I was stretching.
Quite frankly, I hadn't expected to reach Rank 2.
But because of that, I hadn't actually fought a single person yet.
Lucky me...
...
..
.
This is boring.
Some of the playable characters were currently fighting
Good for balin he's genuinely dominating rn, but honestly, I couldn't care less whether they beat some random character or not. So I hadn't been paying attention.
Let's see...
Hjördis was obviously Rank 1.
Noah was Rank 4.
Mei Mei was Rank 5.
Hans was Rank 7.
Aldren was Rank 8.
They were all ranked much higher than they were in the game, I already expected that the game counterpart are weaker than them, so this was no suprise.
It all came down to individual skill after all.
The Progenitor Mage had built the academy around the idea that everyone should be treated equally. The evaluations weren't supposed to be based purely on combat ability. Personality, leadership, bravery, loyalty, teamwork all of that was supposedly taken into account.
But apparently, the majority of the evaluators had other ideas.
Social standing was also part of the evaluation.
Which meant Balin and Raksha had practically no chance of reaching the Top 1,000, even if they'd completely dominated the previous trial.
Neither of them had any known noble status.
And as for me...
There were two reasons I couldn't get an S-Rank benefit in the game.
The first was the possibility of getting damaged and having my Heavenly Restrictions body revealed.
Because of that, no matter how good I was at PvP, achieving a perfect "no-hit" run in this trial was practically impossible.
The platforms were too small.
Eventually, I'd get hit.
I looked at my Proxy.
It could scan my body and create what seemed to be a fully functional copy.
Useless mf.
making that thing work required mana.
I had no idea how that worked.
it's probably beacuse I can't be perceive by it.
I'm not a mage.
The Top 1,000 also couldn't be eliminated from the examination if they wanted to retain their S-Rank benefits.
And I guess there was a second reason.
One I hadn't really expected.
Maybe I just hadn't been reading between the lines...
No.
It simply wasn't important.
That's why I didn't know.
Hjördis had broken the barrier during the Third Trial, ending the examination far earlier than it was supposed to.
Because of that, most students hadn't gotten the opportunity to properly demonstrate their abilities.
Which meant our side had fewer people in the Top 1,000.
I was still stretching when, all of a sudden.
[Yo!]
Straight in my face.
Holy moly.
You love doing that, don't you?
"Where have you been?"
[Just had to deal with someone wanting to get their property back.]
"What?"
I decided not to question it.
"Putting that aside, do you know how to wield a weapon?"
[Why?.]
"I'm getting bored."
[Which one?.]
"Preferably all of them."
There was a brief pause.
[Alr, Do you have them?.]
Yeah
I'd bought so much random stuff over the past
Few week that I was already down to about half of my original money.
I pulled a spear from my inventory and started practicing.
The System had taught me the basic movements, so I simply repeated them.
Step.
Thrust.
Spin.
Just the whole shtick.
I was mostly just swinging it around while thinking.
Then I remembered something.
"Hey, I have a question."
[What?]
"Why is it that I can only see Balin's character profile?"
I thrust the spear forward, then smoothly pulled it back into position.
"Out of all the playable characters, he's the only one whose profile I can actually see."
[I'm pretty sure you already know the answer to that.]
"Do I?"
I continued practicing, letting the movements occupy my hands while I thought about it.
Then, on one swing, I instinctively shifted my footing and redirected the spear in a way that actually looked cool.
"That was cool."
The realization immediately came to me.
"Oh."
I lowered the spear.
"With the sole exception of balin they all possess the characteristics of the Pillars."
Barry being perception.
That's pretty neat.
....
Several studentsgaze had begun to focus around one of the platforms.
At first, they didn't think much of it.
There was a student practicing alone.
He looked like an amateur.
His movements were stiff, his footing awkward, and his grip lacked the confidence of someone who had spent years training with a weapon.
Then a few minutes passed.
Something changed.
His movements became smoother.
Sharper, and more natural.
The spear that had looked unfamiliar in his hands suddenly moved as though it belonged there.
