The two were still confused when their friend stopped and then dropped motionless on the ground. The other seventh stage guy was a little slow to react and Lyren was able to land a hit before he could regain his composure.
The eighth stage guy gritted his teeth because this was not how he had visualized it. The kid should already be on his knees begging. He retreated ten meters back as he saw the flaming fist and the seventh stage guy connect. He could bet that he heard the breaking f a nose and several cracks which could mean teeth.
The seventh stage guy's face contorted under pressure as his lips parted. His hair was blown backwards by the wind and as he was already trying to retreat backwards, the fist was able to actually send him flying almost two meters backwards. He fell on the ground on his back and several of his front teeth were either cracked or removed.
The eighth stage guy was horrified. Not even he could claim that he could take out a seventh stage that easily let alone two in less than a minute. He could win but not that quick. He stopped abruptly when he realized that he was still going backwards. He grunted as he shook his sleeve and took a step forward. Just a seventh stage. It would just be a little harder. Not impossible.
"Well done kid. I see you really have some talent but you should know that there is a huge difference in stages. You should take this chance when I am still in a good mood and kowtow. I might forgive you and even recruit you. You can't expect to survive by the Azure Faction, you know…" The guy said while clapping.
Julian was impressed by the show but now the final boss was here and he was too strong. And it was true. The Azure Faction could not be relied on especially for Lyren. He had too many enemies and he would be left to fend for himself. His eyes suddenly turned to Lyren.
Lyren shook his hand and hissed. He looked at the ack of his clenched fist and he showed a surprised look as he looked at the tooth that had pierced through his fist. There was blood on the fist but the tooth gave him an itchy feeling. He closed his eyes and the pulled the tooth away before he cursed out loud.
"Damn it. That guy really has hard teeth!"
He then looked at the eighth stage guy who was still blabbering but he had stopped when he realized that no attention was being paid. Lyren had heard the words but he was in the least bothered or afraid. If anything, it was now convenient for him to ask his questions now. He rubbed his fist then yawned.
"Uuuhh! The same boring words. I have heard them several times but to hear them from a weakling from you, I die of laughter!" Lyren scoffed and the guy stopped on his track then pointed at Lyren with the unspoken "YOU!" written over his face.
"What about this, you could tell me what the SQ means. I might let you go," Lyren returned the words to the guy whose hand started shaking before he broke out into a fit of laughter.
"You think you can get that kind of information from me? How delusional! You should follow your fellow first years and look for the dorms o your own. It is usually more fun watching you fools find the dorms. Why would I ruin the fun?" The guy then continued his laugh because he knew that some of them were not going to sleep in the dorms in the first place.
"I thought so. I won't be lenient. You will pay for wasting my time," Lyren said and charged at the guy. He still wanted to try the fist but the guy was fast in his reaction and the fist passed him few millimeters from his face. He wore a smug look as he watched the fist go past him. Mockery written on his face.
Lyren had not expected to have an instant win but the guy was actually good. He accepted the first miss and the guy was already five meters away by the time his fist stopped. Lyren turned to look at the guy but he was surprised to see the guy attacking already with a kick.
He tried his best to evade the incoming kick and it went through the side of his ribs and he caught it with his hand catching the guy off guard. The guy was surprised and also sightly horrified because he had been countered and to make it worse, he had been denied movement. He tried to pull his leg but the grip was tight. He felt a chill when he saw the smile on Lyren.
The next moment, he felt a swipe on his other foot which caused him to lose his footing and Lyren let go of the foot he was holding letting the guy take in all the impact. The guy hit the ground with his butt and his face contorted with pain. He stretched his hands out and glared at Lyren but he was rolling the next second.
Lyren's foot stomped on the ground exactly where the guy's stomach had been. He looked at the horrified eight stage guy who was scrambling to stand up. Lyren kicked the guy's butt which made him fall face first hitting the ground with his forehead. Lyren then went closer and rolled the guy over with a push from his foot.
The guy faced up and his forehead had turned red. He was not bleeding though. His eyes were wide with horror and rage. He wanted to speak but he stopped when he saw Lyren's foot stomping at his face. He raised his hands and shouted.
"Spare me. I will tell you anything!"
"The only thing I want to hear from that mouth of yours is the secret of the dorms."
Lyren's foot stopped midway as he said these words. The guy wore an ugly expression because he was certainly going to get punished if he said it.
"Okay," Lyren raised his foot higher when the guy hesitated. The guy wriggled his hands and pleaded.
"I will talk. SQ is the Special Quarters for those who had achieved A grade talents." The guy said fast and he spoke again when he saw the kid raise his foot further. "The dorms are that way. You will find a pathway that leads away from the amphitheater and it branches towards the mountains. That is the path towards the dorms."
Lyren removed his foot and turned away from the guy who was still defending himself. He looked at Lyren through his side eye. Lyren walked toward Julian and took his belongings. He had not even had to use his sword. Such a weak gang! They followed the path and Julian's eyes were actually shining with stars. That was very easy. If all of them were strong, they would have not wasted so much time looking for the dorms.
"From today, you are going to be my senior. I will be coming to you for advice," Julian said and looked back at the three seniors lying on the ground. Now he wanted to be strong enough so that no one could bully him. The two walked away with their shadows leading them. The sun setting behind them.
They reached at a branching and they aw the one that led to the mountains. Lyren smiled and took the path. They could see the pathways had trees planted on the sides. There were various buildings some being bigger than others. There were those that existed as a single room and some appeared to be like apartments.
No buildings had any labels on them and they could see several first years going through building to building. They could tell from their haggard looks that these were not the dorms at all. Julian felt relieved because that could have been him and the fact that they came from the special quarters, it was obvious that it was somehow isolated.
They walked further and the number of buildings kept increasing as thought they were entering an entire new civilization. The further they approached the denser regions which had many trees than the rest, it was obvious that these was where the sleeping quarters were. It was the perfect place to build the quarters in the first place.
"Do you think that we are in the same dorm?" Julian asked and Lyren nodded.
"Maybe…"