Chapter 234. Beatdown

Several silhouettes clashed with someone clad in normal clothes.

The person had brown eyes and had a normal expression on his face.

Unlike the silhouettes clashing into him, he didn’t have a weapon on him.

Each of their attacks were either blocked by his bare hands, or he would dodge their attacks with calm, uncanny precision.

This person was naturally Aiden, and the silhouettes clashing into him were his friends, whom he was sparring with.

Desmonda’s staff came down on him with lightning arcs trailing ahead of it.

Luke’s sword swept upwards unnaturally at an uncanny angle, carrying blades of billowing light, headed towards Aiden.

Seraphina’s movements were elusive. As she waved her fan, ripples of condensed soundwaves rolled forward like a carpet towards Aiden.

Candice poked her staff forward towards Aiden’s chest. Streaks of ice rolled forward, causing the temperature to plummet considerably.

Asmodeus leaped upwards. His figure arced downwards like a parabola. Mid-air, he spun. His hammer came down on Aiden. The air became heavier. Wherever his hammer passed, the gravity increased, causing the air to distort.

Their attacks were coordinated and precise, each one complementing the other. This was teamwork that could only be built by people who had worked together for long and endured life-and-death situations together.

Aiden stood still as their attacks approached him.

"They’ve really improved," he thought as a glint of satisfaction flashed through his eyes.

His left hand was in his pocket. Suddenly, he took a step forward.

With each step he took, he evaded an attack.

He would either sidestep, duck gently, or shift to the side.

He was so fast that his friends only saw afterimages of him.

Aiden evaded Seraphina’s attack.

The next thing she felt was vibrations travelling through her battlesuit. The battlesuit cracked. Then, pain shot through her abdomen.

Aiden didn’t attack with his full strength. He kept the attack to a minimum—just enough to incapacitate her without causing her any life-threatening injuries.

"When did he..." she thought.

She coughed a mouthful of blood. The force of Aiden’s simple punch caused her to fly towards the opposite wall like a cannonball.

She hit the wall and fell unconscious as her attack disappeared.

Asmodeus only saw a flicker of Aiden’s shadow as Aiden evaded his attack.

A knee suddenly hit his jaw midair.

The portion of his battlesuit covering his jaw cracked.

Pain travelled through his jaw and through the rest of his head.

"Shit..." he cursed.

His figure shot upwards from the force of the attack.

Aiden didn’t end it there.

He held Asmodeus by his leg and simply threw him to the ground.

Asmodeus hit the ground like a falling meteorite.

Then, his vision went black.

Aiden’s right hand swatted forward. His palm swatted Luke’s attack and snuffed it out.

"How is this..."

Luke saw Aiden’s hand in his line of vision.

He couldn’t react in time.

Or rather, Aiden was too fast for him to react in time.

Aiden’s hand hit his head and pummeled him downwards, causing him to crash into the ground as pain shot through his body.

Candice saw Aiden appear in the line of her attack.

One moment, she rejoiced as though she would land a hit.

But in the next, her expression froze.

He disappeared.

She didn’t see where he was.

Then, she felt extreme pain.

A leg slammed into her waist from behind.

The waist part of her battlesuit cracked.

Pain spread through her lower body.

She was sent crashing into the opposite wall.

Desmonda’s lightning staff and attack met air.

A punch connected to her temple.

"When did..." Before she could finish talking, the part of her battlesuit connected to her temple cracked. Pain spread through her skull. Her vision cartwheeled as she was sent hurtling into a wall.

She fell down and lost consciousness.

Aiden stood there, observing them, completely unharmed.

They were scattered across the floor like warriors who had almost been slaughtered on the battlefield.

Aiden decided to use this method of training with them because it was the most effective.

Trying to sugarcoat the training because they were his friends wouldn’t do them any good. It would only get them killed.

Several moments later, Luke got up.

Being a healer himself, with the light affinity, he naturally had strong recovery properties.

His wounds had healed.

"Having fun bullying us, aren’t you?" Luke smiled and shook his head.

"Hey, we are just training here, right?" Aiden said.

"Keep being shameless," Luke said with a chuckle as he spread haloes of light across the place which healed the others of their injuries.

A few moments later, they were all back in shape.

They stood with groans and stared at Aiden.

"This was our last round. Damn, you’ve really beaten us... are you enjoying this?" Desmonda said.

"Oh come on, how about one last round?" Aiden grinned.

"No, thank you... it’s 6 a.m., Aiden, 6 a.m.," Asmodeus said.

"But we have to admit this training has helped us," Seraphina said.

"True," Luke said. "Training with this guy is really valuable. Apart from being beat up like piñatas, one can gain a lot of experience, identify your flaws and work on them."

"Seriously, what sort of monster are you, Aiden?" Candice looked at Aiden with shock on her face.

"How am I expected to answer that?" Aiden shrugged.

Everyone shook their heads.

"It’s about time we prepare for our class, guys. Let’s head to our rooms and freshen up," Seraphina said.

"Who is cooking breakfast?" Desmonda asked as she downed water in a bottle.

"Luke here... our one and only future chef," Aiden said.

"Well, dibs on me then," Luke said.

"That settles it then," Asmodeus said.

"Anyway, Aiden, what are your plans for today?" Candice asked.

"Today is the day I’m taking my first University mission," Aiden replied. "Oh and, don’t forget to visit sister Arica for the poisons when you close from lectures."

"Alright."

"Sure."

"We will," the group said.

Desmonda walked over to Aiden and held his hand.

"How about a quick one before we each head out for the day?" she said naughtily.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Aiden replied.

"Seriously, if you guys want to have a go at it so badly, we could leave the training hall for you," Seraphina said.

Everyone: "..."