Sheer Willpower

Aizen took his fourth breath, slightly heavier and longer than before.

This time, the covered area reached Ayduin's spot.

'Huh!? That's checkmate, right? It was an amazing technique that could cover a 360-degree area around one without any gaps. And after the fourth breath, I could feel the tension and the feeling that the next attack would be swift and powerful.' Ainkrad thought.

He was still amazed how a boy with a small build like Aizen could come up with such a flawless technique. He considered if Aizen was the descendant of a Grand Knight or even the strongest warrior in the ranking, a Genesis Knight.

Only the families of those knights were capable of creating such a formidable technique.

However, although he praised the technique's prowess, it was lacking in many ways, as displayed by Aizen.

Firstly, it was weak against ranged attacks. More precisely, not the right technique to deal with a mage.

The second was the speed and penetration power.

That ability could be flawless because it relied on moving the left foot with the right foot as the center. And for it to reach its full potential, an above-average speed was needed to cover the area around it.

After the speed was obtained, next, a powerful thrust was needed to compensate. So that every attack was not in vain.

Ainkrad saw that Aizen simply lacked physical strength, which had not been tempered. As long as the boy tempered his body, those two weaknesses wouldn't get in his way.

Moreover, he believed Aizen was proficient in fighting abilities with that technique alone. And would become even more powerful when his body reached the standard of a knight.

Finally, a student with a natural talent to become a formidable fighter appeared.

There was no true happiness for a teacher other than finding a gifted student who could absorb all of his teachings. Even if that student was the descendant of a prestigious knight, he still had the qualities to teach combat that no other knight possessed. After all, he was a former army commander in the Aslan Empire.

'A hidden gem! No! I have found an unpolished gem!'

Ainkrad tightened his grip at the thought.

Raven Academy's Knight Division only had three classes, with only 15 or 16 students per class. Thus, it was difficult to forge students to become real knights in a short period because the competition wasn't tense either.

Moreover, in special inter-school match events that had both mage and knight majors, Raven Academy always lost in the knight battle category.

Even though that didn't have much effect on him, he was still a little annoyed that his students weren't able to win against other schools.

Now, seeing such a talented prodigy, he began to see that the future of the Knight Division would be bright.

Ainkrad then glanced at the training ground arena again after thinking about that. He understood why Ayduin was confused and was still thinking of a way to attack.

"Well, it's useless. The outcome of this duel is clear now."

Just as Ainkrad said, Aizen started advancing rapidly after his fifth breath.

Ayduin gaped in astonishment, hastily picking up the wooden sword that lay beside him. However, even though he managed to grab his weapon, his fate did not change in the slightest.

Aizen came at full speed and threw successive thrusts with the wooden stick. The attack that didn't give any break was stronger and faster than the first one that knocked Ayduin down.

Face, shoulders, chest, and stomach were not spared.

The one-sided attack left all the stunned students speechless.

It was a horrifying sight for them to see blood splattering onto the floor, plus Ayduin's powerlessness to counter or block the successive attacks.

The opponent was helpless and couldn't fight anymore, but the attacks didn't stop at all.

Ruthless!

That was what was in the minds of the students, who were both frightened and intimidated by Aizen's method.

The consecutive attacks lasted for 30 seconds and ended when Aizen no longer pointed his wooden stick forward.

Ayduin also fell to the ground even though he had been unconscious for a long time. He could only collapse after the attack stopped.

The students were stunned by such an ending. They went into the Knight Division thinking it was cool. But as it turned out, it was a path that was scary and awful. They have to be prepared for anything and get hurt and bleed.

Ainkrad had no intention of stopping the chain of attacks as he knew that it would not deal severe or fatal damage, as the technique Aizen demonstrated lacked the lethal power and speed needed for it to be an absolute skill.

When he approached and announced the winner of the duel, he also realized that Aizen was injured using the technique.

Blood flowed down the wooden stick that Aizen was holding. And the grip marks of both hands were plastered on the weapon with blood.

Aizen's palms were torn and shredded because he had to hold the wooden stick firmly. His feet were also bleeding from the firmness of his footing. To not be pushed back. And could provide the power needed for those thrusts.

Even though it hurt more than being beaten up by Arman and his gang, he didn't flinch in the slightest because it was done to show what he could.

He was a boy but also a man who must stay true to his word to be proud of himself.

Moreover, he needed to exert all his current strength so that none of the students would dare to challenge him again soon. He wouldn't be able to fight three or four matches with his degenerate stamina.

Aizen then took a deep breath and turned his face towards the sky while closing his eyes.

'Reeva, did you see this? Wherever you are, I hope you are well. I promise to end the Omni War era at this time, and even if I take a detour, I will find you eventually.'

"Student Barthomelo!?

"Student!!?

"Aizen!!"

Ainkrad's loud voice finally awakened Aizen from the act of remembering the past. He opened his eyes and looked back at Ainkrad.

"Yes, instructor. If anyone wants to duel again, I'm ready anytime."

Ainkrad shook his head, "No need. I had told them to disperse for the time being while taking Student Torrel to the school's infirmary for treatment."

"Alright, sir." Aizen replied. He turned and headed for the weapon cabinets beside the training ground. He then put down the wooden stick and took the hand and foot weights.

That made Ainkrad frown. He approached Aizen and gave advice.

"Student Barthomelo, I suggest you go to the school infirmary as well to take care of the wound. Apart from that, you also need to rest. So, it's better if you don't go to school tomorrow.

"Maybe I sound unreasonable. But this is because your physical strength is still far below the standard. So there are times when rest is necessary for a knight."

Aizen didn't answer and kept on wearing weights on his arms and legs. However, he heard all of Ainkrad's words.

Ainkrad had no intention of stopping Aizen from using weights because it was meant to increase the physical traits.

In front of sheer willpower, he couldn't bear to tell his student to stop.

Aizen stood up and nodded to Ainkrad. It was good advice, and he also realized that he did need a little rest.

He was already starting to feel the drowsiness and accumulated fatigue he had suffered since his rebirth. He decided to go to the infirmary to bandage his hands and feet.

Ainkrad was alone in the class. He looked at the training ground with affectionate eyes.

"How crazy the first day was! Well. In the future, it will be even more exciting and fun because there is an interesting figure present."

The next day, Aizen still attended the class.

Ayduin was also there, his face still a little swollen from being beaten up so badly yesterday.

Ainkrad focused his attention on Aizen rather than Ayduin. He needed to determine whether Aizen would be able to continue with the class training or not.

Aizen still felt pain and some of his muscles ached because his body suddenly carried out strenuous activities because he usually didn't exercise. But that didn't matter since he had already instilled fear in those children. He could take it easy going through the training.

"Fine. Warm up first before we start the main practice. Do it for 30 minutes, starting now!"

All the students looked more excited than the previous day. They warmed up more enthusiastically and didn't talk much anymore.

Meanwhile, Aizen was only doing a moderate warm-up. He knew the basic training routine of the Knight Division class. It would be a long day if he spent all his stamina and energy warming up.

He needed to be conservative in using physical force with his small and weak body. Not to mention considering the weight instruments that make him weigh 20 kg heavier than before.

Hard training also needed efficiency, not carelessness, to get satisfying and maximum results.