Step.
Thrust.
Spin.
Recover.
He transitioned between movements with an ease that shouldn't have been possible for a beginner.
Then he switched weapons, stuffing it god knows where.
The spear disappeared.
And a sword replaced it.
The same thing happened.
Within minutes, he was swinging it with the familiarity of someone who had trained with one for years.
Then came a war axe.
Then another weapon.
And another.
Spear.
Sword.
War axe.
Each time, he adapted almost immediately.
The students watching gradually fell silent.
Finally, he picked up a staff.
And this time...
He didn't look like he was fighting.
He looked like he was dancing.
The staff flowed around his body, spinning between his hands as he shifted his footing effortlessly. Every movement connected to the next, almost as though he'd already memorized a thousand techniques despite having learned them only moments ago.
Someone in the crowd finally whispered.
"What a monster."
All his fellow student agreed.
...
Checking my character profile, I noticed something.
Sword Mastery - 2
Spear Mastery - 2
Staff Mastery - 2
War Axe Mastery - 2
More
...
..
.
Yeah.
I am genius when it comes to combat.
Oh?
Wait.
Something caught my attention.
Aldren seemed to be approaching Mei Mei's platform.
I immediately took a seat.
:D
Content.
That's what I would've said if some random guy hadn't entered my platform.
I was going to surrender as much I want the benefit of s ranked, I couldn't risk getting hit, until I glanced at his character profile.
...He's actually pretty weak, I expected someone strong would challenge the second place.
I stood up.
Let's end this quickly.
I pulled out the Magitech Gloves and slipped them over the gloves I was already wearing.
A little annoying, but there wasn't much I could do about it.
Barry's culture had one particularly strange rule: no one was supposed to see your bare skin aside from your face unless they were your lover.
I'm not about to violate a dead guy's values.
I have morals.
So, naturally, I was practically covered from head to toe.
I was wearing modern clothes: a tight, long-sleeved black shirt, baggy pants, and a jacket tied around my waist.
And, of course, a pair of big-ass boots.
I looked like a Looney tunes character with it, if I'm being honest, I laughed to myself.
It was hot as hell.
But I grew up in a country close to the equator.
I'm used to it.
A faint shimmer appeared across the platform.
The system scanned my opponent.
Then.
A Proxy materialized.
It looked exactly like him.
I cracked my knuckles.
Alright.
Let's get this over with.
The faster I win, the faster I can go watch Mei Mei and Aldren fight.
Priorities.
Anyway I tried talking to him.
He didn't respond.
"Not much of a talker, are you?"
I lowered my stance, settling into a Judo position.
The Magitech Gloves were simple enough. They could generate repulsive force, either forward or backward.
Nothing complicated.
My opponent was a bird beastkin.
Which meant, naturally, he wasn't going to fight me head-on.
He was already flying overhead.
I looked up.
That's one big pair of wings.
How the hell do they sleep with those?
More importantly...
Was he going to use a long-ranged weapon?
He reached toward his side.
Then pulled out a dagger.
He threw it.
"I guess not."
I immediately dashed forward.
The dagger flew straight toward me.
I twisted my body aside, barely avoiding it.
Then.
The dagger suddenly changed direction.
It curved through the air and flew straight back toward its owner.
I froze for half a second.
"...Oh."
I ducked.
The dagger passed dangerously close to my back before continuing toward him.
Right.
Magitech.
So much for someone whose Phenomenon was supposedly better suited for fighting on the ground.
He wanted me to come to him.
Naturally, I did.
I accelerated forward as several more daggers came flying toward me.
One.
Two.
Three.
I weaved between them, ducking beneath one before jumping between two others.
Honestly...
That probably looked pretty cool.
I continued forward, closing the distance between us.
The moment I got close enough, the bird beastkin suddenly folded his wings and dove.
A dagger flashed in his hand.
He came straight at me.
I raised both arms.
The dagger struck my gloves.
CLANG!
The impact forced me backward.
