The crystal's deal.

.

.

.

Arlo was startled when he observed Feron laughing in front of him.

"What's with your laughter?" And who said I was a womanizer, anyway?" In a quiet voice, Arlo screamed.

Feron confidently pushed Arlo while saying, "No one knows you better than me and Lynorr; now go, Edward didn't let me off the hook so imagine him eating you alive if you didn't spar, being a disciple of him like me."

After much reluctance, Arlo made a tentative step toward Lynorr, then stopped and glanced back.

"Will you spar?" Arlo inquired while making an effort to squander as much time as possible.

"Are you kidding me? This one spar is plenty for the rest of my life," Feron said with a raised eyebrow.

Arlo gave the impression of someone needing aid desperately, but when Feron didn't respond, he warily walked toward Lynorr, who was brandishing her sword.

When Arlo first noticed Lynorr aggressively swinging her swords, he hesitantly swallowed down his saliva as if it were poison.

Feron turned and proceeded toward Ayrton, thinking in his head, "Let's check it out."

…

Every student stood at a small distance from their partners before sparring.

"If you have defeated your partner," Edward announced, "Immediately spar with the next person who has defeated their partners." "You all will have three brief cycles to win against most people."

"Lady, are you ready?" Ophni asked while grinning and glancing at Lydan.

The blade swung in a full circle before landing in Lydan's hand as he tossed it from one hand to the other, gripping the sword tightly. Lydan glanced at Ophni with a smirk.

Ophni chuckled as he said, "A wonderful trick you got there, Lady."

"Let's see, what you've got?" Lydan gestured as he grinned.

Ophni stated as he awaited the signal from Edward, "You are tempting me."

…

Lynorr said to Arlo, her eyes glowing with anticipation, "You may go if you're terrified."

Arlo murmured, "Like I had that option in the first place."

"What did you say?" Lynorr questioned since she couldn't figure out Arlo's muttering above all the noise the other students were making.

"You drag..." When Arlo saw Lynorr grinning, he interrupted himself mid-sentence.

Lynorr said, "Exactly."

Arlo's hands sweating as he clenched the blade hard, and lamented internally at his misfortunate, "So I can run but exactly can't go." He thought to himself.

"Let me strike you a deal," Lynorr offered.

Arlo said briefly, "No, I'm Alright."

"You don't desire it?" Lynorr enquired.

Arlo gave in. "Tell me what it is first?" he said.

Lynorr offered, "If you win against me, I'll discover Feron's crystals all by myself, and if I win, you'll have to do it yourself and keep me out of it."

"Are you serious?" Surprised, Arlo enquired.

"I am generous," Lynorr said.

Arlo was blissfully grinning; he didn't see Lynorr, who was staring at him with a sly smile, "No, you are not generous in the least, come to think of it I can get fortunate if I win, and then she has to collect those rare gems by herself." He again thought in his mind.

In her head, Lynorr murmured, "Fish is on the hook."

Arlo nodded, his eyes beginning to light up with excitement. "Okay, I'll do my best."

Lynorr replied with a smirk, "Good."

…

Each teacher had a clear view of the three pairs as they stood in their allotted locations.

As he descended the stairs and approached the royals, Gage stated, "I'll take two royals and one pair of noble ladies."

Edward said, "Go ahead."

While waiting for the start signal, each student was intently observing their sparring partner.

In a loud voice, Edward shouted, "On the count of three!"

Ophni gave a wicked chuckle and remarked, "Lady, there we go."

Ophni saw Lydan excitedly nodding as he held his blade behind his back, parallel to his spinal cord.

Ophni replied, perplexed, "Lady, that stance might get you in trouble."

Without responding, Lydan merely grinned as he was staring at Ophni.

Ophni answered, "Suit yourself; your incompetence in swordsmanship won't make me spare you."

Edward began counting at "one."

…

Lynorr stated as she swung the blade in her palm, and after holding it hard with both hands, "You appear more passionate in sparring now."

Edward kept counting, "Two."

Arlo answered, keeping his guard up, and said, "I just like to spar with you."

Edward issued the last signal, "Three."

The whole abyss, which formerly held seven hundred students, now appears to be a military training facility.

As he took in the view in front of him, Edward thought to himself, "It's wonderful; seems like home."

…

When Edward gave the final signal, Lydan sped toward Ophni and swung his sword at him with all of his might as soon as he brought it from behind to the front of him, slicing the air.

Ophni defended himself with his sword from Lydan's sword attack, but he was astonished by Lydan's incredible power.

As Lydan's face drew nearer, Ophni murmured, gazing into his beautiful blue eyes, "The strength is worthy of praise, Lady."

Lydan was wielding an enormous amount of force with his sword, while Ophni was defending himself with an equal amount of force, both of their swords intertwined. Lydan was staring directly into Ophni's searing red eyes.

Gage said as he stood back and sensed the strength that both Lydan and Ophni were utilizing through their human abilities, "This feels more intense than Ayrton and Feron's spar."

Edward said as he peered at the two of them through his see-through power, "And he was glaring at me for waking him up early, now look at him enjoying it."

"Are we going to continue like this, lady? While shielding himself from Lydan's blade, Ophni remarked with a sneer.

Ophni's blade served as a springboard for Lydan as he vaulted behind him while grinning.

Once further taken aback, Ophni quickly glanced into the area where Lydan had leaped and noticed that no one was there.

He looked around him from all sides but didn't find a single trace of Lydan when he suddenly felt alarmed.

To be continued...