Everyone was shocked when the weakest person decided to volunteer as a secretary. Some people looked at him disapprovingly, but Jake said, "Then will you listen to me as the class president?"
"I will do anything," Cody replied.
Jake was amused. For this Reina girl, Cody would do anything, but his gaze didn't seem to like her as an opposite sex. In fact, he sensed grudges. It seemed there was a story behind them, so he looked at Reina to see her reaction. Even though it was for a moment, Reina put on a guilty expression. However, she immediately assumed her stoic expression again.
"Very well. You are the secretary of this class now. You will be tasked to follow my order," Jake said as he handed his mandatory course application form. "For the starter, collect everyone's paper and give it to Mr. Whitehound."
Cody nodded and did as he was told. After he gave the application forms to Mr. Whitehound, the regular course began in peace.
One hour later, Mr. Whitehound's class was over, and students were preparing to go to their mandatory classes.
Jake's next class was the general self-defense class, and it seemed everyone in the class was attending the same class. This course was where the students learned to defend themselves against many types of fighters such as warriors and wizards. In this course, they would learn to fight against other races as well, so it was one of the most popular mandatory courses in the academy. Furthermore, this course didn't overlap with other mandatory courses, so all the students could attend this class if they wanted.
The class was held in the gymnasium. This place's interior was similar to the academy's stadium with tiered seats and a big field in the middle. Many training equipment were placed on the field such as training dummies, weapon racks, and lifting equipment.
Class A and class B students gathered in the middle of the field while a few instructors were speaking. Because the class was mixed with class B, Jake could meet Marilyn. The blindfolded woman stealthily approached him and stood next to him.
"I heard you fought someone yesterday," Marilyn whispered.
"Don't worry. I am fine."
"Oh, I know you will be fine. You didn't get a point deduction, did you?"
"No."
Marilyn sighed. "Good then." She was quiet for a while, but she opened her mouth again. "Jake...."
Before she could say anything, an instructor called, "Jake Butler. Is Jake Butler here?"
Jake cocked his head and answered, "Does something matter, teacher?"
The female instructor smiled. "There is no issue at all. We just want you to have a match with Miss. Rowe...." Before Jake could ask why, she explained, "In the classes, everyone has an equal chance to gain a legacy potion when they do meritorious deeds. This is one of those chances. If you participate, I will give you a legacy potion. If you can win against Miss. Rowe, I will give you two legacy potions."
Jake widened his eyes. Legacy potion was made by extracting a creature's Legacy. When someone consumed it, they could gain experience points and level up. In this school environment where the students could leave without permission, it was an extremely valuable resource. Even the lazy Jake needed it to become stronger the easier way.
'Wait, can't I just ask aunty to supply me with legacy potions? I don't have to accept this offer,' Jake thought.
Jake looked at Marilyn and said, "Hey, you are number one in the B class. Step up and fight her."
"Eh, no way. Why should I do that when I can do nothing and relax?" Marilyn replied. As expected of a girl with a similar lazy nature as himself. "Besides, even mom can't supply us with legacy points. As long as the academy doesn't do harm to the empire, even the imperial can't do anything in this place."
Jake felt like a spear stabbed his heart after listening to her. Even she could read his mind. Was he really that transparent?
"But you gave me a low rejuvenation potion yesterday."
"That's because you were sick, so we got special permission to give a cure for you."
"Ah, well. I guess I can do nothing about it." Jake scratched his head and stepped forward. He faced Reina Rowe and put on a weary expression.
"In this self-defense class, you can fight using any style. If you understand, I will give you one minute to choose any weapons for your usage," the female instructor said.
Jake inwardly smirked when he heard that. If he was really allowed to use any style, he could easily defeat Reina with Tang family's martial art. That martial art was centered around hidden attacks and cheap tricks. It was really a suitable technique to destroy inexperienced people. Of course, he wouldn't use that in just a light spar. He didn't want everyone to have a bad opinion about him.
That left him with an orthodox style. Aside from his own [Butler Style] and Tang Family's [Star Way], he mastered another martial art called [The Way of Unifying Gravity], but this technique was more suitable with bare hands.
'Reina picked a sword as I expected. With her [Swordmaster] talent, I can't defeat her with empty hands,' Jake thought. So, he put aside the thought of using [The Way of Unifying Gravity]. That meant he would use his [Butler Style].
The next step was choosing a weapon. There were various wooden weapons in the weapon rack, but Jake didn't hesitate to pick up a halberd. He was an expert at spearmanship and axe combat, so halberd was the weapon he could use the best.
After picking a weapon, Jake faced Reina again. He widened his eyes when he looked at her. It was because she emitted a sharp aura when she was holding a sword. "You are strong, Reina," he admitted. Even he couldn't defeat her easily when facing her straightforwardly. His battle IQ was on par with people who had combat talents like her, but she had the advantage of having more abilities, whereas he needed to make the system acknowledge his techniques.
"I won't hold back," Reina replied calmly while pointing her sword at him.
