Sorry for the late chapter, spent all day yesterday writing the essay I didnt want to write, not to mention I woke up at 4:30 yesterday morning.. I was too tired to attempt to make this badass at the time, and knowing you guys I assumed you could wait (no suicides yet right?) for the chapter if it was guaranteed to be better then it would have been. Fun stuff is planned for the future. In the spoiler today is the creator!!! in all his glory!!!

(sleep is needed I guess....)

Enjoy :3

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silence...

A single word embodying a state of the sound in the room. The problem with silence is that it never conveys enough of what is happening in the room.

Silence...

A single word, revealing so much about a situation. Nobody dared to talk, nobody dared to breath, nobody dared to move or think due to the tenseness of the situation as they looked on at this teen who had challenged someone drastically more powerful then them. That was a simple fact. The man was above level hundred and had been doing this all his life, how could they arrogantly think to match him on their first day here?

Silence... continuing on for what seemed like forever.

----------------------------------------------------------

*Inhale*

He had to do it correctly. He had no chance if he messed up for even a moment.

He calmed his body down, slowing his breathing and waiting to hear his heartbeat,

*Exhale*

*Inhale*

*Exhale*

There it was, a soft rhythmic beating growing steadily louder the longer he listened to it...

*bathump*

*bathump*

*bathump*

*Inhale*

After this breath he started to feel something odd, the synchronization of his mind and body, a feeling he had not felt in years, the feeling he got when doing only the most rigorous sports, ones that had needed, nay demanded his full attention.

*Bathump*

He glanced at the man infront of him

*Bathump*

An unknown variable, the anomaly infront of him, The "X" in this equation.

*Bathump*

*Exhale*

The easiest way to solve for X however, was to isolate it and solve the other half of the equation...

*BAthump*

*BAthump*

Inhale*

First, one must divide by the other components which X had, in this case, Armor, a blunt sword, which cancels out with his own..

*BAThump*

*BAThump*

*BAThump*

But of course, the most problematic component of all, the experience gained throughout his life..

*Exhale*

*BATHump*

*BATHump*

It was growing louder, his body was synchronizing with his mind. Only a few moments left and it would reach its complete synchronization

*Inhale*

*BATHUmp*

*BATHUmp*

*Exhale*

His mind reasoned, the swords offset each-other, leaving only armor and experience as things to cancels out. He reasoned that as this was a test and not a duel the armor would be irrelevant, leaving just one...

*BATHUMp*

*Inhale*

*BATHUMp*

*Exhale*

With all other variables eliminated, the question becomes not what the man has to his advantage but instead if Cornelius can match the mans skill with his own.

This was always the question, but solving for X is easier then overcoming the irrational fear imparted by nature.

There it was, the pinnacle of the feeling... The time to start this test was rapidly approaching...

*DEEP INHALE* *BATHUMP*

*DEEP EXHALE* *BATHUMP*

*DEEP INHALE* *BATHUMP*

And thus it began...

A swing of the blunt sword from the position where it had sat motionless for the past while.

It almost caught the man off-guard, but he recovered in time to parry the strike with his own, swinging from his right to his left, causing the horizontally inbound sword to careen off course.

It was only a moment later however, that the sword recovered and changed direction towards his left leg,

Ben dodged however, moving his leg out of the way only a moment early, leaving the arm in which the sword was held available to attack. It pulled back, causing the downward blow to only glance off of the hand guard.

Cornelius pulled back and put his sword down again, studying his opponent once more.

Cornelius had been faster, but his opponent was by far the better fighter.

The reaction time, the flaws, and the slight delay here and there as the man remembers not to injure Cornelius or inspire fear into the class again.

Cornelius let out a fearless smile.

He had the advantage here...

The longer the fight went on the longer he would get to study his opponent...

He had a learning curve whereas his opponent did not... His opponent had already hit their peak in skill and was waiting for their body to catch up with their mind.

Cornelius was just the opposite, as with all of his classmates. Their bodies were good, not nearly on par with the man though, at least not yet, but given time they would certainly be more powerful. No, what they needed now was the skill to use their new-found strength.

Cornelius had, even prior to this, been able to synchronize his mind and body, making it instantly listen to his commands and do almost impossible things. Such was the degree of control which he had over it... Now that he did not have the problem that Fredy had had, and the mental ability to study his opponent for weaknesses it was only a matter of time before he won...

Ben seemed not to have noticed yet, but Cornelius couldn't be sure. He didn't want to leave his opponent with too much time to think, so he engaged again, taking the information from the original spar and applying it to this one.

Cornelius did not attack from the left horizontally this time, but instead from the right, taking advantage of where Ben's sword would go should he counter like he had last time...

Ben followed his predictions, and parried downwards this time, keeping his sword on his right side, but swinging even further right, shoving Cornelius's sword past his shoulder, then Ben took the tip of the sword and tried to angle it towards Cornelius.

