The body fell down, his back hitting off of the hard floor as he did, a loud groan falling out of his throat as he was instantly defeated. As he did fall – he lost the battle, meaning he was now out of the competition. The instructor suddenly moved over to the boy that was still standing on the floor, breathing heavily as his bloody knuckles fell by his side and held his hand up to announce him as the winner of the trial.

“Congratulations to Huang Zitao!” With a loud voice, the instructor shouted to all of the rest of the class who immediately began to clap to congratulate the other student. Zitao chuckled and just stood there rather awkwardly. “But it was a good fight Jongin, don’t worry.”

Currently on the ground, Jongin let his head fall back to the floor as he took a few breaths. Right now, he was ready to just judge himself completely.

However, Zitao moved over to the loser and knelt down.

Both of them stared at each other in silence for a while whilst the clapping from the others died down a little. When they did, Zitao put out his hand and waited for Jongin to grab it, so he could help him stand up.

He had to say, they both looked pretty much like hell. Both of them were extremely powerful which didn’t help their faces at all. Zitao stared at Jongin before he patted his back, making sure he didn’t touch a part that was bruised or bleeding. Bringing a hand up to his own face, he winced as he felt the blood on his lips. A lot of it.

“It was a good fight.” Zitao said, complementing the other for how much damage he also received during it. Jongin looked up to him and chuckled.

The other’s face looked horrible.

He was kind of hoping that his face didn’t look like that at all. Because if it did, he felt even more humiliated. Nodding his head, Jongin stared at Zitao and simply shook his hand before moving over to the bench and taking a seat. He just needed to breathe for a while.

All of a sudden someone tapped his shoulder – his very badly wounded shoulder – making him scream out a little in pain, gaining a lot more attention than he wanted.

Turning around, he saw another student standing there in pity.

“I’m sorry, didn’t see your injury there.” Kyungsoo said, sitting down beside him and crossing his legs, staring at the other and waiting for a reply.

Jongin stared at him in confusion a little.

“Um, that’s alright…” He rolled his shoulder blade a little, trying to make himself more comfortable but it was no use. Zitao really gave him something to think about next time. There wasn’t a part of him that didn’t hurt at the moment, but he was positively sure Zitao should be a little bit like him too. “Ow…” he whined.

Kyungsoo stared at him before he stood up and grabbed Jongin softly by the wrist, forcing him to stand up too. The other just froze in the position.

This was a little weird.

“Come with me, I have something to ease the pain.” Almost immediately, Kyungsoo linked his fingers with Jongin’s hands and pulled him out of the gym.

On the other side of the hall, Zitao was standing there, trying to get the pain out of his system and think about something else. Jongin certainly did a number on him even if he lost. Lu Han rushed over to him with a grin on his pink lips and hugged him rather tightly.

“Ow! Get off!” Zitao shouted, pushing the other to the floor instantly. “This blood all over me isn’t fake you know.” Glaring at the boy who got up, he sighed.

Lu Han simply chuckled though.

“You did good.” He whispered, smiling at his friend before he patted his head a little. “Jongin is probably sulking though, at least you made peace.” Both of them nodded before Zitao noticed that there was someone else coming closer to him, someone that he had to try and train himself to like. Clearing his throat a little, he waited for Kris to approach.

When he did, Kris looked all over at the marks on the boy’s face and body, frowning at how hurt he looked. Then again, it was a hell of a fight.

“How are you doing?” he asked, tilting his head.

“Just a little sore.” Zitao replied, noticing that Lu Han had left them alone.

“You know, you’re pretty amazing.” Kris suddenly said, smirking at the expression of surprise on the other’s face. It also looked like Zitao massively appreciated the compliment too. “The fight was close though, both of you really are experts at what you do.”

The younger boy cleared his throat again and smiled as best as he could at the blonde as he spoke.

“Thank you, I appreciate that.” The boy smiled a little.

“You know, you should go to the nurse.” Kris said, noticing that the other was still bleeding profusely.

Zitao touched his lip a little and winced. Yup, that hurt.

“You’re right… Thanks again.” He said before he turned around and left the hall pretty quickly.

Someone moved into the hall, someone that no one really expected to show up because of what had happened the day before. The weapon’s instructor sighed a little but he moved up to the boy and folded his arms across his chest. It was a little unnerving to have him back in his class.

“Yes Jongdae?” Jongdae shuffled his feet.

“I know there’s no way for me to participate, but… can I at least support my fellow class mates?” He wondered, not trying to manipulate anyone but he wanted to be a part of it somehow. Anyway, he knew that Baekhyun wouldn’t participate in anything which made him feel a bit better. Jongdae looked over at Yixing and smiled. “Please?”

With a deep sigh, he nodded his head slowly.

“Thanks!” Jongdae grinned as he ran towards Yixing immediately.

When he was gone, the instructor looked around to just watch how the students reacted to the first competition of the tournament. It was pretty brutal, yes, but it was fun.

And it was all a chance for each of them to live up to their names and prove themselves to everyone else in the class.

Of course it also brought glory to the winner.

