A week later, Shay's school days shifted, focusing on his power building. The brawl with Catherine had awakened hidden desires to climb higher.
His determination blazed like a blue, inextinguishable, shining ember throughout this time, in his heart. The Fallen Hero's Resolve might boost his confidence, yet it all originated from the singular fight, not the skill itself.
While lying on his desk, clicking his pen repeatedly, Shay examined his stats. During his ocean tide drifting thoughts, the teacher was explaining the theory behind channeling magical energy to enhance the body and senses.
[Strength: 35 (17%)] - 4x
[Endurance: 29 (91%)] - 2x
[Agility: 38 (75%)] - 4x
[Dexterity: 38 (70%)]
[Intelligence: 28 (24%)]
[Mana: 10 (0%)]
[Novice Mana pool - Basic Flame]
Sigh.
He breathed out and banged his forehead, making a weak, resonating sound of wood.
'I haven't taken on a mission yet,'
Shay opened his mouth wide, letting out his humongous yawn. Stark sunlight revealed purple bags under his eyelids, blinking because of the blinding beam.
He had visited Miss Galia's office on the first day, after recovering his energy, to investigate the ranking system and what led after.
Although she always presented herself as a more strict teacher, her concern about him understanding each section was genuine, consistently asking if everything was clear.
The rating served as evaluation for an upcoming Martial Academy tournament where only top 64 could take part.
Everyone gathered scores either by stealing them from higher positions if they won a duel, or by completing tasks from the academy's bulletin board.
Shay, instead of taking on quests, he rather farmed stat points in his power building function. After classes, he sprinted with 200kg of additional weight, lifted the latter, and then practiced hand and feet coordination during nights.
Zzzzz.
Ding. Dong.
His snoring disrupted the teacher's lecture; however, when he turned to him, the presentation concluded with a predictable noise, leaving his marker, serving as a weapon, below the whiteboard.
Creaks and rustles echoed throughout the classroom as students raised their chairs, and the place was left clean.
The teacher took his suitcase with study material and waited for others to leave, not counting the slumbering Shay.
[Mission: Beat the top 64 student or better before tournament due. Reward scales with greater position. Three weeks left.]
Sharp notification noise buzzed inside his head, feeling piercing pain from his eyes.
'I'm so fucking tired. Why did I neglect so much sleep, for fuck's sake?' He sighed, reading the text when his vision focused. His irises twitched while adjusting the lighting passage.
Thud.
He fell out of his chair, seeing his interface followed him. Without moving a muscle, the lifelessness in his previous gaze showed a blooming rose of opportunity.
'What? Rising reward?!'
Before clouds of dreams obscured his imagination, he caught the slowly falling desk while facing its wooden corner.
Although his endurance could take it straight, getting hit still annoyed him.
Now that he had another leading goal, his determination exploded.
Since he was left alone, no one witnessed the awkward situation, which turned even wilder.
Ping!
[New bestiary milestone reached. Reward: Camouflaged Hide]
[Description: Takes Forest Troll's skin properties, lightly enhancing the user's natural resistance against light weapon slashes, and improves stealth capabilities within woodlands.]
"Bwahahaha! Taking on the trolls, I see!" Shay's baffled appearance altered as evil-ish laughter filled the soulless room.
He had long forgotten about commanding Shade to hunt monsters near that area. The information revealed his whereabouts, wandering about mountains to the west of Growlers' territory, the ones that cloaked the dawn sunlight.
Beginners loved exploring around the range, killing the simpleton brutes. However, stepping deeper resulted in confronting evolutions exponentially stronger than its origin.
When Shay had studied the bulletin board for the first time, multiple companies requested clearing the section. The higher-ups yearned to build a fortress, exploiting the range's advantages and shifting focus more toward the land's core.
He despised geography and history, however, his intelligence points reached an unimaginable point. Whatever he heard, he remembered with precision, even when paying no major attention. His further planning also improved, carrying two sealed packs of water in his pockets for healing emergencies.
And, about the planet itself, it comprised a single island with a gargantuan peak, touching the thin air with its white sleeves. It split in half, creating a dark crevice from the northwest to the southeast. It was believed that demons lived in its depths.
The beast's growing power, nearing the rift, somewhat hinted at its truth.
"Well, since my buddy is taking care of trolls, I could try challenging some people for points." He said to himself, cracking his knuckles and stretching his arms.
Despite his thoughts raced with excitement, he didn't forget to wear his creepy poker face, matching his physical state's psychological aura as tiredness tried to fight his last bits of energy.
He left the academy and headed back toward the dome building. During his exhausting training session, running around with one fifth's weight of a car, he noticed some minor changes to its structure.
They enlarged it by three times, reusing the Gartium and opening the roof for natural light to reach inside.
