With the battle’s conclusion, the girls attacked Cynrik and Brance; Gabby flung herself at him and, like a monkey, wrapped herself around his body, knocking them both to the ground as her tears broke the floodgate.
Selene, who was equally as upset, ran up to Cynrik and buried her head in his chest, hiding her tears from everyone but allowing him to feel them dropping on his shirt.
“You *sniffle* insufferable bastard, how dare you fucking, *sniffle* worry me like that. Look at your arms; they look like ground beef *sniffle*.” Then, drawing back enough to beat her fists on Cynrik’s chest, Selene vented her frustrations on him, making the boy sigh loudly and lean forward so he could rest his chin on top of her head.
“Yeah, yeah, im an asshole, I know, but darling, ima need you to chill with the hammer fists. I am barely standing as is right now.” Seeing Selene in such a broken state, strangely, Cynrik wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her, but when he tried, he quickly realized his arms were locked in an L with his hands hanging limply out of his control.
Not far away, Gabby was just lying in Brance’s arms as he rubbed small circles on the crying girl’s back. He felt terrible that she had to watch the fight while out of the loop, but the fact that he and Cynrik weren’t taking it seriously until the final clash, was something that the Over-Break hosts could only know. The fewer people who knew, the better, including Gabby and Benny. So, all Brance could do was try and comfort her for now.
Ignoring the two young couples, the Instructors, Professor, and Headmaster, calmly walked over to the bleachers and began answering any questions the students had. However, there was one question that everyone was afraid to ask, and that was what Affinity the Headmaster had used to stop the fight. At the time, Cynrik and Brance weren’t focused on the skill he used to draw in their attacks. Instead, they were concerned about escaping the destruction of their clash, but the students had seen it all.
Just as the Cyclones reached the Swords, the sky warped and ripped open, then like a giant creature’s mouth, the crack gobbled up the two attacks without allowing them to touch. Like how you would expect a black hole to absorb matter, the spatial crack made it possible to avoid any damage from occurring outside of its reach, allowing the students to exhale the breath they didn’t know had been held.
Ignoring the topic of what Affinity and skill the Headmaster had used, the students hungrily searched for more information on how the Brothers could manifest a visual effect for the elemental particles or how could the gap between Tier-1 and Tier-2 be so vast.
While the Headmaster was giving his lecture, back on the field, the girls had finally gathered themselves and helped the brothers up so that they could walk over to each other. Even though they were incredibly stubborn, givin no other option, Cynrik and Brance were forced to lean on Selene and Gabby to walk.
Closing the distance of several meters, Brance finally saw the extent of the damage to Cynrik’s hands and arms. And Extensive it was, the flesh was barely intact, exposing the muscle and even some bone to the open air.
Gabby sucked in a sharp breath when she saw Cynrik’s arms, making him smile sheepishly.
“Yeah, it’s pretty bad, had worse, but nonetheless, I went a little too hard there at the end, hehe,” Wiggling his lifeless hands still held in the horizontal L pose, Cynrik stated helplessly.
“Ok, for sure, stop that; it’s gross. I was gunna ask why you were T-Rexing, but seeing your injuries, I am surprised you can even perform that little bit of movement. So let me guess; your elbow joints are locked in place?” Using his right hand to cover Gabby’s eyes, shielding her from the gross floppy wiggles of Cynrik’s dead hands, Brance scolded his brother before confirming why he was holding his arms like a dinosaur.
“Every dinosaur feared the T-rex,” Cynrik said before creeping closer to Gabby, who had moved Brance’s hands curiously and jumped, scaring the girl.
“Rawrrrrrr!” He playfully yelled while flailing his hands about, forcing Gabby to shrink back behind Brance. The gruesome sight was too much for her stomach to handle, and she could feel the vomit creeping up.
“I.V.A.R!” Noticing Gabby shaking behind him, Brance reached out and grabbed one of the bloody arms and not so gently squeezed it before channeling a third of what little MP he had left to use [Advanced Healing]. Within seconds, the skin on Cynrik’s right arm regrew before sealing itself, leaving stretched-out scar tissue behind. Along with the new skin, the nerve endings healed, sending an excruciating amount of pain surging up Cynrik’s arm,
“FUCKING HELL! WARN A GUY NEXT TIME!” Shouting in anger while pulling back his partially healed arm, Cynrik sucked in a sharp breath before compartmentalizing the pain he was experiencing.
“Huff, huff, quit your bitching, you big baby. Huff, Gabby, help me drink a Mana Pot so that I can patch up this moron’s other arm.” Brance grumbled, leaning all his weight on Gabby, who quickly wrapped her arm around his waist and pulled out a medium Mana Potion from her inventory. Next, she carefully flicked off the cap and held the bottle to his lips.
