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The sound of weapons clashing reverberated inside the training area of the Dud Manor.
Ethan, unleashed a flurry of spear strikes at Nicole, and the latter either deflected, blocked, or parried it with relative ease.
This showed the difference in battle experience, and clearly, the one who had the upper hand was the pink-haired beauty whose breathing was still relatively stable.
Ethan, on the other hand, panted for breath as he used the back of his hand to wipe away the sweat that was blocking his vision.
“Let’s take a fifteen minute break,” Nicole said before lowering down her rapier. “The way you are now, nothing much will change even if we continue.”
Ethan reluctantly nodded his head after hearing Nicole’s proposal. Although he really wanted to continue, he needed to regain his calm in order to fight properly.
“Here, wipe your face first,” Chloe said as she handed a towel to Ethan.
“Drink this after,” Luna stated as she offered him a mug of water.
Seeing this scene, Nicole could only roll her eyes because the blue-haired boy was getting the VIP treatment from three beautiful girls.
It was only eight in the morning, and yet, she had been sparring with Ethan for over an hour.
He had asked Nicole to help him train in preparation for his fight against Lily Langley of Jaeger Manor and Kurt Hale of Terra Manor.
These two teenagers were both the Pillars of the First Years, and that alone spoke volumes. This was especially true after Lily’s one-sided victory against Alice, who didn’t even have the chance to mount a counterattack before she was defeated.
That battle had made Ethan realize how truly lacking he was, so he decided to use the time he still had left to train as hard as he could.
For her part, Nicole had given Ethan plenty of advice about how to react to certain situations during combat.
The pink-haired beauty was truly invested in training Ethan in order to get the upper hand against the two-faced Lily, whom she considered as the strongest First Year of Brynhildr Academy.
“Ethan, although I don’t want to raise your hopes up, there is a possibility that Lily won’t use all of her abilities in her fight against you,” Nicole said after Ethan finished drinking the mug of water that Luna had given him.
“Is it because she wants to hide her true strength?” Ethan asked.
Nicole nodded. “Yes. That girl will definitely not go all out in her fight against you. But, that doesn’t mean that she won’t seriously try to win. She has a reputation to uphold, you know? Even if she has to act like a cutie pie in front of so many people.”
Nicole’s words were filled with sarcasm, and it made Ethan chuckle a bit.
He understood that the current him was no match for Lily if she really transformed into her Demi-Wolf form.
Although he had improved by leaps and bounds after practicing his Martial Skills, it was nowhere enough to match the unbelievable display of fighting ability that Lily had shown in her fight against Alice.
“How’s Alice?” Ethan asked. “She must be very disappointed after losing to Lily.”
“Oh, you best she is.” Nicole giggled. “Seeing her face become colder than ever before made my day today. I’m glad I wasn’t the candidate that represented Eques Manor in this tournament.”
The mirth in Nicole’s voice was the real deal, and it seemed that she was really happy that the one that actually fought against Lily was Alice.
Because of this, she was able to see the Eques Manor’s Ice Queen’s unresigned face, which mirrored the overall mood of the members of Eques Manor after losing in the tournament.
A few minutes later, the two once again returned to their sparring much, and this time, Ethan’s attacks had become more quick and aggressive, making the pink-haired beauty smile.
“He’s pushing himself too hard again,” Chloe muttered. “He’s still the same.”
“What do you mean by pushing himself too hard again?” Luna asked Ethan’s cousin, who had grown up with him.
“When he feels that people have expectations of him, he tries his best to meet them,” Chloe replied. “If possible, I don’t want him to be this way.”
Luna nodded her head in understanding. She knew that feeling very well because her family also had high expectations of her.
However, after discovering her limitations, these expectations were shattered.
Now, their family was rooting for her older brother, who was currently a Third Year in the Schwartz Manor to bring glory to their family’s name.
Luna was fine with this not only because her brother was truly gifted in magic, but because the two of them were very close.
Although he acted arrogant and aloof and was even thought to be standoffish by the students of the Academy, her brother was actually kind and caring.
Not many people knew that Luna’s brother, Rowan, was the “overly protective” older brother type, who would not hesitate to cast black magic to those who bullied his sisters.
He doesn’t show this behavior in the Academy, but whenever it was only Luna and him in private, Rowan would often give his sister protective charms that would instantly activate if someone dared to harm her.
The angelic beauty usually equipped these charms whenever she went out on missions, ensuring her safety. 𝒩𝔬𝑣𝒍xt.𝗰𝓞𝓂
While Ethan and Nicole were in the midst of their sparring match, George arrived in the training area with a mischievous smile on his face.
“Ethan, you have a guest,” George said in a teasing tone. “A top-class beauty I might add. It seems that our boy here is truly getting popular with the ladies. I’m not gonna lie, I feel really envious of you right now.”
Chloe and Luna, who both heard that a top-class beauty was looking for Ethan, glanced in George’s direction with a frown.
“Who is it?” Ethan asked.
He could tell that his senior was just teasing him. However, he was still curious about who this girl was, and wondered why she was looking for him.
“Alice Quinn,” George replied with a smile. “It seems that she has come to talk to you about something really important.”
When Chloe, Luna, and Nicole heard that the one looking for Ethan was Alice, all of them became really curious.
She was the last girl that they expected to come looking for Ethan, especially after losing to Lily.
“Understood.” Ethan nodded. “I’ll go see her right now.”
Naturally, it was not only Ethan who left the training area to meet Alice.
Chloe, Luna, and Nicole went as well, leaving George behind with an amused look on his face.