[Returning to the resting room…]
It happened too quickly. Just as Ryu caught sight of his decapitated body, his entire surrounding suddenly changed.
Gone were the marble floors of the arena, the beautiful blue sky, and, most importantly, Tokugawa. Now, it was all replaced with a sight of depressingly gray stone walls.
Ryu was in a trance for a few moments, before suddenly inhaling sharply. He immediately grasped his throat as he kept on hyper-ventilating, frantically checking if he was still alive.
'I— I died?' Ryu thought, beads of sweat appearing on his head. It was too sudden. He wanted to activate his state of instincts, but before he knew it, Tokugawa had already cut off his head, causing it to fly high into the sky.
After a few breaths of time, Ryu finally calmed down a bit upon realizing he was attached to his body.
'Damn it, what was that speed?' Ryu thought in shock, and he was still rubbing his neck. He glanced at the timer in the room, and he was surprised by what it read:
[Resting time: 00:55:43]
'It has given me a resting time for losing?' Ryu was a bit surprised by this, he didn't expect the system to give him an entire hour to rest just because he lost. Still, he took it. He quickly discarded any distracting thoughts he had, whether it was about the pain he had felt, or even his death. He had gone straight into thinking of ways to defeat Tokugawa when his magical ability was activated.
That last fight had many surprises and twists, and he needed time to comprehend them.
Ryu laid on the ground, and began to recount every single thing that had happened in the fight, from the very beginning to where he was being decimated, to him managed to get the upper-hand and cutting Tokugawa's arm, and finally, when he had been decapitated by Tokugawa.
'First, his hearing.'
Ryu began to go over every detail about Tokugawa's hearing. At the very beginning of the fight, he had initially thought that Tokugawa only had a rather good hearing sense, perhaps being able to hear from a much larger distance. But that was quickly scratched off when Tokugawa first attacked. No matter how he looked at it, Tokugawa's hearing ability far surpassed his expectations. There was no doubt it, Tokugawa's hearing ability surpassed common sense, and could even hear his heartbeat, blood, muscles, and even the creaking of his bones, and it was the most likely theory, which was why he had been able to gain the upper-hand against him. Tokugawa's long monologue was the nail in the coffin.
'Then, his ability to control his body.'
Tokugawa's exceptional willpower allowed him to move his body even when his senses were paralyzed. This was an outright ridiculous thing to think about, but Tokugawa had managed to do it as if he was the main character in some Wuxia-Revenge novel. Additionally, Tokugawa had been able to close off his wounds, making blood loss a non-existent issue. Ryu suddenly recalled his other future matches, more specifically, the All-Sensing. It was stated in the system that the All-Sensing had a body control level of 9, which caused Ryu's expression to darken. If Tokugawa could do all of this with a measle level of 5 in Body Control, then what the hell could that All-Sensing monster do? Ryu shuddered at the idea of it.
'And finally, his magical ability.'
Just remembering Tokugawa's magical ability,
With Tokugawa's magical ability, he became a living tornado. His speed surpassed that of sound, and his strength also increased. He could wield the wind as his weapon, just like the name suggested. He could likely form a sword made of wind. Not only that, but it was incomparably sharp. It easily surpassed Ryu's durability.
'Strong,' Ryu thought as he recalled Tokugawa's massive burst of new power. 'Disgustingly strong.'
Ryu began to sort through his thoughts, thinking of ways he could counter Tokugawa's Magical Ability, and the only thing he could think of was his special ability,
Other than that, Ryu had nothing else. It was obvious that he was much stronger in state of instincts, and thought that was his only choice.
Of course, State of Instincts only brought out Ryu's full strength. It didn't necessarily amplify it. It was simply setting his strength to 100%.
However, that wasn't what Ryu cared about—not at all. Although he'd be stronger in the state of instincts, that wasn't why he had faith in it. Rather, it was because his talent would bloom in that state. In that state, Ryu would use every single thing he had to his advantage. All of his martial arts, his swordsmanship, and every trick would be used. In a way, it was like a switch. He'd change from a normal, functioning human to a monster that just thought about fighting and improving.
When he fought Comby, Ryu was getting absolutely destroyed by him the moment Comby got serious. However, upon entering the state of instincts, Ryu easily suppressed Comby, learned all of its martial arts, and even surpassed Comby. It was a one-sided slaughter.
However, even then, Ryu wasn't entirely confident his state of instincts would be able to defeat Tokugawa. Tokugawa was simply too fast.
