[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/MEoNNVe.png?1[/img][/center] [color=F08080][i][h2][center]Rodrick[/center][/h2][/i][/color] Rodrick was doing everything in his power to keep looking ahead and not fall over as the other tiefling ran up next to him. He looked at her incredulously as she said stated how thrilling this all was. [color=F08080]"Thrilling?"[/color] He said in voice that fell between a gasp for breath and a laugh. [color=F08080]"This is thrilling to you?"[/color] She did actually seem to be enjoying this. Maybe it was because he felt like he had been beaten in his sleep but he was having trouble finding any sort of thrill in this. Still, he couldn't help but laugh as she let him know that she had no issue leaving him to the wolves if they fell to far behind. Something about the way she cackled after she said it was too funny to Rodrick. It also sparked a competitive side in him he hadn't been aware he had. He pushed down the feeling of panic and the intense nausea in his stomach. He had been in worse shape then this plenty of times, he had the scars to prove it. He pushed himself, catching back up to Anise. He gave the best diabolical smile he could muster as he caught up to her. [color=F08080]"That's assuming your kin lets you leave them to the wolves!"[/color] [hr] Dex studied the students as they ran. This had always been his specialty, to study people and determine their strengths and weaknesses. His first arrow had struck Patrick, mostly because he had fallen to far behind, but also because he didn't like the man's attitude. He rubbed Dex the wrong way, which generally ended up being a bad thing for the other person. He was surprised when the young man, Toma, came to help him up, and less surprised when Patrick pushed him to the ground in an effort to get ahead. It was painfully obvious the kind of adventurer Patrick would be. Still the rules were the rules, the one in the back got the short end of the stick. In Dex's mind it was less of a punishment and more of a motivator. You had to be able to get back up, no matter how many times you got knocked on your ass. Failure to do so would get you killed. Dex watched as Patrick got repaid for his actions. The pale girl delivered a fairly good clothesline. He fired a shot at her side regardless. Her actions weren't against the rules, but drawing attention to yourself was foolish. He fired another shot at Lorelei, and inwardly nodded approvingly as she managed to blunt the hit by catching it. These arrows flew a little slower then his usually did, still it took no small skill to catch one. He was less impressed when she threw it back to him and blew him a kiss. Arrogance got you killed. He removed a normal looking arrow from his back and fired it, this one traveling faster then the first. He aimed it so it would pass just in front of her face, the fletching of the arrow just grazing her lips before it stuck into the wall behind her. A fitting warning. He watched with some interest as the blond headed mage tried to use his cloak as a distraction. An interesting idea, but one that only drew attention to him. In situations like this it was often better to blend into the crowd as much as possible. Those who tried to push ahead to show off or those who fell to far behind were generally the first to fall in a combat situation. There was strength in numbers, something the students would need to learn quickly. The young man was certainly fast as he managed to catch up to Vermont and, Dex assumed, tried to use the large man as a shield. It was normally sound strategy to put an enemy between yourself and an attacker. However in this case it wouldn't work out so well. Dex pulled another normal arrow and fired it. At the sound of his bow Vermont lifted his chin lightly. allowing the arrow to pass right under it. The arrow snagged the cloak and tore it off of the two young mages who had tried to use it as cover. It stuck into the wall behind them, the cloak dangling there as a warning. A look at Ixius's face made Dex wonder if he was going to need to stop him from killing the blonde mage. Dex scanned over the rest of the students. The dwarf Arn was keeping a steady pace towards the back. Still, considering he was in armor and his legs were shorter then most of the others he was holding up well. Finn and Serena seemed to be doing well, not that he was overly surprised by that. It was safe to assume that Fenros had already put them through similar training. He watched with interest as Karya ran back to help Toma. A kind hearted gesture, if a dangerous one. He could almost feel Maya's approval as the young wood nymph went back to try and help the boy out. She loved that sort of thing. The two tieflings in the class, Anise and Rodrick, seemed to be having their own little race. Anise looked as though she was having a blast. A rare reaction to this sort of training but one that Dex had seen before. Rodrick's face kept changing between a look that said he wanted to be dead and a look of determination. He could tell the boy was hungover, but adventurers needed to learn to push through all sorts of ailments, hangovers being a common one. [hr] It was another seven laps before Vermont finally stopped. Seven laps of absolute hell for Rodrick. He was almost sure that the only thing that had kept him going was his determination not to fall too far behind Anise. He was never going to drink again... Well not as much at least. Rodrick leaned over and allowed himself a moment to breath. It seemed like Vermont was giving them a moment. Gods he hoped Vermont was giving them a moment. Rodrick looked over at Vermont, and gaped. The man didn't have a lick of sweat on him! He wasn't even breathing heavy! What kind of black magic bullshit was this?! [color=C0C0C0]"Alright, line up students."