Jezibel Hiram
Instructor Adelphius signaled for my strange neighbor before everyone left the classroom. As she went to see what he wanted from her, I stewed over the things I found out in class.
“What does Kiara mean by ‘in my experience?’ She can’t really have reached another rank, could she? She looks barely 16. She was even implying that she unlocked special evolutions. Who is she trying to impress, and what’s her end goal?”
I took her in once more, having not paid too much attention to her since class had started soon after we met. The girl had skin that was nearly as pale as chalk, and her face was a little too perfectly symmetrical with sharp features. She had a small nose and lips, although she somehow managed to make the latter feel much larger with those broad grins of hers. Her eyes and her short, tied up hair were white as snow, and her build was lean and fit. She was wearing a set of simple, yet elegant black leather armor made from a hide I didn’t recognize, and she carried a staff made from an unfamiliar, yet seemingly ancient wood that grew naturally to hold the white orb located on its head.
Kiara gave me a whole bunch of contradictory impressions, and I didn’t know what to make of it. As I stared at her for a while, I heard someone call me from behind.
“Ms. Hiram, was it? I recommend that you stay away from that thing sitting next to you as much as you can.” Lady Sept said, stopping to talk to me as she subtly told her friends to go and wait for her at the door.
I shivered slightly, but I couldn’t allow my family to be harmed because I got caught in a noble’s problem with someone else. I bowed deeply towards her, hoping to appease her.
“I have no intention of antagonising you, Lady Sept. I hope that your opinion of me has not been soured because I was assigned a seat next to Ms. Azoth.”
She raised her eyebrow.
“I have no intention of ordering people on who they may and may not associate with, and I certainly have no intention of bringing shame to my house in the eyes of Mett by wielding my nobility to harm commoners without due cause. The advice I gave you was for your own good; nothing good will come out of associating with that neighbor of yours.” She said as she walked away, leaving me puzzled as she joined her friends again and presumably went to attend combat training class.
Just as my wariness turned into confusion at the Tameryian noble, Kiara had come back from speaking with the instructor.
“What did that stuck-up girl want with you?”
“Nothing much.”
“Did she threaten you because you spoke to me?” she asked, a hint of danger seeping through her voice.
“No! No, she didn’t. Really, it’s nothing you should worry about. Anyways, let’s go to combat training.”
“Hmm…”
I don’t think she believed me, but she dropped it and carried on walking to class anyway.
***
Soon, we arrived at one of the many arenas in the academy, where the familiar circular field dominated the room. Waiting in front of us was Instructor Adelphius, and beside him was a member of the staff at the arena’s controls.
“…Instructor Adelphius? What are you doing here?” Lady Sept asked.
“You were still in homeroom when we left, and we came straight to this class. How did you get here?” Ati asked after her.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Hahaha! I bet you’re all curious, aren’t you! Why don’t you guess how I pulled it off?!”
…
No one responded, and the silence was becoming awkward. Just as it was about to become painful, the professor sighed loudly.
“Gee, tough crowd. You guys are no fun. I just ran around you guys and got here first. In any case, I am primarily the combat instructor for the House of Aspirants. Everyone has homeroom on first period, which is handled by one of the instructors each, then we all go to our primary classes and instruct different classes as they rotate between the instructors.”
“In any case, welcome to combat training. As you already know who I am, we’ll skip the introductions. Now, given that all of you are enrolled in this academy, it is clear that all of you are talented warriors, merchants, leaders, adventurers, craftsmen, or something else entirely. That also means that your expertise in combat is just as varied as your talents and backgrounds. That said, given that killing monsters is the fastest way to earn experience points regardless of your class, combat training is essential to all Classers.”
“Following that train of thought, I would like you all to divide yourself within three lines based on how you perceive your own abilities at fighting are, with novice to my right, equivalent to the average adventurer in front, and advanced to my left. Lady Sept and Ms. Azoth, please do not join any of the three lines for now.”
Everyone glanced at the two in question, who looked confused at first, then glared at each other. Was the instructor saving a fight between the two of them for last? Why? People were curious but sorted themselves regardless. I lined up in the middle line, where nearly a fourth of people seemed to be. Most people chose to line up in the advanced line; whether it was arrogance or confidence that drove them, I couldn’t tell. As for Lady Sept and Ms. Azoth, they each took their seats on opposite sides of the spectator gallery, refusing to look at each other.
“Very good! Now, I will be asking each of you to fight a duel in the arena with someone who placed themselves in the same line as you did. If you did not bring your weapons and armor, you can make use of the ones available in the armory behind the arena. If a line has an odd number of participants, I’ll ask for a volunteer in your line to match with you. If a match is too lop-sided, I will disregard the result and move whichever of you is an outlier to an appropriate line, then have you both perform another match, so do not worry about not getting to display your abilities!”
When the instructor finished giving his instructions, an air of competitive tension weighed on everyone’s hearts. No one was stupid enough to come to the academy and not expect to need their gear, and no one was eager to lose so quickly as to be put into a lower skilled line. Instructor Adelphius had the barest hint of a smile, then carried on.
“You there, at the front of the line. Ms. Persis Sarpedon and Mr. Hanno Addir, you’re our first combatants!”
***
The fights at the beginning were not interesting, given that it was the novice line, but hardly even a tenth of the class lined up in it. There wasn’t anyone who evaluated themselves incorrectly so far, so there wasn’t any shuffling. It wasn’t surprising that the fights started to get interesting as we moved on to the intermediate line. Soon enough, it was my turn.
“Ms. Jezibel Hiram! Mr. Ati Amasis! Please step on to the field! I hope the two of you will perform as well on the field as you did in class!”
Being among the few who spoke up in class, most recognized us and stared even more intently. As I took my place on the field, the falconman gave me a respectful nod, which I returned in kind. He was wearing light leather armor over his vitals and his wrists, and he carried an intricately designed short bow in his hands.
As the familiar black dome rose over our heads and the stars rushed past us, we found ourselves in a lush forest, not too dissimilar to what you would find in the central provinces of the Latium Republic.
“This fight will end when one of you is incapacitated, is dealt a fatal blow, is more heavily wounded when the time runs out, or submits. The time limit is five minutes. You must not move or strike at your opponent before the bell that signifies the beginning of the battle rings. You must not attack your opponent once the battle is declared to be over. Do you have any questions?”
The instructor said the now familiar rules out loud, as some of the sealing marks on my stomach moved through my chest and down my arms, summoning my tamed monsters by my side. To my left stood my Rank D Rainforest Tiger and to my right was my Rank E Abyssal Monkey. Perched on my shoulder was my Rank E Brown-Feathered Owl and hidden in my sleeve was my Rank F Abyssal Viper. I took out my wand in preparation for the fight, as my opponent readied his wings and nocked his magic arrow on his bow. Whatever magic in that arrow is, it feels like bad news to [Lesser Danger Sense].
The instructor’s voice boomed through the arena, as he started the countdown to the beginning of the fight, and my nerves were beginning to fade away as the world faded and nothing but my opponent, my summons, and the instructor’s voice remained.
“2… 1… FIGHT!”