'Still, that's my best option right now.'
Of course, Ryu thought he could win if he didn't let Tokugawa activate his ability. He could very likely just take hold of Tokugawa when he attacked, and then ravage him with a shower of attacks.
However, Ryu didn't know if Tokugawa would remember the fight he had with Ryu. If he did, then that was a huge problem. If he didn't, then that would be an opportunity for Ryu to enhance his combat skills against Tokugawa, and he was willing to sacrifice one of his tries just to get a bit stronger.
It was a gamble, and Ryu knew it. Which was why he felt a bit excited, and thrilled. Even after dying to Tokugawa, Ryu still thought of ways to improve his combat skills. The stronger he got, the better.
Ryu kept repeating the events that had happened. The beginning where Tokugawa decimated him, to when he cut off Tokugawa's arm, to Tokugawa's monologue, to…
Ryu suddenly stopped as he paid more attention to Tokugawa's rambling. Ryu mostly focused on the important parts before, stuff that was related to the fight, but never actually understood or comprehended Tokugawa's story. He had only focused on stuff that was related to the battle, not Tokugawa's story itself.
As Ryu finally began to replay the monologue, he felt more and more gloomy. Tokugawa, haunted by regret and rage, had managed to move his body through sheer willpower. All of that was just for his nephew.
He didn't cower in fear nor did he run away from those that caused all of his pain. Instead, he decided to face his tormentors, regardless of his state or health.
His situation was much more severe than Ryu, and yet, he didn't isolate himself from the world; he didn't simply cry in his house or anything like that.
He wasn't like Ryu.
Had Ryu been in Tokugawa's shoes, he probably would've isolated himself from everyone and might have even truly committed suicide.
Ryu's eyes turned dim, but a few seconds later, his eyes regained their light.
"No," Ryu muttered, "This isn't a competition. Grief is not something to compare, everyone is different."
Ryu had a self-deprecating smile on his face, and he ran a hand through his hair. Ryu thought that everyone was different, everyone felt varying levels of grief. He shouldn't feel ashamed in front of Tokugawa's willpower, rather…
"I shouldn't feel embarrassed, or anything like that." Ryu said, his tone was a bit gloomy, "His willpower is truly amazing. I—" Ryu inhaled sharply, and looked at his sword, many emotions appearing in his eyes, "—Want to be like him."
Ryu casually swung his sword, his precision extraordinary. "Besides," a smile crept on Ryu's face, "I'm not the same as I was."
Ryu's mood slowly improved as he swung his sword a couple of times. He had a theory before that Comby had a past, but now, due to Tokugawa, he confirmed that every enemy he fight might have a past.
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Although he felt truly sorry for Tokugawa, he still wasn't going to show mercy. In this place, it's kill or be killed. He felt a bit closer to Tokugawa due to his harsh past, but even then, this wasn't a reason for him to show mercy.
Furthermore, based on Tokugawa's story, he had long delved into the path of slaughter. He would not bat an eye to kill anyone that was in his way. Ryu wanted to be like Tokugawa, he wanted to have willpower similar to him, but he did not want to turn out like Tokugawa. Even if Ryu was filled with utter grief, he did not want to become a crazed monster that only thought about fighting and killing.
'Although I think I'm a bit obsessed with fighting.'
As Ryu kept on swinging his sword, he glanced at the timer in the room.
[Resting time: 00:08:32]
He took 50 minutes to recall everything that happened in the fight and repeated it a few times during that duration. Ryu had eventually come to a single, possible way for him to win, and that was the state of instincts.
'That reminds me…' Ryu suddenly stopped his training as an idea suddenly came to him. With a thought, Ryu opened the system window.
With another thought, Ryu opened the status for the state of instincts
[Name: State of Instincts
Type: Skill
Level: 10…]
Ryu noticed the level of state of instincts hadn't increased, and then his eyes went to the passive section of the skill.
[Passive: Your instincts are constantly being honed…]
That was what Ryu focused on. Since his instincts are constantly being honed, then in the future, would the level of State of Instincts increase? That was what Ryu wanted to know.
'My martial arts skills, and even swordsmanship had increased while I was training. Although those were lesser skills, there is still a possibility that my state of instincts level will increase if I train it.'
As Ryu thought of ways to increase the state of instincts level, he managed to catch a glance of a red dot in the right upper corner of the system. Ryu immediately turned his attention toward it, a bit confused.
In the corner of the system, there was a small bell icon. Additionally, there was also a small red dot on top of the bell. Inside the red dot was number one.
