“The rules are simple! Do not use any special techniques or Magia. The last person standing gets Number 1, and the one standing before them gets second… the list goes on.”

In essence, this was a survival match—one where the participants had to be concerned about conserving their stamina, while also dealing the most damage to their opponents so they could be defeated as quickly as possible.

Since all seven of them were going to fight one another at the same time, there were a lot of opportunities as well as disadvantages involved.

Everyone was prey… but they were also equally the predators.

“Let’s take this match outside.” Instructor Beck smiled at his students. “But first, change into your Martial Arts robes.”

*************

‘I see…’ Dan thought to himself as he stepped out of the dojo in his Martial Art uniform. ‘It feels quite comfortable.’

Every student around him was also donning a similar wear—sleeveless martial vests and shorts. The material was lightweight, but the quality told him that it was durable. They were also slightly baggy, allowing for ease of movement without restrictions.

Dan looked in the direction of Kai—the current Number 1—and smiled.

‘It looks like I was right. He was here for training much earlier and already changed to his Martial Arts clothes.’

That meant this guy took Martial Arts extremely seriously and was most likely very good at it. This much was to be expected from someone bearing Kendou name, so it wasn’t very surprising to see.

‘Still, the problem involves defeating him.’ Dan sighed. ‘How am I supposed to win?’

Once the students reached the center of the vast compound, feeling the cool sand on their bare feet and the slight chill of the environment, they began to move their bodies and stretch their bodies in preparation for the inevitable.

Dan also did the same, observing everyone around him.

‘I have six opponents. Britta is the only girl in the group, and there are five males.’ He allowed the thoughts to flow in his mind as he rationally estimated his chances against each of the students.

‘They all have better bodies than me. As I suspected, the previous owner of this body was a bookworm who kept all his stocks on Mage Arts and never really focused on training his body physically.’

Most commoners wouldn’t keep journals that vividly explained their day and essential aspects of their lives, so Dan had always considered the previous owner of his body to be peculiar. Besides, he was grateful for the boy’s meticulous nature when it came to documentation.

‘The only reason I know what I know is because of him…’ He smiled. ‘In any case, it seems the match is about to begin.’

As one would expect, Instructor Beck served as the referee and made sure everyone was at least two meters apart from the other. They were also in a circular formation, so everyone had a good idea of the position of the others, as well as the distance it would take to reach their targets.

With this tactical formation established, the Martial Arts Instructor made sure to establish a considerable distance between himself and the group.

Then—

“You may now begin.”

—The match officially started.

~WHOOSH!~

Dan’s first instinct was to take a leap backward, quickly distancing himself from the rest.

‘I would normally take the initiative to attack, but there are two main reasons why that approach wouldn't be the most optimal for me.’

The clear reason was the tactical benefit it gave him regarding survival.

‘If I extricate myself early enough and allow everyone to duke it out amongst themselves, I should be able to eliminate a few people without lifting a finger.’ He told himself. ‘This allows me to conserve my strength.’

Since this was an endurance match above all else, the logic behind this method was sound.

But… it wasn’t without its flaws.

Dan recognized a particular figure approaching him despite leaping away, and he smiled instantly. He easily recognized an example of why his strategy wasn’t perfect.

‘I’m already perceived as weak due to my relatively small build. Leaping away is another sign of weakness, and anyone who sees me doing this will probably think I’m an easy target.’

This had both positives and negatives.

‘On one hand, it means I’ll inevitably be targeted. However, since they’re targeting me because of the presumption that I’m weak, it’s more likely that I’ll be underestimated.’ That was the cause of Dan’s smile.

Since it was inevitable that he would ultimately be attacked, wasn’t it better he did so on his own terms?

‘Then, there’s the second reason for separating myself from everyone else.’

He took a quick glance at the rest of the group and saw they were hard at work already. Britta rushed at Kai, and the other three were duking it among themselves while the last was charging at him with a wild grin.

