April and I walked onto campus together and talked as we walked toward the courtyard. Today was a special day as today was the day our school was holding Mock Battles for the upcoming tournament happening in two weeks. I felt more than prepared and managed to keep my Zodiac Power a secret.
"I'm pretty nervous about this...These mock battles are always so frightening because you'll never know who you're going to go up against.." April said and held her arms.
I smiled and placed my hands in my jacket pockets. "You don't have to worry, April. I'm sure you'll do great."
April looked at me then smiled. "You really think so?"
"I know so..~" I said then playfully bumped into her.
April giggled softly and bumped into me. "Thanks..~ I'm sure you'll do wonderfully as well~ Maybe you'll get a chance to fight Archer again and beat him! You've been working so hard for crutial moments like these!"
"Is that so?" A voice said beside us.
I stopped walking then looked at the table next to us then noticed a man sitting at a table with another woman. I looked at the man then glared. "Archer."
"If it isn't the Powerless Punk, I hear you've been training hard as of recently. No matter how much you train, you will never reach my level of power." Archer said then stood up.
The woman sitting at the table with Archer looked at him then at me. She stared at me and softly grunted then fixed her light blue hair. 'His energy...He didn't even have a presence before, but now I can feel a beastly aura within him...'
I closed my eyes then scoffed. "Whatever you say, Archer. C'mon April, let's go."
April watched me walk off then stuck her tongue out at Archer. She hurried after me and walked with me inside the building.
Archer looked at the woman then noticed she was lost in thought. "What's wrong Nina?"
Nina crossed her arms then stood up. "Nothing... Let's head inside. Classes are about to start.."
Archer watched Nina walk off then rose an eyebrow. "What's up with her..?"
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April and I walked into class together then took our seats. I sighed softly as I sat down then closed my eyes. I thought about all the training I've done and felt more than prepared to knock these Mock Battles out the way. I was concerned for April because she's not much of a fighter unless she's fighting for me.
Ms. Ray walked into class and took off her glasses. "Good morning class!~"
"Good morning!" The students greeted.
Ms. Ray looked at me and noticed I didn't say anything. She picked up a piece of chalk then flicked it to me at speeds of a bullet. I tilted my head, causing the chalk to fly past me and hit the wall.
'He doesn't usually dodge...How did he even dodge it with his eyes closed..?' Ms. Ray thought to herself.
'Those reflexes are actually insane. He dodged something as fast as a bullet that was shot by Ms. Ray herself and she never misses. What is going on..?' Nina thought to herself.
I opened my eyes then looked at Ms. Ray. "Good morning, Ms. Ray."
Ms. Ray smirked and closed her eyes. "Good morning, August. I see you're working on your reflexes, but tell me. How did you dodge me this time?"
"I'm powerless, so I'm forced to work on all my reflexes and strengths. I trained hard just like you told me to." I said.
Ms. Ray smirked and opened her eyes. "I see, well I'm glad you're keeping up with your training. Alright class, today is a special day for our academy. We are all starting Mock Battles from today all the way until the tournament starts!"
The class cheered and were getting pumped up to show off their skills. Ms. Ray chuckled as she watched her class get excited.
"Settle down class!~ I understand you all are excited, but let's have a little self control. As always our mock battles will have teams, just like it is in the tournament only except in the tournament you can only have a team of four max. For this we will imitate the rules of the tournament, four members in a team." Ms. Ray explained.
April smiled then looked at me. I noticed April looking at me from the corner of my eye then smiled and nodded. She nodded then looked around to see who else we could join forces with.
"I'll let you all pick your four teammates then once you're all in your groups, we will proceed as usual!" Ms. Ray said.
April got up and immediately went to my desk. "C'mon, August~ Let's go find two more people~"
I smiled then stood up. "Alright..."
I looked around and noticed everyone was already in their groups. I looked around then noticed Nina and another girl who were also alone without partners. I looked at Nina then walked over to her and sighed softly, rubbing the back of my head.
"Hey, I know you're Archer's friend...but do you and your partner want to join me and April?" I asked.
