"Hello students. You may have come here today, expecting to continue with your regular practice," Instructor Mathias started, in his usual tone. A dangerous glint entered his eyes before he continued.
"Unfortunately, today I will be testing each and every student on the defensive maneuvers you have been practicing. It's a simple test. Block or avoid three of my strikes. You will be graded and awarded points in the same way we did in the first class. Form a line as I call your names."
Avo, Nui, Fred and Mont were called it seemed like the top scorers would get to go first. Finn didn't mind since it would give others an oppurtunity to learn from the best before he had to perform. What worried him was the nature of the weapons being used. The weapons the students had picked out were all real. Finn didn't think too hard on it the first time, since they were just repeating various stances, but these things could really hurt someone.
However, when he thought about it some more he felt it wasn't too big a deal. There was no way a student would be able to injure instructor Mathias and he should have enough expertise to avoid injuring any student.
Instructor Matthias's solution was to have the students don an armor item before entering the ring. There were three weight classses for armor but in any case, you were expected to put in on quickly when it was your turn and remove it when you were done. After a few minutes Avo was in the ring. The ring was a circle in the center of the arena, about 10 feet across. Avo stood with his sword at the ready and Instructor Mathias gave the signal that he would begin.
The first attack was an overhead two handed strike. Avo simply dodged to one side and the instructor's sword crashed into the ground. Next was a horizontal swing that avo blocked with the flat side of his blade. The last was a thrust straight to Avo's chest and Avo responded with a parry pushing the attack of course and finishing his test flawlessly. The class was quiet after the display. The entire exchange had only taken a few seconds and the speed at which it happened was quite scary. It wasn't quite supernatural but it was clear the instructor wasn't playing around.
"Good, good," instructor Mathias praised. "Your decisiveness is at a noteworthy level."
He spent a few minutes correcting Avo on minute details such as turning his foot a certain way to be more immovable or using your free hand to fortify your blocking strength. Afterwards he called for the next student and Nui stepped into the ring. He gave the signal and they begin.
Avo's performance was one thing to watch, but Nui was something else entirely. They both passes flawlessly so it wasn't like she had done better than him. Its just that where Avo dodged, blocked, and parried, Nui simply took a stance and held up her rapier in a certain position. She wasn't attacking, but if the instructor had kept attacking he would have impaled himself somehow.
Similar to Avo, Nui was also corrected on her mistakes for a few minutes and the next student was called. Fred and Mont both performed well. Fred deflected the blade when he could safely aim a strike at the flat of the blade and dodged where he couldn't. Mont did his best to block or keep instructor Mathias away, but it was clear that someone using a casters staff wasn't meant to be in a close one on one situation like this.
Eventually it was Finn's turn and he couldn't help but feel nervous as he stepped into the ring. He had seen a good bit of the instructors attacks by now, but seeing and being able to respond to one of them were two different things. He had been skimming out on his body tempering, so his attributes wouldn't be as strong as the others before him. Still he could only try his best now. He got into his stance and instructor Mathias gave the signal.
The first attack was quick and Finn barely had time to register before he was force into action. It was a horizontal slash and the only thing he could think to do was jump backwards. He managed to just barely evade the sword. He had practiced enough to a level where he understood which action he should take. There wasn't a lot of leeway to mess up when using a weapon like daggers. If you tried to block or parry with lacking finesse you would be overpowered and seriously injured so dodging was the preferable choice in most cases. His backstep had not been perfect and he stumbled to regain a stable footing. This time, he just wasn't fast enough and Instructor Mathias' blade was on its way to cut him in two diagonally.
Dodging was out of the option and instead Finn retaliated with a strike of his own. He flipped his dagger to a backhand grip and put his force into an upward diagonal slash of his own. He hoped to deflect the incoming attack. Unfortunately, he wasn't strong enough and was pushed back. He stumbled back and lost his grip on his blade. His heart stopped for a second as he heard the clatter of the metal on the stone floor, but there was no time for hesitation here.
