There will be three spars going on simultaneously. "These are instructors Arc and Seren," he gestured to two instructors who appeared beside him. "They'll both be watching an arena each. Now, rank 1 and her opponent, onto the arena," he ordered.
Not a second later, Aurora appeared on the stage, and then followed by an "I give up!!"
"Hmmm?" I turned to the back along with almost every other cadet. It was a male cadet with a wiry frame.
– "Hahahaha, wimp,"
– "Couldn't he at least get on stage before giving up?"
– "I don't blame him, look at his opponent."
– "You're actually right."
"I wouldn't blame him, and I wouldn't do the same, but I know that I'll definitely lose," Tokito said with a solemn expression.
"We get it, Captain Obvious," Owen quipped.
"The fuck did you just say!?" Tokito turned to him.
"ENOUGH!!!" the instructor shouted. "You!" he pointed at the wiry cadet. "Get onto the arena. No one quits without getting on stage. In fact, new rules: no more quitting until only one is left standing or until I say otherwise."
The cadets turned to glare at the cadet who caused the formation of the new rules.
"The hell are you still waiting for?!" he continued after the cadet didn't move. Finally, the cadet started walking, the crowd parting to give him way like he was some sort of celebrity.
Soon, he got onto the arena. As soon as he climbed onto the arena, a blue shimmering barrier appeared in a sphere shape, enveloping the arena.
"Rank 2 and opponent, to this arena," the one introduced as instructor Arc called.
"Rank 3 and opponent over here," called instructor Seren. She was a tall, black-haired woman.
Quinn, along with Lily, both went to their respective arenas, with their opponents trailing behind them.
After everyone got on stage, "Begin!!!" instructor Blake shouted.
None of the cadets on stage moved at first. Then suddenly I heard a thud: the cadet facing Aurora had slumped onto the floor.
Silence
– "The fuck, dude, have some balls."
– "He really collapsed out of fear?"
Some cadets began shouting at the kid. And yep, he really did collapse out of fear.
"Tsk, coward," Owen clicked his tongue.
"I agree with you on this one," I said.
On the other arenas, shadow tentacles choked Quinn's opponent unconscious, while vines burst out of Lily's palm and were about to pierce her opponent when instructor Seren intervened and declared her the winner.
In short, they were extremely short fights that weren't worth mentioning. Next, Damien, Victor, and Ashley were called onto stage and, just like the first three, they effortlessly took care of their opponents. What would one expect? Their opponents were lower in the class rankings, after all.
3rd POV
And then it was Owen's and Tokito's turn, the rank seven and eight respectively. Adam watched as they both went toward each of their arenas. He had seen Tokito fight before, so his focus was on Owen's fight. After Owen got onto the arena, a white-haired boy made his way onto the same arena.
"Gabriel Snow," Adam muttered. If his hair had been any longer, he would look exactly like Aurelia, Adam reasoned. The boy looked exactly like his sister, just that he had short hair; his face was androgynous much like Adam's.
Meanwhile, as Adam was mulling, Gabriel and Owen were face to face.
"Oh, Owen," Gabriel called. "I haven't sparred with you in forever," he continued. "Ready to get your ass kicked?" he asked, smiling.
"Please, Gabriel, you've never won against me, and it's never gonna change," Owen smirked.
"Really? Well, we'll just have to find out," Gabriel chuckled as mist started emerging from his body.
"Begin," instructor Blake said.
Gabriel slammed his palms, summoning icy spikes from nothing that lanced forward like spears. Owen's eyes narrowed. He lifted a hand, and using his telekinesis, froze the spikes in mid-air; the spikes trembled, then shattered outward under an invisible force. Shards rained around him harmlessly.
He counterattacked with a wave of telekinetic pressure, a pulse so strong it sent Gabriel skidding back. But Gabriel rolled with it, freezing the ground beneath him. He slid across the arena, using his momentum to launch a volley of icicles from both hands. Then with a stamp of his legs, ice crawled on the floor at a very fast speed toward Owen. Owen twisted his hands, and the icicles veered off-course, while a telekinetic force slammed against the ice coming at him from the floor, shattering it into pieces.
