Swords continued to clash, growing fiercer and fiercer by the minute. Underneath the glaring sun, both men moved agilely, one with smooth elegance while the other in persistent desperation.

Why he opted for that sword baffled her more than anything else. It wasn’t like he was weak. Vyron, that is. Had he picked a lighter weapon, like a rapier, he would’ve seen that his speed would have a significant increase. Granted, the force of his blows would greatly diminish. But in exchange for power, speed would take precedence.

“He’s losing,” she murmured.

Despite the large crowd, a hushed silence overtook them as they watched the match intensely. Albright and Porte heard her. They believed her.

However they could see it, Vyron was no match for the other’s expert use of the sword. His movements had begun to slow him down and became sluggish. The reason why the match hasn’t ended is because neither one did not want the match to end yet. An outcome set in stone is no better than a match that had been thrown.

From a perspective, everyone knew how stubborn of a mule Vyron is. And from the looks of it, the so-called new trainer also knows this. Did he not want to end the match hoping for an unaccounted variable?

Everyone shook their heads. The sorry sight of Vyron became hard to watch.

“This isn’t a fight he can hope to win.”

“Why can’t he just surrender? Has his stubbornness gotten the better of him again?”

“Where is that guy, Carys? I heard he’s the only one who can keep him on a tight leash.”

“I heard he was isolating himself again in the Black Tower.”

Ethel’s ears perked up when she happened to overhead their conversation. Interesting.

The Black Tower had been the student’s training spot ever since the current head had been appointed. Located in the south wing, a magic circle had been embedded around the vicinity that allows the temperature to increase as much as one could handle.

Having heard a rumor about Carys during her third year in Agora, that young man had never failed to spend his time there and train every single day for the past six years. From his first year to last, how admirable it was in the eyes of the other warriors.

"The fight has ended."

Ethel looked up and saw Vyron had slumped to the floor, his sword lay a few meters away from him. He was panting for air as his chest heavily rose up and down. His once neat and tidy uniform had been crumpled and dirtied with grime and sweat, the hair he proudly boasts about had turned messy and lost its shine.

Despite having an outcome set in stone, he did not think of giving up and persisted. Quite horrible and useless, but nevertheless still something to praise for. She also had to give credits to the new trainer for skillfully handling the match.

Her eyes shone with excitement when she realized that the new trainer might give her a harder challenge than that old demon. The ultimate question boiled down to whether he was willing to teach a girl like her. The discrimination against women, although weren’t obvious, had been an issue she faced that hindered her training for the past six years. It also became the reason she taught herself, cross implementing techniques and movements.

“A marvelous fight!” Porte exclaimed rather blandly as he clapped.

Thought it sounded sincere, he actually meant to insult him in a roundabout way, essentially saying that it was a futile match. Porte may look innocent, but he had a way of expertly insulting a person. Instead of a thanks, Porte received an intense glare from Vyron, who stared at him with gritted teeth as he walked down the stage sword in hand.

When Ethel saw him glaring, she had debated on whether or not to be his sparring partner later in training to teach him a lesson, everyone knew how he always managed to lose to her. On second thought, Ethel didn’t feel like paying attention to him today. More importantly, she was itching to spar with the new trainer. She hadn’t had a match with a sword since last week.

“Thank you for taking the time to spar with me, young man. A good match, if I do say so myself.”

The old man spoke in a booming voice, using amplifying magic as mages do. You could practically feel the vitalis being sucked into him like a tornado. To be able to sustain that kind of voice, he has to have a vessel large enough to fit a whale. After the fight had ended, the arena only consisted of sixth-years. Oddly enough, Ethel hadn’t manage to catch a glimpse of Fleur. Had she skipped classes again?

“A pleasant morning to all of you.” The man spoke as he stood on the platform. “I am Baron Kapfem, a retired imperial knight from the capital of Solasta. As all of you may have heard, I will be the new sparring teacher in place of Sir Desmon, who has decided to retire from his post.” The crowd of seniors broke into murmurs as they heatedly whispered among themselves of what was to come. Ethel ignored them and listened attentively, anxious of what to expect. And like ducklings, Albright and Porte mimicked her. A strange sight to behold.

A large man, a tall woman, and a petite boy made them resemble the barrels of beer sold in bars, different sizes with one bigger than the next.

