They each all got reminded once again that the undisputed number one in the camp was Atticus.
Nate took a few seconds to catch his breath on the floor. He had been absolutely on the mark when he said that the one minute would mark the end of the battle.
'He's really strong. Just how did hell did he get so powerful?' Nate pondered while breathing heavily.
After a few seconds, Nate opened his eyes to see a hand stretched in front of him. His gaze instantly landed on Atticus who stood over him with a smile.
Nate flashed a smile in response, grabbing his hand and letting himself get pulled up.
"Good fight," Atticus complimented.
Nate couldn't help but smile wryly in response. What was good about that fight?!
Nate was far from feeling bad about the fight; he had already accepted his loss.
But seeing Atticus, who looked completely flawless with not a single drop of sweat or even a single stain on his clothes, say 'good fight' sounded so absurd to him.
Nate shook his head and responded, "Thanks for the spar."
Atticus simply nodded in response, and just as he was about to start walking away, another Ravenstein youth suddenly approached the duo.
"Young master, pardon my rudeness, but I hope you'd honor me by accepting my wish to spar with you?" Elijah, the Ravenstein youth with flowing white locks and a warrior's braid, spoke with a small bow.
Atticus was extremely tempted to wince in response, but he withheld it. What the hell was that super cringe way of speaking?
Despite the fact that the other Ravenstein youths hardly ever spoke in his presence, after he left the scene, he could still hear them speaking from afar. Atticus couldn't say he remembered Elijah ever speaking a complete sentence ever.
He was as quiet as a rock and always emitted some kind of noble aura. The warrior's braid fitted him well.
Atticus thought for a second before responding, "Alright," he said.
Elijah bowed even more as he spoke, "Thank you," instantly getting up and walking towards one side of the encirclement.
Nate walked out of the encirclement, and Atticus moved towards the other end, facing Elijah.
'Hmm, he uses the lightning element and a staff, right?' Atticus recalled Elijah's element and weapon of choice.
The number of lightning users in the Ravenstein family wasn't as rare as one would think. The element itself wasn't rare; there were a lot of lightning users in the Ravenstein family.
Because the current paragon of the Ravenstein family, Magnus, had the lightning element, didn't make it overpowered.
Although it was true that the element was a boon for destruction, how overpowered an element was depended completely on its user.
Elijah retrieved his staff from his storage ring, swiftly assuming a focused stance as he bent forward slightly, holding the staff vertically between two fingers behind him.
Back in the Raven camp, apart from Nate, Eric, Aria, and Lucas, Elijah had always been next in line as the strongest. He stood at a height of 5ft9, and although not as bulky as Nate, he still put on a few.
Without warning, tendrils of lightning materialized around Elijah, cracking with increasing intensity.
A hushed anticipation settled among those watching as he muttered under his breath,
"Elemental Mimicry."
Almost simultaneously, Elijah's eyes seemed to blaze as his perception of time reached a newfound clarity due to increased speed.
Like a bolt of lightning, Elijah's form streaked through the air, materializing in front of Atticus in an instant.
His staff, still held vertically behind him, became enveloped in crackling lightning as he focused his energy. With remarkable speed, he swung the staff from below towards Atticus.
Atticus reacted as though anticipating the move. He deftly shifted his weight to one leg, turning his body sideways to let the upward swing meet only empty air.
Undeterred, Elijah, utilizing the momentum of the upward swing, momentarily released his grip on the staff, taking a step forward.
His shoulders shot forward, connecting with the staff mid air, transforming the initial upward motion into a swift downward swing aimed directly at Atticus's head.
Yet, as before, Atticus gracefully evaded the swing before it could find its mark. Elijah remained unshaken in the face of these misses, persistently launching lightning fast attacks and thrusts, each easily sidestepped and evaded by Atticus.
They were both at a pace that rendered them a blur to many of the onlookers, with many of the youths not even understanding what was going on.
Just as Elijah lunged towards Atticus with a thrust, he suddenly felt danger the likes of which he hadn't felt for a while.
A fist suddenly covered his whole vision, its danger making it appear as though it was a colossal fist.
Bracing himself for a brutal blow, Elijah closed his eyes, only to feel the fist stop just inches from his face.
The force of the punch sent shockwaves through the air, causing Elijah's hair to whip about.
The intense force contained in that fist left him momentarily disoriented even though the fist stopped before it could land.
Elijah opened his eyes, the back of his robes completely drenched, covered in sweat as he gulped. 'That was close,' he thought, his heart rapidly beating.
"Your one minute is over," Atticus's voice abruptly brought him out of his thoughts.
Elijah awkwardly cleared his throat and stood up straight. He returned his staff to his space ring and bowed, "Thank you for the honor, young master," he said.
WOAHH!!
The silence in the area was abruptly shattered by the resounding cheers of the crowd once again.
Many of them were excited to witness fights of this level! What added to their excitement was the fact that, despite the intense fighting, their leader showed no signs of breaking a sweat.
After the battle with Elijah, Atticus also sparred with the other Ravenstein youths.
Each spar ended promptly as soon as one minute elapsed.
And after a few hours, they all retired to their room to get some rest.
The next day, school!