Chapter 65: Spar I

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Spar I

Unlocking another campus scooter with his silver student token, Eric glided smoothly down the broad, tree-lined thoroughfares of the Central Research Institution. The gentle afternoon breeze carried the crisp, refreshing scent of blooming flora as he leaned into a sweeping curve around an ornate marble rotunda.

*SKRRRRT—THUMP!*

Swerving around the blind perimeter hedge, another scooter came hurtling in from the opposite vector. Both riders jammed their mana-brakes in an instant; the reinforced rubber skidded violently across the damp cobblestones as their alloy handlebars clipped with a jarring metallic rattle.

"Hey, watch where the hell you’re—" Eric began, dropping a booted foot to the stones to catch his balance.

He froze mid-sentence, his eyes blinking in stunned recognition at the face glaring back at him.

"Wait... you’re that wind-dagger guy!" Eric pointed an accusatory finger. "Watch where you’re steering, man!"

The youth tossed his tousled hair, scowling as he rubbed his knee where the scooter chassis had nudged him. The instant his sharp, narrow eyes locked onto Eric’s face, his expression contorted into incandescent, volcanic fury.

"Bastard! You look where you’re going!" he snarled, his knuckles whitening on the rubber grips. "And aren’t you that shameless vulture who ambushed me during the national trials and stole fifty of my points?!"

Eric scoffed, leaning casually over his handlebars with an unbothered smirk.

"’Stole’? I put you flat on your back and dismantled your guard fair and square. But what I really want to know is how someone like you even got past the front gate. CRI enforces an eighty-point theoretical cutoff. I was under the impression this institution was reserved for scholars with functional brains."

"Why you—!" Thick veins bulged along the youth’s throat, his voice pitching high with wounded pride. "You think I’m an idiot?!"

Eric looked him up and down with an exaggerated, deadpan squint. "Based purely on observation? Yeah, that seems to be the working case."

"I’m gonna knock that smug grin clean off your face right here!"

*Kyuuu!*

The azure-furred Windrunner Fox bounded onto the front luggage platform of the scooter, letting out an anxious, chattering yip while pawing its master’s leather sleeve in a desperate attempt to rein him in.

Eric’s smirk widened, refusing to yield an inch. "You’re welcome to try. Just like back in the forest, you’ll be eating flagstones within three minutes."

*BZZZZ-CHIME.*

Before the enraged boy could reach for his belt, a hovering, spherical campus surveillance drone descended silently from the willow canopy, projecting a flashing amber grid of light across the flagstones between them.

[CAMPUS SECURITY PROTOCOL: CODE YELLOW]

Hostility vector detected.

Unsanctioned physical combat on public thoroughfares is strictly prohibited by institutional charter.

Authorized sparring matches permitted in designated arenas within Training Complex Alpha.

Eric tilted his head, reading the glowing script with mild intrigue. "Oh. There’s a regulated dueling arena on campus?"

The boy took a long, shuddering breath to wrestle his boiling temper into submission, waving his hand to disperse the drone’s projection with a sharp scowl.

"Seems like it," the youth spat, leveling a glare at Eric. "What’s the matter, country boy? Got the spine to step into a ring, or do you only know how to fight from the safety of bushes?"

"Yeah, sure," Eric grinned, kicking his scooter’s kickstand up. "Lead the way. Let’s see if your daggers have gotten any faster since that night."

The hovering drone rotated its directional thrusters with a soft whir, illuminating an emerald guidance vector along the cobblestones.

`[Follow unit to Training Complex Alpha: Open Sparring Ring #5 available.]`

Following the automated escort, the two freshmen rode down the western boulevard. Within five minutes, they pulled up before a massive, colosseum paved with interlocking granite slabs and reinforced by humming kinetic barrier pylons.

Five colossal octagonal arenas dominated the lower floor. Several were currently occupied by upperclassmen. Sparks, crackling shockwaves, and elemental detonations echoing crisply against the acoustic dampening wards as senior researchers tested advanced beast-taming tactics.

Fortunately, the fifth arena stood entirely vacant.

Docking their scooters into the designated magnetic bays, Eric stepped onto the perimeter walkway, rolling his shoulders to loosen the joints. He glanced sideways at his opponent and offered a surprisingly casual nod.

"I’m Eric, by the way."

The boy paused, his hotheaded scowl wavering for a fraction of a second beneath Eric’s relaxed demeanor, before he crossed his arms with a firm, prideful grunt.

"I am Edward," he replied, meeting Eric’s gaze squarely. "Let’s have a clean match this time. No cheap gimmicks."

Their entry hadn’t gone unnoticed. Leaning lazily against the brass railings of the upper spectator gallery, a small cluster of second-year students paused their conversation, amused eyes drifting down toward the newcomers.

"Hey, check out Ring Five. Freshmen already trying to tear each other apart before the opening convocation," a female senior chuckled, resting her chin on her knuckles. "How adorable."

"Care to put a few merits on the line?" a burly youth beside her grinned, crossing his arms over his chest. "My bet’s on the twin-dagger kid with the fox. Wind-aspected tamers usually run circles around early Soldier ranks."

"Nah, I like the crow tamer’s posture," she countered, pointing a slender finger toward the obsidian bird resting calmly on Eric’s pauldron. "He isn’t sweating at all. Five points on the crow boy."

Ignoring the light murmurs drifting down from above, Eric and Edward approached the equipment racks flanking the arena gate. To maintain student safety within the campus perimeter, all authorized sparring matches mandated the use of standardized, blunted alloy practice weapons fitted with kinetic dampeners.

Edward retrieved a pair of balanced iron alloy trench daggers from the rack, spinning them through his fingers with a crisp, practiced hum of wind.

Eric reached past the heavy broadswords and selected a standard, straight-bladed arming sword. He gave it two light test slashes through the air, feeling the familiar weight settle comfortably into his palm.

They stepped onto the granite platform.

*HUMMMM.*

A pale-blue hexagonal energy dome flickered to life over Ring #5, sealing both combatants securely within the boundary.

An automated proctor-construct hovering above the centerline lowered its glowing optical lens, scanning their student identification cards to log the official parameters.

[SPARRING MATCH: OFFICIALLY REGISTERED]

Combatant A: Eric (Soldier Lvl 2)

Contracted Beast: Bonepecker Crow (Soldier Lvl 2)

Combatant B: Edward (Soldier Lvl 3)

Contracted Beast: Windrunner Fox (Soldier Lvl 3)

Safety Protocol: Non-contact yield on kinetic breach.

The metallic referee construct hovered into the neutral pocket between the two boys, raising a mechanical indicator flag into the air.

"Combatants to your marks," the synthesized voice resonated crisply throughout the energy dome.

"Three... two... one... BEGIN!"ℯ𝔴ℯ