Nina looked at me then looked at her partner. She noticed her partner just gazing at me then sighed. "Sure. My partner here is my sister, we're twins. Her name is Lily so don't be too hard on her alright?"
I nodded then looked back at April and gave her a thumbs up. She smiled and nodded. We had our team of four together and everyone was all set. Ms. Ray took us to the Mock Battle Arena where our Mock Battles were to be held.
I knew this place all too well as this was the place Archer humiliated me four years ago. I knew things would be different this time as I had my chance to battle against him again today.
"I'm quite surprised that Archer didn't team up with you." April said and looked at Nina.
Nina shrugged and sighed softly. "He is only our cousin so I didn't expect him to team up with us. Besides he has his friends and they all act just alike. Cocky and arrogant. It does irritate me everytime he brings up his fight against August from years ago. He wears that memory on his head like it's the Holy Grail."
"Tell me about it." I said.
"You don't seem to fazed by him though like you used to be. What changed?" Nina asked.
I looked across the arena at Archer then closed my eyes. "Nothing changed. I still think about that day...How humiliated I was when he defeated me in front of everyone. I've just dedicated my life up to this point to getting stronger. I don't really have any family with me other than my guardian who isn't even in the city anymore, so I had to rely on myself the best I could...but it wasn't enough. It wasn't until April officially came into my life where I realized I needed to push myself to new limits..."
April smiled at me and blushed slightly. "You give me too much credit..~"
Lily looked at me and tilted her head slightly. She was very curious about me and the presence she was feeling around me. It was strange to her that someone like me could potentially have awakened some form of power.
"Alright!~ Let's get this all started! Here are the rules: Every battle will be a one on one fight against two teams, once one team acquires four points that team wins, the battle is over once either combatant is unable to continue or surrenders! Sounds simple right?" Ms. Ray said. "Now I've generated the teams that will fight against each other and the first battle will be...Team August against Team Julius!"
I looked around for Julius then spotted him. He smirked at me then chuckled.
"Well boys, this is gonna be an easy win for us. This guy has no powerhouses on his team." Julius chuckled.
"I dunno, Nina and Lily are pretty strong. They are Archer's cousin." One of his teammates said.
"She's probably the only one who's actually capable of giving us a challenge, but August and his little girlfriend are not gonna be a challenge. In fact I'll prove it. I'll take down their leader and the rest will crumble like a demolished building." Julius said.
"Aye, go get him! Make him relive that memory from four years ago!" His teammate said and chuckled.
Julius walked toward the battlefield and pointed at me, directly challenging me. "August! You will be my first victim in proving how strong I truly am and how much you don't belong here!"
I looked at Julius then heard Leona's soft chuckled. I smirked, knowing she was watching somewhere. I walked forward then took off my jacket and handed it to April. She grabbed my jacket and smiled at me.
Ms. Ray looked at me and noticed I was strangely confident. 'Hmm...He seems to be sure of himself. I've never seen him this confident before...'
"You may begin!" Ms. Ray called out.
Julius dashed toward me and summoned his sword of light then slashed down at me. I evaded his slash then countered by striking him with a gut punch. He groaned then grunted as I kicked him away then dashed toward him.
"Rush! Rush! Rush!" Leona roared.
I bellowed and began to rush Julius with attacks then launched him away with a heavy blow to his face. He grunted as he rolled backwards then recovered onto one knee. He looked at me and was surprised.
"Let them hear you roar!" Leona laughed. "Roar proudly!"
I growled then my eyes shined brightly. I clenched my fists then roared loudly and a fiery aura surged powerfully around my body and the Leo Symbol shined on my shoulder. I activated my Zodiac Power then got into my Lion's Stance.
Everyone looked at me in shock. Ms. Ray and April were the most surprised as they watched me. Even the other students began to murmur amongst themselves.
"Zodiac Power..? How the hell did he acquire Zodiac Power?!" Archer asked then stood up.
"It isn't so easy now is it..?" I asked and smirked.
