Wrath's Virtue

Headmaster Ulrich, flanked by Orc and Forest Elf, looked down from the steps at the children who had managed to pass the first trial.

Forest Elf turned to Ulrich. "It appears 78 out of 214 children were able to pass."

Orc grunted. "Considering those who failed in previous years were also participating, the numbers aren't increasing by much Faelia."

"Their numbers don't need to increase Kargath," Ulrich stated flatly. "Our job is to train those with quality. The failures will find their own paths." He glanced at a nearby staff members. "Were the injured attended to?"

One of them stepped forward. "None among those who passed had serious injuries, Headmaster. They are cleared to continue the tests."

"Good," Ulrich said. He then raised his voice to address the children. "Listen to me."

The crowd of 78 children went silent, their attention fixed on him.

"You have three more tests ahead of you," Ulrich announced. "No one expects you to be perfect, but you must prove yourselves in these trials. The first two tests will allow us to decide how we will train you and if you fail to prove yourself in the third, you will fail entirely. Yes, your true training will begin here, but you should have already developed yourselves to some degree. This is the stage where you will show us those skills."

He motioned to the staff behind him. Twenty Northern instructors, each armed with a plain straight sword, stepped forward and formed a line.

This time, Kargath spoke, his voice a low growl that carried easily. "This is your first test, whelps. You will attack the instructors you see here and show us your skills. Anything goes, and don't you dare hold back. But don't think they won't hurt you in return. So if any of you are afraid of a little pain, disappear now and don't waste our time you maggots!"

The Orc scanned the children. Some looked afraid, but no one took a step back. Seeing the determined expressions on many of their faces, a small smirk touched his lips. Then, his eyes settled on the far back corner, on a boy with a faint smile on his face then his smirk vanished, replaced by a frown.

"For those without a weapon, or for those who wish to use a different one, you may choose from the wall," Kargath said, gesturing toward a rack displaying various weapons. "But before we begin, I want you all to grasp the seriousness of this situation. There are some among you who find this amusing, who are not taking this seriously enough."

His eyes were locked on Aurelion and Aurelion's smirk widened.

Kargath motioned with his hand. "You. Get over here, whelp. You will be an example for the others."

As the other children turned to look, Aurelion moved, walking calmly to the front.

Faelia leaned toward Ulrich. "I heard the boy with the Captain was an interesting one," she murmured. "He was also one of the first ones to pass the trial."

"We shall see," was all Ulrich said.

Kargath stood with his arms crossed over his massive chest. "Do you wish to choose a weapon, whelp?"

Aurelion unslung the spear from his back. "This one will be enough."

"Arne!" Kargath bellowed. One of the instructors stepped forward.

"Don't go easy on this whelp, Arne," Kargath commanded.

"As you command, Head Instructor," Arne replied. He walked to face Aurelion, holding his sword in a relaxed grip. "Do your best, kid," he said. "The Head Instructor gave a special order. I won't be going easy on you."

"It's better this way," Aurelion said as he settled into the stance. He channeled a sliver of energy into the Seal on his left palm. His vision sharpened, the world snapping into a higher definition. "He probably won't use much of his own energy at first," Aurelion thought. "It's far more logical to enhance my physical sight right now." He tightened his grip on the spear, his muscles tensing, ready to launch forward at a moment's notice.

"Begin!" Kargath's voice boomed.

But Aurelion remained perfectly still.

However Arne took a few steps forward. The instant the instructor's sword arm twitched, Aurelion's enhanced vision caught the movement. He exploded forward. The tip of his spear, which had been aimed at the ground, lashed out like a striking snake, aimed directly for Arne's face.

Arne's eyes widened in surprise. He snapped his head to the side, the spear tip grazing past his cheek. But Aurelion was already on him. Having closed the distance, he channeled energy to his leg. As blue sparks crackled around his foot, he whipped a kick toward Arne's now exposed head.

In a display of incredible reflex, Arne tossed his sword into the air, blocked the kick with his forearm, and caught the descending sword with his other hand. In that same instant, Aurelion disengaged, leaping back to his original position.

Arne looked down at the blackened, smoking patch on his sleeve while a low murmur rippled through the watching children.

"Sorry about the clothes, Instructor," Aurelion said, a smirk playing on his lips. "As you said, I'm just doing my best."

