Free Web NovelChapter 24: Winner: Theon Grey
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The next morning, the usual routine went by quickly.
Lucius acted as their alarm as usual. They all took their baths and changed into their white and gold uniforms before leaving for the cafeteria.
On their way there, Theon still received countless looks but it seemed less exaggerated than it did the day before.
They still had to move through secluded areas to avoid unforeseen circumstances.
When they reached the cafeteria, Theon’s eyes immediately scanned the hall looking for a single person— but Adrian was nowhere to be found.
It was comforting to say the least, but it was abnormal that Adrian wasn’t present.
He usually never missed coming to the cafeteria in the mornings.
His reason.
To meet Theon of course.
’It’s best I avoid any confrontation with him from now on,’ Theon sighed.
They looked for an empty table, and sat there before eating.
Lucius didn’t allow them eat peacefully, constantly bringing up meaningless discussions.
He really never got tired of talking.
Lucius later had to shut up though, as they were unfortunately joined by Amy who immediately took a seat beside Theon.
The table became more quiet thanks to Amy’s arrival. She still asked questions like how their night went and whether they were all fine.
But it was weird. Seeing Lucius so quiet. So calm and composed. It was an abnormal sight for Theon, Damon and Reed.
Lucius never stopped talking, no matter who he was in his company. And yet there he was, eating calmly without saying a single word.
They all simultaneously turned and glanced at Amy who ate calmly as well, then back at Lucius.
Then like light bulbs, their eyes all simultaneously lit up.
A singular thought flashed through all their heads. ’Maybe Amy should stay with us more often.’
They soon finished eating and left the cafeteria.
Amy left for the Solaris hall, while both Lucius and Reed headed for the Ironveil hall leaving Damon and Theon alone.
Since Damon wasn’t able to participate in the previous class, Theon decided to use this opportunity to recap everything that occured.
Including the talk about the ranking events and the training that Miss Sylvia planned for them.
"What!? The ranking events?" Damon’s eyes widened beneath his glasses. "I mean, I heard rumors but I didn’t think they were true."
He muttered quietly.
"Why are you so surprised?" Theon asked with raised eyebrows. "Aren’t the ranking events a normal activity that takes place every year?"
"They are, but they usually take place at the end of the semester." Damon adjusted his glasses for like the fifth time today. "The fact that the academy is rushing things this much means something must be happening. Instructor Sylvia offering to train us just solidifies my claims."
’He’s right,’ Theon thought to himself. ’What if the academy is preparing for something, and they need to rush the ranking events to test the current capabilities of the students.’
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Theon and Damon stood in front of two large metallic doors with a floating pad beside it.
They were inside the Ashborne hall, but they didn’t go to the lecture halls, instead they stood in front of the training hall that was allocated to the Ashborne hall.
Each Hall had their own training halls built within them. The last training hall that Theon had visited was the general one built for all students.
But each Hall had their own training facilities and they all got progressively better with the Ashborne hall having the lowest quality equipments and the Empyrean hall having the highest quality.
Damon stepped forward and placed his hand on the floating pad.
Immediately after, the metallic doors slowly slid open with a soft metallic hum.
Multiple students could already be seen within, all of them awaiting the arrival of Instructor Sylvia.
Most of the students had already formed groups and were engaged in different conversations, while others decided to remain on their own.
Damon and Theon walked in and all eyes turned in their direction.
Theon’s appearance still attracted much attention, but at least he got less stares than the day before.
He and Damon walked towards a secluded corner of the hall and stood there, awaiting their instructor.
Theon still felt multiple stares on him— one in particular, held a lot of contempt but he chose to ignore it for now.
It took twenty minutes, but Instructor Sylvia finally arrived.
She walked in calmly with a small smile on her face. "I see you all are really excited for the training," She continued, not slowing her pace. "Seeing that you all came earlier than expected."
She stopped in front of one of the white walls where a blank screen was attached.
Tapping it twice, it turned on then with a few taps the students felt a shift in the room, specifically— the center of the room.
Students who were gathered around there shifted, creating a circle around the center where a square structure rose from the ground slowly forming a wide stage.
Instructor Sylvia slowly walked up the massive stage that had been raised. "Today, we are not going to focus on anything fancy—" she paused once she reached the center of the stage.
