Chapter 2: Close Combat Class
"WAKE UP!" Instructor Fu hollered. This man was covered with fully expanded muscles on every inch of his body. If he weren't stuck at the height of 4' 2" he could have been a called a hulk. But now he was more frequently referred to as a muscular dwarf.
"WHERE IS EVERYONE'S ENERGY? YOU LOOK LIKE YOU DIDN'T GET YOUR BABY NAP YESTERDAY!" He continued to shout. "LET'S TRY AGAIN, GOOD MORNING CLASS!"
"GOOD MORNING INSTRUCTOR FU," the class replied in their loudest voices.
Instructor Fu was a retired Silver Cross Admiral from the Silvercross Legion which fought the Merfolk in Russia. He was responsible for the Close Combat Class to ensure that all graduates of Silver Cross Academy would at least have the ability to fight when they were sent out into the field. Although it was unlikely for humans to beat the merfolk with brute strength, a basic foundation in martial arts and close combat will prevent them from freezing up if a merfolk ever manages to get close to them. Statistics had shown that although humans couldn't defeat merfolk in close combat, having a foundation in it allowed them to dodge around and deflect blows long enough for reinforcements to arrive and protect them. Thus, whether the students planned to train as shield warriors or gunmasters they would all have to learn close combat in high school.
"Today we will hold a combat assessment, all of you are to enter the dueling platform and fight it out. Each person you defeat will earn you one point, the last one standing gets extra credit," Instructor Fu said.
The entire class groaned, well, except for Chen Xie as he had no idea what was going on. The class lined up and marched onto the 100 square meter disc which had been designated as the location for their weekly hell. After nearly two years of this, no student showed anyone mercy. Especially not the girls. At the beginning, students would leave them alone, later on they became the targets for the guys in class because who didn't want free and easy points?
"BEGIN!" Instructor Fu's voice boomed.
"Lightning Sword Flash!" one student yelled out as his hand came chopping down on a girl nearby. This student's name was Xue Lian and he was the descendant of one of the lead researchers from Laboratory 29, sometimes called the Beyblade Metal Series Fan Club because they developed, well, beyblades that could be used as weapons along with corresponding martial arts based on the special moves of certain beyblades from the show which began airing some three thousand years ago.
In response to Xue Lian's chop the girl jumped slightly before pushing on his chopping hand with one finger which resulted in pushing herself out of the way of the chop.
Not willing to give up, Xue Lian followed up with a 4 kicks as he spun, each kick gaining momentum from his spin as he cried out, "Tempestuous Whirlwind Sword!"
On the other side of the field Xu Lei calmly stretched his body while yawning, occasionally waving in the air here and there as he smacked some students off the stage like he was swatting flies. Since the first day of Combat Class he had been the undisputed champion of the arena floor.
Surprisingly, on the north and south ends of the arena two girls were hunting down some guys by flicking their fingers on different acupoints on their bodies and immobilizing them. One of them was Sima Jiuling while the other was a girl named Mu Bingfan. These two were said to have had some connection to Laboratory 5, also known as the Avatar: The Last Airbender fan club which had used the various techniques demonstrated in yet another show from the early 2000's to develop weapons. There was apparently some qi blocking techniques which were brought into practical use during the early days of the invasion when a crazy scientist who was working with a martial arts master found out that there were certain pressure points on the body of the merfolk which, when hit just right, could immobilize parts of their body temporarily. Interestingly enough, some of these pressure points also existed on the human body.
While all of this was going on Chen Xie was quietly weaving in between the crowd to make himself a more inconspicuous target. However, things rarely go according to plan when the author of the story has decided to make you the main character.
"Lion Gale Force Wall!" Xue Lian roared, his body instantly picked up speed and he flew over the floor while spinning, successfully crashing into the other students and sending them falling from the arena. The direction he was headed towards was exactly the center where Chen Xie had just evaded getting punched by someone.
Damn it! Chen Xie cursed inwardly while taking in a large breath.
Here it comes. Xu Lei who had been quietly observing Chen Xie for a while thought silently.
Chen Xie exhaled.
Then, well, nothing. Because this isn't one of those stories where the main character has some crazy background history where he has been training like a mad man since birth and has been hiding his powers all along. Nor is this one of those books where the main character was part of some creepy experiment and/or is the world's best assassin. Nope, Chen Xie simply took a deep breath, is it so hard to believe?
After taking a deep breath Chen Xie Lay down on the ground, ignored all the noise and simply fell asleep.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone