The bus had arrived at its final destination, the Martial Academy. The area resembled a military base full of hangars, dorms, practice grounds, and the academy itself. Unlike the multi-towered, ornate Trinity Academy, it appeared unremarkable.
The Martial Academy was straightforward, emphasizing practice over theory. Gartium, a formidable monster-sourced material, formed several cube and dome-shaped facilities. Those were usually related to fighting and training purposes.
For those who sought exercises and knowledge during their free time instead of battle practice, the library and gym accompanied those sturdy structures with a modern appearance and efficient layouts.
When they exited through the bus door, two people were waiting for their arrival at the academy's gate. A slight girl leaning against a greatsword embedded in the ground, and a lady on the side.
Short and slim, the female wore a black school uniform with yellow outlines that signaled she was a second-year student. On top of it, she was draped by a same themed capelet coat, which covered the upper part of her body without restricting her arms.
Before Shay could further inspect, a dressed woman wearing glasses spoke. "Welcome to The Martial School. This is Catherine, a second-year student you are going to fight before proceeding through the school grounds."
While she was introducing everyone with combat guidelines on the campus, Catherine yawned, waiting with eyes half closed for her explanation to end.
Shay noticed her boredom while listening to the teacher. Despite straightforward rules, some still ignored them.
A slack expression, the mouth agape, he was bored to death. 'I thought these were common sense,'
Sigh.
The other students focused on the details while he was gazing off at nothing. The classes at highschool, which he had to take part in, even without Bloodline Mastery, proved equally tedious.
His sight clashed with Catherine's, but he looked away right after, not wanting to gain any attraction.
Explaining the rules took another 15 minutes, as she had talked about other fields.
'Why didn't we start with the fight and then explanation?'
He couldn't sort his mind, failing the trial of patience. The girl served as an observer, to look for slackers whose attention lacked, which described Shay's situation.
"So, Catherine, who did you find 'interesting'?"
"That black long-haired and quite handsome guy," she was pointing at Shay, showing a fake smile.
'Fuck, I should have at least pretended.'
"Now, let's move to the fighting ground and you are going to be shown how a proper battle 'should' be presented."
She emphasized a few words, squinting her eyes to intimidate him. When she checked Shay over, his legs shook, as they continued toward a dome shaped building.
When they stepped inside, a sight of a circular arena appeared before them. Seats surrounded the area; below, two tunnels accessed a preparation room. This place was vast, and the floor was made of dirt to replicate the wilderness ground.
"What's your full name?" the teacher asked.
"Shay."
"and?"
He rolled his eyes, annoyance corroding his calm demeanor. "My name is Shay, nothing more. I don't have a surname."
She tilted her head, wondering if he was serious, then sighed and said. "Sure, go through the passage and pick a weapon of your liking."
Upon entering the room inside one of the tunnels, two benches stood by the walls, and a corner rack was on the opposite side, holding multiple types of weapons.
Shay didn't hesitate and opted for a regular sword, returning with shoulders back and posture straight. What he picked up from the fight explanation before. It would be a battle without using Bloodline Masteries, but she could still amplify her force with inner energy. Yes, even other users who didn't have a Bloodline Mastery specializing in strength could boost their physique. Actually, boosting the body with internal energy and using the strength Bloodline Mastery would multiply the final power output, which Hilton couldn't learn. Only academies, or talented families, taught this technique.
Therefore, he reached the middle of the fighting ground, facing Catherine.
[Mission: Defeat the opponent. Reward: Speed Boost, Category: Speed]
His eyes widened, clenching his sword, while confidence drooled from his expression as he thought. 'I have to get this. It should work with Strength Boost, right?'
Catherine stood there in place, shaking her head while pressing her lips together.
"Ready up your stance… Fight!"
Even if she shouted to begin the match, the duel was at a stop itself. They were observing each other's fighting pose, Catherine noticing he held his sword with his left hand, smirking at the odd pose.