Ryu immediately thought of the notification bell that many apps had in his phone, and thought this was the same thing. With a thought, Ryu clicked on the bell.
[Congratulations! A New Skill
Ryu blinked a few times before he began to feel immeasurably excited. A new skill! This was a pleasant surprise, and it was a true skill, not a lesser one!
Immediately, Ryu clicked yes.
[Name: Danger Sense
Type: Passive Skill
Level: 1
Description: Due to your instincts, you are able to occasionally* sense and foresee danger that might take away your life a few moments** before it happens.
*The higher the level of this skill, the more likely you are to foresee danger before it happens.
**The higher the level of this skill, the earlier you would be able to foresee danger.]
The statistics of this skill were less than that of state of instincts, and the size of the window was also smaller.
Still, Ryu was incomparably excited. As he read the effects of this ability, he recalled the fight he had with Tokugawa.
Right before Tokugawa was about to attack, Ryu saw a vision of himself being cut in half. He thought that vision was due to this ability.
'Level 1, eh?' Although Ryu felt a bit disappointed by the level, his excitement immediately returned afterward. He would gladly take it. This ability, after all, had let him dodge Tokugawa's first attack. Had it not been for this ability, Ryu probably would have died long before he could even see the functions of Tokugawa's ability.
Ryu was more than satisfied with this new ability. Moreover, this ability would constantly get stronger, as long as he could train it.
With a nod, Ryu closed the window, and chose his next option:
[Next Match Info]
[The All-Hearing…]
[Name: The All-Hearing…]
He immediately scrolled down to the bottom of the window, where it stated how many tries he had. And just like he expected, he only had 2 tries remaining.
[Remaining tries: 2]
Ryu wasn't surprised or anything like that. Instead, just as he saw the remaining tries, he closed the window and chose another opponent.
[The All-Seeing…]
[Name: The All-Seeing…]
Just like before, Ryu scrolled to the bottom of the window, and his eyes glinted at what was written there.
[Remaining tries: 3]
Ryu wanted to scream in happiness. The retries of all his opponents weren't connected to each other, which made him feel a lot more confident. He wanted to gamble on one of his next attempts against Tokugawa, but he felt quite afraid that he might waste one of his tires, and cause him to only have 1 attempt against the next 2 opponents. If that was the case, then Ryu would more than likely hesitate and just try to kill Tokugawa as soon as possible.
'That's great,' Ryu thought happily, 'That's really great.' He closed the window, and, filled with happiness, he swung his sword multiple times in a single second.
*Swish!*
Again.
*Swish!*
And again…
*Swish!*
And again. He had a huge smile on his face as if he hadn't died just an hour before this. He kept on swinging his sword, completely oblivious to the timer. He wanted to get stronger, no matter the cost.
Just as Ryu was about to swing another time, a sudden ring echoed in the room, and Ryu immediately stopped.
[Ding!
There are only 10 seconds remaining for the next match]
Ryu's mood slowly dampened, but he didn't let that to get to him. He organized his thoughts, calmed down his emotions, and the smile on his face disappeared.
[8 seconds remaining]
Ryu straightened his back and looked at the system with resolve. His happy mood had been changed to one of vigilance.
[7 seconds remaining]
He thought of the previous fight and recalled the only way he could win; state of instincts.
[6 seconds remaining]
Beads of sweat started appearing on Ryu's temple, and his mouth twitched a bit.
[5 seconds remaining]
'Tokugawa…' Ryu thought of the demon's name. He initially didn't know of Tokugawa's name until the last moment of the fight, when the system mentioned Tokugawa's name.
[4 seconds remaining]
'Strong, fast, and amazing willpower. No matter how much I think about it, my chances of beating Tokugawa when his magical ability is active are incredibly slim.'
[3 seconds remaining]
Ryu lifted his hand unconsciously and started slowly scratching his neck.. He felt anxious, and there was a constant buzzing sound in his head. Still, there was another emotion that was welling up inside of him as the timer ticked down.
[2 seconds remaining]
Ryu kept on scratching his neck unconsciously, and with each passing moment, his speed increased. And now, he had even scratched off the flesh in his neck, and yet he was oblivious to the pain.
