Comeback

TRAINING DAY 1

"Let's start with a race, to warm you up," said Zoe as she marches to the back of the sprites.

Hunter steps forwards, getting into position next to the other sprites, "on your marks ... Go!" Zoe shouts and they all set off except for Hunter who turned to face her, "seriously? What happened to set?"

Zoe frowns, "what?"

"On your mark, set, go ... You missed the 'set'," Hunter pointed out

"I didn't miss anything. The  others are way ahead of you"

"I'll catch up," Hunter dismissed, "I just found out you're training to be a teacher, aren't you too young?"

[Huh]

'What is it?'

[I just find it interesting that you always bring up someone's age when they are doing something great]

'That's not true, I never brought up your old age'

[That wasn't the best of defense]

'Yeah, true, I realized as soon as it left my mouth'

"Is this your way of trying to make an excuse for coming last?"

"No," he shakes his head, "this is my way of making a conversation"

"How about you win the race, then you talk to me?"

"Is that a promise?"

Zoe shrugs.

"Alright then," Hunter says, stretching for a bit before sprinting after his teammates hearing Zoe gasp as she was caught off guard by his freakish speed.

[You're such a show off]

'Can't blame me for being naturally gifted'

Hunter speeds past some Sprites at the back, then Morgan, then Petra, then Ollie, then Yui, and finally Thomas before coming to a stop in front of Zoe.

"How's that?" He smiled

"Not bad," she said with a neutral tone before turning to the others who were just now reaching the finish. "What was that?" Zoe shouted, "my cousin could do far better and he's only 7!" She claimed

Zoe turned to Hunter, "you were not as bad as the others so I'd allow you to choose a sparring partner."

Hunter looked at the others, his eyes scanning his teammates before stopping at the buff one, "him."

[Why?]

'You said to improve my abilities'

[Not like this!]

"Very well," Zoe nods before turning to the others and pairing them up with respective sparring partners.

Hunter walks up to Thomas, "hi, I'm Hunter, I heard about your impressive achievement from last year,"

Thomas smiles, "That was some good running back there, how fast was that?"

"Not sure, last time I checked I was at 60 meters in 3 seconds."

"Impressive, I move just over a second per 10 meters"

"That's pretty good too," Hunter acknowledged

"But not as good as you," Thomas concedes, "let's get started, I'll be on defense while you attack me"

"Alright," Hunter says before clenching his fists. He moves as fast as he could before throwing a punch that Tom barely dodges. The wave from the strike blows off the fence behind them drawing everyone else's attention

"Good," Tom commended, "Don't hold back!"

*PRESENT DAY*

Hunter walks into the portal that takes him into the battlefield for the team challenge.

The place looked like an abandoned modern city with most of the buildings either partially destroyed or brought to the ground entirely.

"Hunter!" He heard someone call him from behind, he turned to see Thomas.

"You're our substitute?" He asked

Hunter's brows furrow, "you sound disappointed"

"Only because Alexander and Petra were eliminated too quickly," he replies before placing his hand on Hunter's shoulders, "I'm glad it's you," he smiled

Hunter smiled back, "What are the numbers now?" He asked

"4 vs 3"

"That's not too bad"

"It's not bad at all. We need to find Yui, our comeback has just begun!"

...

Yui began breathing more heavily as she was starting to tire out. She had been fighting three mages on her own with no sign of her teammates.

She had managed to beat down one of them though she knew it was only a matter of time before he got up again.

Two of the mages surge forward, hitting her with a purple energy beam that sends her flying backward only for her to somersault midair and regain her footing.

The mages gave her no time to rest, rushing forward almost immediately her feet touch the ground to deliver yet another blow but Yui was faster than they were. She used both her arms to stop their attacks before her fists began glowing green as energy surrounds them.

One of the mages throws a right jab which she blocks by raising her left elbow high before throwing a right uppercut to the second mage that sends him crashing into a building behind.

The other mage withdrew her hand before turning and throwing a left hook. Yui sends her hips back before bending her knees like a squat, she then shifts her body weight from one leg to the other as she rose back up, countering with a thunderous left hook of her own that causes the ground to crack and knocks out her opponent.

"Hey, hey, stop hoarding all the fun!" Thomas called out

Yui rolls her eyes.

"How many are here?" Tom asked

"Three ... Well, two now although I haven't seen their substitute yet," she replied

"I can sense him coming this way," Hunter said, "You two handle these two, I've got the substitute," he added before racing to where he was sensing the last competitor from.

It doesn't take long before Hunter caught sight of his opponent, a very tall man with a very angry demeanor.

The two approach each other at full speed with the guy using his long limbs to his advantage, throwing a left hook and a quick right hook before Hunter could close the distance between them, forcing Hunter into defense. Hunter ducks to avoid the attack, allowing both punches to pass overhead.

The guy attempts an uppercut before Hunter could counter. Hunter dives backward, escaping the attack but the newly made distance did not stop the tall guy from attempting a front snap kick.

Hunter squats quickly, hooking his arm to his opponent's knee pit so he could take him down quickly only for the tall guy to use his body strength and force his leg downwards, forcing Hunter to abandon his takedown and move aside as his legs strike the ground instead, causing it to crack.

The tall guy closes the distance, throwing a right cross which Hunter evades by a hair's breadth, the strike landing on a building behind that cracks before crumbling to the ground.

Hunter's jaw drops and his eyes widen as he looks from the tall guy to the now-destroyed building and then back at the guy again, "Yeesh!" Hunter shuddered, "M -- May -- Maybe calm down a bit?!"

The tall guy exhales loudly, his shoulders slouching down and his hands hanging by his sides.

[He's worn out]

'My turn then'

Hunter steps forward, twisting his body to move his rear foot to the front before swinging a striking foot from side to head level, forcing the tall guy to stop the strike with his forearms.

Hunter wastes no time, turning his body in a quick 45 degrees motion before releasing a kick using the instep of his foot.

The tall guy blocks again and Hunter turns again, his back facing his opponent before releasing yet another kick. The strike catches the tall guy on the chest, he staggers backward but Hunter doesn't slow down, twisting his body while lifting his leg, his feet colliding with the tall guy's jaw.

[Time to finish this]

Pink energy surrounds Hunter's fists as he steps forward and throws a right cross to the tall guy's face, which knocks him out.

The sky darkens and all of a sudden, Hunter is back at the main arena with Tom and Yui by his side.

"And the winner is ... The SPRITES!" The announcer shouted while the crowd cheer them on.

The trio waved at the crowd before walking back to their bench where their teammates shake and applaud them.

"Great work, everyone," Lauren commended

"You know what this calls for?" Alexander chipped

Everyone turned to him expectantly

"A celebration!"

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