My first few classes were simple history and political courses, which we had to study more thoroughly than mortals. Lyra, being a princess, was mostly asleep during these lectures since she already knew most of the material. But all that time paid off. After lunch, we headed straight to our next class: combat training.
"Finally, a class worth paying attention to," Lyra yawned.
"It looks like our first lesson will be a mix of sword and spear training," I said, glancing at the syllabus. "We can either train with a dummy or with a partner."
"You know, we haven't sparred with each other in years," she said.
"I remember when you used to sneak out of the castle just to spar with me under the moonlight," I recalled. Back then, she struggled with any weapon, despite her parents hiring instructors. One night, she picked up a spear and, to my surprise, managed to knock my sword out of my hand for the first time. Since then, we always tried to one-up each other, no matter what.
"Want to be my sparring partner? For old times' sake?"
"Sure," I smiled as we entered the arena, which was huge and used for many events during school festivals. It was capable of creating any fighting scenario. At the moment, it looked like a dense forest, so realistic that you could almost believe you were in the middle of nowhere.
We found the teacher and the other students in the center of the arena. The teacher was tall, with white hair and ice-cold eyes that seemed intimidating, as if any misbehavior would result in being locked up in your dorm.
"Good morning, students. I am Professor Rowan Storm. You may call me Professor Rowan," he began. The students, including Lyra and me, were silent and still. "Your first lesson is to spar with a partner so I can evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Choose a partner quickly and line up."
We quickly selected our partners and lined up as instructed. Professor Rowan examined us one by one before pointing at Lyra and me. "You two will start the assessment. After all, you are the top two in your grade."
"Yes, Professor," we both replied as we prepared for the mock battle. The rest of the class took seats in the stands to watch.
"Ready to lose, Ansel? I've improved since we last sparred," Lyra said confidently, preparing her stance with her spear.
"We'll see just how much," I replied, as I took an offensive stance.
"And... Begin!" Professor Rowan announced.
I shadow-stepped behind her quickly and swung down, but Lyra spun around and managed to deflect the attack, pushing me back with a gust of wind. I flew backward but quickly shadow-stepped into a nearby bush and struck again. This time, she was ready, striking me with lightning. I formed a shield just in time to block the attack.
I shadow-stepped out of range as Lyra began flying, searching for me from the sky. "Seems like I'll need to use illusions," I muttered. They wouldn't be perfect, but as long as they looked like me from a distance, they'd do. As Lyra flew around the arena, she spotted a figure and charged, only to find it was just a shadow. I appeared from behind her and struck her with the bottom of my blade in her gut, then flipped her onto the ground.
"It's over, Lyra. Yield," I said, holding her down.
"I still have energy left," she said as her eyes turned a lightning blue. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise, and I quickly got off her as she summoned a massive lightning bolt. It struck her but did no harm; instead, she looked more energized.
"Welp, she's going to go overboard again," I said. Lyra often got so excited during battles that she'd forget it was a mock battle and would go too far.
The professor and the class watched as a huge lightning bolt struck the arena. Most looked horrified, while the professor maintained a blank expression. He had no intention of stopping the fight—he wanted to see how far we could push each other.
Lyra fired another lightning bolt, but this time, I created a clone of myself to take the hit. As Lyra dashed toward the clone, I shadow-stepped out of the bush and struck her in the midsection with enough force to knock her out. She stumbled backward, and I caught her before she hit the ground.
"Winner of this mock battle is Ansel Dovak," Professor Rowan announced. Our classmates cheered, excitement evident despite their earlier shock.
"What happened?" Lyra asked as she regained consciousness. "Did I go overboard again?"
"Well," I said, glancing at the crater she had created, "a tad bit."
I helped her to the stands, where the professor was waiting.
"When I said 'mock battle,' I expected you both to use your weapons without causing destruction to the arena," he said, likely preparing to reprimand us. "However, I can see why you're at the top, and I'm impressed."
"Thank you, Professor," Lyra said. "I apologize for the damage."
"Not an issue. It's easily fixable," he said. With a push of a button, robots emerged from the arena entrances and began repairs.
The next match began as a girl and a boy faced off. The boy, tall with a sharp stare, exuded authority. The girl, calm and composed with graceful features, had white hair and sharp blue eyes. I recognized her as Lumi Aurelia, who had placed third in the exam. Her last name sounded familiar but didn't quite ring a bell. I didn't know who the boy was.
"And... Begin!" Professor Rowan said, and the battle started.
The boy charged forward before I could react, but the girl was faster. She struck first, then again, as he tried to deflect. Frustrated, he attempted to dash forward, but the arena turned to ice, freezing him completely. The girl walked over and tipped him over, ending the match quickly.
"The winner is Lumi Aurelia," Professor Rowan announced.
No one clapped. They were in shock at how swiftly it ended. Lumi walked back to the stands gracefully, as if nothing had happened.
"Hey, Lyra, is that—" I started.
"Yes," she confirmed. "She's from the Aurelia bloodline, one of the five influential families in the kingdom."
The Aurelia house was one of the most powerful families, with one member being a close advisor to the king. I realized that Lumi is more than capable of knocking me out of my top spot. And that made me excited more than anything.