With her confidence, she dashed straight, leaving a trail of dust. The speed being mediocre, Shay tried to dodge to the side. At that moment, her greatsword appeared beside him, blocking it in a split of a second. He trailed three meters long foot marks behind him, his hands shaking like crazy from the impact.
'How did she just swing the huge and heavy sword with such haste?' he said, cold sweat drenching his clothes.
"I have to give it to you, newbie. You're the first newcomer to block my attack without rolling on the ground!"
Fortunately, his Strength Boost helped him manage this devious strike. However, part of his blade chipped away, weakening its durability by a huge margin.
'How am I supposed to defeat that…'
"Stop dazing during battle."
She appeared before him, turned her greatsword to the flat side and swung her arm. Shay then smirked, looking at her green eyes. He ducked down, his blade diving, dodging the enormous slap. After that, he used her inertia to his advantage, swinging with his dived sword to her chin.
But, as he was thinking he won, she let her greatsword fly away, spinning around in the swing and threw a high kick towards his face. Shay sensed a painful flashback to his fight with Cassidy.
"Do all the girls like kicks?" He asked, while letting his weapon arc over her leg as he crouched for the second time. He then put his hands on the ground, stabilizing for a low blow through the legs. Catherine gasped and tumbled to the ground. He wasn't done with this surprise, catching the falling sword and thrusting it close to her throat.
"End of the fight!" The teacher's high-pitched voice ended the match.
[Quest completed. Reward granted.]
[Speed Boost - Increases swiftness by two-fold.]
Shay sensed the lightness of his movements, which confused his brain. Managing strength wasn't that hard, but now that he could move at twice the velocity, he staggered while helping the second-year to get up, falling onto her upper body.
He sensed something soft touching his thorax, and, after; he felt flames across his cheek while flying.
"Pervert!"
She kicked herself up, walking away, clenching her fists.
Bang!
He hit the circular wall under the concrete tribune, shaking the surrounding.
'She wasn't using her full strength? Fuck… that…' as he thought about that, pain pierced his back, falling down deep into the void.
The stunned silence was deafening, encompassing everyone present. It clearly was an accident that he landed on her melons, so sending him to his grave seemed excessive. He stayed inside the wall for a moment, then fell down, leaving a mold of his body in the concrete.
Thud.
******
A few hours later, a weak moonshine passed through a window, enlightening Shay's eyes through his eyelids. It sufficed to awaken him.
"Did I pass out?" he asked, his sight still blurry, trying to sharpen it by blinking.
As his perception cleared, he looked around to guess where he was. It didn't seem like a specific facility; rather, he was in a dorm room which was small. The moonlight helped him to find a light switch.
Click.
Yet again, he experienced hazy vision for a split second. A sticky note was hanging on the front door. He went to grab it, but reading it proved to be a challenge. The writing was unreadable. It took him about five minutes to understand its contents; it said, 'Tomorrow, visit my office before classes,' and his signature, 'Blarken.'
'I'll have to ask around for where he resides, I guess.'
Given that this seemed like his dorm room, filled with necessities such as a kitchen unit, freezer, bed, and desk. A door to the side accessed the bathroom. He looked at his system.
'Since I have the time, I can check the compatibility.'
[Skill Merger]
He put the Strength Boost and Speed Boost to the slots.
[Compatible - Name preview: Agile Might, Class: Power]
'Sounds kinda simple. Will I benefit from combining those?'
The thought vanished. As his improvements were just beginning, he did a small experiment.
[New Skill: Agile Might - Increases strength and speed by 4x]
"What the fuck?" His jaw dropped, nearly dislocating, and his heart pounded.
This was an immense improvement that he would need to get used to. The quickness of his actions and the explosiveness he now possessed had to be under control, otherwise suspicion would fall onto his head.
After leaving the real world to think about what he should do, the decision fell into overnight practice. Even if it meant he would be tired the next day.
"I guess it's time to learn how to manage my skills."