"We can leave all of that for future sessions. Today, I want to see how each of you fares in a fight—"
Excited murmurs erupted in the hall. This was what they needed. Classes where they sat down in a single place and listened to one thing was boring. They wanted to show off their various ability. They wanted to show off their prowess.
"Without your abilities." Instructor Sylvia completed her words above the murmurs of the students.
Shockingly, all of them heard and they all stood in stunned silence. They all had confusion written all over their faces.
How was such a meaningless thing supposed to help make them stronger. Their strength was basically built on their mutation types.
"I can understand how you all feel," Instructor Sylvia said softly noticing their confusion. "But there may come a time were you might face a Resonant whose mutation type is to restrict other mutation types."
’I see,’ Theon thought calmly. ’Basically she wants to see how each of us fares in hand-to-hand combat.’
"Pair up in twos!" She said calmly. "Then when you’re ready, come up to the stage. The rules are simple. You win either by knocking someone out of the stage—" she paused. "Or by rendering them unable to fight."
The students eyes widened. It sounded brutal, but the ranking events had harsher rules than this.
Immediately she finsihed speaking, she stepped down from the stage and students began forming pairs.
"I guess it’s better if we don’t pair up," Theon looked at Damon.
"Yeah, I guess so—"
"Hey!!"
Damon didn’t get to finish his words.
A bald student walked out from the crowd, his finger pointed at Theon. "You!"
"I want you!" He declared.
Theon’s eyes widened and multiple students gasped.
Others— mostly female had tints of red on their cheeks, giggling at his choice of words.
"What, no!" The bald headed student’s face grew red from embarrassment. He rushed over to the stage and climbed it, then pointed at Theon. "I meant I want to fight you!"
Theon stared at the bald head student blankly. With all honesty, he didn’t want to fight with him but that declaration had already brought too much attention.
Most students were eager to see whether Theon had grown stronger and not just had an improvement in his appearance.
Instructor Sylvia’s eyes also gleamed slightly. She would be lying if she said she didn’t want to see if Theon really had improved.
"I guess you’ve already found a partner," Damon chuckled, adjusting his glasses. "Better get up there."
Theon sighed then slowly walked up to the stage and climbed up.
Now he stood at the opposite end of the stage, facing the bald-headed student who had the biggest grin on his face.
"Yesterday, you made me feel like a fool," The bald head student started. "Now I get to plummel you to the ground."
Theon exhaled softly and twisted his neck slightly. "Let’s just get this over with."
The bald head student gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.
The moment Instructor Sylvia signalled for them to begin, the bald headed student rushed Theon, swinging his fist erratically with no clear form.
The crowd of students immediately erupted in cheers.
"Yeah! Beat his ass!"
"He’s head has been high above the clouds lately. Put him in his place!!"
"Show him that his appearance is useless when he is such a weakling!!"
It was clear that all the students were expecting Theon to lose within the first few exchange.
Sadly, the truth was far from that.
Theon easily weaved through each punch with relative ease, each one barely grazing him. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
’His punches are very slow and disorganized. It’s clear this guy has never practiced hand-to-hand combat in his life.’
The bald headed student threw another wild right swing, but Theon easily parried it making the bald headed student lose his balance slightly.
But that was enough time for Theon to slam an open palm into his stomach, sending him skidding backwards for a meter or two.
"Damn it! You’re supposed to be the weakest," the bald headed student coughed out a mouthful of spit. "How the fuck am I losing!!"
Theon yawned, a hint of tears forming at the corner of his eyes. "How the hell am I supposed to know," he said calmly.
A vein popped up on the bald headed student’s forehead. He gritted his teeth and rushed Theon once more.
"Damn it! You’re a dead man!!!"
He screamed, before throwing another wild punch.
Theon caught it with ease.
The bald headed student’s eyes widened.
"Let me give you a hint," Theon twisted the arm. "Your punches are fucking slow."
He said calmly, then his fist snapped forward and slammed into the bald-headed students face.
His head snapped backwards, blood spilling from his mouth and nose.
Theon let go of the arm and let him fall down on the white floor of the stage.
The whole training hall became silent.
Instructor Sylvia stared at the outcome with wide eyes, then a beat later, she announced— her voice calm and clear.
"Winner, Theon Grey!"
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