Shaan woke up to birds chirping outside his bedroom window, which had been left open all night. No wonder—last night's training session with Mr. Maximus had been crazier than ever, leaving his entire body sore. He had even forgotten to close his window as he usually did. Worse yet, he hadn't even changed his clothes and had fallen asleep.
"Ugh, crap." Shaan stretched his body. "It seems that yesterday's training still makes my body feel sore."
Although yesterday's training had been grueling, Shaan had finally managed to knock out that damn training dummy which kept following him around. It was all because of his efforts and also thanks to the advice of Mr. Maximus for teaching him special tricks to knock out the damn training dummy. At least now, his confidence in defeating Theo was increased.
"I'd better hurry up and change my clothes. Ugh, I smell like rotten fish."
After a few minutes of cleaning himself in the toilet, the bad smell which covered his body all night had finally disappeared. Good, at least now his appearance was much fresher than before. He then picked up his clothes and quickly made his way to the main kitchen for breakfast before going to the training area to continue the sparring session.
***
"Today, we will continue our sparring session." Mr. Luis said, looking at Shaan and Theo, who were already in the arena. "Theo, are you ready?"
"Yes, I am." Theo smiled, looking at Shaan with an intimidating gaze. "I will finish this fight as soon as possible."
"Shaan, what about you?"
"I'm ready too." Shaan gripped his dual short swords tightly with vigor. "I will do my best."
"Then, let's start today's sparring session!"
Shaan and Theo rushed together at full speed, launching attack after attack at each other. Their strengths seemed to be evenly matched, making the atmosphere in the sparring area tense.
'Cling! Cling!'
'Damn. Theo's strength is much stronger than I expected.'
"Interesting. I simply don't expect a lowly person like you to be able to withstand my attacks." Theo smiled wickedly. "However, are you sure you can withstand my next attack?"
'Huh? What do you mean-'
Suddenly, Theo's mana flow quickly wrapped around the surface of Theo's sword, and instantly, Theo's power became twice as strong as before. Realizing that, Shaan quickly used his mana to wrap his dual short swords before Theo launched his attack.
'Cling! Cling!'
Several minutes had passed, but the match was by no means over. Unfortunately, Theo continued to attack repeatedly, making it even more difficult for Shaan to attack him. Even worse, Shaan's body had not fully recovered from last night's training, and he was starting to get exhausted from Theo's attacks.
"Damn, I should be able to think of another way to get-"
'Clang!'
Theo's hard blow instantly made Shaan's defense falter, causing him to fall to the ground. Unfortunately, one of his dual short swords slipped out of his grasp, making his position even more disadvantageous.
"Hey, hey, just give up already," Theo said, walking casually toward Shaan. "I told you, a lowly person like you can't match the power of a noble family like me. It's time to end this match."
'No. I can't give up. I must defeat Theo!'
Just as Theo was about to raise his sword to end the match, Shaan, with all his might, stood up and threw the only short sword in his hand at Theo with lightning speed. Theo, who wasn't expecting the attack at all, quickly swung his sword and parried the impromptu attack.
"Damn it! You think with such a cheap attack, you can-"
Shaan quickly showed up and pushed Theo hard enough for him to fall to the ground. He then took his dual short swords then pointed the tip of his dual short swords right at Theo's neck. Everyone who witnessed that was immediately dumbfounded and did not expect that anyone other than Nalira would be able to defeat Theo.
"It's over, Theo. You're already...." Shaan rounded his eyes as he realized Theo's body had suddenly disappeared, and only electric sparks remained in front of his eyes. "Wait, but how-"
'Plak!'
A hard blow suddenly flew right at Shaan's head, making his body immediately lie weakly on the ground. He slowly turned his gaze and saw that the blow came from Theo, who appeared from behind him. Damn. What the hell is going on? Why did Theo suddenly appear behind me?"
"I admit I'm quite impressed with your ability to corner me for a while." Theo smiled. "However, it seems that your strength is not yet comparable to mine."
"Ehem. Well, since Shaan is completely unable to continue the match, then this sparring session is won by Theo," said Mr. Luis, then turned his gaze towards Theo. "Theo, your skills with a sword are excellent, and you're very good at using your special powers when you're in a pinch. Very good tactics to turn the tide."
"Thank you for your compliments, Mr. Luis."
'So it turns out Theo was using his special ability. No wonder he can be like that.'
"And Shaan, I admit your sword skills are quite good, even though they are not as good as Theo's. But with your ability to read the situation, you were able to match his strength and almost beat Theo. That's a good thing. Keep it up and keep practicing your skills."
"Yes, Mr. Luis. I understand."
"Good. A very interesting match. I'm sure if you two continue to hone your skills, you'll both become strong Dameonists."
"Yes, Mr. Luis," they said in unison
"Now, it's time for us to move on to the next sparring session."
***
A few hours later, the sparring session finally ended. Mr. Luis then ordered everyone to leave the room and return to their respective rooms. Still feeling disappointed with his performance during the match, Shaan quietly followed the group that preceded him back to his room.
"I was so close. A little more, and I could have beaten Theo." Shaan let out a long sigh. "Ah, forget it... Instead of thinking about it, I'd better rest and-"
"Shaan!"
'Huh? Who called me?'
Hearing his name being called, Shaan immediately turned his head. His expression immediately tightened when he saw that the voice calling him was his mentor, Mr. Maximus. The man was sitting in one of the chairs along the corridor that led to his room. Without hesitation, Shaan approached Mr. Maximus and asked.
"Mr. Maximus? What is going on?"
"There is something I want to tell you. Do you mind if I interrupt you?"