Cornelius saw this coming however, as it had been what Ben had failed to do last time. He used his extended arm to knock away Ben's extended arm after the sword had moved, causing the point to soar two feet above Cornelius. He then retracted his arm, slightly missing Ben's side with his sword point.

After this trade Ben's carefree smile faded, and it was replaced with a serious expression. Cornelius responded with his own carefree smile.

Once...

Twice...

Three times they traded

Each time, Cornelius was getting closer and closer to getting a hit off on Ben, whereas Ben was getting further and further from hitting Cornelius.

Ben cracked a smile and then swapped hands with his sword, making his left hand his sword hand. Cornelius narrowed his eyes at this. The entire time Ben had only used his right hand, and that was what Cornelius took advantage of, Ben's inability to correctly cover his left side and his right side. Cornelius was faster in his reaction times and could more properly control his bodies movements, so it was only natural that he could better dictate where the sword would go, even without years of experience.

This action by Ben however, had voided all of his previous learning and stratagems. With the sword in the left hand, it proved two things and brought up another question...

The first thing it proved was that Ben was ambidextrous.

And the second, was that from now on it would get harder... Substantially harder...

Why would it become harder? Because of the question which had just arisen... Had Ben been going easy this entire time? Using an offhand instead of his main hand?

Cornelius readied his sword again, preparing to take a moment to think out a plan on how to attack Ben. A moment later however, Ben took the initiative, striking down with speed and force which had not been existent in the past few bouts. Cornelius was a bit shocked at this, but for the most part he had predicted the increase in difficulty. The thing which caught him offguard however was Ben's sudden offensive. He was unable to dodge in time, and had to throw his sword up in defense.

The movement was sloppy however, and his sword was easily knocked away by an unstoppable swing, which then lost all force and lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

Ben suddenly showed a carefree smile again and swapped hands back to his right before turning back to the onlookers.

The young man he had just fought had actually forced him to swap hands! Who could believe it. He showed such prowess with his body that his lack of sword-skills meant almost nothing. He had waited for the right moment, carefully observed his opponent and then utilized that information to gain the upper hand in the fight. Ben was extremely satisfied at that young man behind him. He was ready to proceed onward with the tests, but a voice called out...

Cornelius : "Again..."

Ben turned around, slightly baffled by the mans action. Cornelius was just standing there in a daze looking at the sword in his hand. He then glared at Ben and said resolutely...

Cornelius : "AGAIN"

Ben was confused by Cornelius, but complied. He had only just fought the otherworlder for a few minutes but Cornelius's growth rate was off the chart. He went from being a novice to specifically targeting weak points in the opponents defense. Such growth normally took a year or two, but this child had done it in five bouts. Only a minute or two had passed since he first picked up the sword and already he was asking for more.

Ben nodded, assuming that this growth would only reach a point and he risked driving the child off of the path of the sword should he refuse to comply. He readied his sword in his right hand subconsciously.

Cornelius glared at him, and he realized his mistake after a moment. He promptly swapped hands again, and a moment later Cornelius began his offensive.

At first the strikes were easy to deal with for Ben, as the difference between his right and left hands was like the difference between a gopher and a whale, they couldn't be compared.

He used his right hand for stuff like this, whereas he only used his left hand in the midst of combat. It was what had earned him his name as a knight, as well as his position as head trainer. He was almost unmatched throughout the kingdom, despite his only moderately high level.

He assumed that when he swapped and started fighting seriously he would be able to easily dispatch this novice swordsman. To a point he was correct, as in the first bout he had landed a hit extremely easily. In a dual this would constitute his victory, however Cornelius wouldn't give up, and asked instead to keep going.

Ben, fighting seriously now, assumed that it would be easy, as he had originally. But a realization dawned on him as the flurry of blows which he sent out was matched perfectly, all momentum was redirected and all force was nullified. What stood before him was not a novice, nor even a swordsman. The one who stood before him, in all their two minutes of sword-practice, was an absolute blade master. The amount of skill which the boy and his body could produce was outstanding, every blow was blocked perfectly, every thrust was parried, and then countered.

Once more he was astonished by this growth rate, and decided to try something.

He decided to go for killing blows, just out of curiosity... This was something which he never would have done in a duel, but this child this Cornelius was too much of an anomaly... He had to see how far this boy would follow the rise in difficulty level, and so he broke the self imposed rule that he would not try to kill them.

At first, the change in seriousness of the match caused Ben to almost kill Cornelius a few times, even with a blunted sword, and yet, he never could truly exploit the openings that his attacks had created. He couldn't explain it. Cornelius was adapting at a rate impossible to ascertain for him...

All of his strikes were being copied and thrown back at him, all of his movements were being incorporated, all of his style and skill was being taken and used against him.

