Seifr struggled to maintain his training over the next few days. He would often find himself gradually slowing down and coming to a stop while lost in thought. He would stand in place and stare off into the distance until he realized with a start what he was doing. This happened on numerous occasions, and there did not seem to be any solution to his doldrums.

Seth was a true friend during this time. He spent as much time as possible with Seifr, trying to keep his mind off of what was depressing him so much, even at the expense of his own cultivation. Seth kept an eye out for Kohl and Celia to make sure that Siefr did not catch a glimpse of either of them.

"Come on, man, let's just go. It's been a couple of days since you've relaxed at all. You can't get your mind off of things because of the environment. Everything around here reminds you of what you need to forget. Notice how I'm not even mentioning what you need to forget, because you don't need reminders. Come on," Seth prodded Seifr to go with him out into the city.

He's right. I've been trying to just power through this and keep my mind off of it through training, but everywhere I go, I had either been there with Celia or had a run-in with Kohl. The only place that's safe is the 2nd Class Hall and dormitory, and I can't stay cooped up in either of those places all day. For one thing, I'd get thrown out of the academy. Seifr thought about the proposition, and finally nodded his head in agreement.

Seth pumped his fist as he exclaimed, "All right! Let's go right now!" With that, Seth turned to lead Seifr out of the hall. Seth had found Seifr just staring at a training dummy when he had come in looking for him.

The duo made their way off campus and headed out towards a restaurant. They were only teenagers, so it was not like Seth could lead Seifr to a tavern to drown his sorrows in alcohol. Alcohol had diminishing effects on cultivators, anyway, and the stuff that could really get a cultivator drunk was on the expensive side. Despite the harsh lifestyle and constant threat of death, there were not many alcoholic cultivators.

Seth dragged Seifr all around to different places in the city. He maintained a jovial attitude, constantly trying to poke fun at Seifr and get him to crack a smile. Despite not making much headway, Seth did not give up in his mission, and Seifr slowly began to relax.

"There he is! I've been looking all over for you, buddy," a familiar voice called out from behind as the friends walked down the street. Seifr stopped in his tracks and flexed his fists at his side.

Seth rolled his eyes as he cursed, "Son of a bitch! You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?" Seth turned and pointed at the man who had called out.

Seifr turned around and saw Kohl walking towards him with a group of other nobles. He noticed that the hangers-on were walking directly behind Kohl, and he also spied Celia walking with a couple of other girls in the group. Seifr started walking slowly towards the other group of teenagers, and Celia had a frown on her face as she watched the two youths approach each other.

"Seifr, come on. Let's get out of here," Seth tried to convince Seifr to just ignore the other boy and continue on. He grabbed a hold of his sleeve and tried to pull him along. Seifr resisted the pull of his friend and continued to walk towards Kohl.

Kohl smirked as he said, "No, let him stay. It looks like he has something he wants to say." Kohl swaggered forward, confident in his position of power surrounded by his allies. "I have a question for him, too. How would you like to be the best man at my wedding?" There was nothing but disdain and ridicule in Kohl's eyes.

As he neared his nemesis, Seifr suddenly launched himself forward with no words spoken nor any expression on his face to give his intentions away. He feinted a strike to the face, knowing that Kohl would anticipate his signature opening move, and then slammed a kick straight into his crotch. Kohl's eyes bulged out, and he involuntarily bent over at the waist from the pain. Seifr took advantage of this by grabbing his hair and slamming his knee into his face three times in quick succession. He grabbed him by the arms and threw him to the side of the street as Kohl's boot-lickers charged forward to attack Seifr.

Kohl was a very talented young cultivator who not only accumulated Spiritual Energy quickly, but was also naturally talented in Kung Fu. The other noble kids who followed him around were not. They were not coordinated in any of their strikes, and they appeared more like five people trying to fight Seifr one-on-one instead of a team. Seifr had never fought a crowd like this before, besides the first time these same boys knocked him down and rained blows on his body. Seifr would not call that much of a fight. This time he maintained his footing, and he kept his foes in front of him not allowing any of them to flank him for a surprise attack.

Despite the rage and adrenaline pumping in his veins, Seifr managed to maintain a calm state of mind. He focused on the techniques of fighting he had learned, and he noticed that the sword forms he had learned also translated into fighting bare-handed. He immersed himself in the fight, constantly flowing and moving in a circle. He started to gradually notice opportunities to exploit where he could block one opponent from advancing by using another combatant as an obstacle. Seifr allowed himself to move on instinct and training.

