Chapter 8 - End of the first day

After Jon and Torren's match had concluded, the other matches of the final round played out. Drawing a conclusion to the fourth and final round of the first combat practical session. In Jon's group, Ryan Boffins triumphed over miss Sandwort, Sarina Martinez defeated Alexa Smirnoff, and Jason Bjorn bested Sophie Bakers. 

After the matches were complete, the Iron Lady removed all of the platforms, causing them to crumble and dissipate completely into nothingness. The students were now all gathered at the same spot as where they had began, all the minor injuries from sparring having been treated and such.

The instructors were standing on the same podium as before, having been monitoring the matches from there, they each seemed satisfied with the results of the session. A wide smile laid out on the face of the large beastly instructor, his pearly white teeth, which were as sharp and beastly in nature as he was himself, were on full display. Instructor Midrib was as unreadable as ever, with a stoic expression devoid of any emotion, though Jon suspected that she was satisfied, or at least he hoped so. The Iron Lady, standing in the middle of the two, was also wearing a subtle smile, her dazzling spring-green eyes gleamed brightly with hope, she saw hope within these children, hope for the future.

"I am very much impressed with how this first session has went, you've all surpassed my expectations. This is my first year in teaching so I wasn't sure what to expect, but you've really opened my eyes to what young people are capable of." The Iron Lady praised them with sincerity and gave an enthusiastic clap of her hands, the other instructors did the same.

"Well put, whilst I'm familiar with our fourth years, I can tell they have made great improvements over the past few months. Our new third years have performed splendidly as well, I am looking forward to seeing how you will all grow over these next two years." Instructor Midrib delivered her own praise, her words not matching her face, which remained as stoic as ever, although her tone seemed genuine.

"Ahahahaha." The beastly instructor Powers bellowed a hearty laugh, one filled with amusement and agreement. "Exactly! Our fourth years are looking better than ever, and our third years are showing excellent potential! We'll work you to the bone to bring out all of that ripe potential and make all of you as strong as you can be." His smile and excitement were as large as the man was himself, the giant beastly man's messy, long dark brown hair was standing on end like the spikes of a porcupine, evidence of his elation. He continued, his laughter dying down and getting slightly more serious.

"The next sessions going forward will be far more organized, where we'll actually be instructing and teaching you. Hahaha!" And there he was, back to laughing. 

With that, their final class of the day had ended. 

***

After a quick shower and change of clothes, the students vacated the colossal training building. Outside of said building, Jon and the rest of his team had grouped up, it was clear that they had quite a bit to talk about. 

"So, how'd you guys do?" Maya was the first to speak up, her voice a little cheery. "I for one did extremely well, didn't lose a single match. Though my opponents were hardly combat specialists, but that's besides the point." Not even attempting to hide how proud of herself she was, although it was warranted, since she had won every spar she fought, against the more experienced fourth years.

If Jon's 'eyes' allowed him to see all within the present, then Maya's allowed her to see what's to come. Her future sight was difficult to understand, as the extent of what she could see was known only to her and was not something she shared with others. This was an ability that ran down her family on her father's side, inherited from her great great great, and so on, grandfather. A semi-immortal of over 250 years of age, who held the position of the chief advisor of the Superhuman Union, a government branch representing superhumans, referred to with the epithet 'Prophet'. From her mother's side, she inherited the ability to emit and fire beams of plasma, although this ability was not as potent as her mother's and her side of the family. 

"As expected of you, our prophet never fails ." George nodded in approval, the corners of his lips slightly raised. "I came victorious in my sparring as well, though they did put up quite the fight." He declared in a modest, yet somewhat satisfied tone. "What about you Matthew? How did it go for you?"

George was a true powerhouse himself, over the past 3 months his ability had advanced by leaps and bounds. Now being freely able to conjure metallic objects and manipulating them at will, whether it be their size, shape, or even the properties of the metal itself. He served as an all rounder in all fields, having both excellent combat prowess and great practical application with his ability. His ability has long been passed down his family for generations, originating with their ancestor, whom served as a disciple of the revered Platinum Woman. The Iron Lady being the current disciple of the famous immortal, whom was known to take on students throughout the ages.

"I was on an incredible winning streak, claiming victory 3 consecutive times, but was then tragically thwarted by my final adversary." A melancholic sigh escaped his breath, as he lamented in an exaggerated sombre tone. "My final foe was a respected member of the fourth year top 10 individual rankings last year, I put up a mighty fight, yet succumbed to their incredible might." 

Matthew, much like Jon, had not inherited his ability and had to come to his own understanding on what it entailed and how it could be used. Over the past 3 months, he had made tremendous progress with using his power for combat, and also furthered his insight in using it in practical settings. Matthew's aspirations were set towards the stars, aiming to work on the space projects that are ongoing and being planned, especially the future VENUS project. Matthew's combat capabilities were still elite, although he still had plenty of room for growth, he was quickly progressing towards becoming a greater combatant. 

"I won all my spars, it might just be sparring but it is valuable experience, it allows us to face different types of opponents. I did struggle a bit in some matches, so it gave me a lot of food for thought." Rosa was as serious and analytical as she usually was, when dealing with introspection and reflection after combat. "David, how'd it go for you?" Her voice shifting to soft and affectionate when addressing David.

Rosa's ability was extremely simplistic, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it allowed her to harden her body, objects and surfaces that she comes into contact with. An ability that originated with her grandmother, then her mother and uncle, and then Rosa, as well as her young cousins. In combat situations Rosa took on the role of a tank, which fitted well with her standing at 6 feet and 2 inches, her ability enabled her to take attacks without sustaining much harm and also being able to launch devastating blows herself. In order to effectively use her abilities in practical environments, she has practiced in different circumstances and has grown significantly.

