Chapter 132 Chapter 31.1 - Before Mid-terms
"The last one."
As Eleanor said that, her gaze turned to the student whom she had one of the least favorable impressions.
"Astron Natusalune and Aliyah Shaw."
The boy with pitch-black hair was sitting at the back of the place. He didn't have anyone sitting close to him as if he was some sort of plague.
And considering the rumors surrounding him, that made sense. Even as an instructor, she had heard about all those rumors, and certainly, they were quite disturbing.
However, different from the youngsters who didn't know about the world, she was well aware that all those rumors couldn't be true at the same time. Even if Astron had a criminal history, something that exaggerated wouldn't be the case.
However, even then, it didn't change the fact that he was someone who was hard to be on equal grounds and with the attitude of a teen.
"Get ready for your positions."
But, remembering what she had seen at the joint dungeon examination and the examination before that, she couldn't help but think something had changed about him.
'Still, he can't be the one.'
But, in the end, she disregarded the small thought she had for a brief second.
"We will start soon."
And, she returned to her usual stern tone.
********
"Hey, bastard."
A crooked voice came before me as I reached the spot where I would have my spar. There stood a girl with tanned skin and yellow eyes looking at me with a clear blaze.
"….."
She was the sparring partner I would have for a while, Aliyah Shaw. Another minor extra-like character that didn't have much screen time. She was a girl who liked to joke loudly in class and, most of the time, acted like a boy.
Her short-cut hair and usage of words all belonged to a category that was called 'tomboy.'
Though sadly different from Julia, she was not a main character. Thus, she would always be soon forgotten by the players.
"Hey, bastard, are you deaf?"
But then again, in this real world, there was no such thing as screen time. Every person has their own life, and time also flows for them.
And now, I need to spar with the girl before me. Even though she seemed to have a bad impression of me, I couldn't do much about it for the time being.
"I can hear you just fine."
To respond, she sneered, her yellow eyes narrowing. "I've heard all kinds of stories about you, like you being a womanizer and hitting a girl."
'Again, with those rumors.' I thought as I readied myself for the spar while grabbing my weapons. Since I was now officially registered as a bowman and a Daggerist, I needed to use both of them while being graded.
"So what?" I answered. At this point, reacting to those allegations was too bothersome for me.
"So what?? Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"
"I don't. You are allowed to believe whatever you want."
"Ah, of course…..I wouldn't expect less from a bastard like you."
Most of the time, people who thought they were some sort of moral police would demand an apology from the other party.
This is also known as political correctness.
People who get 'offended' by other people's actions who don't directly affect them. Just like this girl before me.
Even though I had never talked with her before, nor had I done something to her, she still got offended by my imaginary actions and now wants to bring the 'justice' she deemed yourself.
"Get your weapon; I am going to crush you." The ferocious expression on her face was the proof of that.
"Is that so?"
"It is."
SMASH!
She smashed her gauntlets, scrubbing them into each other as she revealed a predatory smile.
Apparently, she was a martial artist who trained her body and became a living weapon on her own using her fists. Of course, while observing all the students inside the class, I also gathered information about her and knew she was using fists and ranked around 1k digits.
"Make sure you get some painkillers ready. Because it will fucking hurt." With those words, she started walking to her own position of sparring, the other end of the ring.
Since I was a bowman, to make it fair, the area we were sparring was wider than the one before.
DING!
As the bell rang, the sign for our spar to start was given.
I quickly reached for my bow, nocking an arrow and drawing the string taut.
CRACK!
She immediately blasted herself off the moment the bell rang.
My eyes remained fixed on Aliya, who wasted no time closing the distance between us, her fists enveloped in the special mana-coating technique that enhanced her strength and speed.
SWISH!
I released my first arrow, watching it soar toward Aliya.
DANG!
Her enhanced reflexes allowed her to react swiftly, deflecting the arrow with a well-timed punch, sending it off course. Even though the arrow was coated with my mana, it didn't have any effect on her fist that clashed with it.
'As expected.'
