"Ah…" Kiernan looked at his broken hand with slight pain. "Martial Soldier still ain't enough."
With a sigh, he turned around, and his eyes immediately opened to the sight of his teammates jumping to the ring with tears rolling down their cheeks.
"You did it!" Klaus and Timothy were shouting in triumph, their voices drowned out by the roaring crowd.
The audience was on their feet, clapping and cheering loudly as they celebrated the team's victory. It had been a frustrating couple of years for Karuza High's fans.
It felt like Irio High's team was getting stronger with each passing year—this year wasn't supposed to be any different, but Karuza High managed to pull a shocking upset.
Finally, they released their frustrations into loud cheers. It was a surprise that the ceiling didn't fall apart from the force of their excitement.
"We are going to nationals!" Klaus excitedly patted Kiernan's back while roaring in laughter.
Kiernan smiled with relief. His nerves finally began to dissipate.
This was a completely surreal feeling to him—hearing over a thousand audience members cheering—it was nothing like being back on earth.
'I can't say I dislike it.' Kiernan thought to himself with a chuckle. 'I wonder if there are bigger stadiums out there.'
"Is your hand alright?" Timothy asked with a nudge of his glasses. His eyes were also red, suggesting that he also shed a few tears. It was also a very emotional moment for him.
"It will heal." Kiernan said with a smile and then walked off the ring with the two others.
"Good job." Jin patted him on the shoulder with a giant smile. "You freaking did it."
"I am glad I didn't disappoint." Kiernan said honestly. It was one thing he didn't want to do.
"Get your injured hand checked out; we'll leave shortly after." Jin eyed the crazy audience and said, "Nationals next…"
Kiernan nodded and headed with Klaus and Timothy towards the medical wing.
In the VIP room, Bernard fell down on his knees with a shocked gaze. He couldn't believe what had transpired.
Azer loosened his clenched fist. He had clenched his hand so tight that his palm had turned a pale shade of white. There were times when he also forgot to breathe.
"This can't be happening…" Bernard whispered.
"He is only a first-year…" Azer took a deep breath. "I guess the next few years will be Karuza's time to shine. With Kiernan, I don't see us losing."
"Hah…" Bernard gritted his teeth and mockingly laughed. "And so what? After he graduates, Karuza High will be back in Irio High's shadow. One person cannot change the fate of the entire school!"
"I wonder…" Azer sighed. "Nationals, it had been a few years since I was there. I wonder if we have a chance this year."
"Hahaha!" Bernard laughed. "You really think there's even a small chance of you winning? Dream on, Azer. You know nationals are on a whole other level. If I had to guess, your team doesn't even make past the first round!"
"Thanks for the pep talk." Azer took his hat and put it on. "I'll remember your words."
Bernard hatefully glared at him and watched as he left the room. Immediately after, he collapsed on the ground and let out a defeated sigh.
Karuza High's supporters, in a very high spirit, started to slowly depart from the stadium.
The students from Karuza High were proud of their victory and celebrated with cheers and high-fives.
Dominic looked over to the stage where the fight happened only moments prior. His hands clenched into fists.
'Next year, I'll stand there…'
Julia walked along with other students towards the exit, a sense of happiness filling her heart. It was because what her father said came true.
As soon as Kiernan was chosen as one of the main fighters, during dinner, he told Julia and her mother about how he was certain that he would be the future of Karuza High for years to come.
'Father, you were right…' Julia thought to herself with a smile. 'Father must be happy.'
On the top row of the audience, Liam and a few of their friends were excitedly discussing the outcome of the fight. During the final moments of the fight, they accidentally spilled their beer all over their clothes, but they didn't seem to mind.
Karma stood up from his seat and started heading over to the exit.
"Karma, already leaving?" Liam questioned.
"Yeah, I'll have to make dinner." Karma said with a thoughtful look. "I'll make Kiernan's favorite food for when he gets back."
