Timothy is in the training room meant exclusively for battle class students. inside this room, many tools are meant to test someone's battle power and skills. One of them is this one Battle Dummy. Timothy is currently standing in front of one Battle Dummy, ready to test out his new skills.

the first thing Timothy tries to test is his passive skill 'Body and Mind Coordination'. this skill will allow Timothy to easily moves according to what his mind is thinking. Timothy summons his one-handed sword, the mirror-like shine is reflected from his new sword.

Timothy becomes quite an eye-catcher with his new shining sword. he tried to focus on his Battle Dummy but people's attention became quite heavy on him. For half a year he has been trying to avoid being the center of attention, Timothy has begun to get used to being in the shadow. but suddenly his new sword became so shining it attracted much attention.

Timothy took a deep breath and refocused his mind. he prepares himself to test the passive skill. the first thing Timothy does is a vertical slash. straight cut from above his head straight down to the Battle Dummy.

PANG!

Timothy managed to deliver the vertical slash beautifully, straight to the Battle Dummy head right at the point where he aimed. then Timothy tried several more attacks, each varied in target and position. each time, Timothy managed to hit the exact spot he trying to hit.

'This passive skill is amazing!' Timothy thinks in amazement.

then Timothy tried his new Soul Weapon Skill, the Brightblade Calculated Slash. based on the stories he heard from his father and several warriors in the castle, to activate the skill you just have to think about it in your mind. just like how you call up the status page. the skill will then manifest itself and guide the user on its intended trajectory.

for Brightblade Calculated Slash, the case is a bit different. when Timothy activated the skill, it gave back the feeling of how far the distance was and how much power Timothy needed for his intended action. this time Timothy is trying a horizontal slash and he can feel at that distance and with his current power, the damage to the Battle Dummy will be quite big.

Timothy then tried to take a step back and activated the skill once more. he got the same feeling for distance and power again, then realized that he would need to take half the step to deliver the minimum amount of damage or take a whole step to deliver the maximum amount of damage.

Timothy tried the skill several more times while also focusing on his passive skill. the result is a precise attack with controllable damage all around the Battle Dummy body. there is one part with very heavy slash damage where Timothy put the maximum amount of damage at one single point, and then there are several parts with almost no damage where Timothy tried to put as minimum as possible damage.

'I am very lucky to have these two skills.' Timothy thinks.

both of his new skills complement each other very well. and since Timothy always tried to be as merciful as possible when fighting, these two skills will help him to reach a better result compared to what he always did before.

"What a flashy skill! worthy of the name Brightblade."

Timothy looked at the voice from behind and saw one of his unknown classmates had come to him. his body is quite big and muscular with brown hair above his head. behind him is his friend with a lean body and probably has a soft gesture, based on how he walks.

Timothy only looks at them calmly, trying to not show any malicious expression on his face. he has given up on making friends and decided that he better keep his mouth closed rather than having another problem. the muscular boy seems to notice Timothy's unwillingness to talk, so he decides to talk instead.

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"do you want to spar? I want to know how strong our current Crown Prince is.

and this is a casual spar, please.

no rules or limitations, just let us learn from each other.

is that okay?" said the muscular boy as he offered his hand.

Timothy can only smile and nod. he is just too kind to reject a request from his fellow classmates. of course, he has his doubts. Timothy already decided that he would not really attack until he was sure the spar was safe for him.

the both of them moved to a wide opening in the middle of the training room. Timothy already has his mirror-like one-handed sword in his hand. the muscular boy also summoned his Soul Weapon, a book with a metal cover. Timothy's eyes widened in surprise and the muscular boy smiled in happiness. he just loved the faces of people who saw his Soul Weapon.

"My name is Jhonny Stafa, I love to refer to myself as a Battle Priest.

Timothy Brightblade, please take it easy on me." said Jhonny as he took his stance.

Timothy also takes his stance, ready to respond to Jhonny's every move. Jhonny takes a long jump with his book closed. he swings his book vertically, aiming to drop it on Timothy's head. Timothy responded by jumping to the side, avoiding the smash while keeping his distance.

Jhonny turns out to be quite agile. he manages to keep up with Timothy's speed and sometimes cuts his escape route. Timothy didn't really give him a fight, only dodging his attack or parrying it with his hand and legs. there is still doubt in his heart that this is probably another trap battle where he will be in trouble once again.

"hei! Mr. Brightblade!

fight back a little or this will not be a spar!" said Jhonny as he collected his breath.

"This is not a trap like before!

no ones here believe that Smithson either. we still believe that you are innocent." said Jhonny again.

Timothy is taken aback. are they telling the truth? or are they baiting him to fight back so they can trap him again? Timothy has become pessimistic and skeptical. but Timothy decides to try his luck. maybe, they are telling the truth. maybe, they really believe in him.

Timothy keeps his face as flat as possible. he also didn't let his emotions be seen in his eyes. but Timothy makes a challenging gesture and only says one word.

"come."

Jhonny is grinning widely. he charges at Timothy at full speed, relying on his big body to hide his attack. Timothy responded by activating his skill Brightblade Calculated Slash. Timothy uses the flat side of his sword to slap Jhonny's cheek and redirects his full-speed charges.

the slap is not too strong, only enough to make Jhonny turn to the side with closed eyes and miss Timothy entirely. but that is enough to trigger Jhonny's battle lust, which is shown by his eyes that begin to lose focus. Jhonny Soul Weapon quickly flipped open and a spell is released from it. Jhonny's body becomes bulkier as if he just ate a stack of steroids.

Timothy prepared himself to get in trouble once again. in his mind, he keeps reminding himself that he should not be too kind to people since that will make him an easy target for a trap like this. but then Jhonny's soft friend suddenly stands between him and Jhonny. he summons his Soul Weapon which is shaped like a Folding Fan and swipes it at Jhonny.

Timothy can only look while being confused as Jhonny's bulky body quickly shrinks down to normal while he looks at the ceiling blankly. the soft boy then quickly goes to Timothy and grabs his hand in a feminine gesture. he apologizes repeatedly at a fast pace as if he is in fast-forward mode.

"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!

Jhonnyisabrutesometimesheforgetthatthisissparingheiswaitingforsolong-"

Timothy has to cover his mouth with his hand to stop this boy else he will be hyperventilating. with his other hand, Timothy makes a counting gesture from one to five, with each number he tries to guide the boy to breathe slowly.

"talk slowly. what just happened? Go." said Timothy slowly.

"i am sorry, Mr. Brightblade.

Jhonny is a brute at heart but he tries to be better.

he has been waiting for a long time to spar with you, and when you begin to fight back he seems to lose it." said the boy.

"I understand. What do you think I should do to him?" asked Timothy.

"ah ah ah ah!!! no sir, nothing! do nothing! pl-hppp" Timothy once again shut his mouth with his hand.

"talk slowly. can I help him in any way?" Timothy said slowly, then he released the boy's mouth.

"ah.. no sir, thank you.

he will be awake in five minutes and everything will be alright." said the boy calmly.

then Timothy decides to keep the boy company while waiting for Jhonny to wake up from his trance. the soft boy's name is William Wolfhand, and he was raised in a female-dominated family. that explains why his gesture is a bit soft and also why he prefers to be called Lian.