Ben's mind wavered for a moment... Only for a moment, as he contemplated the boy in-front of him. The irrationality of the skill. This Cornelius, had he remained in his world, this skill never would have shown itself. A skill level like this would shake the kingdom, no it could shake the world.

The longer you fought him the harder he became to defeat and eventually you would fall prey to your own style...

His mind only wavered for a moment..... but in that exact moment, Cornelius sent a strike straight at one of the vital points on Ben's body... Something Ben had done only a few strikes earlier in the bout... Ben noticed this just before it would have been bad and managed to parry it, with no room to spare. A cold sweat appeared on his back, as his mind went blank, he didn't allow himself to think, as a moment of distraction would possibly end his life....as a single thought ran through his mind. A thought that slipped out from the blank mind.

Ben : *What monster have I unleashed???*

Ben : "Hold for a moment..."

Ben paused the bout... It was only roughly a minute since he had swapped hands, but already his life was in danger. He walked over towards the pile of swords and picked up another one.

Ben : "You know, you are rather good at this My lord, However, you are getting a bit cocky in your movements. This is leading you to take risks which even I would not take in a fight..."

Ben knew that was a lie, as Cornelius's entire style had been assimilated from Ben's. He knew that he had taken those risks first, that he had continued to amp up the difficulty of the fight ever so slightly every single trade.

After that first hit, he had never been able to so much as scratch Cornelius again, whereas he was getting closer and closer to getting hit himself.

This was his last fallback...

He was ambidextrous, and he hoped that he might be able to catch Cornelius off guard or at least end this before one of the them died. He was the instructor, him the student, Ben must make this known to Cornelius before this single bout ended. He must land a hit and finish this.

He walked back to Cornelius, who was staring at the second sword. He said, quietly, so quietly that only Cornelius could hear it

Ben (whispering) : "This has to be the last one, whoever takes the hit now, must forfeit. You have great skill, but for now I must also test those other students. I cannot allow myself to lose here, so I shall bring everything to this next bout. Remember, one hit, that's all."

Cornelius nodded slightly, a little angered by the premature end of the confrontation.

Ben readied both swords, infused what mana he had, all of it, into only one of his arms and then went in for the quick end, putting it all in one arm for a single swing, knowing full well that given time he would be defeated at his own game...

Cornelius readied himself, prepared to receive the full brunt of both attacks. He poised himself to jump back at only a moments notice.

When Ben came he was as ready as he could be, and he focused on stopping the left sword, as the right sword was the weaker of the two.

He calmed himself, and parried the mans blow.

Cornelius : "What!?!?!?"

The amount of force the blow contained was incomparable to earlier, and he was forced back as all of the air flew out of his lungs. He impacted the wall with a strong thud, and his vision started fading, but not before he saw Ben panting, blood running down his right arm.

With that scene implanted in his consciousness his vision went dark...

And then... silence returned...

--------------------------------------

Finally a long chapter?

Well anyway, sorry about the late ish release, i woke up at 4:30 yesterday morning and was too tired to write anything other then my essay on Russia, and since I desired this to be a bad-ass chapter I decided to wait till I had had enough sleep to write it sufficiently...

Spoiler :

Stuff? no I'm kidding...

Cough* Cough* The creator of the Stratovians!! (I love this guy, he is the MC of the original storyline...)

His name was Mark Stratos (Notice the relation?)

Mark was a super-genius who was abducted, (poorly) by a time traveling super villain, and was sent back to the world of Dinosaurs!! The super villain, in the middle of his speech, was eaten by a dinosaur, and so Mark became trapped for a few years. Stuck for a bit in the primordial world he decided to create a flying city so that he wouldn't have to kill off all the dinosaurs which attacked him, of course he didn't want to build this city himself, so he designed a city which could build itself, this was the birth of the original twins and the original city.

The city was originally just a "core" the size of a modern house, but it only had a room the size of a bedroom inside of it and a lab, the rest of the space was used to house the computers (the twins)...

There is a long description of what happens and how the Stratovians come about(just ask and I will write the main story ;-;) , but long-story short the city grew to the size of an actual city and Mark decided to create a race to inhabit the city. He made them genetically better then everything else, and gave them the "seek intelligence" gene, prompting them to become smarter over time.

He then built a time machine, (theories galore!) out of a particle accelerator and a piece of crystallized hydrogen, prompting his entering the time space continuum. The city, flourished growing into multiple cities, each one eventually leaving our planet (except the original) and going to different places such as different planets, different times (using the device) or other universes (using an antimatter and dark-matter compound to rip apart the universe temporarily and escape, i mean spread)

And thus the Stratovian race was born!!!)

Alright that was a lot of stuff happening... I will be gone this weekend, starting tomorrow morning so don't expect any chapters till Sunday night probs. *will still try to get one out later today, if not two.,,*

Lots of good stuff is planned :3

Remember lurkers!

LURKERS BEWARE!!! FOR I DESIRE COMMENTS!!!

---------------------------------------------------------------