Elaine, upon hearing that phrase, felt over the moon; it had been a long time since she had not received good news, and this, rather than being good, was excellent news: now that she had become a freshman of the Academy of the Thousand Magic Arts, she could concentrate on her growth and learning new spells, and on many other things that would have helped her for the revenge she so longed for.
One thing though, it was not yet clear to him.
"Excuse me, Professor Durmus, what is the section A that you named?"
"Oh... well, section A is nothing more than a section that encloses the elites of this academy; in this section, you will be followed and instructed by the best professors of this school, including the professors present here in this gym." replied Durmus, trying to be as clear as possible.
This answer for Elaine was even more incredible: in addition to being saved, she would now be followed by the best wizards of this school, and already at that moment, she couldn't help but fantasize about how strong she would become in a few years. Now his revenge no longer seemed a mere mirage, but in his eyes it had become simply a matter of time...
"Can I ask you a question, Miss Blazestorm?" the principal suddenly said, taking Elaine a little by surprise.
"Of course, Mr Principal..." Elaine said, making a slight bow in she sent of respect.
"What's your goal, entering our academy here?"
Never could such an easy question put Elaine in trouble like this; at first, she thought that the best for her was to lie, so as not to arouse unnecessary suspicions; but then she realized that such professors, especially the principal of such a prestigious school accustomed to interacting with many people, would undoubtedly distinguish truth from lies. That's why, after a few moments of silence, she said the thing that for her came closest to the truth.
"I.. want to make my parents proud."
The principal watched the girl with careful eyes for a few moments, with Elaine who, for a fraction of a second, believed that her "half truth" had been discovered; fortunately, however, the principal reacted to her response with a smile on her face, thus calming the girl.
"Yours is a beautiful goal... I guess your parents are proud to have a daughter like you... I hope you succeed to reach your goal!"
"Thank you, Mr. Principal..." Elaine said again, making another bow before him.
"Well, if you want to excuse me now, I'll take the girl in front of her dorm." Durmus said suddenly, displacing Brenin and Erwin, who believed that professor would stay there until the end to judge them.
"Hey, there are other guys here, don't you think it's disrespectful?" Leonard revised Durmus, frowning slightly in front of his colleague;
Durmus looked at the two boys, who felt slightly agitated in front of that deep look; then he closed his eyes, making a deep sigh, which his face that seemed disappointed.
"There are many like them here. For me, it is useless to admit them in our academy, but hey, that's just my opinion" said Durmus, who, suddenly, was enveloped by a sinister dark purple energy;
[What the hell....] Erwin thought baffled, who in addition to being annoyed by Durmus' words, was blown away in seeing and perceiving that mana: The appearance of that mana was that of a very dense and heavy substance, while the feeling that Erwin felt was something dark, dangerous.
"Well, let's go." said Durmus, who once she touched Elaine's shoulders, the latter was wrapped up in that strange energy. Elaine was very frightened by the sudden mana that surrounded her, but not feeling any danger coming from the latter, she relaxed a little. The two were then completely covered by Durmus' mana, who, moments later, disappeared suddenly, and with that omnius energy, Durmus and Elaine as well, leaving both Erwin and Brenin displaced, who expected everything but this.
"I'm sorry for Professor Durmus' behavior..." - said the principal with a forced smile, disappointed by the way Durmuss left. - "However, I understand his reasoning: with just a glance, it's clear that both of you have talent, but there are many guys like you here. So I wonder, what's so special about you, compared to the others?"
Brenin, who until then had observed everything without a word, took a step forward, overtaking Erwin and looking at the professors with a firm look.
"My mana may be similar to those of the peers who are here, but my sword skill and my mana management are better." replied without hesitation the blond-haired boy who, with a quick movement, unsheathed his sword.
"How can you be sure of what you say? Don't be arrogant....." said Yilenia frowning, not appreciating Brenin's sassy response.
"Let me contradict you ma'am, but I am not swacky or arrogant, I simply believe in my ability." Brenin replied, not being intimidated by that cold and sharp look of the woman, who, however, was even more enraged, still trying not to show it.
"AH! I like this brat!" Professor Martha exclaimed, who was pleasantly impressed by the determination and confidence in Brenin's words and gaze.
Even Erwin was surprised by the latter, noticing the ease with which he spoke; he, for his part, did not have all this confidence for the fact that unlike the others, he did not possess any magic element. Until that moment, he was convinced that he was doomed, but in seeing Brenin's trust, Erwin also felt within him a boost in his confidence; he had come here to chase his dreams, and he did not want to allow his insecurities to block him right at the beginning.
[To hell with it!]
Erwin, forcefully, hit his cheek with a slap, displacing everyone present and the principal himself; the self-inflicted blow was so strong that it made him bleed, but he didn't pay attention to it, moving forward.
"I won't have the talent of El... Lucy, but I rely on my fists and my sense for the fight!"
The professors, after hearing their sentences, had a quick meeting between them, lowering their voices so that the two could not hear a word. The discussion lasted a few seconds, in which, although you could not hear much, it was enough to look at Yilenia's gaze to understand her disagreement about what she was hearing; then, after that short reunion, the professors turned their gaze again on the two examiners, with the principal speaking.
