In the infirmary, five young men sat in the hospital beds with various injuries sustained during the match.
"Mh…" Ryan touched his aching forehead. "Damn, Kiernan, your fucking punch stings."
"Actually, I didn't punch." Kiernan said while drinking a glass of water. "You ran into my fist."
"Hahaha, that is true!" Nath laughed while elbowing Ryan in the waist. "Imagine losing like that, haha!"
"Stop elbowing me!" Ryan slapped the elbow away and rubbed his painful waist.
"Kiernan, have you lived in Irio your entire life?" Timothy asked while squinting his eyes. It was hard for him to see anything without his glasses.
"I have, with my father." Kiernan replied and took a small sip of the water.
"How come none of us knew you, then?" Timothy asked with a frown. "With strength like that, you should've made a name for yourself in middle school."
"I was too nervous to participate in fights." Kiernan said and stirred the water with his straw absentmindedly. "Just recently, I gathered the courage to participate in my first tournament. However, I lost because of nerves, haha."
"I guess you're a late bloomer." Klaus said with a rough voice. "You clearly had skills to do well, but your Martial Soul wasn't awakened, so you couldn't fully utilize your potential.
"Now it has, so your talent is catching up."
"You had a quite tough bottleneck." Nath said with a sympathetic tone. "However, since you cleared the toughest barrier, the following bottlenecks will be easier until you reach a certain level."
'I don't think I have suffered from bottlenecks ever since I awakened Martial Soul.' Kiernan thought to himself. 'I already feel like I am standing on the threshold of High Stage. I can advance soon.'
The door to the infirmary opened, and Azer, with Jin in tow, entered. They were discussing something behind closed doors while the others were getting their injuries settled.
"Where is Denton?" Jin asked with a frown.
"That fool ran off," Ryan said. "Does it matter, though? Kiernan defeated him, so the spot is his."
"I guess it doesn't matter," Jin said with a sigh.
He was feeling sad about Denton's fate, and he felt like he had failed as a coach. During middle school, Denton was one of the most promising students. His talent was blooming very early.
However, as soon as he reached Martial Soldier during his second year of high school, his talent hit a rock wall. It made Denton frustrated, and his interest in martial arts vanished slowly.
He started to skip more training and spent his time on other activities, such as drinking alcohol, smoking, and partying late into the night.
Jin felt like it was partly his fault. He felt like he shouldn't have given up on Denton so easily.
"What happens now?" Klaus asked. "Kiernan, in a sense, defeated Ryan. What will his rank be?"
Azer and Jin turned to Klaus with serious looks. Based on the ranking system, if a student defeated a higher-ranked student, they would get their rank instead.
However, Kiernan defeated Ryan in an unofficial match. They couldn't just give him the first rank.
"My victory is based on luck." Kiernan said and placed the cup of water on the table. "It hurts me to say, but if he hadn't used his Super Acceleration, I would've probably lost."
He wasn't being humble or anything like that. That's how he truly felt. It was strange for him to accept defeat, as on Earth, defeat was an unknown concept to him.
Ryan was a poor opponent for him. His speed made him very formidable and difficult to defend against.
That was because Kiernan didn't have his Iron Style. Without it, he only had his rock-solid defense. Ryan was able to use his speed to find cracks in his defense.
"Whether it was luck or not, it doesn't matter." Ryan said. "I still lost. Kiernan showed his strength by dominating Denton."
"Klaus has trained an entire year for another chance in the nationals." Nath said with a heavy look. "We can't just replace him."
Azer and Jin exchanged glances. It was a difficult choice to make. They could make Klaus and Kiernan fight for the spot. However, they didn't really want to do that.
"We can't win." Klaus suddenly spoke.
Everyone turned to look at him with surprised looks.
"Not with me, at least." Klaus said with a heavy look.
"What're you saying?" Nath frowned.
"A while ago, I had a chance to check on Irio High's team members having a training match." Klaus paused for a moment, then continued, "I don't think I can beat any of them."
"So, you're saying…" Jin crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared at Klaus, waiting for him to finish his sentence.
"If we want to win, we'll need a wildcard." Klaus said and turned to Kiernan, who was sitting by the window. "While they know everything about me, my style, etc., they don't know anything about Kiernan."
"Irio High's headmaster visited us and saw Kiernan fight." Azer said. "They will know his defense is his strongest point."
"Good thing that it isn't my strongest point." Kiernan said with a chuckle.
"What?!" Azer's eyes almost popped from their sockets. "Y-you're saying?"
"You know the saying: offense is the best defense." Kiernan said with a chuckle. "I have a few surprises for them~"
Klaus's lips curled into a small smile, and he then stood up. "I'll be a reserve fighter."
"Are you sure?" Nath asked with a soft look.
He knew how hard Klaus had trained for a chance in the nationals. It wasn't only one year. He had prepared for three years. This was his last chance to get on the nationals with Karuza High.
"I want to get to nationals." Klaus's fists tightened, and his lips trembled as if he were about to cry. "It doesn't matter whether I am a main or reserve fighter. I want to be on that stage!"
Ryan and Nath looked at their strong-looking friend. They had never seen him so vulnerable before. He always looks serious or grins like a fool. This was the first time they saw him shed tears.
Klaus used his hand to wipe the few tears, and then he turned to Kiernan. "I believe in you. Defeat those fuckers!"
"I'll do my best." Kiernan said and grabbed his knees to stop his legs from trembling. 'Ah, I am so nervous. I feel like I am about to puke. This pressure is killing me…'
This had always been Kiernan's biggest weakness. His nerves. It didn't matter how strong he was compared to his opponent; he always felt nervous before a fight.
He had learned to mask his feelings well so his opponents couldn't see his vulnerability.
"So, I suppose it is settled." Jin said with a smile. "The Karuza High's representatives for the following representation match is…
"Ryan, Nath, and Kiernan are the main fighters.
"Timothy and Klaus as reserve fighters!"
Azer pulled out his phone and typed something quick. The phones of everyone in the room suddenly buzzed with activity.
As they pulled out their phones, they opened their school app. There, they saw the rankings of the students change abruptly.
[1. Ryan Lee]
[2. Nathaniel Waters]
[3. Kiernan Hunter]
[4. Klaus Kohn]
[5. Timothy Howe]