Bab 9: First Step [9]
'I'm... I'm alive...'
After tripping, my mind had gone completely blank, and there hadn't been a single thought in my mind as I had accepted my death. Somehow, though, I was now standing right next to the longsword that my teacher had swung at me, unscathed.
*Clack!*
Out of nowhere, he withdrew the sword back, letting it hang in his hand next to his body, an act that would have scared me shitless if not for the fact that my mind had already gone numb. Then, he turned around to my classmates, who all appeared to be equally as shocked as I was.
"Class is over! We will meet here again tomorrow morning to continue training!"
'What? Class is over? But didn't we just start?'
Yet, for some reason, none of my classmates even opened their mouths to argue with him, instead they just silently complied with his orders and began to walk away from the training field to go back to the campus. Everyone, except for one... which in turn became two as Celine didn't want to leave without the man whose eyes were glued to me and the teacher.
"Hey, Cerus! Let's go!"
Yes, it was Cerus who didn't move. His red hair shone even brighter than before as he looked at us, or most likely our teacher, with fierce determination raging in his eyes.
'That's a champion for ya.'
Seeing our teacher must've motivated him and triggered his competitive spirit, likely wanting to test his own skills against him.
To his dismay though, the teacher wasn't about to allow that.
"Didn't you hear what I said? Class dismissed!"
"...yes, sir."
With heavy feet, Cerus and his entourage in the form of Celine finally left. That meant that the only one who hadn't left yet was me, and I wasn't about to stand around and make our teacher even more annoyed than he already was.
Just as I was about to start my walk back to the central campus, a husky voice rang out behind me.
"Where are you going?"
"Back to campus?"
"... my name is Jared Folm. So for you, that will be Mr. Folm or Instructor Folm."
I couldn't see his face as I hadn't turned around, but for some reason, I had a feeling that his words were a sign of him accepting me. And so, my legs pulled me forward with renewed strength, as well as a warm sensation in my chest.
****
[Jared's POV]
'Tch! Cocky bastard...'
Ray hadn't even turned around when I spoke to him, once again proving that he had no intention of taking me or the curriculum seriously.
Seeing his thin back walking away, I initially had a hard time comprehending where he got his confidence from. That was until I remembered our small "bout".
I peered down at the sword in my hand, the sword that should've ended Ray's life just a couple of moments ago.
Although I was a bit surprised that he managed to dodge my attack, that wasn't the main reason as to why I was a bit shaken.
No, there were probably at least a handful of students who could have dodged that attack as it wasn't as if I had used all my strength against a poor freshman.
'But is there anyone who could've dodged it like he did...?'
He had been completely still until the absolute last moment possible, of which he still had an opportunity to dodge, only to then avoid the attack with what seemed like the most minimal possible movement. Not only that, he had gotten himself into likely the most optimal position to launch a counterattack, as there would have been no chance for me to have the time to redirect my sword if we were even close to the same level.
'So why didn't he attack me?'
I was confident in the fact that I would have been able to defend myself, but it was still strange that he didn't even try to throw a punch when he had such an advantageous position.
'Ray Flowers...'
Before I became the mentor of class 1-A, I had naturally been handed important information about the class that I would need. Most of this information was about Cerus, as he was in many ways the shining star of the class, but there was still some information about other notable individuals.
'But there was no information about Ray.'
Who was he, where did he come from, and, most importantly, what were his goals in coming here? I knew none of these things and if he had been a normal student, I wouldn't have cared. But Ray wasn't a normal student in my eyes.
It was difficult to regard him as someone as powerful as Cerus, but it was also impossible to ignore his skills.
More importantly, though, was that he had a different air around him. He carried an ambiance of nonchalance and confidence that not even Cerus had, while at the same time didn't want to show off too much.
'Did he use me to show everyone they shouldn't mess with him? But why didn't he try harder if that was the case?'
Enigmatic was the only way I could describe him. No... there was another set of words as well...
"He's a cocky bastard..."
****
[Cerus' POV]
My mind was still in turmoil from the spectacle that had gone down before my eyes, from the 'spar' between Mr. Folm and Ray. It was difficult to call it a spar, though, as it was clearly just meant to be a show of force from our teacher to teach Ray a lesson.
Ray should've lost. Ray should've gotten hit by the sword that was coming at him as he had been way too slow to react. But then he did... something. However...
'I... I couldn't see it.'
My fists clenched inadvertently as I struggled to remember the sequence of events but to no avail.
I had no idea what kind of movement he used to be able to somehow make it out unscathed. It had simply been too fast for my eyes to be able to keep up.
'It started with some kind of falling motion. But then...?'
My eyes had been plastered on his legs during that time. There had been no need to look at his upper body or how Mr. Folm swung his sword as that was already a foregone conclusion. Yet, despite that, I still only saw his body blur for an instant, as to then stand tall in the next instant, without a trace of nervousness on his face.
'-I want to fight you.'
Once again his words popped up in my head, reminding me of our interaction in the assembly hall, as well as how his eyes had pierced me through the crowd during the reciting of the Lines of Pride.
'Who is he... no, what is he?'
With me and Celine currently traversing the large campus to make our way to the cafeteria, it appeared as if I hadn't been able to keep my emotions from showing. At least not to the point of stopping Celine from noticing that I was pondering something.
"Cerus, what's wrong?"
I had never been able to hide things from her in the past, so I wasn't surprised that she caught on this time as well. This time, however, like so many times before, I didn't want to burden her with my unnecessary worries.
Therefore, with a bright smile, I scratched the back of my head in an attempt to seem normal.
"It's nothing. Just a bit nervous for tomorrow when we will have to spar with each other."
Unfortunately, the cute face in front of me wouldn't have it as it turned into a pout.
"You're lying again... As if you would be nervous instead of excited to spar someone."
Unable to meet her piercing gaze, knowing that I would crack if I did so, my head automatically drifted away from her, onto the cafeteria building that we had arrived at.
"No, really. This is different from before, now we are at the Academy of Heroes. Even if I was strong compared to our peers before there is nothing that says it will be the same here."
"Hmm? Then why can't you look me in the face?"
'Damn it... I guess I have to use my secret weapon...'
"It's just... ah, look! The cafeteria! We better hurry to make sure the food doesn't run out!"
"Cerus?! You are running away again! Ah, wait for me!"
Just like that, I had managed to defuse the situation for now as Celine was chasing me while still wearing a pout, making her brown hair dance in the wind, reminding me of the many years we had spent together as this wasn't the first time this had happened.
'Thank you, Celine. But I have already sworn that I wouldn't push my burdens on you anymore.'
From that time in the past, I had already made a solemn oath to myself that no matter what happened, I would be the one to carry not only my own personal worries but her worries as well. No matter what or who stood in the way.
'Ray Flowers...'
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone