Dream whistled softly, seeing Caster hit twenty two on the measuring machine. "Impressive." He said with a slight nod of his head, "You're not just a pretty face."
Seeing that he was the last one left. Dream walked up to the machine, tightening his hood in the process.
He spread his feet shoulder width apart, the tip of his leg pointing diagonally.
Dream raised his fists and turned his body. In a smooth yet crushing blow, Dream channeled every ounce of his power.
His fist whistled through the air, striking the pad in a loud boom.
The machine rattled violently, as the numbers began to climb.
Ten. Twelve. Fifteen. Eighteen.
It didn't stop. The final number flickered for a second before landing at twenty three.
The room went silent.
Caster's smug grin faltered for a second before he reverted to his usual stoic demeanor.
Instructor Rock blinked, disbelief washing over his face. In his years of teaching, not one person had ever reached a score of above twenty without using their Aspect.
Dream lowered his hand, shaking it once.
A smirk was plastered over his face as he raised his head to meet Caster's gaze.
"I take back what I said earlier. Your score wasn't that impressive after all." Dream muttered loud enough for the entire room to hear.
Caster's eyes narrowed, "Numbers don't mean everything," he said politely with an acknowledging nod.
Dream laughed, "That's what every loser says."
The tension in the room reached a frightening degree before Instructor Rock stepped in the middle.
"Not bad. Now, we will move to sparring and evaluate your general level of training. I need two volunteers to begin."
Nephis was the first to step forward and walk to the center of the ring. A couple of seconds later, a tall and extremely muscular Sleeper followed and faced her.
"The rules are simple. Make your opponent's back touch the floor or throw them out of the ring. Use whatever abilities and techniques you find appropriate."
Dream spectated from the side silently.
And as expected, Nephis won the match overwhelmingly. The man didn't even stand a chance.
One by one, Nephis cleared out the dojo. She wasn't stronger nor faster than them, but in the end she was the only one standing.
'She really is Broken Sword's daughter.' Dream thought silently.
Seeing that Nephis was gazing at him, Dream raised up his thumbs with a smile.
Nephis turned her head and glanced at Caster, who promptly accepted her challenge.
"This is interesting." Dream muttered to himself.
Caster and Nephis faced each other. Their eyes locked for a few seconds, and then Caster slightly bowed.
"Lady Nephis. Please excuse me in advance."
Dream raised his eyebrow upon hearing his words, 'Is he going to use his Aspect? What a bum.'
Almost immediately Caster dashed towards Nephis. His body turned into a haze and streaked through the air, leaving a brown blur behind him.
In a fraction of a second, Caster covered the distance between him and Nephis and delivered a devastating blow. However, despite his astonishing speed, she somehow managed to react in time, slightly turning her body to deflect the strike.
But it still wasn't enough. Although Nephis had managed to avoid being hit squarely in her center of gravity, Caster's fist ended up connecting with her shoulder, sending the girl into a spin.
Not wasting any time, Caster disappeared again. His plan was very simple: while Nephis was still under the impression that the enemy was in front of her, he was going to use his unnatural swiftness to circle around and attack from the back.
The young man appeared behind the oblivious girl, ready to finish the fight with one decisive strike. Just as he planned, she seemed to be preparing to attack in the direction he had been seen just a split second ago. Gratified, Caster shifted his weight, putting it all into his fist.
However, at the last moment, Nephis suddenly changed her stance and threw her elbow back with frightening force.
Caster's eyes widened, realising that Nephis tricked him.
Caster had no way to stop, inertia was a bitch after all.
And yet, Caster still managed to avoid it, even if it was just by a hair's breadth. His speed advantage was just too big.
Dream chuckled upon witnessing Caster utterly humiliate himself. Even after using his Aspect, he was still getting collared and dogwalked.
Dream couldn't help it and suddenly shouted loudly, "Fraud! You're a bum! Imagine sucking so hard that you can't take a girl even after using your Aspect. Get the fuck out of here!"
Caster then proceeded to trip and push Nephis, sending her flying to the ground. However, just before she was about to hit the mats, the young man carefully grabbed the collar of her dobok and gently pulled, slowing down the fall and allowing Nephis to land on the floor without any impact.
"Don't try to hide that you're a bum by acting gentlemanly!"
Dream yelled once again, causing the room to erupt into laughter.
Even the usually stoic Instructor Rock fought to keep a straight face, his lips twitching despite his best effort. A few of the other students outright doubled over, clutching their sides.
Caster froze mid-motion, a visible vein twitching on his temple. His jaw flexed, his composure teetering between icy control and pure rage.
Nephis, on the other hand, had a faint, amused smile tugging at her lips. It seemed even she knew what a fraud Caster was.
"Enough!" Instructor Rock barked, but even he was struggling, trying not to laugh. "Caster, Nephis—step aside. Dream, since you seem so eager to comment, you're next."
The laughter died instantly.
Dream's smirk didn't fade, but his eyes darkened slightly beneath the shadow of his hood. He straightened up, cracking his neck with a lazy tilt. "Fine by me."
Caster gave a polite, almost smug bow as he passed him. "Try not to embarrass yourself too badly."
Dream's grin widened, feral now. "I was about to say the same thing… but I already did that for you."
That earned another ripple of laughter from the group.
Nephis, still standing nearby, tilted her head with quiet curiosity as Dream stepped into the ring. His movements were relaxed, fluid.
Rock turned to the crowd, "Opponent?" He asked.
Before anyone could volunteer, Caster spoke again, voice cool but with a hint of venom. "I'll go again."
The room went silent.
Dream met his gaze, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. "Perfect."
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A/N - Sorry for not uploading in a while, I was a little busy writing the chapters for the other fic.