It was not a completely one-sided fight. Seifr suffered blows from his opposition, but they were controlled blows that he directed to non-vital areas. He could sense that one day, if he perfected these techniques, even these controlled blows would disappear. He was not there, yet - not even close.But the skill that he was displaying completely astonished the other students in the crowd. Seth and Celia were standing next to each other, watching in disbelief as Seifr pretty much had his way with five other disciples at once.

Before he knew it, Seifr had knocked a coupled of the other students completely unconscious with blows to the head. They were dragged out of the way by the spectators so they would not get trampled on as the fight continued. As the pressure lessened from decreased opponents, the noble kids became more hesitant in their assault. Seifr latched onto this weakness with a vengeance and exploited their trepidation ruthlessly. This increased ferocity further intimidated the other young men, and the couple who were still in the fight eventually turned and ran away.

Elation ran through his body as Seifr realized he had won. He turned and saw that Kohl was on his hands and knees trying to shake the fog out of his mind to stand up. Seifr ran over and kicked him in the side of the head again. Kohl collapsed back to the ground with a groan, and Seifr started to continuously slam his foot into Kohl's ribs. He had lost all reason and was screaming at the top of his lungs as he vented his revenge on this other man who had caused him so much pain when he felt a gentle grip pull him back away from him.

"That's enough, Seifr. Anymore and you might kill him. While I wouldn't care either way, we're out in public in broad daylight. No way the governor would let you get away with murdering his son," Seth tried to talk some sense into Seifr.

Seifr stood there panting for a moment. He knew his friend was right, and he did feel a lot better. His feelings of elation soon disappeared as he saw Celia kneel down, cradle Kohl's body, and start checking his wounds. He knew that there was nothing he could do to truly get what he wanted, but for now his rage had been sated.

"At least I've shown them that they can't just treat me however they want with no repercussions," Seifr said, more to himself than the others around. "I've won this time."

"What did you say?" Celia asked as she looked up at Seifr. Her eyes were moist with unfallen tears.

"I said, 'I've won,'" Seifr repeated, louder this time.

Celia shook her head and replied, "You don't get it. You're not supposed to win. You're just a commoner." Kohl had regained his feet with her help by this point, and the two of them turned and left. Kohl gave one last, scathing look at Seifr. This look promised continued retribution.

Seifr stood there and stared at the larger group of students as they made their way off. A lot of the other students, despite being in a group associated with Kohl, gave glances towards Seifr with respect in their eyes. It was safe to say that none of them could have pulled off a fight like that.

Seifr's momentary jubilation at besting his most hated enemy for the first time was short lived as the girl he had fallen for chose Kohl. Seifr was determined to harden his heart over this ordeal, but he knew it would take time. He glanced over at Seth who was still standing there in silence.

"Come on, let's go back to campus. I feel a little more like myself now." Seth gave his a friend a skeptical look, but shrugged and then accompanied him in the walk back to the academy. The journey was made in silence, neither boy needing to say anything. Seth sensed that his friend's emotions, while still in the gutter, were getting some semblance of control. The brief fight had been good for him, and not just because of the emotional state Seifr was in. No, Seth had witnessed true genius from Seifr for the first time in how he had adapted to fighting multiple people at once.

"I think I'm going to go home for a bit and practice with the sword. I want to get a few good sessions in before I give it back to you in a couple days," Seth suddenly announced as they neared the gate to the campus.

"That sounds like a good idea. Hurry it up, though, will you. I want my sword back," Seifr responded with a small smile. Seth grinned at his friend when he saw his lips twitch upwards towards the first smile in several days. He could tell that given some time, everything would be ok.

~

Morcai sat behind his desk facing the side and staring at the out-of-place mirror as he listened to the man speak. "...My son has arranged a rendezvous, and he did it in a manner where the other party came to him in front of witnesses." This sentence brought him out of the trance he had been in and a smile crept onto his face.

"That is excellent news. Excellent. I'll have one of my people ready for the meeting. When is it?" Morcai finally looked at the man sitting on the other side of his desk. The office was kept in shadow with only one lamp lit near the doorway. Morcai found peace in the darkness, and he did not need to see what his guest looked like. They had had many dealings for years, and he knew everything he needed to know about his associate.

"They're to meet in an alley a couple blocks away in three days' time," the other man replied.

Morcai frowned slightly at these words before saying, "Three days is awfully short notice. Hmmm... Doesn't matter. I'll have someone there to assist in this endeavor. That is all," Morcai dismissed the other man with a wave of his hand. The guest in his office stood and gave a short bow before exiting the room.

Morcai turned back to the mirror and stared into its depths, lost in contemplation. If anyone had been there to look in the reflection, he or she would have seen that it was slightly hazy in the dark, and Morcai's face contained a sinister grin that could not be seen on his person.