“Let’s start,” Professor McAllister said. He then proceeded to show Erik some moves. He started with some basic kicks, which Erik he had to replicate.

After his demonstration ended, Professor McAllister said, “Is everything clear?”

“Yes, professor,” Erik replied.

“Good. Now start your training.”

Erik did not like how the teacher seemed so unfriendly toward him. He knew that having awakened a second power was a big deal, and he hoped people would start treating him with respect once they found out, but apparently, Professor McAllister didn’t care.

Erik mimicked the teacher’s kicks, but it was evident that he couldn’t do them correctly.

“Keep your feet firm on the ground; balance your hips well,” Professor McAllister observed as Erik trained. He was trying to correct his mistakes by giving him pointers and advice. “Your left foot is too far forward for this move!”

As time passed, Erik became more aware that he was vastly behind compared to other people his age, and he had to thank his lack of money and talent for that.

It made him feel ashamed. The world seemed very cruel to him more than ever. He finally arrived at the other’s same starting point only to discover that the others were at a higher level.

Though nothing good came without hard work, and thanks to the system, he was confident that he was bound to surpass them all with time.

For now, his new strength gave him confidence that he wouldn’t be defeated easily against the average people—but what about against someone who got some real training?

It was then that Erik glanced at the other students’ training. It wasn’t Anderson Worthington who caught his eyeh, but Amber and Nathaniel.

The two were fighting against each other, and their movements were swift and noble in comparison to his.

He felt jealous of them. <Why are they so much better than me?! Are they really that great?> he thought.

The students weren’t allowed to use their power during spar sessions, but they didn’t need it. Having trained since they were young, the students under Professor McAllister’s care were natural-born fighters.

Nathaniel punched Amber, who gracefully avoided it, counterattacking with a kick. She knocked away his leg and made him fall to the ground.

With agility beyond belief, Nathaniel spun himself around and tried to kick the young girl’s shins. Though she backstepped and prepared for her next attack, she moved like a dancer, with fast and precise attacks aimed at Nathaniel’s weak points.

The young man, instead, had a completely different style. He was aggressive and took advantage of his higher strength to land blows on his opponent. In addition, he was quick enough to evade every blow and landed one or two hits per exchange.

Amber stopped her attack mid-air and backed off from Nathaniel. She turned around to face the young man who was preparing a punch.

Amber sidestepped and kicked again, aiming low, making Nathaniel fall down again. It was clear who was better between the two. Despite having an insanely powerful brain crystal power, Nathaniel was only ranked third in terms of martial might.

Erik watched the fight, trying not to lose concentration on his training. Professor McAllister noticed Erik watching the others train.

“What are you doing here, boy?”

“Nothing; sorry, professor!” Erik answered.

“You shouldn’t waste your time staring at others. Focus on yourself! You should learn to defend against the ones who will come after you.”

Erik nodded and returned to his training, still looking at Amber and Nathaniel fight. He wasn’t a fan of either her or his current opponent, but at least the young girl treated him well at the gate. 𝒷𝒹𝓸𝓿𝓁.𝒸ℴ𝓶

Nathaniel punched again, hitting the woman on her ribs. The young girl suffered the hit, but then she backstepped again. Nathaniel didn’t let her recover; he rushed forward and attacked again, sending a punch toward her face. Amber jumped up into the air avoiding the strike. As soon as she landed, she kicked the young man in the face.

“Do you surrender?” Amber asked.

“To you? Never,” Nathaniel replied.

He charged at her again, sending punch after punch, which the young girl evaded most of the time. However, she was unable to block all of them. One punch connected with her jaw, sending her flying backward. Her head hit the stone floor hard, and blood trickled down her forehead.

She slowly stood up, spitting out the blood. Then, she looked at the young man and said:

“I’ll kill you if I get my hands on you.”

“You wish,” Nathaniel replied.

The fight continued, with the young man suffering hit after hit due to Amber’s speed. Her attacks, though, weren’t as powerful as Nathaniel’s ones. Just a couple of blows from him and Amber started having problems moving. On the other side, Nathaniel was tankier than her. Still, he suffered several blows that threatened to make him unconscious, making him lose the spar.

After several exchanges of punches, kicks, and blocks, Amber landed a heavy kick on the young man, who fell on the ground unconscious, stopping moving.

“You are not so bold anymore, eh, Nathaniel?” The young girl said to the unconscious boy.

“Who are you talking to?” Gwen Lindsay, another one of Professor McAllister’s top students, said to her.

Gwen was tall for a woman, standing nearly five feet ten inches, with long brown hair reaching past her shoulders.

She was muscular and strong, possessing a body type that many men would envy. Like any good fighter, however, she used techniques to complement her strength rather than overpower opponents through sheer brute force alone.

Her fighting style consisted of both offense and defense; she was able to take punishment without getting hurt before retaliating.

She also possessed excellent balance and coordination. This gave her an edge when taking down opponents who were bigger than her.

Gwen also won her spar against Floyd Valdez, who was seventh in rank among the group. They fought until the end, with neither of them giving up easily. Their match was close, even though they traded blows.

Eventually, Gwen managed to win by making Floyd surrender.

The young man shook his head, rubbing his temple.

“Damn, I don’t know what happened there… I could have won this time…”

“Don’t worry about it. Next time, maybe,” Gwen said.

Gwen and Floyd approached Amber, and together, they looked at the new recruit, Erik, training.

“He is pretty pathetic, don’t you agree?” Gwen said.

“Don’t be too harsh, he just awakened a useful power after all, and as much as I know, he doesn’t have the money to afford proper training,” Amber said.

“Why didn’t he train at school then?” Floyd asked.

“Are you serious? With Logan Reid beating him on every occasion?” Amber said.

“Why are you defending him, Amber?” Gwen asked. “Because I feel sorry,” Amber replied.

The three then kept looking at Erik’s pathetic display of kicks; it was so embarrassing that they had to stop looking at the young man.

After a while, Professor McAllister told the young man to stop training. He wanted to shower but was unsure if the other students would allow him to do so.