Looking dejected, David let out a small sigh. "I won the first 2 matches without much difficulty, they weren't exactly the toughest combatants. My third match was close, I won, but it was close. And then the final match..." He paused, winced, gulped, and then finally continued. "My final spar was against the Princess of Antarctica." Eyes wide with surprise, the whole group remained silent for a few moments.

"It wasn't even a fight. I stood no chance. She didn't even have to try. She's in a whole different league." His voice trembled, David's confidence had clearly taken a hit, feeling dejected at even remembering his opponent.

David's ability was actually the culmination of two abilities being inherited, his father possessing the heat and his mother the cold. The result enabled him to generate temperatures, both high and low, to their extremes upon contact. To compliment this ability David trained in wrestling, being able to handle his opponents at close range where he could utilize his abilities best. He had developed his powers to have some external influence for large scale attacks, however the potency was still lacking and something he planned to continue developing. His family and Rosa's had long been friends, and as such they saw each other a lot when growing up, which eventually led to them developing feelings for each other and entering a relationship.

David's words came as a surprise to them all, as they rarely saw him shaken or distressed and never to this extent. Although just a spar, David was left questioning his own strength and his confidence was clearly shaken. He recognized that he was strong, his opponent was just beyond strength, at a realm he couldn't even comprehend. Anyone would feel downtrodden in the face of undeniable and absolute power.

"Calm yourself boy. Rather than falling apart over some trivial sparring, tell us what happened." Matthew broke the silence, patting David on the back and waking him up from his thoughts. "Now tell us what spectacular ability this Princess of Ice used to leave you in such a sorry state." Matthew seemed more serious than usual, although making sure to be as over-the-top as possible.

"She didn't use any ability. She took every attack head on, not even attempting to avoid it. It was futile, neither my heat nor my cold had any effect. She wrestled better than me, she had better striking than me, she was overall just a better fighter. I tried using my ability externally, you know like spreading ice and fire across the platform. She walked right through it as if it were nothing. She was toying with me." David described the events his spar with a defeated expression on his face.

"Oh shit, that's rough buddy." With a concerned look on her face, Maya tried to console him. "Her being ranked first throughout all her years at school wasn't just for show then. But on the bright side, you were able to use your ability at range right? That's the result of all your hard work dude." She gave him a little smile, trying to lighten the mood up. "What about you Jon? How'd you do? Knowing you, you probably swept all of your opponents."

Looking away and scratching his cheek, Jon responded. "Well, the first two matches were pretty easy. My third spar was against Sarina, that was pretty interesting, I won though. My fourth and final, was against Torren Davies, he's in the Ice Princess' cohort, and he was SUPER strong. That was a draw, the match ended due to the time limit." 

 "You tied? That's quite surprising, what sort of ability did this guy use?" With an eyebrow slightly raised and a voice hinting at surprise, Rosa asked.

"Flames, devastating flames. He was a martial artist, much like myself, and we were practically equal in skill. He was strong, fast, flexible and extremely durable. He was pretty creative with how he used his flames as well, had the spar went on any longer I could have lost. Though if it was more than sparring, I'd probably win." He stated confidently, as if the result would be certain.

 "Well that's good to hear." George nodded, his silver dreadlocks swayed elegantly as he did so. "So Jon, are you going to meet up with your brother soon? It is his first day at school, so it would be good for you to speak to him." 

"Yep, I'm going to see him next. So I guess I should get going, see you guys later." With a wave, Jon turned and took out his phone, as he walked away from the rest of his team. He began messaging his brother, Nathan: 

'Let's meet up at the campus café in 5 minutes, lil bro.' 

A minute later, he received a response from his brother:

'Sure man, and fuck you.'

Jon chuckled a little upon reading the response and walked towards the café. He arrived shortly after, it only being a small walk away from the combat facilities and the rest of the school buildings. The café itself was of a decent size, yet still had a cozy and relaxing atmosphere with subtle, warm lighting and stylistic paintings on the walls, which were plated with auburn wooden tiling. 

Jon walked up towards the counter and ordered himself a black coffee, as he was not particularly fond of a milky coffee. He found himself a seat and sat himself down, waiting for his brother to arrive.

A minute later, a boy with shining, bronze skin and curly autumn brown hair entered the café. He looked like a slightly younger version of Jon, albeit with some differences, his hair being more curly and his eyes a woody brown, whilst being 2 or 3 inches shorter.

The boy walked up to the counter, ordered himself a latte, and sat down opposite of Jon. He gently blew on his coffee, letting it cool slightly, before taking a little sip. 

"So Nathan, how's your first day been?" Jon asked, after having taken a sip of his own drink.

"It's been alright. Some decent people here, classes have been a little boring, but the practical and combat stuff has been pretty cool." Nathan responded before taking another sip of his coffee. "What about you?" His bushy eyebrow slightly raised, implying a mild interest.

"It's been good." Jon's voice got more enthusiastic, a bright smile spread across his face. "The Super Engineering class is really interesting. And the combat practice is gonna get really exciting this year." 

"Good for you." Rolling his eyes and taking another sip of his drink. "You're planning on getting in the top 5 of the team rankings, right? For those rewards, the Moon, Mars, and Antarctica placements. Think you can do it?" 

"Absolutely, although it won't be easy." Jon rubbed his chin and took another sip of his coffee, which was now nearly empty. "There are some really strong people in the fourth year, and I'm sure that some of the people in my own year have improved. I think we'll be able to manage, though." Taking one last swig of his drink, consuming the last of it's contents, Jon stood up. "Work hard Nathan, I'm sure you'll be able to do really well here."

Nathan had also finished his drink and stood up as well. "Of course I will, just who the hell do you think I am?" A cheeky grin appeared on his face. And with that they both left the shop and went their separate ways.