Chương 31: Friend
Clang! The kusarigama sailed through the air as it pierced the target. Clat...clat...clat! Ethan pulled the chain towards himself, dislodging it from the target. He'd gotten much better at using the weapon. Of course, his proficiency was nowhere near his dagger's but he was making progress. He'd advanced much more in these two days than he had in a week. He glanced at his watch.
.
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[Name: Ethan Miller]
[Age:15]
[Status: Awakener(Physical)]
[- Stats]
[Rank: G-6]
[Strength: G-6]
[Agility: G-6]
[Stamina: G-6]
[Mana: G-6]
[Magical circuit: G-5]
[Personal stat(unnamed): G-5]
[- Skills]
[Mirror Blade (G)]
.
.
Ethan was still at G-6 rank. If he didn't want to fall behind, he'd have to reach F rank in 3 months. It seemed like a long time, but if you took into account the fact that most of his classmates had reached G-7 rank in 3 years, it seemed like an impossible goal.
The classes in KGS reflected the student's ranks, and their differences only increased as the years went by. Class 10 was the only class that had G-6 ranked students. Most of the students were G-7 rank, but a few G-6 ranked students like Ethan also managed to sneak in.
Class 6 was where the first G-8 ranked students appeared. Their numbers increased as the classes got higher and higher, until they completely out shadowed G-7 rank students. Class 3 was the first class that had zero G-7 ranked students. Class 2 had a few G-9 ranked students, while Class 1 had no G-8 ranked students. It was made up of G-9 ranked students, with 5 G-10 and one F ranked student. Of course, the 5 G-10 ranked people were the five heirs. And the F rank student was Noah. The only person to reach F rank before reaching KGS.
Reaching F rank was considered to be the first major hurdle for every student. Ethan's class had 3 months to reach F rank, but other classes weren't so lucky. Stone House had to reach F rank within a month, Pebble House had two months, while Dust House had three months.
He wiped his face with a cloth. He was confident that he'd reach G-7 in the next few days. With a bit of luck, he'd be able to reach F rank before the others, and he'd rise to a higher class. He swung his kusarigama, preparing to throw it once more.
"Ethan? Is that you?" Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him. He turned around to se a boy with green hair looking at him. Ethan stared into his azure green eyes as he tried to recognise him. "Star? Is that you? What're you doing here?" He hadn't expected to see him over here. Sure, there was a 25 percent chance of him making it into KGS, but he hadn't seen him in the past week.
"So it is you! I heard some rumours about somebody named Ethan. Congrats on getting into KGS!" He smiled. "So you've heard the rumours, haven't you?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. "What do they say?" Star coughed awkwardly. "Are you sure you want to hear them? They're not exactly nice."
"Tell me," said Ethan nonchalantly. "It doesn't really matter what they say. It's just better if you tell me. I'm kinda curious as well." He grinned. "Well....somebody was talking about how an idiot with F rank potential was swinging around a metal chain for an hour without hitting anything." Star looked down sheepishly.
"That's completely false! I managed to hit the target three times. How dare they say that I've hit nothing!" Ethan spoke with a straight face. Star laughed. "Well, I was kind of surprised, to be honest. I though you were using a dagger. Why'd you switch weapons?"
"Switch weapons? No way! This is the same weapon that I was using!" Ethan withdrew his mana from the weapon. Clat...clat...clat! It shrunk as it condensed into a dagger once again. "What! So you weren't using a dagger from the beginning! Why didn't you tell me before?" They started walking out of the target arena.
"Well, it's a long story. Anyways, how've you been? I didn't see you at the assembly the other day. I was pretty surprised to see you here. What class did you get into?" They walked around a corner. "Oh yeah! I managed to get into Class 4. I think I did decent."
Tap...tap...tap. "Say....Your weapon is very interesting. How about you spar with me?" Star asked Ethan. "Me? You know I'm in Class 10. My rank's probably lower than yours. I'd definitely lose." Ethan held his hands up in surrender. "We won't be using any mana. It'll just be our weapons. What do you say?" Star smirked at him.
"Only weapons? Alright. Prepare to lose!" "Ha! You wish! I'll make you eat those words." Both of them pulled out their daggers. "When this coin lands on the floor, we begin." Ting! Star flicked a coin into the air. It sailed through the air as it flew towards Ethan. Thud!
