"By the way, since none of you are 10 years old yet, you'll have to compete against kids your own age," Hyeol told us, walking in front of us.
"...And that's bad?" Ghislaine asked, looking at us.
"Honestly, I don't think you'll win even one round. You're not the only cult members joining these tournaments." His tone was sad for us.
I don't think we'll lose so easily. During practice sparring, many of us usually win. And I don't believe the things adults say since we arrived and didn't take us seriously because they thought we were weak.
<<>>
We were close to the sect when we began to feel a strong pressure coming from behind the walls. Miss Hyeol stopped suddenly and looked at us before saying
"They've got us." With a smile, she continued walking.
We stopped walking the moment we heard what Miss Hyeol said. We knew that Ophelia and possibly the elders were waiting for us behind the walls. So, we split up and started running as fast and as far as we could, trying to escape.
"None of you will get far," a voice said from behind us.
All of us began to float out of nowhere, being drawn toward the sect. No matter how much we moved, trying to escape, we were dragged against our will.
In no time, we passed over the walls, kneeling in front of the adults. They looked at us seriously before turning their gaze to Miss Hyeol.
"Hey, who gave you permission to enroll my students in that competition?" Ophelia asked, pushing our foreheads to the ground.
"Oh come on, we participated too at the time," Hyeol said, walking over to where they were.
Listening to them talk behind us is not something that interests me right now. I am more focused on how Ophelia had lifted us into the air and was pressing our foreheads to the ground without touching us.
Hyeol had done the same thing before, like on the first day, when she had thrown small stones at our faces after we laughed. We even saw how they both used to lift small things like glasses or her sword, but I had never seen her lift people so easily.
"All right... If you manage to get far in the competition, you will be freed from punishment," Ophelia said, releasing the pressure she had put on our bodies.
Huh? I didn't hear anything because I was thinking about something else. When I looked at the others, they all looked tired or were hitting themselves on the ground.
"Hey, what happened?" I asked them, standing next to them.
"Miss Hyeol and Ophelia made a deal. They said that if either of them wins the tournament, we won't have a punishment, and we can keep the money," Anna told me, holding her face with both hands.
"And if we lose?"
"We'll have to go to that mountain," she pointed her finger at a small mountain a little way from here. "And we'll have training that's ten times worse." Her tone lost strength with each word, looking tired.
It doesn't seem that difficult, I thought, ruining my happiness with the memory of Hyeol mocking us, saying that none of us would make it past the first round. If Hyeol is right, then I'd better prepare myself to suffer.
<<<<>>>>
"Agh! That hurts!" I shouted, biting my lip.
"You think we're better off?" Jumyeong asked angrily.
We had asked the adults to help us prepare for the tournament. They said we would start with something basic like stretching. We never thought a few stretches would hurt so much!
"We haven't even started yet and you're already suffering just from this?" Eugene asked us, teasing me, holding my arms behind my back.
My arms cracked with every movement I made, and it wasn't getting any better. My legs were spread wide open, being pushed by Ryna.
"We were told that you guys had a training routine. I don't understand why this is so difficult for you," Ryna said, spreading my legs even wider.
"AHHHHH!" I couldn't help but scream in pain, feeling like my skin was being torn apart.
<<>>
After a long time, they finally stopped torturing us. Now we were in the sparring areas, holding our wooden swords firmly in front of us.
"We're going to start teaching you the basics of fighting. Even if you practice among yourselves, it won't do you any good against more experienced students," Ryna told us with a smile on her face.
Her smile didn't seem like good news, especially considering that there was a LOT of bloodlust around her. It wasn't as strong as Ophelia's, the elders' or Miss Hyeol's, whose bloodlust knocked us to the ground and took our breath away. The elders' bloodlust frightened us, my hands trembled as I held the practice sword.
"Are you coming, or do I have to come and get you?" she asked, slowly approaching us.
Seeing that we had no other choice, we gritted our teeth and rushed towards her.
I was the first to face her, letting out a loud cry and making a downward cut that was blocked without any problem. The blow stopped so abruptly that my sword bounced off and I was left exposed.
"You lack strength in your back in general. Improve that or it will look like you hit a slime," she corrected me, hitting my chest with the tip of her sword.
The blow was slow, I didn't think she had that much strength. I was surprised at how, instantly, I lost my breath, forcing me to throw myself to the ground and hold my chest. No matter how hard I tried to do the breathing technique, I couldn't complete it because of the burning sensation in my body.
"HAAA!" Anna screamed, before receiving blows to her leg and stomach.
It seems I wasn't the only one who lost so easily. Most of us were on the ground or falling to it. Goon-woo, Isolde, Celdric, and Adhel were the only ones left. Those of us on the ground cheered them on, hoping they would at least land a blow.
Our cheers seemed to motivate them, as they rushed towards Ryna, surrounding her and attacking her from all sides. Our hopes vanished when we saw them get hit in the face and stomach before falling to the ground.
"How unfortunate, the elders flattered you so much, only to end up on the ground without landing a single blow," she said sadly, approaching us. "Since you fell short of my expectations, you will all undergo training that is even more rigorous than I had planned." Along with her words, she gave us a thumbs up, trying to lift our spirits.
So this was just a test...? Bffff, this is going to be difficult...