Double Trouble

When Lloyd and I woke up, we followed our routine from yesterday. We ate a hearty breakfast, thanks to the money I made yesterday, and we headed out to the Academy with Claire. Claire was our legal acting Guardian, and we didn't have anyone else who could help us with registration. We talked animatedly on the way there, and when we got on the subway we even ran into the group from yesterday. While waiting for the train, we finally learned that their names were Clyde and Roy, the professor and the hippie. They greeted us, and called me out as the Love Doctor from yesterday's escapade. It seemed that I had earned a nickname from my performance yesterday. A few women actually approached me and asked me for advice. I gave out some advice, and by the time we arrived at the academy, I had made another $10,000. It was all sent to Claire's account, and she promised to open me an account and send the money to it.

We arrived at the Academy gates, the building that the testing took place was a huge assembly hall, and we had to get into a long line. While patiently waiting, there were several people proctoring the test, they were all veteran adventurers belonging to the Daydream guild. A large guild based in America, that represented the U.S. on international commissions. They walked around, and explained the test to the participants. They handed out small metallic devices. The device in my hand was circular, and was used to measure my mana capacity. I was to hold onto it, and use my Talent, so that the device can measure how much mana I had. I was to fill it up with as much as I could, and then hand it in to any of the adventurers. When I finished, I handed my device in, and they took me to a different area. The sooner you finished exhausting your mana, the sooner you were allowed to the next part of the test.

The device was ingenious, it was able to measure Lloyd's mana, even though he had a latent talent that was not yet activated. This was also due in part to his talent having a passive effect that strengthened his body. It seemed that he felt much weaker than most kids is because he was constantly draining his own mana reserves, and experiencing mana exhaustion. He was given a bracelet that blocked mana usage, which would help him accumulate mana in his body and strengthen it from now on. He had passed the first test because it was definite proof he had a talent.

As Lloyd joined me, the next test was started for us, it would be a mock fight with an instructor. The purpose of this was to see if one was able to actually fit for the Combat courses, or the Auxiliary courses. The Auxiliary courses was just another name for the non-combatants.

I was then moved to a small ring with an Adventurer. He was an older man, looked to be in his 60s. He walked with a hunch, and I was honestly a little skeptical when I first saw him. However, when I thought about how he was asked to come be a tester for the combat section, I knew not to underestimate him.

While I stared at him, he was also staring at me. I felt a pressure descend on me from it, and I knew he was taking this test as seriously as I was. I wasn't going to have an easy fight by any means, which meant I could only do my best. I had never really been in a fight before, while I had tried practicing some basic movements in the past, I always moved on pretty quickly out of boredom. Having not stuck with anything for too long, I only had the rough ideologies of the different fighting styles.

"Come at me whenever, boy." The old man said, his voice low and raspy. Even his breath sounded like it would stop at anytime, however I still took my time.

I circled around the old man, looking for an opening in his footwork. I knew the concept of a centerline, which would be a line going down the center of your stance, that would be a good indication of one's center of balance. When someone's feet cross this line, it is an opportunity to push them off balance. I was looking to knock the man off balance, for two reasons: one, I had a little confidence in taking this to a brawl on the floor because I hoped my opponent would be more of a technical fighter allowing me to have a chance at a somewhat fair fight. The second reason: I actually had a bit of confidence in grappling, I had understood the mechanics of it in general, so I hoped to be able to make him submit, even if he was stronger than me it shouldn't have been that much of a difference.

There it is! He had accidentally crossed his left foot, behind his right while turning to face me. I immediately dashed forward, expecting him to swing his cane horizontally to stop my advance, which he did! I ducked and dodged it, just barely! I had been able to bend my back forward to the strongest 90 degree bow I have ever performed in two lives. I pushed forward after bending, and grabbed both his legs behind the knees. I was performing a lunge takedown, a move common in American wrestling, where you lunged with one foot, past the enemy's legs and pulled their knees towards you. Pulling them off balance, once you planted your lead foot, you then pushed off your back foot, driving your momentum into their midsection and finally pulled their legs past your armpits.

The final result? You would have a full mount and have them pinned on the ground under your weight.

At least, that was how it was supposed to happen. However, I was confused about the part where I somehow took his cane to the side of my head. How did he pull his cane back so fast after missing? As I was falling to the floor like a limp Noodle, I noticed he was holding his cane by the bottom end. He had definitely been holding it by the top when he swung it the first time, which means he had let go of his cane midswing, and sent his cane extending forward, only to grab the end before it went out of his reach. This old f*ck ruined my chances of getting into the academy! That was my last thought as my world turned black.