Chapter 7: Combat 301

“I’m Instructor Ward and welcome to Combat 301. I understand the name is quite simple, and that’s because it is. At this stage, you all should have found your own style, or if not, honed a style enough to use it in combat. In this class, we’ll be putting your skills to the test, and because of that, we don’t meet often. Once a week, to be exact, for two hours, but during those hours, we will be sparring. Now, it won’t always be sparring. We will have warm-ups and go over some practical lessons, or if you need help with something, I’ll help you. But a large chunk of this class will involve entering these circles here and doing one on ones with those weapons over there.” The instructor pointed towards a large rack of wooden weapons. “Do any of you have questions?”

The burly man with his stern face scanned the room. The class he taught wasn’t as popular as the others. Every semester he would only have a handful of students, but that didn’t bother him. Instead, it was the best thing he could have asked for. Only the most dedicated to their craft would attend a class that focused on something so brutal, and he was more than willing to help improve those individuals who wished to learn.

“Will we only use wooden weapons?” A student asked.

“Jayce, correct? For the first half of the semester, we’ll be using wooden weapons, but we’ll swap to proper metal ones during the second half. The dean wasn’t too happy about students swinging steel weapons at each other when they’re not completely used to their own strength, so we use wooden ones first.”

“Why is she here?” Barrett pointed at Ariella.

Ariella stood off to the side, away from the group of older kids. There were only six of them, including herself, and she could feel the hostility the moment she entered the place. Although Alice warned her, she still wasn’t ready for that much contempt. She was told that the people who attended that class were the best in the school. Kids who wanted to improve, so it shouldn’t matter who joined as long as they were strong enough to hold their ground.

“Well, I applied for a spot, and I was accepted.”

“But you’re a freshman,” Barrett retorted. “Aren’t you a bit too young to be here?”

“Now, now,” Instructor Ward put an end to the conversation before it turned into anything deeper. “I asked her to join when she enrolled.”

“I don’t mind a spar if they’re that curious,” Ariella grinned. “That’s why I applied.”

Ariella wasn’t the type of person to sit back and take slander. Sure, she didn’t want to injure anyone, but after witnessing how they acted towards her, a spar was the only way, and not just any spar. She needed to make sure none of them would ever question her strength.

“Sure, let’s do that. But don’t come crying to me when you can’t handle it.”

Instructor Ward sighed. He expected some kind of backlash to Ariella being in the class, but not to this extent. “Alright, grab your weapons and prepare yourself at opposite ends of any circle you want. I’ll explain the rules when both of you are ready.”

Barrett was considered the best in his age group. Every year he would perform immaculately during the school tournaments, and now that he was a senior, he was projected to come out on top.

“You’re going to use that?” Barrett scoffed at Ariella’s weapon of choice. “I was wondering why there was such a large weapon there. I heard the rack mostly had swords, but no one mentioned a greatsword like that.”

“It won’t be as amazing as you’re expecting since I can’t use enhancement magic, but I’m sure I’ll have no problem beating anyone here with it.” Wielding the weapon as if it weighed like a dagger, Ariella rested it on her shoulder and stood at the edge of a circle, waiting for her opponent.

Barrett grabbed a sword, then walked over to the shields. There was a vast range of them, from small bucklers to large, bulky towers. Barrett, however, opted for something in between a buckler and a shield. It was light enough to move around with, but big enough to block anything dangerous. When he finished his selection, Barrett stood at the opposite end of the circle.

“The rules are simple. If you leave the circle, you lose. If you forfeit, you lose. And if I deem a winner, then the fight is over. Do I make myself clear?” The two of them nodded in approval. “Three more things. First, no magic is allowed. This is combat 301. You are here to learn and practice your swordsmanship. The second is no betting. It doesn’t matter what it is. No gambling of any kind is allowed. And for the third rule,” Instructor Ward looked at the two of them before continuing. “Have fun. There are no winners or losers. We’re all here to improve and have fun while doing so. Now, are you both ready?”

They nodded.

“3.”

Barrett gripped his sword.

“2.”

He dug into the ground, ready to take off the moment the countdown ended.

“1.”

He readied his foot and gripped his shield, making sure he held tight.

“Go!”

Barrett took off the second the word left the instructor’s mouth. He wanted to end the fight as quickly as possible. His goal was to prove a point, even if it meant injuring a freshman. It was ridiculous she was even in this class, and to make matters worse, she was using something as impractical as a greatsword. Maybe they were fine against monsters if wielded by an expert, but not in a skirmish, and especially when the girl was only fifteen. She was cocky, and he didn’t like that.

“Why aren’t you moving?” He taunted her as he sprinted full force toward his target. “Scared?”

“Hardly,” Ariella answered. “But aren’t you worried?”

“About what?”

“Losing to me.”

As if trying to answer her question with action, Barrett lunged his sword forward, aiming for Ariella’s gut, but she dodged it gracefully by sidestepping to the side. “Hardly,” he answered jokingly before readjusting his blade and swinging for where he had just missed, but Ariella disappeared from his sight.

“Even with such an enormous sword, you’re pretty quick.”

“Besides my abnormal strength, that is what I was always known for.” Ariella stood at the center of the circle with her weapon still in her hand, resting on her shoulder.

“Is that the best way to carry that thing? Can you even use it like that?”

“If you find a better way, please let me know. It’s more annoying than not.”

“Then maybe you should change your weapon of choice?” With his question, Barrett once again charged toward Ariella. If she refused to attack, then he needed to go on the offensive.

“I can’t. It’s the best weapon for what I want to do in the future.” Ariella once again dodged another lunge, but instead of chasing his target, Barrett pulled back, lifted his shield, and pushed forward in hopes to bash Ariella and force her to stagger backwards.

“And what’s that?”

Ariella lowered her weapon and blocked his shield with the flat-side of her blade.

“That’s a secret.”