Daniel AKA Dan - training grounds

John was looked at us from the center of the stone circle, waiting for the challenger, a feral grin on his face. I absolutely didn't want to enter the circle, this toothy grin of his seemed to promise me a world of pain, but it looked like someone didn't have the same point of view as mine. Carl walked near to the circle and stopped, but as he prepared himself to enter, John talked:

"Man, I can't let you enter now, there are girls here right? Show some gallantry! Come on girls, you're going first!"

Stopped, Carl showed for a split of second an annoyed expression that disappeared as soon as it came. Looking around me, look like there is nobody except me that have seen it (?), being concentrated on the two girls that were making their way to the makeshift arena.

The first girl that was advancing to the circle while looking determined, she was almost 1.60m tall, her long black hair reached up to her hips in a ponytail. She was Alexandra, she lost her parents in her childhood like me, except that she knows that they're dead, I heard that they died protecting the location of the village from crusaders. Crusaders are the warriors of the temple, wielding holy magic and weapons blessed by angels, they hunt demons and for some reasons, they are determined to find the village.

I remember that when she talked about her past her beautiful purple eyes were burning with hatred. I hope that she doesn't let hatred that waste her life on her revenge.

After arriving in front of John, she was preparing herself by getting into a fighting stance.

"No no no, you have to wait for Marie, you know, if you don't come at me together it won't even be a fight you know? Well, it still won't be a fight with you two together, but with you alone, it will be even less of a fight." John (1)

As he was saying that he waved his hand to Marie to enter.

Marie is a blond haired girl with blue eyes, just a little shorter than Alexandra. She was the daughter of one the healers of the village, she is a kind girl that doesn't mind to go out of her way to help people, more than once I've seen her helping people in the market, as such she is well liked by everyone.

The two girls looked at each other an instant then nodded to each other, only to rush at John. They tried to punch him, only to see him dodge while laughing.While they were attacking together, the girls didn't really have any coordination. And so they continued to try to catch him for 5 min, only to fail.

"More of you can come you know, you don't have to wait for the end of this 'fight' ." john said seemingly bored.

This remark seemed to anger Alexandra as she attacked even more fiercely...the air, as she still didn't hit him. Finally exhausted mentally by John's laugh she asked exasperatedly us:

"Stop looking while doing nothing come here and !" She quasi-ordered us.

Two boys answered the call, one being Ron the blue-haired son of the only alchemist in the village, the other being a brown-haired boy of whom I have absolutely no impression.

I should probably pay more attention to those around me... I mean it has 1 years since we began the training together and it the first time I see this dude.

As I was trying to figure who the brown-haired boy was, he and Ron joined the fray but were not any help, if something they were more of a nuisance as they were getting in the way of one another.

John had an even easier time as he replaced himself to block hits using the body of the boys, catching their punches and kicks to draw them back in front of the girls when they tried to hit him, transforming the poor boys into human shields and punching bags.

10 min passed since the start of the 'fight' and John stopped laughing:

"It's boring." He said, suddenly stopping, only to catch the boys and violently slamming them into the ground.

" You lose" catching Alexandra and throwing her out of the ring, he then looked at Marie, "You know you don't stand a chance, do I have to make you leave like them" he continued pointing the boys then Alexandra.

"No." Maria said dejected, as she left, she helped the brown-haired boy to stand up and leave the circle, Ron being already on his way. She is truly a nice girl.

As Marie and the boy left, the three boys that didn't fight rushed at John, leaving me the last one that didn't fight behind. One of the one rushing out was Carl, he was acting as the leader, positioning the others two. The 3 of them knew each other from childhood, Carl being the son of the chief of the forgers, Ryan and Bryan, were the twin sons of a forger. The two of them were quasi-identical red-haired boys, that were towering at almost 1.75m, they were the tallest of my generation. The only difference between the two was a chain mark, while both had the mark, Ryan had it on his right arm, while Bryan had it on his left arm. It seems that there was

The two of them were quasi-identical red-haired boys, that were towering at almost 1.75m, they were the tallest of my generation. The only difference between the two was a chain mark, while both had the mark, Ryan had it on his right arm, while Bryan had it on his left arm. It seems that there was an accident at the forge while they were younger. As they were in the forge, a recipient inside of wich was burning iron, detached itself and fell, it killed one forger and the two of them received a burning chain on them. Oddly enough, only their arms were touched, and their mark is symmetric.

I know I shouldn't but looking at them I help to think about how would we distinguish them if they didn't have those marks.

As they reached John, they didn't start to attack immediately, they positioned themselves around him in a triangle, circling slowly while observing him, hoping to find an overture to strike at.

