Damian looked around, aware that everyone was stronger than him.
The whole school was waiting for his decision. Classes were suspended, and in each classroom, a large projection appeared.
It was a school tradition to watch the special class fight for resources.
So much so that there were already betting runners among the students and faculty.
Everyone watched the projections attentively with excitement and intrigue.
"I challenge number 39... Reese Connor."
Standing facing each other, Reese and Damian looked at each other seriously. They might be the two weakest in the entire special class, with respective life forces of 0.5 and 0.6, but they weren't opponents to be looked down upon.
Both possessed martial spirits and had to learn the hard way what each one was capable of.
They both started probing each other, throwing punches and kicks that only highlighted Reese's obvious superiority in strength and speed.
Damian began to sweat, and his arms trembled as he had to endure more force than he could handle. Clenching his teeth, an indistinct shadow appeared on his back, and his figure began to change rapidly.
His limbs and body began to swell rapidly, making him look like a bodybuilder.
With a strong stomp, Damian shot out of his location and appeared in front of Reese, who seemed to have been waiting for him and placed both arms in front of his face in defense mode.
Reese managed to block the blow but was sent sliding back several meters.
"Phew." Reese started shaking his arms as if they were asleep.
But Damian didn't intend to let him rest and started a long succession of punches that left many fascinated.
"Let's go!"
"Go for it!"
"You can do it!"
Several kids from the special class started cheering amidst smiles and some mockery.
Damian was very strong, and although he didn't seem so, he was also fast. His power and speed were too close to those of a person with a life force of 0.8. Reese, on the other hand, always seemed to be able to dodge the blows by a hair's breadth or at worst case block them, but this was taking a toll on his body, which was starting to fill with cuts and bruises.
The assault was so fast and continuous that Reese couldn't keep up, and he slipped. Damian, upon seeing this, paused for a second and attacked with all his might, but when his fist was about to land on Reese's face... He stopped.
"I got you!" A victorious smile appeared on Reese's face as Damian looked back incredulously.
Several thick tree branches appeared from the ground and restrained him by the limbs and torso.
"When?"
Reese didn't answer and instead began to beat the defenseless Damian.
His body held up the blows very well and even tried to destroy the branches, but more appeared from the ground, leaving him defenseless.
After a minute, he couldn't maintain his transformation any longer and gave up.
"Winner: Reese Connor," announced the director. "Since Reese is tired from his current fight, he is allowed to make his choice when ready."
"Ranking number 38: Peter Hiyg." The director looked at a scrawny boy that Jake hadn't seen before.
"He's probably a sophomore," he thought.
Like Damian, Peter chose to play it safe and challenged the ranked 37, another guy Jake didn't know.
Both had a life force of 0.7 but didn't possess martial spirits. Their fight was even more boring than the one between Damian and Reese.
"Ranking number 36: Jake Hurkacs."
Jake twisted his neck to stretch. The truth was, he wasn't very excited about the idea of fighting, but he was eager for the rewards. His attitude upon receiving the call was one of annoyance and laziness. This immediately generated annoyance and hatred from some students and teachers who, without thinking much, bet against him without even knowing his opponent yet.
At the same time, this happened, time froze for Jake.
[Absolute choice]
[Do nothing and continue your life as usual]
[Challenge number 35 like your predecessors and win easily: +10 popularity.]
[Challenge number 30 (Lena) and win the fight: +30 popularity, +20 positive impression from teachers and director, +40 admiration from students.]
[Challenge number 24 and show what your eyes are capable of: +50 popularity, +50 positive impression from teachers and the director, +50 admiration from students, +20 admiration from Lena, ?????]
The first option was immediately discarded along with the second one. He had to fight, and fighting someone with the same life force as number 35 was not at all challenging.
The options that remained were 3 and 4, but upon examining his choices carefully, he immediately settled on number 4.
After all, nowhere in the option did it demand that he win!
Plus, he didn't want to fight a woman, let alone his own cousin.
Time returned to normal, and Jake continued walking with reluctance and his hands in his pockets to the center of the gym.
Although he had already made his choice, he began to think about how everyone would react to his next words.
Upon reaching the center of the gym, Jake straightened his posture and took a deep breath.
"I challenge Bruce Harper, number 24."
His words silenced the gym completely, and even the school, as everyone heard and tried to make sense of what they had heard.
A first-year student with only 16 years old and a life force of 0.7 challenging a third-year student with a life force of 0.95.
His words echoed for a few seconds before everyone went crazy.
Many criticized him for being arrogant, others mocked his stupidity. But everyone bet against him.
Trying to ignore the plethora of negative comments and mockery, Jake began searching for a song to inspire him, but he couldn't find one.
"This world also needs an improvement in that regard."
Giving up, Jake decided to loop a soundtrack he had created after awakening his Sharingan.
"The Raising Fighting Spirit!" The best Naruto soundtrack for fighting.
"All right," Jake began to stretch, feeling somewhat excited by the soundtrack. "Let's do this."
His eyes turned red and serious.