"Well guys, we consulted eachother, and since you seem so convinced of your skills, we thought of a challenge: you will face two student of this school: if you manage to beat them or even just put them in trouble, then you will be admitted. Deal?"
Brenin shrugged, since nothing changed to him, while Erwin was incredibly happy about that outcome: by doing so, he had the chance to show his talent without being judged for his "serious" lack!
[Everything seems to be going well!] He thought joyfully Erwin, who was eager to face this opponent.
******
*P.O.V by Erwin*
With a strange sphere, Mr. Principal called someone, ordering them to bring two second-year pupils; a little too much, I thought at first, as they evidently had a different experience from ours.
Then, however, thinking about the modalities of our admission, we didn't have to win, but we had to be able to put our opponents in difficulty. There was much more room for success than I thought, and my morale was skyrocketing more and more.
Brenin and I sat not too far from the professors, waiting for our opponents; none of us said a word, we were probably too focused.
Suddenly, the door of the gym opened, and from the latter 2 people entered: the first person, the one who entered in front, had a fairly powerful musculature, with a slightly dark complexion, was completely shaved and had a really frightening expression; he looked at me for a moment with a sharp look, making me a little shudder;
The other person who entered instead had a more contained but still muscular build, and wore fairly long black hair, well-groomed and double-rearing. On the belt, he wore what looked like a very high-cost foil.
He walked with a haity face, looking at us with a very ambiguous look; he stared at us for a few moments, then made a blatantly forced smile, trying to hide the contempt he felt for us.
"What kind of problems those bastard have?" Brenin said in a low voice that, despite the always bored look, it was clear that he had been annoyed by the way the two guys older than us looked at us.
Looking at his behavior, I was perplexed about the character of the latter: at that moment for example, I was quivering to fight them, and I was excited at the idea of being able to compare myself to another person and show those present my skills, with my hands not stopping sweating; instead Brenin was completely the opposite of me, he was completely calm, almost detached from reality and did not even seem excited by the idea of fighting.
"Hey Brenin... How can you be so calm?"
Brenin looked at me for a few moments, then answered me;
"Being calm is the first rule of the art of combat. Managing your emotions helps you better understand situations. If you're not calm, you reason irrationally, do rash things, and you're more vulnerable."
His answer, so calm and detailed, disgustingly reminded me of Ron: perhaps because of their beaten dog expressions, or perhaps because his words, although different in explanation, were similar to those that the old man told me the night before I left, making me think a lot.
"Uh? What the hell are you looking at?"
"Oh... Ah! Nothing nothing! You reminded me of a person!" I said slightly embarrassed, not realizing that I had been staring at him for too long now.
"... Got it. Anyway, I want to start first, if you don't mind." said Brenin, who got up from the floor and then cleaned his pants.
"Oh, all right."
"I was just about to call you!" said in the meantime the principal with his usual smile, touching his beard – "I introduce you to your opponent: his name is Luke, and he is in his sophomore year here at the academy. He is a good swordsman, and he will be your yardstick to see if you are really capable!"
"Nice to meet you..." said the boy named Luke with that annoying smile, reaching out to greet Brenin.
The latter, however, looked at his hand for a few seconds, and then turned his gaze to the principal.
"Can we start?"
It was clear that everyone, myself included, was surprised by such a gesture, especially that boy named Luke, since in his glaze you could see the annoyance toward Brenin's behavior.
"Hey... Didn't they teach you to respect people? Or in that sewer hole where you come from, there is no such thing called good manners?" Luke said with a very forced smile, who looking at Brenin's clothes, speculated that the latter was poor, so he tried to provoke him and make fun of him.
Brenin, however, did not pay attention to the latter's words; he went towards the wooden weapons, grabbed two swords and threw one at Luke, who almost missed his grip.
"Instead of saying bullshit with that little tongue of yours, get ready to fight." replied Brenin, but he was very calm at the time.
[This guy is really good at provoking!] I thought slightly astonished, as I could see Luke's expression wrinkling more and more with anger.
"Ohohoh... At my signal, you can start the fight!" said the principal, who instead seemed amused by that bibbrel.
The two put themselves in a combat position: suddenly, Luke's body was enveloped by hot flames, with the latter they went to wrap the wooden sword without burning it.
I was surprised to see that other people besides Ron and Professor Martha had fire as their related element, yet, despite the similarity of the elements, the flames of Ron and the flames of the professor named Martha were different from those of Luke, both in terms of the intensity of the flames and for the energy they gave off; making a comparison, Luke's flames seemed almost like a chimney fire, while Ron's flames were as lively as those of hell. On the contrary, the flames shown earlier by the professor looked as alive as those of the magma.
Despite this, I felt that those flames were still dangerous for me, although they were not in the slightest comparable to Ron's.
"Fire, huh?" Brenin hissed, while a strange smile appeared on his face, almost as if he was not troubled by his flames.
Brenin thus took on a very compact pose, putting his sword forward;
"Good. You can start!" so exclaimed the principal, giving away to the 'dances'.
Luke thus catapulted himself on Brenin trying to finish the clash with a single and powerful slash; Brenin stood still for a few seconds, and after waiting for the right moment, he easily dodged Luke's blow; the latter, however, concatenated another attack starting from the bottom, this time putting even more strength and speed into it.