Jake smiled. Even though the battle would be tiring, it was a chance to see his classmate's power. First, he activated his [Akashic Eyes], assessing her information
[Name: Reina Rowe
Talent: (Swordsmaster), (Mana Manipulation)]
After reading her talents, Jake couldn't underestimate her. His opponent had [Swordmaster] talent, giving her the advantage of having more combat abilities. Not only that, she also had [Mana Manipulation] that could strengthen a swordsman. In other words, he was facing a true magic swordsman; a rare title that couldn't be reached by many high leveled swordmasters.
"Please be gentle to me," Jake said.
"The winner will be decided when you can make the other surrender. Knocking out your opponent is counted too. Are you two ready?" the female instructor asked, and both of them nodded. "The match begins!"
Reina was the first one to make a move. She charged at Jake and swung her wooden sword at Jake. Even though he could dodge it easily, the swing left a powerful slash force. The swing seemed heavy, but Reina could pull her hand quickly and attack him again in succession.
Each of her strikes was flawless. It had no redundant movement. However, Jake could still evade them all.
'Her movements are perfect, but she is lacking creativity. As expected, she needs more experience,' Jake thought.
Reina put on an annoyed expression after failing to hit Jake, but she didn't complain about it. She simply poured mana into the sword and created a sword aura, extending the sword's attack range.
Even Jake wasn't confident to casually evade the aura-infused attacks. At the moment, Reina was akin to a person who was wielding a heavy object, but of course, the sword didn't bear any weight for her because it was aura infused. Any of her strikes would contain massive damage but no weight.
As Reina swung her sword, Jake swept his halberd in a smooth motion. His slash seemed weak and slow, but it confidently marched toward the aura-infused sword.
Both weapons met each other in a clash, but Jake immediately moved his halberd in a circular motion, directing the sword's trajectory toward the ground.
[Butler Style: Weeping Blossom]!
Reina lost her balance as she was pulled toward the ground, leaving her with a big opening. With that, Jake could attack her, so she closed her eyes and waited for the incoming strike. However, no attack was coming to her. Curious, she opened her eyes and saw Jake standing quietly with a smile.
"Why aren't you attacking me?" Reina asked.
Jake didn't immediately reply. It was true he could have ended her in one strike, but that would contradict his purpose to see her whole strength. Yes, the aura-infused sword wasn't her strongest attack. Every swordmaster could use an aura attack, but she wasn't an ordinary swordmaster. She was a magic swordsman. If his guess was correct, she was capable of using that attack.
"Why? Weren't you going to counter attack me if I approached you carelessly?" Jake asked, pretending to be wary.
Reina didn't seem to doubt him. However, she didn't come at him like before. She only stared at him from the side and did nothing, even though Jake purposefully created an opening.
Jake sighed. It seemed he was the one who needed to take her bait.
Jake rushed toward Reina, and she responded by brandishing her sword toward his neck. Luckily, she didn't imbue her sword with an aura this time, so Jake could simply evade her attack.
Reina immediately pulled her sword and launched another attack, but Jake simply evaded it again. He moved in a circular motion around her while evading all her attacks. His movement was like a falling leaf that was swept by the wind.
[Congratulations! Your technique is recognized by the system!]
[Congratulations! You have learned Butler Style: Dancing Leaf!]
[Congratulations! Butler Style has reached rank C!]
Jake smiled as he received the system's messages. Apart from seeing Reina's whole power, he also wanted to awaken more of his martial art's techniques. He still had several moves that hadn't been recognized by the system. If possible, he wanted to awaken a few more, so he needed to maintain this pace.
However, the other students didn't look at him favorably because of that. They shouted at him and demanded him to attack her.
Jake smirked. "They are bunches of unpleasant people, aren't they? Let's maintain this pace a little bit more, okay... Reina?" he whispered while casually dodging her barrage of attacks. Thanks to his [Dancing Leaf], his movement became lighter.
Reina jumped back and infused her aura into the sword, but Jake leaped at her and grabbed her wrist. She was about to free her hand, but Jake suddenly twisted it. Magically, her body flipped upside down.
"What's wrong? Your other hand is free. Put more creativity into your attack," Jake advised while laughing.
Reina gritted her teeth, but she did what he said. She threw her sword into her free arm and launched an attack toward his neck.
Jake leaned his body backward, evading the slash. However, Reina followed up with another vertical slash. Luckily, Jake could still read the attack. He jumped back and evaded it.
"I guess I have had enough of testing my footwork," Jake said. He raised his halberd and rushed at her. For the first time, he took the initiative to aggressively attack her. Just like her, each of his attacks was flawless.
Normal people would have a hard time when facing a barrage of attacks targeting their vitals, but Reina could easily parry his attacks. As he expected, in a direct battle, she was powerful. However, Jake wasn't an inexperienced fighter. If he couldn't overpower her, he would create an opening.
As halberd and her swords clashed, Jake suddenly moved his weapon in a circular motion. She thought he was about to disarm her, so she fortified her grip and infused her aura into the sword, making it heavier. However, Jake suddenly let go of his halberd and closed his distance with her.
Reina, of course, knew his intention, so she immediately drew her sword toward him.
Jake assumed a calm expression as the sword was coming toward his neck. He covered his fist with mana and launched a punch toward her belly.
[Center Shift: Repulsion Force]!
His fist emanated repulsive force. Before he touched her belly, the repulsive force already hit her, sending her flying.