[/color] Vermont looked at them all, his eye scrutinizing each student in turn. [color=C0C0C0]"It's seems that some of you made the assumption that coming in last would mean that you would fail this class. Assumptions are dangerous and often lead to mistakes. Falling behind does have consequences, as I'm sure you all noticed. But failing is not one of them. You all stood back up after getting knocked down, that is what we care about right now. If you fell behind today, push harder tomorrow. If you truly want to be adventurers you must always push forward, until you succeed or you die. Those are the only options available to you if you truly wish to continue down this path."[/color] Vermont paused for a moment before continuing. [color=C0C0C0]"Now that we've all gotten warmed up, its time to start class."[/color] Rodrick felt his face drop. That was a warmup?! Great! Fantastic! This class was 100% going to be the death of him. Vermont walked over to the wooden mannequins that were placed in the middle of the ring. [color=C0C0C0]"These will be your training partners for the next few months. Don't let their appearance fool, these are magical items and powerful tools. They adapt to your level of skill, the better you are, the better they fight. I am well aware that some of you have no combat training at all, these are the best way for us to feel you all out, to see the way your bodies naturally move, and to help you get up to speed with the rest of your classmates. If, on the off chance, some of you are too advanced for one mannequin, we can provide a second one to help you along. Though I will warn you that most graduates can still only take on a maximum of two at a time."[/color] The mannequins made Rodrick pause. They were featureless wooden mannequins like you might see in a clothing store. They carried a variety of blunted metal weapons. It was hard to believe that they could provide that much of a challenge. Rodrick looked around at the other students, and noticed that he wasn't the only one who seemed to feel this way. Some looked excited, others seemed annoyed at the very idea that they would have to face these mannequins instead of real opponents. It seemed that Vermont could see the looks on the students face as well. [color=C0C0C0]"Perhaps a demonstration is in order. Lady Maya, would you like to do the honors this time?"[/color] Rodrick looked over at the drow woman, and felt a tingle down his spine as he did. He had only seen her from a distance last night, but now that he was closer it was even more impossible to ignore how beautiful she was. Everything from the shape of her body to her smile was slightly intoxicating. He could tell many of the other male students, and some of the female ones, were just as entranced by her as he was. [color=9966CC]“Of course.”[/color] She said, her voice sounding like bells as she spoke. Vermont ushered the students back and he and Dex took up places on either side of the group of students. Rodrick was entirely sure why. Maya moved over to one of the mannequins that was holding a blunted longsword and placed her hand against its chest. The wooden creature stood up straighter, a pair of lights appearing where eye’s would be on a normal person. [color=FFFF00]“Greetings Maya Jhalavar, would you like to begin training regiment 56A?”[/color] The voice was strange, not quite human but close too it. [color=9966CC]“Regiment 50C will do fine.”[/color] Maya said with a smile. [color=FFFF00]“Understood. Commencing.”[/color] Four other mannequins came to life. Another of the mannequins held a sword, two held spears, and the last one had a large maul. The five wooden creatures moved to surround Maya. Each with their weapon at the ready. Rodrick had expected the things to move jerkily but they moved as smoothly and as easily as any person. Maya pulled the two strange [url=https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/ef1ae03c-3478-42c6-ac24-32e1ebb5221b/ddbvhqh-fe5081aa-fa04-494f-b632-ab610aa8319e.jpg/v1/fill/w_1280,h_931,q_75,strp/kopesh_of_the_abyss_by_herckeim_ddbvhqh-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9OTMxIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvZWYxYWUwM2MtMzQ3OC00MmM2LWFjMjQtMzJlMWViYjUyMjFiXC9kZGJ2aHFoLWZlNTA4MWFhLWZhMDQtNDk0Zi1iNjMyLWFiNjEwYWE4MzE5ZS5qcGciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19._ZeBZnXe8_SHBE4bMs4VVNvyqg9TcsREUS84fJp-Y74]swords[/url] from her back. They were long and curved. Rodrick had never seen anything quite like them. Maya stood motionless, her blades at her side, until the mannequins surrounded her. They circled slowly, looking