Despite not seeming to favor any one child over the other, Ohm Icura still chose to pit the weakest looking boy against one of the stronger females, Jazzie Emmete. Jazz had chosen a long handled war hammer much like the item she received from the earth god. Damian Danton had also chosen to stick with the weapon type received from the fire god, Curbu. He did, however, choose to add a shield to his other arm, to compliment the short sword.

Ohm Icura and Deacon Moorzu took the time to explain that it was impossible for the children to hurt each other, at least permanently. Moorzu would heal them after each match so they were encouraged to give it their all. They still weren't expecting much more than timid swings before the children begged to leave the circle.

They were therefore surprised when Jazz and Damian went at each other with the expected lack of skill, but the unexpected abundance of ferocity.

Neither child had learned enough to display any technique, but neither hesitated at Jharaks shouted "Attack!".

For their own reasons, both student's had always had to deal with bullies of their own growing up. But neither had to deal with the same ones twice. Jazzie's size meant being picked on by both boys and girls growing up, while Damian's meant being picked on by boys while being ignored by girls.

In the honor circle, Damian dodged Jazzie's hammer swings while trying to get close enough to do damage with the sword. However, despite the weight of the long hammer, he found his opponent moving far more nimbly than she had any right to. Even if he got past the head of the hammer, Jazz wasn't above using the shaft or lashing out with a foot. The attacks he was forced to take on the shield numbed his arm, further slowing its use.

Finally, the match ended when Damian sacrifices his shield arm to deliver a blow to the back of Jazz's head in a spinning move that had far more luck than skill. The girl wasn't knocked out, but the position she was left in on the floor forced Ohm Icura to declare Damian the winner.

"As you can see children half the fight is less how sharp your claws are, and more how willing you are to use them," Jharak exclaimed before pointing out the next two combatants. Damian and Jazz in the meanwhile were treated with holy light by the deacon.

None of the following fights displayed nearly as much spirit as the first, but that but that much, at least was the expected norm for the instructors.

Leons turn came and he found himself paired with Jermain Scott, the class genius. The boy had a spear and was positioned low to the ground. Whether or not he actually knew how to use the weapon, the stance looked intimidating.

Leon had long since determined he wasn't interested in winning or losing, he just wanted to get this over with, with as little pain as possible so he could explore whatever the info boxes were willing to tell him.

At the commencement of the fight, Jermain exploded forward, deciding his 7-foot spear gave him an edge over Leons 6-foot staff. Leon couldn't disagree and dodged as Jermain's spear occupied the space he had just vacated.

Frantically scrambling backward while knocking the spear away with his own staff, kept him safe for a while, but it wasn't going to win the match. Winning wasn't as important as avoiding the pain of the spear, but the first was the best way to avoid the second.

After a while, Leon was confident he had found Jermain's rhythm, and even when the other boy tried to change it up, he somehow managed to keep up, but he was still on the defensive. Finally, after another missed thrust by Jermain, Leon did something neither was expecting. Without thinking he ran towards the other boy, forcing him to back up to keep the spear in play.

Leon was too close and with the mid staff stance he had been taught, harried Jermain with both sides of his staff. Taking a page out of Jazz's book, Leon lashed out with a kick that caught his opponent off guard and knocks him on his back.

Jermain manages to hold onto his spear but from his position on the ground, it's impossible to protect against Leons attacks. Finally, he's forced to concede when his weapon is knocked out of reach and the staff is pressed against his throat.

The fight was sloppy and both boys have bruises, but the instructors are pleased and so they are allowed to be healed by the deacon. The other fights finish just as the sun is setting.

Before being sent to bed, the children are shown separate barrels of water and given cloth to wipe themselves down. The girls and boys treat it like a school locker, doing their best to ignore the servants and guards. Given the deaths of their classmates and the busy day they've had, the children hardly have the strength to take any interest in each other as well.

A wave of exhaustion hits Leon has he laid in his bedroll, but he still takes some time to go over the info boxes. The sparring match gave him some experience. That plus what he's earned through the day just from learning about this world brings his total up to 73%.

The analysis skill hasn't shown him anything spectacular about this world yet. Other than some strangely named plants, there really hasn't been much to see, he supposes. However, now that he's alone he can finally check the best for last. Holding up is hand he uses analyze on the ring tattoo.

Dimensional Ring

Soulbound

God-tier

+25% Dark Affinity

0%unlocked

Grows with the amount of mana it is fed

Current slots: 1

Somewhat underwhelmed, Leon wonders about the stats of everyone else's weapons. Do they grow too? first thing first, he needs to figure out how to feed this thing mana.

Suddenly the noise from outside, various clinks of the guard's equipment and noise from the forest, even the very wind, disappears. The change is so abrupt, Leon wonders if the camp is under attack for a moment. Sitting up, he is startled by the little girl standing in the entryway of his tent.

She wears a dark purple victorian dress that seems designed to be as creepy as possible. Or perhaps that is just her bone white face, with eyes that are not there, just black space. Before Leon can react, the girl speaks.

"Why have you betrayed me?" She asks, with what seems like genuine sorrow.