The afternoon sun was blazing intensely hot, as the world was enveloped by a bright light.

A soft breeze ran through my body as I stepped onto the concrete platform.

The bustling and boisterous muttering of the crowd entered my ears, as I gazed at my opponent who stood on the opposite side of the platform.

Thomas stood with his shoulders broad, and with a spear, which was twice his height, held firmly in his dominant hand.

The spear was well designed with crimson marks spiralling down from the head to the butt of the spear.

“Ugh, what luck right?”

Thomas said with a wry smile as he gazed at me.

But I didn’t respond and simply looked at him with indifference in my eyes.

Thomas extended his spear forward. The spear head reflected the sun light as he cocked his head and scoffed.

“If you get on your knees and beg now, I might just consider going easy on you, trash?”

I was speechless.

‘Is this fucker right in the head?’ I inwardly thought, as a curse almost escaped my mouth. ‘Just why the hell do guys like him always spew such second-rate villain lines?’

Was this some kind of disease that people caught? The get dumber disease!

Well I didn’t!

But nonetheless, I wasn’t going to go easy on Thomas.

SHIIING—! SHIIING—!

Scrapping his spear on the ground, Thomas looked at me with a smirk.

I returned his smirk with an indifferent look and shrugged my shoulders.

I simply acted as if he wasn’t even present there. Not even sparing him a proper glance.

I was going to get back at Thomas for all the beating he had given me.

That bastard messed with me three time. You heard me, three times!

Once in the classroom.

Second, when he took me behind the training facility and beat me up.

And third, when he chocked me against the wall.

I wasn’t a petty person, alright. I just didn’t forget my grudges against someone.

Well shit, I wasn’t a saint either who forgave people for their wrongdoings.

No, no, no... I was a saint at heart, but, there is a saying from a wise man that,

—Even the most virtuous and holiest of saint’s would trample over a wasp, if said wasp stung them!—

And in my case, the pitiful wasp who stung the saint was Thomas.

This bastard just pushed his luck a little too far.

I kept my sword inside the sheath, which hung over my hip.

The world came to a stand still, as I gazed at Thomas and he returned my gaze.

His blonde hair fluttered with the soft breeze as his blue eyes wryly looked in my direction.

[Begin!]

Then the commentator’s thunderous voice boomed inside the arena.

Thomas held an advantage as he had a spear, so he could close the gap between us, with maintaining some distance at the same time.

But I wasn’t just going to play around.

I had fought multiple people who wielded a spear in my past life.

I was going to attack, but I also had to take some hits.

Wouldn’t it be suspicious, if a low ranked person like me, suddenly kicked someone’s ass who was higher ranked than me, and by far?

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Thomas changed his centre of gravity to his left and shot his right leg forward and dug his foot in to the ground.

The concrete platform cracked and he firmly increased his grip over his spear.

Thomas ducked down a little and brought the spear down to waist level, the edge of the spear head flickered and soon a blue hue emitted from it.

SHIIING—!

The blue hue increased with each passing second. Five more seconds later the entire spear head was covered with the blue hue.

Then he moved.

A shockwave resounded in the surrounding as Thomas shot in my direction with an unimaginable speed, like when a bullet is released from a gun’s chamber with a push of the trigger.

He covered the distance between us in the blink of an eye and propelled his spear forward.

But the moment Thomas had shot in my direction, I had tensed my calves and leaned backwards.

SWIIISH—!

The spear shot forward with great precision and speed, and I could hear a whistling sound reverberating in the air.

But leaning backwards into a ninety degree angle, the spear went over me.

I quickly unsheathed my sword and hit the pommel of my sword on the intersecting part between the blade and staff.

The spear shot upwards and I sheathed my sword.

Thomas gripped hard on the staff as he tried to regain his balance.

But I didn’t give him any time to do so.

I shot forward and with a half step, I brought my right leg forward and did a sidekick, and my leg connected to Thomas’ abdomen.

The crowd burst into loud shouts and cheers.

“Uek...”

With a painful groan he stumbled a few steps backwards.

He dug his spear into the concrete platform and glared in my direction.

“Y-You fucker...”

Thomas cursed as he wiped his lips and steadied his posture and once again increased his grip over his spear.

But this time I was the one who moved first.

I covered the distance and withdrew my sword and slashed horizontally.

SHIIING—!

The blade of my sword hit Thomas’ spear’s head and a loud metallic ring resounded in the air.