The newly formed space between the instructor and himself was shortened in an instant as instructor Mathias closed the distance in a second. He moved into and overhead swing and Finn knew there was no blocking this with a single dagger. He would have to avoid it. He looked to the right and made a leap to the side but his attention was brought back to center when a sharp pain opened up on his left shoulder.
Finn yelped due to the sudden pain and his eyes trained on his wound. The blade rest in his shoulder about two inches deep and blood was spilling from wherever it could. The dripping turned to a small stream as instructor Mathias removed his blade and Finn instinctively clutched his shoulder while dropping to his knees. The exchange had been fast and Finn was so focused on dealing with the strikes that he didn't have time to feel any emotions from himself or others. Now that it was over, he felt a rage was building up in him.
"What the hell!" he shouted, clutching his injured shoulder.
Even a child could tell that he wasn't ready for that last strike, yet the instructor hadn't held back at all. He raised his head to the instructor, about to scream out his misgivings but his anger faded when he saw the face looking down on him.
Instructor Mathias viewed him with complete impartiality and there was an eerie silence as the two looked at each other. Finn turned to get a look at his peers and they were mostly shocked. He pushed the pain to the side to focus for a moment. He could feel shock, disbelief and fear in his peers, but from the instructor, he could feel nothing at all. There was no emotion and it gave Finn a chilling feeling. The anger that was building up in him disappeared in a moment and he knew that nothing he said would make a difference here. He slowly rose to his feet, still clutching his shoulder.
"Passable," was all the instructor had to say about Finn before he turned his eyes to his blade, and started cleaning the blood with a cloth that had materialized out of nowhere.
"Next," he said, calling for the next student in line. "And you," he said, pointing to another. "Help him remove his armor," he commanded.
It turned out to be a painful process as Finn had to move his arm to get the job done but he gritted his teeth and left for the infirmary after.
A few minutes later Finn sat in a patient chair rolling his arms and shoulder. It was still a little painful, but it was just magical that there was someone who could heal it to this point in only a few minutes. He probably wouldn't be able to take the instructors blows like that again for another few days, but his normal tasks wouldn't be inhibited. Soon a doctor walked in on him with a notebook in hand writing down something as he arrived.
“Here is your token,” the doctor said returning the object to Finn. “ I have successfully verified your identity. You said you were injured by instructor Mathias correct?” The man asked still scribbling as he talked.
“Yes,” Finn answered. “It was a class exercise where we were to avoid his strikes. I barely avoided one hit only to be injured by the other.”
“Yes, I see,” the doctor said as he wrote down Finn’s description.
“Well, since it is still early in the semester and it’s your first time, we will only deduct 5 points for your treatment.”
“What?” Finn asked incredulously. “I’m losing points for this?” He had been injured by an instructor of all people and furthermore would also be punished for it? The thought was enraging and it was a lesson in composure for him to refrain from shouting at the doctor.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“Yes, I’m sorry but, these services aren’t free," the doctor explained, but he didn't look very sorry at all. "Whenever we expend resources that has to be paid for somehow. Fortunately, there is a point system in the academy for you to earn credit based on your merit otherwise you’d have to pay with real money.”
Finn could only stare blankly at the doctor.
"Fortunate my ass," Finn muttered under his breath.
"Oh?" the doctor asked and continued on with a laugh. "Are you displeased with the outcome?
Finn hadn't meant for the doctor to hear him and his blood threatened to boil when he had heard the response.
"He could have stopped before he hit me. I'm sure he's skilled enough for that," Finn said, now having the courage to say the things he had wanted to before.
"Do you think your opponent is going to stop in the wild? When you're fighting for your life in the future? I don't know why the higher ups bother with this academy. Should have just threw you all in the wild." the doctor responded with some disdain.
"If you're upset, just don't get hit next time. I'll have to ask you to leave now, there are a lot more students to treat," the doctor said and he promptly left the room after that.
