Zane heard the children walking in but he did not stop his meditation. He could hear them moving around as they prepared to spar. After a few minutes Zane only heard a few children communicating with each other. When Zane felt himself fully recover, he stood up and spoke.

“I can see you guys are ready. Have you prepared a strategy?” Zane smiled as the two groups nodded. “Then let’s get started. Jason is still recovering so we’ll begin without him.”

Zane left Jason meditating by the path and walked towards the center of the back yard. The children who were dressed in a mixture of wood and leather armor, followed him. Zane stopped and looked at the two groups.

The two groups confidently held their wooden training weapons as they spread out around him. Zane had spared with them many times and each child had received training from school. The training from the school allowed the children to become familiar with weapons. The children would engage in short spars that would end after one or two hits. The sparring matches Zane conducted allowed them to become familiar with battle. Specifically, a battle with a stronger opponent.

“Which group is going first?” Zane asked.

Zane focused his eyes on the two boys standing in the group circle with him. Both boys were of similar height. They were half a head shorter than Zane and had dark hair. One of the boys had fair skin while the other was light brown. The boy with fair skin took a step forward.

“Our group is going first” Fang stated

Zane gave him a nod before looking at Ahmed. The light brown skinned boy returned Zane’s look with a nod. Ahmed and his group took a few steps back forming a barrier for the fighting area.

Zane watched as the group of fourteen children position themselves into a formation. He felt that the only notable item of the formation was Fang. He was the oldest and had the highest stats.

Fang stood in front with a sword and shield while the other children held a weapon that they were comfortable with. They held a collection of bows and arrows wooden swords, spears, and knives. The only other shield in the group was held by a thirteen-year-old girl who was one year younger than Fang.

“Are you ready children” Zane asked.

“Don’t call us children.” Jenny pouted while adjusting her shield. “You’re only a few years older than us.”

“You’re wrong little sister. A novice on the battlefield will always look like a child to an expert. If you want to be treated like my equal you have to prove it with your strength and skill.”

Big brother’s right,” Fang agreed. “Compared to him we lack experience but that doesn’t mean we can’t put up a fight. Let’s show him how much we have grown”

“Yeah”

“Well definitely beat him.”

The group was bursting with energy and gave Zane a determined look. Zane met their gaze with one of pride. A few months ago, Zane held a few sparring matches to help his brother and sister understand the difference between training and battle. Zane used his full strength to stomp them into the ground.

He wanted to show them what a true warrior was capable of but also tried to encourage them to become stronger. Zane had a few matches with them before he lost motivation when Teacher Isabelle left. Despite his lack of motivation Zane would occasionally watch their training in the backyard. Their dedication helped motivate Zane and filled him with pride.

Zane allowed his manna to flow over his fist. He felt a cool felling as his fist gave of blue glow. Zane’s stats and experience gave him an advantage. If he allowed himself to use a weapon it would be unfair and much more dangerous.

“Let’s begin!” Zane bellowed.

Fang shot forward and the other followed him. He stayed a few steps ahead of his group and quickly entered Zane’s striking range. Zane pushed forward and raised his fist and delivered a punch to Fang’s shield. Fang crouched down to receive the blow while trying to land a hit with his hastily swung sword. Zane tilted his body to let the slash go by him while simultaneously connecting his fist with Fangs shield. The moment they connected Zane pushed with his body and mind allowing his mana and muscles to blast Fang away.

Zane watched as Fang fell onto his back and then turned to face Jenny. Zane used his fist to push aside the spear she thrusted at him. He gave a quick jab to her shield before stepping back to dodge a second spear that came from behind her.

After recovering from stumbling backwards she charged at Zane with a spearman behind her to swordswoman by her side. Zane confidently stepped forward while dodging a spear thrust from Jenny. He tilted his head to avoid the spear that came over her shoulder and thrust his fists toward the two swords aimed at his side. While he knocked the swords away, he thrust his knee at Jenny’s shield.

On average the children’s stats were in the late teens. Only a few of the older children had one or two stats in the low twenties. The gap of over ten stats in strength allowed Zane to send Jenny tumbling into the spearman behind her.

Zane rolled to his right chasing the swordswoman lost her balance from his deflection and dodging the two arrows aimed at his chest. He grabbed her sword wielding arm and flung her at her friend. Zane turned to greet Fang and the rest of the group that were approaching him.

