"Begin!"
As soon as the booming voice announced that the battle started, Faxon rushed forward toward both Alaric and Avon. With quick movement, Alaric side-stepped and jumped back, and Avon did the same. A smirk grew on his face, "Charging head first huh?" Faxon changed directions, swinging his fist, the power behind it creating strong winds. Avon was able to duck the blow and landed a punch to his body. But, it did no damage, as Faxon shook it off and was ready for another attack.
Alaric watched as their fight raged on, and frowned, 'I can't face them head-on, not without my skills…It's better I hang back and wait for an opening…' Faxon continued to throw restless attacks at Avon, who dodged the slow punches.
Alaric's eyes widened and he quickly rushed in, aiming an attack at the distracted Faxon. He clenched his fist and struck the large man. He quickly jumped back, disengaging. Faxon stopped his onslaught against Avon and turned, "Annoying…" Now, the behemoth's attention was shifted and he was rushing towards Alaric. He gave a surprised expression but was ready for anything. 'Whatever you do, don't get hit…' A punch raced towards him, as he was quick enough to dodge it.
He jumped and grabbed onto a nearby pull-up bar. He swung off it with a swift kick to Faxon's chest. He shifted his momentum to push himself back and land on the pull-up bar again. Faxon was getting annoyed and was ready to counterattack. But, someone else wanted his attention, as a kick slammed into the back of his knee, dropping him to a kneeling position.
Alaric looked and there was Avon, their eyes met, and an unspoken message was passed between the two. Alaric came down from the pull-up bar and quickly ran further to the back of the gym area. Faxon, slightly unbothered by Avon's attack, chased after him. With a quick glance, Alaric found his plan slightly working, it all depended on Avon. Alaric grabbed one of the nearby sandbags and quickly threw it full force. Faxon's eyes widened and he blocked, the sandbag exploding and blocking his vision. Alaric rushed in through the smoke and aimed an attack at his chest. With a swift kick, the force shoved Faxon back, and then his legs were tripped, causing him to hit the ground with a loud thud.
The smoke settled and Alaric and Avon stood above the fallen Faxon. "Heh, thanks for the help White-hair." Alaric looked over, and with quick movements, a punch launched at him.
But, he was able to react and blocked the punch. Avon smirked and began to rain down attacks on Alaric. 'How could I forget…this is a free-for-all…' He was ready to counterattack, but suddenly the ground began to shake, making the two boys struggle to keep their balance. Avon felt something grip his ankle, and suddenly he lifted and threw across the room, crashing into a sandbag. Alaric looked dumbfounded, as Faxon slowly rose to his feet.
He clenched his fists tightly, "Teaming up on me huh…?" Alaric got ready, as Faxon lunged forward, faster than before. This caught him off guard, as he found himself closer and closer to getting hit by Faxon's overwhelming attacks. Alaric quickly sprinted back, as he was able to position himself, as Faxon stood above him. He drew his arms up and brought them down in a sledgehammer. Alaric dodged to the side as Faxon's attack slammed against a rack of weights, causing the bar to bend and break.
Alaric let out a relieved breath, and used his foot to shove the rack, causing the large weights to come down and roll along the ground.
Faxon began to slip and trip due to the weights. Alaric took this opportunity and jumped off the wall with a well-aimed kick to his face. But, even with the distractions, Faxon was able to block the kick while grabbing Alaric's ankle and throwing him away. Soon the weights stopped rolling out and Faxon was able to stay on balance.
Faxon was ready to finish off Alaric and take him out of this free-for-all, but suddenly an attack slammed against his back, "You're strong, but not invincible." Avon taunted, as Faxon grunted. Avon was ready to land on more attacks, but the entire room shook.
"Enough!!"
The booming voice of the teacher silenced the chaos, his sheer presence freezing all three fighters in place. Faxon lowered his fists, his breathing heavy. Avon dusted himself off, while Alaric struggled to catch his breath, his mind racing with the events of the fight.
He walked up, "Great work you three!" The rest of the students cheered and screamed, as Alaric laid back against the equipment, body slightly bruised and tired.
The man folded his arms, "Faxon, you're strong, more so than these two put together, but your speed is what's causing your attacks to miss. Work on managing your power and speed. Brute strength isn't going to get you everywhere." He said, his words helpful and motivating.
Faxon bowed as the teacher turned his attention to Avon. "Avon, you're quick and tricky, but your overconfidence is what's holding you back from greatness." Avon rolled his eyes and folded his arms, sucking his teeth, "Sure, whatever..."
"And last but not least, Alaric. Alaric, you're clever, adaptable, and quick to read your opponents. Those qualities will serve you well. But you hesitate, whether it's fear or doubt, I'm not sure. If you don't overcome that hesitation, you'll miss critical opportunities to strike and take the upper hand."
Alaric let out a short breath and gave a nod, "Yes sir," The three students lined up in a horizontal line. The teacher turned towards the rest of the class, "You see students, these are the kind of things you'll be learning while in my class. I, Benjiro will work to create you all the strongest warriors you can be!"