Since the time I had at my disposal was limited, I couldn't perfectly enhance the arrow, making it strong enough to damage. Also, with my location known, it was a lot harder to hit someone like her.
SWOOSH!
Undeterred, I notched another arrow and maintained my distance, focusing on precision and aim. Aliya's relentless pursuit and high physical awareness allowed her to dodge most of the arrows, or she deflected them with her bare fists.
As I continued to kite her down while trying to maintain my distance, I could hear her mumbling.
"Pussy."
Of course, that was expected, given her personality.
"Come here, you fucker."
She was continuously pursuing me, as I was continuously running away.
SWISH! SWISH!
I continued to fire arrows, supplying them with mana. My goal wasn't to show off my bow skills and my mana control but actually to wear her off.
As the spar continued, Aliya's skillful dodges and impressive deflections demonstrated her martial arts expertise.
SWOOSH!
But, as the last arrow flew in the air, I could see her eyes widening. It was because she was not in a position to dodge. I had been dragging her in a way that, when this attack came, she would be blocked by the boundary of the ring.
SPURT!
In the end, the arrow pierced her on her shoulder, making her wince in pain.
I managed to accomplish my goal by landing a few hits with my arrows, making it clear that I had proficiency with the bow.
"YOU!"
And angering her.
"If you are going to play it like that, so be it." She said as the aura surrounding her changed. "I wanted to crush you without using this, but I didn't expect you to be a rat."
'She is going to use it.'
There was a reason why martial artists were able to compete with Hunters using weapons. It was the fact that their body was the real weapon, and they knew how to preach their limits.
「Martial Spirit」
And now she was going to use the fundamental technique that made it such.
'Using the bow will be pointless.'
At this point, I knew I couldn't use my bow. The moment she had activated her Martial Spirit, my attacks wouldn't be able to deal any damage to her until it wore off because of the special mana disturbing property.
But that didn't mean I was completely helpless. After all, I had my daggers in my hand.
"Here I come."
BOOM! SWOOSH!
With those words, she immediately dashed to me, her movements blurry. As if a new leg was added to her body, she closed the distance instantly.
BOOM!
Her first strike came with explosive force, her mana-enhanced fists striking out in a series of rapid punches. I managed to evade the first few blows, deflecting them with my dual daggers, but the sheer power behind each punch was overwhelming. I could feel the impact reverberate through my arms.
'It is crazy how different she is now.'
I thought as my eyes darted around her body, looking for every bit of sign I could see.
'A kick.'
SWOOSH!
Just as I had anticipated, her follow-up attack was a spinning kick that I barely managed to dodge by leaping backward.
The wind from the kick brushed against my chest, and I realized that any direct hit from those enhanced strikes would be devastating.
"You are good at escaping, aren't you? Like a little rat." She said as she pressed on.
SWOOSH!
Another fist followed me, just aimed at my right abdomen.
'I can't dodge it.'
Dash.
Immediately concluding that fact, I activated my skill, enhancing my speed. And thanks to that, I was able to avoid the punch at the last second by steeping to the side.
And because it was a desperate move, I wasn't able to regain my footing instantly. Just at that second, I could see another fist approaching me rapidly, coated with aura.
I knew if I got hit by that, my face would be smashed, and I would be on the verge of losing consciousness.
But I felt it. The small window of parrying appeared in front of me.
CLANK!
The dagger moved on its own and parried the punch. The aftermath nulled my right arm, and my senses closed for a second, but I was able to fend off the attack.
SLASH!
Following that, I slashed with my left arm, aiming at the conjecture point where her arm connected to her chest.
"Arghk!"
She winced in pain as my dagger slid through her arm and threw a roundhouse kick to fend me off.
But I was already expecting it from her body movements. This time the feeling was not there, but my trait was.
SWOOSH!
Lowering my body, I crouched as the kick went past my head.
SLASH!
And slashed the ankle tendons of her pillar foot.
THUD!
Which made her fall to the ground, as she lost control of her ankle momentarily. And that momentary loss of control determined the end of the spar as my dagger stood right before her neck.
DING!
"Everyone, the spars are finished."
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