CHAPTER 36: THE DUEL CHALLENGE

He was given a training sword of his own, with his initials marked on it.

"This is practically your life right now, Eric. Guard and protect this sword well, and it might protect you later. A very heavy punishment awaits you if you lost it or broke it in an unofficial manner," said Knight Lancel as he pushed the sword at him.

But when Opal requested for a new sword because according to her, she’d lost the sword by breaking it while training hard alone at the training ground, Lancel only smiled.

"Very well, you shall get a new one, dear Opal. Just make use of this one for now while I sign your initials on a new one by noon," he said thrusting the one he held at her.

So, Eric guessed she really was a favourite after all, even though her apparent charm must have escaped him.

The training commenced with basic drills such as pushups, squats. After a jogging session for about thirty minutes.

Eric sweated buckets just from the basic drills alone. His muscles ached and he huffed and puffed, showing just how unfit he was. The other students have been doing this for a while, so it didn’t affect them much.

Opal shot him a disgusting look after seeing a puddle of sweat under him.

But when one of the mischievous boys intentionally tripped him while he was doing jumping jacks and he fell, she had jumped in and smacked the boy powerfully with the flat side of her wooden sword and glared dangerously at the bully till he dragged himself away.

But she kept the glare long enough to show that she still needed his head on a platter.

"So confusing."

Later, Lancel lined them all up, leaving enough spaces between them for the sword drills.

This was more fun for Eric as he swung his sword in different angles, mirroring the master’s steps, and yelling alongside the others as well.

But soon enough, what started as fun ended in pains as his arms and upper body ached badly from repeating the same steps over and over again. His legs got tired too and he felt like he might eventually collapse.

After Master Lancel made them swing their swords continuously for more than 200 times, he eventually ended the session and was already anticipating tomorrow’s session with his goodbye speech.

Only a few of the students remained standing after that, and Eric was surely not part of the few. He was extremely tired but he strangely felt good about it. Looking at everybody groaning on the ground, he couldn’t help but feel he really did well in the training. If these lot had been doing this for a while and could be as tired as he was, then there was no reason to worry at all.

The system’s notification came up.

[STAT UPGRADE.]

EDR: 15 (+7)

DEX: 10 (+10)

’Huh... why did my Dexterity get that much boost?’

[You handled a sword for the first time, and even did 200 swings with it. You’ve gotten better with the way you control your weapons, and can only get better the further you train.]

[EDR covers your stamina and how much you can accommodate pain. You didn’t relent until the training was over, hence the upgrade in EDR.]

"Hmm, fair enough."

He was still trying to sooth his pain, rubbing his aching muscles when three recruits came over to him, each one of them tall and imposing. But it was obvious they weren’t there to make friends with him.

"Scout boy, huh? What a waste. The seniors already called us cursed just from getting one Scout loser among us, but now we have another one?" one of them said with a sneer.

Eric was suddenly frustrated. "And you think I asked to be a Scout? You think this is my fault?"

One of them edged closer. "Are you talking back at me?"

"That’s how communication works," replied Eric while standing up to face him.

He’d already decided he wasn’t going to play weak and endure being bullied, seeing how this academy was infested with angry youths, both mages and swordsmen.

Giving a weakling impression wouldn’t help him in any way.

Everyone on the training ground already caught whiff of the tension between him and the three boys. They cleared the ground for them, forming a circle around them.

The boy in front raised a fist and was about to start a fight when Silver suddenly jumped between them, stopping the scene from escalating. He laughed timidly while he released the boy’s hand.

"Hmmm... sorry, Stanley, but don’t you think you should make this an official fight? If you feel disrespected, then you can call a challenge and the two of you can face off as a fight for ranks. That way, you won’t be punished by the teachers for beating up a new student."

’Beating up? Silver thinks I’m the loser here? Well, it’s only right for him to think so.’

"And what should I gain by fighting this weakling in a rank battle? It’s not as if my rank will increase if I beat him. He’s currently the lowest ranker," said Stanley after scoffing.

"I know," replied Silver. "But you’ll be able to settle your indifferences, and you might end up beating him as you win, while escaping punishment at the same time," he explained.

After a while, Stanley accepted. "Let’s meet on our free day. Same time, same place."

Eric said nothing but accepted the challenge with a nod. Instantly, a notification was sent from the system:

[You have been challenged to a duel by Stanley Wilton, a B-ranked swordsman.]

[Accept or Reject?]

’Accept,’ Eric replied the system.

Stanley smirked at him after getting confirmation of his response before sauntering away with his gang. Everyone started dispersing after that.

’That mage boy was also B-ranked. These fools think too highly of themselves just because they are of a higher rank than the rest.’

Eric was standing alone in the middle of the training ground when Gary and Silver joined him. Opal stayed behind them but a little far away. She was watching with keen interest.

"Why did you do that, Silver? We all know Stanley is one of the top rankers among the freshmen. I updated my system now and saw that he’s even climbed up to 10th," Gary pestered Silver, worried.

"I know, I’m sorry, Eric, but that was the only thing I could think of in that situation," Silver apologized, then turning to Gary, he said, "And anything can happen in a rank challenge since they are going to be thoroughly prepared for the match. Who knows, Eric might come out victorious. But only one thing gave me hope. If Stanley had tackled him successfully earlier, the three of them would have beaten Eric to a pulp."

"Don’t you worry, Silver. Nobody’s going to beat me to a pulp. I only need to get better before then."