Chương 98: Chapter 96 - Please, no Casualties.

Why is no one else practicing? Did they not understand the teacher? Oh. The entire classroom was awash in the illumination of her flux, shadows flickering with the rapid spin above her head. She allowed the spheres above to slow, dissipating energy as they shrunk. The professor walked down an aisle between tables "Simply astounding miss, do you have any skills for cantrips?" The professor kept his eyes fixed on her. She shook her head "No skills for cantrips.

And it's Miss Aurendor" I should keep dualcasting quiet for now.

"Yes, very good Miss Aurendor, simply superb. So you're the foreigner from that exam group. That was a simply marvelous display of cantrips, despite only being unattuned flux that was more than enough to kill several people." The professor began to pace down the central aisle, turning this opportunity into a lecture. He paused to allow the students their whispers, as if anticipating the need.

"By center, what noble stock is she from? Aurendor, where is that?"

"She's a foreigner from the far north, didn't you hear?"

"I don't think she's just a noble, she has to be royalty to do that."

"That is not a normal class, she has to be from a royal family!" Her face turned rosy red in response. Gladius' eyes were locked on her, unblinking. Ok this guy is going to become a problem before long. Can't he just fuck off.

"Low profile, Nythera, a low profile." Rowen muttered. The professor coughed, coming out of his contemplation and silencing the class.

"Pay attention students, because Miss Aurendor has invested enough of her stats into both resonance and Flux Control to reach a level where she can control cantrips on the level of a skill, without one at all. This is something to strive for." The rest of the class continued with students attempting their own cantrips, a large portion of the class with a renewed vigour from her display. Several hands blew up into sparks and one hand actually blew up.

Fortunately healing staff had already been prepared, an Assistant Professor Serin. She occasionally caught the glance of both Gladius and the professor, the former with a strange look and the latter with a dazzling glimmer of approval.

"Keep practicing, and remember, if you can't do all the basic cantrips to an adequate degree by the end of the course, I will fail you!" The professor shouted as tired students flooded out of his classroom.

"Nythera, what happened to a low profile? Next is battle magics, keep quiet there?" Rowen hissed to her.

"It's not my fault I'm so perfect" She glared back mockingly. Gladius followed the pair as they made their way to the next class. What is his problem, pissed off I'm too good? Thought you would be the big fish in a small class, huh? Well too bad.

"No, this way" Rowen tugged her through the halls, ensuring twice that she did not go down the wrong passage. From the Arena Courtyard they were able to take steps down to the bottom of one of the four smaller arenas, finding many students already waiting. Including Vargan and Valerius.

"We're in the same class?, what rotten luck" Vargan spat. What, does he have a problem with me now too? Valerius explained "it's just a superstition, if all roommates are in the same battle class by the end of the term each will have lost a limb to pay tribute to the Mondknight. You can ignore it." Vargan snorted "Call it so if you wish, but when your tail is snipped, don't come crying to me." Gladius had moved off to another section of the throng, surrounded by nobles.

Most of the class was of nobility, several with very powerful artifacts brimming with energy, but none more so than the three in the stands above class. Who are those three? Could that little crown mean… it's those Tesset royals I keep hearing about, but why here? To watch Gladius perhaps? That would explain his scowl towards them.

"Hey brother, show them how it's done" one of them waved. The girl hid behind him while another looked down with a mocking smirk. Unfortunately for Gladius, the entire class had noticed.

"The royals! All three!" one said in shock.

"Prince Reginald, the heir himself, here to watch our class? This is a chance of a lifetime." another said. A voice cut through the whispers, silencing them in moments "I am professor Valek" he had leather armor and metal gloves and none of the typical hallmarks of a professor.

"You will call me professor, or Professor Valek. If you fail to follow these or any of my other rules, you will do extra physical work. As this is battle magics, I expect you to use your artifacts to the best of your abilities. This I will make it clear now, you are allowed to use any artifacts you would normally use when out and about." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. He paced before the students.

"I expect only the best from you all, you will work both your skills and your body to the limit to ensure you are fit. Fit for fighting in dungeons, fit for fighting others, and fit for war. This course is not for flux magics and fancy skills, despite the name, let me make it clear. This class is for war. There have been casualties before, and there will be again. Most of class will either be sparing until incapacitated or exercises." His glare cowered the crowd.

He stopped his pacing, allowing his eyes to settle on one victim "Gladius Tesset, to the front please." A path through the crowd quickly formed allowing him passage. He wore a barely concealed look for pride on his face. Is he holding his chin higher? Heh what a kid. He stopped next to Valek.

"Now this is an exemplary student, Gladius has more live dungeon experience than the rest of you combined. His artifacts are very good, but nothing so strong as to be completely reliant on them." Gladius beamed from the praise.

