20 Son Sung Deuk

Hoseok's eyes lit up as he cheered excitedly. The others weren't as excited. They all knew how difficult it was to be a Battle Mage. It involved a higher level of physical capabilities as well as a need to be able to not just understand the Energy Flux but also to get your body to flow within it. It was an extremely demanding fighting style so the boys were dreading the idea of them having to learn it.

Hoseok, however, couldn't be happier. He had lived in the others world since arriving. He was surrounded by Magic-Channellers so he was always in awe of what they could do and he always felt like he was on the back foot. But Battle Mage training was his forte. It was where he would shine and he was lookin forward to being able to stand out in front of the amazing Magic-Chanellers around him.

Hitman Bang continued speaking to them all.

"From here on out, you are to train harder. Being a Battle Mage is something that can be hard to grasp if you aren't born with an innate gifting for it. But it can be cultivated slowly through hard work and effort. Understood?"

"Yes, Bang Pdnim."

They all bowed. Even though they were reluctant, they understood that this was something they couldn't avoid. It was necessary to be able to fight across multiple styles if they were aiming to be top Eidos Adepts. And Battle Mages were seen as cool and were popular among Eidos, so they knew it was something they needed to learn. Hitman Bang turned to Hoseok.

"J-Hope, take the boys to the Outer Dome. He's waiting for you there."

Hoseok understood and bowed in acknowledgement as Hitman Bang walked away. Hoseok turned to the boy with a grin on his face. Hun-cheol chuckled at Hoseok's face.

"You've been waiting to show off haven't you? Well lead the way then sunbaenim."

The boys laughed at Hun-cheol's choice of words. Hoseok giggled too.

"From here on out, you guys are my Battle Mage hoobae's. Just listen to your sunbae and you will be fine. I'll help you guys out any way I can. Now come one, let's head over."

They all smiled and chuckled as they followed Hoseok into the BHA forest. The large forest had many secret passageways and sections used for different things. If you didn't know your way around, you could get lost easily. Hoseok lead them a large building in the middle of the forest. They couldn't actually see the building or how large it was from the front as there were trees everywhere, they didn't realize there was a building here until it appeared in front of them. Hoseok opened the large door in front of them and lead them in.

The boys were all struck in awe as they entered. The building was a large dome, an arena inside with weapons lined up on the walls. The boys were shocked by how huge the dome was. Hoseok smiled as he walked them in.

"The is the Outer Dome. This is where me and other Battle Mage trainees come to train and practice. Also the Big Hit Eidos and Adept's all come to train here as well, so you may run in to them from time to time."

The boys looked at the different equipment scattered throughout the Dome. Some the boys had never seen before. A deep voice boomed over them.

"Hoseok. Back for more?"

The boys all jumped and turned around. Behind them stood a man in blue armor. He had a short beard and had a slightly chubby face, but was handsome nevertheless. The boys were all shocked at his appearance as they hadn't sensed anyone was here. His aura was completely hidden to them. He looked over at Hoseok questioningly.

"Are these the other trainees?"

Hoseok bowed.

"Sung-Deuk hyung. Yes, these are the others. Bang Pdnim said that they would be training as Battle Mages from today onwards."

Sung-Deuk looked over the group. Hun-cheol bowed first, and the others all bowed as well.

"I'm the leader, Jung Hun-cheol. And this is Kim Namjoon, Shin Donghyuk, Min Yoongi and Jin Hyosang."

"Son Sung-Deuk. Battle Mage and Weapon Smith. I will be your teacher as well as your Power Designer in regards to Battle Maging. I will be teaching you the basics and then we will continue from there. Being a Battle Mage is a difficult fighting style to learn and even more difficult to master. Assuming that now of you have any experience, this will be even more difficult for you."

Being Adepts, the boys all knew how difficult it was going to be to pick up a new Magical Art form, but they were all determined individuals so they would try and do their best. Sung-Deuk observed them all and then got into a fighting stance.

"To see where you are at currently, I want you all to use the Synergy Weapons you have to try and strike me."

They boys were all stunned. They didn't know that they were going to need to fight so quickly after arriving. They hadn't even learnt anything.

"Hoseok, you can sit this one out. The rest of you, try to feel the power in the blades you have, allow the Energy Flux to flow through and around you. And then attack me."

Hoseok moved to the side. He cheered the boys on as he did. The boys stared at Hoseok pleadingly. They knew how powerful of a Battle Mage Hoseok was, and to be told that he was going to sit out of their first match was disheartening for the group. They couldn't rely on him at this moment.

Hoseok wanted to help them. But he knew that Sung-Deuk needed to see where their skill levels were at before he could help them. Hoseok sighed thinking about how powerful Son Sung-Deuk was.

They were going to get slaughtered.

The boys all looked at each other. Hun-cheol nodded resolutely, so the others did as well. They all tried to feel the power within the blades. Hun-cheol charged first. He ran and slashed down at Sung-Deuk. Sung-Deuk moved quickly and elegantly as he used his palm to hit the side of the blade, deflecting it. He then thrust a palm at Hun-cheol's chest. A loud and deep boom resonated within the dome and Hun-cheol was sent flying backwards. The sound was so low that it shook the group of boys to their core.

"Sloppy."

But they wouldn't be discouraged by this. Donghyuk and Yoongi charged in next. Donghyuk arrived before Yoongi, slightly faster, and aimed for Sung-Deuk's legs. Sung-Deuk simply leaped over the sword slash and landed a kick to Donghyuk's face. Again there was a loud bass sound and Donghyuk was sent flying back. Yoongi was caught off guard as Donghyuk was sent flying into him. Donghyuk crashed into Yoongi and they both hit the ground hard.

"Terrible timing."

Hyosang charged in next. He slashed at Sung-Deuk who dodged it easily and sent a palm at Hyosang's chest. Hyosang was able to dodge the palm and was about to counterattack when he suddenly was swept by Sung-Deuk's leg. As he hit the ground, Sung-Deuk hit him in the stomach. A loud bass sound was heard again and Hyosang was out.

"Not bad. But not good either."

Now it was just Namjoon left. Namjoon gripped the blade tightly and charged at Sung-Deuk. Sung-Deuk watched Namjoon approach. As he got near to Sung-Deuk, Namjoon clumsily slashed at Sung-Deuk. Sung-Deuk easily and gracefully moved out of the way. Namjoon and his blade kept slicing downwards. The blade hit the ground and snapped. Namjoon, unable to stop the momentum, fell with the blade, falling hard on the ground. Sung-Deuk stared at Namjoon who had essentially defeated himself and shook his head.

"We have a lot of work to do."