Chapter 39:

The snowfall hadn’t stopped professor Tauri from making her students exercise outside. The majority of them despised the cold and were sluggish throughout the class. Most of the students were still running laps around the track. Stryg was one of the few who didn’t mind the cold much and pressed forward. Like every day, Stryg finished first. But, his mind was elsewhere as he walked off his daily run.

He needed to think of a plan to deal with Karen. Stryg didn’t know much about families, but he had seen how the animals in the forest behaved with their own. How a mother bear would risk everything to keep her family safe. Who knows, Karen might even give up her comrades if her family was threatened.

After his muscles had cooled down a bit Stryg headed over to the water barrel to get a drink.

“Hey, Stryg,” Callum walked over. “Clypeus and I almost passed you this time.”

The two vampires were always trying to beat one another on the track, but their true goal was to top Stryg’s unbroken 1st place record.

“I was just a little tired. I ran from the commoner district all the way to the scholar district without stopping,” Stryg drank down the water in one go.

“Seriously? You must have ran for an hour at least.” Callum ran his hand through his black hair, “And here I thought we were finally catching up.”

“Tell me about it,” Stryg glanced at professor Tauri, who was directing a few academy staff carrying large wooden crates. The orc woman was always the fastest among the class. It was almost infuriating how she always seemed to stay just a few steps ahead of Stryg every time. He suspected the professor used magic, but he wasn’t sure.

“Are you going to get some water?” Stryg asked, stepping away from the barrel.

“No, I just actually had a drink,” Callum pointed his thumb to his maid standing a few dozen feet away.

“I never found blood to be as refreshing as water,” Stryg said.

“You’ve drunk blood before?”

“A few times. The cooks in my tribe would serve it during full moons, it was normally mixed in with some herbs.”

“Are you sure you’re not a half-vampire too?” Callum raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t know,” Stryg sighed into his cup. Callum was one of the few classmates who wasn’t completely weirded out by Stryg’s off handed comments. Besides Plum, he was the only student he really talked to.

“Okay, everyone gather around,” Tauri called out.

Stryg and the others made a circle around Tauri and the wooden crates next to her. The snow in the area had been cleared out, leaving dead yellow grass underneath it.

Kithina was still trying to catch her breath. Running long distances wasn’t easy for a dwarf, but she had at least come to the point where she could finish the daily runs without falling to her knees in lung piercing agony. Tauri kept telling her that the exercise would help make her body stronger and more capable of channelling mana, but Kithina never felt that way.

“Today we are going to be doing something a bit different,” Tauri stated. She opened the crates to reveal an assortment of wooden weapons. “Sparring.”

Nora, a human classmate, groaned, “But we already have magic. Why would we ever use a club over a blast of fire?”

“Well for one, you are not a chromatic orange, so you can’t cast flame spells even if you wanted to. More importantly, while Professor Loh may be training you to be able to cast spells in combat, there will be times you run out of mana or your body is incapable of handling a spell or even worse, your spells are ineffective against your opponent. Weapons can help close that gap,” Tauri explained.

“This isn’t the martial academy, so I don’t expect you to be weapon experts by the end of the year. But, I do expect you to be able to handle yourself if the need ever arises,” Tauri said.

She caught the worried glances of Nora and a few others. “Don’t stress too much though, you have three years to learn. Today we’ll take it slow. Stryg, you are the swiftest on your feet in the entire class, actually the entire student body. But how fast are you in an actual fight?”

Stryg became worried, was she challenging him to a fight?

Tauri waved Stryg over to the weapons crate, “You’ll go first. Pick whatever weapon you want. They're all wooden and dull, so don’t worry about hurting your opponent.”

Stryg nodded with reluctance and began rummaging through the crate, hoping to find a suitable weapon.

“Who got 2nd place today?” Tauri asked.

“I did,” Callum said with a proud smile. Normally, Clypeus or Kegrog would get 2nd, but he had managed to beat them both, barely.

“You’ll be up against Stryg then. Choose your weapon,” Tauri said.

“Alright,” Callum went to another crate and picked up a wooden long sword.

He felt a little sorry for the goblin. Callum had taken sword classes since he was a child. Besides Clypeus, there weren’t any trained combatants in the class.

Stryg finally found what he was looking for. He reached deep into the crate and pulled out a quarterstaff. It wasn’t a spear, but it would have to do. The students took several paces back to give the two magi fighting room.

“The goal is to land three hits on your opponent. Hits to the head or groin are not allowed. We are trying to avoid any serious injuries. At any point you can decide to give up. There is no shame, this is just practice after all,” Tauri stated. “Face each other and bow before each bout.”

Stryg bent his neck in a short and quick bow.

Callum bowed at a 90 degree angle, his hand over his heart, “May the goddess of war, Bellum, watch over us.”

