May 25th, year 024 Angels Descent
The class had been told to meet at their usual training arena for some extra training in preparation for the duel that was set to occur the following week. They were already overcome with anticipation, and the whole school were already starting betting rings and setting odds.
Most surprising of all was some of Professor Michaels's chosen students had better odds than them. When they asked around about them, they found out they were adventurers on scholarships, so they had a lot of practical combat experience.
Worse of all the things the class had to deal with was Bea, who had been given the worst odds out of all the students participating in the duels.
“DISCRIMINATION!!!”
“Bea, we are almost there,” Daisy said, trying to calm the gnome down.
“Just because I am small, they discount me!!!”
“Bea, you can just channel that annoyance into beating your opponent,” Maxwell said.
“I WILL NEVER FORGIVE THEM!!!! FIFTY TO ONE ODDS!!!”
“Why don’t you place a big bet on yourself, then? Make a lot of money,” Tasha suggested.
“I WILL GRIND THEIR… That’s a good idea,” Bea said, rapidly calming down at the prospect of making bank from this whole ordeal. Rubbing her hands together greedily, Bea now looking more like a villain.
“Hey, kids,” Alex called out as they entered the main arena area. Looking around, they could see a small group sitting in the front row. It was a group they mostly recognised: Gorm, Yuu, Elissa and Mimi and two other people they didn’t recognise.
“Welcome, come on in,” Alex continued to usher them towards the seats.
“So, as we have a nice ole duel ahead of us, I thought we have you kids well rounded, but the problem is you need an edge,” Alex began.
“An edge?” Tasha repeated quizzically.
“Yes, you are mostly a jack of all trades right now. Mostly because I focused on giving you education in a wide range of choices to pull from.”
“Well, I get that, like with the light-”
“Uh, no,” Alex cut off what Tasha was about to say. “We have company not involved with the seal,” Alex said, gesturing to the two people they didn’t recognise.
“Oh, but first introductions,” this man here is one of my best friends,” Alex explained, dragging a nervous-looking man from his seat.
“He may not look it, but he is the strongest one here. Likely the strongest person you have actually met,” the man secure in his Alex’s grip began to look bashful at the praise.
“Stronger than Crozonia?” Maxwell asked.
“Let me put it this way, kids. He is the one who scarred Gorm.” Those words alone were revelation enough, and the class couldn’t help but stare at the nervous-looking man with curiosity.
“M-m-my name is Insithrilax…” the man stuttered. “Alex, you didn’t say there would be other people!”
“I asked you to help me teach them?”
“Yes, but I thought it meant like prepare a nice paper test and never have contact.”
“In combat?”
“Theory in combat is important!!”
“Riiight… Anyways we have all these nice people here for some lovely one-on-one instruction. I have permission to keep you guys, hosta-AHEM-under our care for the next week, so we will be having a lot of fun!”
“Wait, so we will be each pairing up with one?” Maxwell asked. “Isn’t this meant to be about your teaching style against his? Isn’t inviting outsiders besides the point?” Daisy asked.
“My style involves inviting people good in fields I am not. Also, remember the first rule of a real fight?” Daisy could only exhale a deep sigh.
“There are no real rules. Anything goes so long as you win.”
“Exactly! Now the pairings have been organised to help with your specialities. Gunter, you will obviously be paired with Yuu; you both are support specialising in production.” Yuu gestured for Gunter to sit in the free chair next to her.
“Next pairing will be Tasha; you want to focus on more martial combat rather than ranged, right?” Tasha eagerly nodded, throwing heart eyes in Mimi’s direction. “So you will be training with the woman who fulfils all those roles and then some.”
“Yes!!!” Tasha's fist pumped the air, clearly excited to train under her new idol.
“Yes, Elissa is the best match for you,” like a house of cards, Tasha could feel her joy collapse. She had worked so hard to overcome her focus on the princess, and now she would be forced to train under her.
“You sure this is wise, sir?” Maxwell asked.
“I am limited with the physical combatants I have, and Elissa is the best match. She is a brawler-type combatant, while Sithy and Mimi are more agile-type fighters. Tasha, if you are going to focus on punching your enemies, Elissa is the best option.” Reluctantly Tasha walked up and sat down in the free seat next to Elissa, who was looking miffed at the lack of enthusiasm.
