7.01 – Rematch


    The idea of having morning punishment duties with no concrete end date was something Natalie wasn''t thrilled about, but she supposed she deserved it.


    To make things worse, her entire team, even Jordan, clearly thought Natalie was receiving her just desserts, even if they were gracious enough not to say so outright.


    A part of Natalie saw herself as the victim in all of this, because seriously. When a pretty girl like ina had been throwing herself at her, what had Natalie been expected to do? <em>Not </em>sleep with her? She was only human.


    While the hour of cleaning was an annoyance, and one that wouldn''t be going away for a while, no worse punishments seemed to being from herpse in judgment. Though Instructor Robin''s ''mentorship'' sessions concerned her. What would <em>those </em>include?


    Whenbat sses rolled around, the Theliosian woman didn''t spare Natalie so much as a nce, her usual aloof self, but Natalie wasn''t sure whether that meant anything.


    Today, two sses had been paired up for spars. More importantly, the rotation hade out such that Natalie''s was facing Elida''s, the undisputed best of the year.


    Natalie was both annoyed and pleased by that. Annoyed, because even being in the same room as that snake was an irritating experience. Pleased, because Natalie was always spoiling for a good fight, and Elida''s ss could provide one—or several.


    And especially after recent events, she much appreciated having an outlet to blow off steam.


    To her delight, her first opponent was Otto.


    It had been some time since that incident down in the dungeon where Elida''s team had flounced them and stripped them of their gear. Natalie still grew irritated whenever she thought about the event, but her temper had cooled since the first day. And her issue was less with Otto and more with Elida, the obvious ringleader and orchestrator.


    Regardless of Otto being a pawn, though, he had followed Elida''s lead without much hesitation—even if Natalie had read in his eyes an apology as they''d been fighting. He was still a bastard,plicit to the whole thing, and thus an enemy of Natalie''s. Just a minor one,paratively speaking.


    So getting to spar him? To show him what she''d picked up in the weeks she''d spent at T, and the fruits of her work in the dungeon?


    She was looking forward to it.


    They set up on opposite sides of the sparring pad. She rested her hammer on the ground and took the tall boy in. He wielded arge shield and a short sword, as before. A traditional tank, unlike Natalie.


    He probably hadn''t hit level three yet. Though there wasn''t zero chance of that, being on Elida''s team, with Elida herself having imed to have made that breakthrough. Level three this early in the year was a ludicrous pace, though, and Natalie and Elida had their sses, their sponsorships, to thank. Otto was good, very good, near the top of his ss, but not one of T''s top-ten performers. So Natalie didn''t think he was level three.


    A single level wasn''t enough to guarantee a fight one way or another, anyway. Two levels was closer to being hopeless, with three being pretty damn impossible to surmount—assuming average conditions. Of course, being particrly well-suited to an opponent, or other extenuating factors, could make such a fight usible.


    Regardless, Natalie had the advantage, since she was level three, and he was likely only level two.


    And she had a grudge to settle.


    So, she was going to kick his ass.


    The fight began, and Natalie rushed forward, crossing the distance faster than Otto expected—his eyes widening as she charged with a speed she shouldn''t have possessed. But as much as Natalie''s level on him, she had also upgraded several of her skills.


    He tried to dodge but failed to get out of the way in time. He brought his shield up, and Natalie grinned, more than happy to test their specialties against each other. Shields were great defensive tools, but they couldn''t hold up against overwhelming raw power. A hammer was especially suited to pummeling through armor and shields.


    Valentine mmed into Otto''s shield with every ounce of her strength, and one of the best tanks of T''s first year was thrown off his feet, crashing onto his back several yards away.


    To his credit, Otto scrambled up in less than a second, despite the outrageous blow that had to have rattled his brains. Natalie could''ve followed up if she wanted, taken advantage of grounding him, but she didn''t. She let him get to his feet. Because this was about a grudge, proving a point, as much as winning.


    Instructor Robin watched the fight, seeming as aloof as always, but Natalie knew she was scrutinizing the fight like a hawk. It was her duty to prevent fatal injuries between students. Considering the power Natalie was throwing into her hammer strikes, an ident was more than possible. Natalie didn''t pull her punches, since Instructor Robin was, as far as she knew, infallible.


    Otto had his own suite of skills to call on, but they didn''t do much to stop Natalie from battering him around the sparring pad. Where once they had fought on equal footing, she had left him behind since theirst encounter. Blow after blow had the boy being staggered around the arena, made an embarrassment of. She didn''t only emphasize the strength difference either: she made sure to demonstrate her fighting ability, maneuvering past him and predicting his movements. She obviously had the raw strength advantage, yes, but it wasn''t power alone letting her bully him around.


    When the fight was over, Natalie stood over Otto, flushed with victory, pleased she''d finally had the opportunity to get revenge on the boy, if only in a small, trivial manner—a hit to his reputation. They met eyes, Otto panting on the ground, syed out.


    He nodded at her. "Good fight," he grunted, sitting up. "You''ve gotten a lot better, and you were already good."


    Which briefly made Natalie feel like an ass. He seemed like an okay enough dude. Regardless, he''d done as Elida had asked of him—so she didn''t have that much sympathy.


    Speaking of the devil: Elida had been watching the fight, same as much of the ss, with only two fights happening at once. Instructor Robin could only protect one spar at a time, and the other ss''s Instructor another. Natalie''s fight with Otto had been the more interesting of the two, and thus drawn more attention.


    As the training period went on, Natalie almost wondered if she''d made a mistake, the way Elida''s eyes were crawling on her back the entire time. Whenever Natalie flicked her attention over to the girl, she smiled politely, somehow even seeming innocent in having been caught staring. It sent a shiver down her spine.


    Unsurprisingly, Elida tracked her down after ss ended. It seemed the unresolved business with another god''s pdin, or whatever the hell was going on with Elida, was finallying to a head.