Alaric looked down at his hands, a smile crossing his features. His eyes sparkled, he was able to hold his own against a behemoth like Faxon and someone as unpredictable as Avon… Maybe he should give himself more credit. "Now, since it's your first day, I'll let you just chill, but expect some rigorous training tomorrow!" The class cheered and Alaric's head dropped, the fatigue hitting him hard.
"Hey White-Hair," Alaric raised his head, and Avon stood above him, his arms crossed. "You didn't do half bad… But don't let it go to your head…" He walked off, as Alaric blinked, and sighed, there goes his big head…
"Nice job you two!" Aluxio shouted as Faxon walked up beside Alaric. "You two did great, but I don't know why I was worried, I fought alongside both of you, I know you both are amazing." Alaric blushed softly, he never admitted it, but he kinda liked being praised, after all, he put himself down so many times, it's great to have someone tell him he was good.
Faxon frowned, "You did do good Alaric…you managed to push me back more times than I thought…"
Alaric smiled and crossed his legs, "Thanks Faxon, you did well too. Even though I knew if I got hit with even one of your punches I would've been down for the count."
Faxon extended a hand, "Let's work to get even stronger."
Alaric stared for a moment, then grasped Faxon's hand firmly. "Yeah. Let's do it."
As they shook hands, a mutual respect settled between them, rivals united by their shared drive to improve.
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Alaric rode atop Sky as we began to fly towards his next class, according to his schedule, his Magic/Skill-based class. This was one he wasn't sure about, since the skills he relied on was his dash skill, strength boost and power strike, but of course, he does have immobilized, which is something that he is going to learn to rely on more. But, how could anyone teach him to use that more? He assumes the teacher of this class is someone who uses more ranged magic and things of that nature, nothing like what he has currently. But, maybe he shouldn't worry about that right now. He soon arrived at the classroom door, but noticed a piece of paper taped to the door. He got closer and it read, 'Meet at the Advanced Training Building.' He nodded and quickly turned around. He supposed it made sense, using skills in a classroom just seems like a bad idea, so it would be better to use that building for training. Since he spent so much time getting here, he made sure Sky flew fast so he wouldn't be late to this class.
The door slid open and he flew inside as his eyes scanned the area around, there were a bunch of students standing near what resembled a shooting range. Alaric flew over, and there was someone he recognized, it was a girl, she had warm blonde hair that cascaded down her back.
She held a staff close to her chest. She turned and her emerald eyes looked at the white-hair boy. "Alaric!" She said, her voice carrying surprise. She walked over as Alaric gave a smile and a soft blush, "Hey Clorissa," he gave a small wave. "It's been so long! How've you been? It's so good to see you! Did you find this place okay?" She said fast, as Alaric was reminded of her fast way of speaking. He blinked and simply listened to her speak, letting out a soft sigh. "Yeah, I found it, it's good to see you too…"
Alaric looked around, "Hey, is the teacher here yet?" He asked as Clorissa shook her head. "Not yet, we've been here for at least five minutes. I'm not sure where they're at." Alaric nodded and folded his arms. 'I wonder who the teacher is for this class…'
After what felt like forever yet again, a shimmering bubble of water materialized at the front of the room. The bubble grew, swirling until it revealed a figure stepping out, a tall, slim man with dark bluish hair and snake-like eyes, the color of a pale, eerie blue. His presence was almost hypnotic, his movements fluid and precise. Alaric gave a focused expression, as he swallowed. "Welcome students." he said, his voice calm and quiet as he stepped in front of the class. He folded his arms behind his back, his snake eyes scanning the group. "As I hope you know, this class is to help you better control your magic and learn your skills. My system, The Dragon King, is a purely magical system. So, they figured I would be the best teacher for this type of class. So, my name is Tensai and I'll be your teacher. Firstly I would like to point out the top three best magic users of this class."
'Just like my physical training class…' Alaric thought as the teacher reached for a sip of paper. His eyes scanned for the first name, "Clorissa Snow, you showed amazing versatility during your entrance exam," Clorissa gave a smile and walked up while clutching her staff. Alaric gave a smile, his heart beating a bit faster. "Next, Jiro Stormtail." Alaric turned to look for whoever that was, as a black hair boy stood with gray eyes, standing tall. His aura was electrifying, and his glare gave a hint of boredom, almost like he knew he would be picked. He walked up and next to Clorissa. "You display great use of your electric abilities, while packing lots of power as well." He placed his hands in his pocket as Alaric frowned, feeling something was wrong with him. His presence screams familiarity to Alaric. He just didn't know why… Mr. Tensai searched for the last name, "And lastly, Odessa Boone." Alaric looked confused as his eyes searched the room, he didn't recall seeing her. But surely, she walked forward and stood with her arms behind her back. Alaric waved, as she noticed and waved back slightly but would wave him off.
"You were able to display excellent skill with your unique use of your blood skills." And with that, those were the top three best magic users in this class. Alaric didn't expect himself to be one of them, the way he uses his magic is not only basic, but also not impressive in the slightest. So he did make it, the others must've been pretty bad… Mr. Tensai turned to the three students, "I would like to have you three as an example for the rest of the class. I don't want to waste time, so let's make it quick," he turned towards the moving dummies that were arranged in five rows.
"Each of you takes a spot."