Kayden couldn't stop thinking about everything that had taken place. For one, there was the conspiracy going on at the academy. Moreover, he was now apparently part of the students who would be learning more about this group known as the Shade. He was also worried about his family at home, as well.
He didn't really care much about the match that was about to take place, though he was still interested in seeing Dan's progress. The latter seemed to have been doing the best he could to improve himself for a while, ever since that day after the simulation had come to an end. Dan didn't wish to feel weak anymore.
The match between them had begun, and immediately, the instructor had sprinted forward, aiming to strike Dan, activating his ability in the process. The students had no idea what the instructor's ability was, but still, Dan wasn't planning to just let the man strike him.
Twisting his body, he was able to dodge the strike, and was about to deliver a kick of his own, when Lucas suddenly took a large step back, dodging the blow completely. Then, Dan aimed for a roundhouse kick, but the instructor simply dodged it as well.
'Fuck!' Dan screams internally, doing the best he could to land a blow. But, the instructor was quick enough to dodge every single one of them, frustrating Dan to the point that he began to attack differently than he did before, swinging his arms and legs in all sorts of directions without thinking first.
Seeing this, the instructor had moved in, delivering a punch to the gut before Dan could react or even see the blow coming. The latter had his body hunched forward from the impact, saliva spewing from his mouth as his eyes grew wide open from the pain delivered by the force of the punch.
"I see you're making progress, but don't let your temper get in the way of your training," the instructor cautioned, as he had delivered another blow to the head the next second, knocking Dan unconscious as his body fell towards the floor.
'Damn, this guy is really strong," although Kayden already knew this, seeing the man deal with his classmate like so was just further proving that fact. The instructors were at a different level of strength as compared to everyone else at the academy.
Kayden remembered the time when he and Dan both fought against the last instructor for the mystery class division. He remembered how Dan had copied her ability, causing him to lose control as his eyes turned completely black. She never told them what her ability was, but Kayden was quite interested after witnessing the effect it had on Dan.
Kayla, with her fire ability, was easily one of the strongest ability users, not only in her division, but in the whole class. She was, of course, the strongest first year student at the academy. She had always been trained and conditioned to be the strongest. To her, anything below perfect couldn't be accepted. It was what always encouraged her to keep on striving to improve herself. It was why she was considered the better sibling by her parents.
She would always do her best to understand and put into practice the things the instructors would say, improving on herself in the process. This was another reason why the students admired her. She was always interested in growing in power and skill set. She was never satisfied with mediocrity or stagnation.
Everyone had their goals at the academy. A lot of them desired strength and would do whatever it takes to grow stronger. Thinking about all of this, the match between Lucas and Dan had come to an end, and Kayden had just remembered that he and Paul were meant to have a sparring match as well.
The instructor was stronger and had more experience than the young student. Though he was quite young himself, he didn't become an instructor at the academy by mere luck. He was given that job because he was worthy of performing the role.
It seemed as though the match had come to an end. However, all of a sudden, the first year student had gotten off the floor, wiping his mouth while glaring straight at the instructor, surprising everyone that was matching the fight, including Lucas himself.
Immediately, he went in to deliver an uppercut, moving as though his body hadn't been severely beaten just moments ago, causing Kayden and Marcus to stare at him in confusion. The instructor had caught his elbow mid-swing, twisting his arm while forcing his opponent to bend backwards. Seeing the movements, it brought back memories of the Aikido lessons from the combat class. Kayden was paying close attention to the movements, comparing them to the things he had learnt from the combat class.
It seemed like Dan wasn't prepared for this move. So far during the fight, he seemed determined to win the fight, pretty much regaining consciousness in mere seconds. At this point, Kayden wasn't sure whether it was his will, or something else that played a role in him quickly regaining consciousness. Maybe he wasn't even knocked out in the first place.
He was using every move and trick that came to mind at the time to help him overpower his opponent, but at the end of the fight, it was clear that he still had a lot to learn about combat.
Although he was allowed to use his ability during the fight, he chose not to use his ability in his combat with the instructor. It was all just a part of their training. Once the match had ended, the instructor then went on to lecture Dan on what he could have done better, while also congratulating him for being able to fairly hold his own at least.
Then, for the rest of the class, the man would go ahead to continue teaching them Mana Control and how to apply it to their bodies and abilities. Once the class had come to an end, everyone headed over to the magical weapons class. On their way there, Paul had met up with Kayden, reminding him of their pending match.
Kayden was well aware of the fact that Paul was quite a powerful student. He was the Titan three of the first year students. His rank wasn't just for show, after all. During their free time, Paul would chat with Kayden about the students who had challenged him for his rank in the past. He would go on to explain how he would easily deal with these students, stating that they were nowhere near him in terms of strength.
Kayden was glad that there was someone around to help him test his strength. Still, he was still hoping if there was a way to help himself grow stronger faster. He didn't like the idea of Kayla bossing him around against his will. He wasn't sure how his pride would handle the humiliation.
Kayla seemed more obsessed with finding out more of the Shade than about the welfare of the students around her. She wasn't afraid to seriously harm someone if it meant that it would bring her closer to the truth.
During the magical weapons class, Kayden was doing his best to focus on everything the instructors were saying. So far, ever since their first day at the academy, the students in the magical weapons class have been taught about magical weapons, their properties, and how to make use of them.
They were taught about the energy that such weapons possessed, and how it was possible to channel this energy, either making oneself or the weapon stronger than it initially was. Of course, this was a similar energy to that which ability users naturally possess that allows them to use their abilities. The amount of Mana a magical weapon possesses depends on the grade of the weapon.
Kayden had an intermediate grade ring, one that granted him the power of teleportation. Ever since that day when he had started using the ring, Kayden was learning of ways he could apply it in his future battles, while also getting himself more acquainted with the ring and its power. After all, it was thanks to his inspect skill that he was able to discover that ring and its capabilities in the first place.
Not long after the year had begun, Kayden had decided to start using the power of the ring in front of others. One of the most important times when he had used it during class was during the time when the combat instructors had made all the students battle against each other to figure out who would be the fifty students that would be training with the second year students. Ever since that day, the second year students were still made to assist in training the first year students during that time of the day.
Henry, Patricia, and the other second year students who had been chosen for that responsibility were more than reluctant to participate, however, it wasn't like they had a choice in the first place. It was a direct order from the instructors, and everyone knew what it meant to go against the order of an instructor at the academy.
Moreover, after the inter-student competition, the hatred that the second year students had for the first years had intensified for a number of reasons. They felt their pride being injured as they were forced to still help the very same students who had publicly humiliated them that day. They weren't going to let such disrespect slide so easily.
The class was going on smoothly, however, it was then that a spiral of flames had engulfed the center of the classroom, producing an intense amount of heat in the process. Everyone in the room could feel the heat being produced, as the flames slowly began to disperse and vanish into thin air.
"I'll freaking kill these students!" Henry yelled, as the next second, a spiral of flames had surrounded both his hands.
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I apologise if I haven't updated in a while. I have been busy with a lot of things lately.
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