And my partner was...
Ruby Bianca, the number 4 on the tournament.
I stared at Ruby as she approached, her smile almost mischievous unlike her usual, cold known self.
"Looks like we're partners." she said, extending her hand.
"Uh... yeah." I replied awkwardly, shaking her hand.
Cain, who had been watching the whole thing, leaned over to Sam and whispered, loud enough for me and Ruby to hear. "Damn, his luck is insane. First, he makes it to Class Players, and now a beauty is interested him. What's next? Will he have tea with the headmaster?"
Ruby slightly chuckled and whispered. "I can arrange a tea time with the headmaster if you'd like it."
I replied immediately. "No, thanks."
I could feel Cain and Sam's amused stares burning into my back as we marched forward towards the training room, but I tried to ignore them.
"Alright, pairs. Let's run some drills, shall we?" Instructor Gale said.
Ruby adjusted her gloves, her eyes locking onto mine which, for some obvious reasons, sent a chill down my spine. She was known for her cold and calculated demeanor in combat, so the sudden warmth in her smile felt... REALLY out of place.
"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you... for now." She said.
"Thanks for the reassurement, I guess." I said.
Stats wise, I should be better than her at this point as I recently upgraded my Agility stat to F+ and became F+ overall too. But technique, battle prowess and mastery wise? I couldn't be compared to her.
There is a reason these geniuses are called geniuses, and it isn't just because their stats are good.
If just having good stats made you a prodigy, then any rich man could mame their son the world's next strongest.
It was mostly their experience and natural adaptation to the battlefield that crowned them geniuses.
For some odd reason, I was able to adapt to fighting pretty easily too. But this might've been because of this body and it's muscle memory too.
Cain, never one to let an opportunity for chaos slip by, leaned over to Sam again. "Bet you ten gold he doesn't land a single hit on her."
Sam smirked. "I'm not taking that bet. Too easy."
I groaned inwardly. These idiots were having way too much fun at my expense.
We started the drill with basic sparring, and it became immediately clear why Ruby was ranked fourth. Her movements were flawless, every strike was precise, every block effortless. She didn't even look like she was trying.
Meanwhile, I was scrambling just to keep up. My punches were clumsy, my footwork shaky, and I was pretty sure I was sweating more than anyone else in the room. Not from exhaustion, but from stress.
"Your stance is too wide, and stop leaning forward. You're leaving yourself open." She directed me.
I adjusted my stance, following her advice, but she didn't let up.
"Better, but you're still too predictable." She said, dodging one of my punches with ease.
After a few more rounds, she stepped back, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow.
"You've got potential." she said, her voice low enough that only I could hear.
"Uh, thanks?" I replied, unsure if she was being genuine or just polite.
She cackled before saying. "You are not as bad as you think you are."
"Uh... and also..." she said noticeably less imposingly.
"Would you like to... uhm you know... talk about mangas... and stuff..."
I knew she liked mangas, but why would she ask me to talk about mangas. I dont think I said anything about mangas to her.
"How do you know I like mangas?"
"Well, don't you remember meeting me at the bookstore? Oh, wait. I forgot I was undercover to not be seen." She replied clumsily.
So she was the girl that advised me about mana books.
She must've seen me pick up Linear Ascent.
"Uh sure, I'd love to." I said, trying to maintain my composure.
"Okay, guys. Enough flirting, continue sparring for 5 more minutes." Instructor Gale said as he passed by.
Ruby's face turned slightly pink, though she quickly masked it with her usual cold expression.
"We're not flirting," she muttered, her voice sharp but low enough to avoid catching too much attention.
Cain, however, wasn't about to let it go.
"Oh yeah, definitely not flirting," he whispered loudly to Sam, who softly laughed.
I groaned inwardly. Why are these guys like this?
Ruby returned to her stance, her expression once again serious. "Alright, focus. We still have five minutes, and I'm not letting you slack off."
"Yes Ma'am" I said, trying to push aside the awkwardness and focus on the sparring.
She looked at me, speechless for a second, before moving on without saying anything.
This time, I noticed something different. Ruby wasn't just fighting me, she was guiding me. Each time she dodged or countered, she pointed out what I could've done better.
"Your follow through is weak. Commit to the move, or it'll lose its power." she said after I attempted a punch.
"Stop hesitating before you block, trust your instincts more." she added when one of her kicks nearly landed.
Bit by bit, I started to improve.
My movements became less clumsy, my strikes more powerful and accurate.
Ruby nodded approvingly.
"See, you're getting the hang of it." she said.
By the time the five minutes were up, I was drenched in sweat, but I felt rather good. Ruby gave me a small nod as we wrapped up.
"Not bad, you might even give Cain a run for his money someday." She said.
Cain overheard her and laughed. "Him? Against me? That's quite a funny joke. Let me know when that happens so I can schedule a nap in between his punches."
This guy was just acting too cocky, but he had the power to back it up.
In the original story, after he got humbled by Sam, he wasn't as cocky as before. But in this timeline where he won, he is unbearable.
I still didn't feel bad because I knew he was just acting cocky because it was funny, not because he was this cocky.
Within this school, he was the strongest. For now, at least.