“WHAT?!” I shouted.

“Yes. Definitely you.” Whitebeard said after he heard my exclamation.

“Come down here. To the centre of the class. Listen carefully everyone I will announce the rules and how this gladiator will be conducted. You are to use only the wooden weapons that were distributed just now. The fight has no time limit. You either knock out the opponent or force him to submit. I’m guessing no one will have the raw power to kill someone but in the event that my judgement thinks that someone is going to die, I might interfere. Of course, the person who is executing that sort of attack will then lose by default. The rules does not allow you to kill the opponent. Like I said before, technique is key here.” Whitebeard explained.

“What’s your name?” Whitebeard asked.

“Jinx.” I said.

“HAHAHAHA okay Jinx. Unlucky indeed. Get ready.” He said.

Whitebeard went to point towards a random person in class and my first opponent was a girl. She walked towards me, holding a huge axe and stood facing me, about 3 meters away. We exchanged casual greetings and took out our weapons.

“BEGIN!” Whitebeard hollered.

I immediately went on the offensive. I wanted to dictate the pace of the match. However, I did not use my Ki because I did not want to exhaust my supply of Ki so fast. The big burly axe was not as nimble as a sword so its defensive capabilities were lacking. Under my relentless attacks, she seemed to have problems defending. Suddenly, I felt some sort of aura coming out from her.

Oh no.

She let loose a wild axe swing filled with Ki power. I was choosing whether to parry or block in my head when I realised that it wasn’t going to work. An axe has huge offensive power, coupled with ki, even if I put my wooden sword in the way, it was probably going to break. Thus, I tried to dodge it. I jumped as high as I could and the axe passed from beneath my feet, grazing me in the process. That slight graze already made me almost want to shout in pain. This was how much power that freaking axe possessed.

What do I do now? I need to preserve my strength but all my opponents won’t need to. They will just come at me with full power. I don’t have the strength to win casually while holding back… AHHHH FUCK IT

I too immediately took my Ki and channelled it towards my sword.

“Pegasus, I’m going to let you have some more fun today.” I said to my elemental room.

“WOOOYEAH. Bring it on master.” She said and manifested herself in my sword aura.

Unlike mana, Ki cannot be visually seen by the naked eye. However, elementally recomposed Ki is different. They will possess a slight tinge of colour of the respective element. Red for fire, blue for water, green for wind, yellow for lightning, brown for earth, golden for light and black for dark. Once I channelled my Ki to my sword, my sword begun to glow slightly with a golden aura.

“Hooooo……” Whitebeard raised an eyebrow and smiled at me.

I immediately rushed towards the girl who was noticeably shaken upon looking at my sword and I hacked ferociously towards her axe. I did not want to hurt her. However I needed her to give up immediately because I did not have the luxury of wasting my Ki. She propped her axe up to block the attack but after she did that, both her and the axe flew a good 3 meters away from me. She was also disarmed as she flew backwards from the impact. I ran over, grabbed the axe and threatened to break it.

“I admit defeat.” She said.

I sighed in relief, and looked at the faces of the people around me in class. Whitebeard was obviously entertained as he picked the second person in class. All the others either had a look of puzzlement or contempt on their faces. Seemed like the people in this school were all very competitive.

I went along with the gladiator game and my priority was always to end it as fast as possible. I did not have time to waste. Because everyone’s proficiency in weapons was almost the same, difference in raw power really made an impact. We were not at the level where we are able to kill someone even with full strength so I just went full strength for every blow. But of course, I made sure that it was a killing blow that I set up only after an exchange of strokes.

I ended up finding a favourite pattern of mine that usually worked against the sea of fellow students. Parrying was a skill that needed nimble dexterity, to transfer the force behind the weapon in a different direction. It was different from blocking which was easier and more direct, to bring the weapon into the path of the opposing one, impeding further movement of the opponent’s stroke. However, parrying relied in intricate control and technique which altered the direction of the opponent’s attack which requires less strength and more control. The advantage for parrying is that it requires less strength as no direct competition between both parties are present. Furthermore, the attack of the opponent will be changed towards a direction of your choosing, setting you up for your attack. When you block, both parties have no advantage. Everything resets. Both parties are just in the ‘weapons locked’ position. However, of course the risk of parrying is higher. The moment you make a mistake, the weapon will not be redirected and you will be left defenceless against the strike. However, in this scenario, I had no time to waste Ki blocking so I usually went all out on the offensive, and when the opponent attacks back in a hurry, realising that they cannot just only defend, that’s when I executed my parry-slash combo.

I was doing quite well, finishing up till the 8th opponent when finally, my 9th opponent was called. It was the other fellow swordsman who got the highest score in terms of raw power. He was called Elisha.

