Ren Isana wasn't one to mess around. Even before this system existed, he was the kind of person who dared to pin Sora to the ground.
Now that they had this system where death didn't matter, Sora feared Ren might just snap her neck if he got riled up. She definitely didn't want to experience that.
"To keep us from getting permanent psychological trauma from our class rep, let's not do that!!" Sora said, backing away from Ren to match her words with action.
The classmates who had been with Ren since their senior year of high school followed suit, which confused the newcomers like Shikimori.
"The class rep is so strong. Isn't it a good thing to challenge him?" Shikimori couldn't understand why everyone was so afraid.
"Let me tell you, back when we first awakened, Shizuka-sensei made us spar. The class rep knocked Yukino down with a single punch. He beat her so badly she advanced on the spot just out of pure spite! Keep in mind, we didn't have this combat system back then," Sora chirped, recounting how Ren had pummeled Yukino.
Beside her, Yukino Yukinoshita's face darkened. She couldn't refute it, but she was fuming. Her stomach felt like it was starting to ache again just thinking about it.
She would remember that punch from Ren for the rest of her life. It was too much. She had just been a freshly awakened newbie who hadn't even debuted yet, only to be brutally beaten.
Sora continued her tale, beginning to embellish: "And we ganged up on him twice before. The first time, he pinned me to the ground and made me shine his shoes. The second time..."
"Wait, shut up. You're just making things up now. Who pinned you down to shine shoes? I don't even wear leather shoes!" Ren's face darkened as he heard Sora's increasingly ridiculous lies.
"Hmph! You slapped me back then. Even my parents never hit me like that!" Sora was still bitter about it. *Do you have any idea how much of a shadow that slap cast over my heart?*
As Sora babbled on, the others gained a basic understanding of what it was like to fight Ren back then. Their gazes toward him began to change.
Good grief, Ren really didn't hold back at all when it came to combat. He went for the fastest possible kill. No wonder no one wanted to fight him.
However... Shikimori wasn't afraid. Challenging the strong was exactly what she wanted. "Actually, I really want to experience fighting the class rep," she said.
Sora looked at Shikimori with pure admiration. Talk about brave! After hearing all that, she still wanted to try?
"Actually, I'm pretty interested too. Why don't a few of us try?" Other new students chimed in. Since they hadn't experienced it firsthand, they were eager to test themselves.
The group began discussing it. Aside from Mahiru Shiina and Asagi Aiba, who weren't combat-oriented, almost all the new students wanted to challenge Ren.
Seeing this, Yor Forger's lips curled into a slight smile. "That's fine. Those of you interested should get ready for a mock battle with Ren Isana. Those who want to fight him, stand on the left. Those who don't, stand on the right."
She took charge, letting them decide for themselves. Sora and her group clearly wanted out, while others were eager to step up.
After Yor's instructions, Sora immediately bolted to the right, followed by Yukari, Kumo, and several others from the class.
To Ren's surprise, Yukino Yukinoshita didn't go with them. Instead, she walked firmly to the left. Joining her were Ais Wallenstein, Lefiya, and the Hiryute twins. The entire Loki Familia was ready for war!
Asuna and Megumi Kato didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Yukino's stubbornness. They didn't join. They didn't really want to fight Ren; Megumi simply knew she couldn't win and didn't want to suffer.
Asuna felt that fighting Ren would affect their relationship. She didn't know if Ren would go easy on her, but she suspected he wouldn't.
Since combat here didn't cause actual injury, why would he hold back? He would definitely be as ruthless as possible. That would be too hard on their feelings, so she decided to pass.
It had to be said that Asuna understood Ren quite well. If there was no risk of injury, why hold back? Of course, he'd beat them half to death. It wasn't like there were any real consequences.
Once everyone was in place, Ren realized about a third of the class wanted to fight him. The rest abstained. Except for Asagi Aiba and Mahiru Shiina, all the newcomers were participating.
"Alright, those who want to fight Ren-kun, stay. Everyone else, head to the spectator stands," Yor said, immediately teleporting Sora and the others out of the arena.