Zane felt like he was bullying them but he knew that they would benefit from his harsh treatment. They would be more capable of surviving and have more opportunities when they went to choose their class in the future. Zane could tell that the children also knew this by the determined and excited look in their eyes. They were enjoying the training that would create the foundation for their future. Of course, they weren’t enjoying it as much as Zane.

The sparring continued as Zane danced around the children. Most of their attacks were dodged or deflected. Only a few attacks managed to hit his body giving Zane a few cuts. After a few more minutes Zane stopped the spar and had the group rest. Zane sat down to recover while the next group formed up and quietly talked amongst themselves.

Zane managed his power well so his loss of stamina and mana was not great. After a ten minute break Zane was back on his feet. Zane saw that Ahmed’s group was ready and let out another shout.

“Let’s begin”

What followed was another dance. It was similar but different from the one before. There was only one shield and the rest wielded either a bow or spear. Zane thought this was a good idea. Out of all the children only Fang Jenny and Ahmed had the strength to properly receive a hit from him. After a few minutes Zane called for a stop.

“How far is your HP from max?” Zane asked Fangs group.

“10 points”

“20”

“5”

“Okay well continue after my rest”

After speaking Zane sat down to recover. He had a good idea of the damage that his unarmed attacks dealt but was not sure how much everyone recovered. Zane dealt four physical damage and four magic damage per hit on average. Zan focused on hitting the shield users and occasionally hit the others. He would typically shove or throw the others and left the archers alone to increase pressure on himself. After another ten minutes Zane got up and looked toward Fangs group for the second sparring session.

“Are you done lazing around?” Jason asked. “We have been waiting a long time while you took your nap.”

“It’s good that you’re ready” Zane replied. “Things will be a lot more interesting when we add your magic.”

“I agree but who will I be fighting with. I don’t think it will be fair if we team up.”

“You’ll be working against me. The spar will end once I land a hit on Jason. You won’t get time to prepare. Now let’s begin!”

Zane didn’t move despite calling for the spar to start. He continued his passive behavior and only responding to attacks. The group took advantage of Zane’s inaction to form up and begin their assault. Their formation did not experience much changes. The shield wielders were in the front and the archers in the back. The others were spread out between them but Zane noticed their placement was a little different. He only paid a little attention to this before focusing on his main threat.

Jason’s magic would pose a serious threat to Zane. During spars Jason would only use the spell called mana bolt. The spell created a small ball of mana that shot forth to the users intended target. The spell was created by Jason alone and had the same number of powers as a spell powered by the system. Of course, the amount of energy, time and focus needed to cast the spell was greater without the system.

Despite the increase in difficulty in using the spell Zane still had to be careful of attacks from Jason. The techniques that Zane used did not reach the level of a system powered skill. The mana that coated his fist only made his punches a bit more powerful and protected his hands.

Fang led the group a few feet away from Zane before stopping. The archers drew and aimed at Zane while Jason began his spell. He stood in the center with Jenny next to him. The other children stood around him forming a loose border of flesh and wood. Zane prepared to receive Jason’s mana bolt by focusing more mana on to his right fist. A few seconds later Zane saw a ball of mana shoot toward him.

Zane focused on his feet and allowed strength to flow through his entire body before reaching his fist which he threw at Jason’s mana bolt. The mana bolt exploded forcing Zane back and leaving him unbalanced. Zane let himself fall back as he saw two arrows heading toward him. He performed a back roll while using his hands to push himself of the ground. Zane sprinted forward after watching three arrows fall on his previous position.

Zane quickly closed the distance between himself and Fang. The entire time Zane had to dodge or punched down arrows that were shot at him. Zane deflected the final projectile, a wooden knife, before reaching out to grab Fang’s shield with both hands. Zane smiled as he watched Fang’s eyes go from determination to confusion and the confusion give way to shock.

Zane pushed the shield in a way that would allow him to toss Fang into his brothers and sisters behind him. After they fell Zane continued moving forward and did his best not to step on his fallen brothers and sisters for two reasons. The first reason was to make sure he did not stumble on their still moving bodies. The second reason was because he did not want cause further injuries to their body or pride. Of course, Zane knew which of these two reasons were more important.

