For I Am A Side Character - 66: A Simple Spar
In the training grounds of the school…
In an upset of change, Jessica stood in front of Soril with a glare filled with murderous intent.
“Please don’t try and take it easy this time. The last time we did it, it didn’t seem like your heart was in it at all.” she said as she dashed forward and started attacking Soril.
And in return, Soril ran back up to her with nothing but his fist and started countering her attacks left and right.
“…I’m sorry, but I had a lot on my mind last time, hopefully today, I can meet your expectations.” he said as he intercepted her attack and went under her, finding an open spot for him to strike.
*thud*
Although he struck back with a force that made his classmates shudder, Jessica was able to take this attack head on.
“Khk! Damn it!” as she quickly reciprocated his attack by doing a twisted backhand swing, Soril was able to dodge at a rate faster than her attacks.
As he dodge, he took a step back from her and stared at the position of her body.
“…You’re open again, I can see three openings available for me to attack.” he said as he had this cold glare down at Jessica.
“..!? Y-you really are looking down on me huh!?” she said as she got annoyed at Soril.
“…” but Soril only taunted her more by gesturing her to come forward.
With that said, Jessica got mad and dashed forward again.
As the two continued to fight in the training ground, one teacher was under the supervision of this class.
“Hmm…” said Sgt. O’riley who only watched from the sidelines.
‘He’s fixed every error of movement from his past actions…and with Jessica who continues to improve because of him, she’s faster than last week…its not perfect, but its better compared to the rest of the first years.’
‘…still, even with her growth, she could barely touch Soril at all with her knife. Its clear that Soril is holding back his attacks for her, is it right that he isn’t going all out? And should I intervene?…’ he asked himself as he continued to observe Soril’s combat.
From the rate where they were fighting, it wasn’t comparable to that of the other classmates who’s growth was only steady. Like a battle between unrivaled beast, the two were simply stronger than the rest and there was no question about that.
Even the Class A students from the other side of the training grounds watched as Soril and Jessica fought at speeds they could only dream of.
One of those particular students was Jessabelle and Audrey who stared with envy.
As for Jason, he was still absent even to this day since his hunt from the B-ranked dungeon.
“Hmm, what do you think Audrey, do you think you can win against him?” asked Jessabelle as she stared from the same place.
“…I don’t know…lets get back to our practice. With Jason gone, you’re the one who I’m assigned to fight today.” she said.
“Aren’t you curious about what would happen if he fought you?…I mean look at the way he moves, its completely different from the rest of the amateurs in this place.” said Jessabelle.
“Hmm, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious…but it doesn’t matter. I don’t think he’s interested in fighting me at all.”
“Wha- we don’t know that. For all we know, maybe he is interested and you just didn’t have the courage to ask him for a duel.”
“…Lets just get back to our practice.” said Audrey.
“Geez, I thought you would be more excited about this. Were you not looking for a person who could excite you? Maybe he’s one of those people.” said Jessabelle as she continues to push the idea.
“…” but Audrey remained silent.
“…fine, lets get back to training.”
As Jessabelle and Audrey had a light spar, out of nowhere, Sgt. O’riley came to the side of the Class A students training area and approached Miss Fien, the instructor of this class.
“Miss Fien, may I have a word with you.” said Sgt. O’riley.
“Now?” asked Miss Fien.
“It won’t take long, I just want to ask about your opinion on a matter I have some trouble with.”
“Hmm, okay…what is it?”
“Recently have you noticed the growth of one of our students?”
“Hmm? Are you talking about Soril Remus?…yes..yes I have.” she said.
“Tell me, is it wise that I should involve myself in their spar?”
“I don’t think its right. This doesn’t appeal to the process of the mix-up theory. To us advisors, we should just observe, if we involve ourselves in a students growth, it might just backfire. Look at your students, it obvious that the theory is corresponding to their actions, with his partner, I’m sure the two of them well rise to a height that suits their synergy.” said Miss Fien.
