I met up with everyone at the training field again. I was a bit tired from my all-nighter, but it wasn't anything I wasn't used to.
"Today, we're switching partners," I explained to them.
Naturally, this was met with a roar of protests.
"Lord Smarus, can you please explain?" Aurora looked worried.
"Yeah! How can we learn anything after one day?" Bodil crossed her arms.
Donkor looked like he was about to protest as well, but he stopped himself. He thought for a moment.
"Actually, I believe that this is the best course of action," Donkor shared his thoughts.
"Huh? What are you saying, Donkor?" Bodil looked at him.
"Yesterday, I learned that I was too confident with one train of thought. Smarus explained that the goal wasn't to get stronger but to make the best use of our abilities. I believe constantly changing opponents will force us to become more versatile," He explained.
"Bingo!" I nod my head in approval. "You guys are all weak compared to me. Remember that!" I went on another ego trip.
"Why must you be so prideful?" Donkor sighed.
Irene was holding Bodil back since I pissed her off. Even The Mystia sisters and Lily were a little troubled. Sonia was too focused on her book.
"We'll be facing a different opponent each round in the tournament, so you all should stay on your toes. That being said, it's time to pick our opponents," I smirked.
"Let's run it, pretty boy!" Bodil rolled up her sleeves.
"Alright. Bodil's with me. Irene, you'll be with Donkor today. Lily, train with Myra. Aurora, can you observe Bodil and me?" I assigned everyone their roles for the day.
"Right!" Everyone but Bodil said. She only scoffed.
We all split up and went to our respective areas to train. The three of us walked to an open field. Aurora stood a distance away to watch us. Bodil and I were about five paces away from each other. I pulled out my wooden sword while Bodil pulled out an axe and mace. I tilted my head in confusion.
"Duel wielding an axe and mace? I thought you were a valkyrie…"
"Shut up Smarus. I'm trying something new!" She yelled at me.
I sighed as I raised my sword. Bodil lowered her center of gravity.
"Go!" Aurora shouted.
We both immediately charged at each other. Bodil also had higher agility than me. I may have had higher strength, but her body was also well-toned, so I wouldn't be surprised if our physical strength was even.
Bodil threw her axe at me. I easily dodged as I closed the distance between us. I had the perfect angle for an upward strike.
"Return to me!" Bodil called.
What is this lady talking about? I realized mid-swing what she met. I threw my swing off course in order to dodge her returning axe. Bodil didn't even react to my sword, but instead prepared her next attack. She had nerves of steel!
"I wanted to do this since I met you!" She raised her mace.
Shit, shit shit shit! I was in an awkward position since I was leaning too far backward. I watched as she began to swing. I lifted my feet off the floor, causing me to fall completely to the floor. I barely dodged Bodil's swing.
I would like to take the time to state the reward of this attack. Other than dodging a lethal attack. Today, Bodil wore a thin long-sleeved shirt, with a quilt. From the front, I didn't think much of it other than a Viking-inspired fit, but from down here, I was able to appreciate it a bit more. A creepy smile broke loose on my face.
"You perv!" She blushed as she tried to stomp on me.
I rolled out of her way and swept her off her feet. She tried to catch herself, but I jumped over her and held my blade to her neck.
"Yield.. Owww!"
I felt a fist hit the side of my head. I was sent flying across the field.
"Lord Smarus lost," Aurora declared Bodil the winner.
"I was only hit once!" I protested.
Aurora only pouted and crossed her arms. She looked annoyed for some reason.
"You should be glad that I didn't declare you the loser before she attacked. I know that battles can be life and death, but you shouldn't stoop so low!" She scolded me.
"W-wait… I was only dodging her attack earlier," I tried to defend myself.
"No excuses," She pouted.
After Bodil told me off as well, I had to apologize to both of them. We sat in a circle to discuss our sparring match. My jaw was still sore, but there was nothing that I could do about it.
"Bodil, when you were surprised, your guard dropped," Aurora began her analysis. "Yesterday, you used a lot more skills and spells when we fought. Why the change?"
"Well, I didn't want to rely on any skills too heavily… and Smarus broke my concentration," Bodil said shyly said. This was the first time I ever saw her act so… feminine.
"Excuses! You're just mad that I take every advantage that I can get!" I laughed.
Bodil punched me in the arm to shut me up.
"That's hurts, you know," I sighed.
"Actually, Lord Smarus, you don't," Aurora cut in. "From the fights I saw you participate in, you take your time in using your skills. You focus too much on observing your opponent that you forget a basic tactic. The element of surprise."
I thought about her words. Part of me wanted to retaliate, but she was right. I suppose I did underestimate the lament of surprise, but it seemed like such a cliche strategy. I nodded my head.
"I see your point. I should take that into consideration."
"Wow! Smarus is capable of not acting like a total jackass!" Bodil smirked. "I'm surprised!"
"Shut up," I sighed.
