One day passed.
Usually, every year, the academy selected the 100 students with the lowest grades and forced them to fight each other. In the end, only 10 students would be allowed to remain at the academy, while the rest were expelled.
Hector was always among them, yet he easily avoided expulsion thanks to his powerful background.
However, this time would be different… According to what he had read, this villain would lose in the very first round, then be killed by the MC just a few days after being expelled from the academy.
"Are you guys ready?" the referee screamed at the two fighters standing at the center of the arena, preparing to fight.
"Start!"
Soon, once again, chatter spread through the audience in the stands. Everyone wondered who would win this match. The competition to decide who would be allowed to continue studying at the academy.
"Hahaha! I want to see his desperate face after being beaten," a young man said, his voice full of disdain and provocation.
A girl grinned. "That's right. This time, he can't use his background to help him pass the competition like last year."
"Once he fails, he'll be expelled from the academy. After that, we'll torture him outside the academy before killing him."
"Certainly, that lowly scum will be defeated."
A muscular young man with a bare torso, Odd chuckled.
"Tch! Rotten shit, you should surrender. Otherwise, I'll crush your balls."
Hector frowned as he assessed his enemy. Actually, he was quite worried about this match.
Well, it was harsh for him. In the old world, he was just a bookworm, with no combat skills or anything like that. Plus, this pathetic body was really weak.
He couldn't really blame himself. A ton of trouble had smashed into him the moment he reincarnated into this world. He'd only had a little time to prepare, and it simply wasn't enough.
He glanced at the wooden sword in his hands. His blessing helped him adapt to an enemy's swordsmanship, then improve himself.
But there was a big problem. His swordsmanship was zero.
(Just hope I adapt to his swordsmanship before I lose.)
"That trash has never even touched a sword in his whole life. He will lose. Hope that big trash can handle him." Alaric said coldly, glancing at Hector from the stands beside Zoe.
"That's right!" Zoe said with a disdainful smile, looking down on Hector.
***
Overall, the match happened just as Hector had thought. He had no chance against Todd.
Todd just smirked, playing with Hector as if he were nothing more than a clueless kid. Each slash from his enemy left a bruise on Hector's body.
Hector's sword skill was so bad that he couldn't land a single hit on Todd. The only moves he used were crude chops and downward slashes.
It was understandable—he didn't have enough technique to link together a chain of beautiful skills like Todd did.
"Pathetic!" Todd's face was filled with pure disgust toward Hector.
The crowd burst into loud laughter, mocking him.
"HAHAHAHA! Look at him, he's so weak!" A student laughed.
"I wish I could go down there and beat him myself!"
"Yeah, just useless trash. We're going to kill him anyway," another student said, his voice full of disdain.
Alaric clicked his tongue and stood up. Irritation was clearly written on his face.
''I was hoping that a piece of shit could at least be entertaining, but… shit is still shit.''
Zoe nodded; she was in the same mood as Alaric.
He slowly walked down the stands to leave the dull place, but suddenly, he frowned. He then approached a beautiful girl sitting nearby.
''What were you saying earlier?''
The girl trembled and replied,
''I didn't say anything.''
Alaric scowled in annoyance. He drove a brutal, vicious knee into her abdomen, making her collapse and clutch her stomach in pain.
He spat, yanked her long hair up, and looked down at her with a deadly gaze.
''You will speak! Scream and curse that useless trash. Otherwise, I'll rape you and toss you into a brothel like a bitch.''
''That's the job of trash like you. Understand?''
With tears streaming down her face, the girl nodded in pain before continuing to scold Hector.
''Trash should know their place.'' Alaric glanced at the other students with a warning look before leaving the arena with Zoe.
Five minutes later.
As the match dragged on, everyone began to frown in irritation.
"HEY! FINISH HIM OFF! I'M BORED WATCHING THIS SHIT!" a student screamed.
Todd gritted his teeth in anger, unleashing a series of slashes from every direction toward Hector. He wanted to finish him right now.
But for some reason, he felt like he couldn't overwhelm Hector anymore.
Hector's slashes had become better. He could deflect and block Todd's attacks without much trouble.
As if Hector had read all of Todd's swordsmanship—understanding every direction of his blade.
With a slow movement, Hector thrust his sword into the gap in Todd's defense.
Bang!
Todd staggered back, clutching his chest in pain. He glanced at Hector with a look of disbelief.
"How could this be?"
Just a few minutes ago, Hector's swordsmanship was that of a newbie, but now he had already reached Todd's level.
What a ridiculous thing to happen. Maybe that bastard was a genius at swordsmanship? Countless jealousy and anger were written on his face.
Todd couldn't accept it.
Hector blinked nonstop, seeing his first successful blow in the match. He grinned.
"I've adapted."
His eyes gleamed sharply. In the next moment, he rushed toward Todd.
This time, he performed everything he had learned from Todd, combining it with [Shadow Stepwork]—his combat technique became slippery and hard to read.
He began to form chains of raw blows. They weren't beautiful, but they were enough to corner Todd.
"YOU BASTARD!" Todd screamed maniacally, swinging his sword to chop Hector down, but Hector dodged with ease.
With lightning-swift speed, Hector unleashed a barrage of thrusts at Todd's body.
Recognizing that his enemy was starting to blur and grow dizzy, Hector seized the chance.
In his final movement, Hector drove a brutal, vicious knee into Todd's abdomen.
"D-Damn it—!" Todd's face twisted in agony. He clutched his stomach as his organs screamed in pain. In the end, he collapsed and his eyes rolled back, puking up a mess of food.
He passed out.
Everyone fell silent, shocked and dumbfounded… until Hector spoke in a cold voice to the referee.
''Hey, jerk… declare the winner.''
With his face twisted in the darkness, the referee grit his teeth, barely holding back his anger and the disdain he had just received, then shouted:
''The winner is...H-Hector Jenkins.''
Once again, countless murmurs—loud and soft—spread through the arena. Everyone was completely shocked by Hector's victory.
''H-How could it be? He's a genius at swordsmanship? There's no way!''
As for Hector, he collapsed against the back wall of the arena's resting room, utterly exhausted.
Ting!
[A blessing has appeared. Do you want to receive it?]
Name: Brutal Martial Art
Rank: ★★
[Description]: You possess exceptional talent in martial arts. Most of your blows target fatal points on an enemy's body, leaving wounds that take a long time be healed.
''Damn! Is this what they mean by no pain, no gain?''