[1 second remaining]
"Shit…" Ryu muttered, his mouth forming into a weird smile, and there was a huge fighting spirit in his eyes. Ryu felt a bit off put by his behavior. Despite the fact that he might very well die again, Ryu didn't have any fear. Rather, he felt like his chest was jumping in excitement as if his heart wanted to burst out of his chest. This feeling wasn't fear, Ryu knew it. Rather, this was— excitement. He was looking forward to the fight. He was looking forward to fighting Tokugawa, he was looking forward to seeing Tokugawa's ability again.
[Time's up!
Please choose your match…]
The window was the same as before he had fought Tokugawa. Ryu mentally prepared himself once more, and with a thought, he chose the All-Hearing.
*Swish!*
Just like before, Ryu's surrounding changed in an instant. The depressing walls were gone, and now, he was in the same arena he was used to. Ryu felt the heat of the sun, and the comfortable wind touch his body. But, he paid no attention to that. Instead, he turned his focus to what was in front of him
50 meters away, Tokugawa stood still. His eyes were closed, and his expression was calm. Ryu clicked his tongue and raised his focus to the max.
There was one thought in Ryu's head;
'Does he remember me?'
Ryu was unsure of how the system worked. According to the system, this was a training match, something made to make him stronger. He wasn't completely sure if Tokugawa could remember him.
[Please get ready. The countdown will start now.]
Ryu thought of many possibilities when he was in the training room. If Tokugawa could remember him, then logically, Tokugawa would immediately use his magical ability, since he knows what Ryu is capable of.
[Three]
If Tokugawa didn't remember him, then Ryu would execute one of his theories, and that was to improve his state of instincts. He thought that, perhaps, if he relied on his instincts to dodge the attacks, then his instincts would improve.
[Two]
Although the state of instincts level hasn't improved, Ryu felt like his instincts were much better than before. In his previous fight, ever since he dodged Tokugawa's attack, Ryu felt like his instincts were a lot more reliable now. It was as if they were improved the moment he dodged Tokugawa's attack, as if they learned the way to move.
Ryu would completely trust his instincts this time. He would only focus on dodging via his instincts, and only occasionally would he attack. He wanted to improve his state of instincts. Not only was the passive incredibly powerful, but its active was also outright frightening. It was due to the active part that he was able to decimate Comby. Furthermore, the active part of the state of instincts was his only chance to defend against Tokugawa's magical ability.
[One]
Ryu calmed his mind and tightened his grip on the sword. His entire body was covered in sweat. He was anxious, anxious if Tokugawa could remember, anxious if he could beat Tokugawa when his magical ability was active.
[BEGIN!]
'Moment of truth!' Ryu recalled the first move that Tokugawa did in the start of the previous match. His speed was incredibly fast, which caused him to be a huge surprise for Ryu in the first match.
As such, Tokugawa's first move should—
*Swish!*
—disappearing from his sight!
It was exactly like what Ryu remembered. Tokugawa had disappeared in an instant.
Ryu's eyes widened, and he instantly glanced to his right—
And there, he saw a lighting fast kick coming towards his face.
Ryu's instincts were alarmed from the start of the match, and since he decided to listen to his instincts only, Ryu subtly lowered his head and moved it a bit to the side.
*Swish!*
The kick passed above Ryu, causing the air of the attack to flutter his head. Tokugawa's previously closed eyes suddenly opened, and he felt incomparably shocked.
'He dodged?!' Tokugawa didn't think this boy could dodge his attack, especially since he looked rather tense. And yet, he managed to dodge it with minimal movements. The boy's movement utterly shocked Tokugawa, his blood flow, heartbeat, and many others instantly changed at the last fraction of a second, completely off-setting Tokugawa's prediction.
With Tokugawa's exceptional hearing, he visualized Ryu's body and wanted to strike again. However, Tokugawa felt like there was a ringing in his mind the moment he visualized Ryu's current face.
Ryu… had a maniacal grin on his face, and his eyes were full of insanity.
"Thank god!"
Tokugawa quickly reigned in his emotions and threw a powerful, imperceptible jab at Ryu's head.
*Swish!*
And yet, Ryu managed to dodge once more, the insanity in his eyes not fading one bit. Tokugawa felt a bit startled, and in a mere second, he threw more than 10 punches.
*Swish!*
But…
*Swish!*
Ryu…
*Swish!*
Simply dodged all of them.
Tokugawa's eyes widened even more, and in a blink of an eye, he retreated 10 meters away from Ryu. His mind was startled and confused. Even though Tokugawa was faster than the boy, Ryu still managed to dodge all of his attacks. There was only one thought in Tokugawa's mind;
'This boy is… Dangerous!'