“What? Why aren’t you guys saying anything??”
Vinny looked at his classmates with a pained expression, feeling utterly betrayed by their lack of brotherly solidarity.
No loyalty at all! His buddies could easily get him out of this mess with just a word, but instead, they all pretended not to hear, clearly planning to let him take the beating.
Meanwhile, Milian, the golden-haired little devil, was already rubbing her hands together, her sharp little canines bared, clearly eager to use training as an excuse to give him a good thrashing.
“Both of you, please remember the academy rules. Friendship first, and make sure to keep it friendly. I’ll be watching, so nothing will go wrong,” the teacher reminded them, assuring them that she would step in if needed.
“Teacher, can I choose someone else?” Vinny asked, his face darkening.
“Of course, Vinny. You can choose me too,” Aesphyra chimed in, clearly enjoying the drama, pointing at herself with a smile.
“Never mind then,” Vinny replied flatly, as if he hadn’t heard Aesphyra’s offer.
“Really? Am I not good enough? Or do you just prefer Milian?” Aesphyra tilted her head, deliberately making her words sound suggestive.
“Though that’s not what I meant, in a way, yes,” Vinny glanced at Aesphyra’s chest, his eyes flashing with disdain.
“...” Aesphyra fell silent, her beautiful eyes smiling even brighter.
“Virtue +20.”
“Current Virtue: 274.”
Vinny covered his mouth.
Crap, I’ve gotten too used to cutting down people’s egos, and it just slipped out.
Damn it, this isn’t the time for that!
But it’s clear that Aesphyra isn’t going to give me any more leverage on this topic.
Angering Aesphyra for just 20 virtue points at a time like this isn’t smart. What if I end up getting beaten to a pulp?
“Let’s go, loser, oh, I mean, Vinny,” Milian corrected herself, though it sounded more like she was outright calling him a loser.
“Then I’ll be in your care, Milian,” Vinny resigned himself to his fate.
“Hmph!” Milian snorted, turning and walking toward an empty training area, her golden ponytail swaying behind her, leaving a faint fragrance in the air.
Aesphyra, seeing this, crossed her arms and followed, clearly eager to watch the show.
“Aesphyra, aren’t you going to train with someone else?” the teacher asked.
“Teacher, Vinny already agreed to train with me after he’s done with Milian,” Aesphyra replied with a flower-like smile. “I’d rather spar with him.”
“Is that so? Alright then,” the teacher didn’t press further. After all, Aesphyra was the once-in-a-millennium genius with unparalleled elemental affinity. The dean had personally instructed them to accommodate her as much as possible.
Once they reached the training area, both removed their indoor shoes and stepped onto the soft training mats.
These mats were made of special materials, ensuring that even if someone fell face-first, they wouldn’t get hurt, providing maximum safety for the students.
The rules were simple: only fists and feet were allowed, no weapons or magic. Whoever was clearly overpowered or knocked off the mat would lose.
“Hmph~!” Milian began stretching her lithe, flexible body as she watched Vinny warm up.
“Come on, how much longer are you going to warm up? Are you trying to drag this out until class ends?” Milian asked impatiently after finishing her own warm-up, noticing that Vinny was still repeating the same motion, clearly stalling.
“Milian, you really don’t know what’s good for you,” Vinny shook his head, removing the ice crystal earring from his ear to avoid it getting in the way during the fight. “Do you really think you’ve picked an easy target? How naive.”
“This young master doesn’t want to fight with a girl, lest people say I’m bullying you. That’s why I’ve been putting you off. Can’t you see that? Do you really think I’m afraid of you?”
Aesphyra, overhearing this, smiled knowingly.
“I’m not exaggerating, but this young master started martial arts at six, mastered the basics by eight, reached the pinnacle by ten, and learned the life-threatening nineteen punches by twelve.
Since then, I’ve been undefeated, known in the martial world as the Deadly Scissors Hand!” Vinny boasted with a smug expression.
“This young master is afraid of making you cry. If I were to get serious, even three or five top experts couldn’t get close to me, let alone you.”
“Hmph~ Loser’s just a loser. All you can do is brag. Bleh!” Though Milian was naive, she wasn’t fooled by his bluster. She stuck out her tongue, arms crossed.
“Watch me kick out your teeth so you can never brag again!”
“Tch, you’ll regret not listening to me,” Vinny took a deep breath, adopting a half-horse stance, one hand in a claw, the other in a fist, looking mysterious.
Milian frowned slightly. She couldn’t identify the style or origin of Vinny’s stance.
That’s because even Vinny didn’t know. He was just putting on a show to intimidate her. If it worked, great. If not, it was just a useless pose that would crumble at the first touch.
Aesphyra immediately saw through Vinny’s bluff. He had nothing to back it up and was just trying to tough it out.
“Milian, are you sure about this? Don’t force my hand. Once I start, I won’t hold back.”
“Bleh, loser blue hair, you’re just running out of tricks, aren’t you? Watch how I handle you,” Milian also assumed a stance.
Unlike Vinny, the down-and-out young master, Milian had been trained in various elven combat techniques since childhood. With her natural elven agility, her skills were on a completely different level from Vinny’s.
At this point, Vinny could only curse why combat skills weren’t universal. If they were, he could’ve used Vanessa’s techniques.
But cursing wouldn’t solve the problem. The fact remained that Vanessa’s strength didn’t translate to Vinny’s weakness.
If he could switch to Vanessa, he was confident he could teach this arrogant little elf a lesson in five moves, making her rethink her life.
But that was just wishful thinking.