Multiple displays surrounded the edifice, showing spectator views and leaderboards of the top 64 participants.
Currently, Shay decided to not delay his visit, and passed through the similar entrance. Sides of the hallway were filled with challenger screens and other passages leading toward different parts of the auditorium.
Robust cheers vibrated through the halls, and a significant voice. Its heights knew no bounds, being more deafening than the audience.
"The school hours barely ended, yet there are so many people already, jeez." He murmured, getting closer to one of the unoccupied screens.
Bump.
Before reaching it, some random dude crashed into his shoulder. His firm posture knocked the individual on the ground and further ignored him.
"Hey! I think I had seen you somewhere, you fucking bastard." The guy said from his side.
Shay shifted his gaze to him, observing the slim person's attire.
He was wrapped in the academy's design clothing, white outlines signaling being a first-year student. Each piece didn't fit the slender limbs and even feet, yet they provided him with such bizarre garment, tightened by multiple adjustable belts.
"You're lucky to be alive, after facing Cedric, you rat."
That name was unfamiliar to Shay, confusion crossing his face right after. There weren't that many people, which led him to the doors of the abyss.
"Don't you remember the fight with the round guy?!"
The one particular memory clicked, but interest about that charade died the day after their battle.
'Hm, why should I care?' He thought, scrolling through potential challenges.
Infuriated by his ignorance, the man's expression reddened while locked in place.
Shay also scrolled the leaderboard above, displaying the leading 64 positions.
'60th - Holden Salas'
His glance altered between the stickman and the display.
"Well, seeing as you purposely seek trouble…"
Without finishing his sentence, he clicked 'challenge' on the screen. A hidden mechanism appeared from the sides and scanned his identity.
Vrrr. Vrrr.
He took the ticket information and said. "Oh, our competition has priority, since you are on the leader board. I won't have to lose much time after all." Waving back, he left Him behind while clapping his pockets.
'Why would he mention a fight, which he didn't take part in?' He thought, oblivious to Holden's key participation.
He passed through a hall, continuing with elevating stairs toward the amphitheater. Around the fighting ground were sitting and standing zones, filled with pupils covering their face, silence eliminating the arena's once lively cheers.
No one dared to let out a single squeak, feeling the killing intent from the winning participant.
Upon looking down, the other individual lied dead as a sizzling residue of acid ate through his corpse, showing its messed up internals and the full ribcage.
'I won't be confronting that guy before two weeks pass.'
Although 'intentional' bloodshed was prohibited, the mightier usually found excuses to cover for their ill intent.
While further inspecting the killer, fighting was postponed until a special group bagged the body and cleaned the area.
"Ehm… Zeyer Brew successfully guarded his first place against Liam Derba, leaving him undefeated!" The arena announcer said, positioned in his non-transparent glass floating room at the front side.
A long pause inspired a vast amount of people to leave, tired from continuous waiting, or sick from the brutal scene. A scent of blood traveled through each person's noses, especially affecting those close by.
"So, another unexpected duel is set. With no points, Shay challenges Holden Sallas for his 60th placement."
Those nearing exits stopped, scanning around for the guy who dared facing one of the leading positions with a fat zero value.
Thud.
He jumped down, creating a cloud of dust, showing outlines of his cross-armed stance, not moving an inch.
When all micro-particles cleared the view, every person glanced at his posture blazing with a fire of confidence.
"So you didn't leave, bitch?!"
Like ordinary people would, Holden used the preparation room to enter the fighting zone, screaming from its passage while walking toward the enhanced arena structure.
"You shouldn't be so cocky yet," Shay retorted with an attempt to piss him off, his tone resonated with arrogance.
[New bestiary milestone reached. Reward: Sturdy Skin]
[Description: Increases overall defensive capabilities. It also grants +1 to endurance's current multiplier.]
'Hehe, that's the best timing, Shade.'
He gazed at his newfound prowess in the transparent interface. From the outside, he was thought to have locked his focus on his opponent, looking at his significant black eyes which popped out of his eye sockets.
Suddenly, their silence broke off when the sharp announcer's voice expanded and mirrored back from the dome.
"Our fighters size each other up pre-fight, promising an exciting duel! Since everything is set, the brawl can start on the count to three!"
"You should prepare your deathbed!" Holden said, bone cracking sounds came from his body, changing his height, muscle volume and limbs length.
"One!"
A memory busted through Shay's head, envisioning their past interaction.
"Two!"
His stance changed, sweat condensing on his forehead. His deduction told him he was the fellow that threw the 300-ish kilogram fatso at him.
'This guy is top 60th?! Fuck.' Despite his inner turmoil, a serene composure caped over him, thanks to his Fallen Hero's Resolve skill. It would take more effort to reach the first place, for a massive reward, than he had imagined.
"Three!"