Brenin stood dangerously still for a few seconds, and only when the flaming tip of Luke's sword was close to his face, that Brenin bend his head slightly to the side, thus managing to dodge that blow that would almost certainly put him out of the game, then moving away with few steps.
"... you must be luck!" Luke exclaimed with a smile, but this time his was a forced smile, surprised that he couldn't hit Brenin at all.
"Luck, huh? Try hitting me, if you can."
Luke's gaze was suddenly serious, a symptom that this time he would fight with all his energy. Brenin remained in his usual pose, ready to wait for his opponent's eventual attack.
Luke, very carefully, started on the attack, and this time he did not try to finish Brenin with a single shot, but made cleaner attacks than the previous ones; nevertheless, however, Brenin managed to dodge every blew towards him, without any effort and pairing some attack with his sword, making use of very minimal movements with his arm.
While watching Brenin move though, I realized that his dodges were not natural at all: of course, his dodgings were effective, but it was as if there was a kind of "delay" in his movements;
Despite this though, Luke couldn't hit Brenin even by mistake, and the fight went on like this for several minutes, with Brenin in total control of the situation, and with Luke getting nervous with every second that passed.
"Damn... Damn it!" Luke attempted yet another attack on Brenin, but in addition to being exhausted because of all those movements, his mana for some time now had dropped dramatically, and from the way he breathed, it was clear that he had now reached his limit.
"Why the hell don't you attack me!?" the student of the academy exclaimed again, irritated by the bad exhibithion he was making in front of the professors. In his eyes, at that moment, I saw despair, and at that moment, I believed it was for the fight itself;
Brenin watched Luke for a few seconds, and after standing still for a moment, he turned his gaze to the jury of professors.
"I don't think going on is necessary..." - said Brenin, who rested his muscles – "I think I showed you my worth, don't you think?"
"Mh... in fact, I think that can be enough-"
"It's not over yet!"
In despair, Luke wrapped his wooden sword in the flames, despite the fact that it was obvious that he no longer had a mana, since the flames around the sword looked smaller than before.
"It's useless, you don't have enough energy to fight..."
Suddenly, he felt a variation in Brenin's mana; in fact, his body was enveloped by a celestial aura, which revolved around him; at the same time, inside the room I felt a strange cold breeze, which gave me a little shivering.
Luke, who was blinded with anger and who wanted to win that challenge at all costs, ignored what was happening at the time, thus loading Brenin with everything he had in his body.
With extreme lightness, as if he was a leaf, Brenin began to move towards Luke: his movements were elegant and composed, but at the same time, his movements were faster than before, to the point that I struggled to follow that kind of speed.
Luke, who had started his blow, belatedly noticed the incredible speed of his enemy; i'm sure that he would have liked to stop his attack, but unfortunately, he could not stop his attack in time, clumsily missing Brenin, who, after dodging his blow, began his counterattack: with linear, but rapid and precise movements, he hit Luke forcefully in the legs, in the abdomen, on the arms and on the temple; he did all this within about 6 seconds, in which Luke did not have the slightest chance to counterattack.
"Well, it's over." said Brenin, while Luke, now beaten and unconscious, sang to the ground slowly, like a leaf slowly but surely falling to the ground in the fall.
I did not know swordsmen, and in general, I had never used a sword in my life; but even an inept like me could understand that the level of Brenin's technique was excellent and clinical, and judging by the complacent looks of the professors, Brenin had to be someone really talented. Also, that strange and icy breeze I felt was not normal, since after that breeze, his movements became even faster and more precise; That that was his wind element?
[Coming here... wasn't a bad idea!] I thought, more and more curious to meet other students of the caliber of Brenin.
"Well, I'm not an expert when it comes to swords..." - the principal began, massaging his beard – "So I think it's Professor Yilenia's duty to evaluate what she's seen."
The teacher, with her sharp gaze, remained silent observing Brenin, perhaps ruminating about what to tell him.
"Impeccable, really impeccable. Yours wasn't just small talk. The way you used your wind element combined with your swordsman skills was amazing to see. In addition, you have shown a calm that does not suit a boy of your age, and you also show a great ability to read the situation quickly. So yes, I have to congratulate you..." - said Professor Yilenia after a few seconds confirming my thesis; after seeing Brenin in action, Yilenia found herself forced to admit the fact that the boy in front of him was really talented, despite that little note of spooking that she didn't like... - "But don't get your head, in this academy there are really formidable young swordsmen. So keep training."
"It is not my intention to not improve, ma'am" Brenin replied decisively, making a slight bow;
"Well, it's decided! You are admitted to our academy. Congratulations!" - exclaimed the principal - "Nothing else to say, you two?" asked the principal turning his gaze to Martha and Leonard, who said nothing, apart from showing a satisfied smile towards Brenin's performance.
"As I imagined! In the late afternoon, you will be assigned to your section."
"Okay." said Brenin, who, once he finished the test, came back close to me, sitting on the ground again.
"As for you, Luke...." - said Yilenia in a threatening tone of voice, as Luke, who in the meantime had recovered a few seconds earlier, got up from the floor haphazardly -"We will talk about your future after the conclusion of the last test. I only say to you that it is deplorable that a student of this academy could have such a low level, both in terms of your swordsmanship and in such profligate use of your element. Go back to your room and stay there until further notice."
