Adam, Duke and Selena entered the room and were greeted with marble corridors as they saw their classmates in the hall.

The whole air was thick with the earlier lessons and their history but felt like this will be able to help them release their pent-up tension.

Adam walked in silence with his friends, his silver hair streaked with violet strands catching the sunlight streaming through the hall, while the twins blond hair reflected on the sunlight.

Duke was excited for the lesson while Selena was just calm on the surface but Adam caught the faintest smile tugged on her lips.

"Ohh yeah!! I can't wait for this to start!" Duke said excitedly.

"What do you think will it happen today? Do you think it will just be military drills or they'll make us spar with each other?" Selena asked looking at Adam

"They might just do both." Adam responded calmly

"I'll take that over listening to professor Seraphim's lectures," Duke said with a sigh looking defeated

All the Class S students were now standing in one place while Adam and his friends were in the middle of the whole crowd.

They were in a hall with multiple round sized arena floors that pulsed faintly with runes along their surface, the place was a bit larger than their theory classroom

"Impressive"Adam admitted

The whole arena's were circular, with tiered stone seating riding high above the central floor.

At the center arena stood a woman. She was tall, lean and dressed in black combat leathers, her violet eyes were sharp and cold. Her long dark hair was tied in a high tail, and her arms were crossed as she waited for them.

"Okay line up you midgets!" She commanded as her voice cut through the noise like a blade.

All of the students in Class S then obeyed her instinctively.

"Okay my name is Veyra An S+ Rank Awakened," she said once everyone was gathered properly, her tone was unyielding like steel. "I'll be your combat instructor while your all here. Now let me get a few things out of the way first before we start." She said as her face was even more cold as if she was trying to make a point:

"Forget about theory, forget about all those little fantasies you held about being 'heroes', I'm pretty sure some of you saw an awakened on the tv or being revered as a hero and thought you'd be like them too... Well forget about that, in this academy and in this very arena, you will learn one thing and one thing only: how to fight."

Her gaze then swept across them for a moment, it paused on Adam just for a brief second before moving on.

"You aren't here to prove how your powers make you clever. Today you'll learn how to fight only using your body. No mana, no affinities, and not any of those flashy sword techniques of yours" she paused

She could hear some people look disappointed as some of them groaned, she just smashed her boots on the arena floor sending out a ripple of mana that made all of them silent.

"Quit your whining this is essential, what if your out of mana or what if you loose your weapon? What if your in a situation where you can't use your techniques or abilities what will you do then?"

She paused for a moment and looked at them, gauging their reactions that's when she saw that they understood what she was getting at, upon noticing this she smiled and then continued talking:

"Today you'll learn how to fight using only your bodies, your instincts and you'll also learn discipline. Don't whine and be little bitches about the rules I set. When your at death's door you don't always have the luxury of using your so called gifts."

Those words struck them like a hammer, which even made Brad flinch.

"Now today," she continued, her lips curved into something like a smirk, "You will be sparring against your fellow Students, It'll be the Second Years from Class S."

"What!?"

A lot of them exclaimed as they were in shock, even Graze was somewhat shocked but didn't complain while Duke was excited on the possibility of fighting someone strong.

Adam just glanced at him and thought "This black maniac"

"Shut it!" Veyra yelled. "If you think this is unfair? Then good, it means your beginning to understand the situation between where you stand and where you must reach. You'll won't always fight someone who's on your exact level when you go out there. Some will be stronger and some of them will be weaker. So step forward when your name is called. Don't embarrass me or you'll know what pain is." She flashed an evil grin which made everyone shiver

And then she gestured towards the opposite side of the arena as another group entered. They were older, stronger, exuding confidence that bordered on arrogance. Their ranks ranked from a C- to C+ ranked awakened, this was the Class S of the Second Years.

And among them, towering above the rest, his aura radiated that of a peak C ranked awakened recently solidified, this was Kael the Apex of the second Years.

His jet-black hair framed a brutal, sharp face. His eyes were cold, predatory, and like a beast who had already tastes blood and longed for even more. Even amongst the prodigies, his presence was already suffocating.

Kael's gaze flickered towards Adam. Their gazes met only for the briefest heartbeat. Some unspoken was passed between them, there was tension and recognition and also a challenge. Adam just looked away unbothered

This infuriated Adam but also looked away but a plan was already flashing in his mind "Today I'll make you kneel before me, I don't believe a freshman like you can defy me" he thought as he made a slight grin.

