"Are you still appalled by the fight, or by my actions perhaps?"
For the first ti since he’d t us, Kaito’s posture changed. He rested his free hand on his beard as he considered us. His face remained impassive.
"It matters not. I’d advise you to get used to it. What you’ve seen is nigh philanthropy compared to what this world has in store for you."
He took a brief pause.
"Your enemies, be they human or monster, will show you no rcy. They will crush and destroy you ruthlessly the mont you let your guard down. Hence, you must learn to be ruthless as well. You must learn to be rciless, cruel, to do everything in your power to utterly decimate them."
His voice remained asured as he continued.
"This is rely the first of such fights that you’ll be seeing. At the beginning of each class you spend with , I will call on two cadets randomly. Both will participate in a match of this nature. Cadets will be paired sotis against those superior to them, sotis against their equals, sotis against their lesser."
So cadets visibly paled at his words.
"Is it fair? No. But neither is the world, and I shall drill this fact into your skulls for as long as I am to teach you. Strength is all that matters here."
’The bastard’s basically telling us to git good.’
Oh, you don’t like being beaten to a pulp in front of your classmates. Just get stronger, though even if you do there’s no guarantee soone even stronger won’t co beat you.
Which, if I was being honest, is indeed the nature of this world. That knowledge didn’t make it any easier to see the truth on full display.
With that last statent, Kaito dropped the topic, stepping out of the circle before speaking again.
"For now, and the near future, most of what you do in combat class will be sparring. Spars are different from matches. Gift use is strictly prohibited, as is the use of excessive force. You are however allowed to use wooden weapons."
Most cadets, including , let out a collective sigh of relief at the rules.
"Winning a round is only possible by tapping a critical area or hitting your partner in a combination of spots that would prove debilitating or crippling in real combat. Each pair must undergo at least twenty rounds before resting. Do note, the results of sparring and our exhibition matches all contribute to your ranking."
He took a brief pause.
"So do try your best."
The man’s dark scleras flashed white, a sign he was accessing his interface.
"The mont I call your nas, pick your weapons. Move to an isolated corner, and begin."
"Cadets Rowan and Racheal."
.
.
.
"Cadets Shin and Pablo."
.
.
.
"Cadets Varic and Baek."
That was the last pair Kaito called, and quite unnervingly my na hadn’t been among them.
The crowd had mostly dispersed by now, leaving and a familiar purple-eyed girl. Maki.
’I don’t like where this is going.’
"Cadet Victor. Cadet Maki. Miss Alice has specifically requested I group you together. Your burdens serve to make a rather interesting pairing. This is likely to follow in your other activities as well."
He walked off as he said his final piece.
"However, your pairings in the exhibition match will remain random."
I already had a feeling Evanka was going to do so ddling, more so using Alice as a proxy.
’Still, why the hell am I paired with Maki?!’
Alright, it would be a lie to say I couldn’t see the relation between the two. Both were debilitating curses.
While mine manifested in the form of a sickness, Maki’s burden dropped most of her physical stats down a level.
If she was at rank D, her stats would still be that of a novice. The imnsity of this disadvantage only grew in higher ranks.
’The Puppeteer’s Constitution.’
Its na was in direct reference to her gift.
Either way, the most important fact was that she was still at the level of a low-tier novice. Aside from having better vitality, most Rank Es had stats comparable with regular folk.
It all ant one thing, the current Maki was easily stronger than .
Worse, she’s a noble. Born to a house only a step lower in prestige than the great houses.
’I am so cooked.’
The girl in question’s gaze lay firmly on . Her violet eyes shone with a curiosity reminiscent of our ti in the hospital, though now it was guarded with caution.
Still, she extended a hand.
"Victor, was it? I don’t think we got off on the right foot last ti around."
I didn’t waste the opportunity to get past the awkward atmosphere.
"Yes, due to that rather unfortunate... incident."
Her lip twitched at ’incident,’ but I ignored it.
"Do you know why I did it?"
She opened her mouth, then paused, looking around before nodding.
"Well, that’s good I guess. We’ll likely be seeing more of each other, so it’d be best to just leave whatever happened in the past, no?"
"Sounds fine to ."
With that she released my hand and headed toward the weapons rack. I promptly followed.
We both paused in front of the rack. Maki scanned for a bit before selecting a wooden rapier.
I on the other hand had no idea what to pick. I’d never used a proper weapon before, well except if a rusty pipe counted as one.
’Should I just go with a spear?’
In principle it was rather simple to use. Stick with pointy end, hit enemy with pointy end.
Of course, it was much more than that in actual use, but it was the best I could do for now.
I tentatively picked a wooden spear from the rack. Its surface had a smooth feel to it, though not so smooth that I couldn’t get a grip on it.
With that over with, I turned only to find Maki already waiting for at an empty spot.
’Let’s take this as a learning experience. Yeah, let’s take it as that.’
I definitely wasn’t prepping myself to take a beating.
Reviews
All reviews (0)