“Ow... errr…” the man let out a weird sound as his throat was hit. He dropped his sword, clutched his throat in agony and coughed. The girl at the reception desk chuckled without saying a word, her eyes sparkling with mirth.
Nathan's face contorted in a mixture of concern and apology as he exclaimed, “I'm so sorry!” The stab seemed very painful.
The man kicked Nathan to the ground, his face red with anger, and bellowed, “You’re supposed to use the Shield Blade School’s Counter Slash to parry it, you idiot!”
He coughed in agony, but, out of anger, he continued, “Apparently, you’re clueless about swordsmanship! You couldn’t even parry the attack correctly!"
"Get out of my sight, you wretched, insolent brat!” the man thundered before spinning on his heel and storming back to his seat. “You don’t belong in here, an elite school!” With a series of emphatic palm slaps on the reception table, he emphasized the point that this was indeed an elite school.
His sudden kick took Nathan by surprise. However, Nathan instinctively jumped back when he received the kick, so it didn’t hurt much, but it did surprise him. Nathan's anger flared as he wondered, “What’s wrong with this guy?”
Nathan put his training sword back to his waist and started walking out. He caught the sound of the blonde-haired girl’s laughter from the reception desk, “Taking your anger out on a kid after losing to him? Hahaha... That was a cheap, surprise attack, too... Haahaha, so pathetic... Hahaha...”
“I could have easily won if I were serious,” the man said, trying to make an excuse, "Of course, I was holding back," Nathan was walking out but he could still hear him.
“So you need to get serious to beat a ten year old? Hahahhaa… please stop talking… my sides hurt really bad…. Hahahaa..” the girl remained in hysterics.
Nathan looked back to see the girl laughing while holding her stomach.
“What kind of elites would come here?” Nathan wondered. “There are no posters, no advertisements, or anyone trying to hand me fliers. Weird.” As Nathan opened the door to exit the school, he caught a glimpse of the blonde-haired girl, who was now literally rolling on the floor in her laugh attack. Despite trying to hold back because of the man's angry expression, Nathan uncontrollably let out a laugh as he chuckled.
“What are you looking at? Get out!” The man threw a pen at Nathan, but Nathan had already closed the door, and with a loud "Dong!", the pen hit the glass door.
Seeing the girl laughing like that, Nathan’s mood improved. He couldn't help but to chuckle occasionally as he started walking back to Master Howard’s School, thinking about the laugh attack girl.
"Master Jose's School of Leather Crafting. Limited Time Offer! 20% off your tuition, ends tomorrow!" A lady in her sixties said to Nathan holding a flier. "It should have expired last week, the week before last week, and the week before that. Don't you remember me?" Nathan thought, continuing to walk after taking the flier.
"I know a sword style that is theoretically invincible. It suits you really well. Don't you want to try? I can give you a free lesson right now!" A man in his forties in a grey robe said to Nathan, his eyes gleaming with excitement, "It's really free, you've got nothing to lose!"
"A scammer?" Nathan thought, quickening his pace. As Grandpa always said, "If it sounds too good to be true, it must be a scam."
"Weekend Sale! Buy a dozen eggs for just $1, Chicken Legs for only $0.8/lb!" Another man in his fifties handed Nathan a flier. Nathan took it and thought, "Good deals. I should get some grocery before heading home."
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"Master Kenneth's Forge is accepting students in the upcoming fall. Please take a flier!" A young lady handed Nathan a flier, which says "$3000 for 10 classes. Materials included." Nathan took the flier and kept walking.
Past 4 pm, the downtown area would start to get crowded, so there were many more advertisements than there were fifteen minutes earlier. After surviving onslaughts from people handing out fliers and advertising sales that would expire today, Nathan finally made his way back at Master Howard's Shield Blade School.
"Excuse me, I have a question about the catalog," Nathan asked.
"Welcome back! How can I help you?" The receptionist lady answered with a big warm smile.
"It says here that there is a free demonstration lesson in about 15 minutes. Can I join and take a look?"
"Sure! Let me register you for the lesson right away," the lady replied, taking out a book and a pen from the desk.
After recording Nathan's name and age, the lady showed Nathan the way to a classroom. Nathan arrived at a room about three hundred square feet large with a mirrored wall. There were already three students there. Nathan took off his overcoat and hanged it on the hooks next to the door. Then, he took off his shoes before walking in.
In five minutes, a man in his forties, wearing short sleeved dark blue martial arts gi, confidently walked into the room. "Hello everyone, my name is Howard. I am the humble Master of this Shield Blade School. Welcome to the demonstration class. Please line up in front of me and sit down." With a warm smile and a hand gesture, he gathered everyone to sit in front of him. Despite his deep voice and large muscular body, his gentle courteous demeanor soothed everyone in the class of their nervousness. His tidy dark red hair and honest Emerald eyes gave the vibe of a gentleman. The mismatched skin color on his darkly tanned face and light brown forearms pointed to his active status as an adventurer.
In the Kingdom, the Master's Certification was needed for someone to take in apprentices. The examination was rigorous, so not everyone could become one.
The students lined up in front of Howard, sat down and introduced their names to each other. Howard first mentioned his certification number as a part of formality and legal procedure, before giving an introduction to the Shield Blade School. It was a combat style that could utilize shield, sword, spear, mace and staff. Even though the School was called Shield Blade, they were also adept in fighting without a shield. However, since many of the school's students were Paladins or Spellcasters, who studied defensive stances and techniques more thoroughly for their work, most students of this school used a shield.
After the introduction, Howard then taught the students about the school's warm up exercises and practiced some swings. He also demonstrated some advanced techniques. His immense Divine Power, focus and determination left an impact in every student. "This person is serious about martial arts." The demonstration took about an hour. At the end of the class, Howard thanked everyone and bided farewell.
"Nathan, would you mind staying a little bit longer?" Howard said.
"Sure!" Nathan answered.
After everyone left, Howard said, "Is your left hand suffering from an injury? It appears to be much weaker than your right," his discerning gaze lingered on Nathan's left hand in concern.
"Yes, I got hurt by an arrow a few months ago." Nathan rolled up his sleeves and showed the scar on his left forearm. Howard lowered his eyebrows when he saw the scar.
"Why are you trying to learn martial arts?" Howard asked.
"To get into a good school," Nathan said after thinking. He wanted to let Howard know about his priority so that he could get the right advice.
"Bluefield College, I presume?" Howard said, and Nathan nodded. "If self-defense is your goal, you're more than welcome to join us. However, I must advise against pursuing a combat discipline if you're aiming for Bluefield College – at least, not for their admission exam."
Nathan was puzzled, and immediately asked back, "Why can't I take a combat discipline for it?"
"I understand if you don't know about it; they used to focus on combat prowess. However, just a few years ago, there was a scandal… about someone who cheated in the sparring exam. So, they added a strength assessment component," Howard sighed as he looked at Nathan, "I'm afraid your left hand's grip strength has taken a lasting hit – it's not going to fully recover. Given this, it may be impossible for you to pass the exam."
Nathan's heart sank.
Seeing the child's facial expression darkening, Howard continued, "If I hadn't shared this with you upfront, I'd feel like I was misleading you – my apologies for the tough news."
"Okay, I understand. Thanks for being upfront with me, Master Howard. Let me talk to my grandfather about this." Nathan said politely, grateful for Howard's information and honesty.
"Thank you for joining the demonstration class. If you're interested in learning self-defense techniques, our doors are always open to you," Howard said.
Nathan then bid farewell to Howard and left for grocery with a heavy heart.