Zane saw that Jenny was both nervous and excited as he approached her. She was the final line of defense that determined the groups victory or defeat. Jason smiled confidently behind Jenny with a finish mana bolt hovering above his hand. Jenny placed herself in front of Jason which Zane was thankful for.

Zane would not be able to dodge Jason’s mana bolt at close range. Zane knew that Jason would attack him before or after he defeated Jenny. With Jenny standing in his way Zane predicted he would hold of his attack until the very end.

Zane paused for less than a second before bursting forward and throwing a right palm at Jenny’s spear. She had just delivered a fierce horizontal slash in order to push Zane back and buy time. Zane’s right palm smashed Jenny’s spear into her shield and caused her to lose her balance. Zane’s left palm sent her flying into Jason.

Jason panicked and quickly dispelled the mana bolt in his hand. Zane watched as the two of them fell on to the ground before slowly walking over.

“I win” Zane said.

“What was that?” Jason asked while standing up. “It’s unfair how you threw Jenny at me and forced me to stop my spell. What if I hadn’t stopped? She could have been seriously injured or even worse killed.”

“I think your being a sore loser. I have three and a half health potions in my bag and we have a few more in the house that can be used if an accident happens. Even if she was injured, she could be healed. With her current stats she wouldn’t be in danger of death.”

“It’s easy to say that now but your response would be different if you were standing over her broken body. How would you feel then?

Shaking his head Zane looked at Jenny sitting on the ground with a frown on her light brown skinned face. Zane thought that Jason might be right after seeing her expression.

“What do you think Jenny?” Zane gently asked. “Do you think what I did was too dangerous?

“What? No way” Jenny said.

“Don’t you think Zane was too violent?” Jason asked. “He could have seriously injured you.

“Injuries are expected during sparring.”

“But what if you were seriously injured”

“Your mana bolt isn’t strong enough to seriously injure me. Even if it is we have health potions to treat injuries.” Jenny calmly stated after standing up.

“Even if you could withstand it Zane’s actions were too vicious for a spar.”

Jason was a bit agitated since Jenny did not immediately agree with him. Zane knew that he took the correct action during the spar. The only reason Jason complained was because he lost.

“I disagree,” Jenny said while frowning. “I thought what I did and realized that we lost because I did not do my job correctly. As a defender I should focus on the enemy in front a of me and the people behind me. If I was more thoughtful you could have thrown your mana bolt at Zane and I wouldn’t have been in any danger.

“I give up.” Jason stated. “You win, but I still think Zane was rougher than he needed to be.”

“Well, I think he did what he need to win. After all the purpose of fight is to defeat your opponent.”

Jenny’s words forced Zane to stop and think. Her last sentence made him furrow his brows and rethink his action. I don’t think my actions were wrong I did what I needed to win.

The purpose of a spar is to learn from your opponent. It does not matter if your opponent is strong or weak, whether you win or lose. What is important is that you gain knowledge that you can use to improve yourself.

Recalling Teacher Isabelle’s words about sparring made Zane feel embarrassed. During the previous spars he had focused on defeating the two groups and forgot about learning.

“Jason might be right,” Zane said.

“I’m right? I mean of course I’m right.”

“The purpose of a battle is to defeat your opponent but the purpose of a spar is to learn from your opponent.” Zane turned to look at everyone. “All of you have improved a lot and, in my excitement, to experience your improvements I forgot the main reason for sparring.”

“Does that mean we win? Jason asked.

“No. It means that I will be more careful when sparring. Instead of pushing Jenny into your mana bolt I could have called a pause and said why I would win. If I was wrong, we could continue sparring. If I was right then I would spar with the next group.”

“That makes sense,” Fang agreed. “I’m happy to hear that you think we improved so much.”

“All of you have definitely gotten stronger. If you hadn’t, I would not have fought seriously.”

Zane had noticed Fang and the others approach while Jenny and Jason were talking. Zane could see that his words caused them to be filled with pride and fighting spirit.

“In that case lets have another battle. I’m sure we’ll give you a fight that’s even better.”

“That sounds great but youll have to wait until after I’ve sparred with Ahmed’s group.”

Zane grinned as he watched Fang’s group walk away with slumped shoulders and Ahmed’s group charge forward. Zane continued to spar for most of the day. The majority of spars Zane won but there were a few that he lost. Zane continued to improve himself regardless of the outcome of each spar.