‘It’s a mess out there, and if I remained there, I’d probably have to deal with multiple opponents at once.’ He reasoned. ‘Fighting against two opponents is exponentially more difficult than fighting one.’

In a lot of cases, it was even more dangerous than fighting against someone with a weapon.

‘I would have to physically exert myself a lot more than necessary, and there’s no guarantee of victory.’

Dan wasn’t one to take that chance.

Rather than putting himself in such a dangerous and unpredictable situation, he allowed himself to create circumstances that were under his control. Thankfully, someone fell for the bait and was now rushing towards him.

‘I believe his name is Jake. He’s the current Number 2, and judging by his actions, he wants to maintain his rank.’ A smile nearly crept up on his face, but he suppressed it.

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He didn’t want to give his opponent the wrong—or rather, right—impression of his predicament.

‘Since Britta and Kai—the two strongest in the class—are locked in a fight, and the other three students are in something of a three-way deadlock, this Jake fellow must have assumed that he could easily defeat me and allow the rest to take each other out—or at least wear one another down.’

By taking the easy kill, he wouldn’t have expended so much energy, and he would be able to deal with the rest, who would have been worn out at that point.

It wasn’t bad thinking at all.

‘But… it’s exactly what I wanted you to think when I leapt away and you pursued.’

Now that he was in Dan’s inescapable net, ready to deal the first blow, there was only one path waiting for him.

—Defeat!

~WHUUM!~

The first palm strike, directed at Dan’s lower jaw, was easily avoided because he could already see the trajectory while also understanding the intent of his adversary.

‘He wants to take me out quickly, so it’s only right for him to target a vulnerable location that’s also easy to strike and within reach.’ Once he could understand that, Dan was able to predict the angle that the attack would come from based on body movements.

“Tch!” The boy clicked his tongue and quickly retracted his palm so he could take a proper stance.

Dan observed this and smiled internally.

‘Good choice.’

If the boy had leaned even the slightest bit closer, he would have been vulnerable to a swift and decisive attack from Dan due to his center of gravity being uneven.

‘I could have easily knocked him down and proceeded to pummel him from above.’

This was just one way to handle the matter, though, and Dan wasn’t particularly upset at the missed opportunity since it wasn’t an integral part of his plan.

“I don’t suppose you mind surrendering…” Jake asked with a big smirk.

“Nope.”

“Good. Just struggle enough to make the fight last a little lon—”

~WHOOSH!~

Dan took this chance and rushed towards Jake, something that the latter wasn’t expecting in the slightest.

‘As expected, he thought I would try to stall, which would cause the time to drag out longer for the other fighters.’ The mask was down, and Dan was smiling already. ‘By surprising him a with quick movement, he will get flustered… allowing him to instinctively focus on defense or retreat.’

Jake chose defense.

He raised both hands and protected the part that Dan seemed to be targeting with his fist.

But… that was only a feint, and the real target was the opposite side.

In a nimble motion filled with precision, Dan twisted in the air, using the force generated from his dash, as well as the swirl, to attack the boy’s left rib.

“Gahh!”

He instantly screamed out and fell to one knee, holding onto the position that was struck.

‘Don’t overreact. It’s not like I broke it or anything…’ Dan’s thoughts trailed as he watched the agonized expression the boy was making.

~WHOOSH!~

His legs whipped upward, kicking the distracted face of his adversary in his right side of his lower jaw. That was more than enough to make sure the boy passed out, even while on his knees.

In a light thud, he fell to the ground… defeated.

“Huu! Looks like I won my first fight.” He could feel beads of sweat on his face, with strained breaths leaving his lungs. His heart was racing, and he could feel his legs especially aching.

His body was really not athletic.

‘How are the others faring?’ Dan wondered to himself, turning to face the group of three that were duking it out.

However, at that moment, he sensed something rapidly approaching his face and evaded it at the very last minute.