Veyra just clapped her hands dispelling the tension. "Now first match, Duke and Selena vin Celestine, will be sparring against Marcus and Sylvia."

________

(THE TWINS DUEL)

Duke and Selena exchanged a quick glance and they both nodded "Let's do this Sis, we work better together anyways" Duke said with a smirk while taking his stance

Selena just flashed him a smile as if agreeing with his words "True."

On the other side of the arena, there were also twins they had blue hair and green eyes, Marcus and Sylvia moved with a confidence that bordered on smugness.

"Remember, no mana," Veyra called while looking at the second years. "Begin!"

Upon receiving the go ahead Marcus whom was taller and broader, launched himself towards Duke.

Their class was both raw and heavy, their fists were slamming into their forearns, knees diving against thighs.

"Your better than I thought!" said Marcus

Duke just gritted his teeth, he was giving ground but refused to fall. "You haven't seen anything yet!"

Duke's raw strength was impressive, but Marcus on the other hand moved with practiced efficiency. Each one of his strikes was being carried with precision.

While on the other side, Selena's and Sylvia's duel was already underway. Selena danced lightly against Sylvia but she countered with ruthless sharpness.

This forced Selena to step back, sweat was dampening on her braid as she tried to slip past Sylvia's defenses, only to be caught by a sharp elbow to her ribs.

"Too sloopy princess!" Sylvia snapped as drived her back even further.

Adam watched the whole fight intently. The gap between them was clear, the other class has years of experience behind their belt.

They have fought before, went into gates and battled other awakened too. They refined their techniques through pain and repetition. But the twins were still holding their own which was even more impressive.

Finally, Marcus and Sylvia decided to end the spar right then and now.

Marcus caught Duke with a brutal hook that sent him sprawling to the ground and almost simultaneously, Sylvia swept Selena's legs from under her.

And just from that, the fight was over.

"Game!" Veyra announced "Winners: Marcus and Sylvia" her gaze then shifted towards Selena and Duke "Impressive you both held your ground but barely, learn from your mistakes."

The two of them staggered back to their side towards Adam, they were breathing hard but still standing tall.

Duke muttered under his breath, "Damn... That was rough but I won't loose next time." Selena just gave him a faint nod, her chest was heaving.

_____

Grace Amberfrost vs Raven

This was now the next match: Grace, a girl with sharp amber eyes was sparring against Raven whom was known for her speed amongst the second-years

Grace flexed her fists as she took her stance, firm and ready while Raven on the other hand was relaxed, almost too casual.

"Begin!"

Grace shot forward with predatory speed, her fists whistling against the air in quick arcs.

Raven just sidestepped effortlessly, her quick movements almost lazy.

Each time Grace lunged, she slipped through out of her reach, and responding with rapid quick counters, jabs to the shoulder, a kick to the knee and a sharp palm to the chest.

Within just a minute, Grace was on the ground, gasping for air.

"Winner: Raven!"

Veyra's voice cut through the silence, sharp as ever. "Good performance and determination Grace. But don't confuse power with recklessness. Power without control is nothing."

Grace just clenched her fists, biting down her lips in frustration as she returned to the line.

_____

More of the sparring matches followed in quick session. Some of the first years surpsied everyone by holding out longer than expected but it was somewhat expected of Class S. But other were crushed almost immediately.

The gap between them was undeniable, yet that was still fire in the eyes of the first-years.

Adam just stood there quietly, analyzing each of the fights taking in what he can. He wanted to see the patterns of strength and weakness which he was able to see at the end of the matches.

And then—

"Adam, Apex of The First-years," Verya's voice rang out, it was sharp and commanding, "against Kael, Alex of the Second-years"

That's when the whole arena fell silent

Every student, first-year and second-year alike turned their gaze towards the two, no one wanted to miss a moment of this fight

Kael stepped forward with a predator's grin "Finally."

Adam just exhaled slowly, stepping into the arena. His heart was already steady, his eyes were calm, but within him burned a quiet fire.

"Bring it."

This wasn't just any spar, this was a class between leaders of their respective years this was a spar between to Apex's and no one wanted to miss a single moment of this class.

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