章 49: Approaching Exam

I split with Raya after class ended and met up with Luna for our lesson with Carin. Similar events unfolded like before, with the girl clinging closely to me.

"Um, Luna?"

"Shut up."

Yeah, she's mad. Me fully accepting Fleur, seems to have gotten to them. Knowing that there is no talking to her when she gets like this, I quietly let myself be pulled along to our destination.

Surprisingly, Carin didn't seem that mad. She greeted us as we arrived and then had us spar with each other. Luna will be my training partner from now on now that we have both learned the basics. It's more efficient to do it that way instead of having to divide her time up separately between the two of us.

We got into position, and after being given the signal, Luna wasted no time in coming at me with everything she had. She enhanced her arms and legs and dropped down on all fours before dashing at me at high speed. She jumped around while doing various kicks and punches and used acrobatic movements to dodge my attacks before countering.

I could have overwhelmed her easily by upping my body activation technique, but that would defeat the purpose of this training. Besides, she was probably using this as a way to vent her frustrations. I didn't say a word and just looked at her meaningfully as the two of us continued our exchange.

As time went on, her emotions began to settle, and her movements got less erratic. She seemed to be having fun. I didn't mind helping her vent like this. In fact, I heard that most disputes in the adventurer course are settled with duels. Apparently, it's a big spectacle whenever a duel takes place, with an arena and stands filled with fellow students. So it's not like it's out of the ordinary for the two of us to do this.

After about forty minutes, Carin had us take a break before walking off.

"Do you feel better now?" I said to Luna, who was slumped against me.

"It's not fair. How can I be upset when you act like that."

Carin soon came back and tossed us some water bottles.

"Here, drink up."

"You two have been progressing at a good pace. There's still a lot of work to be done, but I expect my first students to graduate ahead of all the other rabble."

"I'm not sure about that," I said

"Didn't you say you expect us to win the school tournament as well? One would be possible, but do you really expect us to accomplish both?" Luna chimed in alongside me.

"I was the first student to graduate during my time here. I won first place in the singles matches and led my team to victory in the team matches. If I didn't think you had the potential to do the same, then I wouldn't have wasted my time with you in the first place."

Carin then turned to me and said that goes double. Body activation is a powerful technique, and besides a few stand-out individuals, which she assured me I would end up facing in the tournament, there is no one that should prove to be a big challenge among the other students. It would be a disgrace for me to lose.

"Is body activation really that strong?" Luna asked

"It is. It's a simple ability but with much power and versatility. Think of it as a supercharged version of your enhancement magic but without the need to expend mana."

"That reminds me, I've been feeling mentally fatigued and was wondering if you know of any remedies."

"I'm not a healer, Rune. Also, mental fatigue is not a serious issue; it will go away with rest."

"This is different, though. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it almost feels like the tired feeling is pulling me away. If that makes sense."

The expression on her face became much more serious, and she urged me to tell her everything that has happened in the past few days. I did as she said, and when I got to the end of the part about what happened between the student Dorian and me, Carin sighed in frustration.

"You're extremely lucky; you know that?"

"What?"

"You activated your mind, dumbass. Do you know how dangerous that is? The tiredness and the pulling feeling you described is your mind resisting being pulled into itself."

"It's a little sooner than intended, but we will have to increase your training to include lessons on to control it. That aspect of activation is not something I specialize in, so I'll need a few days to track down a friend of mine. For now, I want you to refrain from using body activation until then."

When our discussion was finished, Carin decided that we had rested enough and had Luna practice on her own for a bit so she could teach me her sword style.

To be honest, I'm not even sure I could call it a sword style. It had no forms and none of the grace that typically comes with learning one of the various styles of swordsmanship. It was something she came up with herself and was more wild and brutal.

It used body activation to deliver powerful punches and kicks alongside one-handed sword attacks. Instead of using technique and skill, her sword style, which she named 'Relentless Blade,' used brute force to overwhelm its opponents into submission.

If you came across an enemy who was better than you, then you activate your body further to increase your speed and power. There was no grace to it. You just beat back your opponent with a nonstop onslaught.

There aren't many people outside the Oxen race who can use body activation at her level, which is why she never bother to teach it to anyone until now. The body activation technique is the whole reason this style works, but you need a high affinity with it to always increase your strength to the point that it surpasses your enemies.

We mostly just practiced using martial arts in tandem with a sword. She had intended for us to be activated during our training and increase our power bit by bit so I could work on developing my precision with increasing my power, but we had to hold off on that for now.

It was an easy style to grasp and one that I felt fit me perfectly. I had no trouble picking it up.

"Good, good. I had a feeling my style would be a good fit for you. I know it's not pretty, but it works well for straightforward people like us."

"Yeah, this feels right. I learned firsthand that I'm not cut out for scheming. I feel like this sword style will be a good reminder of how to stay true to myself."

Now that we had finished up, Carin called Luna over so she could talk to us about one last thing.

"Alright, before I let you two go, we have one last thing to discuss. As you know, in a few days, you will have your adventurer regulations exam. The day after, all squads will also have an exam to gauge how well you work together."

"but we haven't even started training as a group yet. Are you purposely trying to have us fail?!" Luna said

"Calm down. It's not about the teamwork itself. It is more a way for us to see how you perform in a dangerous situation as well as how you work with others."

"Work with others? Does that mean we will be working with other squads?" I asked

"Yes. Each squad will be teaming up with another to conquer a dungeon. I'll explain everything in more detail on the day of, so for now, be sure to tell the others."

With that out of the way, the two of us began heading off to lunch. Before we left, though, Carin stopped us.

"That reminds me, Rune." She said with a bright and cheery smile.

"Yes?"

"If you skip my class again, I'm going to kill you."

"Understood!"