The following day, Kay's system decided to warn him with a notification.
[Time Remaining: 1 day]
Ah, that's happening soon. Hopefully, my preparations will pan out. If my plan worked, someone should be throwing themselves at me soon enough.
**
Getting out of bed, Kay made his way into the bathroom and began brushing his teeth. The school provided toothbrushes, toothpaste and various other items for sanitation. They were relatively bland in their design, but they did the job well enough. Wiping some water off of his face, he put on his shoes for the day.
On his way to the classroom, he was caught by Shiina as she also made her way over.
"Mor-ning Kay! Are you ready for another day of minimal work?"
"Unlike you, I actually work throughout the day, just not any academics."
"Haa, well, I'm here to support you on your mission to defeat the hero~"
"You haven't really done much supporting."
"Come on. I'm saving you from eternal loneliness!"
Walking through the door, the two of them entered the classroom. However, just as Kay walked in, he was abruptly and unpleasantly greeted by a familiar face. With a bandaid on his face, a furious Callum stood in front of Kay.
"You're going to pay for what you did yesterday!"
"Huh. Are you mad about combat training?" Kay responded in a nonchalant manner.
"Shut up. I challenge you to a duel for your rank."
Usually, all duels could be rejected without any worry about consequences. However, if a duel were initiated for the purpose of challenging another student's rank, then the consequence of rejecting the duel would be an automatic loss. This was made so that higher-ranked students couldn't just keep avoiding the duels of the lower-ranked ones.
This meant that a lower-ranked student could force a higher-ranked one to participate in a duel. Normally, this was an annoyance to the higher-ranked student since they had to participate in order to protect their rank. However, Kay had intended for this to happen.
By provoking Callum, he had given himself an opportunity to participate in a duel.
And in doing so, he'd have a chance to complete his mission.
"Ah, well, I guess I have to accept then."
A notification appeared on his phone.
-
Pending Duel Request [Rank Challenge]
Challenger(s): Callum Ffrench
Recipient(s): Kay Rudiless
***
[Contents]
Standard duel with no special rules.
[Accept] / [Reject]
-
After pressing the [Accept] button, another notification appeared on his phone.
-
Duel Initiated!
A teacher will facilitate the duel soon. Please make your way to the training centre with a teacher. Note: This duel will be public.
-
"Aah... a duel this early in the morning...?"
The teacher did not seem too happy about the entire situation. However, she had no choice but to facilitate it anyways. A few students came along with them with the intention of watching the fight. All duels were public at this school, aside from some special exceptions. This meant that students could head over to the training centre and watch them for entertainment.
Not only that but there was also a betting app on the phone where you could bet on the result of a duel—like something you'd see at a horse race. As long as there was a match on, students always had some source of entertainment.
"Alright, each of you, head to your respective rooms."
There was a different prep room for the challengers and the defenders. Kay and Callum went into their respective rooms and warmed up in preparation for the fight. They were relatively small rooms which resembled changing rooms. With a clock ticking on the wall, the two fighters waited for the duel to begin.
Through the PA, the commencement was announced.
{Could both participants enter the stadium.}
Entering through a special tunnel, Kay and Callum made their way out onto the large, professional stadium. All the obstacles had been removed, so it was just a large open area. Groups of students sat around in the seats, which were elevated above the sides of the arena.
Callum stared at Kay as they stood still, waiting for the fight to commence.
{Begin!}
Charging across the arena, Callum raised his sword, aggressively running toward Kay. Slowly, Kay walked forwards, drawing his katana.
Before long, the distance between the two of them closed, and Callum began attacking.
In one wide swing, Callum tried to land a strike on his side. In a swift movement, Kay managed to parry the attack. Despite that, Kay still felt a pain on his side, like he'd been kicked by Callum.
Taking a few steps back, Kay observed the situation, trying to figure out what had just happened. A dense, aching pain was running through his body. However, before Kay had enough time to think, Callum rushed in, swinging his sword again. This time, before Callum could get close to landing an attack, Kay kicked him directly in the kneecap.
The bottom of his foot collided with Callum's knee, causing it to bend inwards. There was a loud crack as the bone in his knee shifted out of position. Callum fell to the ground, crying out in pain. The crunch could be felt throughout his body.
"Gaaa! Fuck, fuck, fuck!"
Rolling on the ground in pain, Callum shouted and screamed as he held his knee. Kay stood still and watched for a little while.
"I don't know what you were expecting."
"Aaah! Make it stop! It hurts! Fuck!"
However, Kay stood and watched, waiting as Callum screamed out in pain. Eventually, as the pain gradually began to dissipate, Kay approached him.
"I'll be holding onto my rank."
In one swift strike, Kay slew the pitiful boy.
A loud siren echoed through the arena.
{The winner is Kay Rudiless!}
There was some applause as the audience observed his victory. It was a very quick one; the fight lasted no more than two minutes. One kick was all it took before Callum completely lost his will to fight.
Upon the conclusion of the fight, Callum's body was fully healed. He grabbed himself all over, pulling his knee up to his chest. He was frantically catching his breath as he'd just experienced hell. Traumatised, he slowly stood up as his legs shook violently.
"I-I'm... fine... I'm... fine..."
Eventually, he was escorted out by a teacher.
The fight had concluded before the first period even started.
[Mission Complete!]
[Time Taken: 1 day]
[You will receive your rewards]