He leaned back, allowing the fist that would have crushed his left cheek to pass right in front of him. With eyes still widened in surprise, and his body experiencing the recoil of such sudden movement, he tried his best to maintain composure.

After all, a follow-up attack was underway.

~WHOOM!~

The boy who attacked, but missed, flailed his other first in order not to halt his momentum.

However, since Dan already predicted this attack, he crouched and avoided the strike, while also whipping his legs across the ground to ground his opponent.

“Ack!” Just as he intended, due to the opponent’s lack of balance, he fell to the ground.

Dan quickly rolled to the side and rushed to his feet, trying his best to understand the situation as best he could.

‘I see. So the other two are already down and he’s the only one left.’

He must have been going for a surprise attack, but Dan always made sure to remain on constant alert, so his tactic failed.

‘If that initial blow of his had connected, I would have been knocked out… or at least fallen to the ground.’

At that point, it would be game over.

‘I really need to improve this body.’ He heaved as he watched the boy get up, also breathing heavily.

‘It seems he’s also exhausted from the fight he just had. I can’t afford to let him recover.’

Based on their physical abilities, it was clear who would recover quicker and what would happen once that happened.

~WHOOSH!~

Dan charged forward this time, taking the initiative away from his opponent. However, instead of the boy getting flustered like Jake did, he kept his feet rooted and took a stance in preparation.

‘Did he watch my previous fight? No, I doubt it considering he must have been busy with his own fight…’ Dan reasoned.

‘He must just be a superior fighter to Jake.’

That meant petty tricks wouldn’t work on this one, and he would have to attack with actual skills.

‘Here goes!’

Once Dan reached the enemy, he sent a straight thrust towards his stomach, but the boy easily blocked it with his palm. That very instant, he attempted to twist Dan’s hand—and without hesitation at that—but the latter swiftly jumped to mid-air and twisted his body, following the rhythm of his opponent.

He sent a kick to the boy’s neck, which he blocked with his other hand.

But—

“Guh!” Due to the force exerted by Dan, the kick caused the boy to wince in pain and stagger a little to the side.

‘He’s off balance!’

Noticing that his stance had been broken, and the boy had even let go of the hand that had been caught, Dan charged at him the moment he landed on the ground and went for a tackle.

He dived headfirst and used his full weight and pushed the staggering boy to the sandy ground.

“Urgh! Get off me!” The boy tried to push Dan off, but the latter resorted to biting his hand the moment it got close to his face.

“Arghhh!”

Dan ignored the boy’s scream and sent his bladed palm straight to his throat.

The attack on his larynx caused his screams to cease and his breathing to become temporarily clogged.

‘Nothing permanent or anything, but I’m a little desperate here.’ Dan said to himself, tightly clenching his fist. ‘Besides, the boy is also quite brutal, since he would have snapped my arm if I didn’t make that quick move.’

Since he knew who he was dealing with, he used force that was proportionate.

That was fair.

~BAM!~

He hit him rapidly, and with sufficient blunt force that it caused the boy to fall unconscious nearly instantly.

“Haa… haaa…” Dan rose to his feet once he was done with the boy, his body already feeling heavy at the defeat of his second opponent.

‘Now then—’

~THUD!~

A heavy thud rang in the field as Britta’s body collapsed on the ground after being defeated by Kai. Dan promptly noticed this and looked in the boy’s direction.

‘There’s not even a scratch on his body…’ He marveled, taking a moment to glance at Britta’s pummeled face and body.

It appeared Kai didn’t discriminate between men and women.

Britta was the last to fall, adding her to the four that were already on the sandy ground. One quick glance around told him that everyone’s body was accounted for.

‘Looks like it’s just me and you now…’ Dan stared at Kai, noticing the boy’s determined glare.

‘It’s clear that he won’t be going easy on me.’

That meant he also had to go all-out this time—at least, as much as his body could let him.

“I have to win.”