"Bodil, you should watch your tongue. Lord Smarus will be the future leader of the Dragonborne Clan," Aurora smiled proudly.
"Yeah, sure. It's not my problem since it ain't my clan," she yawned. "Come on, Smarus! Let's spar again!" She was now excited.
"We might as well. That is the point of this training."
All of us got up and began to spar again. After every match, Aurora gave us pointers and advice. Naturally, there was a limit to the advice she could give us since she didn't fight in close-range battles, but her advice was still full of insight. We battled and battled until the sun went down. We were tired and sweaty.
"That was… fun," Bodil said, out of breath.
"Yeah… it was definitely… was," I took a deep breath.
Despite our tired state, we managed to go to the bathhouse on campus. Obviously, it was separated by males and females, so only Donkor and I were together. I washed myself up and headed straight to the bath. I only knew what to do since I watched a lot of anime in my past life.
"Smarus…" Donkor interrupted our silence.
"I'll be real, it's uncomfortable enough to bathe with another dude. I don't want to talk," I tried to relax.
"What do you think the chances are of us being able to all enter the academy?" He ignored my statement.
I sighed. I was trying to wash all of my worries and fatigue away. I sat up.
"As we are… I dunno," I shrugged. "It all depends on what opponents you guys will get and how smart you guys are."
"You sure do have a way with words," He sighed.
"I could give you a grand speech, but I don't wanna. You don't need it either. I wouldn't have bothered to help if I didn't think everyone would not only pass but climb up the ranks," I shared my thoughts.
"I see… Thank you, Smarus. I suppose that even you can give words of encouragement."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" I blankly stared at him.
"Also, if I may ask… Why are you sitting so far away from me?" Donkor looked at me.
I was exactly six feet away from him. This was a general rule that I followed simply because I didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.
"Because," I shrugged.
Donkor had a confused expression, but he decided not to press any further.
"Sometimes, you are one of my greatest allies, and the next, you are a self-centered, arrogant, and prideful man."
"I'm the embodiment of balance," I smirked. "You're a paladin anyways, so I'm sure you have The Sense of Good and Evil. Since you stayed, I assume I'm not that bad."
"I stayed because you are a unique person. Never in my life have I seen someone with such a large amount of Good and Evil, yet with minimal side effects. After judging your character, I can safely assume that you are a trustworthy friend. I look forward to being your classmate."
Ding! Donkor's character log updated!
It's been a minute since I read a character log.
Anyways, the evil must have been from the previous owner of this body. Then did that mean that the villain was still alive to some degree? I waved the thought away. A lot of things have been weird since I came to this world, so one more thing wouldn't hurt… hopefully.
"Likewise. I prefer classmates I can trust," I stood up. "You should rest up. Tomorrow will be hell for you guys," I laughed as I walked away.
My bath was super refreshing! I felt like I didn't train at all, but that was a short-lived moment. Upon returning to my dorm, I saw the research journals I still had to read. I managed to read through one of them last night, but I had ten more to go. There were five days left until the tournament. I sighed. So much to do and so little time. I pulled up Donkor's info.
"He noticed just how differently you were compared to other people in the kingdom, except for Sonia. Even the people that he trained with looked at him curiously. However, you simply acknowledged him and moved on… for better or worse. He respects you for that.
He also knows that you are overworking yourself. You were starting to develop bags under your eyes, and there was a constant battle of Good and Evil within you. Whatever your motive was, it was more powerful than the stress that your body was handling. He only prays that you can withstand the pressure.
Warning: Possible outcome:
Sworn Brother"
That was a depressing log. Donkor was way more observant than I thought. I should keep that in mind for future reference. The possible outcome wasn't so bad either.
The next day, I had the same routine. I trained with everyone and went to study. Due to my lack of skills and spells, they were slowly getting the best of me. My main tactic was to think outside of the box, but with their improvement, they would soon hold the upper hand.
I finished two of the eleven books. This was gonna take forever. I walked to Aurora's and Myra's dorm and knocked on their door.
"L-lord Smarus!" Aurora was surprised to see me. "What brings you here tonight?"
Aurora was smiling, but I could tell that she was a bit flushed and surprised. I saw Myra hide a bat behind her back when she saw it was me. It was a fair reaction. They both were wearing nightgowns, which was cute… Focus Smarus!
"I only came to inform you that I will no longer be coming to the training sessions. I have more important priorities that I must attend to, so I'm leaving it up to you two to continue to help everyone train," I explained to them.
"Wait, what are you gonna do then?" Myra asked.
"Study," I smiled.
"Huh?" Both sisters simultaneously said. "Study what?" Aurora asked.
"Don't worry about that. I'll see you girls at the tournament," I waved to them.
"R-right…" Aurora slowly closed the door.
I felt bad for ditching them, but this was more important. Failure to finish reading the journals could mean the end for me. I walked back to my dorm and began another night of studying.