There were around 500 students in that small gym and almost 70% of them were nobles. Kayden didn’t know why there was such a big discrepancy, but he didn’t feel like it was a good sign.
The teacher arrived promptly at 4 pm. He was a relatively young man, his hair was red and he had no facial hair other than a mustache above his lips. Her outfit was entirely luxurious, with gold adornments and other jewelry. The impression he gave was of someone very rich and wasteful.
"Hello class, first I would like to divide the room between the nobles and commoners so that we don’t have... confusion." Without even introducing himself, the man already made this request and placed the commoners on the right and the nobles on the left.
During that time, Kayden saw someone he still hated.
"Hi Uncle Arthur", Kevin’s voice penetrated Kayden’s ear and caused endless anger to well up in his mind.
"How’s Kevin?" A smile appeared on the man’s face. "Now, let’s begin. Class, my name is Arthur Ashford and I will be your teacher this semester. Please call me Marquis Arthur, as is required in social etiquette."
"Holy shit," Kayden already understood that this would be a pain in the ass.
"We’ll start by introducing the basic movements first and then we’ll move on to practical classes. Any questions?" Without even giving the students time to respond, he continued. "Kayden, come help me with the demonstrations, please."
Even though he was taken by surprise, Kayden got up and fulfilled the teacher’s request. Even with her instincts screaming that something was wrong, her walk to the center of the gym was slow and confident.
All eyes in the room were fixed on the boy, looks of hatred, envy or desire could be seen by the dozens.
"Hello professor," Kayden greeted him normally. The boy would not call the man by his title of nobility, as he did not call him by his.
"I clearly remember making it clear that students were to call me Marquis," the teacher’s irritating voice rang in Kayden’s ears. She was full of arrogance and arrogance.
"Noble etiquette does not require me to call someone of my rank by their title," Kayden’s voice came out confident and neutral. This attitude of picking fights was not something that suited him, but at that moment he was a noble and needed to defend his name.
"It may seem silly, but in the future, the honor and morals of his house would open doors for him, especially when it comes to forming partnerships and recruiting people." The old man was quiet for a few seconds. He didn’t expect such boldness from Kayden.
"I’ll start by demonstrating some basic movements. Try to understand the force for each movement and how it is being applied," Arthur just pretended that the previous interaction hadn’t happened.
Over the next few minutes, Kayden had confirmation that his instincts were right.
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"I’m sorry, I made a mistake with my strength", it was already the third apology the old man had made after hitting Kayden. His blows were hard and meant to hurt. Unfortunately for him, Kayden didn’t even feel any pain.
It was obvious to anyone who looked that Kayden was being punished for his performance. His skin began to show shades of purple in some spots and yet not even an inch of Kayden’s face expressed any dissatisfaction with the situation.
In the end, the class went smoothly. Kayden managed to learn a lot. Unlike the other students, he was facing a fighter specialized in the techniques they were learning.
And the best part was that he wasn’t holding back. His attacks were at the speed of an apprentice, but… his technique was far beyond what any apprentice or even mage could achieve.
"That’s it for today, class. I’ll wait for you here again tomorrow", the teacher calmly said goodbye to the class. But before he could leave, a voice stopped him.
"Professor, I hope you pay for the medical treatment for your mistakes," Kayden wanted nothing more than to humiliate the Ashford family, by any means possible.
"Mistakes are normal to happen during training, Kayden", the teacher’s tone was ironic and, upon seeing Kayden’s smile, he felt like he had fallen into a trap.
"I see, a third realm fighter from the Ashford family must be prone to making mistakes against beginners," the boy shook his head as if it was a common situation.
Before the man could respond, Kayden left the room. Once again, the boy made a fool of the man, but it wasn’t entirely his fault. Practically, he was never challenged by children.
Kayden’s next few days he was passed quickly. With all of his daytime occupied by training and cultivation, he didn’t even feel the passage of time. His subjects were progressing quickly and would soon reach the point Kayden requested.
This was mainly because of how much Kayden was supporting them and clearing up any doubts they could have easily had with just a few demonstrations. Whether you like it or not, this secondary path was a subpath of your main path.
It had been two weeks since Kayden had been at the gym, and in all that time, his knowledge had increased by several folds. First, the boy learned to fight unarmed. Even though he was beaten 90% of the time, he made a huge leap in learning.
This was normal at first. The first contact with anything new resulted in rapid learning that would slow down over time. But his main gain during this time was the knowledge of beasts and plants.
He could already define an animal’s class and specialty just by looking at it. It might not be 100% accurate, but he was able to recognize the basics. And, when it comes to plants, their "friendship" with the strange girl in their class gave them a lot of knowledge beyond what the teacher shared.
Other than that, he also learned about mana veins in a specific class about it. His knowledge of katana techniques has increased considerably. The boy would not change his current style, but he could make small changes that he considered better in other techniques.
Kayden’s biggest gain during this period was a class called breathing techniques. It was taught by an old lady with completely white hair and short stature.
The elderly woman had all the characteristics of a happy and friendly grandmother, but... her personality was different. She was strict to the extreme and any mistake was punished with a blow from her cane.
Kayden didn’t see any problem with that and tried his best to make the most of everything she was going through. It was difficult at first, but over time he got the hang of it. The initial breathing technique she taught was to increase your breath.
There was nothing magical or spectacular about it. It was something that normal people could easily learn over the internet, but, according to the teacher, this was just the beginning for them to find it easier later on.