Looking over at a certain student, he let out a little sigh before he suddenly approached him. Clearing his throat to gain the other’s attention, he stopped Baekhyun speaking with Chanyeol so he focused on him.

“Yes?” Baekhyun asked, speaking clearly.

“We need to talk about your participation in this competition.” There was a bit of silence before Baekhyun nodded. “Okay, am I right in saying that you won’t participate in anything to do with violence?” Another nod was received. “And there is nothing I can do to change your mind?” Once again, Baekhyun simply nodded to the instructor’s question.

The man sighed but he knew that there was no choice in forcing the other to betray his personality and change. Nodding his head, he left him alone.

A sigh was heard.

Chanyeol turned to Baekhyun and smiled a little at him. It was nice to see someone stand up for their beliefs. Before he was able to talk to the other, he heard the instructor call for everyone’s attention all of a sudden.

“Everyone listen up!”

Everyone else present stopped talking immediately and stared up at the other man to wait for the next announcement.

“The next competition will start right now. This time, it will be weapon combat. I’ve precisely selected two combatants that do not hold any particular excellence in weapons, but two that have shown at least some slight interest in them.” The instructor explained, looking around the room and stopping to stare at one of them. He rose and eyebrow and the other shrugged. “Great, come on up Xiumin.”

The god of wealth stood up and smiled, immediately moving over to the weapons rack that was conveniently placed at the side. Looking over, he knew what he was going to pick.

As he picked up the trinity-bladed weapons, he turned around, eager to see who he was going to be up against.

The instructor then said the name of his opponent.

“Joonmyun, you’re up.”

The named boy looked up in surprise, but then smirked. After all, going past all the nice stuff then he was also the god of battle. Which meant there was something inside of him that made him want to fight. Joonmyun stood up and walked over to the weapons rack as well, grabbing dual weapons too – the two daggers he had first started to train with on the first day.

Smirking at his two students, the instructor moved to the side and leaned against the wall and simply stared at the other. He wanted to give them some time to prepare.

After all, this was going to be a very dangerous fight.

And on that note, he had to put down some limitations on what could happen and what wasn’t allowed.

“Okay guys, both of you come here.” He commanded, waiting for them to stand right where they were told. The instructor started. “Obviously this is going to be a very dangerous fight – even more so than Jongin’s and Zitao’s.”

Joonmyun and Xiumin shared a soft glance before they nodded.

They knew what the risks where.

“Now, I am going to try and place some rules. Of course, it is hard for something like this but we do not want any causalities.” Trying to think of the best way to handle this, he pursed his lips. “No shots to the abdomen or neck. Shoulders and arms are allowed.” Joonmyun and Xiumin nodded in agreement – they’d both like to be able to live after this. “Just be careful. Don’t do any damage that can’t be healed relatively quickly.”

There was a moment of silence. Joonmyun squeezed the handles on the daggers he held in each hand, and Xiumin gulped, not really liking the idea of having to slice and dice his love interest.

But, it was all in the name of fun.

“Alright, go ahead.”

Each of the students moved to the centre of the hallway, taking steps away from each other to maximise the distance. Both of them stared at each other in silence. The atmosphere between them was intense, but whilst Xiumin was a little worried, Joonmyun was actually feeling great.

It wasn’t all the time that he got to tap into the battle aspect of his personality and traits. This was the time to prove himself more than just a pretty face.

Circling the daggers in his hands, he held onto them tightly.

This was going to be a good fight.

Xiumin gulped as he literally saw the rage fire alight in Joonmyun’s eyes, he knew that the other was going to take this very seriously. Which simply meant he was going to have to too. The sai in each of his hands spun around, Xiumin clutching them with ease so they could move quickly.

The instructor stared at them both and waited until he knew they were ready completely. As he saw them stare at each other with a smirk on each of their mouths, he cleared his throat, got their attention, and put his hand up, bringing it down quickly to initiate the start of the match. Tension increased in the atmosphere immediately, with Joonmyun and Xiumin circling the room, waiting for the other to make a move first.

Gracefully stepping forward, Joonmyun decided to make the first move. Being the god of battle, he knew how to handle himself very well. He took a side step before instantly bringing up his right hand and lunging it towards Xiumin’s shoulder.

However, the other was very quick to react.

Xiumin brought up his left hand and blocked the other’s attack with his own weapon. They were stuck in the position for a while. With a smirk, Joonmyun immediately brought up his leg suddenly and kneed the other straight in the ribs.

“Dammit!” Xiumin fell down to the ground after the unsuspecting blow.

Joonmyun grinned before he took the chance to move forward, instantly aiming his foot to Xiumin’s wrist to kick one of his weapons away.

Soon enough, Xiumin was left with one weapon.

He was able to stand up and face the other again, his chest heaving slightly. It was difficult, he’ll give him that. Xiumin moved forward, twisting the one weapon around before bringing up his spare hand and using it for defence. He lunged forward, trying to swipe at Joonmyun’s arms, frowning when he missed.

But Joonmyun had found his spirit in battle and smirked at his opponent.

“You missed.” Joonmyun winked at him before suddenly rushing forward to surprise him.

In an instant, he jumped off of the floor and pushed both of his feet against Xiumin’s chest, pushing his opponent to the floor with a huge force, before his body flipped backwards and he fluently landed on his feet.