Liam wryly smiled and wrapped his arm around Karma's shoulders. "Can we come? I haven't seen young Kiernan in a long time."
"I don't think he would remember you." Karma said with a tired expression and put his arm away. "Also, you're drunk. I don't want that stench in my house."
"Just say that you want to celebrate alone with your son." Liam said with a laugh. "Anyway, I'll have work tomorrow; let's go fishing soon, aight?"
"Sure." Karma nodded. They then bid farewell and headed in different directions.
…
The medical wing.
As soon as the door opened, Nath hopped off his bed and put Kiernan in a headlock.
"You did it, what a guy!" Nath laughed loudly, causing Kiernan to chuckle and try to wiggle free.
Kiernan eventually managed to break free and shook hands with Nath instead.
"Thanks to you two." Kiernan said humbly.
Ryan slowly stood up from his bed and stretched his arms wide. "Ah, nationals next!"
"Heyo!" Shura excitedly waved her hand. "We haven't met, but my name's Shura. Nice fight!"
"Oh, thanks." Kiernan nodded towards the bubbly young woman. Her energy was almost contagious.
Nath laid back down on his bed and closed his eyes with relief—it had been an extremely emotional day, and he was grateful for the chance to relax.
Kiernan walked over to the medicine cabinet and took out some bone-healing medicine to help with his broken hand. He swallowed a few of them and put them back in the cabinet.
Based on the description, it would take a few hours to heal—however, his injuries were worse than a normal broken hand, so it might take up to a few days.
At that same moment, he heard the familiar ding in his ear.
Ding, ding!
[Quest Completed!]
[Reward: Iron Style Pill!]
A small, round pill appeared on Kiernan's hand. It was pretty much the same size as the medicine pills he swallowed. However, this pill had a metallic sheen to it, as if it were made out of iron.
'This might come to great use in the nationals.' He stored it inside his inventory, where it would be safe.
The door to the infirmary opened, and Jin came in with a thrilled look. He was about to say something, but then he saw a member of the enemy team in the infirmary.
Seeing that look, Shura innocently smiled and stood up. "I guess I gotta go~ Any idea where my teammates are?"
"They should be in the neighboring room." Jin said with a nod. "The doctor is there checking up on Kang."
"Okay~" Shura hopped to the exit, waved goodbye to everyone, and then left.
"Congratulations everyone!" Jin said with a smile. "We reached nationals!"
"Ah, I wish we could relax for a week." Nath stretched his arms. "I guess that is not an option, mister coach?"
"You know it," Jin said. "There are three weeks left until nationals. That is not a lot of time. If there's a possibility of increasing your strength even a little bit, we need to do it."
"What's the plan, coach?" Ryan asked.
"We'll go to Tiamut's Training Village." Jin said. "The nationals are happening in New Rakuya's capital—Tiamut—so we might as well go there early.
"Tiamut's Training Village is a special place. There will definitely be other teams there, training as hard as they can before the nationals. It is a place only reserved for teams competing in the nationals.
"So we are eligible to go there."
"Interesting, when will we leave?" Nath asked.
"Tomorrow morning," Jin said. "We cannot waste even a day."
"I wonder if Tiamut High's team will be there." Klaus thought out loud with a curious look.
"TIamut High?" Kiernan asked. "Is it representative of Tiamut?"
"Yes, and Tiamut High are the reigning champions." Jin said. "They've won the last five years in a row."
"Whoah…" Kiernan whispered in awe. "They're strong, huh?"
"This year, they might have their strongest team yet." Ryan said with a serious look. "After all, they have that monster on their team."
"A monster?"
"Yes, his name is Johan Yeager, and rumors say that he has reached Martial Champion. That rank is above Martial Fighter."
'So, the ranks are following—Recruit, Soldier, Fighter, and then Champion…'
"We should be getting going." Jin said with a clap. "Enjoy yourselves tonight; I'll even allow it if you stay out past curfew. Tomorrow onwards, it will be non-stop training."