He grew an eye? Is that even possible?
He's finally awake. Maybe we'll be able to see the effects of the pool in his body.
He feels different…
What kind of martial arts is that?
Shouldn't he be undergoing rehabilitation?
Each of the cadets had their own different opinions as they watched the drama that was about to unfold in the ring.
Grim and Ichor stood opposite each other at a standstill, both focused. Then they both moved.
They were both fast and in the blink of an eye, they had already traversed the small distance that was between them.
But just when everyone thought they were both going to clash on the middle and begin to grapple, Ichor, with amazing reflex, suddenly stopped his movements, coming to a complete halt.
Sal's eyes narrowed a bit. He was surprised.
Such amazing control over the body. To be able to come to a compete halt from moving at such speeds, without injury... He's even more talented than I thought. No wonder he didn't need rehabilitation.
Ichor's abrupt halt surprised not just Sal but the other cadets as well. Grim was shock as well but he immediately reacted, trying to control the speed at which he rammed into Ichor's now still body.
Ichor smirked.
Tap! Fwip!
To the shock of everyone, Grim was in the air once more, hanging upside down.
With a few movements from Ichor and with as little force as possible, he had sent Grim into the air.
"Wow." Irene was baffled. She was normally a quiet person but she just had to voice out her surprise.
"I know right? The instructor must weigh at least three hundred pounds and yet Ichor made it seem like he weighed nothing. I thought Lassen was the strongest among us, physically."
Zandov narrowed his eyes. He thought he had an assessment on Ichor's strength and he felt that even if his assessment wasn't completely accurate, it was close.
But seeing what was unfolding in the ring, he realised that maybe his assessment was completely wrong.
And he wasn't the only one thinking so.
"Maybe it's the pool?" Marceline suggested but Yvonne shook her head.
"Except his eyes, there's no other obvious change to his body. At least none that I can see. His speed is still the same and from the looks of it, his strength too."
"What?" Zandov asked with furrowed brows.
"If his strength is still the same, then how is he lifting the instructor?" Lassen asked.
"I don't know." Yvonne muttered.
"He's using the instructor's strength. it's a martial arts."
All eyes fell on Percy. When it came to martial arts, Zandov and Percy were the only ones that had knowledge on the topic and Zandov's knowledge was little compared to Percy's and it wasn't just because of her was a noble. After all, Yvonne and Marceline were nobles too.
Instead it was simply because he was a son of the Warburn family.
As a child from the Warburn family known for their amazing swordsmanship, Percy had learnt the basics of martial arts since birth. It was practically ingrained in him.
Not just the nobles but all other cadets knew this, hence, they had a unanimous agreement that when it came to martial arts, Percy had the most knowledge.
"The martial arts of my family transform your sword into the perfect offensive weapon; as powerful as a hammer, as quick as a dagger, and as imposing as a halberd, all while retaining the sharpness of the finest blade. Pure physical strength or an amazing physique will never be enough to achieve such feats."
The cadets nodded their head, a hint of understanding blooming in their minds. But there was also awe at the finesse of martial arts. They suddenly had an inkling of understanding at the strength of the warburn family and why they had such prestige that was said to be second only to the royal family.
"I see. So Ichor is also using a martial art?" Zandov asked.
Although he knew a little about martial arts, it was only the very basics. He hadn't even been able to tell that Ichor was using a martial art.
"Yes. One that uses the force of the opponent against them. They are known as soft techniques. But I've never seen something like this and I'm pretty sure I know most of the martial arts techniques in the northern continent"
It seems like he was still holding back when he fought me.... I have to catch up quickly!
Sal's eyes narrowed, his entire attention focused on the spar in the arena.
Once is nothing, twice is a coincidence and thrice is a pattern. But in this case, I'm pretty sure this is no coincidence. He knows a martial art and it's an ancient one at that. Which one is it? All I can tell is that it's a pretty amazing soft technique.
While everyone was having their own thoughts about the spar, Grim who was at the receiving end of the martial arts felt like he would explode from anger.
No matter what I do, he always seems to be able to move my body off the ground on a whim. This must be a martial art.
Grim twisted his body, his leg moving to kick Ichor. He had immediately changed his style from grappling as he couldn't grapple while hanging in the air upside down.
Ichor's movements were fluid and quick, his hands moving as once again. With one hand in Grim's leg and the other on his chest, Ichor redirected Grim's kick, sending his body falling towards the ground.
One second, Grim was sending a kick at Ichor's head and the next his leg was under Ichor's arm while his back was heading for the ground.
Grim reacted quickly once more, placing his hand on the floor and spinning around, sending multiple kicks at Ichor.
Ichor bent down, dodging the kicks. His leg moved, gently tapping Grim's elbow. Grim's body trembled as his hand shifted, displacing his balance.
Ichor moved once more, grabbing Grim's leg and pulling them back. His right leg tapped Grim's waist from behind, bending the latter backwards even more.
Shit! What kind of witchcraft is this!
Grim twisted his body, making it so that his stomach fell first. The moment he landed on the floor, he did a front flip, distancing himself from Ichor.
"I never expected a giant to be good at maneuvers. You are like a slippery worm." Ichor chuckled.
"You! You are cheating!" Grim yelled.
Ichor looked back at Sal, who was staring at him with an expressionless gaze. He knew immediately that sal had no plans in interfering.
"How did I cheat?" Ichor asked. His expression was one of boredom and it made Grim even angrier.
"You are using a martial art!"
"There was no rule against the use of martial arts."
"That's because a cadet isn't supposed to know one." Grim spat back. He felt indignation at the fact that a new cadet had learnt a martial art. They were known as cheat codes among cheat codes.
Ichor looked at Percy and then back at Grim with an expression that said 'are you a fool?'
Grim immediately blushed, his face red with fury. He understood Ichor's point.
"He's a noble."
Ichor was about to retort when Sal finally spoke.
"Use weapons. If you can get Ichor to surrender in five minutes without using more than fifty percent of your strength, I'll let you pick a martial art ahead of time."
Grim's eyes widened, his shock obvious for all to see. The cadets on the other hand, furrowed their brows, confused.
"The conditions are the same for you. I'll now be preciding over this match." Sal looked at Ichor as he spoke.
"This is no longer a spar, fight with the intent to kill."