The combat hall had never been quiet—not truly.
Even now, before the lesson began, the air carried echoes: steel biting steel, boots scraping stone, the ghosts of shouts long faded but never forgotten. The ancient rune carved into the center of the floor lay dormant, its lines smoothed by generations of students who had stepped onto it believing themselves ready.
Kai stood at the edge of the hall, rolling his shoulders once, then again.
This wasn't magic class.
There would be no second chances here.
Leo arrived without ceremony.
No announcement. No dramatic entrance. One moment the students were talking, adjusting grips, whispering predictions—and the next, the pressure in the room changed.
Leo stood near the rune, sword resting against his shoulder like it belonged there.
Silence followed him naturally.
"Combat class," Leo said, voice calm and unraised, "is where excuses go to die."
Vincent immediately raised his hand. "Sir, what if the excuse is very convincing?"
A few students laughed.
Leo's eyes flicked to him. "Then it will die screaming."
Vincent grinned. "Worth asking."
Leo scanned the group—wealthy heirs in tailored training gear, common-born students with worn gloves and determined eyes. His gaze paused briefly on Kai, then moved on.
"Today," Leo continued, "you will learn one technique."
A few brows furrowed. Someone scoffed quietly.
Leo smiled—not kindly.
"One," he repeated. "If you need more, you're not listening."
He stepped toward a training dummy positioned near the rune.
"This technique is not about power. It is not about speed." He lifted his blade. "It's about forcing your opponent to choose wrong."
He moved.
The sword flashed toward the dummy's face.
Several students flinched—instinctively.
Before the blade could finish its arc, Leo stepped past the guard line, his body shifting with effortless precision. His wrist turned, his blade dipped—
—and the dummy's leading leg split apart.
Wood cracked. The body collapsed.
The sound echoed longer than it should have.
Leo turned back to them.
"You didn't see strength," he said. "You saw pressure. I attacked the face because no one ignores it. The leg was never the target—it was the reward."
Amy leaned forward slightly, eyes sharp he might be a good teacher i might really learn from this.
Victor nodded once, committing the motion to memory as easy as always .
Vincent stared. "I blinked."
Leo pointed his sword at him. "Then blink less."
Practice
They practiced until sweat soaked stone.
Again.
Again.
Again.
"Too eager." "Too slow." "Stop chasing the strike." "Kai—don't finish what you didn't earn."
unless you will be inviting your enemy into your space. Kai making a mental note clenched his jaw, resetting his stance.
His instincts screamed to commit. To push. To overpower.
And That instinct betrayed him.
His first attempts failed—his thrusts too honest, his movements predictable. Leo intercepted him with a sharp tap to the ribs that sent a jolt through his side.
"You're attacking like you want applause," Leo said quietly. "Attack like you want control."
Kai nodded, breathing hard.
Nearby, Vincent was… struggling.
"Why does my opponent never panic when I want them to?" Vincent complained as his blade clanged off a guard.
"Because you announce your intentions with your face," Leo replied.
"I can't help being expressive!"
"Then die expressively."
Somehow, despite the commentary, Vincent landed the technique thirty minutes later—tripping, recovering, and cutting low in one chaotic motion.
He stared at his opponent. "I meant to do that."
Amy succeeded cleanly not long after—precise, minimal, controlled. She exhaled slowly, as if releasing tension she'd been holding since the morning.
Victor followed. Perfect footwork. No wasted movement.
A third student from a wealthy house landed it once, failed twice, and slammed his blade down in frustration leo came in with a correction or rather a bad remarks you are trying to be the man of the macth first perfect this then you will reach that stage one day not just now leo advise him.
Kai watched all of it.
Then—something clicked.
He stopped forcing the strike.
The next thrust wasn't meant to win—it was meant to ask a question.
His opponent raised their guard.
Kai stepped past and cut low.Clean.
Leo watched him closely.
"Better," Leo said. "Remember how that felt."
Kai nodded, chest rising and falling.
He did remember.
The Challenge
When Leo finally raised a hand, every sound died instantly.
"Pair up," he said.
The ancient rune at the center of the hall hummed faintly, responding to intent rather than command.
"It will monitor movement and clarity," Leo said. "Nothing more. First perfect strike ends the match."His gaze hardened.
"When it declares defeat, you stop."
No one doubted what would happen if they didn't.
The duels began.
Steel rang. Boots slid. Pride cracked.
Victor won swiftly.
Amy's match was close—but clean.
Vincent won by somehow distracting his opponent mid-fight with a grin and a sudden feint that shouldn't have worked—but did.
Then Leo spoke again.
"Kai. Clara."
The name rippled through the hall.
Clara stepped forward calmly, rolling her shoulders once. Her expression was unreadable—focused, steady.
Kai swallowed and stepped onto the rune opposite her.
The stone beneath their feet hummed softly.
"Begin."
Kai moved first.
A sharp thrust toward the face—controlled, confident.
Clara reacted instantly—but not how he expected.
She didn't raise her guard fully.
She angled it.
Kai stepped past, already turning for the cut—
Too late.
Clara's blade snapped against his wrist—not hard, but exact. The rune flared beneath his feet.
Defeat.
The word echoed in his chest like a blow.
His sword slipped from his fingers.
Silence.
Kai stood there, heat rushing to his face—not from pain, but realization.
He hadn't been beaten by strength.
He'd been read.
Clara lowered her blade and met his eyes.
"You learned fast," she said quietly. "Faster than most."
Kai blinked, surprised.
"But," she continued, "you still wanted it too badly. You stopped asking questions and started demanding answers."
That hurt.
Because it was true.
Leo nodded once. "That's the difference between knowing a technique and understanding it."
Vincent leaned over from the sidelines. "For what it's worth, Kai, that was a very dignified loss."
Kai huffed despite himself.
Clara hesitated, then added softly, "You'll beat me someday. Just not today."
That stayed with him.
Lunch
The tension broke as Leo dismissed them.
"Eat. Rest. Return."
The hall emptied slowly, voices rising again.
Kai walked with the others, hunger dull but present, his thoughts louder than his stomach.
He replayed the duel again and again—not with bitterness, but focus.
Clara hadn't mocked him.
She'd respected him.
That mattered.
As they stepped into the sunlight, Vincent stretched dramatically. "I declare combat class emotionally exhausting."
Amy smirked. Victor simply nodded.
Kai glanced back once—at the silent rune, at Leo standing alone Leo whispering to himself this was just the tip of the iceberg out there are dangers unseen and seen some not even of this world young ones i hope you'll grow to become strong to vanquish it.
He hadn't won.
But he'd learned.
And that, somehow, felt heavier.