learn spells and explosive techniques too. However, I also want you to focus on having a hybrid style between defense and attack. And as for the plan, you don't need to worry about that for now."
Kayden quickly realized that the three of them were not used to fighting. Mainly because they easily give up their fighting style and go learn other types of spells.
The boy had neither the time nor the desire to teach them how to fight, so his strategy was simple. Make them specialize in carrying out a false attack with incessant attacks and a real one with full force.
In this attack, he would use his special spell and it would be all or nothing against the other team. Honestly, his 3 allies would prepare the ground so he could finish the match.
"Okay, Kayden, see you tomorrow then," Carlos said goodbye, leaving Kayden alone again.
The boy took a deep breath. It seemed like a new stage in his life was about to begin.
A week later
A four-member team could be seen fighting another five-person team. They were in a giant underground arena.
"Bastards, fight decently!" One of the mages on the larger team was irritated. A match that was only supposed to last 10 minutes was approaching 30.
Simply because the other team seemed to use guerrilla tactics. Its main magician used several volleys of spells incessantly and, when her mana ran out, the fighters bought time for her to recover.
His spells were mainly of the water element, most were condensed to the point that they looked like ice when they hit opponents, causing open wounds and bruises.
But the main problem was a katana-wielding boy able to hold off two attackers at the same time, and if they faltered, they still received injuries. The other team's support played the role of the last guard.
Many times they came close to dealing with the opposing mage, but a protective bubble and other abilities held him back long enough for the bald man and the swordsman to arrive.
Close to 30 minutes later, the offensive mage stopped her water spells again and walked away to recover. The five-member team positioned itself to attack again, this time ready to take advantage of any opening.
" Transcendentia," Kayden said so only his team could hear. That was the signal for the last clash. His support mage cast a wind spell, increasing his speed to frightening degrees for his rank.
The monk activated an earth element spell that covered his hands with a thin layer of sharp boulders and also received a speed buff from the support mage. Adding up all the spells, they were at their strongest since the start of the fight.
Kayden charged so quickly at one of the opposing knights that he didn't even have time to react before receiving a large horizontal cut across his chest. In a few seconds, the fight became 4 against 4.
Without wasting any time, the boy headed towards the second knight. This time, it wasn't so easy, as his opponent saw Kayden's superhuman speed and focused on defending himself.
What he didn't expect was that he would be attacked by the other side. The bald man dealt a decisive blow to his head with his fists, and the knight collapsed to the ground unconscious. All of this happened in just 3 seconds.
The three mages on the other side barely had time to react before 2 of their team's allies were eliminated. They couldn't even cast a spell. The three that remained were attack-oriented fire mages.
Unfortunately for them, Kayden wasn't planning on letting them attack. Putting all his strength into his legs, he ran towards the nearest mage. A wave of fire met him.
If the boy was normal, he would have gone around or waited for her to pass. But who said he was? Using a concentrated beam through the wall of fire, Kayden crashed head-on into it.
His skin suffered first-degree burns and his clothes were singed and black in places. But his intention was successful. The wizard was hit by his spell and was slightly paralyzed.
Taking advantage of the right moment, Kayden landed a horizontal blow on his opponent's arm, almost cutting him in two. But to his delight, he was taken out of the arena before Kayden could finish the hit. Kayden turned around.
The monk was going after one of the remaining mages, the support was casting distraction spells for the last opponent, and her water mage was recovering mana.
The boy decided to end this fight quickly and headed towards the same wizard as Carlos. Using concentrated lightning from a distance, he caught his opponent by surprise.
This allowed Carlos to hit his opponent's head with a decisive blow again. Finally, there was only one opponent left.