All day they practiced without a break. Lucien didn't even allow a lunch break. His cruelty, or perhaps necessity, showed them what a real fight felt like.
Exhausted, they lay on the ground, breathing heavily. Only Lucien stood, his voice flat as he looked at Lucan, who seethed with frustration from constant defeat.
"I know you're frustrated. You're the same ranker as me, yet you can't defeat me. Battles aren't always about power. Sometimes experience overshadows it. I've been fighting since I was a kid, barely able to hold my own weight," Lucien said.
Lucan looked away. "Don't cry about your past here. We don't want to hear it."
"A battle isn't fueled by rage, nor by crying over defeat or celebrating victory. Those things are useless. Defeat breeds rage, and victory breeds ego," Lucien said, stepping toward Lucan and leaning down. "If you're under me, you must learn to be unmoved by all this."
He stepped back and clapped. "That's the end of today's session. You're all free to go." Before anyone could leave, he walked away first.
They watched him go. Liam offered a hand to Lucan, who ignored it and stood on his own. "That was intense today, but I had fun," Liam said.
Lucan tossed the wooden sword to the ground and stormed off. As it landed, Amara flinched and stumbled back, nearly losing her balance. Ziya caught her. "Are you okay?" Ziya asked.
Amara nodded. "Lucan seems so angry at Mr. Kaelhart. I'm scared he might take a dangerous step to defeat him." She clasped her hands. "O ambitious goddess, please keep him from doing anything reckless."
"Everything will be fine. Don't worry," Yukiara said from behind.
"I hope so," Alaric said, still sitting on the ground. "But I know Lucan. That guy will cross any line to beat Mr. Kaelhart. From what I saw today, though, Mr. Kaelhart isn't weak. He's strong. I think he's close to reaching rank 8."
---
At night, Lucien returned to the forest, fighting spear giants and dark slimes. Their levels were lower than his, so he gained few experience points.
By dawn, he had reached level 100, but his credits remained unchanged since he hadn't done anything significant to earn them.
"Even after battling all night, I've only gone from level 81 to 100. I can't say if that's good or bad when I don't know the maximum level," he muttered.
He pulled out the teleportation gem, ready to depart. Returning to his room at the academy, he resumed his routine before slipping out again to wander the capital city.
---
Several days passed after Lucien returned to the academy and resumed training. Each day, he faced all the students alone, pushing them relentlessly.
Lucan tried daily to defeat Lucien but couldn't land a single blow. With each failure, his frustration and rage grew stronger.
At night, Lucien teleported to the forest, battling until midnight before returning to the academy.
A month had passed since he joined the academy. His level had reached 156, climbing slowly. Since he didn't know the maximum level, the pace didn't trouble him.
The students were improving, albeit slowly. Their reckless swings had evolved into coordinated teamwork.
---
"Today, we'll train again. I can sense you're all close to reaching rank 8, so we'll continue our practice," Lucien said.
"No, I won't," Lucan declared. "If you want me to train, duel me. A fight to the death."
The other students froze, stunned by his words. "What are you saying? Have you lost your mind?" Alaric shouted.
Lucan ignored him, his eyes fixed on Lucien. "I'm not agreeing to that," Lucien replied calmly.
"Then I'll kill myself. I won't live as a loser," Lucan said.
"Lucan, think carefully about what you're saying. You're consumed by rage," Yukiara urged.
"Yes, Lucan, please reconsider," Amara added softly.
Lucan spun toward her, his voice rising. "Shut up! I don't want to hear anything from you! I want this man to answer me!"
"My answer is no. I won't repeat myself. This is childish. Yukiara's right, you're consumed by your rage—"
SLASH!