Luke wanted to say something, but as soon as his gaze crossed with the teacher's, he realized that every word was futile. With his gaze turned downwards and with the spirit destroyed into a thousand pieces, he returned to the room breathless.
"Don't you think you were too hard on the boy, Professor Yilenia?" asked the principal, who, however, did not seem angry or disappointed by the woman's comment.
"Excuse me if I seemed unkind to the student" - exhorted the woman, making a slight bow "but it is not acceptable for someone to have this level after two years here at the academy."
From the tone of voice Yilenia had with Luke, I thought their discussion would not be friendly, and i started to think about what might happen to him. This bothered me a lot, as at that moment, I took into consideration the fact that these two boys could be expelled from the academy if they didn't do well.
"You look kinda bothered" – Brenin suddenly said, calling my attention – "Maybe you've already figured it out, but in all likelihood that guy will be expelled..."
"Expelled..."
At that moment I was worried a lot: I wanted to chase my dream, not destroy that of others!
"... It doesn't seem fair to me!"
Brenin looked at me with astunned eyes, as if I had said nonsense; then, after a few seconds of disbelief, he burst out laughing.
"You're an idiot, right?" - exclaimed Brenin, shaking his head – "If you don't commit yourself seriously, you'll be the one who won't enter the academy! Wasn't it your dream to become an incredible magician?"
"...First! Become the best wizard is just one of my goal, my dream is to be a Gifter! And second, I don't think it's right that their future depended on us!" I exclaimed, frustrated by the whole situation and starting to say things that had little to do with what was said before.
"...A What-"
"Well Erwin, are you ready?" Suddenly the principal exclaimed, catching my attention;
At that moment, despite my head being full of doubts and second thoughts, my heart made me act instinctively, and without me noticing, I was already in front of the jury of professors.
"It's your time, boy!" said Leonard, who was strangely happy to see me finally in action.
"Y-Yeah..."
A few seconds later, my opponent approached me; he was much taller than me, almost as tall as Ron, and I was forced to bend my head to observe his gaze, which unlike mine which was full of doubts, his was serious and determined.
"I am... Arnold. I wish you a good fight." said the 2-meter giant, who gave me his hand.
"... I'm Erwin, nice to meet you." I replied, giving him a hand. When I squeezed his big hands, I noticed his many calluses, and that had to mean he was one who trained so much.
"Well, the one who will judge your performance will be Professor Martha! So give it all, guys!" the principal intervened with a joyful expression, while he fixed his glasses.
"I want to see the passion and determination in your attack! Don't let me down!" Professor Martha exclaimed in turn, who was most excited by that clash. - "Erwin! You said your weapons are your fists, I'm right! The same goes for me too! Show me what you can do!"
So, Arnold and I put ourselves in position, ready to fight for our destinies.
*Erwin's P.O.V.End*
------
-Flahsback-
"--So, I want you to learn to fight by analyzing the situation around you well... But I don't expect you to succeed" Ron said, crossing his arms.
"H-Hey! Why do you say that?" asked Erwin in surprise, who didn't like the last part of Ron's speech at all.
"Because is the truth." said Ron, who had no intention of taking back what he said – "Maybe you didn't notice, but your way of fighting is very different from mine. Unlike me, you are someone who acts instinctively, you are not good at waiting and underneath, you also feel enjoyment in fighting so much that sometimes you let your emotions and your instincts guide you during a fight ... Right?"
Erwin tried to counter, but at that moment, thinking about it, he knew that Ron's words made sense; during the fight with Rudolf for example, although he was in a dangerous situation, he found some pleasure in confronting someone else; even when he faced Elaine, although at first he was not happy at all, his heart was throbbing for the impending fight.
"I will take your silence as a sign that you agree with me..." - he began in the meantime Ron, who had hit the mark – "You're a fight fanatic, it's in your blood as a spirited boy. Telling an idiot like you to stop relying on his instincts and remain calm during a fight is like asking a bird not to fly, it makes no sense."
"Then... why did you tell me that I have to learn well to analyze the situations I find myself in during a fight?"
"... Because even a bird, at certain times, decides that it is appropriate not to fly."
"It doesn't make sense..." whispered Erwin, who looked at Ron with a dubious look.
"It makes sense instead. You have no experience in fighting, and therefore, like a newborn bird, you will fly recklessly, trusting only your instincts. But there will come a time when your instinct will no longer be enough, and at that point, something similar, but at the same time different, will take over: The intuition."
"Intuition? Isn't that the same thing as instinct?" Erwin said confused, Who was not understanding anything of what Ron was trying to teach him.
"No, you damn idiot. Instinct and intuition are two different concepts, but a fool like you wouldn't understand anyway. So, my advice is to fight following your gut, only then will you understand my words..."
-End of the Flashback-
-------
Erwin put himself in a fighting stance; although the doubts that plagued him were many, the desire to become a student of the academy outweighed all the doubts he had up to that moment, and the moment he found himself facing his opponent, it was as if his brain made a switch, thus focusing solely on the fight.
Erwin thus placed himself in front of Arnold with an extremely determined look, ready to defeat his opponent.