John didn't move, looking at them with an amused grin, his tail moving left and right excitedly. They were in a deadlock, none of them willing to move the boys because they could be knocked out in an instant and John...for fun I guess?

I know that I don't have a single chance against John, the best I could do against him would be a clear hit on him, knocking him out of the circle? What a joke!

I had John's facing me, he shouldn't be able to see me, thinking that I slowly made my way near the arena, then stopped, waiting for my chance.

He said that we didn't have to wait for the one-sided punching session to end, I will do as he asked.

They finally started, the two brothers attacked together, the last one seemingly waiting for an occasion. They attacked for 2 minutes, they had a coordination, as expected of twins. As John dodged without difficulties the two of them, Carl that was waiting suddenly leaped at him trying to catch him.

He...did it?

Odd, John could have dodged that. Hmm...he is chuckling? whatever the twins rush at him, from both right and left only to get caught...again.

It's my chance, I creep as silently as possible behind him 10m...8... 6, now that I'm looking he didn't even move from the center of the arena.Then suddenly I froze, he started to talk, as I was fearing that he, somehow or another, saw me, he talked to the girls and boys outside.

"Well, it was not bad, when you affront someone stronger you can't rush like an idiot, you have to use tactic against him or her." He said, lifting the twins in the air "exactly like they tried to."

I couldn't see his expression but I knew that it must be a mocking one. It was my one and only occasion, I know that I mustn't waste it. While he was talking, I continued silently, I was only 4m from him. I prepared myself to hit, I don't like to hurt peoples... but that now that I will do next to nothing to this guy that can lift next to 60kg with one arm. When he starts to talk again is when I will strike. I didn't have to wait long.

"Well, you don't know how to fight so it's logic that you can't do anything to the great me, but don't worry this what training is-"

John was interrupted by my to feet knocking him from behind, releasing the twins, he passed above Carl to fell face first to the ground...How? I didn't have any momentum, I had to jump and kick like that to not be found, this kick has less power than the tackle of Carl, so why did he fly like that?

While I didn't move in my incomprehension, the girls started applauding and were followed by the boys, and while some shadows were rolling on the ground, seemingly laughing, John slowly stood up and looked at me as if he had found a new toy.

As I knew things were going bad, I did the only thing that could help to my survival:

"I give up!" I said.

"Oh no no no, there are no giving up here, you know? You can hit me once, I'm sure you can do it again let's have a good fi-" Once again he didn't finish his sentence as he was kicked again from behind by a woman, who didn't restrain herself, knocking again the poor cat-man face first to the ground, then arriving on top of him.

"Shut-up, you battle maniac! You will scare them, this one-sided beating stops here." She said.

She was a beautiful woman in her twenties, with green eyes and red hair, with some leaf as stuck in her hair, it was an exotic combination that suits her perfectly. She was gorgeous in her green dress with a slashed side, exposing her curves and her legs. I could see a tattooed thorny starting from her left foot, climbing up to her left eye. From the overture of the dress, I could see the vine, it looked like it was climbing up across her body. I stopped again at her curves.Yeah...I was totally captivated by her.

"So, hello everybody, you can call me Whip, I'm one of the instructors, normally you shouldn't see me here, but because this idiot under me was becoming excited things could have taken a bad turn." Whip

When he was treated of an idiot, John tried to stand up, only to get slammed back to the ground by a kick of Whip.

"Well, because this idiot can't explain to you in this state, why you had to confront him, I will do it, but congratulation to you to hit him and thanks for the good laugh, we will have something to joke about for a long time thanks to you." Whip

Following the world of Whip, congratulations rained on me for the first time, from everybody, and I didn't know how to answer, stuttering quickly a thank, to look back at Whip.

If I wasn't that fixated on Whip and if I had paid more attention to those around me I would have seen the ugly expression on Carl's face, that disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Well, that's done, you had to fight someone like him to show you that there are people stronger that you, and to see how you'll react in front of them, it's not one of the better tests as you don't have any tension or fear of him 'cause you know him but it does it job. Thanks to that we were able to see how acted without any real fighting training, it help to see what kind of training you are more inclined to. And so, the instructors will be able to choose wich one of you will become his or her student. While the one that chooses you will be your principal instructor, responsible for your training course for the next year, you will see the other instructor sometimes for some special classes." Whip

"That said, I will let the other talk." She said, turning herself to the others shadows.

At that time a voice rang out, surprising everyone because of where it came from:

"I want him!" It said from behind.

Turning back I could see a human shaped shadow pointing at me, looking at Whip it looked like she didn't expect that.

"..." everyone

Hmm, is that something bad?