The whole class quieted down once they noticed an instructor had entered the room.
"Bwahahaha! So these are the new Year 1 Class A students?" Sir Andwelf's laugh reverberated throughout the classroom, causing some students to clutch and cover their ears.
"I must say, I am quite disappointed in you lot."
'These little brats...' Sir Andwelf thought as he glanced with some annoyance towards some students who were covering their ears.
"Anyway, I am Andwelf Volge, though, some call me the 'SkyRipper', you may address me as Sir Andwelf or Sky Ripper, whichever you prefer."
The pride in Sir Andwelf's face was apparent as he mentioned his title.
"I will be your combat instructor for this year, however, since I still don't know everyone's current abilities, we will be having a sparring activity, find a partner and lets head to the training grounds."
Sir Andwelf then began making his way to the training grounds after he finished what he had to say.
The students didn't have time to collect themselves before the instructor left as fast as he came.
Clay sat there, unmoving, his unfocused eyes stared at the stage where Sir Andwelf previously stood before he left for the training grounds.
'Find a.... Partner..?' Clay repeated that line in his head over and over, as if repeating it would somehow change what he had heard.
Some students at the front row got up and also began following after Sir Andwelf.
It didn't take long before only Clay was left alone at the classroom, leading to some curious eyes glancing his way, however their gaze lingered for only a moment before losing interest.
Clay, after gathering some strength, also stood up and followed behind, his figure swaying unsteadily as if a gentle gust of wind is enough to topple him over .
...
..
.
"Alright everyone, has everyone found a partner already?"
Sir Andwelf stood in front of a group of students, his eyes briefly looking at a certain student in the crowd.
"For all those who have not yet found a partner, raise your hands."
A few hands were raised simultaneously, Clay being among those hands raised.
"Okay, you guys sort it out, pair up with whoever doesn't have a partner yet." Sir Andwelf ordered.
"And you, you're with me" Sir Andwelf said as he gestured at a student to come forward.
Immediately, all eyes shifted to the student who had been called out.
'Ah.... Nation of dams...' Clay inwardly cursed.
With all eyes locked onto him, Clay couldn't help but freeze.
Sir Andwelf raised an eyebrow, seeing that Clay wasn't moving.
"For now, I'll be your partner, young man. Everyone else, go find a spot to spar with your partners, you may use your abilities, however, you are not allowed to injure each other severely." Sir Andwelf continued.
He then turned his attention back to Clay, who still stood frozen like a statue.
"Follow me." Sir Andwelf spoke to Clay, bringing him to a spot slightly far away from the other students but still within sight.
The crowd then slowly dispersed by pairs, eager to test their abilities against each other.
Clay however, was not very eager.
"I've seen you break the Öbedanite, the other students may not be able to handle you so I'll be your partner instead." Sir Andwelf stretched his back.
"Your name was Clay right?"
Clay slowly nodded.
"Bwahhahaha, no need to be so nervous young man. I have a feeling you're even stronger than me!" Sir Andwelf gave a loud laugh, attracting the attention of some students nearby.
"Well??"
Sir Andwelf tilted his head impatiently at Clay who still hasn't moved.
"I've seen what happened at the strength test, you.... you are not normal. Don't be afraid to hit me, I'm not called Sky Ripper for nothing."
Andwelf beckoned Clay to attack him.
Seeing that there was no way out of this, Clay could only reluctantly do as he was told.
He held back a lot though, considering he had over a 1000 points in every stat, he felt that it was most appropriate to hold back.
Without further ado, Clay pretended to put all his effort in a straight punch, heading directly towards Sir Andwelf.
Although he had held back to a point where he assumed his instructor could handle it, Clay severely underestimated the strength of his punch powered by only 250 strength points.
The grin on Sir Andwelf's face faltered as he paled, staring at the incoming punch heading straight towards him.
Without any hesitation, he crossed both his arms together in front of him in an attempt to protect himself from the "all-out" punch.
Bang!
A muffled sound that shouldn't be the result of flesh hitting flesh rang out as dust spread in all directions.
"Argh!" Sir Andwelf let out a pained groan.
The dust cleared, revealing his swollen arms that were limping at his sides.
Any bystander could tell that his arms were fractured—if not outright broken.
Clay stood there in shock, lips trembling, totally not expecting the current situation.
If Sir Andwelf sounded so confident, why did he end up in such a state?
It then hit him that, while he had held back, he'd still overestimated Sir Andwelf's capabilities—and underestimated his own strength, leading to him unintentionally injuring an instructor.
"Kkh, open i-inventory."
Sir Andwelf gritted his teeth, bearing the pain as he pulled out a potion from his inventory.
He then brought the potion to his mouth with some effort, uncorking it with his teeth and gulping down its contents quickly.
Dropping the potion, Sir Andwelf's arms began to decrease in swelling at a visible rate, naturally due to the potion taking effect.
Sir Andwelf then turned his attention back to Clay once his arms healed enough to the point that moving it was not an issue.
Staring at the student before him, who nervously kept his gaze fixed on the coarse dirt beneath his feet, Sir Andwelf couldn't help but feel a flicker of fear towards the young man.
Of course, it was not only Sir Andwelf that was staring at Clay, almost every student of Class A turned their heads at the two.
It was hard not to ignore the huge commotion of the impact, the sound of the impact alone could be heard from tens of meters away.
Clay could already feel his upcoming headache.