His final words only served to irritate Finn. Would a real enemy stop his attack so Finn wouldn't get hurt? Obviously not, but this is an academy and instructor Mathias wasn't a real enemy. It was such a nonsensical idea that Finn had trouble believing that such an idiot met the qualifications for being a healer. The tone the doctor had used served to exasperate his misgivings, but for now, Finn could only return to class. There should still be a lot of students to go and he didn't want to miss out on viewing.
Finn was surprised to see a group had formed in the infirmary and he recognized them from his class. They were covered in various bruises and cuts, but none of the injuries looked too debilitating.
"What's going on?" Finn asked on of the men on his way out.
"Oh, it's you," the man said as his eyes shone with recognition before becoming downcast.
“It’s not very good” he said with a despondent look. “You’re one of the better off out of all the injured. A few students after you managed to block the strikes but most were injured at least once .” The man looked at the deep gash on his own arm as he spoke the last sentence.
Finn grimaced. "Well at least they have good healers," he said patting his own shoulder to show that it was all better. It was the only positive he could think of and the man seemed a bit more relaxed after hearing that. Finn decided to let him find out about the point cost on his own and he returned to class.
The classroom was silent except for the clash of weapons and the occasional grunt or scream. There was a thick air of trepidation as most of the students at this point were not able to keep up with instructor Mathias for all three attacks. There was no corrections happening now, and the only word the instructor said was 'Next' as he called for another student. Finn volunteered himself to help the injured students after they had removed themselves from the ring students.
It probably looked like a kind gesture but Finn actually just wanted to see the evaluations up close. The instructor only performed a small set of attacks. Horizontal, diagonal and downward slashes as well as an uppercut. The order was random, but he never made a move outside of the presets. After seeing it so many times, he felt sure that he would be able to deal with each one, and even made steps in his head for each action he would take.
The top students hadn't seen the instructors moves yet they managed to pass flawlessly but the later students were failing spectacularly. Finn thought about what made the difference and he concluded it had to be body tempering. All the students here had been practicing the maneuvers, but after a certain point you just physically wouldn't be able to keep up.
He knew Avo had a decent body tempering technique. He guessed the same was true for Nui as well as Fred and Mont. He had one as well although he didn't use it as much as he maybe was expected to. Besides them, the other students probably were tempering their bodies at a fraction of their effectiveness, a fact that instructor Mathias apparently cared little for.
Finn felt bad, but what could he do about it. If he shared his manual, then most of the students would pass him and while he would create goodwill by sharing his knowledge, the results would become negligible as more and more people were included. At least some time would need to pass before he could start widespread sharing of his methods.
"Dang. That was rough," Finn heard Avo saying as he helped the last student. He turned to see Finn, Mont and Fred walking up toward him.
"Yeah, it was kind of crazy," Finn agreed. "I didn't expect him to just injure us like that."
"You handled it pretty well," Fred said with an approving look.
"I did?" Finn asked thinking back to the moment. Not only had he gotten injured but he even screamed out in pain as well. What part of that counted as handling it pretty well?
"Most of the other students were so shocked they couldn't move right," Fred explained.
"I see," Finn said. It annoyed him that he would even be put in the same category as the other weaklings in his class. It would make things hard for the image he was trying to maintain by keeping good relations with the top students. It was good to know that Avo didn't seem to care but Avo wasn't the only person he had to worry about.
"I'm guessing you guys don't know but they deduct points for healing," he added. He still had to prove that he was worth keeping around. If not for his strength, then his knowledge.
"Really?" Avo asked a bit miffed. "How much was it? We lucked out today but we probably can't avoid the healers forever."
Finn explained what the doctor had told him to the group and they all felt it wasn't pretty bad. No doubt because they were all actually earning a stable amount of points with their class performances.
"Well, I'm gonna keep practicing a bit before the next class," Finn said and took out his daggers and walked into the arena. "The group said their goodbyes and Finn started going through his stances again, this time imagining his would be attacker. He only finished a few sets before he heard another voice.