"Which is why he will be the one to show us how spars are done, nothing better than a live example. You all know spar etiquette, of that I have no doubt, but you do not know the proper ferocity I expect from you in this class. We shall show it now. Gladius, please pick a sparring partner." Valek waited expectantly. Gladius was staring straight at her with that familiar weird look. No no no, Rowen is going to kill me. Low profile keep a low profile.

She tired to shuffle further behind another classmate, her lower height already doing a good job at shrouding her location.

"I think Miss Aurendor would be suitable for a spar." Gladius answered. Oh, fuck you.

"Very well, Miss Aurendor please come to the front of class. Now." Valek said. Nobles snickered around her as she made her way forward.

"It's the crippled one." one whispered. Gladius has ruined the lunch I have yet to have, for that he shall pay. This bastard is going to learn to stay out of my way and stop staring at me by the time this class is over. Nythera kept her face clear of emotion, nothing but a small smile. He won't see it coming when I pummel him into the ground in the first three seconds. Valek nodded "Good, now we can begin." Nythera and Gladius arranged themselves at the ends of an outlined courtyard within the arena.

While Gladius bowed with practiced grace, her bow earned more snickers from the audience, now up in the stands and well away from danger. Only Professor Valek and his assistant remained in the arena with them. And those damn royals are still here. While I'd rather keep a low profile, its time to get Gladius off my ass, permanently.

"Remember, use your full force and ferocity. Hold back and I shall punish you. I or one of the other assistant teachers will try to stop anyone from dying. We have a medical squad on standby. Assistant Serin, please get ready." Ok well if I don't need to worry about death, might as well show them what cannon arm can do. Gladius had a confident glimmer in his eye and the flux between them twitched as each prepared their minds. Valek held up his hand.

"READY." Nythera had her Authority primed. I have no idea if this is going to work. His arm flashed down.

"BEGIN. Gladius pulled out the blade from its sheath, the huge hilt and handle came with an equally massive blade, far in excess of what the sheath should be able to hold. A spatial sheath then? I heard they do that in some of the Crevasse countries. Wind flux swarmed Gladius, concentrating on his blade as he raised it up. Words rolled from his mouth as a chant brought thrumming energy under his control. That's a lot of flux, especially for a strata one, but…. Where is the attack? What's he playing at?

Why hasn't he done anything yet? Nythera held her arm up. Cannon-arm had a shell of flux loaded within moments. FIRE. Gladius' eyes opened in shock as concentrated flux burst from her arm with force. He abandoned his attack skill and brought his blade, nearly as wide as a shield, down to block, barely making it in time. The shell hit the shield and bounced off up into the arena, exploding through a dozen rows of stone seats. Gladius did not fare well, knocking back several feet.

Not done yet, lets hammer it home with cannonfire. Gladius will stop fucking with me after this.

"FIRE" She shouted this time, her arm growing hot as another shell loaded and launched in quick succession. His blade was still in the right position to block, but that did not negate the force of the blow. This time the shell exploded on the blade and his poor footing failed to absorb the impact. Gladius flew into the arena wall and slumped against it. Nythera already had another shot charged, the heat in her left arm well within manageable levels.

"FIRE" she yelled, the shell rocketed out straight for Gladius' crumpled form. An ivory shield sprung up around Gladius. Ah the duel is over then? Unfortunately the shell did not care for the shield, and it shattered within a moment. A second shield formed beneath it, denser, stronger, and this one did deflect the shell off up into the increasingly damaged arena stands. Cracks lanced through it before it shattered into dust. Her arm ran hot, but another shell was forming anyway.

I can probably do two, maybe three more before I need to cool down.

"HALT HALT Miss Aurendor the duel is over!" Valek rushed forward with the assistant professor. Oh, what, that's it? She lowered her arm, allowing the heat and power to dissipate. A squad of medical staff rushed over to Gladius.

"It's over? But he never did anything…" she murmured.

"Never did anything" Valek snorted her own words back "you never gave him a moment, and here I thought he was accustomed to the ferocity of war, who knew we had an expert in our midst." Well, I guess dealing with all those bastards back on Myrraval had some value after all. Valek sighed and rubbed his head.

"You won't be able to practice with any students again. Even some upperclassmen would be hard pressed to withstand your assault. Don't think I didn't notice you charging another shell. Even Serin's shields struggled to stop a single one of your attacks, if that had gone through, Gladius would have died…"

"So, do I still need to come to class or can I just pass now?" Nythera asked with an innocent smile.

"No, clever girl, you cannot skip, but your skill in this domain… is far beyond what the other students can deal with. You will be exempt from a practical spar exam." Valek looked more amused than offended by her request. Damn, five classes every day is such a pain. Oh well, it was worth a shot. Then the whispers from the stands reached her.

"Who is that girl, really, and what are those magics?"