The principal, who at first noticed the boy's malaise, was surprised at the ease with which Erwin changed his attitude, creating in the old gentleman's mind a certain curiosity about the boy's abilities.
Arnold, on the other hand, initially did not feel any pressure from Erwin, believing that it would be easy for him to beat him; but because of the fight between Brenin and Luke, and because of the sudden change in attitude of his opponent, his senses went on alert, leading him to act with great caution.
Suddenly, Arnold's body began to give off a strange yellowish light, a symptom that was strengthening his body; then, he assumed an extremely compact position, carrying both arms in front of him like a shield; in Erwin's eyes, his enemy looked like a compact boulder.
At that moment, Erwin's heart began to speed up the beats; the same thing happened with Rudolf, and in part, the same thing happened with Elaine; at that moment he was excited about the fight, forgetting in fact, that that was an admission test: he simply wanted to confront Arnold.
A smile appeared on Erwin's face, a symbol of happiness for the upcoming fight.
"Well, you can start the fight-!"
Erwin, without waiting a second longer, rushed at his opponent, approaching the latter at a very high speed; Arnold, who was paying close attention to the boy's movements, was taken by surprise, since despite all his attentions, he could not even perceive the boy's movements.
[W-Woah...!!]
Erwin began to storm Arnold with extremely fast and precise blows, with the latter who, due to the speed of the attacks, had no chance of counterattacking; Erwin's movements, although apparently simple, showed an incredible coordination, combined with a correct execution of the techniques, leaving the professors amazed, who certainly did not expect such a level from a little boy of just over 15 years old.
"Wow... That guy.... Where did he learn to move like that? Where did you find a guy like that, Leonard?" Professor Martha asked to his colleague, surprised but also excited to see Erwin in action;
Leonard, who had only sensed Erwin's potential, was surprised to discover the boy's abilities, which far exceeded his expectations. If until yesterday he was skeptical about Erwin and Elain's talent, he no longer had any doubt, thus thanking his friend Ludwig for sending him two incredible talents.
"Let's say... I have a very good instinct!" Leonard strutted, with a smile on his lips.
"Yes, Erwin has an incredible talent.... Anyway, that Arnold is holding all those attacks pretty well... Will it be due to its magic element?" the principal asked himself, watching the clash carefully;
In fact, although Erwin was storming him with violent and precise blows, which gradually became faster and faster, it is also true that Arnold, although he could not counterattack, at that moment the damage he was taking was really minimal, and if at first he was worried about Erwin's speed, after "tasting" his power, he in fact found a state of tranquility.
"Well...now it's time for me to go on the offensive, too!"
At that moment, Arnold completely ignored Erwin's attacks, attempting to hit him with a violent direct punch on his face; Erwin, as soon as he saw the the attack coming on his face, he immediately felt the danger behind that shot.
Normally, it would have been difficult for him to dodge that shot, as at that moment, he was in the midst of his barrage of blows with no chance of stopping, and that's the first thing he thought too, given that the moment Arnold started his attack, Erwin was in an uncomfortable position.
[YOU'RE DEAD!]
Arnold's fist hissed in the air before going to break against Erwin's face with disconcerting violence. The impact made Erwin's head spin, unarmed in the face of the power of the shot. Arnold, at that moment, thought he had concluded the dispute in his favor, convinced that Erwin's fate was sealed.
But Erwin's young mind reasoned a little faster than normal during the fights; in fact, at that moment, the only ally he could count on was his keen instincts, and despite the power of Arnold's punch, his instincts made him somewhat calmed in the face of impending danger: although Arnold's punch was loaded with power, it was given by making coarse, sweeping movements that left half of his face completely vulnerable.
Within a split second, Erwin decided to exploit this weakness behind Arnold's attack; in a moment, he decided not to counter Arnold's powerful attack, but to exploit the inertia of the blow to his advantage. He abandoned himself to the impact, causing the force of Arnold's fist to spin his head in a controlled manner. At the same time, he used all that energy to make his body veer along the outer part of Arnold's arm, an unexpected movement that took all the spectators, including the professors, by surprise.
In an instant, Erwin hit Arnold with a lightning-bright, violent backhand. His cunning had turned an inevitable blow into a surprising move, causing Arnold to retreat a few meters, who, incredibly, came out of it without an obvious wound. The scene left everyone speechless, demonstrating that in that skill duel, Erwin's ingenuity had played a crucial role.
"... He's hella tough!" Erwin thought out loud, wiping his blood from his mouth, surprised that he couldn't scratch Arnold.
[T-That Erwin... He's crazy!] They thought in unison both Martha and Brenin, intuiting the fact that Erwin had allowed himself to be hit on purpose to counterattack the next int.
Brenin couldn't conceive how Erwin decided to take a similar risk, but at the same time, he began to feel some admiration for that madness he saw a few moments ago, wondering if he would act that way too.
"... I'm not an idiot like him!" He hissed Brenin with an amused smile, then shook his head.
"... Brilliant." said Yilenia, who watched the young Erwin with interest; initially, she believed that among the three examiners seen today, Erwin was the one least likely to pass, but after seeing his skills, his elegance and the mastery over his body, Erwin made her change her mind, thus looking at Erwin with different eyes.
