Chapter 158 - Beatrix, the Goddess of Battle

  A few days had passed, and the only practical lesson we'd had was something basiana category manipution. The curriculum allowed for spaced-out csses, giving us time to either train or rest in our dormitories between sessions. Chloe tried to aally whe again in css, but I could see that her nerves got the better of her.

  There's still Cyl, who decided to sleep in today. I hope she gets over this sluggishness soon.

  I was on my way to the first css of the day, and I was thrilled when I found out it would take p the training grounds of the school, which meant it ractical css. Sometimes, the css would be split, and each group would have different lessons, so the teachers could give us more focused attention. From my circle of friends, only Edmund, Thyra, and I were attending this css, while the others were in a different one.

  We arrived at a vast green field. I noticed other students training here, who I guessed were knights using their free time for practice sihey already had positions in the army. The area was divided into ses, and my css was occupying one of them.

  “I ’t believe it’s a lesson with the Goddess of Battle!” a student excimed.

  We all lined up, eager to see the approag teacher, and I was curious to know who this "Goddess of Battle" was from the moment I first heard of her.

  There had only been two people with that title in my old world—Ares and then myself, after I killed him.

  In the distance, a beautiful blond elf woman walked towards us, dressed in a white coat over an outfit that was… well, rather charming and revealing.

  “Finally, haha! Thyra has been waiting for this the whole time!” Thyra said excitedly.

  She ged her way of speaking again… Maybe it fluctuates with her emotions.

  What surprised me was the enormous bck scythe hanging on her back.

  As she approached, she spoke in a quiet voice, so we had to strain to hear her. Then, she moved her hands, and I realized she was using wind magiplify her voice for us all.

  “Good m… I am Beatrix, your bat instructor,” she said, and silence fell over us as we waited for her to tinue.

  She yawned.

  “I’ll be teag bat, but first, I’ll be personally assessing each of your performances. Form a line and prepare to fight seriously against me. To be fair, I’ll be using only a sword and leaving the ‘Death Dao rest,” she said, taking the scythe off her bad swinging it, creating a gust of wind that blew some of the students back.

  A wind element user…

  “I’m a Transmitter of the wind element, but don’t be fooled… I’ve never lost a fight. I’ll be fighting you with a sword, without elemental power, just pure swordsmanship, while you’re allowed to use your best spells, evehal ones.”

  Beatrix pced her enormous scythe on a nearby table and picked up a training sword.

  “I’ll take it easy on you to assess your bat skills. If I end it with a single blow, you won’t learn anything. I’ll guide the fight a bit and stretch it out so that you uand what a bat Mage's fight entails. A bat Mage has to think of everything and be in harmony with their mana. They o sider their stamina, maheir mana reserves, and do it all simultaneously. You’ll have theoretical lessons on bat Mages ter, but today… you’ll be fighting against a goddess of battle,” Beatrix said, brandishing the sword.

  Everyone was excited.

  “Thyra wants to go first!” Thyra said, eagerly raising her hand.

  The teacher looked at the students.

  “Do you all mind if she goes first?” she asked.

  “Of course not!” replied a student.

  I think they’re too scared to face her, so they’re sending a ‘fool’ to go first—but the ‘fool’ volunteered herself…

  “Form a line a ready, wolf girl.”

  “Thyra is always ready!” Thyra decred.

  Beatrix:

  I instructed the students to form a line, as we were about to start our practical session. I wouldn’t be the only one leading these csses; specialized instructors would be handling most of the lessons until everyone was on the same level, especially those who had never wielded a on. Our initial goal was to get the novices past the basics, readying them for real bat. Later oeran students would join as instructors, sharing their experieo ensure a solid foundation for all.

  Most of the students here e from wealthy noble families, awakeo magic but g military training. Not being from military families, they have grown reliant solely on their magical abilities, without uanding the importance of wielding a sword. My goal today is to instill ihe responsibility and experience of close bat.

  Many of these students were fortuo be born as Emitters, but even they find themselves in trouble if an enemy gets close enough.

  In front of me stood the wolf girl, the director's apprentice, who has been trying to challenge me for a rematch ever since she lost to me during training.

  Thyra is unique, no doubt, with her bestial form advao the point of retaining part of its power even in her human form. However, her impulsiveness often leaves her oep behind.

  “The wolf will celebrate tonight!” she excimed, grinning with sharp teeth and fshing her cws.

  “It’s daytime, you idiot,” I replied.

  We positioned ourselves a few meters apart, ready to fight.

  “Aren't you going to use any on?” I asked, watg her.

  “My hands are ons!” She answered fidently.

  I sighed and drew my sword, adjusting it into position.

  “I don’t want to beat you like this. I want you to use your wind element,” she insisted with determination.

  I shook my head, deing.

  “If I do that, I’ll hurt you,” I expined.

  ‘Tsk,’ she clicked her tongue in frustration.

  “You’re already refusing to use your scythe, and now you won’t use your element? How’s Thyra supposed to enjoy celebrating your defeat?” She taunted, clearly annoyed.

  I looked at my sword, p for a moment.

  “Fine,” I ceded. “I’ll use a part of my element. I’ll let you make the first move, then I’ll strike back.”

  “Prepare yourself! Thyra’s going to kill you!”

  “I think I’m going to ask your aunt to put you on time-out,” I teased.

  “Don’t tell her that!” She visibly blushed, a slight redness appearing on her cheeks.

  I chuckled softly, whily served to irritate her further.

  “You’re trying to mess with Thyra’s head!” She protested.

  “A battle starts in the oppo’s mind,” I replied. “e on, puppy dog.”

  “WOLF! Thyra is a wolf!” she shouted.

  Then, she charged at me with impressive speed, leaping toward me with her cws ready. In a swift motion, I sidestepped and, with a simple fli her forehead, knocked her down with ease, eling my wind element into the gesture.