“Next up will be Maxwell. You will be training under my dear friend Sithy,” Alex explained, gesturing to Insithrilax. “He will help you truly master the skills you aren’t using.”
“Daisy,” Alex began before pausing as Daisy jumped at hearing her name. “You are a mage who specialises in projection magic. I have paired you with the best projection mage I know.”
Daisy closed her eyes and internally chanted Alex’s name. He was someone who had a fluid understanding of combat and was a masterful projection mage in his own right. But in her heart of hearts, she knew he was an unlikely candidate considering there were two more instructors available.
“Gorm is going to be your trainer,” Alex finally said. Daisy all at once opened her eyes and stared at the mountain of muscle barely fitting in his seat, who gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up.
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“He isn’t an enhancement mage?” Daisy muttered.
“Indeed, small girl!!! Gorm is best at range. Gorm just is very durable and physically strong due to his race,” Gorm replied as he gently patted the chair next to him.
“Ok, you last two… Bea and Kline,” Alex muttered. “I’ll be honest, you both would work for either me or Mimi. Bea, you have a tricksy mind, and you and me could manage much mischief. Kline, your desire to avoid injury without you realising has ramped up your senses to the point with the right training, you could make my avoidance methods laughable.” The pair looked surprised at Alex’s analysis of their skills.
“So after much thought, we decided that Bea, you will train with my sister. Her speed, while absurd, can help you learn to utilise your Demon copies technique. Kline, you are with me,” Alex said, slapping a firm grip on Kline's shoulder; clear Alex was unwilling to let him get away.
“Sir, we’ve been introduced to everyone but that girl there,” Maxwell said, gesturing to the girl sitting awkwardly beside Mimi.
“Yes, she is someone I was just dying to meet, and I begged Mimi to bring her along. Please tell the class your name,” Alex asked. The girl nervously stood up and shuffled in front of the seated crowd.
“My name is Serena… I am a new recruit in the army and… I am Mimi’s apprentice… Oh, and I’m also twenty-four.” She added as if just remembering to state her age. This age surprised the class as she looked closer to their age.
“What race are you?” Bea asked.
“Human,” Serena replied, looking even more nervous.
“Human?” Alex muttered, looking even more intrigued at her. “You fight me!!!” Alex demanded, pointing a finger at the girl who was already withering under everyone's gazes.
“Sir, it’s not right to bully-”
“Ok, I’ll fight you… just please don’t kill me too much.”
“I promise only once,” Alex replied to the absurd request. Bea and Kline made their way back to the stands settling into their seats to watch the upcoming bout.
“Why is sir so interested in fighting her?” Kline asked, turning to Mimi.
“She can use chronomancy. He wants to see a magic he will never be able to use for himself.”
“CHRONOMANCY?!!” Daisy shouted in shock.
“Yeah, but it’s involuntary. She is actually very unpopular back home because when her power triggers, everyone around her experiences it as well. I brought her mainly to let her meet someone who would probably want to experience it just for research.”
“P-please go easy on me,” Serena said, bowing to Alex as she readied her sword.
“No promises,” Alex replied with a smirk as she rolled his shoulders.
“Been a while since I can’t use my preferred method,” Alex muttered as he stepped off the ground towards Serena. In response, Serena swung her sword so fast it left a blur in the air, making it look like a fan was in front of her.
As deftly as he had against Elissa, Alex avoided the strike and spun behind Serena and threw a punch aimed at her kidneys.
Serena, in response, blocked Alex’s attempted strike with her sword and parried it downwards, sending Alex off balance, if only for a moment. Seeing her opening, she delivered a straight kick to his ribs sending him flying backwards.
“Wow, you are one of the first people I’ve ever met other than Mimi who can follow my movements.”
“I have to spar against her every day, so I naturally progressed,” Serena replied with a shrug. “You aren’t so bad yourself… Are you sure you are focused on projection? Your close combat skills are above most high-ranking officers I’ve sparred against.”
“Let me hit you and find out,” Alex replied with a mad grin. Serena shrugged and made a hand motion to invite him to try.
“Why isn’t he using attack spells yet?” Daisy asked aloud.
