"You reckless idiot... mana-brained barbarian... walking catastrophe... battle-crazed nace...!"
Austin stood there patiently, listening as if receiving valuable feedback from a supervisor. When she finally paused to catch her breath, he tilted his head slightly.
"Are you done, or is there a second round?"
The vein on Aesa’s forehead pulsed violently.
"You are banned from sparring for a week."
Austin froze in horror.
"...That’s cruel."
"You are banned from touching weapons."
"That’s tyranny."
"You are banned from provoking other cadets."
Austin looked genuinely shocked.
"How am I supposed to live?"
From one of the beds a weak voice muttered, "Peacefully."
Austin imdiately pointed at the injured cadet without even looking. "Traitor."
The entire infirmary burst into laughter despite the pain many of them were in. Even Elderic, lying on his bed while a healer treated his shoulder, couldn’t stop a small chuckle from escaping.
Aesa pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head slowly.
"Why... why did the academy ever allow you inside these gates..."
Austin casually leaned against the wall, cracking his knuckles with a relaxed grin.
"Well," he said lightly while glancing around the chaotic room he had apparently created, "soone has to keep things interesting."
Across the infirmary, several cadets imdiately pulled their blankets over their heads again as if hiding from whatever disaster Austin might cause next.
Austin leaned casually against the wall, cracking his knuckles with a relaxed grin.
"Well," he said lightly, glancing around at the chaotic room he had apparently created,
"soone has to keep things interesting."
.....
Generally it was ti for Aesa lesson after Austin class, however how can she take class when most of the students were admitted in the infirmary.
Thankfully, this was not even the main class where everyone who enrolled attended together. It was a combat training class, divided into batches, and that alone had already separated most of them.
Aesa rubbed her temple, clearly getting a headache from dealing with all of this. The noise, the chaos, and the unfamiliar faces were starting to get to her. She let out a frustrated breath, her brows furrowing as irritation built up inside her.
"Damn..I can’t handle this shit alone..I need to find Rico..." she muttered under her breath.
She stomped her foot against the ground in frustration and quickly turned to leave, her steps sharp and hurried. But after only a few steps, she suddenly paused.
Her eyes shifted toward the training field.
The scene in front of her caught her attention instantly.
On one side, soone was getting completely beaten down. A person with striking purple hair was rcilessly beating the shit out of soone with white hair. Each hit was heavy, and the sound echoed across the field, making it hard to ignore.
Aesa’s eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at them. For a brief mont, sothing about the scene felt familiar, and it sent a strange sense of déjà vu through her mind. Her body stiffened as if recalling sothing she could not fully grasp.
"Maniac...This place is filled with maniac," she muttered, shaking her head lightly as if trying to brush off the feeling.
She did not stay any longer.
Turning away, she quickly started running, her pace fast and restless, as if she just wanted to get away from everything happening around her.
...
The training ground behind the abandoned watchtower was quiet except for the sound of steel cutting through air and Reed’s heavy breathing. The place was surrounded by broken stone walls and dry grass, far away from the academy’s main field. I chose this place deliberately.
If things went wrong—and they usually did when I trained soone properly—no one would co running to complain.
Reed stood in front of with his sword raised, shoulders tense and sweat dripping down his jaw. His breathing was uneven, but his eyes were still sharp.
Good.
At least he wasn’t broken yet.
"Again," I said.
Reed didn’t reply. He simply rushed forward.
His sword ca down with decent speed. Not impressive, but not terrible either. The blade aid straight for my shoulder.
CLANG.
I blocked it easily.
Before he could recover, I twisted my wrist and kicked his leg.
He stumbled.
My wooden training sword stopped a centiter from his throat.
"Dead."
Reed gritted his teeth and stepped back. He wiped the sweat from his chin and took a deep breath.
"Again," he muttered.
A small smile crept across my face.
Now that was the attitude I liked.
Reed rushed forward again, this ti more cautiously. His sword cut toward my waist, then suddenly shifted direction toward my neck.
A feint.
Not bad.
I leaned back just enough for the blade to pass harmlessly in front of my face. Then I stepped forward and slamd my shoulder into his chest.
Reed flew backward and rolled across the dirt.
Dust rose into the air.
He coughed once, then slowly pushed himself up again.
His arms were shaking now.
His legs looked heavier.
We had been at this for almost two hours.
Training with wasn’t elegant. It wasn’t graceful. It wasn’t the kind of sword practice instructors liked to show off.
It was brutal.
Real fights didn’t care about posture or form.
They cared about survival.
Reed charged again with a low shout.
This ti I didn’t even move.
The mont his sword ca down I stepped inside his guard, grabbed his wrist, twisted it sharply, and swept his legs.
He crashed into the ground with a thud.
Before he could even react, the wooden blade tapped his forehead.
"Dead again."
Reed lay there staring at the sky.
For a few seconds he didn’t move.
Then he let out a tired laugh.
"...You’re insane."
"Correct," I replied.
I offered him a hand and pulled him up. His legs wobbled slightly but he stayed standing.
That was impressive in its own way.
Most people would have collapsed long ago.
I looked at him quietly for a mont while he tried to steady his breathing.
Reed was bruised, exhausted, and covered in dust. But there was sothing different about his eyes now.
They were sharper.
More focused.
Training had done its job.
I rested the wooden sword on my shoulder and tilted my head slightly.
"So Reed tell ?"
He looked up.
"What is the end scene of the first Arc?"
Reed frowned, clearly confused by the sudden question.
"The first... arc?"
I nodded.
"Yeah."
A slow grin spread across my face.
"The part where everything starts going to hell."
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