With a twirl, Thomas took a half-step back mid twirl and slashed his spear horizontally, but mid slash he loosened his grip over his spear and quickly gripped near the edge of the staff.

The reach of the spear increased and the spear slashed near my neck.

But ducking down at the last second, I dodged by a hair’s length and took ten full steps back.

“Is that all you got, Thomas?” I scoffed with a smirk over my face.

The veins on Thomas’s forehead bulged as he heard me.

He opened his mouth and spoke; it was mostly curse’s rather then words.

“You fucker! You’re getting a bit cocky aren’t you, you little weak-fuck? For dodging a few of my attacks and landing a hit on me, you are overestimating yourself, trash!”

But there was a reason I had just provoked Thomas.

And it worked like I had thought it would.

He was agitated for not being able to land a single hit on me.

He tightly held his spear and once again shot in my direction.

This time he channelled the mana inside him and a blue hue exuded his body.

He covered the distance between us and propelled his spear forward.

But this time I pulled my body into a stance and waited.

I ducked an inch down and met his attack head on.

My sword and his spear clashed once again.

SHIIING—!

Again a loud metallic ring reverberated in the air, as Thomas and I exchanged glances.

But I was pushed back.

Because I had swung my sword weakly.

Had to take a few hits remember!

I was pushed back and his spear scrapped me on my bicep.

“Uek...”

I fake groaned. Thomas pushed his spear hard and I went stumbling a few steps backwards.

Then he continued his barrage of consecutive attacks with his spear.

I simply dodged with ease but took some hits on my body from time to time.

Had to show I was struggling, a bit.

“Where’s your fighting spirit now, huh trash?” Thomas barked. “Is dodging all you are good at?”

But his words went in from one ear and out of my other ear.

‘I think I have taken enough hits...’ I inwardly thought as I looked at Thomas with a nonchalant eye.

Well, if this was a real battlefield, then Thomas would have died countless of times.

He had a lot of openings and I could have capitalised on those openings, but being the good person I was, I didn’t.

I went with the desperate play this time around.

He really underestimated me.

I pulled my sword forward and drew an arc.

Thomas dodged and took a few steps back.

‘Wait...’

Suddenly a thought struck me.

‘... why don’t I use ‘that’?’

I was now strong enough that I could do ‘that’.

My lips curled upwards as I put my sword back into it’s scabbard and solemnly stood on the platform.

There was a distance of about thirteen metres between me and Thomas.

So I had to be quick and precise, for what I was going to do.

If I were to mess up even a little, the backlash from doing ‘that’ would be tremendous.

***

‘Was I wrong about the boy?’

Laurena thought as she gazed at the hologram in front of her.

Jiwoo had started with a good offensive, but mid-match he went on to the defensive and dodged and took many hits from Thomas.

“That Thomas kid sure is strong.” Mikhail said.

His voice echoed in the room as he looked at Thomas’s spearman ship with an intrigued eye.

“That other kid is just drawing out the match at this point.”

Mikhail continued.

He brought the tea cup which he held in his hand close to his mouth and sipped the tea as he turned his head towards Samuel, who sat with his legs crossed and with an air of solemnity around him.

His white hair were slicked back and his eyes not moving an inch away from the hologram.

“What’s wrong Mikhail?” Samuel asked.

Cocking his head an inch closer Mikhail spoke, “when is the number one ranked going to fight, Em? Sam?”

Mikhail's voice sounded disinterested. He was really looking forward to seeing the number one ranked in the Lock in action.

No one could blame him. Many people from strong and prestigious guilds and even the World Union members had put their eyes on the number one ranked in the first year.

He was already an ranked while being a first year student in Lock.

He already had a secured future.

“You’re really dying to see Aogiri Ryuya fight, huh Mikhail?”

Laurena turned her head towards Mikhail and spoke.

“Yea—!

“Huh—!”

Just as Mikhail was about to reply, he heard a weird noise echo from Samuel’s direction.

There he saw Samuel’s eyes wide open.

But the surprised look which flashed on Samuel’s face had disappeared as fast as it had came.

Both Laurena and Mikhail snapped their heads towards the hologram and looked at the match.

[I give up!]

All of them heard a youthful voice echo inside their ears.

They saw that the youth with glossy black hair and obsidian black eyes, had raised his right hand and was appealing to give up, on the hologram.