A Fight For Acceptance

Shay stood beside the dented wall full of debris, returning to the open field while watching her next steps. He couldn't attack her; she was too quick, but he could dodge her strike—just barely.

'How am I supposed to fight her? Should I just avoid her movements?' The idea occurred to him, but then he shook his head.

'No, that won't work. Why is she not moving, though?'

They glared at each other, soaking from the continuous rain. Nothing happened for a while and Shay's heart raced. As he distanced himself from the building, his legs shivered. The calmness he felt vanished, his eyes darting with worry. Finally, noticing Shay's stance weakened, she dashed with the help of her wind Bloodline Mastery and threw a kick, aiming with the tip of her heel at his chest.

He still was able to dodge, even if he was under constant pressure, and tried to grab her leg in an attempt to throw her balance off. However, just as he was about to act, a wind attack suddenly emerged from the kicking leg, sending Shay flying back into the wall, right at the same spot, causing a hole the size of a man to form.

A shooting pain went through his body, and Shay's determination hardened. He gritted his teeth as he thought about Trinity Academy.

Even if it wasn't raining indoors, his soaked attire still transferred its moisture to him.

'I can heal, but the pain before doing so is just brutal.'

Pant. Pant.

"I am still able to fight."

The three academies—Trinity, Martial, and The Cross—surrounded the capital city called Nardem. He lived in Soubord. This town bordered the ocean, a short distance from the capital. Its location yielded peaceful surroundings; a few hunting grounds mirrored the Guarded Forest's enclosure. This could only apply to the south, as the other sides of Scarcliff, the continent that was split in half, were uninhabited and full of high-tier monsters.

Before he could step outside, at this moment, she didn't wait for him. Jumping through the hole in the reinforced concrete wall, she choked Shay while lifting him up.

Her voice sounded merciless as she locked her unconcerned eyes on him. "Although you have a speck of special ability and seem to be tougher, Trinity Academy doesn't have a place for you."

An opportunity showed up, as he was able to clench her forearm, pressing it with all of his might. However, it did nothing. Her inner energy was so dense that she didn't even feel it.

'I guess my two-fold strength improvement makes no difference.'

As her grip tightened, a shocking pain rose in his neck, and his vision slowly became dark.

"Cassidy, I think you've proven your point," said the giant man.

Thud. Cough. Cough.

She left, saying nothing in the process, to the signing room. It may seem she was calm, but Shay made her angry for being so naïve, that some no-name thought he had any chance to sign to Trinity.

"Child, you may have had no chance to get into Trinity, but you impressed me with your guts and instincts."

Shay, on his knees, still gasped for air. Fighting his discomfort, he lifted his head, meeting the muscular man's steady gaze, and his lips shook in gratitude.

His clothes were dry and bloody, but he was at least unscathed because of his skill.

He stood, contemplating the hole. 'I am glad to be alive, I guess.'

The back pain wouldn't fade. It hit him as he took a few steps toward the two representatives of the academy, stumbling more with each step.

Then, he almost fell; a slim figure steadied him. Kelly showed up under his right arm, helping him with walking.

"Thanks, Kel. And sorry, I couldn't get her to sign me in."

"Shay, I intend to join the Trinity Academy." Her lips quivered as streams of tears flowed from her eyes, leaving her face through her chin. "I don't want to part ways," her voice trembled as she spoke.

"Yeah, I think it's better for you. By the way, you know we will be able to meet in the city, right?"

At his words, realization clicked in her, loosening her grip, Shay stumbled forward as she darted away.

'Fuck, I shouldn't have said anything until I would have felt better.'

With effort, he rose after about 10 seconds, then faced the forms, looking at Martial Academy's hesitantly.

"Go on, sign it."

Shay nodded and signed it.

Although he knew Kelly would try to choose the worst school, at that time, he needed a plan to impress at least one of them. Thus, he proposed to fight the strongest of the three, manipulating the course of his life. If he didn't forget to tell Kelly about his plan, there would be no hard feelings during it.

