Challenge

Thankfully, Morpho was quickly recovering, causing Cyril to breathe a sigh of relief.

That brief moment when he saw her in such a state scared him more than he expected.

"I could understand you, but will Morpho also share the same fate?" Cyril even asked this out loud from the surprise.

"The connection between us is stronger than I realized before." Rhamn let go of his face with a pensive look.

They all stayed silent for some time in a heavy mood.

Eventually Morpho recovered completely and flew up close to them, circling around with enthusiasm.

"Thank you, Morpho. I feel better." Cyril could feel her genuine support. She didn't mind the incident.

"Haha!" Suddenly Rhamn let out a chuckle.

"Morpho just told me something like, 'Now you definitely must let me fight alongside you.' She isn't wrong, ha ha," Rhamn said with amusement.

"That's true. She is also fighting for her life." Cyril said with a slight smile.

They put this incident behind them for now. Only now did Cyril have a realization that his life was worth more than he alone.

He sat before the desk and opened up the scroll Selene gave him.

Cyril wanted to switch his mind to something else now. He also wanted to learn this spell as soon as possible.

Morpho landed near the scroll on the table and twitched her antennae a few times.

"What's wrong?" Cyril asked. He could feel she wanted something.

"She says she wants to learn the spell as well," Rhamn sat on another chair nearby and translated.

"Selene told me not to spread her spell to another being. Only I am her disciple after all," Cyril said as a joke with faked seriousness.

" 'What's mine is yours, what's yours is mine,' huh? Where did you even learn these words, young lady?" Rhamn said with a smile.

The mood in their group was much lighter now. They've spent this evening engrossed in study.

Of course Cyril was going to teach Morpho the spell. She could benefit from it a lot.

He felt that given their connection, it wasn't too much of a stretch to consider them as a 'complete package' together. Buy one, and you get them all.

Besides, Selene's real words were not to spread it to other 'humans'; Morpho definitely couldn't be counted as 'humans', so it was fine. "That's true."

When they were done with the studies, the group went to sleep with no issue.

...

The next day was a combat training lesson.

After the usual warm-up routine, people went to find their preferred sparring partner.

Cyril was the same. He and Myra occupied the arena and prepared to face each other.

Whenever they fought, there was always a crowd gathered to watch. Whoever was in the hall at the time joined in as a spectator.

The professor always scattered everyone but gave up after it kept happening.

It's easier for him as well this way. He can pay attention to the fight with more focus; it was an interesting sight after all.

This day as well, their fight reminded the onlookers of a dance.

The two were already very familiar with how each other fought and anticipated each other's moves with great precision.

Cyril is now capable of dodging most of Myra's attacks. He has grown visibly stronger since the competition.

"Stop!" The professor shouted with excitement.

Cyril and Myra immediately froze in an attacking posture before bowing to each other and going away under the praise of their professor.

Next the professor switched his attention to the other students, and the hall was filled with the sound of struggle.

This had nothing to do with Myra and Cyril; the two sat on a bench to rest.

Myra sat looking straight ahead with a neutral expression. She answered almost robotically to Cyril's questions.

Cyril could guess why that was.

He came increasingly close to defeating her in their duels. This time it was a draw, but the next time might be different. And Myra didn't feel too great about this.

But Cyril had the inexplicable impression that Myra's strikes lacked their usual strength.

For some reason, his intuition told him she was holding back—which was weird, since nothing about her fighting style had changed much.

Cyril shook off this feeling, and they soon greeted the tired Rose.

These lessons were her least favorite because they still didn't permit spells during sparring.

The professors told them they must first learn how to fight without relying on magic.

It was a decision Rose contested every single time the group gathered together after lessons.

Still, the lessons went smoothly. The only peculiar thing was Leo.

Cyril could feel his stare again. This time there was even more gloating in there and a bit of expectation to boot.

"He is definitely planning something." Yeah, it might be today. Cyril thought with some eagerness.

He was planning on testing the spell lately, and if someone sent himself forward as a test subject, it would be great.

Sure enough, after the lessons, Cyril, Rose, and Myra were stopped by a group of students on the way to the cafeteria.

The group was led by a tall student with brown hair; he had a tough, haughty face that seemingly had 'I am invincible under the sun' written on it.

Judging by his uniform, he was a second-year student.

He was surrounded by other second years and Leo Arken himself with an gloating face.

