Talon glanced at Rokara with a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment. "What is your problem? It was you who promised me that we spar!" Rokara complained, but Talon simply rubbed his temples, not offering a response.
"Or did I interrupt something?" Rokara smiled at Talon in a sly manner. Talon became red like a tomato, avoiding eye contact and stuttering as he tried to come up with a response. Thorn, on the other hand, rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed.
"Just get ready for the spar, Rokara. No need to make it more awkward," Thorn said with a hint of sarcasm. Rokara chuckled, teasing them both, then Rokara and Talon went towards the training hall, preparing for their spar.
"Before you go, where is this Paul that you were talking about?" Asked Thorn.
"On the hallway next to the forge," said Talon as he waved at her with a shy smile on his face. He attempted to say one more thing, but Rokara promptly grabbed him by the shoulder and began dragging Talon towards the training hall.
"I still had things to say, let go of me, you annoying bastard!" shouted Talon at Rokara, who spat back at him, "I don't care, you promised this spar to me. And as I said, neither Quinn nor Orion is willing to spar with me."
"The only thing that surprises me is that it's a surprise to you," remarked Talon with a sarcastic smile on his face before continuing, "No wonder none of them want to spar with you. You are a muscle-brained idiot that almost broke their wrist, and you even broke my arms and my right leg."
"You are just being hurtful on purpose because I ruined your special moment with your little elven princess, right?" Hearing this shocked Talon. And this reaction just widened the smile around Rokara's face.
"What? I'm not that oblivious, I can read the room." retorted Rokara, her grin unwavering. Talon's shocked expression seemed to amuse her even more, but as she continued, her tone softened.
"Look, Talon, I didn't mean to hit a nerve. I was just teasing." She nudged him playfully, attempting to ease the tension she might have caused.
"You wanted to spar, right?" Asked Talon with a dark smile on his face. "Oh, we can spar alright!" He continued with a low growl.
"No hard feelings, right?" Asked Rokara as cold sweat run down on her back. "No, of course not." Talon grinned back at her in a sinister way. The two continued to lightly bicker on their way to the training ground, only to be stopped by a familiarly looking hunter in front of them, the very same hunter who was wracked by the two of them in their uncontrolled state.
"Morning…" Said the two awkwardly while trying to go on their way without getting called out by the hunter.
"You both, better watch yourself…" Growled the hunter through gritted teeth as he stared at the two, as he lightly rubbed his bandaged arm that was probably broken by the two.
"We will.. Sir. We apologize but we need to go on." Said Talon as he dragged Rokara with him before she could say anything to anger the hunter. After that, the two reached the training ground in no time.
The training ground within the hunter's headquarters sprawled expansively, its surface layered with fine gravel that crunched beneath each step. Towering walls, adorned with an array of weapons and equipment, ranging from wooden training replicas to sturdy steel arms.
In one corner, there was a designated sparring area with padded mats, where hunters could engage in hand-to-hand combat or weapon practice. The clang of metal against metal echoed through the training ground as some hunters honed their skills with swords, axes, and other melee weapons.
Targets of different shapes and sizes were strategically placed for archery and marksmanship practice, providing hunters with opportunities to enhance their precision and accuracy. Wooden dummies stood in another section, for the hunters to perfect their combat technique.
However, the sounds of metal clanging abruptly stopped as the hunters spotted Talon and Rokara, lucky for them, after they received disgusted stares from the hunters, they were left alone by them.
The two strolled toward the allocated sparring zone, where Rokara selected two wooden hatchets. Talon, however, hesitated in his choice of weaponry. 'Let's try a sword,' he pondered, grabbing a training sword from a rack that stored various practice weapons.
"Are you ready, Talon?" asked Rokara with an anticipating grin on her face. She widened her posture, gripping her hatchets tightly, poised and ready to rush at Talon.
"I am…" Replied Talon as he narrowed his eye and assumed a defensive stance, ready to take on Rokara's offense head on.
Hearing his response, Rokara wasted no time. She rushed at Talon with staggering speed, opening their spar with a powerful strike from her right hatchet, carrying all the momentum she had built up for this moment.