There were some murmurs in the background. It was true, Joonmyun was good at athletics too, which helped him in battle. Unlike last time, Xiumin immediately pushed himself back onto his feet with his hands, moving forward and not wasting time on attacking Joonmyun. All thoughts of love flew out of his mind and he focused on the battle itself. As he reached Joonmyun, they both struck at each other quickly, blocking the others attacks at the same time, tiring each other out as no attack landed.

They continued on, until Xiumin hit a lucky break and suddenly slid the top of his blade across Joonmyun’s right shoulder blade, making the other grunt. But with time on his side, he instantly used his free hand to push the other backwards, to stagger him. When Joonmyun nearly tripped from the unexpected push, Xiumin smirked and instantly ran his blade along the boy’s right thigh, cutting in deep.

Joonmyun let out a loud grunt before he fell backwards in pain, unable to stand up from his leg being immobilised. He saw Xiumin move forward, and he wanted to continue, but he knew it would be a death wish.

Especially when it wasn’t a match to the death.

Putting up his hands to surrender instantly, Xiumin stopped and turned around to the instructor who clapped his hands.

“Well done Xiumin, you did exceedingly well.”

“Thanks.”

Joonmyun, who was still on the floor, tried to smile at the other but at the same time, he had a serious cut on his shoulder and leg. Everyone was congratulating Xiumin who was obviously basking in the glory. Even the instructor was doing it. Which meant they had clearly forgotten about him.

A few seconds passed and his pride left him.

“I really need help.” Joonmyun’s voice was broken, and the only person that heard him was Xiumin. The boy turned around and his eyes widened as he saw the blood that was slowly covering the floor.

“We need to get him to the nurse!”

…

Kyungsoo had a leaf in his hand – it was a weird colour, something that Jongin had never seen before in fact – and he suddenly stood in front of the boy before putting his free hand under Jongin’s chin. Both of them stared at each other for a while. The silence was getting eerie.

“Um, what is that for?” Jongin asked, kicking his feet a little as he sat up on the table whilst Kyungsoo was standing in front.

“It’s a rare leaf, from a magical part of the world.” Kyungsoo spoke softly.

“Okay… and why do you have it?”

“Because it has an exceedingly rare power to heal wounds and pain in an instant.” He whispered, smiling a little before looking up at Jongin whose expression showed that he didn’t really believe him. “I am kind of an expert at this you know.”

“Huh?” The younger tilted his head. The last he knew was that Kyungsoo was the god of silence (which he definitely lived up to). But then he remembered another particular trait he held in his bland. He was also the God of the forest which of course held the leaves and plants. No wonder he knew of something as peculiar as this. “So… this will heal me?”

Kyungsoo nodded before he placed the leaf on Jongin’s head which held one of his worst wounds. All of a sudden, a small light appeared over it and Kyungsoo smiled greatly.

At least it worked.

Jongin felt better instantly. Once the leaf was taken away, he moved a hand up to his head but he felt no wound.

“That was amazing…” He whispered, smiling.

“…Thank you…” There seemed to be a slight tint of red on the other’s cheeks which Jongin found rather remarkable. “Um, here.” Kyungsoo took out a see through jar and handed it to the boy in front of him. “These are very special, please be careful.”

It was a lot of the leaves, Jongin guessed that he was supposed to heal the rest of him with these. Nodding his head, he watched as Kyungsoo got ready to leave.

As he was about to go out the door, Jongin shouted.

“Wait!”

Moving over to the door – or well limping – he smiled and put out his hand.

“Thank you, really.”

Kyungsoo stared at him but decided to shake the other’s hand, simply nodding and leaving straight afterwards. Once he was gone and he had left Jongin to tend to himself, he moved into the hall again, tilting his head once he saw Joonmyun on a stretcher moving from the door. There was quite a lot of blood too – it seemed as if he had missed something.

Seeing the confusion on his face, before Joonmyun was wheeled out of the door, he chuckled and shrugged his shoulder as he spoke to the God of silence and the forest.

“I lost my fight.”

With a smile he was gone and Kyungsoo simply joined the other students on the benches, watching as there was still some excess blood on the floor.

The instructor knew that was probably enough for one day.

After all, it was a dangerous game.

“Students, tomorrow we will continue the competition. However, we will be doing an intellectual test instead.”

This certainly made most of the students perk up.

“No details on it just now but be aware. The next battle will have nothing to do with strength at all.” As he said that, some of them sighed but others were ecstatic at the sound. Especially Baekhyun.

This was one he could participate in.

However, there was one in particular that was grinning at the sound of a knowledge test. Yixing chuckled to himself as he found his body feeling excited and now he couldn’t wait until tomorrow.

A/N: Hey my fantastic people! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you are enjoying the story as a whole :) I've been meaning to update this for a long time! I've a question to ask you all: would there be anyone will to make me a poster for this story? I would pay you with karma or some other way? Thank you :) Also, I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping lately, if any of you guys have any ideas how to fix this can you maybe post on my wall? I need help... BUT I hope you liked this chapter and I will update soon!