  "Too slow!" I decred, as the force of the wind I geed with my finger blew her ba a gust.

  The students were taken aback by my strength. That was the power of wind armor bined with an explosive spell.

  Thyra was thrown back, but she mao twist in mid-air, nding skillfully. Her cws dug into the ground, halting the momentum from my strike. She spat out a k of grass that had likely flown into her mouth with the wind bst.

  “I didn’t know wolves were herbivores,” I teased, chug.

  “Go fuck yourself!” she yelled, charging at me furiously.

  She’s definitely mad, I thought, amused.

  Thyra came at me swiftly, almost like a beast on all fours, her hands funing as paws propelling her forward at high speed. Then, I noticed something ued: she began to el her Transmitter abilities, c her fists with stone armor.

  Surprisingly, she ripped off pieces of that armor and hurled them at me with force.

  She used the stone armor on her hand as a projectile, hurling the rocks with her overwhelming strength. This will give her a signifit advantage. Her throwing power is much faster and strohan that of a mere She.

  The stones hurtled toward me at great speed, but at the st sed, they shattered in the air. From within them, a dark brown cloud emerged, scattering numerous mud needles. I immediately realized her strategy: she had hidden these needles ihe stones.

  I moved quickly, dodging the falling needles. I whipped up the air around me, creating a strong gust of wind that drove them to the ground before they could hit anyone nearby.

  “Die!” Thyra yelled, emerging from the dust cloud, leaping toward me with her fist poised to strike. She came crashing down, nding a pun the ground.

  ‘BAM!’

  I used my wind power to propel myself to the side, avoiditack. The ground trembled with the impact, leaving a deep crater where her punch had nded. A few of the students around us stared i the damage she had caused.

  She’s not holding back.

  Thyra charged again, this time throwing small stones from her fist, clearly trying to distract me. I watched her movements carefully and saw the exaent she took off, resulting in an explosive burst of speed.

  She’s using part of her bestial form in her legs… impressive.

  “Hahahahaha!” She ughed wildly as she closed the distance, delivering quid precise blows with her cws. I parried each strike, defleg the impact away from the students, ensuring that no one would get hurt actally as I maneuvered us further away from them.

  I seized an opening, dodging to the side and, with a swift movement, lifted my knee, hitting Thyra in the abdomen. She lost her bance for a sed, giving me enough time to flick her forehead again. The impact sent her flying across the field as I maintained plete trol over the situation.

  “Where’s the little wolf who was going to celebrate my demise?” I asked, ughing as I watched Thyra quickly get ba her feet and rush toward me.

  “Lanud!” she shouted, running on all fours with agility, ung spikes that exploded upon hitting the ground. The terrain around us began to be covered in mud, making movement more challenging.

  Thyra took advantage of the terrain, sliding across the mud as she closed in to strike me. I dodged with ease, pushing myself downward and evaditacks.

  "Mud Pilr!" she shouted again, and a n of mud rapidly rose up, lifting her into the air.

  "Boost!" Her feet erupted with mud, and she came at me with high speed, like a ravenous wolf, aiming straight for my neck. Her iy showed she was fully immersed in the fight, not holding back at all.

  "Weak," I murmured, timing it perfectly. I made a swift movement, spinning the sword and striking her with the hilt directly iomach, releasing a burst of wind that sent her flying back again, as if she were a leaf in the wind.

  "Ah!" she spat blood as she flew backward.

  I raised my hand toward her while she was still airborne.

  "Great Wind Bst!" I jured a massive ball of wind that collided with her, sending her even further away. She bounced along the ground, rolling until she crashed into the academy wall.

  ‘Boom!’ The impact left a hole in the wall, and Thyra fell to the ground, motionless. The students arouared, wide-eyed, and then turheir gazes to where she y sprawled on the ground.

  "Did you kill her?" one of the students asked, voice trembling with .

  "Of course not. She’s a powerful demi-human; it would take a lot more than that to kill her. I just pushed her away with a wind bst."

  Some of the students started moving closer to where she had nded.

  "Don’t worry, this happens all the time. Soon a Helper will show up to fix the wall and the ground," I expined, notig their fused and worried looks.

  "We’re not worried about the wall; we’re worried about her," one of the female students retorted.

  I shrugged. "That wolf tries to kill me all the time. I know she’s fine. Right, Thyra? Stop pretending you’re dead so you try to sneak attack my neck when I get close."

  'Tsk,' she clicked her toill lying on the ground, but slowly got up, brushing the dirt off.

  "Thyra wants a rematch!" she decred, her challenging gaze shining in her eyes.

  "When you stop being a little pup, I'll give you a rematch," I taunted as she stormed off. "You’re nowhere near ready to face the Death Dancer."

  She turned back with anger, but she knew she’d have to wait for another ce.

  The students watched as Thyra walked away, still stunned.

  "Was she faking?" a girl asked, surprised.

  "Of course she was," I replied.

  "Where’s she going? She’ll miss the lesson," the student said, ed.

  "She’s probably off to train. Thyra hates losing, and it's best to let her go," I expined, adjusting my stance for the demonstration.

  "Who’s ?" I asked, looking at the students. They shifted their gazes between the hole in the wall aepping back a bit.

  Maybe I did overdo it a little...

  "I want to fight!" said a boy, stepping forward with determination.

  "Good to see someone volunteering, or I would have to pick. Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you," I reassured him.

  The boy stepped out from the crowd, walking up to me as the other students backed away, still hesitant.

  "I’ll go easy too. Let’s just dance a bit with the bdes," he said, drawing a sword with a fident look.

  "What’s your name?" I asked, sizing him up.

  "Nathan Evenhart," he replied, smiling.