'He's actually wielding Zodiac Power...The power of Goddesses! He bonded with Leona somehow...How is this even possible..?!' Ms. Ray thought to herself.
"Go August!" April yelled out.
I roared then dashed toward Julius at blazing speeds then struck him with a barrage of Lion's Fists then knocked him upwards. He grunted in pain and couldn't believe how much power I had now. I grabbed his ankle then slammed him down then spun him around, launching him toward a wall.
Julius hit the wall then grunted loudly in pain once again. He fell forward to his knees and placed his hand on the ground. "How..? How did someone like you...meet Leona and bond with her..? It shouldn't be possible!"
"Get up." I said.
Julius's eyes widened as I said that then he looked up at me. He bellowed then got up quickly and dashed toward me. He began to slash rapidly, but I evaded each slash then hit him with a powerful right hook. Julius was now in a daze then I struck his stomach with a powerful blow.
"Heroes like you disgust me...You pick on the weak, trying to make yourself look stronger. Those days of you thinking you can continue beating me down are over..." I said then my eyes shined.
I roared and knocked Julius away then dashed toward him. Julius landed on his feet then bellowed firing a beam of light at me from his sword. I evaded the beam of light then smirked. I licked my lips then ran toward him, striking him with a staggering blow then began to rush him with a flurry of attacks. Julius groaned as he was knocked away once again.
I formed a ball of fire in my hands then bellowed. "Zodiac Arts!"
"I surrender!" Julius called out. "I give up!"
"Leo Flame Burst!" I roared then launched a large fireball at Julius at blazing speeds.
Julius's eyes widened as he watched the fireball head toward him. 'He's showing no mercy..!'
Julius groaned loudly as he was hit with the fireball then a large fiery explosion happened. Everyone watched in both awe and disbelief. The smoke cleared and Julius was seen on the ground then his sword disappeared. I roared in triumph then my aura spiralled around me.
[Achievement Unlocked: Defeat an opponent in less than 10 minutes!]
[Zodiac Points Earned: +100]
[Lion's Fist can be upgraded!]
Leona giggled softly. "That's enough, My Knight~"
I stopped roaring then exhaled then my aura vanished. I looked over at Archer then my eyes shined. He looked at me as well then glared.
I turned around then stomped my foot down. "Everyone will listen to me now! From this point on, I declare my team undefeated! You all believe Archer to be King of this academy, well a new King has been born...I will turn this entire academy upside down. The Age of Zodiac Power starts now!"
Leona watched from a distance then smirked. "Tell them, August. Let them see your newly found Pride! Show them how hard you've worked for this moment!"
Ms. Ray looked at me then grunted softly. "Turn this academy upside down? What are you suggesting?"
"No more are the days where the weak are tarnished... I've endured a lot since the moment I got here, but now it's my turn to strike. It's OUR time to put all of you snobby fake high tiers away. Especially you, Archer." I said and looked at Archer.
Archer looked over at Nina and Lilly and seeing they were unwavering and set on joining my side. He looked at me then smirked. "Is that so...Then I hope you're ready for the moment we face off again.."
I scoffed then turned away then walked back to my team. "You better be ready for me. From this point on, there is no I surrender. No mercy will be shown...Not anymore."
April smiled at me and handed me my jacket. "That...was so awesome! You actually have Zodiac Power! This changes everything! Wait you're actually bonded to Leona? The woman we met a while ago?"
I nodded and smiled at April. "Yeah, I kept it a secret until I knew I was ready to awaken it. Now that it's been known...everyone better watch out."
Nina crossed her arms and watched me. "Glad I'm not on the opposite side for once..."
"Y-Yeah..." Lily said shyly, hiding behind Nina.
I smirked and put my jacket on. "You're better off on this side...I'll make sure we win and climb up the ranks. You're in my Pride now."
April held my arm and giggled. "I've been in your Pride~ But I guess I can share you with others~"
I smiled at April then nodded. With that first victory under our belt, the rest of Julius's team ended up crumbling and surrendering. My team took the first win by default and we got to leave early until tomorrow where we will enter our next battle.