Just as Cole's thoughts began spiraling out of control, his mind reanalyzed all their previous encounters.
"Are you okay?" Bryan asked, snapping Cole back to reality.
"I am fine." Cole responded quickly, trying to mask his vigilance with a smile.
They continued their journey to the cafeteria in silence, the only sounds present being the chattering of students around them.
Not long after, they finally arrived at the cafeteria. Cole headed towards a spot, planning to await lunch there.
"I can't believe this. How could this happen to me?" Cole heard from somewhere behind him.
He turned to see a familiar red-headed girl shouting at someone in the cafeteria.
"What a crazy girl." Cole looked away.
Funnily, his stray eyes landed on another familiar figure. It was Vincent.
"It is that guy," Cole thought.
As if sensing Cole's gaze, Vincent turned around to meet his eyes. A slight smile appeared on his face as he stood up and headed towards Cole.
Before he could arrive, Bryan too arrived at the spot.
"Ohh, hey Vincent," Bryan greeted cheerfully.
"Hey Baldy," Vincent replied jokingly.
Cole stayed silent during the exchanges, only sending a nod at Vincent as a form of greeting.
The three students went to a table in the cafeteria to have their lunch amidst their resounding laughter.
Twenty minutes later, Cole and Bryan were finally back at their classroom, where their classmates were enthusiastically preparing for the combat lesson.
Another five minutes later, with the sun much higher in the sky, Eleanor finally returned to the classroom, but this time with different attire.
She wore tight-fitting combat clothes that further accentuated her muscular body.
"Follow me to the Combat Hall," Eleanor said before leaving.
The students scurried behind her, all with large smiles and adrenaline rushing through their bodies.
Wasting no time, they arrived at the so-called combat hall. The students were left in awe again as they checked through the hall.
The hall was about three times larger than their classroom, the corners filled with an array of gym equipment.
Seeing the array of equipment, Cole made a mental note.
"I need to come here often for physical training."
"Alright kids, pair up," Eleanor said out loud.
As a result of proximity and also self-choice, Cole ended up with Bryan.
"The first lesson today will be posture training," Eleanor said.
She began replaying the stances and postures that were previously taught in the morning to the students.
"Eyes of Scrutiny" Cole activated, accompanied by the usual wave of dizziness and golden glow in his eyes.
The moment Cole activated the Eye of Scrutiny, Eleanor shot a brief glance at Cole before turning away.
"Each partner is to stand opposite each other, judging each other's stance and offering corrections," Eleanor instructed.
As instructed, the students began their stance training.
"Your legs are a bit wide," Bryan said to Cole.
Hearing Bryan's words, Cole hurriedly shifted, fixing his stance.
They kept offering tips to each other, their mastery of the basic stances increasing.
"The monkey stance, the tiger stance, the snake stance, and the crane stance are very important stances in the basics of combat," Eleanor explained as they kept the stances.
"They drive other forms of combat, and failure to understand is failure to understand combat." She continued.
The students listened attentively while they kept on practicing.
"Stop the stance and assemble," Eleanor called out.
The students wasted no time, getting themselves in order as soon as they could.
"Since you all have practiced the standard for a while, two people should come forward and demonstrate all they have learned today," Eleanor said while scanning the students.
"You and you, come forward," Eleanor said while pointing at Cole and another student.
"Why me?" Cole thought, flustered.
He slowly moved towards the front of the group, under the scrutinizing gaze of his classmates.
"Why must she choose the useless one?" Cole heard someone say while he moved forward.
His body shivered slightly, his hands clenching in slight annoyance.
The other student wore a faint smile on his face. A sign of his confidence.
"You both are to have a short exchange, using only the stances you were taught today." Eleanor ordered.
"Take it easy on me," the kid said while smiling.
Cole only responded with a faint smile before going straight into the first stance.
"Begin," Eleanor ordered.
Cole avoided using the Eye of Scrutiny this time, focusing completely on actually mastering the stances.
He lunged at his opponent, using the monkey stance. A stance known for its dexterous movement.
He threw a punch straight at the opponent after switching to the tiger stance.
The opponent dodged the attack, though, his movement almost perfectly replicating the snake stance.
"He seems experienced with these stances," Cole thought while judging his opponent.
After dodging, the kid sent another attack towards Cole, using the same snake stance.
Cole didn't bother to dodge, instead attempting to respond with the Crane stance.
His inexperience cost him, though, as his opponent utilized a swift switch in stance to land a direct hit to his chest.
"Hehe." A taunting laugh escaped the kid's mouth as he retreated.
His previous hour of effort and the Eyes of Scrutiny didn't leave without anything.
He had been able to grasp a basic understanding of the stances, so he wasn't completely helpless.
He rushed forward again, still using the crane stance, before sending out a sweeping kick.
The kick was a faint thought as Cole sent another punch at his opponent's legs.
His observations allowed Cole to conclude on one point.
"His opponent seemed most versed in the snake stance, a stance that focused heavily on the legs ".
So he kept his attacks based on that observation. Unknowingly for him, he was slowly developing an adaptive method of combat.
The adaptive method came into full play as Cole kept on getting better in the fight. His opponent landed fewer and fewer attacks.
Seeing the obvious growth in Cole, a glint crossed Eleanor's eyes as she watched.
The crowd, including Bryan, were also equally amazed by soft murmurs resounding in the hall.
"Bam!"
Cole suddenly landed a heavy punch on his opponent's neck, directly
disorienting him.
The punch landed so squarely, his opponent was heavily surprised.
"Getting better, uh," he said.
"Time to get serious".
His words sparked a deep reaction in Cole's eyes.
"Don't underestimate me," he screamed internally.
Something changed, though, his opponent changing into a stance Cole had never seen before.
Eleanor's eyes widened immediately, as she attempted to step forward.