漫画大王

Chapter 210

Though the atmosphere was tense, it was evident that Lilka Aaron was pushing me back. Despite some lingering anxiety, the Orbis Class students were visibly excited.

However, Lilka Aaron was gritting her teeth and looked none too pleased.

A conversation I had with Ellen in the past came to mind...

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“My fists hurt.”

“... Don’t lie.”

“... They really hurt.”

While Ellen and I mainly practiced swordsmanship, we also often trained in hand-to-hand combat.

The reason was simple. Given how I tended to get into fights, Ellen believed I would end up fighting with my fists more than with a sword.

I had mixed feelings about that—I was grateful for the consideration, yet slightly uneasy—but there was no reason to decline the training.

Ellen pretended not to care, but she actually worried about me a lot.

Ellen often complained that her limbs hurt when she sparred with me, especially after I enhanced my physical strength. She would beat me up and then complain that she was the one hurting and needed a break.

It was infuriating to hear the person who beat you up complain about their own pain, but she was telling the truth.

If even Ellen Artorius was saying such a thing, then it had to be true.

It was clear that, in a fight, most opponents would end up hurting themselves as the fight wore on even if I was the one taking hits.

That was partly why I avoided going on the offensive.

“When you’re up against martial artists, avoid attacking if you can.”

“Why?”

“I’ll show you. Try it.”

Ellen dropped into a stance in front of me.

Clearly, she believed she could execute some martial arts moves just as well as those who specialized in it. That wasn’t surprising.

As Ellen pressured me with jabs and straights, I found an opening to throw a punch.

As soon as I did, though, Ellen pulled my arm in and locked me in a flying armbar.

“Hey! Hey! Ow! I’m going to die! My arm is breaking!”

“Got it?”

“Yes! I get it! I understand!”

Though her method of teaching involved a lot of physical suffering, Ellen gave me sound advice. She demonstrated numerous complicated moves, including locking my leg mid-kick and flipping me into an armbar with incredible grace.

She repeatedly showed me through many examples that reaching out or trying to grab a skilled opponent would lead to disaster.

... What could I say?

As a result of excessive physical contact, I felt more embarrassment—no, just kidding.

It just hurt like hell.

“Grappling can be applied in many more situations than you might think. There’s a lot you don’t know. You can’t counter everything.”

“... Right. So what do I do?”

“Don’t drop your guard. Don’t get grabbed. Don’t grab them either.”

‘If I get caught, I will be forced into grappling. If I try to grab them, I will also be forced into grappling.’

Any opening could be a trap that could lead to a fatal move if I acted recklessly. After this long, I was still not great at swordsmanship, and I couldn’t expect to master close combat quickly either. That was why Ellen was trying to teach me how to deal with martial arts specialists.

The main point was to avoid messing around when squaring off against such people. Relying clumsily on my own strength would merely leave me open to getting destroyed by their techniques.

She didn’t actually teach me any hand-to-hand combat techniques. She probably showed me some only because it looked like I’d get into more fistfights than sword fights.

It was ironic that I would end up using that knowledge in this situation.

“You know the importance of guarding, right?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“But do you know why it’s important?”

“So you don’t get hit in the head and face?”

Ellen pointed to her jaw. “The jaw as well. Getting hit in the jaw will be the end of it. That’s why you shouldn’t drop your guard. If you get hit in the jaw, the impact will travel to your brain and you can pass out immediately. Your guard should not only protect your head and face, but your jaw as well.”

‘Don’t get grabbed, and don’t grab either. Don’t get hit in the jaw. In other words, don’t drop your guard.’

“So you’re telling me to just take hits?”

“... Ideally, don’t fight at all.”

“Come on! Who knows how things will unfold?”

After such a statement, Ellen would always look at me with such disappointment, so I just let it go.

Anyway, Ellen could teach hand-to-hand combat, but that wasn’t our main focus. She only gave me some basic knowledge to handle a situation if I ever got into trouble with a martial arts specialist.

“With your physical enhancement ability, you can take the hits without getting too hurt. The attacker will eventually tire out unless they catch you with a joint lock.”

“Winning is good, but isn’t winning by taking hits worse than losing?”