“He is feeling out his opponent, her reach and preferred combat methods,” Yuu replied.
“I’ve actually been wondering since our first sparring match, but how is he so good at close range when he is so physically weak?” Maxwell asked.
“Well, he had Mimi as a sparring partner since he was little, then when he came here, he had me, then Gorm and Sithy, and finally Elissa. We have all served as his sparring partners,” Yuu explained.
“Ok, but how did he become so skilled? Did you train him?” Maxwell pressed.
“Oh no, I just beat him till he could avoid my strikes,” Mimi replied.
“Yeah, Alex treats his training the same way he does research. He throws himself at the wall. He has yet to break before the wall,” Elissa replied.
“GLADIUS, AIRES, ZYPHERIUM!” the wind began to pick up around the pair as Alex cast what the class recognised as the wind blade spell.
“Interesting finally using magic?” Serena asked.
“Yes, you see, I can now read you like a book,” Alex replied as he hopped from one foot to the other.
“You know I can just block the sword. If your strikes are like what I’ve been feeling, I could block it with one hand… You are surprisingly weak; I expected the general's brother to be stronger.”
“You will understand where my real strength lies,” Alex replied as he began running directly towards Serena no defensive stance, just a full frontal assault.
“YES, GORM PRAISES YOUR METHOD!!”
Serena ignored the distraction coming from the stands and prepared her blade. Wind swords were hard to follow as they were invisible to the eye unless some outside substance was added. She was actually surprised Alex hadn’t done this himself.
The moment he reached right in front of her, she took a half-hearted swing. The last thing she wanted to do was injure her first friend's brother. To her shock, Alex bent backwards at an angle that no human with a spine should be able to manage.
As the blade swept over him, he spun around and slashed at her stomach slicing it open. He continued his spin as he thrust his free right hand into the wound itself. All at once, Serena felt a burning sensation she recognised as her being wounded.
“Ok, I’m going to kill you now, ok?” Alex said as he muttered a spell Serena could quite hear. The moment he finished the quick chant, she felt a building pressure from within as an explosion rune detonated within her rib cage.
“AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” a few of the class were screaming in terror. It was meant to be a sparring session, and their teacher had killed Serena in such a brutal method. The body parts and viscera began to fly in all directions.
Only till they all stopped mid-air and a silver hue took over the whole world around them. Slowly they began hearing a Tock-Tick echoing loudly like a clock ticking backwards. What was most terrifying was they could only move their eyes.
Looking into the arena, they could see as the clock ticked backwards; Serena’s destroyed body began moving in reverse back towards where she had been blown up. Slowly but surely, her body began rebuilding around a frozen Alex’s hand.
This continued till Alex began moving but in reverse from how he had when he cut her. Looking on in morbid fascination, they watched as the wound closed itself up, and Alex continued to run backwards to where he was when he had cast wind blade.
The strange phenomenon ended as quickly as it had begun, and the silvery hue vanished from the world. All present took deep breaths as only now did they realise they had been breathing in reverse for the duration of the effect. Looking at Serena in terror, the class and onlookers were all left speechless.
“Go on, call me a monster… I understand,” Serena said, looking pitiful.
“Monster? Why would I do such a thing?” Alex asked.
“I turned back time, forced you to experience that. I came back from the dead, dammit!!”
“Serena…” Alex vanished from view and reappeared in front of the sad-looking girl. “You are fascinating!!!! Tell me, is it voluntary?!!! Can you trigger it outside of injuries?!!! Does it have a range, or is it the entire world?!!! Is there a limit to how many times you can die? Would you be willing to let me study this power?!”
Serena was left looking panicked and confused at the quickfire questions Alex was throwing her way. The best she could manage was a glance at Mimi, who gave her a big thumbs up. As if to say, ‘I told you so’.
“You’re not afraid of me?”
“Please, I’m marrying an elf princess who could probably bench press the continent, a mad scientist dwarf, a titan who is nigh indestructible and the most powerful dragon of all time. You, if anything, would fit right in.”
“B-buh, I’m a frea-”
“Uh-uh, the word you meant to use is interesting. Now come on, my sister has a big old training plan, and it involves you,” Alex said as he wrapped his arm over a flummoxed Serena and guided her back to the stands.