As we arrived at the academy, we went to our next class, held in the arena, physical combat.
Matthew Arrow was already there and waiting for everyone to arrive.
The arena was currently all grass with several white circles spread out.
In terms of the class, there were 30 students in total. Some were commoners, and others were nobles, which was expected. However, it was interesting to see that there were also several second-year students and a few third-year students standing off to the side.
Looking over the upperclassmen and women, I noticed Terra standing with a few other third-years, looking around. When Terra saw me, she smiled and waved at me.
I nodded back.
Another girl next to her noticed that and whispered into her ear.
The two were obviously friends, so I didn't question it.
The five of us moved to a bench nearby and waited for class to begin.
...
As it turned to 2 p.m., Matthew looked around, frowned, and walked over to us.
"Do you know where your friend Aaron is?" he asked.
Araki stiffened, hearing him ask.
Ignoring him, I said, "He is dealing with some personal matters and won't be in class today. Sorry, but I don't know when he will be back."
Matthew looked at me and nodded, not fully believing me based on Araki's reaction but accepting it.
He walked back into the middle of the arena and clapped his hands. "Alright, students! Today will be your lessons in physical combat. In this class, you will learn how to fight with any kind of weapon, from swords to bows, to even with your fists.
I have no limits on what will be taught, but I do have some ground rules.
1: You are only allowed to fight another student in an approved spar overseen by me.
2: Under no circumstances will you attack another student after a spar is finished.
3: No permanent injuries. At worst, it should be bruised or sore in the morning. Healing potions are on standby, but we prefer not to use them.
4: Any weapon used in a spar will have a non-lethal spell cast on it to prevent injury.
5: Any damage done to other students, equipment, or structures not meant to be broken will be replaced by the one who broke it.
6: Spells are not allowed during a spar, aside from protection spells to prevent serious injury. Body enhancement spells are also not allowed. If you want to use those, then wait for mixed combat classes.
There are a few more rules, but those are the main ones."
He then pointed at a board by the entrance. "There is a board over there with the rest of the rules and any other information you may need."
He looked around and saw everyone nodding.
He smiled and asked, "Now, does anyone have any questions?"
Zek raised a hand. "Why would a mage like me need to learn physical combat? I am long-range and can take down enemies from afar."
I looked down at him and bonked him on the head.
"Ah, why did you do—oh, got it. Never mind," he mumbled, rubbing his head.
I shook my head but gave a death glare at some of the nobles giggling at us, causing them to shut up then and there.
Matthew smiled and waited for more questions, which there were a few.
It was more standard stuff like:
If sparring is okay outside of class. Official matches are allowed in the arena, but the academy has no power over spars outside of school grounds.
If students need to provide their own weapons. They don't need to, but it is recommended, as the academy does force students to rent equipment. (Greedy academy forces his hand; Matthew doesn't like it at all, but his hands are tied.)
And other similar things, but finally, one student asked a question I wanted to, but stayed quiet for.
"Why are there second and third years here?"
Matthew smiled and waved the upperclassmen over.
"For today, I want to get an idea of everyone's combat ability, so I will have each of you spar against the second years. Five of you will come up at a time and fight a second year. We will rotate the second years around so we don't exhaust them, and also so those going last don't know their attack patterns already.
I will warn you all, though, that some of them are mages, so you may not be against someone using weapons. However, each of them is equivalent to D-rank adventurers or higher, so I doubt there should be any problems."
He then turned to my group.
"As for Araki, Orin, and Jack, you can either spar against each other or against the third years. I would say the three of you are all the strongest in the class, so I don't feel comfortable putting you against second years."
Orin shrugged and said, "That's fair."
Matthew nodded and continued, "As for those with little to no physical combat experience, please let me know, and I will exempt you from the main spars and go over some stuff later. For now, you can simply watch.
Now, any more questions?"
This time, no one raised a hand.
He smiled. "Alright then, let's begin the spars."
The spars went pretty well for the first years. Many of them had potential, both commoners and nobles.
That doesn't mean they were all equal, though. The commoners' combat styles were more sporadic and hard to predict, as they were mainly self-taught, mainly because many of them probably had to fight off wild animals or monsters.
While the nobles were more militaristic and precise, obviously trained by actual combat instructors.
The only difference in power is that while the nobles are more optimized, they flinch and hesitate more because of their limited combat experience, while the commoners are going in and facing the fight head-on.
Overall, I would say the combat power was evenly split between the two factions.
As for the second years, it was mainly nobles with a few commoners, but thankfully, it seems Matthew made sure the nobles helping here were kind to commoners. The best thing was that the second years also pointed out flaws in the first years' techniques and helped them adjust.
Overall, this is what I hope the academy turns back into once the current headmaster is gone, but that is for another time.
Right now, it's Araki's turn.
"Who do you think I should fight?" he asked.
"Other than Terra, I don't know any of the third years here. However, Terra might be a good option for you," I said.
He looked at me and asked, "What makes you say that?"
I smiled and set up a soundproof barrier. "This isn't public, but Terra secretly became an adventurer a few years ago and is now B-rank." [1]
Zek looked at me in shock. "B-rank? Really? Is she a fighter?" he asked, glancing at Terra.
I shook my head. "Nope, she is a plant mage. In fact, she is actually stronger than Willow."
"Seriously?" Orin asked.
I nodded. "You all saw what Willow could do during the entrance exam with the Hellhound. Well, Willow is equivalent to a C-rank adventurer." [2]
Araki's eyes lit up as he turned to Terra in excitement.
I smiled and leaned back to watch the fight.
"Mr. Arrow, can I fight against Terra Rondo?"
I quickly notice several nobles turn to Araki, hearing him ask Terra to a duel.
Matthew looked at Terra, who nodded and said, "I accept."
Matthew smiled and said, "Alright then. Since the two of you are higher ranking than most, I will have you two as the only fight. This will allow other students to also get an idea of the heights they can climb."
Terra and Araki nodded and waited for all the other spars to end.
However, that didn't mean they weren't getting glares from other students.
Several of the noble boys glared at Araki with a mix of jealousy and skepticism.
Thankfully, the two ignored them with ease.
Once they were all finished, the two walked into one of the sparring rings—a circle around 30 meters in diameter.
Araki and Terra turned to each other and shook hands, silently agreeing to have a good fight and no hurt feelings for beating the other.
-
[1]: Terra is the heir of a high-ranking noble family. If word got out that she was an adventurer, it would cause a lot of gossip and rumours, including ammunition for Michael Rondo to use against Terra and her parents.
Plus, with the perceived disappearance or death of her aunt, Alexandra Rondo, over 20 years ago—the last Rondo that was rumoured to have become an adventurer—people will start to worry Terra will follow in her late aunt's footsteps and might even be killed.
So, Terra disguised herself with some help from Jack and became an adventurer under an alias, and even joined a party. That is also why she is a higher ranking than Jack, because Jack could never find a party that stuck together or that he was comfortable with.
[2]: Yes, Jack's spirits are stronger than Jack's. However, this is only based on the adventurer ranking system. The spirits are only able to handle other spirits of the same ranking, but when Jack is dealing with spirits of rank 5 or below, he is equivalent to an S-rank, so even though Willow is more powerful than Jack, he can handle her with ease. (Willow is a rank 3 spirit like Volt.)