Both of us looked at each other and when I wanted to nod out of courtesy and respect, he immediately lunged at me. I had to step back as fast as I could and swing my sword upwards to deflect that lunge. He clearly was fast on his feet as well. Our duel lasted for quite some time. Since both of us was quite evenly matched in terms of both raw power and technique, I figured something else would determine the outcome of this battle. However, I had been fighting for 9 rounds already and it was only his first. Logically speaking, he would have a much higher chance to win than me because I was already starting to feel the fatigue kicking in, despite moving through the first 8 opponents rather quickly.

Suddenly, I thought of my favourite move in fighting, the one I used on the boxer in the QE.

Can I counter in battle with weapons? I don’t see why not so YOLO

A counter is an extremely risky move because it relies on prediction and fearless execution. When your opponent steps in to strike at you, you will also have to step in almost simultaneously and either swing faster than him or dodge his strike and hit him in the process. The logic behind a counter is that because both parties are using their full strength colliding against each other, the impact will double because both parties are moving in the same direction.

To give an analogy, when you are driving a car and you hit a stationary car, you receive quite some damage. However, imagine hitting a car who is driving in the complete opposite direction as you are. The damage will be increased drastically. This is the same in fighting.

I have used my parry-slash combo quite a few times in my fight with Elisha but he always dealt with it the same way. After the parry, he would rely on raw strength to block the incoming attack. When both of us were in the ‘weapons locked’ position, he would then begin his next attack to sieze the next initiative. I decided to use this pattern to decide it. Everything went as per expected. He slashed, I parried. I slashed, he blocked. He took one step in and begun swinging his sword vertically downwards. I stepped in while he was swinging his sword vertically and lunged at his body. Because he was in the middle of an attack, he could not stop his momentum and I could not as well. This would not stop until one of us hit the other. I saw his sword coming down fast on me and I braced myself for possible impact. However, there was none.

My sword was faster and it hit him squarely in the ribs first. I could immediately hear a crunch and the power level of his sword dropped drastically. He could not follow through with strength anymore and all I received was a light thud on the back of my head as the sword seemed to drop on me instead of being brought down on me.

Elisha fell to the ground, screaming in pain and Whitebeard immediately carried him off to one side, with no sympathy given. However, almost immediately, the door burst open and an elderly woman was standing at the doorway.

“Again?! Whitebeard why do you always conduct your classes this way. Won’t your students become scared of fighting??!” She scolded him.

“I believe that my students are not that weak. They are not cowards.” He said as he pointed at none other than Draco.

The elderly woman sighed and bent down. Gleaming golden light seemed to pour from her hands onto Elisha. Suddenly, the ribs which were obviously broken all went back to their original places and Elisha also stopped squirming in pain. He just looked up at the elderly woman and said thanks.

Healing magic! So fast and efficient!

“Oh well broken bones are nothing. It is painful but it is usually a good lesson. I guess even though I find it troublesome, it is quite a good way for them to learn the pains a warrior must go through in battle…” She muttered to herself as she walked out of the door.

Elisha looked at me and nodded, signalling that he admitted that it was a good exchange and there was no grudges. I nodded back. It was the closest I’ve come to losing. If I was just a bit slower... Our positions would’ve been directly reversed. I did not want to think about it.

Draco came to the centre of the class and we faced each other. Both of us nodded and we got ready.

I immediately struck first as usual. However, when I struck at him with my sword, I felt it being parried by that huge zweihander and suddenly, the zweihander changed direction and immediately came at me.

Shocked by the speed of the sword, I could only take two steps back before the huge sword crashed directly into my body. Thankfully, I managed to barely put my sword in between me and the zweihander. However, there was still damage. I could feel my bones ringing and pain radiating from the place where my sword buried itself in my body because of the force of the strike. I immediately backed away from Draco and tried to think of a proper way to deal with that huge but nimble sword. However, Draco did not give me any time to think.

He advanced rapidly, swinging his broadsword so freaking fast that it felt like that huge chunk of wood was faster than my slender sword. If it was faster than me, I knew that any attempts to parry it would be even riskier. I could block it but it would just deplete my Ki. I could feel myself at my limit already. Especially after that blow from Draco just now. I felt my wounded, tired body weighing down on me and I knew that I had a maximum of a few minutes left in me. However, I could not do anything! I did not have any more tricks I can think of to pull over on him! Alas, a desperate measure was chosen.

Counter!

