章 16: Martial Arts Competition (Part 1)

I decide not to worry about the Aquane noble and keep my focus on the upcoming martial arts competition. I trained with my siblings and Galen after the mental strength test instead of resting. Although I was mentally tired, I felt stronger. I was reaching the bottleneck of low adept stage. If I continue to push my limits, I might be able to breakthrough to mid adept before the competition the next day.

"Remember to keep your guard up," Kaon advises as he sends another kick toward my stomach. I block with my arms crossed before side-stepping to the side and twisting my body until I was behind him. He attempts to headlock but I slam my knees into the back of his knees, causing him to fall. "It seems I win again," I whisper lightly into his ear. Kaon groans.

Galen laughs on the sidelines. "She got you good." Kaon rolls his eyes. Aerik ticked another mark onto the board. He was keeping track of Kaon and I's scrimages. I run over to him. "5:2. You improved a lot these few hours." My body is not at its optimal as it was in my past life, but my new body is nimble and quick. That and my knowledge in martial arts certainly would show signs of improvement to others.

The sun was setting so my brothers and I decide to go back to the hotel. Galen wished me good luck before leaving to his dorms. He is going to meet up with us tomorrow morning.

"Let's go home and eat," Kaon says, stretching his arms out and yawning. I just realized that I was also feeling hungry from the physical exertion.

Mother and Father greets us at the door and orders some maids to set up the table for dinner. It seems Aerik already informed our parents about our arrival. "Kaon. Aerik." Mother walks over to them and kisses them on the cheek. "Freya." Mother also gives me a kiss.

The cook created our favorite dishes. Father listens intently as Aerik tells our parents my mental strengh test.

"She was one of the last ones to survive the mental strength test. Even I barely made it to the end." Mother and Father were speechless. They looked at me then at each other. Is it that incredible?

They did not continue to ask about the mental strength test, and I missed the chance to ask about the Aquane noble. The next topic that our parents brought up is the martial arts competition.

"Will you both watch the martial arts competition?" Kaon asks excitedly. The martial arts competition is open to the public. The commoners comes in droves to support the young nobles and as a form of entertainment. The nobility likes to watch because of rank and social prestige.

"Of course," Father agrees. "I also heard that this year will be special since the daughter of the emperor will be entering. It will be good to see our old friends." Father turns to mother while saying this. Mother nods and smiles gently as if she remembered a fond memory.

"I would love to see Arcadia again. I heard she now has a daughter that is a year older than Freya." Mother's eyes were twinkling.

"You both know the royal family personally?" Kaon asks personally. I knew we had a close relationship with the royal family since we are part of the nobility, but I did not think we would be that close to be on a first name basis.

Mother laughs. "I am a childhood friend of the empress. Some even called us sisters because we were so close. On the other hand, your father went to the same military academy as the emperor."

Father adds, "The emperor and I are sworn brothers. Additionally, the reason my family was able to become barons is because I have protected to emperor countless times. We also have specially trained military forces thanks to your grandfather."

"Wow. Would the emperor and the empress then be our aunt and uncle?" Kaon asks. Both our parents laughs and shakes their head.

"Although we are close, we have to make sure to have a neutral relationship. It's not good if any one nobility house is favored above another." That makes sense since the nobility houses help balance the royal family's power.

Mother turns her attention to me and mentions the daughter of the emperor and empress. "Freya, you will most likely see their daughter during the competition. She is similar to you in that she has been homeschooled for the past year. I am sure she will become a good friend." I nod. I don't have much of an opinion about this girl but it doesn't hurt to meet her."

The rest of dinner consist of battle strategies for the competition. I enthusiastically added my own thoughts about battle techniques before mother tells us all to go to sleep. Il'wara provides last minute thoughts as she walks me to my room.

"Little miss, remember that the best offence is the best defense." She reminds me that striking first can be my biggest asset in a battle.

"I understand Il'wara. Thank you for the advice."

She nods curtly before leaving. Il'wara might be a mystery to me, but she always has good intentions for the family.

I cultivated under the moonlight before heading to bed.

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"Wake up Freya!" Kaon's voice penetrated my consciousness. Aerik proceeds to shake my shoulder when I did not respond. I might have overdone the cultivation. Although cultivating does not disrupt sleep patterns, it is tough on children who are in their growing phase. Children still need to eat and sleep properly that even my older brothers cannot refute with mother when she finds them practicing late at night.

I groan. My whole body feels heavy and sluggish. Can I have a few more minutes to get up?

"You are going to be late," Aerik whispers into my ear. His breath of hot air against my ear cause me to shiver in distaste. I get up slowly and blink a couple of times.

Kaon and Aerik were grinning at my behavior. I can see their amused expressions. They probably suspect that I was cultivating and not sleeping the night before. I look over to the mirror on the wall. I don't see dark circles but my eyes are more swollen than usual. It is going to be a long day.

"Are you both going to stay in my room?" I glance over to the pile of clothes that I set up the night before. Both my brothers look in the same direction and then start blushing.

"We'll see you downstairs." They ran away without another word. I chuckle in response. I then start to dress myself. Since I became old enough to dress on my own, I was adament in not having the servants help me dress. Only on special occasions where I have to wear ball gowns and have elaborate hairdos do I have servants help me out.

I prefer to do things on my own since I would never know when I would be betrayed. As a daughter of the nobility, I got used to having servants around but I make sure to keep an eye on them since I do not trust anyone except my family and people I know I can trust.

I put on the simple shirt and loose pants before tying my hair up into a ponytail. I take the cloak and wrap it around myself then walk downstairs where my family was eating breakfast and preparing to go to the martial arts competition.

"Hello Freya," Mother greets me. She motions to the maid to bring me breakfast.

"Morning mama," I reply. I take the fork and knife and dig into my breakfast.

"Lady Astrid, the carriage has been prepared," Il'wara announces. Mother thanks Il'wara and orders another servant to clear the dishes since I have finished.

"Let's go. Your father and brothers are already outside," Mother tells me. I nod and follow her out the door.

Aerik and Kaon both advises me regarding the competition while we were traveling. They tell me about the rules and boundaries about the competition. The students would be separated into 2 groups. The competition is tournament based. The opponents will be chosen via lottery and whoever wins will continue up the ranking. The competition is solely for martial arts so weapons are not allowed. The examinees are also not allowed to use elements, this exam is purely physical. As for the battlegrounds, the examinees are to remain within the rectanglar field. Whoever is knocked out or goes out the boundary lines is disqualified to continue.

Father inputs last minute advice on battle strategies and mother wishes me luck. The carriage ride soon ends and both my siblings and I greet Galen, who was standing near the gate.

"Good morning Lord Cassian." He bows slightly to father. Father acknowledges him with a nod. Galen proceeds to kiss mother's hand in greeting. "Lady Astrid." Mother smiles at Galen and gives a light laugh. "Oh my. The young master Malphas has become quite a charmer. I thank you for helping Freya along the way."

Galen smiles. "It is indeed an honor to work with both your children." Galen continues to small talk with both of my parents as we all enter the Academy grounds.

Aerik leads our party to the testing area. There were more people around and tents set up with street food. The martial arts competition was more like a festival.

"This is where you can check in," Aerik says. There is a stall set up where some examinees were putting their information and receiving a pin with a number on it. "Unfortunately we won't be able to go with you after you go through the gates." There is a large gate behind the stall where I catch a glimpse of a large, green field.

I nod before getting hugs from my family and a good luck from Galen. They told me that they will be watching on the sidelines and soon left to the other gate where crowds of people were going through.

I check in quickly and pin my number on the lapel of my shirt. I take a deep breath and confidently walked through the gate with anticipation.