With that done, Yor Forger and Shizuka-sensei left the field, leaving the stage to the students. Everyone drew their weapons. As soon as the teachers were gone, Yukino attacked without a word.
A bone-chilling cold erupted as a barrage of [Ice Spikes] shot toward Ren's vitals. The other students moved instantly. Ais Wallenstein, Tione, and Tiona all activated their respective magic.
Lefiya used [Arcs Ray], her homing skill, locking onto Ren and firing a continuous stream of light arrows.
Faced with the sudden assault, Ren didn't panic. However, the other students who hadn't fought him before were a bit stunned. *It's starting already? Without a signal or anything?*
Despite their confusion, they moved quickly, going all out from the start. They had seen Ren's fight with Ais earlier, and Ais was the strongest in the class.
If she was acting this way, there had to be a reason. Everyone charged at Ren simultaneously.
Yukino's [Ice Spikes] arrived first, followed by Lefiya's light arrows. Ren made no move to dodge. Light flickered around him as several [Magic Circles] ignited instantly.
"[Omniscience]!" *Boom!* As Ren spoke, the attacks slammed into his [Protection Barrier], but every single one was deflected. Ren moved, bursting through the smoke unscathed.
The newcomers were stunned. *Completely unharmed?* This sent a wave of shock through them. Just how tough was the class rep's shield?
He was charging straight through the damage? Everyone's guard reached its limit. Ren closed in and clashed with Ais Wallenstein again, but this time he had to deal with Yukino and the others as well.
They began to surround and mob Ren, but... their attacks couldn't even crack his [Protection Barrier], let alone hurt him.
After knocking Ais back, Ren unleashed an [Iai Slash]. The Amazon sisters, being the closest, couldn't react in time and were sliced in half. They dissolved into light and vanished from the field.
Having dealt with those two, Ren bypassed Yukino and Ais, charging straight at the new students. And then...
Everyone watched as Ren, Tang Dao in hand, began a literal massacre.
The first one he encountered was Kojou Akatsuki. Facing Ren, he immediately activated his talent and entered a [Berserk] state, quintupling his strength.
As a Tier 4, he could now exert Tier 5 combat power. It was a decent talent, but... that was about it.
With [Berserk] active, Kojou was ready for a hearty battle, but then a cold flash of steel passed by. He felt his breath hitch, his vision went black, and he dissolved into light.
Ren had slashed his throat, taking him out instantly. With him gone, Ren moved on to the other students.
One by one, the students turned into light and vanished. Watching from the stands, Sora clicked her tongue. "Brutal. Absolutely brutal. Without Ais to hold him back, the class rep is just playing with them. I'm so glad I didn't go up there!!"
She felt a lingering fear. If she had gone up, Ren would have probably chopped her up too. Beside her, Yukari and Kumo nodded in agreement, thankful they hadn't joined in.
They understood perfectly that numbers meant nothing to Ren. If he were forbidden from using weapons, they might stand a chance, but right now, there were no restrictions.
Against absolute power, they had no way to fight back. Even Ais couldn't stop him. So why bother fighting the class rep? It was just asking for a beating.
"Ren-kun's combat power is enough to hold his own even against a Tier 7," Yor Forger observed. She was certain of it.
This was truly incredible. Most importantly, Ren's [Magic Power] was absurdly high. Yor looked at the data on her console, her heart filled with shock.
Because the students were in gaming pods, all their [Magic Power] levels and recovery rates were monitored. Yor could clearly see how terrifying Ren's [Magic Power] and recovery speed were.
If Ren weren't a pure human, she would have suspected he was a dragon or some other mythical race. Such recovery ability shouldn't belong to a human.
"Hmph, that brat actually wanted to fight me. Good thing I didn't fall for it!" Shizuka-sensei said smugly from the side. Fight her? Not a chance.
While the two chatted, only a few people remained on the field: Shikimori, Lefiya, Ais Wallenstein, Yukino, and Sayaka Kirasaka. Everyone else had already been sent out by Ren!
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