I saw Draco swinging continuously at me so I tried to find a pattern. There was! Vertically downwards, horizontally across, followed by diagonally upwards. I felt most comfortable countering the one horizontally across so I waited for it to come. After Draco finished his vertically downwards stroke and was preparing to move, I stepped in with as much strength I could muster and begun a horizontal slash of my own from the opposite direction. However, Draco’s horizontal stroke did not come. I think he saw me move in front and the moment I did, he managed to stop himself from swinging further. Now, I was just an idiot who was in the middle of swinging the sword as quickly and heavily as I could. Draco ducked underneath my sword and swung his huge sword upwards from the bottom. An uppercut from a massize sword. And I could not do anything because of my momentum from the huge swing.

“I GIV-“ I tried giving up. But no. All I saw was a huge fat block of wood coming closer and closer to my face.

Oh fuck.

All black.

When I woke up, I saw the face of an elderly woman looking down on me.

“You feeling ok?” She asked.

“Yeah… A bit groggy that’s all.” I replied as I slowly sat up. I was in the corner of the classroom and the gladiator fights were still going on.

Whitebeard was watching as he stood beside me.

“Jinx, did you know why you lost?” He asked.

“Because Draco was faster than me?” I replied.

“No. Because Draco has better technique than you. That is all. He limited his power against you. He never use a strike that was more powerful than yours. He was training even when he was in that sort of situation. You possess a good counter. It is nothing to be ashamed of. However, Draco simply trained in the physical arts from a young age. He will know quite a bit more than you in terms of feints, footwork, tactics, real-life sparring that you won’t. You see? Technique will always triumph over raw strength. You have potential. Don’t waste it. Hone your technique.” He said to me before he walked over to the now finished gladiator fight. The gladiator lost.

“Alright guys. That’s all for today. So currently, 5 people have tried it and Jinx is still currently the highest, with 9 consecutive wins.” Whitebeard announced and dismissed the class.

Draco came over to me where I was seated down along the wall of the classroom.

“Hey Jinx you ok? Sorry, I had to hit you pretty hard there.” He apologised.

“Nothing to apologise for. You did what you had to do. You were clearly the better warrior.” I smiled and said.

“I had training since I was young. For someone who barely started, you are already considered very strong.” Draco replied.

He isn’t too conceited over his win against me. He also took the initiative to apologise to me. He shouldn’t be a bad person.

We went back towards Medial together. It seemed like Draco also belonged to Odin hall. I asked him if he wanted to join me and Chippy for dinner together and Chippy was someone from Odin as well. He appreciated the gesture because he does not have any close friends yet and accepted it. Thus, the three of us had dinner in the hall canteen. Chippy and Draco took more food for me because they had priority to take food as students from Odin. When I was taking drinks though, I saw Jenny queueing up as well, seemingly with her other female friends.

“Hey Jenny.” I greeted.

“Jinx! How come you didn’t go to class today??” she asked.

“Oh. We have alternating days of warrior and magician training.” I answered

“Ahhh. I see. Do you have any lessons tomorrow?” She appeared hesitant before asking.

“Nop. Wednesday’s my free day. Why?” I explained, trying to be as casual as I could.

Keep your cool Jinx, keep your cool. She is not asking you out. She is not asking you out.

“Well.. Tomorrow is Freya Hall’s welcome party. Everyone from Freya is allowed to bring one guest so I was thinking if you would like to come? You are the only friend I have who is not from Freya so I was just wondering you know.” She shyly said.

HOMG HOMG KEEP YO FKIN COOL

“Sure what time is it?”

“It starts in the evening, just come to Freya for dinner! No need to come eat at this canteen.”

“Alright. I’ll be there! Meet you here at 6?”

“Okay!”

I took my drinks and started to head back to the table with Draco and Chippy, doing imaginary celebrations within my mind.

“You look happy. What happened?” Chippy asked.

“It’s nothing.”

“Liar. Is it a girl?” He smirked.

“No? You’re thinking too much.”

“You never say I’m thinking too much unless you’re trying to cover something up idiot. HAHAHA JINX HAS A GIRL? SO FAST?” He semi-shouted.

I quickly moved my hand to stuff my spoon full of food into his mouth as deep as I could.

“Okay okay shut up already. It was just an invitation to some welcome party tomorrow.”

“Mmfghbleeeeeee”

“Shut up okay?” I said before retracting my spoon out of that troublesome mouth of his.

Draco just watched on and ate his food, smiling to himself, seemingly entertained by our antics.

After eating, all of us went back to our rooms and I decided that it was still early. It was around 8+ and I wasn’t too tired. Even after getting the shit beat out of me by Draco. It must’ve been the healing spell that the granny used. It was quite effective. I decided that it was time for me to start on my training proper. The training that was going to make me the type of Legionnaire I wanted to be.

I took out one of the books I borrowed from the library and starting reading it on my study table.

“The Properties of Light.” – Thomoose Edison