"I knew his instinct was amazing, but this is..."
Leonard could not conclude his sentence, being astonished by Erwin's qualities.
"His instinct.. is like that of a cat" – the elderly principal began – "A cat, when he feel a danger situation, use the surroundings to escape from a potential situation dangerous to them... It's the same thing this boy did: seeing that he would not be able to dodge his blow, he used his instinct and his sense for the fight to get out of that position and counterattack at the same time."
"It's exactly as you say, Mr. Principal..." Martha replied on the elucidation of his 'boss' – "In this school, there are very few with the ability to use a disadvantage in their favor. That boy is amazing."
"True, but there's something I don't understand...Have you noticed it too, right?" the principal asked perplexedly to his employees, who immediately understood what the principal was referring to, thus looking at the fight with even more attention.
[T-That bastard...] Arnold thought angrily, that despite not having suffered any damage until then, he had suffered a wound in his pride after that lightning-fast counterattack: everything was so fast that he could barely figure out what had hit him. But it wasn't made for this...
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Arnold exclaimed, invending against Erwin, who was bewelled by such reaction.
"Huh? Why should I---!!"
"Why the hell aren't you taking me seriously?! Why don't you use your element?!"
When Arnold exclaimed that sentence, silence reigned in the room; of the same thought was the principal, who had been wondering for a few seconds why he had not yet used his magic element, and it was also the thought of the professors at that moment; in fact, Erwin should have tried to use his element to further enhance his strikes, yet he did not do so, limiting himself to using only the mana to strengthen his body and strike Arnold.
"Mh... In fact, I'm curious to see his element..." said Brenin, who was curious to find out which element Erwin possessed.
Erwin did not know how to answer that question, since he was in fact unable to manipulate any elements. He wanted to tell the truth, but he was afraid that by revealing his serious deficiency, they would throw him out of the academy without letting him finish fighting.
"I-I'm not taking you lightly...And by the way, you're not using your element either!" countered the boy, trying to procrastinate and change the subject.
"I'm using it instead! Look!" Arnold replied again, showing his arm to Erwin;
At first, the latter did not see anything in particular, but it was after observing it for a long time, that he realized a small detail.
"Your arm... No, your skin is strangely rough..."
"It's not rough!" Arnold frowned, looking badly at Erwin – "I strengthened my body thanks to the element of the earth! What you see is a layer of rock that acts as a shield!"
"... Oh, now I understand why you are so tough..." replied Erwin, who looking at his hands only then realized some unexplained cuts on his knuckles, which because of the adrenaline in his body he did not immediately feel the pain.
"Now that you know... Come at me seriously! Otherwise you won't be able to beat me!" - exclaimed Arnold, who at the time, was working as hard as he could and wanted his opponent to do the same.
"..."
Erwin didn't know how to behave, as in fact, he was giving his all. And yet, the fact that he told him to try harder sounded strange to him; how did he hope to do him harm, if he couldn't do it at his best?
[That idiot... He's not focused] Thought Brenin, who at that moment saw in Erwin the gaze of a person not focused at all to what was happening.
The professors noticed that Erwin was no longer as focused as before, and Arnold noticed as well, and annoyed by this, he took advantage of that moment of lack of concentration to attack Erwin; he charged Erwin like a raging bull, trying to hit him with a series of powerful punches; Erwin, caught off guard, still managed to dodge those blows, but his movements, which a moment before were fast, precise and controlled, had become slower, clumsy and awkward, to the point that Arnold's slow and predictable attacks began to be dangerous because of the power behind them.
Arnold's blows began to graze Erwin more and more, beginning to superficially wound him; Erwin realized that even one blow from those could knock him out. This only made Erwin agitated, who, for the first time since the beginning of the battle, was afraid of those blows.
He had received far more powerful blows, both during the hard training with Ron and during the fight against Rudolf, but mentally those blows he saw coming against him, because of the importance of that fight, seemed 1000 times more dangerous than Ron's punches.
[Stay focused ... Come on!] - Erwin thought, but he could no longer enter his "zone" as before. Distracted by all this, Erwin executed a wrong movement in an attempt to get out of that interminable barrage of blows; this then allowed Arnold, who had been waiting for that very moment, to violently strike Erwin's sternum, who released a painful groan. Attempting to back away, Erwin realized that that blow had severely restricted his movements, thus failing to retreat. Without hesitation, Arnold struck forcefully again on the sternum, breaking some ribs with a sinister sound.
"Aaaargh!" Erwin groaned as the pain forced him to slowly collapse to the ground. At that moment, Arnold decided to inflict the final blow, hitting Erwin's chin with a precise and violent punch that caused him to lift from the ground for a few meters.
[... Damn] thought slightly saddened Brenin, who hoped that Erwin could enter the academy, so that he could confront him directly and improve together; despite the little time spent together, he liked being in the company of Erwin, since the two looked a little alike.
"It's over..." said Martha, visibly disappointed with how the fight had ended, looking away from Erwin's unarmed body.
So did the other professors, who did not believe that Erwin would recover after all those vicious blows. Leonard of all was the most disappointed by such an outcome, as he really believed that Erwin would be able to defeat Arnold.
Still, the only one who looked at Erwin was the principal, who had huge doubts about the boy's abilities.
