Chapter 73: Terrible at Control
"That's pretty cool," Tam mumbled, observing the boy scramble to run. "Hey, Sela, how did he do it?"
Arsela shot him a disapproving gaze. "Don't call me by my nickname," she said.
"Why? It sounds nice," Tam said. "Not to mention, I'm the closest friend you have."
"I don't even know anything about you," Arsela snorted.
Tam shrugged. "Anyway, what kind of skill was that?"
"I'm not sure," Arsela said. "It's some kind of aura control. It is the type of skill that the system didn't count in your status page."
"Why?" Tam frowned.
"I don't know." Tam didn't hear that from Arsela that often. "It's likely because the system is unable to divide them into ranks, if they are even possible."
"How do we learn it?" Tam asked. Shutting up snotty kids without even lifting his hand was something he would like to have.
"Don't waste time; the two minutes are almost up."
Tam stood up and turned his attention to where Dirk Archer was fighting the grey-haired instructor. Both of them were swordsmen, and from the outside, it looked like they were using identical sword arts.
The chance of the two of them learning the same sword art was pretty small, which could only mean that--
"How do you know our family's Untamed Wind Sword art?" Dirk asked, his voice accusatory.
"Is that the name of it?" The instructor raised an eyebrow and attacked similarly with the flow of the Untamed Wind Sword stance.
"How?" Dirk asked, parrying the attack.
"What do you mean 'how'? You taught me this move," the instructor said. "I must say, though, it's quite lacking. I haven't seen the sword art at its fullest form, but from what you showed me, it's clear you haven't practised well."
Dirk Archer's face turned red. "What do you mean? Everyone says I'm a genius," Dirk said. "I learned all six stances at the age of fourteen."
"As you say, boy," the tall instructor had a smile on his lips, which was quite annoying even to Tam, who wasn't facing him. "But you haven't mastered them. From the looks of it, it appears--"
Warden flashed forward using the third stance, his blade slashing toward the kid's shoulder. However, when the boy was about to block the move, the blade feinted, aiming for his calves and hurling him to the ground.
"--you have inherited flaws from the one who taught you as well," Warden finished, the boy still glaring at him accusingly, as if he had defied their ancestor's tomb. "Get up."
"What is happening?" Tam whispered to Arsela. Although his stats were higher than anyone in the class, there was a gap in knowledge preventing him from understanding it clearly.
Arsela kept her eyes on them but didn't offer any explanation.
"Why are you all still resting?" the instructor barked at them. "Begin sparring."
"Are all interned instructors like this?" Tam whispered to Arsela again, taking a position against the pair they were up against.
"No," Arsela said. "Even most of the professors aren't as strict."
"You two want to join the others in the run?" The instructor snapped at them, causing them to skid on their feet.
"No, sir," Tam and Arsela shouted at once.
"Then begin practising."
Tam sucked in a breath. "I'll take the offence; you assist me," he said and jumped at the opponents. They were heavy weapon wielders, one with an axe and the other with a mace, but Tam wouldn't have to worry, as their attribute points were much lower than his.
He was probably twice as strong as them, even though both of them dwarfed him in height and muscle. Bless the system for that.
Tam could have taken both of them on his own, albeit with a couple of blows, but with Arsela assisting him, he defeated them rather easily.
The results weren't any different in the next two turns either, though it became somewhat difficult for him as the pair of heavy weapon wielders began to take notice of his power and closed in without leaving him with space.
"Exchange partners with the other pair," the instructor commanded, "and begin sparring. You have two minutes."
Arsela went along with the axe warrior, who was slightly better than the mace wielder, as they began sparring against each other.
In the first turn, Arsela defeated the mace wielder quickly, and with her partner, ganged up on him. Tam gritted his teeth as blood oozed out from the blows Arsela inflicted on him. He mostly parried the axes, as it would be too troublesome to heal.
He surged his energy to enhance his physical capabilities to the limit, unable to handle the two of them in his easygoing mode. He finally managed to claim victory, albeit after getting a few more cuts.
Tam hadn't thought it would be this difficult. In the next round, he went after Arsela first, as she played the crucial role in the previous round. She knew she couldn't defeat him on her own, so she did her best to waste time until the axe wielder defeated his old partner.
That he managed, causing Tam to curse under his breath. It would be difficult again.
Tam winced heavily, barely managing to defeat them in a two-against-one. His channels were quite strained with all the effort he put in. He would probably be unable to remain undefeated in the next round.
"You," the instructor called.
"He's calling you," Arsela said, nudging him.
Tam lifted his head immediately. "Me?"
The instructor nodded. "Come here," he said. "Rest up for two minutes. You'll fight Dirk next."
Tam quickly sat down to calm the wild energy within him. Two minutes were barely enough to recover his lost energy or heal the wounds, but it was enough for him to fight someone in a one-on-one combat.
"Come on, genius," Tam said to Dirk Archer, leaping to his feet. "We haven't got all day."
Dirk Archer took a stance, but then the instructor's words broke in.
"Both of you are terrible at control," the instructor said, "compared with the attribute points you have. But you two are terrible at different things, try to learn something out of the spar."