Born in Blood



Liam made his way back to the next class with a dour look. The Tribulations were much more torturous than he imagined. 

The good thing was, his body was going to be the first to advance to the fourth. 

That meant his physical strength would be significantly better during his Defense Tribulation, and, if it applied, the Self Tribulation. 

…Well, no fret. He had time to prepare. 

The second class was battle prowess.

Liam, along with dozens of other youths, made their way towards the next class.

The battle class led by Janice was obviously not held inside a real classroom – instead, they would fight inside the Battle Halls.

Janice was already there when the group of youths arrived. She did nothing to hide her excited and joyous expression.

"Alright!" she exclaimed, her eye scouring the group of students. 

"Listen up! We're going to do some light dueling for starters. This class will help you increase your battle prowess, if you were too dumb to understand the self-explanatory name."

"If I spot any weakness in your fighting style, I'll point it out and help you improve. With that, everyone look for a fighting partner to duel with." 

The youths turned to one another and started to find their partners. 

Sveinn was there too, chatting with some red-haired girl. Rin and Nessa chose each other as partners, but the latter looked way weaker than the deaf girl.

On the other hand… Nord instantly appeared beside Liam.

"Do you mind?" he asked, respectful enough that Liam considered it.

"Fine," Liam replied after a short pause, causing Nord to smile and nod.

"Thank you."

Eventually, Janice gestured for everyone to duel one at a time. Spells were not allowed, and neither were grievous wounds (although Janice looked particularly sad when saying that). Only some techniques were allowed to be used.

The duels happened in no particular order, and some haughty nobles decided they were first to begin. There were roughly a hundred students there, so the fights could be somewhat entertaining.

Disappointingly, their duels were nothing catchy. 

Some still had Rank 2 bodies, and their prowess was undeniably underwhelming – most fights were stale. At times, both parties looked scared to make the first move and engage. Liam suppressed a chuckle when seeing a few of them horribly fail. 

They all used Rank 3 martial arts, though, which seemed to spice up the fights slightly.

In reality, it only looked boring through Liam's eye. 

He realized it wasn't that they were bad… he just saw everything they did with an unadulterated clarity.

Janice had the same perspective he did, though. She looked bored out of her mind, even sighing repeatedly as she gave the students tips now and again. 

Sveinn fought against the same red-haired girl he was talking to. Though, he purposefully went easy and lost against her. 

That made Liam lose any respect he might've had for the noble.

Finally, it was Rin versus Nessa next. 

Janice regained some of her lost excitement as the atmosphere grew tense.

Rin held two daggers in her hands. They were 7 inches long, made from the fangs of some wolf-type magical beast. Her face looked cold and focused, even when going against a 'friend'.

Nessa looked slightly fearful, but she clenched the inscribed staff in her hands tightly. Although an alchemist at heart, she had her fair share of fights.

"And… begin!" Janice exclaimed.

Instantly, Rin turned into a blur, her blades bursting into flames and smashing against Nessa's staff as she tried to defend. 

The attack caused her to skitter backwards and grunt, but she didn't have any time to catch her breath. 

A barrage of infernal dagger attacks pushed Nessa back and caused her to grunt in pain – warm sweat dripping down her face.

Each swing painted vibrant lines of orange in the air, and Rin didn't hold back in the least. 

The fight ended when Nessa desperately attempted her first counterattack, only for a dagger to kiss the side of her neck. 

The spectators looked at Rin with new eyes. 

She helped Nessa up with a curt nod, before assimilating with the crowd.

Meanwhile, Liam realized no one saw what he did. The fight was impressive, he admitted.

'She was smiling at one point. She definitely has some screws loose in her head.'

The teapot called the kettle black… but Liam didn't have time to think more, since Nord started walking in front.

'Oh, right. I still have my turn.'

Liam unsheathed his blades and walked in front. 

They weren't his usual black ones, but a cheap pair he'd bought from the armory. 

He didn't want to chip his remaining blades, only two pairs of which were left.

Nord wielded an intimidating glaive. It was sharp-tipped and longer than an adult, the handle of which was crimson red. It looked to be made from a dense metal, with intricate designs on the edges.

Somehow, this fight aroused more attention than the previous one. 

Janice had an ear-to-ear smile. 

Liam shook his head, slightly annoyed. 

'I just want to grow stronger in peace. They're all battle maniacs.'

Nord did not seem weak. Liam could guess that his battle prowess was somewhat close to Rin's.

Heaving a sigh, Liam waited for Janice's signal, which came instantly.

Nord stomped his foot and weaved in forward, glaive in hand as he tried to pierce through Liam's chest with his weapon.

Liam evaded with ease, deflecting a flurry of powerful wide swings that chipped parts of his blades. 

The glaive's sharpness was enhanced by Nord's wind, causing small cuts to appear on Liam's clothing despite it not touching. 

Liam's eye flickered with a dangerous glimmer. 

As the glaive pierced through his shoulder – forming a deep gash that revealed the black bone underneath – Liam gripped the hilt and pulled.

Nord was yanked forward, thereupon Liam headbutted the red-eyed boy with enough force that made the spectators wince, causing him to drop the glaive and fall a short distance away – nose broken and bloody.

Liam snorted out the bit of blood stuck up his nose, then fixed it, and sheathed his blades. The large gash on his shoulder slowly healed, but bloody cuts marred his body.

'That should be enough for them not to bother me.'