like hunters attempting to find a weak spot in their preys armor. Faster then Rodrick would have ever believed possible the two mannequins with spears, who had taken up opposite sides of Maya, lunged forward thrusting their spears towards her. Maya spun too the left, the spears passing harmlessly through the point she had just been standing. As she did she brought up one of her swords and caught the longsword that had been swinging towards her head. She flicked it away effortlessly before rolling backwards out of the way of the other sword that had been swung towards her stomach. As she came up from her roll she brought up the two swords in an X and caught the large maul that had been hurtling towards her head. She flung the maul to the side and used the momentum of the move to spin her around and deliver a powerful kick to the maul users head. Rodrick had the distinct feeling that the kick would have cracked a normal persons skull, but the mannequin seemed to still be intact. As she finished her spin Maya caught one of the spears that was being thrust towards her on the curved part of her blade and moved it just enough so that slid past her side. The mannequin stumbled forward, off balance a little. Maya’s second blade caught it in the neck, and sent the wooden head rolling. The two mannequins with swords moved together in unison. Each one striking with incredible speed and precision, attempting to get a hit in on the drow woman. Rodrick could see why these things were probably more then good enough to take on an average student. In his younger years Rodrick and his mother had attended quite a few tournaments. He had always loved watching the melees. But most of the fighters in those melee’s wouldn’t have stood a chance against the wooden constructs. Still…. Lady Maya made them look like children swinging sticks. Maya danced backwards. Each blade strike that came towards her wasn’t so much blocked as it was moved away from her body so it only struck air. Even though the two mannequins moved in almost perfect unison Maya’s defense was seemingly flawless. Every move she made was like a dance. It almost looked like her body was made out of air as it spun and moved. Seemingly finding an opening, Maya brought her body low the ground and brought her leg around in a low kick. It caught one of the mannequins in the back of the shin and brought its legs out from under it. Maya used the momentum of her movement to spin upwards, her blades cutting through the middle of the falling mannequin. With its partner gone the other sword wielding mannequin didn’t stand much of a chance. Maya moved forward, unleashing a flurry of blows that Rodrick could barely follow. To its credit, the mannequin managed to parry and block the first few passes of Maya’s blades. But it was only a matter of time before Maya found the opening she needed again, removing the mannequins right hand before spinning and taking off its head. The other two mannequins had not been idle as the fight between swords had been going on. Rodrick hadn’t noticed the maul carrying mannequin running forward until it was in mid swing. It came in low, swinging the maul in an upward arc with so much force that it probably would have smashed a stone wall to bits. Maya did a back flip, the head of the maul just missing her. Rodrick had entirely missed the other mannequin that was now behind Maya, thrusting its spear towards her mid section. Rodrick pulled in a breath, every instinct telling him the woman was about to be impaled. But the woman was too good at what she did. As her hands hit the ground in the middle of her backflip she pushed off with one hand, causing her to spin to the side, just out of reach of the spear. As she finished the flip she brought her blades up, severing the mannequins arms at the elbows. With one more quick strike the mannequins head fell to the ground….. And then there was one. Maya turned to face the maul wielder and the pair circled each other for a moment before the last mannequin rushed in. It changed its grip on the maul slightly so that it could strike faster. It lost some of the devastating power but the fast strikes seemed to let it keep Maya at bay. Maya didn’t even attempt to block the blows, she just moved backwards flowing out of the way of each blow. This went on for several more seconds before Maya found the opening she was looking for one last time. Maya stepped back slightly before unleashing a stunning roundhouse kick to the mannequins head. Either the earlier blow had loosened its head, or her kick was just so devastatingly powerful that it completely took the head off of the mannequins. To some of the students horror the head went soaring towards the group of students at terrifying speeds. Rodrick finally realized why Dex and Vermont had taken up places on either side of the students, as Vermont’s hand flashed out just before the mannequin head collided with a student and caught it. Rodrick noticed that there was an indent in the mannequins head where Maya’s foot had collided with it. [color=C0C0C0]“Right, who’s ready to start?”[/color] [hr] [@Inertia][@StOpossum][@LuckyBlackCat][@Tae][@Omni5876][@Aerandir][@datadogie][@Heartfillia][@Ryik][@Duoya][@mantou]