Childhood Fights, Capital Geniuses, and the Art of Dodging (or Pretending to Know Martial Arts)

* * *

Richard glared at the scene unfolding before him, his eyes blazing with anger. The intimate gesture that Nesa had directed toward Arion had set him off, even though, in reality, it was anything but intimate.

"What? You don't dare?" he exclaimed, his voice dripping with disdain. "What a coward. Just stop being a man!"

"Seriously, how shameless can you get?" one of the onlookers commented.

"Yeah, but he used magic, while Arion isn't," another boy chimed in.

"But it will be fun though!" another student piped up, a grin spreading across his face.

The group exchanged glances, a spark of excitement igniting among them. In unison, they shouted, "Right!!! Go beat him up!"

"Fight!" "Fight!" "Fight!"

The chant echoed through the air, each voice adding fuel to the fire of the boy's group enthusiasm for the impending showdown.

"Men. How uncouth," one of the female students remarked with a sneer, crossing her arms as if she were judging a particularly bad reality show.

But then, with a sudden burst of cheerleader spirit, she shouted, "You can do it, Arion! Defeat him!"

She waved her pom-poms, which were clearly more for show than for any actual cheerleading skills.

"Slap him in the face!" another girl yelled, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Show the villain who the main character is! Go, go, go, my Arion!" the other girl added, practically bouncing on her toes as if she were at a pep rally.

* * *

Ignoring the crowds that had rendered the trio speechless, Arion turned to Nesa and said, "It's fine. I can handle it."

"Really?" she replied, letting her arm slip away from his chest and crossing both arms below her own.

"You better make it quick before the teacher comes and punishes all of us."

"Don't worry, I know," Arion reassured her.

Unbeknownst to all of them, except for Shera, three teachers were peering down from the rooftop. Among them was Headmistress Arabella. The three of them was currently cloaked in a strange, glimmering magic formation that concealed their presence.

"Oh, interesting," one of the male teachers remarked, his eyes glinting with intrigue. "That Richard guy is actually quite decent and talented."

"You're right," another teacher who was female agreed, leaning forward slightly. "I wonder how Arion will face him."

"You think he has a chance?" the first teacher asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why not?" the second teacher shrugged. "Remember the girl from Railfrost in the news?"

"Well, it's different," the first teacher countered, shaking his head.

"I heard that girl is connected with the duke of that kingdom. Illegitimate child, perhaps? She was scouted by royalty when she was five. I heard she awakened Ether's perception at the age of three, then got discovered when the soldiers marched in to deal with the Chosen Serpent. She is way too monstrous compared to Arion. He is, after all, only famous for his intelligence in the field of research."

Rolling her eyes, the female teacher, Sarah, exasperatedly responded, "Can you not ruin the mood? What's wrong with cheering for your own student from our kingdom? No wonder you're still single! You virgin!!!"

The male teacher, Marekh, widened his eyes in disbelief. "What does that have to do with my status? Why do you always poke at it? And do you think I've never tried to date? Something always happens when I'm on a date!"

"Alright, that's enough, both of you!" Ms. Arabella interjected, scrunching her eyebrows in frustration. "Why do you two always fight when you're together? Aren't you two childhood friends?"

"I'm not making friends with an idiot. Idiot!" Sarah replied, her deadpan expression unwavering as she directed the last word at Marekh.

Marekh could only tighten his lips, speechless at his friend's antics. 'Aren't we just laughing together at my home a few days ago? You even acted chummy with my mother. Truly, women's thoughts are a mystery.'

* * *

Meanwhile, in Arion's mind, Shera teased him, "Oh, you wanted to test the result of your training. Aren't you a big bully then?"

To that, Arion smiled internally, thinking, 'I'm not as much of a bully as you are, though. I just wanted to try on the level of easy mode at least once. Not always the hell difficulty one.'

"Hey, Nesa. Is it really fine?" Rhea asked, her brow furrowed with concern.

"Don't know," Nesa replied, shrugging. "We are talking about Arion here. He is an acclaimed genius after all."

"Hmm, you're right," Rhea nodded, but still rather worried. "I even heard he is somewhat famous in the capital."

As the two girls exchanged glances, they couldn't shake off the feeling of uncertainty. There had never been a precedent for anyone defeating a Weaver who wielded basic magic and was capable of winning. At least, that was what the news in their kingdom had reported so far.

* * *

Approaching Richard, Arion gestured for him to come at him.

"Arrogant," Richard muttered as he stepped forward, delivering a swift punch to Arion's face.

In response, Arion calmly moved his body and head to the side, barely avoiding the attack.

Richard was surprised; his punch seemed to meet a kind of wind that slid it away, while Arion effortlessly dodged it completely.

Not one to give up easily, Richard launched into a flurry of punches and kicks.

A side kick here, a calf kick there, even faking some of his moves for good measure.

But still, Arion somehow always managed to tilt his body and move with a rhythm that rendered all of Richard's attacks incapable of even brushing against his clothes.

'He's slow. Much too slow. And his moves are easily readable. Not like you, Shera. Guess what you did is a kind of martial art too, isn't it?' Arion thought to Shera in surprise.

"You finally realize! Not bad. Not bad at all," Shera replied, feigning enthusiasm while biting her lip.

The truth was, Shera, wanted to clarify that it wasn't martial art at all. She just moved however she wanted, with no intended purpose whatsoever. Among all the 7 Celestials, her true self, Kyshera, was the most clueless when it came to fighting.

But as a somewhat supreme being, she felt the need to maintain her reliable facade.

* * *