I was unintentionally dragged into the second big event of the novel.
The match was set for Monday, which gave me the weekend to prepare.
Luckily, I was planning to break through to Rank-2 over the weekend.
Even without the rank-up, Aerox and I should still be able to beat them.
Second-year students are usually at Rank-2 on average, with the really talented ones reaching Rank-3.
So, Lucas and Rowan are probably Rank-2+, which means they're a bit more skilled than most.
In the novel, Lucas fights Aerox and gets completely humiliated.
Even with Rowan helping him, I don't think they stand a chance against Aerox, who is also Rank-2+.
Still, I need to focus on improving my rank.
The sooner I get stronger, the better—it's always smart to strengthen yourself early rather than later.
I was already at the peak of Rank-2 and just needed the right opportunity to break through.
Luckily, I had the Galanthus Nivalis flower, which could increase my chances of reaching Rank-3.
I took out the flower and placed it in my mouth.
Slowly, I chewed it, feeling a refreshing sensation spread through me.
It was like jumping into a cool pool on a hot day, completely immersing myself in the chill.
The flavor spread across my tongue and through my body, making me feel energized.
The air seemed to buzz around me, and I let out a deep, satisfied breath.
My fingers twitched as a sudden surge of energy rushed through me.
Mana started flowing wildly, and I felt a burning heat in my abdomen.
The heat spread to my back and shoulders, building up toward my heart.
It felt like I needed to release all that energy.
I focused on circulating the energy from the Galanthus Nivalis flower through my heart and veins.
After a while, the process was complete—I had finally broken through to Rank-3.
After breaking through, I could feel my body absorbing mana much more efficiently than before.
The quality of my mana also felt sharper and more refined.
My muscles were more defined, and my entire body felt noticeably stronger and more powerful.
"Alright,"
I said to myself.
"Let's see how much my stats have improved. Status!"
[ "Status" ]
=== STATUS SCREEN ACTIVATED ===
Name: Xerox Zee
Rank: 2
Strength : 3-
Speed : 2+
Mana : 3
Skill : Rank 10 Mind Memory
The skill that allows users to get in touch with the memories from their other self which existed in the other universe.
Cause and Effect: The user may sometimes be interpreted by the personality of the other self.
LVL 3 : Shadow Style Proficiency : P2
This Skill allows the user to use the sword like the sword is shadow. The slash of the sword will be faster and more powerful than just a normal swing.
LVL 9 : Cryomancy : P1
This is Magic Skill and it is said to be built by the strongest Ice mage in history after fighting the Ice dragon. The use case of this Skill is that it can be used to freeze the opponent. If the user masters this skill, they may be able to freeze the world.
LVL 6 : Dual Skill : Beginner
A special skill that was formed by Xerox. This skill comprises two skills.
My stats were looking great.
My Strength and Mana were already at Rank-3, while all my other stats were at Rank-2+.
This put me on par with normal humans at Rank-2+.
With those improvements, I felt pretty confident that I could handle both of the seniors on my own.
But with Aerox as my teammate, there was no way we could lose that ridiculous fight.
I spent the rest of the weekend getting used to my new strength, making sure I was fully prepared.
==============================
On Monday at 8:00 am, the fight was set to take place in the morning, and even some students were invited to watch.
It seemed like the professor wanted to humiliate me and Aerox in front of everyone.
I met up with Aerox first.
I wanted to know what his plan was for winning the battle.
"Good morning!"
I said.
"Oh, good morning, Xerox,"
Aerox replied casually, not looking worried at all.
He seemed confident about winning.
"How do you plan to beat them? Do you have a strategy?"
I asked.
"I plan to fight them alone. I'm sorry for dragging you into this, though. I don't know why they brought another student into this fight with me,"
Aerox explained.
He didn't know that Professor Lance had instructed those students to target him, and the reason they were after me wasn't because of him, but because the professor had told them to.
"I understand,"
I said.
I'd be even happier if Aerox could beat them on his own.
Given his strength, it should be an easy win unless Lucas and Rowan had a good strategy to deal with him.
"So, what about you? Got any plans for the fight? Maybe you want to look cool in front of Lily by fighting them?"
Aerox asked.
I was caught off guard by his question.
He didn't seem to be teasing me, and he might be asking seriously.
Either way, I wasn't interested in showing off to anyone.
"Well, I'll leave the cool stuff to you. But I'll step in if you're losing,"
I said.
"Fair enough. I'll try to beat them on my own,"
Aerox replied.
We waited for the seniors and the professor, who would be the judges of the duel, to arrive.
A lot of students had gathered to watch the fight.
Everyone was curious about how the freshmen would do against the second-year students.
While some doubted our abilities, they were excited to see Aerox fight, since he was the most popular student at the school.
"Hey, I heard Aerox from the first year is fighting Lucas and Rowan. What do you think will happen?"
one student said.
"A first-year getting too full of himself. Aerox might be strong for a first-year, but don't forget Lucas and Rowan are both in the Top 10 of the second-year. They'll beat him easily,"
another student replied.
"That's true, but I'm still curious to see Aerox's strength. They say he has the potential to be Rank-10. Maybe he'll surprise us and win,"
the first student said.
Nobody really cared about me.
They were all there to see Aerox fight the seniors, assuming it would be a two-on-one fight.
"Well, I do think the freshmen are at a disadvantage. If the two seniors decide to fight together, the freshmen will lose for sure,"
one of the students said.
"Yeah, you're right. The freshmen just don't have the strength to deal with two second-year students,"
another agreed.
Even our classmates and other first-year students had already accepted the outcome.
They knew Aerox's strength, but they still believed that since both seniors were Rank-2+ and we were only Rank-2+ (Aerox) and Rank-1+ (me), the seniors would easily win.
Nobody thought we stood a chance.
-THUD! -THUD!
Lucas and Rowan arrived, and with them was…
Professor Lance!
So he's the referee.
This wasn't going to be as simple as it seemed.
Professor Lance would definitely support the seniors.