The new sparring teacher swept his gaze from left to right at the crowd of students. Others, he found brimming with potential, the others... not so much. Although if he had to pick one person that had caught his eye, it would be that tall, dark haired woman with a strange weapon on her sword belt.

‘A panabas, perhaps?’

His lips curved up in an unusual smile that caused several students goosebumps. Had he gone mad? Nothing good ever comes out of a smile like that.

“Alright then. I’ve already been informed by the headmaster and Sir Desmon of the schedule. But I will tweak it a little bit.” His words again caused several students to groan. “Now now, it won’t be so bad. Starting on simboca and dumireca, every single one of you will pick a partner, exchanging teachings.”

“I knew it!”

A student had grabbed his hair out of stress when he realized that the sixth year’s schedules were once again packed. It had only been two months since classes begun. And just when they thought that it couldn’t be any worse, Baron Kapfem continued, “Oh, and no repeat. Which means that if you have already partnered with one person, you are not allowed to partner with them again.”

The sparring class was the only class that students from different branches were allowed to hold classes together. While some were used to sparring with familiar faces, now they would be forced to spar with someone unfamiliar and whose weapon they had no knowledge of. The headmaster had allready forbade them from holding back.

This time though, Ethel wanted to laugh loudly.

Who would be insane enough to spar with each and every student whose weapon was unfamiliar to them as magic?

An excited grin made its way to Ethel’s face subconsciously. From those who saw it, they wanted to curse her luck.

“You’re smiling again,” Albright whispered as he lowered his head.

The grin quickly slipped from her face as she covered her mouth.

Porte chuckled as he realized how Ethel acted sometimes.

As the students began to ponder about how they were going to fit everything in their schedules, one student raised their hand.

“Sir, do we have to attend during the weekends too?”

A ridiculous question, Ethel thought. It was so obviously stated in his words that they had to. Or did he not know when simboca and dumireca are?

“...”

Baron Kapfem sunk deep in thought.

If he wants these students to have the capability to participate in the tournament next year, he had to rigorously train them until they were half-dead. He knew the standards of each and every mage in Yllion. And now, there were still a lot of technical moves he needed to teach them before they can be called true swordsmen. But, according to the headmaster, there were a few sixth years that could rival the Old Demon. He found it hard to believe, but somehow sensing the vast amount of vitalis in the air made him think otherwise.

Formally, there were two main branches of Agora Institute. Vitae, where scholars, mages, and other liberal arts persons went to; and Agora, where warriors, blacksmiths, and other weapons related people went to. The Institute of Vitae was located in the far south of the Karin Continent in the State of Yllion, almost at the opposite end of the world. Approximately six months from now, people from all over the continent would be participating in the annual Mars, a competition held in honor of the unification of the Karin Continent by the Werdolf Empire.

Of course, the headmaster wanted the students to be the formal representatives of the competition, as strict rules required participants under the age of 25. It had become common knowledge that the headmaster’s greatest wish for someone to prove that the art of weaponry was not any weaker that vitalis. Baron Kapfem wanted to use someone as a catalyst.

The headmaster did mention several strong candidates. Ethel. A sixth-year student who had no specialized weapon. At first he thought she had gone mad trying to master different weapons, but it did hold a certain logic to it. If one were perhaps a genius, then perhaps it was possible. He dared to think there was nothing impossible in this world.

“Sir?” one student snapped him out of his reverie.

“Ah yes,” Baron Kapfem looked up and cleared his throat. “Then I will be upfront about it.”

“As all of you may be aware of, the annual Mars will soon be held in the capital city of Solasta in the Werdolf Empire. And as tradition, the Institute had always sent ten students every year. Unfortunately, it has been seven years since a master of weapons had won the competition.”

Baron Kapfem threw a glane at Ethel, a gaze that made unsettled her. “And as the headmaster and I have talked about, I will be supervising your training until the end of Xunu, where I will pick students who will come with me.” Baron Kapfem made sure that everyone could hear him clearly.

“Remember, I do not discriminate, so everyone will have a fair chance.”

There it was again. That uncomfortable expression thrown at her.

If there was anything that Ethel disliked the most in the world, it was that people always had a certain expectation at her. She disliked expectation.If this new trainer was planning to appoint her a spot then she's going to make sure that wouldn't happen.