Cheers and shouts rose from the cadets spectating the fight—after some boring, one-sided fights, they were finally seeing real entertainment.
"So he is this strong," Adam muttered, staring at Owen. He always knew Owen was strong; he's just never witnessed it with his eyes.
Meanwhile, the fight continued on the arena. Gabriel took a deep breath, then slammed his fists into the ground. A geyser of jagged ice burst upward, nearly catching Owen off-guard. For a moment, Gabriel capitalized on the distraction and managed to freeze Owen's right arm with a burst of cold mist.
"You bastard, are you trying to turn me into a popsicle?" Owen gritted his teeth and, with a concentrated force, blasted the ice apart in a telekinetic shockwave that forced Gabriel backward.
Gabriel encased his arms in thick ice gauntlets, opting for close combat. Owen stood calmly, eyes calculating. As Gabriel lunged, Owen also lunged forward; they met in the middle. As they exchanged blow after blow, Owen's body was getting frostbite, while Gabriel's body was rattled due to Owen's telekinetic force.
Finally, Owen managed to secure an opening. It was just a small lapse in Gabriel's judgment, but Owen capitalized on it, and with a precise, crushing telekinetic force, slammed his fist onto Gabriel's chest.
Gabriel flew and slammed into the shimmering energy shield around the arena. It hummed violently from the impact but held. He slumped down, gasping, ice melting from his arms.
Owen walked forward and extended a hand to help him up. "Looks like I won this one… again." He smirked even though he had bruises on his face and his left arm was completely frozen stiff.
"Fine, you won," Gabriel grabbed his hand, "but don't expect to win the next one."
Getting off the arena, Owen ran to Adam's and Tokito's side. Tokito had long finished his sparring; his opponent was weak, according to him. "So, guys, how did I do?" Owen asked with a smirk.
"Good, but you really need a healing potion," Adam replied.
"Come on—after all that and all I get is a 'good?' Let's see how your own fight goes," Owen scoffed.
"I don't mean to brag, but I don't think it'll take long," Adam said. He had inquired about his opponent while Owen was sparring. His opponent, Raj Sharma, had a bloodline ability of sleep—literally, if he touches you, you go unconscious. No exception.
I just have to make sure he doesn't touch me, and I'll be fine, Adam mused.
The combats continued; cadets showed different types of unique powers. Some dominated, and some were dominated.
Finally, it was Adam's turn. "Rank 102 and opponent," instructor Arc called.
"You better not lose, Adam, or you'll be answering to this guy," Owen pointed at himself.
"Yeah—we both won ours, so you better not lose," Tokito added.
"Yeah, yeah," Adam drawled as he made his way toward the arena.
Adam's opponent was a bit on the darker spectrum of color. He had brown skin, black hair, and a pair of chestnut eyes.
After they both climbed into the arena, the energy shield appeared, enclosing them within. They stood at opposite sides facing each other.
"If you know what's good for you, give up right now," Raj snorted.
Adam, meanwhile, smiled and said, "Didn't you hear what the instructor said? No giving up until one is down. Besides, there's this new trick I've been wanting to try."
"I'll knock that cockiness out of you in a few," Raj smiled coldly.
"Begin!!" the instructor ordered.
Raj bolted forward—fast, focused. He knew his strength lay in speed and precision; one touch was all he needed to end this fight. All his fights have always ended like that, his opponent got too cocky, and once he touched them, it was over.
Adam raised a hand, palms open, watching Raj like a predator, then flicked a finger.
"WHUUMMMM!!" The atmosphere stilled.
Raj's dash stuttered—his body suddenly yanked sideways as Adam shifted the pull of gravity. Raj stumbled off course, slamming into the shield.
What Adam wanted to test was a new technique where he could manipulate a body from another direction. And it seemed to work. Instead of attracting the body toward Adam or repelling it away from him, this new technique allowed him to do so from other directions.
"WHUUMMMM!!"
Before Raj could recover, Adam flicked his hand once more, and a repulsive force blasted Raj backward.
Hmmm, perhaps I should monologue a little—it'll make my theatrics more entertaining. But on second thought, that isn't like me, Adam thought.