Lorelai scanned her students, "Anyone of you want to step forward and challenge him?"
Arakh raised his brows. He looked at her lips curling up a smirk on her face. A sense of unease enveloped him. This is clearly on purpose, what is she planning.
"I will..." an arrogant tone followed by an arm raised upward.
Arakh and the others looked over as the student stepped forward, revealing a boy not older than himself with his hands buried inside his pockets. The boy had blonde hair and a slender body, and he looked twisted and descending as he spared a glance at the village boy.
"Pakha," one of the students murmured.
"Oof, this will be entertaining, for us," another one smirked, as if waiting for Arakh's downfall.
"I will set you straight, village boy," Pakha leaned back his head as he looked down on him. His hands are still inside his pockets
Arakh furrowed his brows, he glanced over at Lorelai who paid no heed to the taunting of the challenger. Oh, so you are going to let this slide? Cause you know I won't.
"The one bending here would be you," Arakh smirked as he spread his arms and jerked his shoulders.
"OOOO" the chorus of the remaining students waved.
"Insane, Pakha is the son of a rich man in Elabra, he is asking for a traumatic beating," one student shook his head.
"Kh!" Pakha's brows furrowed, and his glabella emerged folded. His eyes widened in disbelief, challenging their sockets. He pulled his hands out of his pockets before knuckling it right in front of him. "You will regret that."
"You will soon know the meaning of the word you just uttered," Arakh crossed his arms.
"Y-You!" Pakha's teeth trembled from the tightened jaw. His fingers buried into his palms. His eyes wouldn't blink even if dust rested on them. The humiliation in the act of words left him in a fury, and with one step forward he lunged.
"Enough!" Lorelai swooped in.
Pakha's eyes widened as a hand gripped his shoulder, stopping his momentum. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Lorelai. His soul immediately shrank as he moved away in haste.
"This battle has not yet begun," Lorelai put her hand on her hip, "You both are not going to fight empty-handed unless you choose to."
Arakh raised his brows before his gaze followed the direction of Lorelai's finger. "Hm?" There he saw a long board with various weapons attached to it. Although the weapon was made out of wood, it was a masterpiece on its own. From close range like a dagger to long range like a bow, they were available.
Arakh approached the board with his eyes gleaming. The various weapons presented before him seemed so massive, but that was not what made his eyes widen. The codex mentioned weapon enhancements as well, but I never got the chance to.. his finger traced the weapons.
His gaze lingered on the glaive. Unlike the swords and daggers, it seemed almost... alive. Its long, curved blade spoke of both elegance and raw power, a perfect blend of finesse and ferocity. He couldn't explain why, but his hand moved to it instinctively, as if it had been waiting for him
"Hmph! Is this the first time you saw a weapon?" Pakha said as he grabbed a sword out of the board.
Arakh looked over and saw the wooden sword was pointed at him.
"This is going to be an easy win," Pakha smirked before he resumed his position.
"For me," Arakh smirked at his face before pulling the weapon out of the board.
A glaive? Interesting choice, Lorelai smiled as she saw him confidently resume his position.
"A glaive versus a sword, who will emerge victorious?" asked one of the students.
"It's obviously not about the weapon type, Pakha is definitely going to win, I've heard he has mastered his first skill," another student snorted. "This might as well be just a display of skill for Pakha."
Pakha put his blade over his shoulder, "Just because your blade is bigger, doesn't mean that it's better, it's a heavy weapon and it will reward you with humiliation, haha."
"Is that so," said Arakh as he flipped the glaive over to his hand and back and forth, even balancing it with his finger to the petrified onlookers.
Hmm? That's..., Lorelai could hardly blink as he saw Arakh playing tricks with it. Is it natural talent? No, not even with natural talent that he should be able to wield it that easily at his age.., Lorelai's eyes sharpened, Is this the effect of that codex?
With one last flip, Arakh pointed his glaive at his opponent with an accessory of a smirk on his face. "What? I don't think you know the meaning of 'heavy'."
Pakha's fingers curled tighter around the wooden sword, his knuckles turning white. He forced a grin, but his eyes betrayed a flicker of unease. "You'll regret underestimating me," he growled, stepping forward like a predator stalking prey.
