As soon as Nayro signaled the beginning of the spar, Julia shot toward Zeke like a cannonball. Her impressive agility notwithstanding, she couldn’t reach him in time as Zeke used ‘Life Motus’ to teleport to her side and sweep horizontally with his left leg.
He was certain it was going to hit, but Julia’s body blurred and spun in a strange way, allowing her to counter-attack with a swift punch.
His leg and her fist clashed against each other, causing both to stagger, but it was clear he was weaker. He felt pain rushing through his leg, as if he hit something hard and unbreakable.
The girl did not let him the time to rest as she leapt forward and delivered a cascading kick.
Unwilling to resort to the flashy skills from the Aether Voltage Path, Zeke crossed his arms above his head and braced himself for the impact.
Alas, Julia seemed to have ignored Nayro’s warning as she used enough strength to hurt the average student. Still, Zeke resisted the incoming kick for a second before his body was blown to the back.
Zeke hastily got back to his feet and saw Julia, with a wide smile on her face, rush at him. Her speed was simply outrageous and more than he could handle, especially with the restrictions he put on himself.
Nevertheless, he did one last gamble as he used ‘Fists of Fury’ and imbued it with the bit of Aether storied within ‘Rune of Life’. The result was beyond his expectations, as his glowing fists were enveloped with thick lightning.
The successive punches not only blocked Julia’s attack but also struck her chest, pushing her back one step. However, she merely grinned and punched again, stopping her fist inches away from Zeke’s surprised face.
“I win!”
She declared while lowering her hand and laughing.
The intense lightning around his fists vanished, his body struck by a slight dizziness as a consequence of using ‘Fists of Fury’ and ‘Rune of Life’ simultaneously.
He sighed and exited the arena while unconsciously caressing the blue rune, which was stinging him like a fresh burn mark.
“Still think you can win?” Remarked Azmer while glancing at his friend.
Instead of responding, Rodrick clenched his fists and let out a defiant grunt. He was adamant that his loss was due to him dropping his guard, but it was clearly not the case.
Wind Gust was effective against those with weak defense. As for Zeke, he just displayed commendable tenacity by resisting a direct hit from Julia, whose physical strength was unrivaled amongst the First Years.
Eventually, Rodrick snorted and stormed out of the facility. He did not seem to care about skipping class in front of Nayro’s eyes, though it was not like the eccentric Zyth cared about unruly students.
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Later on, in the evening, Zeke was stopped by a group of First-Year students. At their lead was a lanky long-haired with a relatively large pointy nose and downcast eyes.
Amongst the group, Zeke noticed the burly Rodrick standing behind the leader and smirking coldly.
“You’re Zeke?”
‘Is this another attempt of his? He never gives up, huh.’
Zeke wasn’t worried, after all, they were in the middle of the campus. They wouldn’t attack him right here in the open. Still, for Rodrick to have brought students from another class meant that he had convinced them to attack, or at least provoke him.
“I am. And you are?”
“Fylard Yak class A. I’m 19th in the ranking.”
“So?”
Zeke was confused as Fylard introduced himself then maintained silence as if waiting for something.
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“I’ve heard you’ve wronged a good friend of mine.”
Fylard turned around and beckoned Rodrick, amicably patting his shoulders.
“There’s no need to beat around the bush. Did he incite you to do this? Did he pay you money or something?”
Zeke was straightforward and unperturbed, which made Fylard burst out in laughter. He wasn’t angry over what he heard, instead, he seemed to be enjoying this.
“I’m willing to let bygones be bygones if you join my circle. What say you? The Defect from my class is one of my own too and I take good care of him.”
“First, I’m not a Defect. Second, I’m disinclined to join any ground, including yours.”
Once he said his piece, Zeke walked away but Fylard’s group quickly encircled him.
“I can excuse your ignorance since you used to be a Defect. However, you must know there is an order amongst the First Years. Come to my side and I’ll offer you protection.”
