Amidst the lighthearted scene taking place inside Potentia Academy's gymnasium, two boys felt outrage and reluctant acceptance respectively.
The students that caught wind of the situation were both shocked and at the same time sensing a one-sided beat down about to happen in front of them.
Aran and Elio were going to be each other's opponents in the sparring session.
Even if it was mostly going to be simulated, they couldn't deny that it wouldn't be a pleasant experience for Aran.
Yet, in some way, they didn't feel any pity or empathy towards him. In fact, they were excited for the show.
"Good. Maybe this will make him leave..."
"This school isn't for people who cheat their way through life."
Some students whispered amongst themselves.
This animosity towards Aran had been building up for the past month since the first day of school.
Rumors about Aran's family bribing the faculty with money to let him in. It was the only logical way that someone as unremarkable as him was able to get in this school.
In other words, unbeknownst to Aran, he had developed a reputation of being a liar and a cheat that would do anything to benefit himself.
A waste of space among the ranks of Potentia Academy. The rumors only spread further and develop into something worse.
Him failing here might be what pushes him to quit and leave the school.
No matter how sly you might be, you will inevitably fail under the pressure and lose to the ones who actually work hard.
It was time to show him just how
________________________________________
[ARAN]
Mr. Stein told everyone to sit down as we watched the first sparring match unfold.
The first two combatants stood on different sides of the platform as several walls and obstacles appeared in front of them.
This arena stage looked similar to a destroyed urban area.
This training was supposed to simulate different scenarios, which means you've gotta learn how to use your environment to your advantage.
The numbers on the slips of paper we pulled out are also indicators on what order we're supposed to go in.
Since I got the number 7, I still had the time of matches number 1 to 6 to mentally prepare myself.
That is, if I could even mentally prepare...
"Hoo... Calm down, Aran..."
I told myself as I slowly breathed in and out.
But as I did, a voice in my head was telling me things that further bummed me out.
But what if I embarrass myself?! Pincer's one of the most promising first years, I'm definitely a dead man!
Wait, no... It's just a simulated fight. I won't really die.
But still, it doesn't change the fact that I might get hurt and humiliated...
I mulled over it for a while until realizing one important detail.
...Wait....
Why should I be worried about getting embarrassed? I'm already rock bottom in my class' social ladder!
Huh...
At that moment, all my fear just went away as it got replaced by a mix between surprise and acceptance.
"Wow..."
Putting aside the realization of how much of a loser I was, my head was now in a good place. I could finally think clearly and focus on making plans for what I'm supposed to do.
Matches 1 to 4 had their moments. Despite it being a school activity, seeing different powers go up against each other was very entertaining.
In match number 3, Ed was up against Kristina. Everyone assumed that it was going to be an even match up. Both of them didn't really have anything special going for them.
Ed's stretching ability is more suited for a supporting role than direct combat and Kristina's ability was pretty much unknown except for the fact that it was weak based on the rumors.
Nevertheless, expectations were shattered when Kristina immediately created ice spikes that immediately made surrender after a few hits.
They were so quick and accurate that it was actually scary.
That's when we found out just what ability Kristina had.
Cryokinesis.
________________________________________
Matches 5 to 6 have finished, meaning it was time for Aran's match.
However, something seemed different from the young man, as noticed by everyone in the class.
They expected him to be trembling uncontrollably with fear, but on the contrary, Aran's eyes were devoid of it. It was almost eerie...
"Creepy..."
One of the girls exclaimed.
On the other hand, Pincer felt insulted by Aran.
He interpreted Aran's lack of fear as arrogance. He assumed that he was being underestimated by him.
Seeing this, Pincer cracked his knuckles.
"I'm going to enjoy this..."
Tapping on Aran's shoulder, Professor Stein got his attention before handing him a pair of gloves.
"Take this, it'll help you interract with the holograms."
"Oh, thank you!"
Aran said.
Walking away from Aran, Professor Stein held his hand up.
"Don't mention it."
As the two boys stepped onto the platform, their bodies were scanned before the scenery suddenly switched to a jungle.
Professor Stein who was standing in front of the spectating class, snapped his fingers before several floating screens appeared each showing a different area of the jungle stage.
"We're going to have a hard time tracking them down, so these will help us watch the fight!"
