In the large arena on campus, Aria was in the changing rooms switching to her battle uniform. Putting it on she noticed it was like a tracksuit for exercising, but was made of far more durable material. It was also skin tight, leaving less things to get caught on during battle. This was a training class after all, not regular old gym class.
Once changed, the students all gathered at the center of the large arena. Aria noticed the instructor was someone she had not seen so far. The instructor seemed no older than 30 and had beautiful wavy brown hair, tied into a ponytail. Her features were prominent on her face, but she had a grace about her.
"Listen up everyone!" The instructor gathered everyone's attention. "My name is Diana Everett and I teach the physical fitness and weapons training courses here at Miraden Academy. We have at least one new student today, so I thought we could start with a little sparring competition today."
A wave of moans and groaning came from the students. Clearly this was not a favorite class.
Instructions were given and everyone was grouped into pairs. Aria was matched with a boy with spiked red hair. She didn't recognize him but thought she would scan him regardless.
[ Target Scanned Successfully ]
- Name: Victor Thorne
- Bloodline: Olympian (Ares God of War)
- Rank: A
*Ding*
[ Surprise Quest Initiated ]
[ Survive the sparing match with Victor and don't get knocked out. Reward: 10 exp, and 1 free stat point. ]
Aria felt panicked at the sight of Victor's scan. Something in her mind clicked as she remembered where she had seen this person before. His face was only plastered on all kinds of TV shows, and commercials all over the world. He has one of the top Olympian bloodlines and his family is one of the most powerful families in the city. She gulped thinking about her imminent defeat.
Victor had handsome features and was very tall at six-foot-three. His hair was red like blood, and his eyes were a brilliant shade of green. His physique was literally like a Greek god. He had a huge ego and hardly cared about those around him, especially if they were weaker than him. Seeing the fragile girl he was paired with, he was bored to bits.
The instructor piped up, "Just a recap, one on one sparing with no weapons. The round is 1 minute, either survive, defeat your, opponent, or get defeated. Battle starts in 3...2...1...GO!"
Instantly Victor launched himself towards Aria, "No offense but let's finish this quickly." Victor swung his fist, throwing a fast punch toward Aria's solar plexus. With no time to process, Aria put out her hands to defend against the blow.
*Boom* Victor's punch landed against Arias defense with solid contact, breaking through her guard. She felt the blow force all the air from her lungs. Miraculously she didn't fall over, but she was breathing heavy.
[ Hp: 100/100 -> 70/100]
I'm 3 times stronger than a normal human, but that felt like getting hit with a sledgehammer! Aria was trying to recover when Victor threw out another punch aimed at her side. This time Aria instinctively moved and dodged it by a hair.
Victor was genuinely impressed Aria was not down on the ground after his first punch. He was known for his one punch matches. This one could be a little interesting, he thought. After Aria dodged his second punch, Victor started to feel excited. He rarely had opponents like this.
Aria remembered her reward from her the emergency quest and decided she needed all the defense she could get.
[ Vitality/Durability: 12->13]
Aria's body felt ever so slightly stronger, as another punch flew at her. Again she couldn't dodge, so she blocked last minute. The punch plowed past her guard and nailed her in the stomach this time.
[ HP: 70/100 -> 48/100 ]
The instructor called out, "15 more seconds!"
Perhaps Aria could hold out till the end. Victor on the other hand was thinking he should wrap it up now. This time Victor threw out kick aiming at Aria's side. Aria backed up, narrowly missing the kick. She saw an opportunity and stepped forward, throwing out a punch of her own at Victor. Aria couldn't follow through as the whistle blew just before landing the punch. Putting her fist down, Aria folded to the ground and laid there for a moment while she caught her breath.
Victor came up beside her and offered her a hand to get up, which she accepted hesitantly.
"You really tried punching me just now," Victor said with amusement.
Feeling embarrassed, Aria responded "Yeah I tried, but I had no chance."
"Yeah, no chance in Hell. But you did try which is much more than I can say for most of the sorry wimps around here. Victor glanced around the arena at the other students around them. "Anyway, come spar with me again if you get the chance." Victor then proceeded to walk away while Aria was still left in a daze.
That could have been much worse, Aria was thankful she survived the A-rank encounter, and even got a little reward from it.
[ Surprise Quest- completed ]
[ Survive the sparring match with Victor and don't get knocked out. Reward: 10 exp, and 1 free stat point. ]
[ EXP: 80/100 -> 90/100 ]
Aria couldn't wait till the end if the day, she was about to level up for the first time.