‘I don’t want to win by just enduring hits! I’d rather just lose! “Oh, you’re tired of hitting me? Well, looks like I’ve won then.” That’s so sad! It feels like a pyrrhic victory!’

“...”

“Got any other ideas?”

Ellen sighed deeply at my whining and looked at me.

‘You’re particularly durable in hand-to-hand combat compared to others, because of your supernatural ability.’

“... That’s true.”

If I strengthened and toughened my body I could even make someone like Ellen admit to feeling pain while engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

“So take hits strategically, and hit back harder.”

“... Huh?”

Ellen furrowed her brow. “Deliberately allow your opponent to hit you over and over, so that you can land an even more powerful one in return.

“Think of it simply. All hand-to-hand combat requires your opponent to get in close. Without any weapons, they have to close the distance, creating openings as they do. Every attack inherently creates an opening.

“Use deceit. Take the hits and endure. Don’t show any signs of struggle. Act like it doesn’t bother you and just take each hit. Don’t try to counterattack clumsily; just get hit like an idiot. That way, your opponent will let their guard down. They’ll think you’re easy to deal with.

“As a result, they’ll start making bigger moves to try and take you down. Since you only get hit and never counterattack, they’ll try to finish you off with bigger, more telegraphed moves. Make them underestimate you.

“The more they want to knock you out, the more they’ll resort to big, telegraphed techniques or attacks. Big moves create big openings. That’s when you strike. Don’t block any further; just hit back.

“That’s the key. Trick your opponent. Pretend you’re clumsy and just get hit. Make them impatient, or make them see you as an easy target. Then, you counterattack and take them down in one blow.”

Given that I could take hits better than others, her advice was to endure a significant amount of damage and then hit back even harder. By allowing myself to take hits that I could suffer through, my opponent would slowly tire and give me an opportunity to take them down.

I basically had to put my faith in my unnaturally strong durability.

Every attack presented an opening, so relying only on pure defense was a losing strategy in the long run.

Answer the openings that an opponent’s attack offered by counterattacking, even if that left me open as well.

Counterattack...

My opponent would be focused on attacking and wouldn’t be prepared to defend. The strategy was not to get into a rhythm of defense and attack, but merely exchange blows. Since I could rely on my supernatural power to enhance my physical toughness, Ellen was suggesting I simply let my opponent hit me and then retaliate with overwhelming strength.

Since I couldn’t defeat a martial arts specialist on technique, I had to trust in my supernatural durability to take manageable damage, then counter with a decisive blow.

Victory ultimately belonged to the last one standing. No matter how dominant one appears during the fight, the one who falls last loses, and I had the advantage in a war of attrition.

Although I would accumulate damage, it was something I could handle.

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Lilka Aaron kept her distance, seeking an opening to come in.

As Ellen had said, reaching out or telegraphing an attack could easily lead to a grappling move. Although I had received some martial arts training, it wasn’t comprehensive.

Although I now understood some things about handling a sword, I didn’t fully comprehend the various martial arts techniques a specialist might use.

My opponent’s primarily relied on kicks. Given her small stature, kicks were probably the only way she could extend her range.

“Huup!”

Whack! Whack! Whack!

Her kicks were impressive, but that was it—she wasn’t on Ellen’s level.

It wasn’t just my supernatural power at play; my baseline durability might have improved from getting hit so frequently, which certainly played a big role.

It hurt, but it was bearable.

Although I was the one taking the hits, she was the one getting increasingly exhausted.

“...”

My body had become tougher than a normal person’s. As a result, though she hadn’t taken a single hit from me, my opponent was clearly in pain.

It might not have been as bad as kicking a rock, but kicking such a hardened body multiple times would surely explain why she had her expression.

Winning by enduring hits—while not a pleasant method—was gradually becoming a reality.

Emotions flickered across Lilka Aaron’s face.

‘Why won’t he go down? He should have collapsed by now.’

My guard was solid, and I showed no signs of fatigue or damage.

She had to finish it quickly.

Otherwise, she would fall first.

Her urgency and impatience were clear.

Just as Ellen had said, Lilka Aaron was clearly worried that, at this rate, she would be the one to collapse first.

She was planning something.

Rushing at me, she aimed a front kick at my abdomen.

Thud!

