Taste of Victory

The two cadets continued circled each other warily, sizing each other up. When suddenly Lin flashed Zhang a smirk, signalling him to come at him.

"I will make this quick, just stand still and don't resist," Zhang said, taking quick steps forward, his fists at the ready.

Lin remained still, his eyes fixed on Zhang's movements.

Suddenly, Zhang lunged forward, aiming a punch at Lin's face, sluggish but aggressive.

Lin stepped backwards with incredible speed and dodged the punch easily, stepping to the side and counterattacking with a swift kick to Zhang's stomach.

Zhang staggered backward but quickly regained his footing.

The best combination he had learnt involved defending and countering when he has a clear opening. All he was allowed to do was defend and deal with surehit blows when necessary.

"You have have the strength, but you lack techniques," Lin mocked softly, "I am a bit disappointed at your carelessness,"

"How long do you think you can hold out?" Zhang asked, anger scribbled on his forehead.

Zhang, feeling annoyed at Lin's words, charged forward once more, his fists flying in a flurry of uncoordinated punches.

Lin blocked and dodged each one, his movements fluid and precise as Lin hopped around, dodging the strikes. His speed and agility were incredible for a fibble 16 year old.

"Can he read his steps?"

"He is really quick on his feet,"

"Look at him move gracefully like the wind,"

…

Lin could hear murmurs from the cadets as they made commentaries about the ongoing tussle.

Finally, Lin saw an opening.

Zhang had thrown barrage of punches and had recklesly put his hands down out of exhaustion. He was wide open, and Lin dashed in delivering a solid punch to Zhang's jaw.

Zhang stumbled backwards, dazed. Lin moved in to finish him off, but Zhang regained his senses just in time to dodge the attack. With a burst of energy, he charged forward, his fists flying faster than ever before.

"You are really fast for someone who had just had his ass handed to him," Zhang scoffed at Lin, ignoring the exhaustion that is clearly eating him up.

"It is funny how my ass was handed to me, now I am handing your ass to you," Lin replied, signalling for Zhang to come at him again.

As the fight went on, Lin began to gain the upper hand. He blocked Zhang's punches with ease and landed a few solid hits of his own. Zhang, frustrated by his inability to land a clean blow, grew more and more reckless.

"Can you stand at a place? Let's get this over with already," Zhang said angrily. He had come up to the front of class with the intention of clearly knocking Lin out before Lin lands him another hit. But so far, He has been at the disadvantage.

"His speed is really incredible. He keeps invading my attacks like he could clearly read them, " Zhang thought to himself, retreating to catch his breath.

Lin knew that he had to be careful not to get too cocky. One false move could mean the end of the fight, and he didn't want to risk injuring himself or his opponent.

As the fight wore on, Zhang grew tire, and his punches grew slower, and his movements more sluggish. But he wasn't willing to give up - they were both determined to emerge victorious.

"You are sure you can keep up? Your face is really red from where I stand. I can't tell if it is rage or a result of the hits you have taken, " Lin teased Zhang. He was out to prove a point and earn some respect so as not to be a target to bullies.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Zhang got his clean opportunity.

Lin had blocked and countered each punch, but Zhang's speed and ferocity were too much to handle. Finally, Zhang landed a punch squarely on Lin's nose, sending him backwards.

The other cadets erupted into cheers as Zhang managed to deal a critical blow at Lin.

Lin wiped his face, trying to regain his composure. Zhang charged in to finish up what he had started, but Lin moved out of the way like he could read Zhang's every move, and he landed a powerful blow to his opponent's midsection. Zhang staggered back, gasping for breath.

Lin could have pressed his advantage, but instead, he stepped back, allowing Zhang to recover. He reminded himself that this was just a training exercise, and there was no need to inflict unnecessary harm on Zhang.

Lin was eager to take it slow and wear out Zhang completely.

