Chương 10: The Final Sparring Session (1)

"If your body quits, your mana follows. Train the body—and the world gets quiet." – Baloza Bokiri, Siurim of Korsivir The academy training ground lay behind the red building, open to the late afternoon light. Long shadows stretched across the dirt, broken here and there by stubborn patches of grass. A chilly autumn wind moved over the ground, tugging at sleeves and hair, and Aloric felt a brief shiver run through him. For a moment, he wished they were still inside. Then he pushed the thought away. No.

Some cold air wasn't going to make him waver. Not today!

Only Classroom One had been brought out to the training ground for this last sparring session. Chalk circles had already been drawn on the packed dirt, each one wide enough for two students to fight inside at a time. The rules for victory were simple: force your opponent outside the ring without stepping out yourself. The students were gathered on one side of a large sparring circle, while the teacher stood on the other side, his scroll tucked under one arm.

"Standard rules," he called out.

"No mana techniques. No weapons. No fighting after the match is called. Begin!" Aloric realized that Teacher Daisor's warning about mana techniques was probably unnecessary. None of them had been taught any real mana techniques in the academy anyway. Still, that didn't mean mana was completely useless in a fight even at their current levels.

Even the flash of a crude ball made from pure mana could release enough light to blind an opponent for a heartbeat, and everyone in the class could manage that much to varying degrees. In a close fight, even that single second could be enough to change the outcome. Two clanless students stepped into the ring and went at each other at once, both trying more to push than strike or chop. One rushed forward with his shoulder lowered, the other caught him by the arm and tried to twist him sideways.

Their boots scraped across the dirt as they struggled near the edge of the chalk circle. For a few seconds, neither managed to gain much ground. Then one of them lost his footing. His opponent shoved hard at the opening, and the boy stumbled backward, one heel landing outside the chalk line. Teacher Daisor announced the winner, marking something in his scroll before looking up again.

"Next match. Yibleen Delacie and Sulia Rumiosi. Step into the ring." Yibleen let out a quiet breath before walking forward. She kept her chin up, though Aloric could see the way her hands flexed once at her sides. She came from a civilian background and had never been one of the better fighters in class, but she didn't have the look of someone who planned to surrender just because the match would be difficult. Sulia Rumiosi entered the circle from the opposite side with a smirk.

"Well, this should be quick," Sulia said, rolling her shoulders as if she were already bored.

"Try not to fall too badly, Delacie. I don't want the teacher blaming me if you start crying." Yibleen's mouth tightened.

"Keep blabbing, Rumiosi, and you'll be out of breath before the fight even starts." A few students snickered. Sulia's grin sharpened. Teacher Daisor raised a hand.

"Standard rules. And no ash beetles in the fight," he said while looking at Sulia, before he brought down his hand sharply.

"Begin!" Sulia moved first. She came in fast, reaching for Yibleen's shoulder with one hand while trying to hook her leg with the other. Yibleen stepped back just in time, her heel scraping near the chalk before she shifted sideways. Sulia's hand caught only the edge of her sleeve. Yibleen slapped the grip away and pushed at Sulia's chest with both hands. It was not enough to move her far, but it forced Sulia to take one step back. The Rumiosi girl's expression changed.

"Oh?" Sulia said.

"So you do know how to fight a little." Yibleen didn't answer. She rushed in again before Sulia could settle, trying to catch her off balance. This time she got both hands on Sulia's arm and twisted, attempting to drag her toward the ring's edge. For one brief moment, it looked like she might manage it. Sulia's foot slid through the dirt, leaving a sharp mark behind. Then Sulia planted her other foot and yanked her arm free. The movement pulled Yibleen forward.

Before she could recover, Sulia bent low and stepped in close, her shoulder striking into Yibleen's stomach with enough force to make her gasp. Yibleen staggered but refused to fall, grabbing Sulia's sleeve and trying to pull her down with her. Sulia snarled and shoved again. Harder. The two girls struggled for a moment, Yibleen still not letting go of Sulia's sleeve. Then Yibleen bent her knees, trying to lower her center of mass and pull both of them to the ground, but Sulia was stronger and better trained.

She broke Yibleen's grip with another sharp jerk, caught her by both arms, and drove forward. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Yibleen stumbled back once. Then again. Her heel crossed the chalk line, and a heartbeat later Sulia pushed her fully out of the ring and gave another unnecessary shove with a smirk. Yibleen fell onto her back with a pained gasp, dust rising around her clothes and hair. Aloric winced. That must have hurt.

Getting dropped on your back always did. He knew that very well from the mock fights he had with his sister yesterday—and lost. Every single time. Teacher Daisor scribbled something in his scroll.

"Winner, Sulia Rumiosi." Sulia stepped out of the circle with a satisfied grin and gave a high five to Sikkar, who had been waiting nearby outside the sparring ring.

"Come on, Teacher!" Yibleen protested as she got up from the ground, dusting off her clothes with quick, irritated slaps. Her long blonde hair had gotten dirty as well, and she looked at it with visible annoyance before pointing at Sulia.

"That wasn't a fair match! She should have been paired with the fatty, or maybe even Velron! How can any girl defeat that insect-hugging beast?"

"Hey!" Hovaru objected, even as he took another bite from a cookie.

"I'm not fat! You can't—""What did you say, bitch?" Sulia spoke loudly over him, glaring at Yibleen.