“Protection from what?” Sneered back Zeke.
“From random challengers and, at the time of the yearly competition, you will be rewarded with a satisfying spot fit for your contribution.”
“Out of the way.”
Zeke wasn’t having it, he pushed those in his path and walked away. Even then, Fylard didn’t seem particularly bothered as he looked at Rodrick.
“He seems like a nutcase, if you ask me.”
“Just because he awakened, he thinks he’s the shit. A Defect will always remain a Defect.”
“Hahahaha! Don’t worry about him! I’m glad you finally joined my circle!”
Fylard was ecstatic to have Rodrick around. Of course, it wasn’t because of Rodrick’s lacking talent, but because of his background.
His father was a mobster, a very infamous and powerful one. If Fylard treated Rodrick well, it would lead to a budding relationship between the two ‘families’.
“We need to celebrate! Let’s go drinking today!”
From the corner of his eyes, Rodrick saw a solitary Azmer standing a distance away, his arms crossed and eyes dangerously narrowed. The two crossed gazes before the former looked away and went with Fylard’s group.
‘I can’t rely on Azmer anymore. He has been acting like a coward…’
…
“Hah!”
Zeke was standing in front of a tall tree with a thick trunk. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and used ‘One-star Side-kick’, but, just like what he did with ‘Fists of Fury’ earlier, he imbued the stored Aether within ‘Rune of Life.’
Lightning wrapped around his leg as it struck the side of the tree, shaking it violently and leaving a deep imprint along with a scorch mark.
“It can be used to strengthen other skills but…”
The rune was flashing with a blue light and burning him, which was the only downside of using it.
“Maybe I should invest in the new path first? Hm…”
After a short break for resting and eating, Zeke continued kicking the tree until he reached full mastery in ‘One-Star Side-kick’, which rewarded him with 2PE, 5EXP, and 4 Agility.
----------------------------------------
“Ah!”
Amelia was breathing heavily, blood traces could be seen all over her body. She had bruises all over and her hair was greasy and stunk of sweat.
She was inside a dimly lit room, riddled with dust and old furniture.
Jonathan Stellar Link was standing in front of her, fiddling with his yellow headband, mumbling incoherently,
“Not that. Wrong… wrong! Again! Try again!”
Although she was in a lot of pain, Amelia did not give up or ask for help. She was brought here unwillingly, but she did not try to escape even once. Shady and frightening as Jonathan was, he had actually saved her life and treated her wound, much to her surprise.
Moreover, he imbued something strange inside of her chest; It resembled a cubic black and crystalline object that made her feel excruciating pain.
In return for the pain and her scarred chest, Amelia was astonished to see herself absorb and manipulate Aether.
Jonathan might be a megalomaniacal man, but he wasn’t without a reason. When she asked him to let her visit her mother, he personally took her there without arising suspicion.
Unfortunately, when she arrived there, she discovered that her mother was in a coma and most likely will never wake up again. Furthermore, with no one to pay the medical bills, the hospital would not let her stay there forever, so, sooner or later, she would die as her life would not be sustained with the use of machines.
In the blink of an eye, she had lost everything. Her father died, her mother was quasi-dead, and she was tortured and violated just because she retaliated against her bully.
Undeniably, what Amy and her mother did was excessive and unwarranted, but Amelia did not blame Zeke. She blamed her weakness… she had hoped she could graduate from Erys and make her life better but such a result wasn’t destined to be, sadly.
It was for that reason that she stayed with Jonathan despite knowing who he was. In order to exact revenge, she had no qualms about becoming a monster too, all to make Amy suffer as much as she did.
The newfound powers granted to her were ominous and sinister. The object stuck to her chest was uncomfortable and an ugly sight, nevertheless, it allowed her to unleash raging black-colored lightning.
“More! You need to train more! Again!”
“...”
Amelia bit her lips and nodded, blood leaking out of her nose, ears, and lips. It was almost too painful to bear, and, eventually, she fell unconscious.