(MC POV)
"Mark! Are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?!" Elder Gong fussed, his hands patting my chest at where the lightning bolt supposedly struck.
What the hell… You called for a live combat scenario yourself! Why in the world are you panicking over one of the students getting hit?! It was even just a simple lightning technique that barely did anything too!
The whole blasting back thing was just me jumping backwards and making pained noises, why are you so dramatic about it?
"Sire! Are you alright? The mortal did not hurt your Immortal Essence did he?!" Sylphy cried out, sounding even more pained than I had been.
For her to be concerned is understandable at least. She believes me to be some important god from the God Plane or whatever she called it. I would be concerned too if my superior got hurt in some way.
But what surprised me the most is Brendan panicking over me as well.
"Mark! Are you injured? Do you need help?! What the hell did that idiot do?!"
I only remembered sharing some muffins and a conversation or two with him, why is he suddenly so chummy like we've known each other for years?
"It's fine, it's fine. I'm ok. I guess I'm not cut out for combat after all," I shrugged, standing back up on my feet while dusting myself.
Elder Gong looked at me, unconvinced, "Mas… Mark, you sure you're alright? Should I call for the healer? I have a healing potion that I can give you if you need it?"
I waved my hand, "No, no, no. Like I said, I'm totally ok. I was just… Well… I guess I still need to work on my reaction speed. Ahahaha!"
"I see… In that case, you can sit this one out, Mark," Elder Gong gestured to the side. "You can… Erm… Try to improve on your Quark circulation speed or something?"
Why are you so unsure? Are you trying to blow my cover? Is it that hard to act like a proper teacher with me around?
…
I'm the problem aren't I? Damnit.
Elder Gong gave a small cough to regain the students' attention, "Next, I suppose Brendan should try to go up against Tekiteh."
Brendan gave me a thumbs up before heading to his position in front of Tekiteh, who hasn't stopped scowling ever since he saw the three people fussing over him.
No doubt he probably thought he was going to be congratulated for his victory instead of being completely ignored by everyone in favour of the loser.
"I knew you were trash from day one, but what you've done is beyond acceptable, Tekiteh!" Brendan growled.
Tekiteh furrowed his brows at him, "What the hell are you saying you stupid incel? This is a damn mock battle! Of course one side will get beaten!"
I hate to say it, but he has a point you know? These people are being rather unreasonable right now.
"Excuses!" Brendan dismissed his argument with a swipe of his arm. "I will properly teach you a lesson in his place!"
I'm going to have to place my bets on Tekiteh for this one unfortunately. Sorry.
The moment Elder Gong called for them to begin, the two of them started casting their own Techniques from where they stood.
It's obvious to me that Tekiteh is just mocking Brendan at this point since he knows he will be faster in his Technique casting. Not sure why he would be so aggressive with me on the other hand though? Didn't I show everyone my Quark Circulation speed was abysmal?
Ah, maybe he wasn't expecting me to be taken out that easily. Guess my little trick is working.
The loud bang of an electrical discharge shook me out from my thoughts.
As expected, Tekiteh had summoned forth his lightning faster than Brendan could even materialise anything.
The merchant boy was left sprawling on the floor, disorientated by the blast he had received.
Not even waiting for the verdict to be called, Sylphy had already taken up Brendan's previous spot with an expression of anger evident on her face.
"Useless! Useless! Useless! I will be the one to enact vengeance for sire! Call it out, mortal!"
Sylphy… Your real face is showing…
Chris nudged me with an elbow, "Popular, ain't 'cha?"
"Still no chance with us though," 'Chris with a K' laughed. "Gotta work harder to bring us under you!"
No, I don't want any of you under me. Both figuratively and literally so you can stop poking me now.
As soon as Elder Gong called for the duel to start, Sylphy had already summoned multiple blades of wind that she threw towards Tekiteh mercilessly.
The poor boy didn't even have time to throw up a proper defence before he got shredded by the blades. His clothes all torn up and multiple lacerations appeared across every part of his body.
Woah, woah. This is a little excessive isn't it?!
Why isn't Elder Gong saying anything?! Oi! He's gonna get killed at this rate! Why are you just nodding your head and smiling?! This isn't the time to appreciate Sylphy's talent!
Just as I was about to step in to stop her, Tekiteh let out a loud, inhumane roar that generated a shockwave with him in its epicentre, blasting us away from him.
I managed to flip myself up on my feet before I hit the ground, the twins and Brendan weren't so lucky though.
I turned back to focus on the scruffy kid.
He was hunched over with blood dripping from all the wounds that Sylphy had inflicted on him, making it a rather gruesome sight to look at.
Just before I could assume that the kid manifested some kind of special power at the last moment, his arms lifted into the air unnaturally before splitting open into two halves.
I watched on as his body started to expand upwards, his face and torso lengthening and gaining more muscle mass with antler-like horns growing from his head. His first pair of arms tripled in size though his second pair remained human sized, the bones shifting visibly to attach itself to the underside of his first arm.
His legs began to elongate as well, his ankles poking out from the back and transforming him into a digitigrade monster.
"An Elder Wendigo… I should've known," Sylphy spat out in disgust.
Wendigo? Those monsters that can transform into other humans and have a great liking to eating other humans? Those pseudo immortal monsters that are impervious to almost any physical damage?
Oh wow… Rest in peace Tekiteh. I'm assuming the real him must have been possessed or eaten by one before this thing took his place.
Great. I thought we could have a simple lesson for once and apparently that was too much to ask too.
I hope my disciples are at least having a good vacation and not having to deal with bullshit like this.