"I don't know if it's really over..." the latter replied to Martha's statement, looking almost amused by what was happening.
"Eh? What do you mean by...?!"
Suddenly, while everything seemed lost, an explosion of mana occurred, coming from Erwin's seemingly inert body, caught everyone unprepared, except the Principal, who on his expression it was possible to see a grin...
*****
"W-Where..."
Erwin opened his eyes, and at that moment, he found himself in a mysterious white room with nothing inside, with the apparent infinity reigning over the latter.
Under normal conditions, one person would get agitated, but not Erwin, since, despite the fact that he did not remember having been in such a place a long time ago, he felt almost comfortable.
"Anyway... what was I doing?" Erwin wondered, who put himself in a sitting position.
"Well, maybe, it wasn't that important..."
Erwin simply sat watching the apparent emptiness, and forgetting what he was doing just a moment earlier.
"Hey, are you going to stay here?"
Suddenly, a voice caught his attention; when he turned around, he was surprised to see himself standing, observing him with a frustrated look.
"You are...me?!"
"Not really, I'm your subconscious! But that's not the important thing: what the hell are you doing here?"
Erwin, when asked by the latter, did not know what to answer, since in addition to not remembering what had happened, he did not even know how he got there.
"Hey, haven't you forgotten about the exam?!" the boy's subconscious screamed, with Erwin almost having a gasp.
"H-Hey, what exam are you talking about... The exam!" At that moment, Erwin remembered what he was doing. - "I have to finish the exam!"
Erwin jumped to his feet, with memories beginning to flow through his mind like a raging river, and with it, also the memory of how Arnold had humiliated him, before he found himself inside that seemingly infinite space.
[So that's how I came here... I fainted!] Erwin thought angrily, making a smile provoked by the frustration of the moment. [I lost... damn it, I lost!]
"It seems like you've now remembered what you've been up to out there..." - said angrily his subconscious, looking at him with disappointed eyes – "Do you know why you lost?"
"Because I'm still weak..." Erwin said promptly, referring to the fact that he couldn't control any elements.
"... You're an idiot!"
His subconscious, annoyed by the response, struck with a violent punch Erwin, who, because of the force, fell ruinously to the ground. Erwin was stunned by such a gesture, so much so that he did not get angry at the fist, remaining to observe "himself" in a confused way.
"You know very well why you lost! You didn't give your 100%!"
"I gave my 100%! I don't know what you're talking about!" - exclaimed Erwin, annoyed that first the others, and then his own mind, thought he wasn't making a commitment. - "Simply, he was stronger than me..."
"... Force doesn't work with you, apparently..." he snorted his inner sefl loudly, crouching in front of Erwin.
"If you're really gave your all, then explain one thing to me: why didn't you fight to win?"
"W-What? I..."
"Don't try to deny it!" – his subconscious asserted – "I remind you that I am you..."
Erwin, thinking about it, realized that his primary goal was not to win, but to have fun and compare. Obviously during all that frantic struggle he couldn't account for himself, as he was seriously working for him.
"How can you be so stupid that you think you can fight in such a 'sleam' way? Do you know why your shots weren't effective? It's because behind your shots there was no determination to win against an opponent who, in reality, is weaker than you! Unconsciously you limited yourself, and that's why you now find your ass on the ground! This is not a game, we are talking about your future! And what is this story about the fact that you don't want to win because otherwise that bastard with the ugly snout will be expelled?! Do you want to follow in your father's steps, or do you want to go back into that hole named Hakvill, huh?"
"... Damn, I wasted a big chance..." Erwin hissed, with shiny eyes, finally aware of the serious mistake he had made, albeit not with total awareness.
His subconscious, seeing Erwin's downfed expression, felt almost guilty for him, patting him on the back.
"Hey, hey, don't make that face! It's not all lost!"
"... What?" Erwin replied, wiping immediately his eyes.
"See... In this world, time passes differently. A few minutes have passed here, but outside have passed...not even 2 seconds."
Erwin's subconscious rose from the ground, then held out his hand to his alter-ego;
"So? What do you want to do? Do you want to commit yourself seriously, or do you want to go home?"
*****
Erwin opened his eyes again, noting the fact that he had finally returned to the real world; just before falling, with the agility of a feline, he somehow managed to control his body in mid-air, putting himself in an upright position and landing on his legs, leaving everyone present stunned.
[This energy...is a bit different from before.] - thought Leonard, who noticed a strange variation in the energy released by Erwin, remaining confused about it; it was not so much the amount of mana that Erwin released to create doubts for him, since it did not vary much, but it was the way he perceived his mana that destabilized him; usually, in perceiving the mana you can have many reactions: balance, imbalance, chaotic and many more, and these are related to the nature of the user.
But the presence of the boy's mana was something strange, as if the mana had turned into an extremely fierce and vital animal, ready to destroy everything around him. But at the same time, his mana, which seemed almost out of control, was not at all, since Erwin, apart from the serious expression, was totally calm.
All the professors felt this strange feeling, and none of them remembered having felt such a feeling.
[Interesting...] Thought Brenin, who believed Erwin was now out of the game.
"Sorry for my behavior a little while ago, I wasn't in me..." - Erwin said in a serious tone, slowly approaching – "This time, I'm going to knock you out for good, be ready..."
