Rei leaned back slightly, arms crossed, scanning the chaos unfolding in front of him.
Extro was arguing again. "Minos! You absolute twig! Why are you following me like a lost cat?!"
Minos didn't even flinch. He just stood behind Rei, his hood shadowing his expression. "…I just feel safer here."
"Ugh—creepy!" Extro waved his arms, causing a tiny burst of sparks to shoot off his fingers and singe part of the wall.
Regulus leaned in toward Rei. "So… any guesses why the violet ghost-boy is glued to you?"
Rei shrugged. "He hasn't told me. But I don't think it's just random."
Minos stayed quiet, hands in his sleeves. His single visible eye flicked toward Rei and back down again.
That's when Oluis Kanto spun dramatically off the table, landing with a loud "HAH!" as if he'd just defeated a dragon. "Welcome, trainees, to the winds of glory! You may have heard of me, but let me bless your ears: I am the blade of the gale Oluis Kanto!"
Rei blinked. "Didn't Kajala beat you once?"
Oluis froze. "That… that was strategy! Not a loss! It was wind misalignment!" He posed again, fist to the sky. "And that fox boy cheated!"
Regulus laughed way too hard at that. "You sound like a sore loser."
"I'm not a loser!" Oluis said, still frozen in a pose, cape billowing despite zero wind again. "I am a master of velocity and motion! The air itself bows to me!"
"Okay," Rei said dryly. "Sure."
Kaizer, who had been leaning against a wall and flipping his daggers around like coins, finally chimed in. "This squad's already a disaster."
"Says the guy with magic tattoos on his arms," Regulus shot back.
Kaizer smirked. "Envy doesn't suit you, axe-boy."
Before Regulus could respond, the door creaked open. A tall instructor walked in grizzled, broad shouldered, and completely silent. He motioned toward the back corridor. "Training hall. Now."
Everyone got moving fast
[Training Hall –Ten Minutes Later]
The hall was a massive underground space carved into the mountain rock. Torches lined the walls, flickering with enchantments. The floor was cracked and scorched from old fights.
Rei and Regulus stood side by side, surrounded by chaos.
Extro was shouting again, his blade half-drawn. "You want me to hit the dummy?! I'll vaporize the dummy!"
The dummy exploded.
Kaizer just blinked. "Chill, man. You're going to roast your own eyebrows one day."
"You wanna go?!"
"Try it."
Meanwhile, Oluis was spinning in circles, his blade leaving wind trails as he slashed the air with ridiculous flourish. "HYAH! WHOOOSH! TAKE THAT, INVISIBLE ENEMY!"
Minos just stood by Rei's side like a silent bodyguard, scythe in hand, but never raised.
Regulus watched it all and muttered, "This might be the weirdest group we've ever had."
"I don't think that's a might," Rei replied.
Then Minos whispered, "…Don't die, okay?"
Rei turned. "What?"
But Minos was already walking away.
Regulus elbowed Rei lightly. "You've got a fan."
"Not sure if I should be flattered or worried."
They got assigned sparring matches. Rei went up against Kaizer first.
"Try not to cry, no-magic boy," Kaizer grinned.
Rei didn't say anything. He just narrowed his eyes and waited.
And even though Kaizer was faster and had water magic to zip around the floor, Rei watched carefully timing, rhythm, habits. After all, he'd spent forty years reading enemies.
He didn't need magic.
Just time.
Kaizer's smirk widened as the water around his feet surged. "Hope you brought a shield," he said, both daggers glowing as water spiraled around his arms.
Rei didn't move.
"You sure you don't wanna dodge, old man?" Kaizer asked. "This next move breaks bones."
"Try it."
Kaizer's grin twitched. That tone wasn't cocky it was solid.
In one burst, Kaizer vanished from view, water boosting his dash speed. In a blink, he was in front of Rei, his daggers swinging with magic-fueled force.
WHAM!
A deafening crack split through the room as Kaizer's boot slammed into Rei's chest, launching him across the training hall like a thrown weapon. Rei flew through the air and slammed into a wooden wall, the entire thing rattling from the impact.
CRASH!
Rei stepped out of the dented wall, wood cracking underfoot. His body wobbled for a second, but he caught himself.
Silence.
Even the wind mage Oluis, who normally had something very loud to say, was frozen, mouth half-open, scarf slowly drifting back into place.
Minos took a quiet half-step forward, hand gripping his scythe like he was preparing for something just in case.
Extro muttered, "No. Freakin'. Way."
Kaizer stared at Rei like he was looking at a ghost.
"That kick could've sent a wild boar flying," he said, more to himself than anyone. "I've seen knights with armor cough blood after a hit like that."
"Guess I'm not a knight," Rei said flatly, blood still trickling down his chin.
Kaizer blinked. "Are you not feeling that?"
"Oh, I feel it," Rei muttered. "I feel everything."
He reached behind his back, and with one swift motion, yanked his wooden practice sword off the floor where it had skidded.
Still cracked from the old days. Still not enchanted. Just plain wood.
But in Rei's hands, it looked lethal.
Rei took a step forward.
Another.
His boots dragged just slightly, blood smearing across the polished floor.
Kaizer's grin faltered.
"Yo, wait. You're still gonna fight?" he asked.
Regulus leaned against a post, arms crossed, barely hiding a grin. "Oh yeah. He's not done. That look in his eye? That's Rei warming up."
Rei stopped five feet in front of Kaizer. Didn't raise his sword yet.
Kaizer hesitated.
Somewhere above, on the second-floor railing, a few instructors had gathered, peeking over. Whispers started.
"That kid took a hit from Kaizer... without any defense spell?"
"There's no way he's normal."
"What's with that sword? That's not even real."
One instructor leaned to the other. "Should we intervene?"
"No," the older one replied. "Watch. This is important."
Back below, Kaizer took another step back. Water magic flared up around him again, spiraling at his feet like a storm trying to start.
Rei didn't move.
Kaizer swallowed. "You sure about this? You've got no magic. No shield. That next hit could break your back—"
"I know," Rei said.
He took one more step.
"I don't need any of that."
Then he raised his sword not high, not fancy, just level with Kaizer's neck.
Calm.
Grounded.
His blood-soaked shirt clung to his chest. One eye half-shut from bruising. His fingers gripped the hilt with the same calm you'd see in a seasoned warrior before a kill.
And that was when Kaizer realized—
This wasn't a kid with no magic.
This was a man who'd been through hell… and came back more than once.
Kaizer blinked, and for just a second—
He hesitated.
And in a fight… hesitation is everything.
And then rei...locked in