Bronson and Lexi had decided to spar each other again. This wasn't a second time for them, as they had sparred numerous times in the past. They had almost grown up in the system competing against each other and now had a strong rivalry.
This student was still above even Carson and Emmerich, so Lewis was having a very tough time, being inferior to even Rhys now.
As Rhys was lightly sparring Emmerich, the latter could tell that he had gotten stronger in some way. Even though his attacks were lighter and thrown without force, he could push him back with a flurry of attacks.
Rhys could feel the same thing, and it was a truly exhilarating feeling for someone that had possessed only one skill his entire life.
He saw no need to use his new skill on his friend when they were going this lightly. Emmerich hadn't used his intense impact skill so there was no need to go over the top.
As they were training, the teacher was giving the students advice but they weren't taking it to heart.
These students seemed to place more stock into the techniques that their families had handed to them. Skill trees were passed on and prevalent within families, but so were techniques and fighting styles.
A close relative's fighting style would usually be quite helpful to master, so they just believed what they knew was more valuable than what was being said to them.
Hale noticed this but didn't act out immediately. He was aware of why they were doing such, but Rhys didn't think the same way.
The end of the first spars had come and the students were muddling up, trying to find new sparring partners. As for Rhys, he wanted to hear from this master sergeant.
He hadn't had a family to train him up like his teammates had. They simply weren't strong or rich enough, so skill trees didn't exactly pass on in his family. Someone of his class would take any skill tree that they could get their hands on.
However, for him, he saw a bank of information that could be handed to him in this man. If he was truly a master sergeant, there had to be many things he knew that he didn't.
"Could you spar me, Master Sergeant Hale?" Rhys boldly asked, making the fighters around him almost come to a stop.
Master Sergeant would have taken this as a challenge, but he could tell that this wasn't the case. He had a calm, respectful tone to his voice, and didn't seem like the type to act in that way.
Weak people were usually timid and polite in the face of superiors, and he somewhat saw that here.
[Sudden Quest!]
[Challenging the Master]
[Enter a spar with your new combat training teacher and defeat him!]
[Rewards: 250 Emporium Shards, Level Up]
Seeing this system panel, it felt like his system was just giving him something for nothing at this point. He wasn't complaining though, as his power would only continue to advance.
However, the requirements of this quest seemed impossible to meet. The rewards were surely mouthwatering, and he could use 250 shards to branch out in the skill tree that he had just unlocked.
"Alright then. I'll take you up on your offer." The teacher replied, stepping onto one of the empty canvases beside them.
The students surrounding them decided to watch on with smiles. If Bronson was humiliated by this man, they only wondered how badly Rhys was about to get beaten down.
"Just what was he thinking trying to fight our teacher? Is he just trying to copy Bronson?"
"Such a weirdo."
"There's no need to continue watching our fight. Commence your next spars and improve on your own abilities." The master sergeant commanded.
His voice boomed and filled out the entire hall, and the students almost felt forced to oblige. They moved on their own and just couldn't muster the courage to defy his order.
Rhys did the same, and he walked past him to see the badge that was placed across his camo outfit. It was labelled 'Sir Marcus Hale'.
His extra title meant that he had been knighted by Grelcis' dictator, likely for his contributions to the various war efforts that he was a part of.
the spar had begun. The teacher just remained still, trying to analyse what Rhys next move would be.
The blonde-haired boy decided to use the attribute of his physical power that was best. His speed. He felt like that would be the only way that he would get a chance at defeating this soldier.
He rushed ahead at the man and activated his Blooded Blow right away. His fist zipped forward and had been amplified in power greatly. Just as it was about to land, though, Marcus caught it right away.
His punch was stopped right away, and there was a sharp stinging pain that he felt in his knuckles.
The man held his fist and just looked at him, bewildered.
'Wasn't this a student that they said was from the Arkwrighte family? How did he throw such a meaty punch like that?' He wondered.
Looking at the blood red mana that now coated his body, he evaded the following punch that was aimed at him. This time, it was much slower, and Rhys didn't want to spam his skill. He didn't have much mana at all and would only be able to use the skill once before his MP would be exhausted.
Just as he expected, his attacks just didn't land at all. He couldn't do a thing and the hope of his success had vanished.
There was no need to waste time with no more basic punches and kicks. He dashed ahead and utilised his Blooded Blow, moving forward with immense speed.
Some fighters, even though they were trying to be invested in their own fights, caught this speed in the corner of their eyes.
He seemed to zip forward with much greater speed than anything that he had showcased prior.
Fwoosh!
His fist flew right past Marcus' face, since he had dipped right out of the way of it. With his fist still reached outward, he received a punch to his gut that dropped him to his knees.
The impact of the strike felt like an explosion, and his organs rattled upon taking this impact. He felt the urge to throw up but was saved by his special healing factor.
His nausea faded, and he just grasped his stomach, in pain.
Marcus revealed a healing elixir for Rhys to have, but he raised to his feet on his own and declined the offer.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." He stated with politeness.
The sergeant lightly shook his head with perplexion upon seeing this. He really looked uninjured and was watching him clearly the entire time. He hadn't taken any form of elixir or item to heal, and he was quite certain that he didn't have a skill that did so.
Skills of that type were usually outrageously priced and simply weren't common at all. It was much more commonplace to use special elixirs to heal the body and rejuvenate HP.
He hadn't received his reward, but he was grateful for the battle that he had taken. He felt himself getting better as he continued to fight, and he told himself that he was getting closer to landing his attacks.
It would only be a matter of time before he would excel.
[SYSTEM RANK: SS-RANK]
Just looking at this panel ahead of him, he almost couldn't believe it. He was struggling to wrap his head around the world that he had been thrown into.
He continuously thought about if Leandro had found the culprit for his attack in the suburb near the school. He was masked, but you could always use height and frame to pick someone out.
Even without that, it was easy to draw a connection between the two, since he had recently defeated him within this very combat class.
He couldn't get the thoughts of his fallen brothers out of his mind either. Those were those that he stayed close to, even in the face of adversity and struggle. They stuck together and had each other's backs, even as they were bullied and beaten down by people superior to them.
Now, they were gone and were never coming back.
His system also felt a little underwhelming for an SS-Rank system. SS-Rank system users were usually enrolled into the military in their tween years and would immediately be promoted out of the initial rank of Private due to their skill.
The most recent SS-Rank user, Otto Johannesson, was a captain before he even turned 21.
There was no need to jump to conclusions now, though. He was sure that his system would advance, and it did give him a free skill tree after all. This was usually exclusive to B-Rank systems and above.
'It's only a matter of time.' He thought to himself in reassurance.
Their day had ended and after this, Rhys just did some light training and shortly after, his day had come to an end.
****