Chapter 15: Chapter 14 - Friendly competition

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”What do you think you’re doing laying about?! You’re not here to laze around but to work on your body!” The drill sergeant sounding teacher shouted in Reinhardt’s ear as he was panting on the ground. The human man had a large scar at the side of his shaven head, and he looked around middle-aged. Rein had thought his father’s training was harsh, but he had just been proven wrong. “You’re being beaten by a pair of lions and a little girl!” The teacher tried to motivate him using the age-old method of mocking.

Rein barely managed to lift his head enough to survey the devastation. They were participating in the first Physical and Combat Training session and almost the entirety of their class lay on the ground, collapsed from exhaustion, with five notable exceptions. Rein wasn’t all that surprised to see the two Leonin students, Shaheera and Brimaz, still running laps around the huge training field. The two Leonin’s seemed to have endless stamina, although even their speed had reduced down to a point where their pace could be described more as jogging and not running.

Rein was much more gratified to see that the Dark Elf girl Miralem seemed to be struggling with keeping her lunch in her stomach and not in the nearby bushes, while the blond-haired female human he knew to be the daughter of one of the members of the High Council of Magisters was trying to keep herself from slumping down by leaning heavily against a wall. The blond girl had surprised everyone with her tenacity, as it was clear she was not a warrior but a mage. She had also shown signs of extreme exhaustion before Rein, but somehow she was still hanging in there.

On the other hand, he wasn’t all that surprised to see the ‘little girl’ mentioned earlier doing quick one-handed pull-ups nearby. She had already finished the assigned run, apparently to the surprise of the teacher, so she had been assigned to start doing pull-ups and to keep going as long as she was able. So far she was showing no signs of tiring, though in fairness, her small size meant that she weighed only a third of what Rein or any of the warrior-type men did.

“Are you giving up, slowpoke?!” The teacher continued shouting.

“I-I can…still…continue!” Rein gasped out and managed to struggle into a kneeling position. That’s as far as he got though, as the little bracelet he was wearing suddenly started glowing white. Not a lot, but enough. Rein grimaced as he knew he had failed.

“Disqualified!” The teacher shouted the word he had expected. The word had been heard twenty times already. It was surprisingly hard to fully exhaust yourself without accidentally using even a bit of Ki or mana. Only five students had managed it, while five were still in the middle of their attempt.

When the lesson had started, the teacher had handed all of them one of the bracelets and stated that they would react every time they used even a shred of Ki or mana. Karna had been handed an additional amulet that would detect the use of Aura. The teacher had told them that the class called Physical and Combat Training was something that would continue their entire time in the Academy. And for the first five months, they would not be allowed to use any of their powers.

“Your powers only enhance the strength your bodies already possess! If you want to be strong, having a lot of Ki or mana isn’t enough! Your physical body also needs to be strong and durable! It is true that constant use of power will strengthen your bodies and increase your fortitude, but if your powers have nothing to build on, then your results will be worth squat!” The teacher lectured them once again, as he did every time one of them accidentally used their powers.

The teacher had also explained to them that the physical training would mostly continue using the method of as little power used as possible after the five months was over, but the exercises would grow more complex and power usage would be slowly introduced. The combat lessons would start to include their powers after the first five months, but first they needed to have a solid foundation to build on. Today’s exhausting torture was to help them find their limits when not using their powers. Their training would grow more individual once those limits were better understood.

“We’ve finished!” Brimaz declared proudly as the two Leonin ran to the center of the training field where most of the members of their class lay collapsed and recovering. The black-furred Leonin looked proud, clearly having won the little competition between the two, but they both looked worn down with their fur and clothes covered in sweat.

“Hah! Two more overachievers! I heard class I-1 was exceptional this year. You know what to do next then.” The teacher mercilessly pointed towards the bars where Karna was doing pull-ups.

“One-handed?” Shaheera asked carefully, eyeing what Karna was doing. He didn’t seem too happy at the prospect.

“What? No, of course not! Don’t be an idiot. The little girl was just complaining that it was too easy for her, so I told her to do them one-handed instead. It’s her own stupid mistake for complaining.” The teacher retorted.

Shaheera laughed as he walked to the bars and started. Brimaz glowered at Karna before starting to do them one-handed as well. With his exhaustion, he didn't last very long until he too had to slump down on the ground in an undignified heap. Shaheera on the other hand congratulated himself as he kept going. He had not been stupid enough to try and mimic Karna, and that allowed him to beat Brimaz. Just as he was also reaching his limit, the teacher called out to everyone. “Alright, that’s enough. We only have two people going on, and it looks like there’s little point in carrying on.”

“Are you sure that Aura detector works?” Brimaz asked a little spitefully, looking at Karna who appeared only slightly tired, though even that was hard to notice from behind her veil. A few drops of perspiration gleamed on her forehead.

“I’m sure.” The teacher stated firmly, though in reality he too was a little suspicious. Such a small girl shouldn’t have that kind of stamina.