He explained.
"Now, after I finish counting down, the match will start. The winner is decided when one of the participants are unable to fight or fall down the edge of the platform."
As Professor Stein started counting down, the entire class started cheering for Pincer to win. With no one on Aran's side.
3...
2..
1.
Begin!
Without any more delay, the two boys entered the battlefield.
________________________________________
"A jungle, huh? This is going to be a pain..."
Aran said to himself as he analyzed his surroundings. Thanks to the uniform and the gloves he was wearing, he felt every brush of leaf touching his body as he walked through the false holographic jungle.
"This feels so real..."
He blurted out.
He was utterly amazed by just how advanced the technology is in this school.
But he didn't have any time to just stand around.
Several meters ahead, Aran heard some rustling from the foliage in front of him.
Sensing the danger, Aran quickly scaled a nearby tree to get a bird's eye view of the situation.
Lo and behold, it was Pincer, cutting down whatever was in front of him to find Aran.
I knew you'd be the type to charge head-first...
He thought to himself as he watched Pincer's movements.
Aran patiently waited for Pincer to walk into a vulnerable position before dropping down from his perch to deliver an ambush.
'Take this, sucker!'
He yelled in his mind as he was falling.
It was a perfectly executed surprise attack.
Or so he thought.
While he was in midair, Pincer suddenly looked at Aran as if he knew he was there the entire time.
"I smelled your attack coming from a mile away, dumbass!"
"!!!"
Without any second to spare, Pincer's back suddenly transformed into a human-sized spike ball, closely resembling a porcupine.
Though his spines may be holograms, it was still going to hurt due to the interactability of the uniform with the holograms.
"Whoa!"
Aran yelled out from surprise.
His arm moving reflexively, he was able to grab onto a vine and swing away, going deeper into the thick jungle.
"Oh no you don't!"
Pincer, who was a stationary ball of spikes suddenly arched his back, launching several spikes in every direction.
"Waaaahh!!! Oof...!"
Aran landed hard on the ground with a loud thud.
As he tried to stand, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder as if something pierced him.
He clutched his arm as he recoiled.
Looking at his shoulder he saw one of Pincer's spikes stabbing deep into his flesh, though there wasn't any blood pouring as this test was only simulated.
Dammit, I thought Professor Stein said the simulated pain for this test was reduced?!
He yelled in his mind.
Pincer must've shot his spikes out as I was escaping...
Picking himself up, Aran continued to run further into the jungle to build some distance between him and Pincer.
"Hahaha! See? All he can do is run away like a sissy!"
A boy in the class said loudly as they watched the fight on the screens.
"Obviously! Like he even had a chance to begin with!"
Another boy added, chuckling loudly.
But their amusement was quickly seized when Professor Stein quietly looked at them. His expression, seemingly looking annoyed.
Not a hush or shush left his mouth, but the students instinctively knew they should quiet down.
Seeing that they finally shut their traps, Professor Stein turned his attention back to the screen to watch the fight.
Aran was running through the thick bushes to get away from Pincer who was in hot pursuit of him.
Aran knew that it was only a matter of time before he got caught.
He continued to clutch his hurting shoulder as he tried to run.
Thinking for a bit, he contemplated pulling the spike out of his shoulder before making his decision.
This is going to hurt...
He thought to himself.
...But I've felt worse.
Without any room for doubt, he pulled the spike out, grunting from the pain.
He breathed in and out slowly to relax himself before kicking the tip of his shoe into the ground to prepare himself.
"Hoo... Showtime..."
He said before suddenly turning around and running towards the direction he came from.
This decision ended up surprising his spectating classmates, who were confused as to why he would willingly run back to fight.
"What the— is he really trying to go back?!"
"This guy is either an idiot or has no survival instincts!"
Some of his classmates yelled out.
Pincer, who was following Aran's tracks was suddenly surprised when he saw the stems of the leaves right in front of him break before he felt something slash his chest, recoiling from the pain.
"Argh!"
He yelled before jumping back to create some distance.
Looking up, he saw Aran holding one of his spikes in his hand.
The same one that was buried deep into his shoulder.
"Yo! thanks for the weapon!"
Aran said as his face showed his signature annoyingly smug smile.