14 Standing His Ground


    ''----''


    ''"If that''s how you feel


    let''s do something about this. I have a very good idea


    why not fight me


    " Apollo declared. Unlike before


    his gaze was calm—frigid in fact. But behind that


    a madness burned as he continued to stare unmovingly into Axel''s eyes. Yet


    Axel found this matter laughable.''


    ''"Fight you? Haha


    are you stupid? Do you want to be hurt so badly?" Axel laughed hysterically as if he had just heard the funniest joke ever. Murmurs sounded amongst the other children as they made fervent conjectures; even Aaron interjected.''


    ''"Apollo


    don''t. You will just be hurt. He can wield at least 30 Zuls."''


    ''He was well aware of this fact


    so Apollo nodded his head. However


    his expression showed he wouldn''t calm down unless he did this. After all


    the one before him was the crux of his mistreatment.''


    ''"Aaron


    I know. But


    I am tired of being treated like this! I...I am bullied everyday and they ki-... I mean


    besides you


    no one else looks out for me. I don''t think this is how a child should be treated and I''m angry because of this. I just want to hit something! It''s like fists are the only thing that is heard around here."''


    ''Apollo''s childish voice filled with emotions as he grabbed his rags of clothing. Meanwhile


    Aaron''s heart clenched with pain. However


    the other children simply snickered. They grew up knowing might is right.''


    ''It was then Aaron made his decision. He clenched his fist while glaring at Axel


    "Then


    we fight together Apollo. Let''s go to the training field."''


    ''As Apollo and Aaron exited


    Aaron turned back to the shocked Axel


    "You had all those words


    are you coming?"''


    ''Naturally


    Axel couldn''t stand him trampling on his pride like this. He gestured to his group as they all left the Dining Hall. While outside was darkening


    it wasn''t to an extent that prohibited sight.''


    ''Eventually


    the entire group of children inside the Dining Hall left and headed towards the training area. They were nothing short of curious; they needed to know how things would turn out and it would provide excitement.''


    ''"Fine


    you both can come at me. It''s not like either of you are stronger than me


    " Axel chuckled. His provocations were childish


    but neither Apollo nor Axel paid attention to him.''


    ''On the other hand


    Aaron whispered words of encouragement to Apollo


    "Don''t worry about what happens


    just fight to your heart''s content and let out your frustrations."''


    ''"I will." Apollo nodded without delay. From his resolute gaze


    it was clear he meant what he said. The question was—could he deliver?''


    ''Meanwhile


    the commotion of all the kids reentering the training ground caught the attention of the adults. Standing outside the gates


    they silently watched. As a matter of fact


    Ashur was present with disturbing punctuality.''


    ''"Mm? A scuffle between the children? I wonder what happened that it escalated to this level."''


    ''A female voice replied


    "Oh


    it''s my son and...Apollo? Wait


    it''s Apollo? What are they doing?!"''


    ''"Oh you''re right Cynthia


    it is indeed that little twerp Apollo


    " Ashur grinned. Similar to Axel


    he seemed to have it out for Apollo. To feel strong


    he liked to prey on the weak.''


    ''Not long after the others


    Danyul appeared as well. However


    his thoughts sided more with Cynthia


    "Should we end the commotion before it escalates?"''


    ''"No


    don''t do that. That little twerp needs a beating. Let''s just stop it right before it gets out of hand


    " Ashur shook his head.''


    ''Although he didn''t fully agree with this decision


    he remained silent about this matter. Differently


    however


    he focused on the inconsistencies with Apollo


    ''Since yesterday


    this fellow feels different. He doesn''t feel as timid...he just feels—angry.''''


    ''Nevertheless


    the signs appearing on Apollo; Azridan was pleasantly surprised by them. As a result


    Azridan added his own thoughts.''


    ''[That is the spirit lad


    fight against your oppression. Do not let fear enter your heart. You must remember


    you will miss all opportunities of growth that you don''t attempt to claim.]''


    ''?System Alert! Battle Guidance Mode activated! Your movements will be influenced by the system. Embrace the feeling


    don''t fight it.?''


    ''[Lad


    you have never fought before. So listen to my instructions. There is a chance if you listen to me while fighting with this other young boy.]''


    ''"Okay."''


    ''?System Alert! New Mission.?''


    ''Quest Name: First Fight''


    ''Information: The basics of fighting are a foreign concept to you. However


    that is all about to change. Take part in your first fight ingraining the thrills of fighting into your soul.''