They of course couldn't know that Karna was a Godling and as such her entire physique worked differently. Despite her size, her muscle strength actually already rivaled Rein, who in turn seemed to have muscles on his muscles. And that was only measuring strength. Godlings didn't need to eat as they constantly drew energy from their surroundings, so even though she was wasting more than she was recovering during the exercise, she got tired much slower than the others. Her bloodline as a phoenix also burned up any built-up harmful substances in her system. She had limits, but this sort of relatively sedate exercise wasn’t enough for her to reach them without spending several days without rest. This was a good way for her to train, but that’s about it.

“Now then. One of the things you will have to learn is to fight while exhausted. It’s a bit cruel to spring this on you on your first lesson, but that’s how life works. Battle comes when it comes. It won’t wait until you’re comfortable and nicely prepared, and it doesn’t ask if this would be a good time for you. So, we’re having a hand-to-hand combat exercise next. You’re going to pair up and show me what you’re capable of. Warriors against warriors and mages against mages. There’s no point in having warriors slaughter mages that are unable to use magic, even if it would be a good opportunity for the mages to learn first-hand about the need to have some close combat skills.” The teacher started assigning pairs that he considered relatively equal. He was also purposefully having those that had given up first during physical training fight first so that the ones with most stamina could still get a bit of rest.

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“Girl! It’s time to prove your words! Are you all talk, or do you dare to accept my challenge?” Brimaz demanded with a loud voice.

“I accept. It's fine with me." Karna shrugged and nodded towards the teacher, who in turn seemed happy to allow the fight to happen. He seemed like the type to foster rivalries if it brought results.

"It seems we're left together then," Shaheera said with a friendly tone as he walked up to Rein.

Truth be told, Rein was quite eagerly expecting the bout. He was quite proud of his hand-to-hand skills, and the Leonin seemed like a worthy opponent. “Sure. Sounds like fun.” He replied with a grin. “I want to see Karna and Brimaz fight though.”

Shaheera’s smile revealed a row of sharp teeth. “I’m quite sure so does everyone else.”

Perhaps it shouldn’t have been too surprising that nearly all of the students in class I-1 seemed to have quite a bit of training. Even the most dedicated mages showed that they were not complete beginners, even if their skills would never rival those of a proper warrior. The fight between Miralen and the blond-haired mage was especially fun to watch. Neither of them was especially skilled as they were both pure mages, but both of them fought with surprising ferocity and didn't shy away from going for strikes that could’ve been dangerous if they had landed. The calls about a catfight were quite appropriate, and the two girls only seemed to grow even more ferocious as the fight dragged on. Finally, the teacher decided to call the fight before either of them got seriously injured. Even as was, both girls had rather nasty looking cuts and likely bruises in places where no girl wanted them. To everyone’s shock, the two girls actually shook hands and gave each other half-hearted hugs once the fight was called.

Rein really had to show his skills during the fight with Shaheera. The Leonin had developed a martial arts style suited for their body type that utilized their claws well, but luckily Wolfgang had called for trainers from several different races when training Rein and Siegfried. As a result, Rein was already used to fighting against a Leonin and could turn the situation to his advantage. Despite the inability to use Ki, he had earned his fame as a blunt instrument as he slowly but surely battered the quicker Leonin to submission. Shaheera spent a fair bit of his training time on magic, which gave Rein enough of an advantage in a pure brawl. An advantage that he utilized to full effect. He might not be able to deal with the Leonin when magic and enough time for casting were involved, but in a pure brawl he came out ahead. "I yield!” Shaheera admitted finally, though he didn’t seem too bummed about his loss.

Their classmates actually clapped in appreciation, and their fight had been the best one so far. “A nice fight.” Karna clapped Rein on the back as the two walked back to sit with the rest of the class.

“Good luck to you too.” Rein replied with a proud smile as the girl walked towards the stage.

“So how do you think this will end up?” Shaheera asked and Miralen also sidled up to them.

“Well, Brimaz does have the advantage in size and reach. Also claws. Can't forget those. He’s also rank three for what that’s worth.” Miralen said carefully.

Rein grinned. “I think I’ll take a page from my father’s book. He already learned to never bet against Karna.”

“Despite the fact that Brimaz is a strong fighter, I feel you might be on to something.” Shaheera also nodded in agreement.

As the two fighters took positions against each other, Brimaz couldn't help but feel like he had already won. "I'll make sure to rip that stupid veil off your face first. We'll see what you're hiding. We have a bet going on. Personally, my money is on you just being ugly.”

“Well, good luck with that. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all, so I suppose you could always claim that you personally find me unattractive. But you have to actually get to the veil first.” Karna replied calmly, not rising to the bait. It had been rather juvenile in her eyes anyway. No need to get excited. No need at all.

