The Combat Hall was located in the same building as the classrooms. I stepped out of the elevator and into the basement of the building.
The interface arrow pointed towards the closest of the three doors present. The door stood ajar as cadets streamed inside.
I followed Shin as he walked in, pausing to give it a once-over.
A massive dojo spread before me, softly illuminated by pale white lights above. It contained rings, raised platforms, racks upon racks of cold steel and wooden weapons, with pale green mats covering the entirety of the floor.
A dark-haired, barefoot, middle-aged man waited patiently at the centre of the room. A black kimono hung loosely off his frame, its fabric folding gently around a sword attached to his waist. His left hand rested naturally on its hilt as he watched us gather around with disinterest.
He, alongside Alice, was among the five paragons in the academy. Though among the five, they were the only high-level ones.
There was a strange air around him, like I was gazing at the calm surface of a raging sea.
Almost like a sheathed sword.
The moment we formed a cycle around him, he began.
"Cadet Alexa. Cadet Ren. Come forward."
His voice was calm, eerily so, as he called out. The aforementioned stepped out immediately, whatever senses they had likely warning them of how dangerous he was.
Alexa looked to be in much better condition than when I’d last seen her. Although she still had eyebags and seemed to be constantly muttering something under her breath, she didn’t look in immediate danger of having a seizure.
The other cadet, Ren, was a boy with brown hair and dark eyes. Neither his name nor his characteristics rang any bells in my head, which meant he couldn’t have the potential of an Archon or Demigod.
’Maybe an S rank then?’
While a potential of S rank was certainly nothing to scoff at in this world, in a class containing numerous monsters with much higher potentials, they were often sidelined.
The main reason I remembered Shin was due to his unique appearance.
"We will start this session with a randomly selected exhibition. Then we shall move on to guided spars."
He looked at both Alexa and Ren, his expression still blank.
"Select your weapons, cadets. The use of gifts is permitted during this match. Do not worry about hurting your colleague. Your weapons, however, must be wooden."
The circle we made around Kaito and the cadets widened as we moved to give them space.
Alexa picked a bastard sword with a confidence completely at odds with her shaky demeanour. Ren, on the other hand, picked a bo staff.
Both positioned themselves at the centre, with Kaito standing between them. His hand had never left his sword.
The man gave both cadets a measured look before stepping to the side. Original content can be found at novel-fire.ɴet
"The fight ends once an opponent gives up, I intervene, or your weapon hits a critical area."
He stepped further back, giving them some space as well.
Ren stepped back immediately, pulling himself beyond the reach of the sword as he began circling around Alexa.
The girl in question maintained her stance, lowering her sword at an angle with both hands holding the hilt in a relaxed grip, as she began circling too.
Then suddenly, he thrust forward, staff aiming for her head.
Alexa merely flicked her head to the side, letting the staff whizz by. She took a step forward, baiting Ren into withdrawing it.
However, before it could completely leave her side, one hand released her sword as she grabbed it.
The sudden resistance broke his stance.
Before he could react, she pulled, instantly closing the distance and delivering a brutal kick to his chest. The boy, to his credit, didn’t let go of his weapon; thus, he was sent rolling along with the staff as Alexa released it.
She looked at her now shaking hand, then back at the staff, before silently entering a two-hand grip again.
Ren hastily stood up with a curse, entering a cautious stance. Both hands wrapped the staff in a more controlling grip.
Alexa wouldn’t give him the chance to stabilise as she rushed forward, sword still inclined.
Ren responded with a swipe, something she easily dodged with a backstep before pressing onward.
However, using the momentum from the missed strike, he twisted, unleashing a rising swipe towards her abdomen.
She merely grunted, twisting her bastard sword making it slide on the staff at an angle before pushing it off near the hilt, completely deflecting it.
Alexa wasted no time in closing the remaining distance, smacking Ren’s face with the sword’s pommel. Before he could recover, she slammed the pommel heavily into his right shoulder, staggering him as he was forced to drop the staff.
Her leg kicked it away before it could even touch the ground.
After that, the match was less of an exhibition and more of a beatdown.
She stepped back, both hands firm on the hilt before releasing a winded strike on his knee. The boy crumpled instantly but was shown no mercy as she kicked him, forcing him to roll on his side.
Ren’s left hand still reached out desperately for his staff, but his insolence was rewarded with a curb stomp on the palm.
The boy released a rather pitiful cry at that.
It was getting rather hard to watch. Still, for some reason, I couldn’t tear my eyes from it.
Alexa kept her boot on his hand as she gently rested her sword on his neck.
There was no reaction to Kaito’s calm voice, aside from an absolute silence only broken by Ren’s choking sobs.
"Cadet Alexa, it is your victory. You may remove your boot from Cadet Ren’s hand."
That seemed to be enough to snap her out of whatever flow state she was in.
She quickly removed her boot from Ren’s hand, withdrawing her sword as well.
As she spoke, her eyes darted to the side, looking at an empty spot.
If the instructor noticed her peculiarity, he didn’t comment on it. His face remained as passive as it had been since the start.
Alexa nodded at that, her eyes still glancing at the empty spot as she walked back into a crowd eager to give her ample space. She didn’t spare a glance for the boy writhing on the ground.
I could hear Shin whisper beside me.
I’d seen my fair share of fights before, even been in a few, but they were dirty, desperate things. Seeing such systemic brutality was certainly a new experience for me.
’Are all spars going to be ?’
I was already sweating bullets at the thought.
Kaito continued without a care for the dazed students.
"Cadet Ren, you may check yourself with the medic. It is one of the other two doors. Both you and Cadet Alexa are excused from this class."
The boy could only grunt in response, lying in pain on the floor. Blood from his broken nose dripped onto both his uniform and the floor.
A cadet from the crowd moved to help him, only for Kaito to stop her.
"Do not help him. He shall take himself to the medic. He is fully capable of doing so."
The girl quietly retreated back into the crowd.
The man walked back to the centre, stepping over Ren’s body. His hand still rested naturally on his sword hilt.
"Now. Shall we begin?"
It was my turn to say it now.
Who created this monster?