Even as they walked, Lami felt an odd pull, as if the forest itself were tugging him in conflicting directions. The rustling leaves echoed from unseen places.
They reached the outdoor training grounds just in time without speaking any words. However, Mateo's nonstop glances toward Lami made him uneasy.
The training grounds were open and oval-shaped.
The outer ring of the training ground was an 800-meter track. Lami could already feel the torturous times ahead, racked with pain and fatigue. A jolting shiver ran through his spine as he dwelled on the other parts of the area.
There, in the middle, were various sections. Weight racks and various types of equipment, pull-up bars, cardio machines, and more.
Lami loved training his swordsmanship but found the other types of training tedious.
Multiple rows of training dummies garnered the most attention from the students. Standing as tall as Lamil, all 200 dummies were state-of-the-art. They were known to be able to withstand up to Master ranked attacks.
The dummies could also rate the attacks in terms of precision and intensity. They started to walk toward the centermost part, noticing the students were all there.
'It still stings.'
Lami's back still wasn't fully healed. He had been applying ointments and changing the bandages every day, but it seemed to take a while.
Arriving, Lami noticed Lumia. She was easily recognizable, even from afar, with her distinctive features.
However, this time she wasn't all alone. Lumia was conversing with Eleanor with both having smiles on their pretty faces and Seren was also present.
She wasn't talking, though. She had a book in her hand which appeared to be weirdly shaped. Her expression remained focused and intent. Her ocean-blue eyes were skipping from line to line.
'What kind of book is that?' Lami thought. He would like to know the book that she was paying a lot of attention to.
The presence of the three charming girls was mesmerizing. Even Lami struggled to avoid being captivated by their radiance.
He was aware of the fact that students were enjoying the scenery. Their mouths 'o' shaped. What he didn't realize was that he was part of the reason as well. Wherever he went murmurs followed.
"Aren't you aware or are you playing cool?" Lucian asked, elbowing Lami's arm.
Lami was dumbfounded, he didn't know what Lucian was talking about.
"What?"
Lucian shook his head sluggishly in a disappointed manner. "Nothing."
"...?"
Lami found it hard to understand what Lucian was talking about. Not wanting to give it much of a thought, he continued to observe his surroundings.
Ivy and Mateo were in a heated discussion, Ivy was taking notes furiously. She wore a sharp, almost sadistic expression as if she was ready to drown Mateo in a spoonful of water.
Lami shuddered at the sight, promising himself to not anger 'Emmanuel' in the future.
Lami noticed Vinny leaning against a tree, his eyes closed, like a true edge lord. He was also standing out from the rest.
If Lami had to rank male students he would put Vinny and himself at the top with Lucian following them.
'Maybe there are others in other classes.'
He also had heard that the student council president was the most gorgeous person in the whole school. She was from the Hope family, making her Vinny's direct cousin.
Lami had to see her with his own two eyes to evaluate and confirm, though. But he didn't care about who was beautiful and who wasn't.
He was acknowledging the ones, but they didn't arouse any feelings in him. He had no time for such matters.
His goal was what truly mattered. At this point, Lami wasn't even living for himself.
…
It took a while for Reiko to arrive.
"Five minutes late. What teacher arrives late to their lesson?" Lami muttered to himself. Reiko's stocks dropped in his eyes, albeit a small amount.
"... Hello! You all know me so I'll spare the introductions. As you know this week is only an orientation week so I'll use it to get to know you."
Reiko grinned arrogantly, her arms crossed. She added,
"Get your weapons and strike at the dummies one by one. If you don't have a weapon grab one of the training ones. "
It wasn't like Lami had any useful Spells or Skills.
Reiko's presence was captivating yet distant, a peculiar paradox. No one could take their eyes off her, yet they trembled in fear, cold sweat beading on their skin
Lami tried his best to shake off the unsettling feeling that was washing over him, but it was futile, so he simply endured it.
The students slowly lined up in a hurry after Reiko's commanding voice. Lami took place in the dead last place.