"I'm a beast? Do you want another thrashing right now?" Yibleen smirked.

"See? I was right, wasn't I?"

"Calm down, you two," Teacher Daisor said, stepping between them before Sulia could move forward.

"The winner of this fight is Sulia Rumiosi. And I said no fights outside the ring, or both of you get zero marks!" Sulia glared at Yibleen for another moment before giving a loud huff and moving to stand beside her brother. One of her pet ash beetles landed on her finger from somewhere. Aloric hadn't even noticed the bug hovering before this. Yibleen kept dusting off her clothes and arms, her mouth pressed into a thin line as she tried to shake dirt from her hair.

Most of the boys in class were glancing at her from the corners of their eyes, although they were at least smart enough not to make it too obvious. Aloric averted his eyes before she could notice him doing the same. Teacher Daisor looked down at the scroll and moved one finger along the list.

"Alright. Next match is Velron Rudox against Sikkar Rumiosi. Step into the ring." Velron immediately jogged toward the chalk circle, as if he had been waiting for his turn since the moment they came outside. He did not look at Sikkar. He did not even wait to hear who his opponent was. The moment his name was called, he simply moved, like the only important thing was that he would finally get to fight. And win. Again. He was tall and lanky, with short black hair and bangs that shifted slightly in the wind.

His glare was fixed somewhere past the ring, as if the whole world had annoyed him simply by existing. He wasn't exactly violent, but he always looked like he was waiting for someone to make a mistake so he could prove they should not have. He wasn't the class champion in physical tests for nothing. Aloric watched him enter the ring and felt the familiar unease that came whenever the tall Rudox was about to spar.

Velron didn't just beat his opponents; he made them look like they had wandered into the wrong fight, often leaving them stumbling out of the ring red-faced and humiliated. Thankfully, this time he was fighting Sikkar, so Aloric didn't mind if Velron did the same thing again. In fact, he would prefer that.

"Perfect!" Sikkar smirked at Velron while running a hand over his slicked-back blond hair.

"Today is the day you finally learn your place. Which is right under my boots!" He glanced down at his dog.

"Isn't it, boy?" Karro barked in response. Sikkar grinned, and both he and the dog started jogging toward the ring. Teacher Daisor raised his hand, stopping them.

"It will be just you today, Sikkar. Your dog isn't allowed in this fight. I already explained the rules to everyone earlier."

"What?" Sikkar looked like he had been betrayed by the entire academy.

"But Karro and I always fight together! Always!"

"Today's fights are a simulation of you getting caught against an enemy alone," Teacher Daisor replied, "or if you had been separated from your team, with all your weapons broken or lost. You cannot fight together this time."

"But we would find each other immediately!" Sikkar protested, looking down at Karro.

"Both of us can smell each other from a great distance." Teacher Daisor shook his head.

"That is not the point. Now enter the ring so we can start." Sikkar grumbled something about unfair treatment, then looked at his dog.

"Stay here, boy." Karro whined once, but obeyed. Sikkar walked into the ring and hesitated for a moment, glancing back at his dog as if he had left half his confidence behind with him. Aloric had seen the blond boy fight plenty of times before. When Sikkar fought together with Karro, he used the Rumiosi clan's unique paired stance, moving with his dog as if they were two parts of the same attack, often overwhelming the opponent by the sheer number of attacks.

But the unexpected order to fight alone seemed to have stumped him. Sikkar's feet shifted once, then again, before he finally settled into the standard academy hand-to-hand stance, with one fist raised slightly higher than the other. Across from him, Velron stood with his arms crossed and his gaze lifted toward the pale autumn sky, completely ignoring his opponent. Probably deliberately. Sikkar glared at him.

"You'll regret ignoring me, Rudox!"

"Remember," Teacher Daisor warned, "no mana techniques and no weapons, or neither of you will get any marks today." He glanced at both the boys. Sikkar gave a sharp nod. Velron did not react for a moment, then gave the smallest nod Aloric had ever seen. Teacher Daisor brought his arm down sharply.

"Begin!" Sikkar moved at once. He ran straight toward Velron, fist cocked back, dirt kicking up behind his boots. Velron still did not look at him. For a moment, Aloric almost wondered if he was going to let himself get hit just to be insulting. Then Sikkar's fist came in. Velron shifted. It was not a large movement. He simply turned his body to the side, fluid and smooth, and Sikkar's punch cut through empty air where Velron's chest had been a heartbeat earlier.

Sikkar stumbled half a step past him, then growled, sounding far too much like his dog. Instead of retreating, he spun and launched a back kick toward Velron's head.

"Got you now, bastard!" Sikkar yelled, already sounding sure of himself. Velron still hadn't fully turned to face him. He glanced back out of the corner of his eye, then bent low. Sikkar's leg swept over Velron's head, close enough to stir his hair. But before Sikkar could pull back, Velron struck. His hand chopped sharply into Sikkar's standing leg. With one leg still in the air and the other knocked off balance, Sikkar tried to recover, but his momentum carried him forward.

He stumbled once, failed to catch himself, and hit the ground face-first. The dirt swallowed his proud slicked-back hair.

"Ow..." several students muttered at the same time. A moment later, someone from the crowd started chanting, "Finish him! Finish him!" A few others joined in, laughing. However, Velron wasn't done yet. He merely took a few steps back and folded his arms. A small smirk appeared on his face, daring Sikkar to get up and try the same thing again.