The Broken Halo

Chapter 325: Praise

Silence!

A very tense and deep silence filled the classroom as everybody looked at the Initiate who was slapped into the left wall of the classroom and crashed into it.

The wall was damaged from the collision, but it was obvious that the Initiate was dealt more damage compared to the wall.

His head and back were on the floor, while his legs were raised to the ceiling, making his current position quite laughable.

But none laughed.

And how could they?

This was the first time they were seeing an instructor hit an Initiate, and the hit had not been light at all.

"I warned you that you must not make a scene in my class. Or did you think that warning was only for Broken Halo?" Instructor Aphon’s cold voice and gaze swept across the classroom, causing cold sweat to appear on the foreheads of some first years.

"Do not make a scene in my class, and do not try to walk out of my class without permission. If you don’t want to attend my class, tell me, and I’ll let you leave."

"I will not force anybody to stay in my class."

Despite the fact that there were some who wanted to leave, they did not ask the instructor for permission to leave.

It was obvious that Instructor Aphon was in a bad mood, and asking him for permission to leave the class could make things worse.

"As for this fool."

Instructor Aphon pointed at the unconscious Initiate.

"He has failed my class."

The weight of those words hit the Initiates, and some could not help but feel a tinge of pity for their classmate.

Instructor Aphon inhaled and exhaled deeply, then his four eyes shifted and he raised his hand.

The four daggers flew toward him and all four daggers landed perfectly in his hand.

He looked at the daggers, then he spoke.

"First of all, majority of you were absolutely pathetic and disgusting to watch. You were all scrambling around like headless chickens when all you had to do was remain calm and observe."

"Some of your reaction speed are so pathetic and disgusting to the point that I have no words to describe them."

A few initiates had embarrassed expressions behind their masks, while some were indifferent despite their previous embarrassing state.

Instructor Aphon looked at Simon.

"Although some of you were terrible, a few of you reacted...almost perfectly."

Majority of the Initiates followed the instructor’s gaze, and when they saw that he was looking at Simon, some clicked their tongues with displeasure, jealousy, and anger.

"Broken Halo. Tell me, how were you able to dodge all the daggers?"

Simon blinked, not expecting Instructor Aphon to call him out. However, he responded calmly.

"Since two daggers would always attack a single person, whenever there was one dagger coming for me, I took note of its trajectory, then I’ll quickly look for the second dagger."

"If the first dagger is attacking me from the front, then I’ll look to my left and right. But if I don’t see the second dagger after looking to my left and right, then it means the second dagger is either coming from above or behind me."

"I don’t try to look behind me or above me since that would waste too much time."

"What I do is to then move to my right or left hand side because I know both sides are safe."

Majority of the Initiates had baffled and surprised expressions when they heard Simon’s words.

Some had expressions of realizations behind their masks.

And even Instructor Aphon was surprised because he did not expect Simon to be so simple and detailed at the same time.

’What he said is easy to grasp, but applying it to a practical and realistic situation is not so easy.’

’The other instructors were right. This child has a frightening talent when it comes to battle.’

’Knowing that it’s a waste of time to look at the back or above for the second dagger when you can just move to the safe spot is something that many of these children would not think of.’

’What are the Grave Lords thinking making this child a slave? Why exactly is he slave?’

Instructor Aphon had many questions but he obviously could not get the answers to them right now.

He nodded at Simon.

"Very good. But you did that when there were only two daggers, right?"

Simon nodded.

"What did you do when there were four daggers? There were cases where four daggers would appear in front of you, behind you, and to your left and right. What did you do in that situation?"

Simon was silent for a moment, seemingly organizing his thoughts, then he spoke.

"Well, I noticed that the daggers were different."

Instructor Aphon’s eyes flashed with a satisfied light, then he nodded.

"Continue."

"Two daggers have black handles, while the other two have red handles."

"Even if four daggers are close to me or anybody, only two daggers were actually aiming to cut us."

"If I see that it’s a dagger with the red handle that wants to cut me, I know that the second dagger that wants to cut me also has a red handle."

"So I’ll ignore the black handle daggers."

Clap

Clap

Clap

"Very good. Very, very good."

For the first time since Simon arrived in the academy, an instructor clapped for him and praised him.

It was strange to Simon and even the other Initiates, and none of them knew how to react.

"You have showed what it means to be attentive and how one should divide their attention in dangerous situations like this." Instructor Aphon said, then he shifted his gaze to the other students.

"This is a class that’s not only going to teach you how to divide your attention, but also how to observe tiny little details and how to improve your focus."

"And I’ll make sure to whip you all into fine Initiates who can notice even the smallest of details in many cases."

None of the Initiates said a thing, and Instructor Aphon did not expect them to.

Clap!

He clapped.

"Alright. That’s all for this topic. It’s time for me to teach you about the mind, mental energy, the Sea of Consciousness, and mental techniques."

"Let’s get started shall we?"