'I guess we lucked out in getting Gwyn as our first opponent together.' (Michael)

'Yeah, we might actually have a shot at getting a hit in if we work together.' (Joshua)

The rules for the practice fights were simple. A three metre radius circle is drawn on the ground. The four man team and instructor start inside the circle. On the instructor's signal, both sides start the engagement. Taking a hit on the torso, head or upper leg is considered fatal and results in instant elimination. Taking a hit on a limb is considered dismemberment and precludes the use of that limb for the rest of the combat. Stepping out of or being forced out of the ring is considered fleeing and results in instant elimination.

'The largest threat is the wind burst that Gwyn used on me during my ambush, it will likely knock all of us out of the ring, but he will likely not use it unless pressured as we're only the first group in the class, and he may blow himself out of the ring as well. If we get too close to the edge, he will probably knock us out the ring with wind as well, so attempting to push him out probably won't work. Our best bet is to try to hit his extremities to force him to use fewer and fewer limbs to fight.' (Michael)

'He'll be forced to pay attention to four people at once, so while it's probably hard to hit him anywhere that would be considered fatal, if we could nick his hand or foot while someone else distracts him, that could work. Since I'm in the centre I'll probably be his main focus, so the one with the highest chance of injuring him is Joshua.'

'I don't think heating weapons will do anything against him, so I'll try to cool him directly instead to slow his movements, and if I get a chance I'll throw a dagger at him. He will probably dodge it, so use that opening to attack his hands.' (Dennis)

'I'll just slam his shield hand as hard as possible to distract him, I guess. I doubt I can get him to drop his shield, though.' (Michael)

'Since he's taller, I'll aim for his legs. Aim for his head, Dennis, and then maybe Joshua has a shot at hitting his right hand. If it works, we'll repeat with his right leg, and then you can try to knock him out of the ring entirely with brute force once he's no longer allowed to stand on it.'

'Let's go for it.' (Joshua)

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'Start.' (Gwyn)

The three of us move as planned, and as my spearhead approaches his right leg, he turns slightly, exposing his coat. His sapphire eyes stare into mine, almost as if ignoring the presence of Michael and Joshua entirely, but his shield moves to where Michael should have been at the same time his own spear swings to my left. As the mist of condensation wafts from under his coat as a result of Dennis' efforts, a gleam suddenly pierces through the mist, before a lock of red hair blocks it from view. I take a step back, and he throws his shield, spinning to the right, before a thudding sound resounds from behind. The red hair that appears to be Joshua continues its fall, almost as if in slow motion, and then Gwyn thrusts his spear with both hands towards my right eye. Falling over backwards, the feeling of the floor hitting my rear hits at the same time Gwyn says... 'Stop.'

'Joshua, killed in action from a thrown weapon protecting Rachel, well done for performing your duties as a man. Michael, disqualified from being forced out of the ring, you haven't trained enough if you can be pushed off balance with my offhand. Dennis, incapacitated by a thrown shield, you should be watching your surroundings in addition to the target of your spell, even if you're in the backline. Rachel, disqualified by stepping out of of the ring, well done for reacting fast enough to not die to the spear, but you should have spotted the hidden weapon so Joshua wouldn't have had to die for you.'

'It feels weird having you talk about me like I'm dead, even if that did hurt like hell.' (Joshua)

'It's a compliment, I wasn't expecting anyone to block that. Least of all with their face.' (Gwyn)

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'Who the hell throws their shield away in a fight?' (Dennis)

'You won't get to complain if you're dead. Now switch with your classmates and get ready for the next fight.' (Gwyn)

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'You're alive!' (Matilda)

'That hurt like fuck. I'm not screwing with you again.' (Scar)

'We have a common target this time, so please work together.'

