CHAPTER 59: A NEW FRIEND

"Damn it! He’s annoyingly slippery," Henry muttered under his breath as yet another attack missed its mark. No matter how precise his aim, Derek always managed to slip through at the last moment.

Derek, too, was having a hard time closing the distance, but he didn’t give up. Step by step, dodge after dodge, he kept moving closer.

Meanwhile, on the balcony...

"Damn it! Why can’t Henry land a single hit? Is he going easy on him or what?" Skylar cursed under his breath.

"I don’t think that’s it," Selina replied, her eyes fixed on the stage. "That boy is just too fast."

All the students gathered there watched the match with awe-struck expressions. Well, not all of them — a few, like Skylar and Selina, wore more thoughtful looks.

Back on the stage, Derek moved like a leaf caught in a raging windstorm — graceful yet unpredictable. Every step he took was measured, every dodge deliberate. He wasn’t charging forward recklessly; he knew that if even one of Henry’s fiery arrows touched him, the duel would be over. Winning didn’t matter much to him, but losing without putting up at least a convincing effort wasn’t his style either.

In his past life as a rogue cultivator, Derek had always been the type to charge head-on rather than rely on elaborate tactics. Though he was trying to be more cautious now, one’s innate nature, forged through countless battles and hardships isn’t something that changes easily.

Derek had already covered a great distance. Henry tried to leap back and counterattack, but Derek propelled himself forward, giving him no chance to regain distance.

Within seconds, the two were in close-combat range, too close for Henry to cast any more spell without risking injuring himself.

Realizing this, Henry clenched his fists, flames erupting around them as he prepared to fight head-on.

When Derek was within arm’s reach, Henry threw a fiery punch but.....

Derek ducked instantly, spun on his right toe, and delivered a crescent-shaped kick with his left leg.

Henry staggered backward, losing balance, but before he could fall, Derek twisted mid-air and unleashed a double-leg kick that struck squarely against Henry’s chest.

Whoosh!

Henry’s body flew several meters before crashing to the ground and skidding back further from the impact.

Derek landed smoothly, using the momentum to perform a clean kick-up, standing tall once again.

Henry pressed his palms to the ground and lifted his upper body, breathing heavily. A faint smile tugged at his lips as he looked at Derek. "You’re something else entirely," he said with a low chuckle.

"You’re not bad either," Derek replied, grinning as he walked over and extended his hand.

Henry grabbed it, and Derek pulled him back to his feet.

"I guess we can call it an end, right?" Derek asked.

"As much as I hate to admit it — yeah. But I’d love to spar with you again. It’s been a while since I was pushed this hard," Henry said, still catching his breath.

"We’ll see about that," Derek replied with a faint smirk, neither agreeing nor refusing.

With that, both of them started walking toward the balcony.

Up above, Cecilia had been watching the fight in silence. As the two exited the arena, she rose from her seat and turned away, her expression unreadable. And then she left the place.

When they reached the balcony, Art joined them with a bright grin. "That was awesome, Derek! I saw you during the boulder test, so I knew you were strong, but those moves just now were incredible. Where did you learn to fight like that?" he asked eagerly.

"Well... my father was a village keeper," Derek replied, trying to sound casual. "My brother and I used to train under him, and later I learned a few things from my brother as well." He had to come up with something believable to explain his skill and growth. Mentioning his father seemed like the perfect excuse.

"Really?! Then your father must be amazing to have trained you like that. I wish I could’ve trained under him too," Henry said with genuine admiration.

Derek chuckled softly. "Nah, you’re giving both me and my father too much credit. Anyway, now that the duel’s over, how about we get out of here?"

Many students were still staring at them, and Derek felt a bit uneasy under all the attention.

"Sure," Henry said. With that, the three of them left the training grounds together.

As they walked, Henry glanced at Art. "Are you two friends or something? I see you together most of the time. It’s only been two days, but still."

"Well..." Art didn’t know what to say. He’d first met Derek during the test. Normally he was a bit introverted, always nervous around people. But when Derek approached him, he didn’t feel the usual pressure he felt while talking to others. From the way Derek spoke to him, it even seemed as if Derek already knew him, and Art wanted to find out how. And after watching Derek’s performance during the test, he had become something of a fanboy. So it was a mixture of comfort, curiosity, and admiration that drew him to Derek.

"You could say that," Derek said, answering on his behalf when he noticed Art’s awkwardness. "But we only met during the test for the first time in our life."

As they continued walking, Derek’s gaze softened slightly. He knew Art well from his past life — an accomplished alchemist and one of the kindest souls he’d ever met. But in that life, Art had died young, caught in a tragic disaster. So he was someone worth befriending.

"Oh, so you guys became friends recently. Now that I think about it, I want to be your friend too," Henry said with a playful grin. "That way, I can challenge you whenever I want and spar with you. I’m sure my battle prowess would improve a lot that way."

Derek couldn’t help but give a bitter smile. Well, you could at least try to hide your real reason for befriending me. That sounded way too straightforward, Derek thought.

Still, he accepted the friendship, appreciating Henry’s attitude and honesty. "Sure, we can be friends and spar as well. But not in front of such a big audience next time."

"Deal," Henry said, grinning.