“…I see. Very well.”
As Sgt. O’riley turned to his students, he found that after two minutes of sparring, at this point in Jessica’s condition, the way Soril responds to her attacks, it was ticking her off.
“You know…for the past few days, you haven’t been taking me seriously and I’m getting pissed that you’re treating me like I’m someone who needs to be treated like a toddler….well I’m not!”
“…So what do you want me to do?” Soril asked as he had this cold stare put on Jessica.
“Hit me…”
“…”
“I can’t grow like this if I don’t experience the pain of getting hit in my openings. But if I did, You’ll see that I’ll catch up to you in no time.” she said in a confident smile.
“I see…then promise me, you won’t hate me after this.”
“Heh…I promise.” with that said, Jessica raised her swords up to Soril and stared at him with a murderous intent.
And in return, Soril raised his fist and simply took a step forward.
With one single step, he dashed forward a rate that Jessica was surprised to see.
‘He’s fast!’
With it, she quickly raised her swords for defense, but it was pointless. Even without the enlightened domain, Soril could see just how slow her movements were, and with it, he could see where it was perfect to strike.
Just below her defensive stance, her left side had an open spot to strike.
And with his fist gripped tight, he punched her there at a strength comparable to that of a B-rank.
*Thud*
“Ghk!” Jessica felt the immense pressure of his fist. Yet as his punch dug deep into her side, she quickly took action by swiping her swords down to his neck without hesitation. But that wasn’t enough. Although her speed was commendable for trying to counter Soril, Soril’s strength was simply more powerful that it pushed Jessica near the bounds of the sparring arena.
“Khk…damn.” as Jessica stood near the bounds of the arena, she could feel the pain from Soril’s punch. Estimating just how powerful it was, she calculated tha just two more hits from that could easily take her out.
“Hmm, nice job. I almost backed away from that last strike.” he said as he looked extra motivated.
“Well…this is what happens when you don’t hold back. So give it everything you got.” she said confidently.
“…fine, I can see why. You really grow under pressure.” he said as he found her efforts to be quite appealing.
“…Hmph!”
The two fought…and to this, Soril looked very brutal with his actions. Striking from very fatal spots, the students who watched could feel just how much the gap was between the two. Yet somehow, they cheered for Jessica.
She struggled, yet somehow she was getting by. It was as if she knew where he would hit. And it was only natural. They have been sparring partners for weeks now and the one thing they learned from one another was how one would move against the other. They learned each other’s behaviors in a fight…how there were small hints in when and how Soril would attack.
She knew, because she was looking at him.
And as this fight continued even more, Jessica started to enjoy it.
“Hahaha…this is it, just like the first time we fought, I’m getting excited again.” she said as she had this smile plastered on her face.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, but I think its time to settle this.” said Soril.
“Fine by me…but after this, we should really celebrate.”
“Hmm?” as Soril was curious by what she meant, she quickly made her move. With two swords out and about, she dashed in quick straight at him, as he defended by grabbing her hands, she took this to her advantage.
“Lets finally do it on your bed.” she whispered into his ear.
“!!!!????????” and with that, Soril was quickly taken aback by what she said. Being in a riot of emotions, Jessica took this to her advantage and she kicked him in the chest so hard that it pushed him out of the arena.
*Thud.*
As he fell, the students were amazed.
“OhhH!!”
“Wow, she beat him!”
“Amazing!”
“But how??”
A lot of words were said in the crowd, but the one who was mostly surprised was Sgt. O’riley who stood laughing at the turn of events.
“Hahahahaha…to think that he lost.” he laughed just like anyone would when they witnissed a surprising end.
“I win!” Said Jessica proudly as she posed for a peace sign in front of Soril who just got back up.
“Y-you really are a cheater…” he said as he was still red in the ears.
“I would do anything to win! And since I won, I now get to order you around.” she said as she had this proud smile on her face.
“Haa…geez, you’re unbelievable.” he said.
