Training 2

"What is the most important thing to win a battle?"

Upon hearing Cassandra's question, Alexander looked confused but still answered in a loud voice.

"The most important thing is strength."

"Strength determines everything."

Hearing Alexander's answer, Cassandra's expression remained unchanged. Instead, she turned to Edward and asked him the same question. His face showed extreme boredom, but he still answered.

"Knowing everything possible about your enemy."

After asking Edward, Cassandra then questioned Jess.

"Staying alive."

"As long as you're alive, there's always a chance to win, no matter how many times you've lost."

Cassandra continued asking the rest of the students until she reached me, as I was the last one to be questioned. However, this had its benefits—I had all the time I needed to think. But even then, my answer hadn't changed from the beginning.

"Mindset."

"The most important thing to win a battle is the mindset of victory."

Upon hearing my answer, Cassandra's expression did not change. Her cold demeanor remained the same as it had been since the start of the class.

She waved her hand with an indifferent expression, bringing up a blue holographic screen.

As the screen appeared, Cassandra typed several things at an astonishing speed before turning to the students and saying:

"Now, I want you all to fight each other in friendly duels."

"You don't need to show everything you have, as winning or losing these duels won't affect your rankings."

"Now, I will announce the names of the students who will face each other."

"Rank 3, Alexander Earth, versus Rank 4, Edward Lightstar."

"Rank 5, Jess Earth, versus Rank 7, Maria Earth."

As before, Cassandra continued announcing the names of the students who would be fighting until she reached me.

"Rank 999,Daron Earth.", versus Rank 1000,Soler Earth."

Hearing this, I sighed internally and took a combat stance while turning toward Daron, who still wore his playful grin.

He raised his sword high and said with an exaggerated tone:

"Our battle will be legendary! A clash between the weakes—"

I didn't allow Daron to finish his words. I lunged at him with all my strength, aiming a horizontal slash at him.

However, my strike was easily blocked by Daron. But his playful grin disappeared, replaced by an expression of shock.

Taking advantage of his surprise, I pulled back my sword and aimed a quick thrust at his ribs.

But he dodged it effortlessly, still looking at me with a shocked expression.

"So, you're actually..."

Trying to exploit the time he spent talking, I rushed toward him and swung my sword sideways with full force.

But suddenly, the world spun.

A sharp pain struck the back of my head, and I heard Daron's astonished voice.

"You're really weak."

"Man, how did you even get into the academy?"

Turning toward the source of the voice, I saw Daron still wearing his shocked expression, his sword pointed at my neck.

Seeing this, I knew the duel was already over. If this were a real battle, there would be nothing I could do.

"I surrender."

Hearing my surrender, Daron tossed his sword aside and sat beside me, letting out a muffled laugh.

"Man, and here I thought our battle would be legendary."

Saying this, Daron smiled lightly and pointed toward a certain spot.

"Look over there. That's what a real fight looks like."

Following the direction Daron pointed to, I saw a battle unfolding between the two strongest students in our class.

Alexander was clad in a magnificent golden armor, his massive sword making him look like a legendary knight straight out of a fantasy tale.

Circling around him was Edward Lightstar, wielding a longsword covered in dim blue flames.

Alexander attempted to reach Edward, trying to take advantage of his terrifying weapon's range. But Edward was exploiting Alexander's slower movements to dodge his attacks and strike with swift counters.

However, Alexander wasn't foolish enough to let Edward get too close, even if he was confident that his armor could withstand most attacks from an F-rank opponent.

But while Edward tried to attack from a distance, he made a mistake and stepped into Alexander's sword range.

Alexander didn't hesitate. He swung with all his might, attempting to cleave Edward in half, uncaring of the fact that such an attack could be fatal.

And indeed, the strike cut through Edward's body at an astonishing speed.

However, Edward's body didn't split into two bloody halves. Instead, it turned into a transparent blue light, allowing the sword to pass through without harming him.

As quickly as he had turned into light, Edward reverted to his normal form and dashed toward Alexander at an incredible speed, taking advantage of the momentum that prevented Alexander from attacking again.

Upon reaching half a meter from Alexander, Edward raised his sword and pointed it at him like a gun.

At the tip of the sword, a small blue star flickered—before unleashing a beam of blue energy aimed straight at Alexander's head.

Alexander attempted to tilt his head to avoid a fatal strike to the brain.

And indeed, the beam pierced through his golden helmet, leaving a gruesome wound on his right cheek.

Despite the pain, Alexander did not falter. He quickly retreated and prepared to continue the battle to the death.

However, he, along with every student watching the fight, was stunned by Edward's next words.

"I surrender."

Seeing this, I couldn't help but feel confused. Without thinking, I asked the closest person to me.

"Why did he surrender?"

Hearing my question, Daron looked at me as if I were an idiot before saying in annoyance:

"How should I know? Do you think I'm some kind of analyst? Maybe he got a stomachache and decided that going to the bathroom was more important than beating Alexander."

Hearing Daron's grumbling, I couldn't help but feel disappointed in my only friend.

"You're really useless."

"Hah? Did you forget that this 'useless' guy just made you eat the ground a few minutes ago?"

Suddenly, a loud round of applause interrupted our pointless argument.

The source of the applause was none other than Professor Cassandra, who still stood in the center of the training ground with her icy expression.

The first thing she did was wave her hand toward Alexander, healing his injury in a seemingly magical manner, before she began speaking.

"You all performed well in your battles."

"With this, today's class ends. Starting next class, real training will begin, and I will assign a combat technique to each of you who currently lack one."

"You may now leave."

After saying this, Cassandra vanished into thin air.

Seeing this, I couldn't help but sigh in exhaustion, as I had hoped to gain something that would make me stronger this class.

I turned toward Daron and said tiredly.

"Come on, let's go to the cafeteria, eat something, and then train."

But just as I tried to stand up, I felt Daron pull me toward him.

"Hey, look over there."

Looking in the direction Daron pointed, I saw a young man with short blond hair and emerald-green eyes standing before an exceptionally beautiful girl with platinum blonde hair and crystal-blue eyes.

The young man pointed at the girl and spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"I, Ivar Greywind, Rank 11, challenge you, Anna Earth, Rank 10, to a ranking duel!"

Seeing this, Daron grinned excitedly and said:

"Looks like we're about to witness some noble-versus-commoner drama."