Chapter 13: Sparring Builds Character.

The trio eventually reached the sparring area. The arena itself was circular in shape, with a hard sandy floor and small rocks littering the ground.

There were multitudes of wooden weapons located around the entrance of the arena. The weapons included a wooden dagger, wooden greataxe, wooden sword, wooden shield, wooden pad, wooden buckler, wooden spear, wooden rapier, wooden greatsword, wooden poleaxe, wooden staff, and wooden mace. There was a large and diverse amount of weaponry.

Frenrin didn't really know which weapon to choose; Garmr had never said there was a specific weapon that fit the death element, and since this was just a spar, he didn't think too much of it anyway. Frenrin ended up just grabbing a spear, as it looked cool.

Thomas didn't care, nor did he watch Frenrin choose his weapon; instead, he immediately walked toward the greataxe and picked it up.

The two met up again, and Thomas explained the rules. "Inside the arena, there are only two rules: one, if somebody surrenders, then the spar is over; two, there can be intentional foul play, such as breaking a limb intentionally or causing permanent damage, and whatnot."

Frenrin acknowledged the rules, and the two of them walked into the arena, with Garmr watching from afar.

Thomas had his greataxe relaxed on his shoulders horizontally, a confident expression on his face.

Frenrin, in contrast, had his spear on the ground with its point facing up, using it like a cane to support himself.

Thomas began to speak while he lowered his greataxe: "The winner is the first person to hit the other three separate times or once in a vital area; I will allow you to attack first."

Thomas's proposition seemed overly confident, but his confidence didn't appear from thin air. In contrast, he was being vigilant, even.

Frenrin agreed and positioned his spear in a forward horizontal position facing Thomas. He walked toward him while keeping his spear straight. When he reached Thomas, Frenrin attempted to stab at Thomas's head.

Thomas was caught a little off guard, simply due to the nature and positioning of his attack. However, he showed off his expertise as he parried with the shaft of his greataxe, deflecting it to the left of his torso and then immediately charging in a few steps toward Frenrin's weak spot. He swung at the top of Frenrin's shoulder, but Frenrin was able to barely deflect Thomas's axe by copying what Thomas had done earlier. Frenrin then immediately tried to gain space as fast as possible.

Thomas did not chase but instead started to talk. "You're very impressive; I assumed that you had no prior combat experience, but it seems that I was wrong. I will no longer hold back."

Frenrin did not refute Thomas's claim. Instead, he got ready for his rampage. Frenrin resolved himself, while Thomas ran over. Frenrin stood still, waiting for him to come to him.

When Thomas got in range, Frenrin attempted multiple piercing strikes. He aimed for Thomas's heart, which got blocked by the head of the greataxe. He then repositioned himself further back and aimed at Thomas's solar plexus, which was, in turn, blocked by the shaft. Frenrin then aimed for Thomas's eye, but Thomas parried and immediately stepped into Frenrin's weak range, slashing once again at his shoulder.

Fwoosh! Frenrin steeled himself, using everything he had to block Thomas's heavy strike; but... there was no impact. Frenrin got confused and then immediately felt his vision shift from Thomas to the sky.

Thomas had, in fact, feinted his attack and then swept Frenrin's legs. Thomas then stood over Frenrin, hacking at his stomach as hard as he could with the head of his greataxe.

"Huaahhh!" Frenrin gasped out, as Thomas effectively knocked the wind out of him.

Thomas then backed away from Frenrin while he gasped for air, eventually even throwing up on the ground in a kneeling position.

Frenrin slowly stood back on his feet, with a stature that was about as firm as someone with dystonia.

Thomas reverted to his original overconfident stance. While staring at Frenrin, he spoke: "Don't glare at me like that. We never said that we couldn't use our legs. If anything, I gave you a great life experience to expect the unexpected."

"Thank you very much for the lesson..." Frenrin said as he breathed deeply between each word.

"Shall we continue then?" Thomas asked as he readied his stance once more.

Frenrin smiled. "Please and thank you."

Five minutes later…

"Arghh!" Frenrin groaned as he fell to his knees.

Thomas stood over him, placing his hand on Frenrin's shoulder while smiling confidently.

"You're not bad, but you aren't good either," Thomas said as he walked away.

Frenrin wheezed a few more times before getting back to his feet. Garmr came over to Frenrin.

Garmr sighed. "He really put you through the wringer there, didn't he?"

Frenrin stretched his shoulder in a circular motion while responding, "Yeah, but honestly... I improved a lot even just during it."

"I'm surprised you aren't in a rage right now."

Frenrin smiled, his expression charismatically sinister. "It's a lot easier to hold in my anger when I simply think about how I'm going to kill him later."

Garmr smiled. "That is truly a great attitude to have—absolutely brilliant!"

"Don't forget you need to commit murder in secret if you're continuing your goal, at least."

"I know."

Frenrin and Garmr then walked out of the arena, meeting the gaze of many students who had heard the rumors about him.

Frenrin smiled and waved with a pained expression.

Students all around whispered to each other, "Does he really have the death element? He looks so kind." "He's probably just faking; well, assuming he even has the death element." "I don't think he actually has the death element, or the stories I've heard are greatly exaggerated."

Unaware of the whispers, Frenrin simply kept limping toward the interior of the academy, with Garmr following behind.

Meanwhile, high up in the sky, there was a sphere of water similar to camouflage, being used to veil a certain student.

Sven: "..."

The sphere started to drift away from the scene.

Cutting back to Frenrin and Garmr…

Currently, Frenrin was still limping toward his room when suddenly a student blocked his way.

Frenrin paused, attempting to stabilize his injured leg.

Back during the spar, Frenrin had attempted to block Thomas's large circular swing, but his weak core led to him being thrown off balance, which allowed Thomas to deliver a strong hit to Frenrin's knee.

Frenrin stared at the girl. She had long, silky brown hair, brown eyes, and was, in fact, even shorter than Frenrin.

Frenrin began to smile. He was about to speak when the girl talked first. "Are you okay? Do you need any help?"

Frenrin was caught a bit off guard, as most people kept their distance from him, but it wasn't long before he responded, "I don't want to trouble you..."

The girl patted her chest, which was quite bare in hindsight. "It's alright! I am going to become the best healer in the world—well, besides those with the life element at least... hahaha... but in any case, helping you would actually help me!"

The girl's perseverance eventually wore down Frenrin, mainly because he was in pain just from speaking and standing.

"Come to my room. I have all of my medicinal herbs and ointments there."

The girl then held Frenrin's right shoulder on top of her own, helping him walk to her room.

The trio eventually reached the room.