As the teacher gave the signal to start, Brimaz immediately went to swipe at Karna’s face with his claws. Despite the rather obvious attack, it did play to his strengths as he had longer reach and he didn’t have to use much strength when using a quick swipe. People also instinctively protected their face when someone with claws was trying to hit you. Instead of avoiding the strike though, Karna seemed to flow around the attack and suddenly Brimaz found himself in a rather precarious position with his arm twisted and held in a very unnatural position.

"Now, we could call the fight here since submission holds are a legitimate way to end such things, but I don't think anyone would be satisfied with that," Karna whispered quiet enough that only Brimaz and the teacher could hear. Then she let go of Brimaz’s hand.

Angered by the disdain shown by his opponent, Brimaz launched himself at the much smaller opponent, allowing himself to overextend in his anger. Suddenly it seemed like the air around Karna seemed to shift and the calm and defensive stance seemed to vanish. She dove under the attack to get close and sent a straight kick at Brimaz’s midsection. He barely managed to swipe the kick aside with a hasty defense with his other hand.

Karna used the strength of that defense to help herself spin around and leap into the air as her other leg whipped towards his face. Brimaz had managed to pull his other hand back and stopped the kick with a perfectly executed block. The others observing a bit grimaced, as they could all hear the strength of the kick that sounded like a whip cracking against his forearm. Brimaz also grimaced in pain as he knew that if he had not supported the block with his other arm, the kick would’ve been too powerful to block.

He didn’t have time to rest though as Karna was thrown back up by the block and brought down her fist in an overhead strike as she was landing from her little jump, straight towards his forehead. He stumbled backwards, barely avoiding the blow. He tried to get some distance, but Karna didn't give him any breathing room as she rushed in. Brimaz managed to stop only a handful of blows before Karna managed to plant a full-power strike straight into his belly as a counterattack to a hasty attack, and the much larger Leonin male was bent double in the air as he was thrown back from the force of the blow. The classmates could swear they almost saw a shockwave coming out of the poor Leonin’s back as the strike landed.

“Ooof! Fuck me sideways, that must have hurt!” Rein voiced what everyone else was thinking.

“Humm, he might need a bit of healing, teacher. I may have used a bit more strength than I intended. It’s always frightening to fight against opponents so much bigger and stronger than myself.” Karna stated without a shred of shame. The fight had been completely one-sided and Brimaz had been completely taken apart.

“Hah! Bigger I believe, but the rest is bull. Get up Leonin! I saw you leaping backwards just as the strike landed. It probably hurt but there shouldn’t be any real damage.” The teacher grinned.

“I’m not so sure.” Brimaz wheezed out and coughed up a bit of spit before allowing Ki to massage the area and heal some of the damage he had taken.

“Well, it seems you’ll have to try again if you want to have a go at my veil. Better luck next time.” Karna teased a bit. She wasn’t quite sure why she enjoyed toying with the Leonin, but something about the guy caused her to behave in a more confrontational way than usual. Likely the result of her time spent as various magical beasts. Those sometimes manifested in weird ways, and a negative reaction towards someone challenging her wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary. She could usually suppress such instinctual reactions, but a bit of them tended to leak out on occasion.

"That was quite brutal," Shaheera commented. “Perhaps a bit unnecessarily so?”

“Perhaps. However, the sooner he learns that while I’m rather tolerant, there will be consequences to constantly picking fights with me, the better. I won’t go out of my way to rise to his baits and make things difficult, but I won’t go out of my way to avoid confrontation either.” Karna explained curtly. She knew that there were various ways of facing the kind of hostility Brimaz seemed to hold towards her, but sometimes facing things head-on was the best way.

“I knew you said you might be physically stronger than me, but I thought you weren’t serious.” Rein commented with a lighter tone.

“What’s this about?” Miralen questioned, sensing potentially juicy gossip.

“Our families went out to celebrate together after the entrance exams. It was the first time we met. Rein kept trying to challenge me to arm-wrestling.” Karna explained with an amused tone.

“You tried to challenge a girl so much younger and smaller than you to arm-wrestling?” Miralen looked at Rein with disdain.

“E-hem.” Rein coughed and pointed at Brimaz, who was still having trouble moving around after the blow he had taken.

“Yes, but you didn’t know about that at the time, did you?” Shaheera teased.

"I just wanted to beat her in something," Rein muttered a little apologetically.

“I’m not so sure that would’ve worked out for you.” Miralen pointed out with a tone that made it clear she was quite sure it wouldn’t have.

“No, I think it would’ve.” Shaheera countered. Then showed with gestures the difference in the arm length of Karna and Rein.

“Ah, right. Leverage.” Miralen realized.

“There’s that word again!” Rein stated angrily. “Why does everyone keep using it without explaining what it means?”

“They’re going to be teaching that to you soon enough in physics.” The teacher interrupted their conversation. “Knowledge like that is quite important to warriors like you. You actually already know about it instinctively, but you just don’t understand it fully. This isn’t the time however. Get up everyone! You’ve had enough of a break! You’ll get to try an obstacle course as a reward for finishing the fights so quickly.”

Almost everyone groaned at the so-called reward.