The effect was instant, and just like before, Brance ungracefully grabbed Cynrik’s other arm and repaired as much damage as possible. Although [Advanced Healing] was incapable of restoring lost limbs, fixing the damaged tissue was no problem, but it would take around three to four skill uses on each arm to fully heal Cynrik’s injuries.
Luckily, Cynrik was good with pain. So even though it hurt like hell, between his Vitality being at 550, and his high healing regeneration, Cynrik recovered about 40% of his movement in both arms, barely enough to drop the T-Rex pose.
Clenching his fists tightly, Cynrik closed his eyes and let the pain wash over him. This was something he had always done as far back as he could remember. While most people would be hindered and give up the second they were hurt, Cynrik would use it to focus his mind. So as he stood there silently and listened to the murmurs of the other students asking their questions, Cynrik went back to his usual self and pulled up his hood.
Tossing a glance at his arms one last time and seeing the newly formed scar tissue and thin skin, Cynrik sighed and rolled up what remained of his sleeves to just above his elbow. Unfortunately, thanks to the limited mobility of his fingers, he struggled for a minute before Selene stepped in and assisted him. Once the girl was done fussing with his neatly rolled sleeves, she straightened his blazer and fed him potions.
Brance, on the other hand, after getting harassed by Gabby, pulled out his backup blazer from his inventory and put it on along with the cufflinks, badge, and button.
[[What’s your range of mobility right now?]] Brance asked once Gabby was satisfied with his appearance.
[[My Hands are a little shakey, and I’d be lucky not to tear the scar tissue after a few punches, but other than that, im fine. What about you? Hows is the backlash?]] Cynrik responded as he pushed away Selene’s fussy hands, which were making sure he was presentable just like Gabby did with Brance.
[[About what you’d expect. I feel like I ran a fucking marathon after going 20 rounds with a pro boxer. But, with Gabby force-feeding me potions, I should be back to a hundred percent in a few hours.]] Straightening his back and clasping his hands behind him, Brance turned and looked at the bleachers.
[[Thoughts on the teachers?]]
[[I mean, im sure they were skeptical at first, but you and I put on a good enough showing with you constantly increasing the pace, but that final clash with my Cyclones and your Sword Constructs probably was enough to get them off our backs.]] Tucking his hands into his pockets so no one would see the shaking, especially Selene, Cynrik too looked over at the bleachers.
[[You are both fucking assholes, Gabby and I are here worried sick, wanting to spoil you, and all you can talk about is if the teachers liked your fight. UGH!]] When Selene saw how casual the brothers were acting, she ripped into them both, but her scolding caused two opposite reactions.
Brance looked down and, knowing he was in the wrong, slipped his hand around Gabby’s waist before planting a kiss on top of her head. Gabby, thoroughly caught off guard, froze for a second and then, realizing what had just transpired, melted into Brance’s arms while blushing bright red.
Cynrik, on the other hand, snorted and snuck his hand around Selene and gave her a firm pinch on her asscheek.
[[Relax, darling, this is just how we are. If you are going to stick around, there is no other option but to get used to it sooner rather than later. Brancie and I will always push our limits, even if we are hurt. It isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last.]] Is what Cynrik said in the mind link, but he soon leaned in and started whispering vulgarities in Selene’s ear, causing her to turn just as red as Gabby.
While the four were having their moment, Benny finally moved away from the bleachers. He had opted to give the two couples their alone time and was listening in on the Headmaster’s lecture, which he found very helpful.
Even though Cynrik and Brance had figured out the majority of the data and subsequently explained the bulk of the information to the rest of the party, they couldn’t get the finer points. Such as different ways to control Ambient Mana, giving the user a higher chance of forcing an Evolution.
Having heard enough, he walked over to Professor Dennis and stood quietly behind him, not wanting to interrupt his conversation with Instructors Alistar and Garrison.
It didn’t take long for the teachers to finish up and notice Benny, who was standing politely at attention behind them.
“Hm? Benjamin, are you ready to begin your test?” Professor Dennis asked, wondering when exactly the boy had appeared.
“Yes, sir, with the girls taking care of Ivar and Björn’s injuries, I thought it would be better to come over and ask to begin my test before my little sisters. But I have a request.” Benny asked in a formal yet respectful tone.
Slightly impressed by how mature Benny was compared to the other four in his party, Professor Dennis motioned for him to ask while allowing him to stand at ease.
“Sirs, I would like to use an offensive weapon and a shield during my test, if that is alright with you all.” Then, sliding out his right foot slightly, widening his stance, and placing his hands behind his back, in the primary parade rest position that Cynrik had drilled in his head for years, Benny requested to use a weapon along with a shield.
-This series is exclusively published on WebNovel if you are reading it anywhere else…You Wrong, Fam. P.S. Check out the discord, https://discord.gg/dcxKNJEMwg