Lorelai looked at Pakha before Arakh, "Are you two ready?"
Meanwhile, inside the principal's office,
"Hmm?" Indus stood up and left his desk. He stroked his white beard as he gazed through the window to the training ground where they gathered. "Hmm, he chose a really heavy weapon there."
Lorelai took a deep breath before shouting, "FIGHT!"
Arakh and Pakha remained still for a split second, their gazes locked. The wooden glaive in Arakh's hand felt heavier than before, yet his grip did not falter. Pakha smirked, his sword angled slightly upward, daring Arakh to make the first move. Then, as if on cue, they both lunged.
"Die!" Pakha run forward wielding his sword in a piercing motion. However, Arakh parried it easily, but using the momentum Pakha spun and went for a slash. Arakh raised his brows as he took a step back, the wooden blade barely scratched his hair.
"Tch!" I missed! Pakha used his heel in the middle of the spin to kick Arakh away several steps.
"Go Pakha! Beat him!" said one student.
"Pakha use your resonance!" another student cheered.
"Pakha show that skill!" another student said.
The students already cheering Pakha for the fight. The morale was greatly in his favor.
A resonance skill? Arakh frowned. He had not learned any skill yet, and by the looks of it, Lorelai was not about to end the match soon. He gripped his weapon tightly, he was greatly in a disadvantageous moment.
"Heh," Pakha smirked as his eyes squinted in delight. Wisp of earthly tone element seemed to gather and coat his sword.
"Wait," Arakh showed his palm to his opponent. "I haven't learned a resonance skill yet, it wouldn't be fair, don't tell me that you are willing to win an unfair fight? Oh, how it will haunt you that you would need to use a resonance skill to win a fight against a village boy?"
That way, win or lose, I would still win. But if he chose not to use his resonance skill, I'd win... hmm... maybe don't jinx it.
Lorelai frowned but said nothing, the students, however, were in stunned silence.
Pakha found logic in his words as he raised his brows. The coating around his sword slowly disappeared, Beating him not on an equal ground would make me look like a loser!
"Oh?" Indus stroked his white beard once more. "That Pakha boy canceled his resonance skill? I wonder what Arakh said to make him do that? Interesting indeed."
"Come," Arakh taunted with his hand.
"Don't get too cocky!" Pakha lunged forward.
It's all too familiar. Arakh said as he saw Pakha running the train on him. Time seemed to slow down, as he wielded his glaive and swung it downward. Dust sprung up forming a wall that blocked Pakha's vision.
THAT MOVE?! Lorelai had her eyes widened as she finally saw the move that beat her from a different point of view, and realized how fatal of a mistake it was. However...
Pakha managed to stop and not blindly enter the curtain of dust, though his eyes still widened in surprise.
I can hear you, the feet that hurriedly buried to the ground. Arakh squeezed his knee down as he pulled the glaive. And with that, I know where you are, and more importantly where to STRIKE! he dived his glaive forward, piercing the wall of dust.
"Hm?! Gah!" Pakha could see the glaive but it was too late. His heart suffered a blow, sending his entire body paraboled in the sky for the gaping students to see before bouncing off the ground.
Arakh chased in haste as he found his opponent was down like a tiger finding its helpless food. Just as Arakh prepared to bring the glaive down, a sudden gust of wind swept through, throwing him off balance. Lorelai stood between them, her hand outstretched. "That's enough," she said, her voice calm but commanding. Arakh staggered back, the force of her presence alone disarming him as much as her words.
Pakha rolled over on all four, "Guha!" blood sprayed as he coughed on the ground. He struggled to get up, but Lorelai grabbed his shoulder down. "Get the medics."
"R-Right," one of the students immediately run.
As Arakh returned the glaive to the board, he felt their eyes on him—wide, unblinking, and cautious. Whispers replaced cheers, and every glance was laced with a mix of awe and unease. He sighed inwardly, his victory a bittersweet reminder that power often came at the cost of connection. If that is not enough of a first impression, I don't know what is.
"Congratulations, Arakh. You won," said Lorelai before the medics arrived and tended to Pakha's wounds.
"Yeah..." Arakh gave a wry smile, But I just made it difficult to make friends.