“Are you ok?” Nui asked. She had come now that the class was emptied.
“Huh,” Finn said surprised to see her “Me? Oh I’m fine. "Just a little sore," he addended after seeing her expression. He couldn't imagine Nui doing this the day before and he marveled at the effects a few meditation sessions could have on a person.
“I can’t believe instructor Mathias attacked everyone like that. He definitely knew who wouldn’t be able to handle it,” Nui said with a scowl.
Finn was getting a hint of the feeling she gave off on their first meeting so Finn put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
“It’s not like we weren’t expecting this kind of harsh treatment,” Finn shrugged. "I think the first week was too easy, it made me a little complacent. I’ll just have to work harder," he said returning to his motions.
Nui sighed and stood silent for a few seconds before she spoke up again.
"I was thinking, maybe we should share the manuals we have. The other students just aren't able to keep up."
Finn was thankful for his experience with the rash doctor and keeping calm, because right now he was cursing inwardly as he turned to Nui with a calm expression.
"I was actually thinking the same thing," Finn said, which was true. He just came to a different conclusion. "It's a good idea. And also, its not my methods so you don't need to ask me. If you feel like sharing, then share."
Nui nodded with a bit of a conflicted expression and after a moment turned to leave. Finn breathed out in relief when she left. He was putting up a front, pretending as if the recent events hadn't gotten under his skin. He was expecting things to get rough as time went on, but he had to admit he was expecting something more gradual than suddenly being injured by a instructor in front of an entire class. He knew Nui was just concerned about him but the way she had come to him irritated him.
He returned to his practice with newfound fervor, exhausting himself before it was time to move on to the next class. He was starting to get to know Nui and she was one person he didn't want to think of him as a weakling. He saw her as a perfect partner or teammate with her talent in cultivation showing clearly. But that couldn't happen if she saw him as someone that needed to be protected. What happened today couldn't be allowed to happen again.
In Energy Control class instructor Elmara had moved on from the sheets and was focused on using energy to form a second skin over your body for defensive or offensive purposes. Finn didn’t like the sound of that at all, and he imagined what kind of test would follow if things operated here like they did in his previous class. But he was glad that whatever tests she would have wouldn't be falling on the same day as instructor Mathias' and hopefully it would stay like that.
Fortunately, where he lacked in body tempering which consequently caused him to fall behind in combat technique, he seemed to have a decent level of skill in energy control which allowed him to find a moderate level of success. He was finding success in coating his body in energy and felt confident in passing the coming test as he left.
The day's experiences had been frustrating and humiliating for many and the field was filled with cultivating students. Finn was among them and he understood the increase in population. After the test, he felt that he could handle Instructor Mathias' attacks, he just needed the cognitive ability and speed to react in time. However, he hadn’t changed his schedule much. He decided to put another hour into body tempering for his daily routine but still ultimately focus on his soul forging.
The days went on and Finn was starting to become a shut in. He would still greet his friends when he saw them, but he never really spent any time with them. Avo and the others always seemed to have time to relax between classes or in the evening but relaxing only servered to make Finn feel extremely uncomfortable. He got extremely antsy whenever he tried so he just stopped after a while and put everything into moving forward.
Life became a monotonous grind from that point. Things became pretty set in stone. The sudden tests were a surprise but nothing else really changed after that. Finn kept doing his thing and he was becoming more and more engrossed in his progress. His talent in energy control was decent and he had learned how to protect himself and infuse or imbue his strikes with energy.
Combat Technique was rough, because Instructor Mathias had little regard for those with lower levels of power. In terms of raw technique however, Finn was doing well. He had developed a repertoire of defensive as well as offensive maneuvers and the bump in time he spent body tempering was just enough to keep him afloat. Overall, things seemed to be going well and eventually, after almost a month of trying he finally formed his soul core.