The training match began. Normally, in a match between evenly matched opponents, both sides would start with some probing before escalating.
But Milian was different. As soon as the fight started, she charged forward, her small fist carrying a powerful gust of wind aimed straight at Vinny’s face.
This little devil was ruthless! She was clearly aiming to give him a black eye.
So you want to leave a few marks on this handsome face of mine, huh? Fine, it seems I can’t hold back anymore.
Don’t blame me for being ruthless!
Vinny quickly stepped back, the punch’s wind brushing his bangs.
Though the punch missed, it exposed Vinny’s lack of real strength. Milian’s lips curled into a slight smile.
With her combat experience, she could already tell that this blue-haired loser was all talk and no action, his punches as soft as cotton.
With that in mind, she launched a relentless assault on Vinny.
Seeing that he couldn’t dodge, Vinny quickly raised his arms to block.
“Yah!” Milian’s punch landed heavily on Vinny’s arms, sending a numbing pain through them.
This little elf is small, but she packs a punch! Vinny, feeling the pain, knew he couldn’t keep this up. Instead of trying to dodge, he turned and ran.
“Huh?!” Seeing Vinny abandon all dignity and run, Milian was stunned for a moment before her anger flared.
“Blue-haired loser, don’t run! Stop running!” she shouted, quickly giving chase.
“Huh? Stop running? Is this training ground yours? Why should I stop if you say so? I’ll run if I want to!”
“Stop running, stop running!”
“Run, run, run!”
Normally, Vinny wouldn’t be able to outrun an elf like Milian. But the training ground’s layout was complex, with a large decorative pillar in the center. Vinny transformed into a pillar-dodging god, circling around it like a pro.
The two chased each other around the pillar, creating a comical scene. To the onlookers, it looked less like a training match and more like two kids playing tag, shouting things like “Stop running!” and “Stop chasing!”
“Blue-haired loser, all you can do is run like a hamster. Loser! Trash!” Milian was so angry she was practically jumping, still hurling insults as she ran. She had originally wanted to talk to Vinny about Shikondell, but in her rage, she completely forgot, only wanting to beat him up.
“Is that all you’ve got, little girl? Your trash talk is so weak, I suggest you go back to school for a few more years before trying to talk to me,” Vinny, ever the multitasker, managed to both insult Milian and avoid getting caught, even acting like the older one.
“Ahhh! Stupid loser! Have the guts to fight me properly!”
“You think I’ll stop running just because you say so? Why don’t you just stand still and let me hit you? Hah, don’t be ridiculous. I’m not an idiot.”
Their antics were so attention-grabbing that they drew the eyes of many onlookers.
Even Aesphyra, who had been watching the whole time, was struggling to keep a straight face.
These two were like children, the only difference being that one was an actual child, and the other was a child king.
After watching for a while, Aesphyra could only conclude that both of them were incredibly immature.
Though, to be fair, Milian’s childlike behavior was understandable. She was the pampered second princess of the golden elves, spoiled by her sister, who was more like a mother to her. She had never faced such a situation before.
But Vinny... well, that was a different story.
Milian could’ve caught Vinny if she had stayed calm and figured out his pattern. But the problem was that she was too naive, and Vinny’s verbal attacks were too effective. Milian, caught up in her anger, kept chasing without thinking, only to find herself going in circles.
“Stop running! Just stop!” Milian was starting to get out of breath.
“Hah, hah... no way! Is that all you’ve got, little girl? I’m still full of energy!” Vinny, though even more out of breath than Milian, refused to back down.
Both of them were running out of stamina.
What kind of battle was this??
Aesphyra managed to keep her composure, but the teacher watching from the sidelines was speechless.
While Vinny was clearly avoiding the fight, it seemed like both of them were in a league of their own when it came to being ridiculous.
“Ugh! You’re just a stupid loser!” Milian gritted her teeth.
“Did this loser eat your food?? I’ve told you so many times, I’m your daddy!”
“Ugh!!” Milian’s fists clenched tighter, her face redder, but the distance between them only grew. Combined with Vinny’s relentless insults, she was on the verge of tears.
But then, Milian seemed to have an idea. She suddenly turned and /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ ran in the opposite direction, colliding head-on with Vinny.
Milian hadn’t expected this to work, and Vinny hadn’t expected the little fool to figure out reverse-running. The two tumbled together, rolling like a human ball several times before coming to a stop.
Milian, seeing stars, quickly realized she had caught Vinny and immediately tried to punch him.
But Vinny reacted faster. Realizing he couldn’t run, he came up with a plan to avoid getting beaten!
“Kuku! Blue-haired loser, you can’t run now! I’m going to beat you until... Ahahaha! Wh-what are you doing!?” Before Milian could finish her threat, she felt an unbearable tickling sensation on the soles of her sensitive feet.
“Don’t move, little girl. Let me go, or I’ll make you laugh until you capsize,” Vinny grabbed Milian’s soft, white feet, running his fingers along her smooth soles.
“You! You’re shameless! You dirty loser, you pervert! How dare you use such a despicable... Ahahaha! S-stop it!”
“Your daddy just doesn’t want to get beaten,” Vinny said smugly. “Admit defeat, or I’ll keep going.”
“Never! I’ll never admit defeat to a dirty monkey like you... Ahahaha! S-stop it! No!”
As it turned out, the elves’ habit of not wearing socks wasn’t a good idea.
Vinny hadn’t expected the elf princess’s feet to be so sensitive. Just a few strokes had her tearing up, her face flushed, laughing so hard she was almost passing out.
Once she started laughing, Milian lost all her strength, unable to hold onto Vinny anymore.