31 Amber's and Nathaniel's Spar

"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. Since having awakened was a big deal, he thought people would start treating him with more respect, but that wasn't the case with this teacher.

Erik mimicked the man's kicks, but it was clear that he couldn't do them correctly.

"Keep your feet firm on the ground; balance your hips well," Professor McAllister observed as Erik tried the moves. The man tried correcting the kid's 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 for that. Besides, his work took a massive chunk of his time until recently, which was understandable.

This situation made Erik anxious. Would he be able to become strong before he went to the military academy? Was his situation destined not to change? He finally arrived at the other's same starting point only to discover that they were still better than him, which was frustrating.

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

<I need to inject fighting techniques as soon as possible. Let's see what Professor McAllister says and then search what is the most appropriate training technique I can learn.>

For now, his new strength gave him confidence that the average kid his age wouldn't easily defeat him in a physical confrontation, but if that held true against people who knew how to fight was still unknown.

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

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

He felt jealous, and he inwardly cursed his situation, but at the same time, watching them fight sparked something inside of him. The will to become stronger, to improve, to become great.

<One day I will surpass them,> he said to himself.

The students weren't allowed to use their power during spar sessions but didn't need it. Having trained since they were young, the ones under Professor McAllister's care were naturally strong fighters. Besides, most of them were filthy rich and probably got private tutoring at home, so they came here already knowing a lot about fighting.

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

Nathaniel spun himself around with agility beyond belief 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 used 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 again. It was clear who was better between the two. Despite being the strongest inside the school if he used his 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; your life will depend on your training!"

Erik nodded and returned to training, occasionally glancing at Amber's and Nathaniel's fight.

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.

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 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 many men would envy. Like any good fighter, though, she used techniques to complement her brain crystal power rather than overpower opponents through sheer brute force alone.

Her fighting style consisted of offense and defense; she could take punishment without getting hurt before retaliating.

She also possessed excellent balance and coordination. This gave her an edge when taking down opponents 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 student, Erik, training.

"Ah… I can't look at it…" Gwen said.

"Don't mind him. It is not our role to judge the others. Besides, as much as I heard, he doesn't have the money to afford a private tutor," Amber said.

"Why didn't he train at school then?" Floyd asked.

"With Logan Reid beating him on every occasion?" Amber said.

"Why do you know these things? You searched his background?" Gwen asked.

"Of course I did. I had to see for myself who the rumored 'Awakener' is…"

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.

Then Professor McAllister told him to stop training.