Zhang was panting and covered in sweat when Lin's had come flying connecting with the side of his his head, knocking Zhang to the ground.

The instructor called out for the cadets to stop, and Lin stepped back, feeling a rush of exhilaration. He had managed to punish his opponent and had done so without wearing himself out.

Lin felt a sense of pride and accomplishment - he had faced one of the toughest fighters in the crowd and had emerged victorious.

[New achievement unlocked: Future soldier]

[10 exp rewarded]

[victory: 20 exp awarded]

Lin smiled at the notification and popped into view while walking back into the crowd. He could see the shock on the cadets' faces and the admiration in their eyes.

The class went cold as they watched him return to his spot while Zhang tried to find his feeling off the ground. The lanky Lin had pulled up a stunning performance in front of his classmates.

Sergeant was impressed but wondered how he learnt to pull out moves like that. Lon reminded him of his youthful days, and Lin already seemed to be mimicking his footwork. He would keep an eye on Lin, he thought.

As Lin sat down, he gazed to meet Draco's again. This time, Draco let out an almost invisible smile of approval.

"He seems impressed," Lin thought, "Maybe I have earned his respect too."

Ringeck stepped up and called out a few more names before Draco was paired with Hector Sield.

The fight had ended even before it began.

"I heard you are the quiet one, I hope you don't mind taking a loss from the loud one?" Hector joked as the two locked eyes about to exchange blows.

Draco didn't reply but dash out, extending his left arm faking a punch. Hector had thrown his both arms out to block the attack and caught a glimpse of Draco right hand coming for his face.

Hector tried invading but was too late as Draco fist made a clean connection with his face, sending him tumbling.

"The loud one can finally stay silent," Draco whispered to Hector, bending over to lend him a hand up.

Draco had whispered, but his voice had echoed through the class. This was the first time his classmates were hearing him utter a loud word in public.

The class fell quiet again as Draco walked back to his position.

Lin watched Draco walk back to his seat, "mystery really looks good on him. He seems so cool and eery, "Lin thought.

As the class ended and the cadets began to disperse, Lin's opponent, Zhang, approached him with a grin on his face.

"Nice work," he said, extending his hand, "You were really good out there.

Lin shook his hand, feeling a sense of camaraderie and mutual respect.

"Thanks," he said, smiling back. "You're pretty good yourself."

Sergeant Ringeck walked onto the stage and announced their grades based on their performances.

[Draco : 10 points]

[Brody: 1point]

[Suzi: 10 points]

[Zhang: 6 points]

[Lin: 9 points]

[Derek: 4 points]

[Hector: 0 point]

[Izuki: 8 points]

[Anna: 6 points]

[Rudy: 4 points]

...

Sergeant Ringeck went ahead to explain to the cadets why they had such grades.

The loud ball went off in the hallway, signalling the end of the session.

Lin knew that he still had a lot to learn, but he felt that he was on the right track.

He had finally tried out his juice skill and felt almost invincible reading and countering opponents' moves before they could even move. He didn't need Zen putting his body in autopilot to help him win.

He whispered a soft "thank you" to Zen for providing him with tactics and videos for beginners combat.

He glanced at his stat as he walked out of class amidst the other cadets.

[ HP: 14/15]

[ Speed: 15]

[ Strength: 8]

[ Stamina: 11]

[ skills: Juice lv1]

[ Exp: 20/200]

[ One stat point available]

[ One upgrade available]

Lin hadn't noticed he was due for an upgrade. On seeing this, he was overjoyed. The faster he levelled up, the stronger he became.

Lin was contemplating adding his stat point to his stamina this time. He had felt pressured fighting against Zhang, who had put his stamina to test. He would upgrade when he had gotten to the comfort of his dorm to avoid any surprise that would make him cause a scene.

"Do not forget to keep practicing to get better" The instructor shouted out at the cadets were heading for the door, "Remember that only those who perform exceptionally can only progress to become rangers at the end of your basic training"