As Kaiser, Adriel, and Hella walked past the jeering crowd, the air crackled with hostility. Hella maintained a noticeable distance from Kaiser and Adriel, a solitary figure amidst the rising tide of animosity.
"Look, it's the abominations!" one voice sneered, cutting through the general murmur. "These abominations shouldn't even be allowed to use swords!" another chimed in, their words dripping with disdain. A third voice, dripping with suspicion, added, "I wonder why the First Elder even allowed the abomination in Nandaka."
Adriel, his patience worn thin, retorted, "Why are you guys jealous of our victory?" The crowd responded with cold, piercing glares.
Kaiser offered a half-smile. "At least we got a nickname, even though it's a bit bad."
Adriel, enjoying the confrontation, continued, "You remember that idiom, right? When elephants come, dogs bark." The crowd bristled, their faces contorted in fury. "How dare you insult us!" one person roared. "You are nothing without that sorcery and madness!" another shouted.
"We wouldn't even need those to defeat you," Adriel shot back, his voice dripping with contempt.
Kaiser, sensing the futility of further argument, interjected, "Well, Adriel, what's the point of arguing with worms? Let's watch the match."
They turned their attention to the ongoing swordsmanship match. Adriel yawned dramatically. "They are so boring," he lamented, "taking so much time! I mean, I know they're weak, but this weak? It's just annoying."
"For some reason, I too find it boring," Kaiser admitted, a rare moment of agreement between them.
Adriel continued, "Despite you having mediocre swordsmanship, you are still stronger than them because you can outwit your opponents – all except me. But they don't have anything special."
Hella, who had been listening silently, finally spoke, her voice laced with a cynical edge. "You're saying all this like you expected them to fight a good battle. I already knew they would fight like that."
The people in the crowd merely gritted their teeth, unable to deny the harsh truth. Kaiser's team was right; this fight paled in comparison to Hella's brutal two-on-one, Adriel's relentless clash with Clara, Sentry's terrifying display against Ken, or even Kaiser's cunning victory.
"I would have preferred to see Sentry's tower attempt instead of this," Adriel muttered, shaking his head. "By the way, why can't we see his tower attempt?"
Kaiser, choosing his words carefully to appease Adriel's pride, explained, "It's because Sentry is way too strong. He was strong enough to break Ken's sword in half with just his sword slash. They said that while the Tower Master fights him, the other eight Tower Masters would keep a watch on him until he forms his own sword verse." He then added, almost as an aside, "However, they don't know that you are stronger." This subtle flattery worked, preventing Adriel from spiraling into another argument.
"Well, whatever," Adriel conceded, dismissing the ongoing match with a wave of his hand. "I'm way too bored by these people. How about we go practice swordsmanship?"
"Sure," Kaiser readily agreed. He and Adriel headed towards the training area, with Hella following them, maintaining her customary distance.
After a day of their intense swordsmanship practice, Sentry finally arrived. "So, Sentry," Kaiser asked, "did you pass the first tower?"
Sentry rubbed his temples, a faint grimace on his face. "They said that I passed the first tower, but I don't know whether my second personality really made a sword technique."
Adriel grinned. "Then the only way to test it is to fight!"
"Oh no, not right now," Sentry quickly protested, his head throbbing. "My head is hurting. We'll fight another time."
Three days later, another notice of matches appeared on the bulletin board. This time, Kaiser, Adriel, Sentry, and Hella were all present, their names prominently displayed. Their opponents: Joshua's team, widely regarded as one of the strongest in the academy, comprised entirely of experienced fighters. To add to the challenge, the battle was slated to take place on their home turf: the grasslands.
Sentry, surprisingly, smiled, a wry, almost manic grin. "Someone is targeting us," he remarked.
"Definitely," Kaiser replied, his expression grim.
Sentry chuckled, a hint of desperation in his amusement. "If we weren't dead before, we definitely are now."
Adriel, perplexed by Sentry's uncharacteristic calmness, asked, "Why are you smiling? Usually, you'd be crying and panicking."
"I've just gone mad with all these matchups," Sentry confessed, his smile widening. "And accepted my defeat."
As Kaiser, Sentry, and Adriel walked towards the training area, Hella, for once, walked alongside them, not at a distance. Kaiser, seizing the moment, spoke to the group. "There's still a chance of winning," he stated, his gaze fixed on Hella, "if Hella would join us."
All three of them looked at Hella. Hella, meeting their gazes, a flicker of something unreadable in her eyes, finally conceded. "You all couldn't do a thing without me. Fine, I will work with you, just this once." In her mind, Hella harbored her own intricate plan for this fight: to shed every lingering feeling of connection she had recently felt, and once more become the lone wolf she believed herself to be.
"But even though we get Hella to cooperate with us now, we still would have to work not just once or twice, but a hundred times more," Sentry declared, his earlier despair replaced by a fierce determination.
"Then we will," Kaiser affirmed, his voice resolute. "Adriel, Hella, are you ready?"
"Sure," Adriel said, his usual enthusiasm bubbling to the surface.
"Whatever," Hella grunted, her words dismissive, yet her presence spoke louder than any verbal commitment. As they reached the training area, they put on their gear and took out the wooden swords.
And so, Kaiser, Adriel, and Hella stepped onto the training field. They began to practice. They started fighting a 3-person fight with each person trying to defeat the other 2 people to learn how to fight multiple opponents and also how to choose the right timing of attack for preparing for the most formidable challenge they had yet faced.