I slid across the platform, boots scraping against the ground.
The bird beastkin immediately pulled back into the air.
I followed.
He tried to create distance, but I wasn't about to let him.
I jumped.
My hand caught his ankle.
"Got you."
His eyes widened.
"What?!"
I activated the gloves.
Repulsion.
The force blasted downward.
Both of us shot upward.
Higher.
Higher.
And higher.
The battlefield rapidly shrank beneath us.
The bird beastkin struggled in my grip.
"Let go!"
"You weren't mute?, uhhh no."
I looked down.
We were already ridiculously high.
Then I remembered something.
The gloves could repel in either direction.
Which meant...
I grinned.
"Let's see how fast we can go."
I activated the gloves again.
The repulsive force slammed against us.
Our bodies spun.
Once.
Twice.
Then faster.
And faster.
The world became a blur.
Sky.
Ground.
Sky.
Ground.
Sky.
Ground.
The wind screamed past us.
The bird beastkin shouted something.
I couldn't hear him.
Honestly?
This was probably a terrible idea.
But I had already committed.
My plan was simple.
Reach the ground.
And slam him.
And let gravity do the rest.
At this speed, the impact should be enough to win.
We reached the ground.
I tightened my grip.
The ground rushed toward us.
Three meters.
Two.
One.
BOING!
...
I blinked.
"Boing?"
The ground bounced.
Our momentum disappeared as some kind of magical cushioning effect caught us.
I landed perfectly balanced on my feet.
The bird beastkin dropped beside me.
Before either of us could process what had just happened.
"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT!"
A familiar voice suddenly appeared.
Miss Lunaria stood directly in front of us.
She was smiling.
"You won."
She pointed at me.
"Good job!"
Then she pointed toward the bird beastkin.
"And you lost!"
Then she pointed at me again.
"Now..."
Her smile disappeared.
"Never do that again."
I blinked.
"What?"
"You were about three seconds away from turning your opponent into a very expensive crater."
"But the Proxy takes the damage."
"Yes."
She took a deep breath.
"The Proxy takes the physical damage."
"Exactly."
"That does not mean everything inside that persons becomes immune to everything."
"...Huh?"
Lunaria pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Think about it this way."
She pointed toward the Proxy.
"The Proxy is connected to your body. When you get hit, the damage is redirected to the Proxy."
"Right."
"But your brain isn't a piece of armor."
"Right?"
"If you slam someone into the ground at extreme transitional velocity while they're spinning rapidly, the Proxy can absorb the impact."
She paused.
"But the sudden acceleration and rotational forces can still affect the person controlling it."
I stared at her.
She continued.
"Rapid acceleration can cause disorientation. Rotational movement can affect your balance and inner ear. Sudden deceleration can cause neurological stress. A hard enough impact can potentially cause a concussion even if the Proxy itself absorbs the majority of the physical force."
She pointed toward the ground.
"And if the system hadn't activated the emergency cushioning?"
She smiled.
"You'd have had a much bigger problem."
I nodded slowly.
"Okay."
Lunaria stared at me.
"Do you understand?"
"Yeah."
"What did I just explain?"
I paused.
"Something about acceleration?"
She stared.
"How long were you listening?"
"Five minutes."
"And how much did you understand?"
I thought about it.
"I understand absolutely nothing."
She sighed.
"Just remember one thing."
She pointed directly at me.
"Be careful next time."
I straightened.
"Yes, ma'am."
Lunaria nodded.
"Good."
She walked away.
Before dissapearing into nothingness.
Appearing at the sky again.
Then I looked at the bird beastkin.
He looked equally confused.
We stared at each other.
"You okay?"
He slowly nodded.
"Yeah."
"Good."
I looked at the gloves.
"Because that was pretty fun."
He immediately took several steps backward.
"Stay away from me!."
He shouted before bolting.
That was quite an overreaction.
...
Oh right the fight
I immediately looked at Mei mei platform
Only to find it was already over.
Goddamit.
...
Thought I didn't expect the winner being..