'How to deal with this?'
While Lami was thinking deeply, Reiko's soft yet commanding voice echoed through the area, captivating the students' attention.
"Remember, only one strike. Spells are only allowed if you are forming your weapon with them. No Skills either."
There were a few distinct differences between Spells and Skills. Unlike Skills, Spells could be developed by a person.
However, Skills could be instantly obtained with tier restrictions or the innate ones could be randomly awakened. An Awakened could only learn the same- or lower-tier Skill.
Learning Spells, on the other hand, was similar to learning Manuals. It cost a lot of time, sweat, and sometimes even blood and tears, but they didn't have any tier restrictions.
Lami could theoretically learn a Tier-9 Spell, the reality of the situation being almost impossible.
"Power level will be given as a number after the strike. Intensity; however, will be shown in various colors, ranging from no color to black."
The intensity was an important metric for precision-based weapons. A blunt weapon could have a higher power output compared to some other weapons, yet its precision would be lower thus the intensity.
With the command of Reiko, Mateo walked to the dummy, muttering to himself, an orange hue swirling around his arm.
A double-edged, thin sword appeared in his hand, shortly after.
Swisshhh!
Mateo's sword flashed toward the dummy, leaving an orange trail behind, following from the right shoulder to its torso, leaving a screeching noise behind.
As his attack registered, numbers started to appear on a holographic display.
"105,628!" the crowd erupted.
And that wasn't all. The color of the holographic scar was… purple.
He turned his head to the other students to see their reactions.
"...?"
After the sudden, more shocking revelation no sound was made.
It was madness.
The score was remarkably close to Reiko's first-year record, and his intensity was nearly perfect.
There have been a few cases of a first-year student reaching the purple color, up until now. The darker the color got, the higher the intensity of the contact point was.
"Nice one!" Reiko rejoiced, her eyes shining with expectation.
It was an unprecedented turn of events. A monster had arrived.
"I was at 110,000 points back then, so be proud!" Reiko said.
***
Seeing Mateo's score, Vinny's face darkened.
He was feeling inferior.
'No time for this. It's my turn,' he reminded himself as he popped a blood bag, creating a long, ominous scythe.
With his orange-red hair fluttering from the warm breeze, he looked like a figure jumped out of a painting.
Though he appeared majestic to others, his emotions were in turmoil. His confidence had been eroding since the practical tests.
All the blood and tears he poured. All the despair and suffering he went through.
The first crack to his ego was from Mateo during the test.
And the second one was from Lami.
He had given his all to earn his father's acknowledgment—training day and night, without rest, pushing his body to the limit, even to the verge of damaging his core. None of it mattered.
He had reached great heights for his age group, but it wasn't enough. He was certain that Lami's weapon was a relic from his family, a special one at that.
How was that possible? He had received nothing from his own family, yet a complete stranger possessed a Relic. It was inconceivable.
What he didn't know was the creator of the weapon, and the reason for Lami acquiring it.
Vinny was supposed to be the strongest. He was certain he would.
But it wasn't enough—it never was.
Vinny's gaze burned, his eyes narrowing as he struggled to hold back the frustration gnawing at him.
He was lonely, he had no one to rely on.
His mother and sister were gone, and his father saw him as a curse.
[It should have been you instead.]
The cold, monotonous voice echoed in his mind.
Whoosh!
He released his frustrations through a fierce slash.
Although his back was straight, his mind was hazy, filled with a mess of emotions. He was a cursed child pursuing a hopeless quest—a fool.
Numbers started to rise rapidly, before slowing down and finally stopping.
'102,384 and… red.'
Vinny's face sombered even further. He wanted to give up.
'I can't….'
He had no aspirations, no goals. He didn't expect anything from life as well. He just wanted to become the strongest, his mom did too…
[Vinny, I know you will reach up there.]
His mother's voice echoed vividly in his mind.
He wouldn't give up until he reached the top. He was fated to be the strongest.
All of his own, without the support of his father's guild.
The Hope Guild.
***