The world blurred into a mess of green trees and sandy floor as Sami went flying. Not wanting to hit the ground, he twisted in mid-air as he landed on the ground, sliding a few feet.
"Still too slow, maggot," Anna called out, standing in the center of the clearing, not moving an inch. His surprise kick to the back of her head didn't faze her.
After getting the hang of mana control, she forced him to learn martial arts. 'I'm pretty sure we spar as an excuse to get revenge since I can send Onyx back to the summoner's space whenever I want.'
"Is that all you got, maggot!" Anna shouted, glaring at Sami from across the clearing. "You won't make it far in the academy if you can't even land a hit on me."
Sami nodded, getting into his stance. His feet were shoulder-width apart; he shifted to the balls of his feet with one foot slightly back.
The shirt on his body was drenched with sweat, sticking to his body like glue.
He took a deep breath before looking at Anna; he wanted to knock the smug right off her face. "I'm going to land at least one punch today."
Sami shot off, closing the distance between them rapidly. He drew his fist back, his body angling to strike Anna in the face.
As she leaned out of the way of the strike, he drew his fist back, rotating his hips, he lashed out with his right leg.
Anna slapped the leg down with one hand and hit him in the stomach using the palm of her other hand.
The air in his lungs exploded out, spit flying from his lips, shocked by the sudden counter. He stumbled backward, his hand rubbing his stomach.
Catching his breath, he wiped the spit from his mouth as he resumed his charge forward; his sole goal now was to land one hit.
Anna raised her eyebrow; she raised one finger, deflecting the rapid strikes."I know you can do better than that!"
Sami let a small growl as he sped up his strikes, mixing in kicks to gain the opening he needed.
Anna easily kept up with his speed, not even dodging, just using her finger to block every strike she threw.
"AHHHH," he roared, aiming for her jaw again, while forcing all his weight into the swing."
Bang!
The ground cracked beneath them from the force of Sami's attack, even though Anna blocked it.
Sami didn't let up; he threw a front kick, snapping his leg out as he aimed for the opening near Anna's stomach.
Tracing the attack, she moved to counter; when he brought his leg down, using the momentum to rotate his upper body, he drove his elbow into the side of her jaw.
Crack!
Anna's head snapped back from the force; she stepped back, slightly stunned.
Sami attempted to follow up with a hook, but Anna leaned out of the way, countering by driving her knee into his stomach.
Pain flared through Sami's body as he dropped to the ground, clenching his abs. "Dammit, I thought I had you there," he gasped, his words coming out harshly.
Anna sighed in disappointment and kneeled before him. "You've been out here training for a month, and you can't handle that little tap."
"You call that a tap!" Sami spat a glob of blood on the ground.
He raised his head and glared at her. "Ugh, that wasn't some 'love tap,' you jerk! You just got pissed. I hit you, and then you retaliated."
"Idiot," Lyra muttered, watching as Anna clenched her fist.
The sides of Anna's mouth dropped, her smirk turning into a frown. Sami blinked, and she appeared in front of him.
She grabbed his throat tightly, lowering him until they were eye level; his legs dragged on the ground.
"Pathetic you are; speaking to your mentor like that," Anna lectured, tightening her grip. "If I really wanted to hurt you, it'd be easy."
Sami tried to pull her hand, but her grip was iron tight. Her hand was chilly despite the warm day, her fingers glowing slightly blue. Black spots appeared in his vision as he tried his best to breathe.
"Right, he's pathetic," Lyra muttered. "Says the old lady using magic to make herself look young." Though she tried her best to speak low, her voice was loud enough to be heard across the training ground.
Anna growled, dropping Sami to the ground.
Sami was on the ground, wheezing, sucking in as much air as possible. A small handprint could be seen around his throat.
Anna ignored Sami, turning around to face Lyra; fire in her eyes."WHAT DID YOU SAY, MAGGOT?!" she yelled, her hair suddenly rising behind her.
Lyra took a few steps back, shaking in fear. "No-nothing, Teacher A-Anna," she stammered.
"DIE, YOU DISRESPECTFUL BRATS!" Anna screamed.
Her hair suddenly wrapped around Sami's body; the hair sounded like a whip as it threw Sami roughly.
Lyra didn't have time to move before he collided with her body; both of them sprawled on the ground.
[Condition → Weight, Mana suppression, Broken Ribs]
"Thanks, Oracle", Sami groaned sarcastically to himself.
Anna slowly marched towards the duo on the ground.
Lyra was the first to recover, jumping back to her feet. She slashed the air, causing a blade of wind to shoot out towards Anna.
Anna smirked before disappearing. The attack hit the trees behind her, cutting them in half.
"Shit", Lyra muttered, feeling a glare coming from behind her.
"OLD LADY, I am, huh? Come, my apprentice. Let's see if your skills have surpassed mine, then," Anna snarled.
A wooden sword materialized in her right hand as she lunged at Lyra, swinging the sword in a wide arc.
Lyra raised her sword to block the attack. The attack overpowered her, sending her flying backward into the distance.
BOOM!
Her body hit the ground, sending rocks and dust into the air while leaving a large dent.
Anna again began to stalk slowly toward Lyra while she scrambled to her feet.
"Who is to call me an old lady?" Anna growled, gripping her sword tighter. "I'll show you, old lady, my precious little student."
Lyra's eyes widened in fear; she opened her mouth, but no words came out. She tightened the grip on her sword as she got ready to fight, doing her best to hide the shaking in her arms.
Sami appeared behind Anna, a spin kick aimed at her neck.
She gripped his ankle and slammed him hard into the ground. Anna's eyes never left Lyra's as she tossed his body.
Sami landed roughly on the ground; he tried to move, but his body wouldn't respond. "D-dammit, I refuse to lose like this. I-I have to keep fighting."
The world around him began to blur.
"Now it's your turn, Lyra."
BOOOM!
That was the last thing Sami heard before the world turned dark.
⟢
"SAMI HELP ME!" a voice echoed from around them.
Sami's eyes snapped open; the scream with his name woke him up. "O-onyx, ugh," he groaned as he tried to move, but a sharp pain went through his side.
[Condition → Weight | Mana Suppression | Broken Ribs | Extreme Tiredness]
"Ahh, right, I forgot; well, that explains the overly sharp pain in my side every time I take a breath."
Sami's eyes finally focused; he was shocked to realize it wasn't his vision, it was actually dark out.
"Right, Anna must have knocked him out for at least six hours," he muttered.
Hearing a slight snore coming from his left, he weakly turned his head. Lyra lay there with her clothes torn, barely covering anything, making Sami's cheeks heat up.
Sami quickly turned his head away, choosing to look back at the sky. He could see the moon rising; it was a beautiful, full moon, and for that brief moment, he felt the world at peace.
Sami let out a huge sigh. He could admit he had learned a lesson: don't piss off the teacher.
His body shivered at the thought of another hellish training like today.
Usually, he could at least walk after a spar. Today, all the bones in his body were broken, or at the very least sprained. 'Petty 'teacher' and her need to always win'
Sami hoped Lyra would wake up soon so she could heal them, or if Onyx got here, she could heal them both.
Even though he'd been getting his butt kicked, he had to admit: he loved finally learning something other than what was in books.
A wet drop landed on his face, then another; soon, rain poured down. The rain was icy cold, making him shiver.
"Sigh, great, ugh, I hope Onyx returns from hunting soon," Sami muttered.
Though he made a vow to one day get even with Anna, no matter how long it takes, he'll go stronger than her.
Unnoticed by Sami, his ring also glowed brightly before stopping, as if agreeing with his thoughts.