Ethan shot forward as soon as the coin landed. He gripped his dagger forwards as he ducked low, preparing to strike Star. Clang! Star moved his blade in an arc as he deflected the incoming dagger. Ethan's arm shuddered slightly. What monstrous strength! Star's base strength wasn't something to scoff at.
Star took advantage of Ethan's momentum as he stabbed his dagger downwards. Whoosh! Wind whistled past Ethan's face as he dodged slightly. "Come on, Ethan! I know this isn't your usual style. Show me your strengths, not your weaknesses!" He grinned.
"Ha! You asked for it!" Ethan twirled his fingers as he grabbed the knife in a reverse grip. His knees were bent slightly as his body leaned forward, ready to fly out at a moment's notice. The pair circled each other as they tried to find an opening.
Whoosh! Star suddenly shot forward, doing the same thing that Ethan had done a few moments ago. Ethan sidestepped, preparing to strike Star from above. Whoosh! Suddenly, Star twisted his knife mid-air, driving it towards his torso. Clang! Ethan slashed at the blade, deflecting it with ease. He immediately slashed again, aiming for Star's arm.
Thud! He leapt behind, avoiding Ethan's blade once more. "That's more like it." Whoosh! He rushed towards Ethan. Whoosh! Star viciously stabbed his blade towards Ethan. "I'm better at stabbing than you are, Ethan. You're going down." Clang! Clang! Clang! Ethan parried the blade, changing its trajectory by slamming his own dagger into his side.
"Dammit! You goddamn troll." Ethan was only applying enough pressure to make Star's dagger just miss his. "You'll pay for it!" He twisted his arm, plunging it towards Ethan's torso. "Oof!" Ethan was flung away as the blade connected. "My bad. I shouldn't have played with you."
He jumped into the air as he closed the distance. Star brought his arm upwards, ready to shield himself. Slash! Ethan's dagger breached his defences, slashing his chest. Star stumbled backwards. Ethan didn't hesitate as he continued his onslaught. Clang! Clang! Clang! Sparks flew as the blades crashed against each other.
Ethan started moving faster. Clang! Clang! Clang! Star increased his speed as he tried to keep up. "You...how are you so fast?" Clang! Clang! Clang! Star was nearing his limit. "Ahhh!" Ethan ended the match as his blade crashed into Star's stomach. "Oof!" He collapsed on the floor as he gasped for air.
"You...you're so good at wielding a dagger. Why the hell would you want to change your weapon?" Ethan extended an arm towards him. "Cause a dagger's not for me. Anyways, you lost. What're you going to do now?" Star grabbed his arm as he got up.
"Nonsense! This doesn't count. I lost because the coin landed closer to you. You saw it before I did. So this match doesn't count." "This little...." "Ok fine, I lost. I lost." He held up his hands in surrender. "This Sunday, we're allowed to use the servers of the Tower. Let's play in a PvP tournament. I'll pay."
Ethan nodded. "Sounds good. Anyways, where's that buff guy who hung around you?" "Oh! You mean Agong? My dad makes him stay next to me." "He isn't with you?" "Nope! I ditched him," said Star simply. Ethan was surprised. Ditched him? Well, maybe it was a young master problem.
"Ah! I'm so tired after that spar. Wanna go get a drink?" Star invited Ethan. "Sure. It's not like I have anything to do." Ethan agreed. He didn't have any friends in KGS. Well, he didn't even have any friends in middle school, but over here, he was completely alone.
Of course, he had that sticky princess who hung close to him. She was probably in the Physical section with her fanboys. But it wasn't like she was his friend. Maybe, Star could fit the deal? Ethan's heart clenched at the word 'friend'. He was reminded of Crookie.
He took a deep breath. "Hey Ethan, you okay?" Star glanced at him. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a bit winded." He started walking towards the cafeteria. Maybe it was ok to have a friend. To have someone that he could trust and depend on.
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J_Striker
J_Striker Here's the chapter. Thanks for reading. Releases will be shaky until 7th June because of exams. Sorry. I'll try to be more punctual. Anyways, let me know your thoughs in the comments. I'd appreciate if you could tell me where my story is lacking, what it needs and if(or when) it starts to feel boring. Thanks! J_Striker out.
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