    ''Task-''


    ''-Attack under the Guidance Battle Mode. (0/1)''


    ''-Land 3 clean blows on your opponent. (0/3)''


    ''[?Bonus Task?]-''


    ''-Beat your opponent to triple your rewards.''


    ''Rewards-''


    ''- 300 Experience. (900 Experience if Bonus Task completed.)''


    ''-----''


    ''"How do you want to do this? Weapons


    or hands?" asked Aaron.''


    ''A shrug was all they received. Truth be told


    he didn''t care what the others used. The only thing he wanted to do now was for everyone to bear witness as he trampled over these two.''


    ''[Use the staff


    you''ve been training in it for two days. The movements should be relatively better than without it.]''


    ''Needless to say


    Apollo obliged and picked up the training staff. Surely enough


    it was the same one he used for daily training.''


    ''"That training weapon isn''t even a decent one


    pfft


    2 Zuls? Come on. Is that all you can wield? What an idiot. Why would you even challenge me when you''re like this?" Axel smirked. After seeing this


    the disdain he held for Apollo grew.''


    ''Suddenly


    Axel made his move. Before they could respond


    Axel dashed towards them. Aaron was well aware of the power gap


    thus


    he shifted in front of Apollo


    and raised his guard.''


    ''A muffled thud sounded as Aaron''s appearance turned serious. His forearms felt slightly sore from the one blow. To counterattack


    he lowered his body and performed a sweeping kick.''


    ''''Fwoosh!''''


    ''Axel tapped his foot lightly


    airborne for a moment.''


    ''[Now!]''


    ''Without delay


    Apollo sidestepped out of Aaron''s shadow.\xa0thrust the staff at Axel''s chest. Raising his eyebrows


    Axel chopped using his hand as a blade.''


    ''''Krtch!''''


    ''The training staff snapped in two pieces


    however


    this didn''t come as a surprise. Aaron spun and delivered two quick kicks which Axel blocked with his hands. While Aaron occupied him


    Apollo dashed and grasped the other broken half of the staff.''


    ''Furthermore


    he took the chance to inspect the information of everyone after noticing that battle mode was slightly different.''


    ''「Name: Axel''


    ''Health: 43/45''


    ''Cultivation: Rank 4 Mortal」''


    ''「Name: Aaron''


    ''Health: 33/39''


    ''Cultivation: Rank 3 Mortal」''


    ''''They have no levels


    so I guess that is exclusive to me.''''


    ''Amid his thoughts


    Axel kicked Aaron in his chest sending him tumbling back. His gaze turned to Apollo as he pounced.''


    ''Although he knew he was no match


    he was ready. Apollo held the two halves of the broken staff and took a stance. Additionally


    Azridan chimed in


    offering his input on the possible outcomes.''


    ''[He will mostly likely toy with you. There is a possibility your limbs will be his focus.]''


    ''Due to Azridan''s familiarity with battle


    Apollo took the words to heart. He remained vigilant. In due time


    Axel''s dangerous kick came.''


    ''Surprisingly


    Apollo pulled a tactic. According to Azridan''s input


    he checked the blow by lifting his leg with a small hop. If not


    the difference in strength would be enough to cause a fracture..''


    ''"Oh? That lad Apollo is moving in a way to mitigate the force Axel is using. Where did he learn that?" Danyul mused.''


    ''"Hmph


    that doesn''t matter. It doesn''t change the fact his body is weak. For that very reason


    Axel will end up winning even in this 2 to 1


    " Ashur rebutted.''


    ''On the other hand


    Cynthia remained quiet as she attentively watched the fight. Her attention was divided on both Apollo and Aaron.''


    ''?Damage received. -3 Health. 15/18 Health remaining.?''


    ''Although he followed the instructions


    the sheer difference in force still caused Apollo to wince after the blow. In response


    he executed a few retreating steps. But


    while doing so


    he observed Axel''s incoming punch. Once again


    he rose a guard and performed the same maneuver.''


    ''''Wham!''''


    ''Axel''s punch landed on Apollo''s crossed arms which sent him flying away promptly after. He tumbled for a while until he stopped next to Aaron.''


    ''"I think we should stop it now


    " Cynthia voiced. This fight wasn''t well matched even if there were two of them. It was time she stopped it.''


    ''However


    Ashur refused. "Wait


    no one is terribly hurt. Let them vent their frustrations. It''s just the harmless fight of kids."''


    ''Both Danyul and Cynthia looked at him with narrowed eyes as he said this. They wanted to know what his angle was


    there was nothing necessarily exciting take place. Yet


    he seemed to be enjoying this too much.''