'She's fast!' Talon was left momentarily stunned, but quickly snapped back to reality. He swiftly sidestepped, narrowly evading Rokara's attack, and countered with a swift swing of his own weapon, aiming for her side, but his attack was blocked by her other hatchet. After blocking his strike, Rokara attacked with his right hatchet again, not barely giving Talon time to react.
Talon barely had a choice, at Rokara's relentless assault, he was pushed back without any chance to strike back, only to barely react to her viscus attacks. 'No wonder they don't want to spar with her, she is a monster.'
Talon was left without any choice, he had to evade most of her strikes while blocking the ones that could not be dodged. He kept looking for the slightest openings to use against her, but to his despair, Rokara, even for her age, fought like a seasoned warrior, leaving barely any openings to exploit.
'She leaves me barely any choice, I'm getting to close to the wall… wait, maybe that could work.' Talon came up with last one gamble, because of his lack of training in the ways of the sword, on any other weapon in fact, he was left with one final gamble, if he failed this, Rokara would take the victory. 'There is no chance that I would let her win, she would rub it in my face for days.'
When Rokara attempted to attack with her hatchets, Talon was prepared to execute his plan. He ducked, causing her hatchet to hit the wall, momentarily diverting her focus. Talon used this last chance to strike back at the brutish Rokara, his sword was aimed directly at her head.
To his despair, Rokara was ready for such an attack. She swiftly ducked before his strike could reach her head. Then, with all her might, Rokara employed her own head as a weapon and delivered a devastating counterattack at Talon's exposed jawline, knocking him out cleanly.
Talon regained his conciseness in a single moment, but what he dreaded the most already happened, Rokara was looking down at him with a victorious grin on her face while he slowly got up from the floor and rubbing his chin.
"Don't even say it Rokara, don't wanna hear it…" Said Talon, his reaction only seemed to amuse Rokara.
"What shouldn't I say, huh loser, what is it that I shouldn't say?" Laughed Rokara in an overly teasing manner, clearly enjoying every single moment of her triumph over Talon.
"We are never going to spar again, if you are going to be such an annoying ass about it." Complained Talon, only to draw out a frown from her.
"Quit your complaining, you sore loser! You promised to spar with me, and now you want to quit just because you lost!"
"I am not a sore looser!" Said Talon.
"Well, you act like one!" Spat back Rokara.
The two of them didn't even notice it for a while, but most of the hunters inside the training hall were watching them. To their surprise, the stares they received were far from the usual contemptuous ones. The hunters were genuinely impressed, and their facial expressions mirrored their awe. After the realization that they were being noticed by the two fighters, almost every single one of them approached Talon and Rokara.
"Damn it, never thought that I see such a good fight by two rookie, even more shocking that both of them are gifted."
"Haven't seen rookies pull off a sparring match that intense in years."
"That girl is seriously insane with the hatchets, her age only makes it more impressive!"
While Rokara and Talon were showered with praises, well, it was mostly Rokara that revived them. 'Not like I care if these bastards are impressed with me or not, they can all die for all I care.'
a figure stood silently in the shadows. This mysterious presence, known as Huntsman Lance, had observed the entire spar with keen interest. When he finally stepped into the light and walked straight toward Talon, a hushed murmur swept through the hunters.
The atmosphere in the training ground shifted, and a wave of respect seemed to wash over the assembled hunters. Each one of them snapped to attention and saluted the approaching figure as he passed.
He acknowledged their salutes with a nod, his eyes fixed on Talon. "Impressive display, young ones. A rare sight indeed. It's nice to see you again Talon, this time, without the interruption of those old foggies."
"It's good to meet you again, Huntsman Lance," greeted Talon. His words carried a genuine sentiment, for Huntsman Lance was the only hunter who had shown him mutual respect or being friendly towards him in genera while simultaneously being the only one from the four huntsman that did not join against him and Damian in the meeting hall.
The other hunters were shocked to see one of the Huntsmen being this kind and respectful to a Gifted.
"I will be honest with you Talon, while it was impressive that you could think strategically even during a fight, but your skills with the sword were nonexistent, that's exactly why you lost… what would you think about trying to fight with a spear?" Asked Huntsman Lance with a smile on his face.