"I should have known that there would be trouble..." Chris sighed. Having encountered both Erik and Jay once, he realized that those two would bring chaos wherever they went. He glanced at the cadets, who were exchanging their training weapons for actual iron weapons as the next segment of the training started.
Then, he looked back at Jay, who stared back awkwardly. Although he insisted that what he did was the right thing to do, he also acknowledged that he might have gone too far.
"I won't scold you for helping a cadet who was being bullied, but..."
The group that bullied a cadet was escorted from the training grounds. While most of the group was able to walk by themselves, the leader had to be carried away on a stretcher as he had not regained his consciousness yet.
"You know what? Scratch that. I will overlook it this time." Chris sighed once more, flipping his long hair back.
Hearing that, Jay's expression lit up—for one second.
"However, you will have to do something for me." Chris added, gripping Jay's shoulder so intensely that it started to hurt.
After the cadets had changed their equipment, they were ordered to pair up. Wielding real and heavy weapons, they had to spar with their partner. But since they all wore armor provided by the knights, there would not be any danger if they were hit by the weapons that were duller than usual ones.
"Don't just thrust it with all your strength."
"G-got it!"
Erik and Luna paired up for this training session. Instead of sparring, it looked more like Erik teaching Luna. He chose an ax, whereas Luna was wielding a spear. And while Luna attempted to hit Erik, he taught her how to use the spear more efficiently. Due to her high dexterity, she could wield weapons better than an average beginner; however, even though she was better than they were, she was a beginner, nonetheless.
"You have no partner?" Jay asked.
Contrary to the others, Jay did not actively participate in this training session.
"Will he be fine, Captain?"
Chris was watching from afar. His gaze, as well as his assistant's, was focused on Jay.
"Because of yesterday's incident, we have to face a shortage of instructors." Chris explained to his concerned assistant. The public was told that it was nothing serious, but the police could not lie to the knight order. Thus, Chris and the others learned about how a single individual took out multiple cadets and a few instructors during his rampage, which was stopped by Jay and others.
Chris naturally wanted to chase after the individual who beat up his men, but he was tasked with watching over the cadets. He ordered a few of his subordinates to investigate the matter in his stead, which reduced the number of instructors even more.
Therefore, Chris came up with a temporary solution.
"I approve of this man's skills." he stated, smirking slightly.
Jay, who had fought against him and proved to the other cadets that he was not someone to mess with, was ordered to become an instructor for the Royal Knight Selection. He had the option to refuse but considering that he not only showed up today without a proper registration, but also knocked out a few cadets, accepting the task was the wiser decision.
"Alright, I will be your partner then." Jay suggested, seeing that the cadet in front of him was alone.
It was the same cadet who was bullied not too long ago. Fidgeting, he held his sword. He began to charge at Jay while screaming. However, Jay countered effortlessly as he flung the cadet's sword away and poked his chest plate lightly.
"Take a deep breath. Don't just swing randomly." Jay instructed. His tone was stern, but he still managed to flash him with a kind smile.
"Y-yes!"
They continued their sparring until it was afternoon. The cadets were split into different groups based on what kind of weapon they wanted to wield so that they could be taught by experts.
"Thank you so much!" the cadet, whom Jay trained, said loudly.
"No need to shout, dude..." Jay replied, taken aback by the sudden yell.
"You saved me from those bullies earlier and even helped me with my swordsmanship! My name is Neil, and I will never forget your kindness!"
"I-it's fine, so please..."
Jay turned embarrassed as everyone else started to look at them.
"If you ever need me for something, then say the word, master!" Neil stated, flashing a bright smile at Jay.
"M-master? Hold on-"
"I have to go now!"
Before Jay could beg him not to call him master, Neil already ran off to join his group.
"Master, huh? Looks like you're going up the ladder." Erik remarked pensively.
"W-what are you doing here? D-did you listen to the conversation?!" Jay shouted, having failed to sense Erik's presence until now.
"Just taking a break, I don't see the need to receive training from any of the instructors here." Erik replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"But if it's you who's the instructor, then I'd gladly join the group." he added.
"Me instructing you? As if." Jay chuckled before he also went back, as he was the assigned instructor of the sword group.
And because Luna was in the spear group, Erik was left alone. Laid-back as he was, he decided to leave the place and kill some time at a nearby café. The nearest one was roughly ten minutes away, and it offered a nice view of the whole castle.
Erik sat down at a table that offered such a view, but it was a table for two, and the seat across from Erik was already taken.
"Don't mind me." Erik said casually, not caring if the other person was uncomfortable with him sitting down there, while other tables were still free.
However, it was not because of the view or the table that Erik decided to sit there—it was because of the person in front of him.
"You're a strange guy, you know that?"
"I hear that sometimes." Erik replied.
The man across from him had long gray hair, and his black eyes emitted a coldness that made everyone shiver once they looked at them. Wearing the same dirty clothes as yesterday, without even bothering to hide the blood on them, he drank black coffee.
"Who would have thought that I'd meet you at a café out of all places, Jay?" Erik stated, surprising even himself. It was truly a coincidence that Erik met the Jay who caused yesterday's incident at a random café.
