"Is today the day of our assessnt?" Sun-Jung asked, sitting next to instead of in his usual spot. Stella was on the next bench with Ji-ho while Alex Spencer sat further away with a student whose na I didn't know.
"I'm not sure if there was supposed to be any assessnt today. What's it about?" I asked.
"It's not exactly an assessnt or test," Sun-Jung explained. "Think of it more as a spar between cadets."
He then added, "Didn't you check the notice board yesterday?"
"No, I was busy with so personal things," I replied.
"Personal things!" Sun-Jung whispered, but I still heard him. He often interrogated like this, keeping track of my activities.
"Good morning, everyone," Mun-Hee, our horoom teacher, greeted us as she entered the classroom and, as usual, banged the teacher's desk with the attendance register.
"Let's start by taking attendance," she announced, calling out each student's na and waiting for a response of "yes" to mark their presence.
"Today, you will each choose a sparring partner to help identify areas of improvent in your combat abilities," Mun-Hee explained. "This process will continue until next week."
"Now, let's head to the training ground," she said, eliciting a loud cheer from the students.
"Whoah!"
"Don't get too excited," Mun-Hee dampened their spirits. "You still have theory classes every day. The training session will only last four hours." With that, she led the group through a series of corridor passages to the training ground.
The training room was a spacious, well-equipped space with a light the. It was equipped with a weapons and equipnt departnt, rubber floor tiles to absorb impacts and protect the floor, sound-absorbing pads on the walls, and various safety asures, which were uncommon in the 1990s.
"Change into more comfortable clothing suitable for combat," she instructed, pointing to the large changing room attached to the training grounds. "All sizes are available in there"
As I entered the n's section of the changing room, I picked out a training outfit that fit well. While I changed, removing my academy uniform, I noticed Sun-Jung observing from a close distance.
"Is that a tattoo? Are you affiliated with the mafia or sothing?" he asked, pointing at the four-headed dragon tattoo on my back.
"Oh, absolutely! I have my own little gang now. You caught ," replied with an exaggerated and sarcastic tone.
"Ha, Dumbass!", shouted a kid in the room, causing everyone to burst out in laughter at Sun-Jung's expense.
"I was just asking, it looked cool", he said in frustration and turned around after changing.
The students were now dressed in black tracksuits and white half-palm gloves. Alex Spencer approached and said, "Ready for a spar?".
I could sense a hint of scepticism in his tone as he struggled to reconcile my higher rank with his own self-assessnt of his abilities. But, I confidently replied, "Whenever you are".
With two top-ranking students set to face off, the other cadets in the room beca interested in our match. I headed towards the empty arena in the training ground while making my way there, I saw many other cadets sitting on the sidelines, chatting amongst themselves. A majority of them were female students, eagerly waiting for the start of the match.
The Arena was a type of boxing ring, with qi elents painted on the floor. Upon entering the arena a transparent barrier materialised around it as the yin and yang sign on the floor glowed a little.
"Ready to begin?", Mun-Hee's voice echoed throughout the arena. "Get your weapons," she says, and we nod as we retrieve our designated weapons from the storage ring. "Take your stance," she continues, as he grips two katanas, one in each hand, with the blades facing opposite directions.
His stance is wide, with one foot slightly ahead of the other for stability and balance, and his knees are slightly bent to lower his centre of gravity. He holds his arms out in front of him, ready to strike, with a straight back and a focused gaze on his opponent. This stance allows for quick changes in position for defence or attack.
I, on the other hand, retrieve a long tal pole from the storage ring and secure it behind my back with both hands, spinning it at a rapid rate. The movent is swift and creates a powerful gust of air pressure in the arena, aid to intimidate my opponent. With a flick of my wrist, I can adjust the position of my weapon for both defence and attack.
"Start!"
The voice bood through the speakers of the arena, signalling the beginning of the match. In an instant, he moved towards with lightning-fast speed. His feet created a gust of wind as he dashed towards and leapt into the air with both katanas raised and ready to strike. To the average person, this might have seed like a foolish move, but he was in complete control.
However, even if I had attempted to block his swords with my tal pole, the sheer force of the air generated by the movent could have still inflicted damage. Fortunately, I was not an average opponent.
I opted for a counterattack instead of blocking. I swung my pole from side to side, shifting my weight forward to maintain a sturdy centre of gravity. Our weapons collided, producing a bright spark and imnse pressure, enough to cause cracks in the barrier of the arena. Despite relying solely on raw physical strength, not a hint of aura was used.
The force of the impact sent him flying backwards, but he managed to land firmly on his feet.
"Ready for level 2?" I inquired, referring to increasing the intensity of the next attack.
"That's the plan," he replied as dark black flas ignited on the edges of his black and gold katanas.
This ti, he was even quicker as he harnessed his aura to amplify his strength, senses, and agility. He pushed off with his legs, creating a massive force, and lunged towards , causing the ground beneath him to crumble.
Alex, with his fiery katanas, charged at once again. Despite his increase in strength, agility, and aura, he still had one vulnerability. As he approached , I noticed that his axillary region was exposed. Instead of trying so fancy move or relying on my aura, I simply stepped forward and lowered my body, making him lose focus.
In a swift movent, I turned 360 degrees and used the end of my pole to strike the exposed area under his arm.
The impact was powerful enough to cause the bones in his side ribs and shoulder to shatter. I didn't need to use any extra strength or aura to inflict such damage. I simply used his own velocity against him. The force of the strike sent him flying, crashing through the barrier of the arena and landing outside unconscious.
"Ti's up, Kael, you're the victor," Mun-Hee declared as she headed over to Alex to assess his injuries and summoned dical assistance to take him to the infirmary.
I removed my weapon from my storage ring and left the arena, noticing the awe and fear in the eyes of the other cadets. I had easily defeated a top-ranked opponent who used aura against .
"That was incredible," Stella praised as she, along with Ji-Ho and Sun-Jung, approached . They nodded in agreent.
"Thanks for the complint, but why aren't you three training?" I asked.
"We usually train together in the evenings," Ji-Ho explained. "We wanted to invite you, but you weren't in your dorm, so we had so free ti during training."
"I'm not really into training, so I'll have to pass," I replied.
"So, what's the plan now?" asked Stella. "We were thinking of going to the library before recess starts in three hours and then we have theory class."
"You guys want to go to the library to finish your howork?" I asked.
"Yes," answered Stella.
"That's correct," said Sun-Jung.
"Exactly," added Ji-Ho.
"Well, I haven't done my howork either," I said. With that, we changed back into our academy uniforms and headed towards the library.
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