Arnold watched the scene; unlike the professors, he didn't have the ability to notice the radical change in Erwin's mana, but it was enough for him to look at the seriousness on his opponent's face to make him sweat cold.
"... Interesting!" - exclaimed Arnold, who, despite having the feeling that things would go wrong for him, certainly didn't back down – "Show me what you can do!"
Arnold charged with all his strength Erwin, ready for a fierce exchange of blows; Erwin observed the latter without attacking, carefully observing his every movement;
Arnold noticed a strange tremor in Erwin's body: he probably still felt a terrible pain from the blow he received at his sternum, and was struggling to move as before; for this now Erwin was standing still.
[Even if you want to take me seriously... It's late, you're fucked!] Arnold thought, who despite the bad feeling he felt, tried to convince himself that Erwin was done; arrived in fact in Erwin's process, he loaded all his mana into his right fist, so as to make sure that with that blow, his opponent would never get up again. This time, however, he did not make the same mistake as before, thus deciding to throw a powerful, but direct and precise punch.
"Die!"
Arnold's shot started like a cannonball that, whizzling and cutting the air around him, was ready to hit Erwin's face with extreme speed and violence; At that moment, in his mind he thought of many ways to dodge those shots thanks to his animalistic instinct; but with his body in those conditions, he would not be able to dodge the shot and get slaughtered by that.
In a split second, a memory came to the surface of his mind, regarding when he had begun training in martial arts with Ron.
---
-Flashback-
8 years ago....
"... Why can't i hit you!?" Erwin exclaimed with tears in his eyes, disappointed that he couldn't hit Ron.
"I explained it to you, didn't I? Your blows are predictable..." snorted Ron, irritated by the fact that Erwin had a tendency to cry ongi when things didn't go as he wanted
"BUT I FOLLOWED YOUR ADVICE! MY SHOT WAS PRECISE AND DIRECT! YOU ARE A LIAR! SNIFF" The Little Erwin screamed, sobbing like when a child's candy is taken off, creating a huge annoyance for Ron, who was deemed to hit him in the head.
"Listen, damn brat..." - said Ron, with his left eye having numerous tiks because of anger – "Wide strikes are the easiest to parry and counterattack at the same time, as they have a trajectory that, besides giving you time to prepare for impact, leaves more areas uncovered. Direct strikes, on the other hand, have the highest probability of hitting because of their speed and accuracy, but they have two major flaws...if you are not experienced, of course: first, is the fact that an inexperienced person's gaze helps you figure out where the punch will hit us; second, is the fact that with proper technique..."
---
[...They are easier to dodge, thus unbalancing the opponent and many more weaknesses... Was that how he said to me?]
Erwin, remembering Ron's words, put both palms of his hands in front of Arnold's fist, who, a little amazed by this action, did not pay much attention to it, thinking only of breaking down everything that stood before his punch.
As soon as Arnold's fist touched the palm of Erwin's hand, however, the latter carried out the only move that, in his condition, he could still perform: with his left hand, he initially placed his left hand on Arnold's fist;
[I don't know what you want to do, but it won't work!] The sophomore thought, seeing that the strength of his fist was superior to the opposition of Erwin's left hand, he didn't care much about that move.
But Erwin, waiting for the right moment, absorbed part of Arnold's blow; this caused him pain, but he didn't pay much attention to it, since, thanks to the fact that his body was empowered by mana, it was bearable. At the same time, with extreme speed, fluidity and strength, he swirled the wrist of his hand, dryly and decisively deflecting the trajectory of the blow, which was now headed towards nothing.
"Evasive....leaf technique!"
Arnold was surprised by that move, and immediately tried to react, but in the next instant, he realized with amazement and anger that at that moment he was completely unbalanced, with no chance of returning to balance.
"No... i can't lose!" Exclaimed Arnold, who at that moment maximized his defense through mana, convinced that it would be enough to shield himself from the coming attack.
But the moment he saw Erwin's gaze, shivers of fear came over him, with the feeling that he would lose.
"Your element is cool..." - Erwin began, looking at his opponent with a sharp and cold look, ready to hit Arnold with all his strength – "But i'm stronger!"
With a fist imbued with unprecedented violence, Erwin's blow hurled itself against Arnold's body. The thin barrier of rock, which previously deterred and protected Arnold from powerful attacks, collapsed under Erwin's blow as if it was a sandcastle swept away by a terrible storm. His fist, directed toward Arnold's side, shattered it, releasing a terrifying sound; the gruesome sound of bones shattering under his fist echoed in the arena, like the roar of a defeated dragon.
The jury of professors watched the scene with wide eyes and incredulous looks. Martha, with a heart swollen with pride, shook hands, acknowledging Erwin's exceptional talent. Leonard, whose gaze had always been of respect for the young man, nodded approving, satisfied in observing Erwin's staggering power.
Yilenia, the cold teacher, was the only one who kept her expression cold and sharp; she appreciated Erwin's clash, but there was one thing that bothered her at the time...
Arnold's fall coincided perfectly with the lifting of Erwin's fist, who, with pride, announced the triumph with a joyful smile.
"I won!"
END OF CHAPTER 12 – TEST (Part 2)