Chapter 37 - Wesley's Start

As soon as the period ended and the first-year students were released, Wesley and Kellan donned their respective training armors and began sparring. Over the past month, Wesley and Kellan had sparred every day in front of the second elder.

Their movements while sparring were still extremely slow, but compared to their first spar, they were now three times faster. However, the strain these armors placed on their bodies was still significant.

Furthermore, the more they became accustomed to the armor's restrictions, the longer their sparring sessions grew. The original session, which had lasted three hours, was now five hours long. This rate of increase caused Wesley and Kellan no small amount of concern.

However, the benefits of these sparring sessions were clear, especially for Wesley, who was not a swordsman by nature. His understanding of his sword technique improved, and his experience also grew. Wesley had plenty of experience in fighting and killing, but he had often relied on his magic to gain the upper hand over his opponents because his sword skills were simply too weak. Now, he felt like he could rely more on his sword.

"What kind of halfhearted parry is that? Use your opponent's strength against him! Twist your arm when his sword comes into contact with yours!"

The second elder's voice echoed throughout the hall as he guided the two. The second elder usually just stood there, but every so often, he would shout at either Wesley or Kellan to correct something in their technique.

The second elder never tried to teach them a specific technique; instead, he let them spar endlessly, using their own styles. Although this may seem like a natural way to allow his students to improve on their own, it also meant that Wesley and Kellan had no clear idea of what was required of them.

The sound of metal colliding against metal rang out incessantly throughout the classroom, causing anyone who might have heard it to wince at the force that could produce such a sound.

If one saw Wesley sparring with Kellan at this moment, they wouldn’t think he was an agility-based swordsman. Wesley, despite wearing his lanky, awkwardly designed armor, was standing firm against Kellan without dodging or retreating. This was unfathomable for an agility-based swordsman, as speed and evasion were their forte.

This was because the second elder specifically ordered Wesley to face Kellan head-on without being evasive, while Kellan was told not to hide behind his giant sword. At first, neither Wesley nor Kellan understood the reason behind this, but after nearly a month of constant sparring, they now understood.

By clashing head-on without relying on tricks, they had to learn how to face their opponents directly. This eliminated any fear of colliding with the enemy's sword. Furthermore, since neither could rely on their natural advantages to win, they had to come up with new ways to gain the upper hand. They used feints, counters, misdirection, and many other tactics.

Although some of these tactics could be considered underhanded and dishonorable, the second elder never protested nor voiced any discontent. In a real fight, it’s life or death for all involved—no one would be willing to trade their life for the sake of their pride. And if they were willing, then they truly deserved to be killed.

Both Wesley and Kellan understood this. They both used underhanded and sometimes shameless methods to gain the advantage. Kellan would often punch at Wesley, Wesley would drop his sword and use his other one, and Kellan would sling the sweat accumulated on his forehead. It was an endless barrage of shameless tactics.

Wesley and Kellan considered each other friends. In fact, it was safe to say they were each other's only friends at the academy. However, when they sparred, neither thought of the other as a friend. Instead, they saw each other as enemies out for the other's head. Neither was above using the most despicable methods to survive. That was the mentality the second elder had instilled in them.

"That’s enough. Sit and breathe for a short while."

Wesley and Kellan immediately stopped their movements and sat where they stood. These short breaks were all they had to rest and recover. If they wasted this time, they’d have to wait another hour before they could rest again during sparring. Neither of them was willing to lose this opportunity.

- - - - - - - - - -

While Wesley and Kellan were sitting inside the classroom resting, four blue robed students were slowly walking towards the classroom. One of them, a black haired youth, with a round face and a slightly crooked nose looked at another golden haired student who was walking next to him and spoke in a hushed voice:

"Eltier, class ended a long time ago. We won't find anything, let's just go back."

"Janal, stop being a wimp. If there is really nothing we'll just leave."

"But, why are we even going there."

"Hmph, the two seniors always stay behind after we leave. Seeing how senior Wesley is so strong, they must take secret lessons from the second elder. We'll just go have a look."

These four youths were all aware of how powerful Wesley and Kellan were, and as children who were not even past ten, they revered power and might and wanted to be powerful themselves. They not only wanted to figure what made their seniors so strong, they also hoped that they could also become strong after they figure it out.

The four of them, led by Eltier, sneaked to the entrance of classroom. After nodding towards each other, Eltier slowly pushed the door open. As soon as the door was opened slightly, the four of them looked through the crack.

They were expecting a grand sight, something akin to a bloody battle with swords flying everywhere, but they were extremely disappointed. All they see were to cross legged figures in the middle of the classroom, and although the figures were wearing odd looking armors, they were simply too ordinary compared to their expectations.

But before they could even understand what they were seeing, the two cross legged figures suddenly shot up from their sitting and stood up while facing where they were standing. The figures both had their eyes plastered on the group of four with their swords drawn. The chilly gaze of the two armored figures caused the four students to feel a cold sweat roll down their backs. They truly believed that the two figures could see them through the door.

While Wesley and Kellan were doing their breathing exercises, they still kept their guard up to its maximum. This was because, the second elder made their thirty minute break a competition. If one of them felt that he has recovered completely before the thirty minutes were up, he is allowed to immediately attack the other. Although Wesley and Kellan had a silent understanding to wait until the thirty minutes were up, they nonetheless kept close watch for potential ambushes from the other. This forced the two of them to always remain vigilant.

Suddenly, while they were breathing, a small creek to their back captured their attention. Since they should have been sitting next to each other, no one should be behind them, so after hearing the creak, one though arose In both of their minds; he's making his move.

They both immediately shot up and turned towards the source of the voice only to find no one there which surprised them slightly. However, looking to their sides, they both saw the other standing, they immediately thought that they were correct about the ambush, but before they could start sparring, the second elder's voice interrupted them.

"Young Eltier. Why are you here."

The whole classroom was silent for a moment before the front door was pushed in and four blue robed students appeared. They immediately bowed to the second elder, and Eltier immediately spoke:

"Elder, We wanted to observe the seniors' secret lesson."

"Haha, is that so. Wesley, Kellan, the two of you are done for the day. You youngster's come forward, I have an even better idea than just observing. Hahaha."

Hearing the second elder's words, Wesley and Kellan were delighted, while the four first years were terrified. Wesley and Kellan got out of their armors and walked towards the four students who were standing dazed at the entrance while smiling.

When Wesley and Kellan were about to go past the four, Wesley slightly leaned towards Eltier and spoke in a low voice while laughing:

"Haha, good luck Eltier."

"Senior?"

Eltier couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Not only did he not learn what he wanted to learn, he also seemed to need luck for what the second elder was planning. This caused him to curse his damn nossiness.

Wesley and Kellan knew first hand the second elder's personality. Although he wouldn't hurt his students, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t cause extreme amounts of anguish. They simply laughed at what was coming towards these unknowing juniors of thiers.