'You say that, but I heard you already had someone die for you in the first fight, death mage.' (Scar)

'Do I need to...' (Matilda)

'Nope! Sorry! No offense meant!' (Scar)

'Err... I'm not sure what life magic can do with these rules, so I guess I should just look for a chance to throw my daggers?' (Kurt)

'Yeah, a one-hit-elimination doesn't quite factor in healing. Sucks to be you, I guess.' (Matilda)

'I heard from Joshua that Sophia's main ability is being able to move ridiculously fast and erase her presence, so large swings would probably do nothing. She's even shorter than me though, so we should probably aim low and try to swing in outward arcs to make it harder for her to get around us?'

'I couldn't see her when she attacked Alicia that night, Alicia pretty much saved herself. We're in the day though so at least we can see her this time. But she's definitely quick.' (Matilda)

'I don't see how throwing a weapon would do anything against someone who can move that fast. Maybe you should try to flank her from behind Matilda since you're so damn short.' (Scar)

'I'm not short, Matilda's just tall!' (Kurt)

'He has a point though. Let's head out.'

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'Start.' (Sophia)

And then Sophia... disappears, at the same time as the feeling of something sharp prodding me from behind.

'Wha-' (Scar)

'Is that you, perv-' (Matilda)

'Stop. Matilda, Tony, Rachel, Kurt, all killed in action. You made the wrong assumption and died because of it.'

Sophia was standing between the four of us. 'Standing' being a possibly inappropriate term, given that she had a dagger in each hand, a dagger pointing out of her left boot, and one in her teeth, touching all four of us at the same time.

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'Are they just flexing on us at this point? How are we supposed to learn anything if we keep getting eliminated in less than two seconds?' (Gunter)

'I get the feeling if anything, we're learning more from the discussion before each combat than the actual combats themselves.' (Johann)

'What happened to you guys?'

'I charged at Gwyn and got blown out the ring from behind. The match before that, Sophia held a knife to my throat with her fucking teeth. I didn't even feel her move.' (Gunter)

'Elaina is just bad news. After she said start, the world turned upside down and I was on the floor. I have no idea what happened, it wasn't even a fight. Gwyn was somewhat fairer, at least I could see the dagger flying my way shortly before it hit me in the head.' (Johann)

'Sophia did the teeth dagger thing to Kurt too, though I got her boot.'

'Good for you, for such a pretty face she's goddamn creepy when that face is smiling right next to yours. I think that smile is gonna be stuck in my nightmares for a while. It's like... she enjoys killing people, and I'm nothing more than a toy to be torn apart. I used to think that Elaina was scary, but maybe Sophia is actually the worst of the lot.' (Gunter)

'I guess we're lucky in that the next one we're facing is the musclehead, but not so lucky that we only have three people for this. Anyway, since he's so tall, I guess we're stuck attacking Glenn from below?' (Johann)

'He expects us to do that since he's so damn tall though. Might be able to surprise him with a jumping attack instead.' (Gunter)

'I wouldn't do that if I were you. If your legs aren't on the ground he can probably quite easily throw you out the ring given that even Gwyn can do that with his left hand, and Glenn is probably the strongest.'

'If we fight normally we'll lose anyway. You do the usual thing and I'll look for an opening to subvert his expectations.' (Gunter)

'I guess we're going to lose anyway to any of them, so we might as well do whatever we can to see what the worst that can happen is.' (Johann)

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It was over in a swing. Though all of us blocked in time, the force of Glenn's warhammer forced both Johann and me out of the ring instantly, and unfortunately for Gunter, he actually jumped, and was knocked clear into the wall of the classroom.

'YOU NEED MORE PASSION!' (Glenn)

...

...

...

'He's alive!' (Manfred)

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'I'm not looking forward to this.' (Louis)

'Is there a point for us to be here?' (Manfred)

'Aren't you supposed to be the ones with balls?'

'The next instructor is Elaina though...' (Anneliese)

'She's the psycho that drove Robert insane. Are we going to survive this?' (Louis)

'Can we just give up?' (Manfred)

'Look, we might as well make the best of the situation, we won't get a chance like this to face off against them often.'

'Do what you want, it's not going to matter anyway.' (Anneliese)

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Unfortunately, Anneliese - and Johann - were right. As soon as Elaina whispered the word 'Start', the world spun around, and faded to black.