"Let this be clear: this sparring match is not a duel to the death or a ticket to the infirmary. I expect none of you to leave this arena in such states." Professor Mave said powerfully, as he drove the point of not injuring the opponent home.
"You can engage in combat with the provided blunt wooden weaponry or use your bare hands with victory being achieved through a critical strike or surrender.
You must obey my directives unfailingly, and under no circumstances should you aim to fracture bones," declared Professor Mave, while assistant Lobo wheeled in a selection of wooden arms for the picking.
The assortment included an array of weapons such as wooden swords, spears, and bows with flat-tipped arrows, all readily available for selection.
Facing off, the elf naturally gravitated towards the bow and arrows, while the vampire opted for a wooden spear, each choosing their weapon in alignment with their nature.
"I heard Gisella approached Wendy to join her team, however, Wendy rejected the approach and mocked Gisella to think that she would ever team up with an elf like her, I think that's the reason behind their beef with each other today-"
Rocky heard someone murmur behind him, as he realized that the challenge between the female elf Gisella and the female vampire Wendy was not issued randomly and had some backstory to it.
"Vampires and their vain pride, man, I'm telling you... if she doesn't want to team up with her, then it's clearly her loss. I mean, who wouldn't want an archer in their team? Also quite a beautiful archer at that" said a male voice behind Rocky, as the other guys snickered and passed lewd comments, giving Rocky a glimpse of how men remained men, despite universal boundaries and cultural differences.
As the murmurs and chuckles subsided, Professor Mave's voice sliced through the tension, commanding silence with an authoritative "Begin!", as both Gisella and Wendy took their battle stance.
Gisella, with a quiver slung over her shoulder and bow in hand, took a cautious step back, eyeing Wendy with visible hatred.
If looks could kill, Wendy would already be dead, as Gisella seemed to hate that woman with all her essence.
Wendy, gripping her wooden spear with a novice's uncertainty, mirrored Gisella's cautious stance. It was evident that neither had extensive training as both their movements were hesitant and their strategies were unrefined.
With a deep breath, Gisella nocked an arrow, her fingers trembling slightly. The arrow, released with more hope than precision, whistled through the air, veering wide of Wendy and thudding harmlessly into the dirt of the arena as a murmur of amusement rose from the onlooking students.
"An elf who can't shoot arrows? Now that's a first, hahahaha"
"Of Course she doesn't want to be your teammate if your aim is so shitty! Who even allowed you to join this university?"
Mean comments were thrown at Gisella left and right, but impressively she did not let it waver her focus.
Wendy, not wishing to stay docile for long, charged with a boldness that mirrored her inexperience.
Closing the gap between herself and her opponent who was nocking another arrow onto the bow, she thrust her spear towards her abdomen, however, it was a slow and clumsy thrust that was easily sidestepped by Gisella, who managed a half-hearted attempt at a counter with her bow, trying to use it like a staff.
The two circled each other, exchanging a series of inept attacks and dodges with Wendy's spear occasionally jabbing at the air near Gisella, who retaliated with arrows that mostly found new homes in the ground or the wooden barriers of the arena.
The climax came not as a dramatic knockout as the crowd hoped for, but in the most awkward way possible as in her zeal, Wendy overextended a thrust, leaving herself off-balance. Gisella, seizing the opportunity, dropped her bow and tackled Wendy in a move that was more desperation than technique as they tumbled to the ground in a tangle of limbs and wooden weapons.
Professor Mave, seeing that the spar had devolved into a scrappy wrestle, stepped in. "Enough!" he declared, pulling the two apart with ease as both students were left panting, covered in dust, with minor scrapes marking their first foray into combat.
"You call this shit sparring? Disgrace both of you…. My four year old daughter fights better than you both" he said, humiliating the two fighters as the crowd roared into laughter.
"Go back, have some rest…" he said, his voice softening as he shook his head and scanned the crowd for fighters that looked promising, but since he did not know the nature and willingness of students to participate in this spar he eventually decided on making the next fight via a public vote.
"Alright, I'll ask you, the common crowd as to who amongst the top twenty do you wish to see sparring with each other?" Professor Mave asked, as immediately chants of "Rocky! Rocky! Sophia! Sophia!" broke out.
The vote was almost instantaneous and unanimous, as professor Mave looked towards Rocky and Sophia, knowing full well about their real identity.
"The champion of Gemini against the champion of Poseidon on the very first day of class?" he said, rubbing his chin, as he seemed to entertain that idea.
Initially, he wanted to do that fight at the end of the year, but seeing the reaction of the crowd he felt like, doing it on the first and last day would help encompass the their individual progress better.
"Very well, the crowd has spoken, come forward Rocky and Sophia" he said, as Sophia got up with a spring to her step and immediately went ahead and took a bare knuckle fighting stance.
Rocky, feeling as if his worst nightmare had just came true, stood up in a trance, as he felt the gaze of hundreds of students piercing his back.
He really did not want to fight, he was a complete novice who was bound to be humiliated by Sophia, however, the environment did not seem like it cared for his opinion.
'Should I just yell 'I surrender' when the bout starts and save myself some humiliation?' he wondered as just as he thought this, the system screen popped up infront of his eyes.
[ Strongest System Notification :- A new 'quest' has been created.
Quest Title - Defeat the champion of Poseidon.
Quest Description - Defeat the champion of Poseidon in this upcoming spar, establishing your superiority as a fighter.
Quest Reward - Immediately attain, (basic) sword and martial arts mastery.
Failure Penalty - The strongest system will be unavailable for use, for the next three months ]
Rocky's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the system screen! The stakes of this spar just became much bigger than just losing some face.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the GT Target, good job everyone! ///