Capítulo 8: First sword training
"Maybe not the strongest, but I certainly wouldn't be the weakest."
The next morning, Adam got up early.
He put on his uniform and went downstairs to have a breakfast prepared by his mother, who watched him with discreet attention.
"Today's your first weapons training class, isn't it?" she asked with a gentle smile.
"That's right."
"Good luck." she said softly, as if imparting a silent strength to him.
Adam nodded wordlessly and left the house.
In just under 15 minutes on foot, he quietly arrived at his high school.
At the reception desk, a class allocation sheet had been set up to match students' talents and compatibilities with their classes.
Adam threaded his way through the noisy crowd and looked at the long lists.
"Adam Sylvaeri, Adam Sylvaeri, Adam Sylvaeri..."
He searched for his first and last name, but couldn't find it.
"Your first name is on the last sheet Adam."
Adam glanced around quickly, and indeed saw his first name on the last sheet.
"Swordsman class number 15, Adam Sylvaeri. Training room number 315."
After reading this, Adam breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Then he turned to see who had advised him.
And to his surprise, in front of him was a lovely red-haired teenager looking at him with a slight smile.
Her face was so beautiful that he was speechless for a few seconds.
"The highest sheets are where the most talented students are, while the lowest sheets on the board represent the classes with the least talented students."
The crowd began to whisper things to each other as they looked at Adam and the teenager, but neither was paying any attention to the people around them.
"How do you know my first name?" he finally asked.
No matter how hard Adam searched his memory, he couldn't recall ever having spoken with this teenager before.
"How could I not know the student known for having the weakest talent in high school history?" she replied with a teasing smile.
"Well, don't worry, as far as I'm concerned anyone with a compatibility below 40 has no potential, so whether it's you or these people around us, as far as I'm concerned you're all the same."
"It's actually quite funny to hear talentless people making fun of people who are the same as them all morning," she continued, speaking in a loud voice that intimidated the nearby crowd.
All at once, an awkward silence spread through the lobby, which had been so noisy just seconds before.
Then, all at once, Adam remembered.
The young woman in front of him was called Iris Thandrel and had been a Thandrel family prodigy since she was a child.
She was also the most beautiful girl in the school,
Without a doubt, whether before or after the awakening, it would seem that she was always so respected and admired.
At the same moment, the bell rang, signaling students to join their classes.
"Well, it looks like we'll have to split up here, good luck Adam." she said in a soft voice before walking away before the stunned eyes of the crowd.
"Am I dreaming or did the school belle just talk to the school trash?"
"Unbelievable..."
"No, what we all saw was real..."
"There's a rumor about our beauty, do you want to know what it is?"
"We don't know, just spit it out."
"It's said that she has a spear compatibility of over 60."
" 60 !? "
"We don't live in the same world, it's impossible."
...
The crowd grew noisy again after Iris's departure, while Adam simply set off for the training room indicated on the sheet.
Room 315 indicated that it was the fifteenth class on the3rd floor, a floor apparently reserved for first-year swordsmen.
Knowing that their high school had 12 floors in total, the top two floors were reserved for the school principal, instructors and administrative staff.
Adam quickly took the stairs and counted the rooms one after the other.
" 12,13, 14...15 ! "
"There's my classroom!"
The door was open, so Adam went straight in.
It was a large room with a foam-carpeted floor.
There were training dummies lined up facing the walls of the room, while in the center of the room, some fifteen students were chatting amongst themselves.
Adam's arrival attracted a few glances, but before a comment could be heard, the teacher arrived too.
He was an imposing man in his forties, with an athletic build and wearing a simple black tunic. He had an intimidating aura, but his face showed that he was tired for some reason.
"Ah, is everyone here already?"
"Welcome to your first fencing class." he declared, his voice echoing around the room as he crossed the room and stood in front of the students.
"I am Master Loran, and I will teach you what mastery of the sword truly is."
"To begin with, fencing isn't just about brute strength or compatibility. It's a discipline requiring rigor, reflection and perseverance."
As Master Loran explained the basics, posture, basic movements and defensive positions, Adam felt furtive glances land on him. The whispers were really low, but he could get the gist.
"Why is he here? Maybe we have relatively weak talents, but even ours are still far better than his poor dagger," whispered a girl to her neighbor.
"Maybe it's to show us what not to do." replied the neighbor, laughing lightly.
Other students were also casting mocking glances, their snide smiles clearly visible.
Adam could hear all this, but he ignored them completely.
This was someone who had been through one difficult ordeal after another in his previous life, and had even experienced death.
It wasn't a few high-school students who could affect his mentality.
After a brief theoretical introduction, Master Loran motioned for them to stand in front of a dummy with a pair.
"In short, understanding and effort are the most important qualities for evolving in the mastery of the sword.
"Now it's time for training. I'll show you the posture to perform, and you'll repeat it until you've mastered it completely."
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