BXBX NOVEL Chapter 179 178: Tests (2)
Filtering into the room, we all stood around our teachers, waiting in silence.
Breaking that eery silence was Liako, who stepped forwards and spoke up, her voice hard as she said "Today is your first exam in our Combat Class, and while you will still be sparring against us, your teachers, you will first fight in yet another tournament, so that we may grade you against those with the same amount of time or skill put into fighting. As such, some of you are barred from participating..."
Liako glanced at Jahi and Anput, making the two women pout again.
"Lady Jahi, Lady Anput, Miss Greselda; you three are exempt from the tournament, as all three of you are seasoned fighters in your own right. As for everyone else, quickly grab your training weapon from the pile."
A rare smile graced Professor Liako\'s face as she added "There are a limited number of training weapons available, and some are even rotting... Be quick now!"
Everyone scrambled forwards to grab a good weapon, and Leone and I were no exception; who would want to fight with a broken or rotting training weapon in a test?
However, I could also see some of our classmates utilizing dirty tactics; a Bullkin stomped her foot on a sword that someone was trying to grab, shattering the wooden blade.
Leone and I managed to grab decent enough wooden weapons; my dagger had a long crack along the edge, but it was in good condition everywhere else, while Leone\'s was almost pristine.
Retreating from the brawl that was about to break out in the pile, we watched on as Liako, Thorn, and Hawn conversed quietly to one another, Hawn nodding as he scribbled something down on his notepad.
If I had to guess, they were writing down who was utilizing those dirty tactics, and would either compliment them for realistic thinking, or reprimand them for unfair and dishonorable tactics.
Either way, Leone and I were safe in that regard, as I used my speed to grab us both weapons before others even had a chance.
When we had retreated from the brawl, we rejoined Jahi and Anput, who were watching on with pouts.
"This sucks..."
Jahr was kicking her feet out like a child, sending pebbles flying towards the group with accuracy; one girl yelped as a pebble slammed into her knuckles.
Anput\'s ears were drooping as she glanced at us, her eyes going to the blades in our hands before she sighed.
Leone grinned at them, her voice comforting as she said "There there... it\'ll be alright; I imagine you\'ll still get to spar the Professors at the end! Maybe you can go off to the edge and spar against one another while you wait?"
Watching as the Vampire laid her hands gently on both the pouting women\'s shoulders, I chuckled internally, before having to swallow my laughter down as they glared at her.
""No!""
Our ashen haired wife flinched before staring at them in confusion, her gaze flickering between the two as Jahi crossed her arms, saying "Of course I still want to watch you in the tournament; even if it\'s just so I can keep people from ogling you..."
Anput nodded, and I raised a brow as they glanced briefly at me as well.
During that time that Jahi was speaking to Leone, the others had finished up, some looking devastated that they had come out empty handed.
Others were staring at the weapons they had received with angry looks, before they turned to look at the people around them, specifically those with better weapons.
Some glared at us, only to gulp and turn away as they saw Jahi standing beside us, the Demoness smirking as she looked over the crowd.
Stepping forwards, the Bearkin Thorn let out a low chuckle as he said "When you hear your name called step forwards. We will be doing an elimination style tournament, and all selections are random. Remember, even if you lose, so long as you show improvements from when you entered the Academy till now, you will pass. Now..."
Peering over his shoulder, Thorn nodded at Liako, who handed the Bearkin two slips of paper.
"Our first fight is... Katherine Zara against Howard Marak! Step forwards and prepare to fight!"
Giving Jahi and the others a nod, I approached the Professors and stared at the man across from me, who grit his teeth as he approached empty handed.
He had an adequate build for a fighter, but the nervousness and despair in his eyes made me scoff in my mind.
Dropping into a loose stance, he stared at me with those hopeless blue eyes of his, making me hold in a shiver and moan.
I might think he was a poor warrior, but as prey...
As prey?
He was utterly delectable.
That despair and hopelessness made me want to toy with him, to drive him further into the pit of despair, my blade slowly cutting him down, targeting the areas that would bleed the most but leave him alive.
Sadly, we were in a class, and he was not prey; he was my opponent.
However much that vexed me, I needed to remember that...
Lowering myself into my own stance, I waited for the signal to begin, my eyes glancing over at the assembled Professors.
Liako was holding a stopwatch, Hawn held his notebook, while Thorn just stood there.
"Ready?"
Nodding at the Bearkin, I watched as Howard mirrored me, making Thorn grin.
"Well then, let the first battle..."
Raising his hand, he grinned harder as Howard grew restless, his muscles shifting as he held himself back from launching himself at me.
Pausing for a moment, I held back the urge to roll my eyes at the Bearkin\'s childishness.
"Commence!"
Slicing his hand down, the Bearkin signaled the beginning of the fight, and Howard shot forwards like an arrow out of a bow.
Raising his fist, the Human male tried to throw a punch towards my face, only to stumble as I ducked underneath it.
Watching as his eyes widened, I held back a giggle as my dagger flew up towards his neck, my breathing accelerating as the man desperately tried to stop his imminent failure.
Howard tried to use his free hand to catch my wrist, in an attempt to stop the dagger from reaching his throat, but I was too fast for him; his hand swiped through the air and missed, though I did glare at him as I felt his fingers scratch across my breasts.
I was planning on stopping my blade a half inch from his throat, but...
The wooden tip slammed into the lower part of his jaw, making the man cry out in pain as his jaw snapped shut.
Thankfully he had kept his tongue in his mouth, so the worst he had to deal with was the pain of cracking a few teeth...
And flying a few feet backwards as I spun and landed a kick square in his abdomen.
Collapsing onto the ground, he groaned in agony as he clutched his jaw, while I moved to stand over him.
Thorn chuckled before saying "Katherine Zara wins!"
Nodding, I turned away and returned to Jahi, holding in a chuckle as Thorn hesitantly asked the class "Does... does anyone know healing magic..?"
I could feel a few gazes coming my way, but I simply tilted my head as I stared back, making those people shiver.
The Professors noticed that, but none came forwards to ask me to heal the man I had just injured, so currently Howard was lying on the ground groaning.
Eventually someone stepped forwards and attempted to soothe the pain of Howard, gritting their teeth as their mana slowly depleted.
Seeing that, I frowned before glancing at Leone, who just smirked as she watched.
"Remember, not many go out of their way to learn different kinds of magic, let alone healing magic as children... we were rather... abnormal."
Hearing her whisper, I nodded; when I was a kid, I was always more interested in the characters that had the cool flashy spells, and I would play or root for those characters more than I would the healers and supporters.
Ironic that I myself was now an all rounder with pretty good healing and support spells...
Thorn pursed his lips as he watched that student attempt to heal Howard, before eventually sighing as Howard was capable of moving on his own.
"Howard, we\'ll talk later; go to the nurse for now..."
The man nodded dejectedly, and he avoided looking my way, making me lick my lips slightly.
That fear was rather...
Intoxicating...
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Mental Kat is indeed back!
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