As my stance faltered and I was pushed back, she leaped into the air once more.

An airborne spinning kick, a more powerful one this time.

As a result, it created an even larger opening.

The blow would land on my left side.

Keeping my left arm up to maintain my guard, I advanced instead of retreating.

I pulled my right arm back, planning to absorb the blow and counter it.

Wham!

A heavy blow landed on my left arm.

Thwack!

“Ughh...!”

And a powerful sensation in my right fist...

Bang!

The moment her spinning kick connected, Lilka Aaron was sent flying backward. She landed heavily and rolled across the floor of the training hall.

Absorbing the impact of such a powerful kick caused my vision to momentarily go dark, but I didn’t collapse.

“Huff...”

“Heuk! Ugh! Gag! Gagh!”

Unlike me, however, Lilka Aaron was lying on the floor of the training ground, gagging and trying to catch her breath.

It was inevitable. She had been hit by a perfectly-timed counter at a moment when she hadn’t been expecting it. Everyone was stunned to see me take her down with that one critical counterattack.

The fight was over. Despite successfully landing many attacks, a single counterblow had floored her.

“Argh... Ugh...”

However, Lilka Aaron, trembling and gasping for air, forced herself to stand and take a stance.

“...”

Her eyes were filled with fear.

Though she knew she had lost, she forced herself to get up, her eyes reflecting the desperation of having to continue even after an obvious defeat.

The fight was already over. It was clear from how her legs wobbled that even standing was difficult. The unexpected counterblow to her abdomen explained it all.

Even now, my body was enhanced by my supernatural power.

Just standing alone was beyond reason, yet, despite the fact that her legs were about to give out under her, she grit her teeth and faced me again.

To her, I must have seemed like an unyielding fortress, impossible to bring down no matter how many times she struck me.

She had hit me dozens of times, while I had landed just one punch. But that one punch had reduced her to this state, and she could not wrap her mind around that.

Though her will to fight was broken, she couldn’t afford to give up.

She wasn’t the one who’d have to kneel before me; it was her senior. Fearing the humiliation that awaited her senior and the subsequent punishment she would face, Lilka Aaron couldn’t allow herself to collapse.

“Huup!”

With her focus and physique already pushed to their limits, Lilka Aaron charged at me again. Her movements weren’t as swift and hard to follow as they had been initially, but she was still quick.

She approached with a kick, which I dodged as I aimed a punch to her face.

As if she’d anticipated it, she shifted her head slightly, causing my punch to miss.

That wasn’t the end of it. She grabbed my wrist and used the momentum to fling her whole body upward, locking her legs around my neck in a flying armbar.

Of course, I had expected this move.

I had deliberately given her my arm. If I let her lock it, it would be over.

‘Physical enhancement.’

I maximized my muscle strength.

Even in a situation this disadvantageous, I could forcibly break free from the hold, since her body was already at its limit.

“Hrgh!”

Wham!

I forcefully slammed Lilka Aaron, who was still clinging to my arm, into the ground.

“Guh!”

She gasped for breath as her back was slammed against the floor. While technique could overcome strength, there was no way she could surpass the difference in our physical strength with her body at its limit.

Even if she tried to lock my joints now, I could break free with raw power.

“Ugh... Argh...”

Trembling, she struggled to rise, while I stood back and watched.

The fight was over.

It had ended when I landed that counter punch to her abdomen. Now, after her armbar had been broken by my sheer strength, it was definitely over.

Her body was past its limits, and I could break free from any of her joint locks with sheer power. There was no way for her to win a hand-to-hand struggle.

Everyone knew Lilka Aaron had lost. They all understood she couldn’t win now.

It was a decisive victory for me.

Even the unnamed fourth-year senior watching us knew it.

Yet, Lilka Aaron staggered to her feet.

“...”

There were no other outcomes allowed besides surrender or incapacitation.

There was no such thing as a loss by decision. That senior wasn’t a referee. This wasn’t a duel, but a fight.

She couldn’t bring herself to say the word “surrender”. Her eyes showed that she’d rather die than declare defeat.

She was clearly going to face something horrible.

The senior had said this was about demonstrating grit.

In a situation where her defeat was certain, Lilka Aaron had to prove her mettle.

She had to show that she had done everything she could to preserve her senior’s honor.