Arne let out a short laugh. "I see I have to get more serious with you, kid," he said, shifting the sword to his left hand. He held it out to his side and lunged.

Aurelion thrust his spear forward to intercept and simultaneously jumped backward. Arne's sword slapped the spear shaft aside, the blade looks twisting as it continued on its path toward Aurelion's arm. But Aurelion's vision was already a step ahead. He released the spear with his left hand, throwing his body back and away from the attack. He rolled smoothly across the ground, ending on one knee with his spear once again held in a perfect, ready stance.

Arne paused, a look of genuine surprise on his face. "I meant to cut that arm a little," he said. "You actually managed to dodge, kid."

Aurelion brushed a speck of dust from the leather armor on his arm. "I just had this repaired. I'd rather it not get damaged," he said, then gestured with his chin toward Arne's singed sleeve. "Right?"

The smile on Arne's face twitched. "You're going to need a new set of armor, kid." He reversed his grip on the sword, and a pale gray energy, like a contained wind, began to bleed from the blade. The sword started to hum with power.

Aurelion's expression grew serious. "I have to maintain my enhanced vision, otherwise I won't be able to follow his movements. This guy is fast," he thought. "But it's fine, as long as he uses his energy so openly." Sparks began to crackle along the length of his own spear.

From the back Faelia watched with keen interest. "With a performance like this," she murmured to Ulrich, "can we say he has already passed this test, and the next?"

"He has not passed this test yet," Kargath growled from the side.

Faelia raised a single eyebrow and look at the massive Orc with amusment.

"The fight is still going on," Kargath said, his voice tight with irritation.

In the arena, Arne shot forward again, his body was low to the ground.

"He's faster now," Aurelion observed. "He's holding the sword to his side. He has to get in close to attack." As Arne swung his humming blade, Aurelion initiated his Kinetic-Flow Steps technique. With lightning bursting from his feet, he vanished from his spot, reappearing a few meters to the side. He prepared to counter attack but was stunned to see that Arne had used the momentum of his own swing to spin completely around, charging toward him again without losing a fraction of his speed.

A chase began. Aurelion moved in a series of sharp, zig zagging dodges while Arne pursued relentlessly, using seamless spins to change direction and stay right on his tail.

"He can change direction without slowing down, much like my own step technique, but he's doing it by rotating," Aurelion analyzed as he dodged. This time, as Arne closed in, Aurelion let go of the spear with his right hand. The seal on his open palm flared to life, and he unleashed a volley of sparks at the instructor.

Arne was forced to use his sword to bat the sparks away. The defensive motion broke his fluid, spinning momentum, and Aurelion used the brief opening to create more distance.

Arne growled in frustration and charged again, only to be met with the same tactic.

Faelia smiled. "He fights like an elf. A talented child."

"He doesn't fight like an elf, woman," Kargath corrected, looking at her directly. "He knows how to fight. He'd make a fine warrior. This whelp has solid combat instincts."

"Don't be ridiculous, Kargath," Faelia says. "Yes, his instincts are good, but he's blending it with energy manipulation. Without that, Arne would have skewered him by now."

"It's normal for him to lose to Arne, regardless," Kargath grumbled.

"Just observe the fight," Ulrich commanded, and their attention snapped back to the arena.

Tired of being kept at a distance by the sparks, Arne changed his approach. On his next charge, he extended his other arm forward, for block the attack.

Aurelion saw it instantly. "There it is."

He feinted, raising his right hand as if to throw another volley of sparks. But as he did, he shifted all his strength into his left arm, which was still extended backward. In one explosive motion, he hurled his spear, not at Arne's body, but at his exposed, outstretched arm.

Arne saw the spear at the last possible second. He whipped his sword around to deflect it, the clang of metal on wood echoing across the field. But after he knocked the spear aside, he looked forward and his eyes widened. Aurelion was already there, having closed the distance in the blink of an eye.

Aurelion's left hand shot out and clamped down on Arne's sword arm, locking it in place. His right fist, now covered in a crackling glove of gold-blue sparks, slammed into Arne's stomach.

The impact sent a visible shockwave through the instructor's body. Arne staggered, but recovered with almost instantly, his free hand lashing out to grab Aurelion. But Aurelion was already gone. He released Arne's arm and used his Kinetic-Flow Steps to leap backward, landing silently beside his fallen spear. He scooped it up and once again settled into his low, ready stance.