He couldn't dodge, so he struck both of the ice spikes shot at him, smashing them to pieces, but the ice would spread at the point of impact. His hands were fine, but the gauntlets were frozen. He slammed them to the ground to remove the ice build-up before turning and striking the ice covering his leg.
The ice spike on the ground exploded and sent tiny shards of ice toward him; Charlotte barely managed to cover his face. His body was littered with minor puncture wounds, which wouldn't have been bad on their own, but ice began to spread from the wounds across his body.
He felt himself slowly down, turning in time to see her approaching once more. She feinted a kick, which got him to raise his guard. She held onto his wrist, and the ice quickly spread up his right arm. He swung with his other hand, trying to claw at her chest, which forced her to back away.
He would have gotten her if his body wasn't practically shivering and slowed down by the ice. His right arm was useless now; he had to find a moment to break it out of the ice. The worst part was the ice was slowly spreading up his arm, which wasn't helping.
She constructed three more ice spikes as she rushed towards him, and the spikes followed beside her. He grits his teeth and shifts his stance, now having his left side face her. He moved most of his Chi to his left arm and head, Making him nearly pass out as the pain was enhanced. It left him vulnerable, but moving around was hard enough; he could only stand his ground.
She went for a kick again, this time going through with it. At the same time, a spike shot at him from her right side; even with his increase in speed, he could only stop one. His hand shot towards the spike, slamming it with his palm; at the same time, he brought the claws of the gauntlet down and broke the ice that was spreading on his palm.
He got kicked across the ribs, despite it sending pain coursing through him that made him want to cry. He knew it was only due to his increased senses, the blow hadn't broken anything.
He brought his hand down, aiming to backhand her across the face. She sent down a spike toward his face as she pulled back her leg and went for a grab to his chest. He stopped his attack and brought his elbow down on her hand, as he barely managed to move his head enough that the spike just barely scratched his right cheek.
She stepped back; her hand was swollen where he had struck her. She most likely couldn't use that hand either now. But it didn't matter; the grin on her face was still present.
He felt the exact moment he got hit on the cheek and the ice spread. His lips were halfway frozen shut, his nostril blocked off, his right eye blind. The ice stopped spreading everywhere else and seemed focused on his head as it hastened its spreading speed.
She seemed to be saying something, but he couldn't hear any more as his mind was racing for a plan. He tried to move forward and attack her, but he fell to his knees. He couldn't control his body correctly; everything seemed to be stopping. He couldn't breathe anymore as he looked up at her.
The smile was no longer on her face; instead, it was replaced with a sad look. He couldn't tell anymore; his vision was blurring up. He could see something else forming above her; it looked almost like a s-
He would wake up and guard his face; what happened? Where is he? He got up and looked around. He seemed to be in a small room, lying down on a bed. He touched his face; the ice was gone, and so was the pain. The wounds on his body were also gone...so were his clothes?
He covered himself up in the blankets, and on the cabinet nearby was a tunic. It was similar to the one the girl wore, Except this one was colored black. Seeing no other option, he would put it on while looking around the room. The room didn't have much; it had a bed and a cabinet, but it lacked any windows, so it wasn't that comfortable either...it almost felt like a cell. The only thing lighting the room was a lantern sitting on the cabinet. The walls also looked to be made of stone.
He finished putting on the tunic. It fits loosely on him, but it was extremely comfortable—the material it was made of felt soft. He stepped out of the room, and beside his door were two others. At the end of the room were stairs leading upwards; he could hear groaning from the two other rooms. One of the voices sounded familiar, but he didn't stay long as he walked upstairs.
He pushed the two doors open and covered his eyes, waiting until they got used to the sunlight; he hoped he wasn't in a dream.
The first thing that caught his eye was the massive tree at the center; its bark never stayed in one color. It was ever-changing; as for its leaves, they looked to be made of glass. They gently swayed above him, and he couldn't see the sun or sky with the tree above him...How had he never heard tales of such a thing?
"I can't believe one of you has recovered already."
He turned back to see a tall man; he had to take a few steps away to avoid hurting his neck from looking up at the man. He had dark skin and vibrant green eyes; he gave off the feeling of comfort. It was akin to sleeping under the shade of a tree as the calm wind passed by. He had short black hair and wore a tight black shirt showing his muscles. He wore baggy pants, though, which was in contrast to the shirt.
"You feeling alright?"
"I'm fine, nothing hurts...where am I?"
He seemed surprised before hitting himself lightly on the head.
"Sorry, we don't usually get... ordinary people here; usually, it's always those with status or the parents of those who have made it up high. This is the school since you were unconscious and pretty injured you were brought here with the others, usually we try and keep the location hidden anyway. So you honestly haven't missed much."
He nodded as he looked around. Most of the things he saw didn't paint a wild picture for him. There were a few houses nearby. Nobody was walking around yet, but a fancy, almost like mansion and dojo combined, was near the tree's base. There were a few houses further out he could see that looked much more accommodating; they nearly looked like mansions. That raised the question of why he was relegated to living inside a hole in the ground. There were also purple flowers littered around; they seemed to be used to show the paths around the place.
"I am underwhelmed; the tree is the most impressive thing here...Why was I sleeping inside a hole?"
He seemed to hesitate as he scratched the back of his head.
"You will know soon; for now, follow me."
He spoke very nervously as he began walking towards the tree. If he was honest, this whole thing made him a bit nervous; where was everyone else?