She had to fight until she was completely incapacitated to mitigate, even slightly, the consequences she would face for her lack of strength.

And so, despite barely being able to stand, she gritted her teeth and rose again.

The Orbis Class...

One of the special classes of the Temple, alongside the Royal Class.

A place where effort, not talent, was what mattered. It ran on a military discipline, strict training, and an ironclad senior-junior hierarchy.

Seeing firsthand how my creation operated and discovering these unforeseen details often made me feel a mix of astonishment and unease.

In this case, it was definitely unease.

A world formed by the sentences I wrote, and the people who had to live within the absurdities of that world.

Now that I saw them, I felt a sense of responsibility, guilt, and discomfort.

Though Lilka Aaron had lost, she still approached me, staggering, to prove she had given her all.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

A light kick to her thigh made her collapse.

The thought of attacking someone on the verge of collapse with full force seemed harsh and unjust.

Trembling, she tried to get up again. Staggering towards me to land another hit with her best effort. By now, even without my physical enhancement, her attacks didn’t hurt at all.

It all felt like a futile struggle.

Telling her to give up wouldn’t work.

Me surrendering wouldn’t have any meaning either. Everyone watching knew she wasn’t going to win.

In silence, everyone watched as the already-settled fight continued.

The faces of the Orbis Class first-years were grim.

Someone probably wanted to step in, but no one could due to the presence of their senior. The senior, arms crossed, continued to watch.

It felt like I was being forced to participate in this almost one-sided abuse. Lilka Aaron, having lost her will to fight, could only continue taking hits until she was incapacitated, her eyes were lifeless as she kept getting up again and again.

“...”

She was looking at me... Her eyes seemed to be pleading with me.

Though I couldn’t fully understand the depth of her gaze, I could read one desperate wish.

‘Please knock me out. Make it so that I can’t get up.’

That wish was clear.

The fight had already concluded, yet she was forced to keep going.

The best way I could help my opponent, who was compelled to continue fighting, wasn’t to surrender or to suggest stopping the fight because it was over.

“Alright.”

“...”

“Here. Sweet dreams.”

Moving in close, I drove my fist into her abdomen once more.

Boom!

“Gugh...”

With a powerful blow to her midsection, Lilka Aaron collapsed forward onto the training ground, clutching her stomach.

She couldn’t get up.

“It’s over,“ the fourth-year senior said briefly. “Take her to the priest on duty.“

At his words, a few first-year students hurried over, lifting the collapsed form of Lilka Aaron and carrying her out. I had hit her hard—if I hadn’t, she might not have stayed down.

It was possible that I might have caused some internal damage, but that was for the priest to handle.

In the end, she wouldn’t die.

[Challenge Complete - Face off with the Orbis Class]

[You have received 500 achievement points.]

I received confirmation that my main goal of completing the challenge had been achieved.

“You won, Reinhart.“ The unnamed fourth-year senior approached me, throwing an arm over my shoulder. “Aren’t you happy to have won?“

“...”

“Wow, for her to lose so decisively, even though she’s ranked 5th. I didn’t expect that. So, this means everyone ranked below her loses to you as well...”

He smirked and glanced at the remaining Orbis Class students in the training ground.

“Does this mean this year’s batch isn’t up to par...?“

I knew exactly what his words implied. The expressions of the other students, already rigid, morphed to one of sheer fear.

Though Lilka Aaron had lost, the implication was that everyone ranked below her had also failed to defeat me.

In other words, everyone had to pay the price for that defeat.

“Anyway, a promise is a promise, so I’ll apologize on behalf of us all...”

“I don’t care about apologies.“

I shrugged off the senior’s arm and stared directly into his composed face.

Now that I had seen it up close, I understood everything.

This place would continue to produce monsters like Ender Wilton. The extreme case of Ender Wilton was a unique but symptomatic outcome.

It was inevitable that one would be broken within such a system.

A system that fostered and demanded hatred, jealousy, animosity, and inferiority.

No one could be free from it.

Who could maintain their sanity under such constant pressure and expectations of improvement?

In the end, despite everything, I couldn’t help but be offended by it and confront it head-on.

“How about you and I have a fight, you son of a bitch?“

“... What?”