"Why did you let me go yesterday? You could have caught me if you wanted to, right?" Jay asked, glaring vigilantly.
Erik could only smile in a relaxed manner.
"Indeed. I could have done that." he claimed, meaning every word.
"Then, why-"
"However, that would only defeat the purpose." Erik said.
"If it's not Jay, then there is no meaning in defeating you." he added, going through the café's menu.
"I see." Jay huffed, revealing a slight grin.
"So you already know that if it's not a Jay who does the killing, then the person will be turned into that Jay."
The different Jays would continue to exist no matter how often they got killed. If a random monster or person killed a Jay, then they would gradually turn into the very Jay they had killed. In the end, only a Jay could kill another Jay.
"Who knows? Maybe I do, or maybe I don't." Erik feigned ignorance, making Jay's smirk disappear.
"I'm just saying that Jay has to do it with his own hands, or else, he can't move forward." he added.
"You're really a strange guy." Jay clicked his tongue. For him, it felt like he wasted time; therefore, he was about to leave.
However, Erik grabbed his arm before he could do so.
"Just because I'm saying that Jay has to be the one to kill you, doesn't mean that I'll just let you off like this." Erik said with a smile that did not reach his sharpened eyes.
He scanned his surroundings.
"Let's take this somewhere else."
"Why should I listen to you?"
Both men exchanged cold glares before agreeing to go somewhere else.
"An alley? Didn't expect you to be a shady guy."
"We would attract too much attention out there." Erik responded, pointing to the back where the main street was.
"Also, you're handicapped in such a narrow space." he elaborated, staring at Jay's sword. The alley was not even wide enough for two regular people to walk side by side, so for a person with such a huge frame like Jay, it would be difficult to wield any kind of weapon in there.
"What about you? You don't even have a weapon on you? How do you think you're going to take me down?" Jay scoffed. The two appeared to be in different height and weight classes, which meant that in a pure physical fight, Jay would have the upper hand.
"Sure, if it's Jay at 100%, then I'd have a difficult time." Erik chuckled.
"But I won't lose to one of his fragments, especially not you."
"We will see about that." Jay said sternly.
Jay was the first one to move. To test out the waters, he launched a light and quick punch at Erik, who, in turn, dodged by crouching down.
Erik tried to sweep his legs, but Jay jumped and aimed to crash down on Erik's face with his knees. But again, he dodged.
"You're quite agile." Jay stated.
"Thanks." Erik responded indifferently as he appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye. He aimed a punch at Jay's chin, but only to scratch it in the end.
"That's not enough to-"
Jay wanted to wipe his chin, but before he could touch it, he was hit on his chin from beneath, arching his back a little.
"What was that...?" he grumbled. When he looked over, Erik did not move from the spot and just smiled at him.
"Am I overthinking it...?" he murmured in his thoughts.
"That was my exclusive skill [Follow Up]." Erik answered.
"If I attack my target and inflict damage on them, I can activate my skill and attack the target again. Pretty cool, right?"
Previously, Erik launched an uppercut at Jay, who dodged the attempt, leading to a small scratch on his chin. Since he had still inflicted damage, Erik could activate his skill, summoning an invisible replica of himself. That replica targeted Jay's chin just like Erik did, and because Jay could not know about the skill and therefore did not dodge, he received the same uppercut Erik attempted to do—this time sensing the full impact.
"And you're fine with telling me that?"
"It won't make a difference if you know or not. There won't be a next time for you anyway."
"This damn..."
The two simultaneously threw a punch, grinding their fists against each other.
"I also have other skills."
Suddenly, Jay noticed that he was getting pushed back by Erik's fist until he was sent flying to the back, crashing into trash bags and cans.
"The strength enhancement skill never fails me." Erik said proudly as he leisurely walked over to Jay.
However, when he arrived at the spot where Jay should have been, he did not find him. The trash cans and bags were all scattered, showing that he had crashed into them, and yet, Jay was not there.
"Did he escape again...?" Erik muttered, palming his face and shaking his head in disappointment.
Erik guessed that Jay could not get far yet, but chasing after him now and continuing their bout would only lead to more attention. Therefore, he called it quits for today and returned to the Royal Knight Selection.
But when he returned, the cadets and knights were making a ruckus.
"Hey, instructor. What's going on here?" Erik asked Jay, whom he spotted in the unorganized crowd. Everyone was looking toward the front, so Erik thought that Chris was making another announcement. However, Chris was standing right next to Jay with shock written all over his face.
"Oh, you're back." Jay greeted him casually, acting like he always did, contrary to those around them.
"Everyone was making a fuss when this person arrived." Luna explained, appearing from the sea of people.
"Hm?"
Erik tilted his head and tried to look over the others' heads.
"She just arrived here, but everyone quickly stopped whatever they were doing and gathered at one spot." Luna commented, still in the dark about the person's identity.
"Ah, right. It's the first time you've seen her." Jay said as he was about to explain the person's identity to her.
"It's the Tutorial Section's Queen."