“Hey, anything is fair in love and war…” she said with a smug face.
“I guess in this case, it probably is…but were you serious about it?”
“…” as Soril asked for confirmation, Jessica in turn, without saying anything back, she simply walked out of the arena and out of the training grounds.
She never looked back…
And Soril never got his answer.
***
Inside the hunter’s association, where Jason was found strapped into an IV fluid in a medical room, beside him was Juel Miller. His Guild was the one responsible of finding Jason unconscious in the dungeon…
In that medical room, Jason was found still in unconscious. He hasn’t been awake for a few days now and news about this has already reached the academy, so after classes were over, Audrey and Jessabelle came by to see his condition.
“How is he?” asked Audrey.
“Still the same…” said Juel.
“Did the doctors found any reason as to why he was like this?” asked Jessabelle.
“Well, when we found him in the dungeon, it was reported that he was surrounded by corpses of dead monsters. The investigation had a lot of suspicions where either he wore himself out in that place or he was attacked by something stronger.”
“Well, Jason is a careful guy, he knows when to retreat when necessary. He doesn’t just fight carelessly against something like dungeon monsters. What rank was the dungeon he went into?” asked Jessabelle.
“The guild found him in a B-rank dungeon. They said that when they found him, he was in the center of a crater where it was surrounded by blue flames. So its possible that he might have been attacked by something other than the scorpions.” said Juel.
“Is there a record of monsters capable of breathing blue fire?” asked Audrey.
“Well, there’s the typical Dragons, its also possible that a Lich might have been the who casted a skill of blue fire…or maybe, something else. We really aren’t that sure.” said Juel as he wasn’t confident.
“Hmm, I see. Thank you for finding him. Have you told his parents yet?” asked Audrey.
“Well yes, they visited yesterday and might visit again tonight.”
“Okay…thank you.”
As Juel left the girls to watch over Jason, the two of them could only watch in question as to how someone like Jason was put into this kind of situation.
“Do you know any skills about a blue fire?” asked Audrey to Jessabelle who was known for her compatibility with fire.
“I’m not sure. I haven’t really discovered one yet other than the skills from the monsters. If there was one that I can possible learn, I’ll take it at a heartbeat.” said Jessabelle.
“Hmm, I see.”
As they two of them looked over Jason, all of a sudden, a creeping feeling suddenly took over the entire association.
“!?”
“!??”
The two of them could feel that something was wrong…
And by th halls of the medical room, they could hear the tapping of a pair of sandals that seemed to take over the entire floor.
*tip*
*tap*
*tip*
*tap*
*tip*
*tap*
*tip*
*tap*
*tip*
*tap*
It was getting closer and closer until finally the door opened in the room where Jason was settled in, and with it…a woman dressed in black came by.
Her face was covered by a black veil, making it impossible for Jessabelle or Audrey to tell who this person was. But they knew exactly from the moment she stepped in, they could feel a powerful presence from her that made them overwhelmed.
“Who are you?” asked Jessabelle as she casted flamestral vines across the floors, ready to attack the woman.
“…Hmm, it seems that he isn’t here. How interesting.” said the woman.
“Reveal yourself.” said jessabelle again as she then commanded her vines to attack her.
*Swooos!*
But as she tried, the woman simply showed her hand and casted a blinding light that incapacitated both Jessabelle and Audrey. Her hand had a mark that showed the wings of an angel.
As the two were found unconscious, the woman slowly approached Jason. As she stood beside his body, she touched his chest and conjured her mana down on his body, feeling every inch of his entire structure.
“Hnn~ I see, so it has awakened. Good to know…it just such a shame though, if that boy were here, I could have also meet him. It seems Gypsy was wrong in assuming that God’s underling would visit the main hero.”
With that said, the Lady simply left the room. Stepping over Jessabelle’s body, she smiled and simply looked back to Jason.
“I hope you use this power well…Jason.”
And with it, she casted a blinding light and disappeared.