"Cyril Felling, we have some business with you," said the leading second-year.

Cyril came forward with a calm face. "What is it?"

"The usurer fucked over one of my friends, and I am here to have my revenge. Do you dare accept a duel from me, Bran?" The second-year student said without much passion.

"The thing about the friend is probably only an excuse. Otherwise people will look down on him too much for challenging a first-year student no matter how famous."

Yeah. The real reason is not hard to guess, Cyril thought while taking a look at Leo nearby.

Leo Arken mockingly smiled in return.

"Are you not ashamed of challenging..." Rose tried to interfere in a worried voice.

"It's alright." But before she said a lot, Cyril raised his hand to stop her.

Rose reluctantly stopped speaking and turned to look at Myra nearby for help.

Myra only gave a reliable nod to signal everything is alright. She always believed in Cyril's strength.

"When are we having this duel?" Cyril calmly replied.

"Confident are we? Ha!" Bran laughed, with other second years following suit.

"You should think about it some more, kid. Bran doesn't hold back."

"So what if you won a single little competition? Don't be too arrogant."

They all didn't think Cyril stood a chance.

"Tomorrow at five out in the field. We'll make sure to gather a crowd... Hope you are not scared of losing in front of all your peers," Bran said with a chuckle.

"The loser will bow down to the victor and apologize in public, do you dare agree?" He continued provokingly.

"Sure. Don't be too embarrassed when you lose to a first year in front of all your friends," Cyril confidently replied in return.

Bran's eye twitched from anger, but he held it back in and in the end only made a low laugh.

He's got a short fuse...

"He's got some spunk, huh?"

"Ha ha, he is serious, Bran!"

His friends continued to treat this as a funny show.

"Hmph! You better be ready," Bran said this and left with the others in tow.

Leo never said a word throughout the whole ordeal. He just slowed down now, turned to face Cyril, and made a dramatic swipe at his own neck. "What a clown!"

"Are you sure, Cyril? Second years are a lot more experienced; they can't be compared to the people you've fought before," Rose said with a concerned expression.

"Don't worry about it. It's just a small duel between students," Cyril calmly said.

With this small episode out of the way, the group continued heading towards the cafeteria.

There they've met Edmund and talked about the usual.

Good timing. I'll test the new spell on a second-year. Cyril was still thinking about the duel. He was honestly looking forward to it.

He didn't think a second-year student would be stronger than Viper, so he had some confidence.

"What about that thing we wanted to do?" Rhamn sheepishly asked.

It's better if I am in peak condition tomorrow. Let's do it after I win the duel, Cyril thought in a consoling manner.

"Fine. You must crush him completely; make him regret ever stepping in front of you!" Rhamn cheered with emotion. I will.

"Hey, Cyril. How do you train?" Suddenly a voice brought him back from his thoughts.

It was Edmund sitting on the opposite side. He still looked tired as ever. His eye bags seemed bigger lately.

"What do you mean?" Cyril replied in confusion, "I didn't hear too clearly what you were talking about."

"Come on! Nothing big. Just tell me how you come up with all your moves." Edmund crossed his arms.

"The way you fight is seriously impressive. You do all these jumps and spins, giving the illusion you choreographed the duels beforehand," Edmund said with a fascinated, almost jealous expression.

"You are asking how I learned these moves?" Cyril guessed.

"Yes, exactly! I don't get how one can get stronger. I want to do something similar too," Edmund said with an earnest expression.

"I am in the training hall a lot. Simply grab a weapon and start swinging it to get the feel for it. With time you'll get better; that's all there is to it," Cyril honestly shared his insights.

"You are telling me all those fancy new moves you are doing just suddenly came to you when you were randomly swinging your spear?" Edmund's voice was tinged with a bit of ridicule.

"I don't like the way you put it, but yes. With time you'll be able to 'feel' how to move the weapon correctly," Cyril said with a convinced expression.

Edmund looked like he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After a bit of a delay, he turned towards Myra.

"Is it the same with you?" He sounded scared to know the answer.

Thankfully for him Myra shook her head. "No, I trained under a master of the spear... It was a lucky encounter on my part," she said with reminiscence and continued.

"Cyril is incredibly talented when it comes to martial arts. Few can imitate the way he trains," Myra said with some helplessness. "That's right!"

Really? It feels like there is more to my method... Cyril was a bit reluctant to think that way. "The important bit is that you are way better than anyone."