Stryg didn’t know too much about Bellum, but he did know how to fight. The students surrounded them in a circle and Tauri acted as the referee for the match. It reminded Stryg of home back in Vulture Woods, in the village square.

“Begin!” Tauri shouted.

Callum and Stryg began to circle each other. “No matter how this ends, we’re both hybrids, no grudges right?” Callum smiled.

Stryg hissed in response. Callum frowned.

Stryg charged forward and made a wide swing at Callum’s chest. The half-vampire raised his sword high to block. Stryg used his own momentum and spun low to the ground, his staff following suit, and smashing into Callum’s exposed shin. Callum crashed to the floor with a shout of pain.

“1 point to Stryg,” Tauri said.

But, Stryg wasn’t stopping. Callum was pushing himself up when Stryg’s quarterstaff slammed into his back, sending Callum’s face slamming into the grass. The vampire didn’t even have a chance to grab his sword before Stryg had whacked him a third time.

“Stop! Stop it Stryg!” Tauri yelled.

Stryg paused his assault and looked at her, “I win. Three hits, right?”

Tauri pinched the bridge of her nose, “Not consecutively. You’re supposed to back off after each hit.”

“You didn’t say that before,” Stryg said with an air of innocence.

“I just assumed it was obvious. You know what, whatever. Now everyone knows. No more excuses. Callum how are you feeling?” Tauri said.

“Oh gods, I can’t feel my back,” Callum whimpered from the ground.

“Kegrog, take Callum to the infirmary please and be gentle,” Tauri sighed.

“Yes, ma’am,” Kegrog said. The orc gingerly picked up Callum in a princess carry.

Kithina winced in sympathy as Callum was taken away.

Damn, that Stryg, Kithina thought with clenched fists.

“Seeing as you're still full of energy, you’ll go another round Stryg,” Tauri said.

“I volunteer to be his opponent,” Clypeus raised his hand.

“Looks like we have a challenger,” Tauri smiled. “Grab a weapon and hit the field.”

Clypeus jogged up to a crate and selected two wooden gladii. He tested the weight of each gladius, before walking over to Stryg.

“May Bellum protect the worthy,” Clypeus bowed, hand to his heart.

Stryg imitated the bow this time.

“Begin!” Tauri shouted.

Clypeus dashed at Stryg with surprising speed. He swung his staff at the vampire’s legs, but Clypeus jumped over with a twist and slashed his blades at him. Stryg rolled to dodge, but the gladius clipped his shoulder.

“1 point to Clypeus,” Tauri said.

Stryg frowned. The blade had been faster than he had anticipated. Clypeus kept a stony face and walked back to his starting point.

“Begin!” Tauri said.

Stryg rushed forward and performed a flurry of thrusts at Clypeus’ mid-region. Clypeus brandished his gladii with expert skill, blocking each attack with swift deftness. The vampire waited for a break in the attacks and jumped towards Stryg, his blade aimed at the hybrid’s arm. Stryg was waiting for the attack, he jumped backwards out of Clypeus’ reach and slammed the staff into his ribs. Clypeus grit his teeth in pain, but said nothing.

“1 point to Stryg,” Tauri stated.

The two fighters went back to their starting position.

“Begin!” She shouted.

They both charged each other immediately. When Stryg was close he drove his staff at Clypeus’ leg. The vampire parried the attack at a downwards angle. He kicked the staff to the ground and vaulted off it, twisting in the air right past Stryg. He slashed at Stryg’s back as he landed. The force of the blow sending Stryg to his knees. He was too slow to react, he hadn’t seen it coming.

“2 points to Clypeus,” Tauri stated.

Stryg cursed under his breath. Clypeus nodded curtly.

“Begin!” Tauri shouted.

Stryg and Clypeus began to encircle one another. Each wary of the other’s attack. Stryg focused on Clypeus feet, waiting for a single pause, a moment of distraction.

Clypeus took a step closer, Stryg swung the quarterstaff as far he could reach. Clypeus ducked underneath and charged him. Stryg gripped the staff at its low point and slammed the butt of the staff at his opponent. The vampire blocked the attack with one blade. Stryg immediately let go of the staff and kicked Clypeus in the face. The other gladius met Stryg’s foot, parried it away, and slashed at him.

“3 points to Clypeus! That’s it, done!” Tauri crossed her arms. “Stryg, at the end you went for an illegal hit to the face. You’re off the field for the day, leave my class!”

Stryg glared at the orc. She raised her eyebrow, daring Stryg to make a move. Instead, he sighed and walked away.

Tauri shook her head and turned to Clypeus, “Well done. 3 solid hits.”

“As expected of a member of house Gale,” Nora smiled at the vampire. “You're not a warrior family for nothing.”

“Mm.” Clypeus stared at the cyan goblin in the distance.