During the dust reveal.
"Damn ... Julian is still standing?!"
"No," Kyle denied Ozi's words. A smile was plastered on his face.
"What?"
"Wait for it. You will see ... Joshua Fray has won," he declared. And he did. Everyone cheered happily. Not only because their plan was a success, but also because the fight was a satisfying one.
{'Congratulations,'} Kyle said in his mind. {'Joshua Fray, you have become stronger.'}
....
"Hah," Leonhart gave a dry laugh which was filled with mockery and disappointment. After he woke up in the infirmary, he quickly went to watch the fight.
It was humiliating for him to lose so easily and so quickly at that. Because of this, he couldn't mock Ferlando anymore. After all, he just barks and has no bite.
"To think the weakest of us is the one who won," Leonhart said. He was sure Joshua wouldn't win, but his opinion changed when Joshua wounded Julian, even after his right arm was broken. Leonhart knew Julian wasn't as strong as Vyn or Mina, and he was confident he could win against Julian. But that didn't matter because the fight was between Joshua and Julian. And Joshua won. The only one who won among them.
"Truly humiliating," Ferlando smiled bitterly. The worst thing he didn't want to happen had happened. With this, Joshua had established himself as someone on the same level as them. While they were falling down, he was rising up.
...….
"To think Julian used his berserker mode. Was he really that desperate?" Mina mumbled.
"That person ... Joshua, was it? His attack is dangerous; it can penetrate Julian's magic coat easily."
"Is that so? Only that?"
"Yeah," Vyn shrugged awkwardly.
"Hmph, to think the weakest one was the one that won... so tragic," Mina said before walking away. She didn't care about the third fight. It was a fight between the weak. Even the first two weren't interesting at all.
{'Oh well, I still got my money,'} Mina thought. She finished her job of taking care of Leonhart. Although she didn't understand why Kyle would want her to fight Leonhart. He didn't give any reason at all.
"Tsk, whatever."
.....
"What a surprise," the headmaster said after he watched all three fights. Behind were two teachers. Liza and Clay were both homeroom teachers in Class Seven and Class Two, respectively.
"Your students are truly outstanding, Miss Throne," said the Headmaster to Liza.
"You flatter me, Headmaster. It was you who put them in my class," Liza replied with a smile. She was proud of her students but also knew that it wasn't her who trained them up to this point. They were already strong.
"True. Mr. Norton, how were your students, are you satisfied? The headmaster asked Clay.
"Not at all," Clay sighed. "It is fortunate that Joshua has won."
"Indeed …. That boy had been training very hard, hadn't he?"
"Yes," Clay nodded. "He had help from other students to reach this point," Clay knew about how Kyle and Ninia helped Joshua train. Naturally, he also knew that Class Three was manipulating the outcome.
"Indeed. But your other two students, I hope they are going to improve after this and set aside their differences. Or else …." The headmaster implied what they knew. If Class Two were unable to unite at the end, they were bound to be defeated. On top of that, they had already become the victims of their own arrogance and someone else's manipulation.
"I will do my best," Clay replied. While he did say his best, he would let Joshua take over this. Unless the situation was out of control, he wouldn't directly step in.
...….
The next day.
The academy became lively as it mostly talked about the fights that happened the other day. Various topics were talked about, whether it was about Class Two's humiliation, Class Seven's strength, Vyn, Mina, or others.
As for the fighters, both Leonhart and Ferlando were quiet. They laid low after what had happened. But that didn't mean they would stay idle. They were preparing to become stronger and get back their pride. As for Joshua? He was in the infirmary and had to stay there for two days. He got almost half of his body broken. He also overexerted himself, which required him to rest a lot.
Vyn and Mina were fine, instead, they became popular due to how strong they were. Julian was also in the infirmary for a day. Thanks to Joshua, he got two big wounds, and his body had to recover after using Berserker mode. His condition wasn't as bad as Joshua's, so he could return to his dorm early.
During Julian's stay in the infirmary, he had become friends with Joshua. Both talked about their fight. Julian admitted that he was aiming to get into Berserker mode in phase two, which meant slightly lower in terms of physical prowess, but he regained some of his intellect when using it.
And so, when Julian left, Joshua felt lonely. He couldn't do much of anything while laying down in his bed. He could only sigh at his fate.
He won the fight, but the cost was relatively high. Nevertheless, he was happy about it. He had proved to everyone that he was strong.
The sound of the door opening was heard. Joshua turned toward the door and saw his friend come in. It was Kyle.
"Hey there, the winner," Kyle said while walking toward Joshua and sitting down.
"Hey, it took you long enough," Joshua said with a smile. Not many people visited him before, mostly the students under his faction.
"Well, I have to pick a time where I won't bump into your classmates," Kyle wanted to avoid anyone from Class Two in order to not cause any unnecessary trouble when visiting Joshua. They might be roommates, but other people would often see Kyle as someone from Class Three.
"So, how are you?" Kyle asked while looking at Joshua's pitiful state.
"What do you mean, how are you? As you can see, I'm in pain."
"Good, that means you are still alive," Kyle nodded sagely.
"Bastard …. If I'm not injured right now, I'll kick you," Joshua made a mock threat. Silence reigned for a moment before they laughed together.
"You seem fine," Kyle noted. "How was it? Lying here, doing nothing. It must be a holiday."
"Only you would think that," Joshua groaned. "It is boring and painful. I can't move around and there is nothing to see."
"Well, you're going to recover soon. So your boring days will be hectic," said Kyle. It was fortunate that, with magic, Joshua could recover really fast.
"Ah, yeah, I have a lot of homework to do," Joshua sighed. With him being absent for two days, he was several lessons behind his peers. He had to work hard to catch up with them.
"And …." Joshua looked serious. After coming out of this place, he would become the center of attention. He had stepped into the limelight after what he did in his fight. He might be weak compared to the top students, but he had the potential to stand among them.
"Right, you need to organize your faction. Both Leonhart and Ferlando are busy maintaining theirs. They are wary of you," Kyle said, which caused Joshua to chuckle.
"Didn't we already know that? After all, I'm the weakest among them and have become a threat."
"Heh, if you need any help from me, just ask," Kyle offered, but it was turned down by a soft shake of the head.
"No, this time. I'll do it on my own," Joshua smiled. "I have to step up my game. I can't always rely on other people to help me."
Hearing this, Kyle smiled. He didn't mind, though; rather, he was happy that Joshua had become firmer. It was necessary to be a leader to be firm.
"You've grown a lot," Kyle nodded happily.
"The hell? Don't act like an old man!"
.....
Somewhere.
"How was Costina?"
"It is ... something."
"Oh? For some newly developed empires, it is something? Interesting. Anyway, how was M-924?"
"She is good. She hasn't reached its full potential, but she uses it well."
"I see ... so it was worth it to let her escape. To think a real one is able to be used by someone not from his bloodline is astounding. The experiment was successful after all."
"Continue to observe … and … do tell me about the other students."
"Yes, sir."
*******
End of Arc 1: The First Month of School
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Author: Aida Hanabi
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