"Kid, we will see each other a lot during the semester, so be prepared for the rough training."

"Thank you, sir!"

"So, since we settled things down with both of you, you can head off. A bus will transport you tomorrow morning. Oh. Tell that dumbass nerd that is still outside to come here. We still need to evaluate others."

Kelly left first, wanting to go ahead of Shay.

They didn't need to tell the nerd-looking guy anything. He rushed inside the moment he saw Kelly going out.

Groups of people stood outside, some looking at Shay with a mocking face. Since the fight took place in the open, others watched the fight remotely while waiting for the signing.

His classmates were despicable, but after being accepted, he didn't mind shocking those who would meet them in Martial Academy. One might say he was eager to see their reaction. Just this simple thought made him smile.

Thus, they left the Guarded Forest, heading to the town on a stone-tiled path. Kelly was still walking ahead of him, ignoring his presence, even if he called for her multiple times to stop ignoring him. At least he had the time to examine his newfound system.

[Merging System]

A dark transparent interface, which was divided into three parts, surrounded his vision.

[Quests]

[No quests available]

It seemed that missions were assigned randomly, leaving the left side empty at the moment.

[Skills]

[Health: Root Regeneration]

[Strength: Strength Boost]

[Resistance: Poison Defiance]

The front part showed a list of skills he got. When he thought about their information, a descriptive prompt would appear on top of the skill.

[Skill Merger]

That section, on the right, held the greatest interest. He didn't need to open the system to combine skills, as the past had proven. But being able to see the contents, he could merge, was well-arranged. There was one box on the top and an arrow pointing down toward another. It made little sense to have one aiming at another, so he tried to put a skill in the top part. It showed an image describing the Strength Boost as a biceps. Another box appeared to the side, so he tried to put Poison Defiance on it.

[Incompatible]

He had hoped to be able to combine any skills to create an ultimate one, but it makes sense he wasn't able to do so.

'Why did I think it would be easy to combine them?' He thought, not paying any attention to his surroundings, focused on the screen before him.

Bump.

Kelly stopped and turned; Shay, oblivious despite the transparent screens, bumped into her. They wouldn't have collided if Kelly hadn't slowed her pace.

"Earth calls for Shay!"

She had occasionally looked behind her when he had stopped calling out for her, noticing his strange behavior. From her point of view, it looked like he was checking something, while nothing was in the eye's direction, even if she checked her surroundings multiple times. At that point, she deduced he saw something she couldn't.

"Sorry, I didn't want to push you. Why did you stop?"

"I found it strange that you didn't call for me anymore, and when I turned, you didn't even notice my movement." She replied with concern. She looked right at his eyes while being a step from each other.

Shay avoided her gaze, waiting for her to step aside, which didn't seem to be an option. Thus, he made a step to the right and said, "Ahem, should we go on?" He swung his right hand from below, directing her to walk like a gentleman.

Kelly became annoyed again and continued the same way as before.

He glanced at Kelly, looking at her waving hair. A question lingered in his mind. As he opened his mouth, he swallowed back his thoughts, fearing a thunder might strike him.

They quickly reached the Soubord. The dark clouds had dissipated, revealing the blinding sunlight.

"Do you want to go to a pub or a restaurant? We still have a lot of time before midnight."

Kelly's eyes sparkled with a tedious, teasing glint. Leaning closer, a playful smile transformed her lips. "If you reserve a room for two, then maybe."

"Why would we do that?" Shay asked with a questioning look as he looked at her.

Tsk.

She made a soft sound with her tongue.

'I don't get her these days.'

"Before that, we should shower and change clothes."

"Oh. You've got a point."

Looking down, his clothes were filled with bloodstains, while being tattered. He wrinkled his nose, feeling the sour toxic scent of his sweat. So, they visited their dorm rooms to clean themself, preparing for hours of celebration.