Despite Cole's attempt to avoid trouble, it seems inevitable. The fireball was still approaching fast, extremely fast.
Cole immediately got into a battle stance, prepared to dodge and counter the moment the opportunity showcased itself.
Just as the fireball was about a meter away from him, it vanished. Without any trace.
Then it descended. A heavy pressure that seemed capable of crushing mountains.
Unlike the previous one that only caused Cole's knees to buckle, this pressure squished him flat on the floor.
The other students were also in the same condition as he was, the only exception being Linda.
"No battles or abilities in the library," they all heard from a thunderous voice.
The voice invoked deep fear in the students as it resonated through the library walls.
"You have been warned," they heard again as the voice and pressure suddenly receded.
The moment the pressure was gone, the three red-headed students hurriedly stood and ran out of the library with their tails tucked between their legs.
"They're finally gone," Linda said as she exhaled.
"You kind of helped me today; I won't forget that," she said before turning around and storming off.
Cole stood in his place as he thought about the sudden snowball of events.
"I better stay away from that girl," he said while checking the window.
The sky outside had already darkened considerably, making Cole decide to leave the library.
"I will be back," he said while heading back out.
Cole left the library and returned to his hostel room. He was still slightly scared of the effects of the mantra, so he didn't cultivate it and went directly to bed.
The next couple of days went by in a programmed fashion with Cole not having enough energy to even return to the library.
Eleanor intensified the training more and more as if preparing him for something in the future.
A week after the beginning of his combat training, Cole headed towards the combat hall with confident steps.
Like Eleanor already told him, today will be his last combat training with her.
He entered the Combat Hall and immediately spotted Eleanor; she was dressed in a combat suit and was holding something that appeared to be another combat suit.
"She isn't going to battle me today, is she?" Cole wondered with a sped-up heartbeat.
"This will be fun," he continued with a masochistic smile.
"You seem to know what is coming for you," Eleanor said while throwing the combat suit at Cole.
"Get dressed; it is time to show me what you have learned." She said with a serious face.
Cole didn't bother attempting to prevent it or anything; instead, a faint smile was on his face.
"I really need to see how much I have grown," he muttered excitedly.
He quickly put on the attire that he was given and approached Eleanor with confident steps.
"As a conclusion for the week of combat training, I will be testing your progress."
"The goal isn't to defeat me but to at least land a strike or make me move from this position," Eleanor dropped while smirking.
Cole felt a little underestimated by those words, his ego feeling a little attacked.
"I am not to be underestimated," he said internally while staring straight into Eleanor's eyes.
"Come at me whenever you are ready," Eleanor said tauntingly.
Cole, though, didn't rush headlessly; instead, he slowly circled around Eleanor, looking for lapses or faults in her stance.
He realized that was a stupid idea, though, as Eleanor's stance seemed impeccable.
"I guess I will just try my best then," Cole said before sprinting forward.
Ever since that ravaging absorption in the cultivation room, Cole has seen a large leap in his physique, and he now couldn't even be compared to him about a week ago.
He rushed forward and sent a kick towards Eleanor's legs using one of his stances.
Eleanor nonchalantly raised her leg to block. The impact created a large boom that split the air, but Eleanor still stood unfazed.
Seeing his pointless attack, Cole didn't rush to attack again; instead, he backed off again.
"She is obviously physically stronger and more experienced than I am, so I can't bank on that," Cole analyzed.
"Then I can only resort to using my brain," he decided.
He rushed up again, but this time with a different stance. He attacked Eleanor's core in an attempt to disrupt her form, and as expected, she blocked that again.
Cole kept shuffling around Eleanor, sending myriads of attacks towards different regions of her body.
There was a deeper motive behind his actions, and Eleanor seemed to have grasped that point.
So instead of continuously blocking, she switched to dodging some of those attacks while still standing in her place.
She danced right into Cole's palm, though, as that was what he was expecting her to actually do.
Seeing his plan progressing smoothly, a bit of overconfidence actually overcame Cole as he started failing to adhere to his plans.
Instead, he started sending careless attacks at Eleanor. Eleanor smiled as she watched Cole lose his cool with a disappointed gaze.
"This is your best, uhh," she thought internally.
"Sadly it won't be enough."
"Let's end this here then," she concluded.
After making the decision to end the battle that instant, Eleanor was ready to send a heavy attack at Cole to directly knock him out.
Cole's rushing figure was reflected in her eyes while she raised her hand, planning to swing it down hard on Cole when he got into range.
Seeing Eleanor's raised hand, a composed and calculative smile suddenly appeared on Cole's face.
He immediately switched stances to a more flexible one and sidestepped quickly to attack from another direction.
Eleanor saw his attempt clearly and attempted to react as soon as possible.
The attack came swiftly, though, as an air-parting punch headed straight towards her ribs.
"Smart kid," Eleanor thought.
The difference in experience came into play now as Eleanor twisted uniquely and fiercely to block the attack.
Baaam!
Cole's attack landed heavily on Eleanor's wide-open palm, which stopped the attack in its tracks.
Instead of disappointment, Cole smiled slyly before saying.
"I won."
Eleanor was quite shocked by those words. Directly looking down at herself.
Then she saw it. She had taken about two steps backwards while attempting to block his last attack.
"Analytic and deceptive mode of combat—now that will be dangerous," Eleanor said while looking at Cole.
The two separated, and Cole immediately plopped on the wooden floor of the combat hall.
"That was exhaustive," Cole said to himself as he stared at the room.
"It will become even more dangerous if you have access to techniques," Eleanor continued.
"Techniques? "Again, about techniques, what exactly are they?" Cole asked curiously.
"They are the building of a Spiriter's strength," Eleanor responded.
"Building—what is that supposed to mean?" Cole asked again.