Clank! Clank!
"Gahh!" The dummy's attacks came relentlessly, always aiming for my vital spots. Even though I knew where it would strike, I couldn't dodge them or parry them.
The strikes were so precise, mixed with feints, leaving even my soul bound confused.
'Was Taren always this strong?' I thought, feeling the crushing pressure from the dummy's relentless assault. The way it fought was even more intense than Aiden, even though it's an inferior copy.
Fwoosh!
The dummy moved with blinding speed, both daggers flashing as it lunged at my face.
Dodging the first attack, I dropped my own dagger from my left hand and caught the dummy's wrist just before another dagger could reach me.
Kacha!
Without giving it any chance to retaliate, I quickly sliced its four fingers, rendering it unable to hold the weapon again.
'Inch by inch, slowly and steadily, targets all its weak points,' I commanded myself.
Rushing to the dummy side, I tried to stab its eyes with my fingers.
The dummies are designed to mimic real humans; they will avoid losing one of their most important senses.
'You fell for it.'
I thought as the dummy's head jerked back, reacting as expected. I pivoted, driving my knee up with all my strength.
"Argh!"
Pain shot through my leg as my knee connected with its solid body. But I had achieved my goal.
The force snapped its head back, giving me an opening. I swept its leg, grabbing hold before it could right itself.
With a swift motion, I slashed through its foot.
Swoosh!
Kacha!
"Eh" Before I realized, a sharp pain exploded in my chest. My eyes widened as I stumbled backward.
"Argh!" I clutched at my chest, but the damage was done.
Swoosh!
"Not this time, fucker!"
Kacha! Kacha! Kacha!
Ding!
The red light on my suit flared, signaling my defeat. The pain vanished, leaving me gasping for air. "Huff... huff... I-I didn't think it would be that strong."
I collapsed onto the ground, trying to steady my breathing. I glanced over at Lui, who was still locked in battle with a dummy that was similar to me.
His dummy moved in the same fluid, unpredictable way, both daggers cutting through the air with deadly precision. Its attacks seemed almost graceful, yet it aimed for the most painful weak points, like it knew exactly where to hurt the most.
'Mmm, that guy... He can see it.' His eyes followed the dummy's every move and he was patiently waiting for it to arrive.
But when it arrives, he takes the attacks like he couldn't see or counter them.
'Is he purposely doing it or his eyes can follow it but his body can't move' but I felt like he was patiently waiting for the attacks.
I looked at Ms. Elisa to see if she was looking at the battle. As if to confirm my suspicion, she was also looking at him with furrowed eyebrows.
Ding!
"It's over." His suit lit up red, showing he was dead. With that, all of the fights came to an end.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
"All of you showed remarkable skills... Especially you, Lui Grey. After three months, you guys could apply for rank assessment for class change."
She turned her gaze to me, a soft smile playing on her lips.
"Jadel, you're remarkable when it comes to fighting. You're one of the few students I've seen who have far exceeded their battle sense at their age.
But alas, the ranking assessment didn't work like that; if it had, you would have jumped ranks by now. But cheer up, I'm sure you will become strong even with your body condition. I have a strong feeling that you will accomplish that."
Seeing her beautiful smile, I could only curse the fucking entity for putting me in this 15 year old boy's body.
'Sigh, what can I do? What is done is done'
I showed a confident smile and acted like a good kid. "I will make your feelings real, Ms. I will become strong."
"Good, I will root for you."
Pat! Pat!
'Fuck, don't pat me.' She patted my head, and I had to remind myself I wasn't a kid. But damn, this body didn't care.
***
***
***
"Hey man, wait." I heard someone calling, telling me to wait. Turning around, I saw Lui approaching me.
'Is it me?' I pointed at myself to confirm if he was telling me. As if to reply, he nodded.
'Why is he talking to me suddenly?'
"Is there something you need?"
"No, since you're going to the cafeteria, let's go together," he replied.
"… Okay"
I walked with him to the cafeteria. I don't know why, but after meeting him, I'm getting a prickling sensation all over my body. And now it seemed to have increased as I felt his eyes scanning my body.
"Is there any problem?" I asked, feeling uncomfortable.
"Ah, no. I was just looking at you; I heard your talk with Ms. Elisa, so I was just curious."
'I feel somehow uneasy, even though I can't sense any malice in him'
"Nothing, just a small problem." I curtly replied, resuming walking towards the cafeteria.
"Oh, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't pry into it."
After that, he didn't speak again, and I didn't ever sense his gaze on me until we reached the cafeteria.
"What food is good? Which one should I choose?" he asked, glancing at the cafeteria menu.
I looked at the menu before answering, "I don't know, man. I'm not a picky eater, and I haven't tried food other than this." I pointed at the food I usually eat.
"Ok, then I will try this."
"Your choice"
'Oh, some are still in E classes, huh? Looking at the cafeteria hall, I found a few of my fellow classmates eating their food.
'Let's eat now'
….
"Good afternoon, students. My name is Reneova Ovis, and I will be teaching about rune magic." The professor introduced himself.
He had black eyes and blond hair and looked like an adult who seemed to be in his twenties.
Well, that's what I thought when I first saw him. But apparently he is a middle aged man who is in his fifties.
"Since you're new to class, let's talk about what rune magic is." He paused, looking at the students to see if they were paying attention.
"To tell in simple words, rune magic involves words given visual form. You can engrave these words onto items to increase their magical power or embed spells.
Because of this, rune magic can do any magic, from enchantment to elemental.
Besides items, you can draw or summon runes from thin air and also apply them to your own body. But I won't tell you to engrave a rune in your body unless you're 100% sure about success. One mistake could lead to death."
Hearing his words, I looked at my left hand.
Gulp!
'Yeah, at that time I thought I was going to die'
"This leads us to the weaknesses of rune magic. Since it tends to be ancient and hard to decipher, rune magic becomes hard to use. Couple this with the fact that it can sometimes have longer casting times.
Despite that, once you overcome that, you'll find that rune magic can be extremely versatile and powerful."
….
"Do you guys understand?" he asked after explaining all the basics of rune magic.
""Yes""
"Good" He took out a piece of paper and started to draw on it while using mana as ink. After finishing it, he showed us.
"This is the simplest water element rune. Look closely." Saying, he injected mana into it, causing the rune to activate and form a water ball. After that, the paper turned to dust.
"Whoa"
"Awesome." Seeing that, the students exclaimed in amazement.
"Now take out the ink and brushes the academy gave you and try to copy this." An holographic screen appeared, showing a rune "Don't worry about making a mistake, and I will help you."
'it's simple' I took out a piece of paper and copied the rune.
Since Jadel was passionate
about mana engineering, he learned rune magic to strengthen his gadgets. And as I obtained this body and his memories, I also became proficient in this field.
'I feel bored'