The Author's POV

Ten minutes before Ren and Kevin's matches were about to start, section G, upper rows of the arena grounds.

"Amanda! Over here"

Waving in Amanda's direction, Emma patted the seat next to hers.

Spotting Emma, Amanda sat next to her. With a drink in her hand, Emma asked.

"How many times today?"

"Five"

"Five? Too little, last time it was six, this time I'm betting on seven"

What Emma was referring to was how many fights Kevin will have before lunch break ended. Last week, in the span of an hour, he was challenged a whopping six times.

This time, Emma bet that he would be challenged seven times.

Having learned her lesson, she naturally did not bet any money.

Stretching her arms upwards, Emma yawned.

"Huaaamm...man, watching Kevin fight is always entertaining, don't you agree?"

"Yes"

Amanda nodded her head.

With how good Kevin was, watching his fight was both entertaining and enlightening. There was much to learn from him.

This was why it usually attracted a lot of people.

"Just the way he moves and how he fights, you never get bored of it. Especially since he always holds back. Kind of feel bad for his opponents"

Clenching her fists, Emma's eyes became bright.

"Still, I'm not planning on getting left behind"

Burping out loud and casually tossing the drink in her hand, Emma recalled something.

"Burp...Right, that guy is also fighting"

"Ren?"

"Yeah, him"

At the mention of Ren's name, Amanda's interest piqued a little.

She had already seen him fight once before, back in the after-party. Despite only having seen a fraction of his true abilities, Amanda never forgot that moment.

'Will he use the sword art or skill from back at the after-party? The fast one?'

All she remembered was a blur.

However, it left a deep impression on her. It was so fast that even Elijah wasn't able to catch a glimpse of it.

Was he going to use the skill or art he used to beat Elijah back then?

Amanda wanted to know.

"Who was his opponent again?"

With her arms crossed, Emma frowned. She had no idea who Ren was fighting. After a while, she shook her head and gave up.

"Eh, I can't seem to remember his name"

"Do you know anything about him?"

"Nah not really, from what I've heard, his rank is in the top fifties so he shouldn't be too bad"

"Top fifty?"

"Yeah, I'm actually curious at how strong that fuc-kheum, I mean Ren is. What about you?"

Mid-sentence, Emma coughed and corrected herself. Amanda's reply was short and curt.

"Yeah, I guess so"

"This fight seems to be attracting a lot of people"

Expecting such a response, Emma looked around. Noticing something, she pointed towards her left.

"Hey look, Amanda! Jin's here too. I guess he too is interested in the fight"

Sitting a few rows next to them, Jin had his arms crossed. His full attention was towards the arena grounds.

Neither Arnold nor Troy sat next to him.

It was apparent that he had come here with the intention of observing the fights.

Curious, Emma looked at Amanda and asked, "Do you think he's here for Ren's or Kevin's fight?"

Without hesitation, Amanda replied, "Ren"

"What makes you think so?"

"He wasn't here last time when Kevin fought"

"Oh, now that you've mentioned it, you're right"

Emma did not see Jin ever spectating any of Kevin's matches before. Unless he had a change of heart, he came here to watch Ren fight.

"But, why would he watch Ren instead of K-"

"Huaaa!"

Cutting Emma mid-sentence were the loud cheers coming from the arena grounds. Two youth's appeared on the stage below.

"Oh, the fight is about to start. It looks like Ren's first"

...

By the time I arrived at Section G, the news of my upcoming challenge had spread throughout the academy.

This was to be expected.

Given that I was challenged publically, the news was bound to spread quickly.

Despite it being lunchtime, the arena was bustling with people. Even more shocking was the number of reporters present at the scene.

Coincidentally, right before entering the arena, I was able to hear a nearby reporter talking.

"Shocking news, it is being reported that right now student Kevin Voss and Ren Dover are being simultaneously challenged to a duel. Their opponents are..."

*Sigh*

Listening to the reporter, I shook my head and sighed.

With Kevin being challenged every day, it was only natural that they were present. After all, every guild out there was salivating to know more about Kevin and his unrivaled talent.

Now that the opportunity presented itself, they were all itching to know more about me.

'Ren Dover, the next prodigy, blah, blah, blah'

For the past few days, that's all I had been seeing on the papers and on the TV. Although it may not seem like much, for humans, another prodigy popping up was something worth celebrating.

The stronger humanity was, the safer they were.

Such attention was natural.

Suddenly, as I was making my way towards the entrance of the arena grounds I was stopped by a man in black. A Lock emblem was on sewed on his right pocket.

Frowning, I pointed at my uniform, "I'm wearing a student uniform, can't you see?"

"Haha, it's not that. It's better if you don't go that way"

"Why's that?"

The man took out his watch and played a clip. More specifically, a live camera view of the entrance of the arena.

"Take a look for yourself?"

"Tss..."

Hissing, I secretly wiped the cold sweat that had accumulated on my forehead. In the video, tons of reporters waited with their microphones in their hands. Some used their phones too.

They resembled hungry wolves waiting for their prey.

"Where should I go?"

"Here, this path was specifically made for these kinds of reasons"

Taking a step to the side, the man opened a small door.

"Ah, I see. Thank you"

Thanking the man, I entered the door.

Sure enough, after walking through a long narrow corridor, I arrived before the changing rooms unobstructed.

-Clank!

Entering the changing room I soon spotted Kevin. Turning around and sensing my presence, a bitter smile appeared on his face.

"Fancy seeing you here Ren"

"This is what you get for gloating at someone else's misfortune"

Sitting down and taking out my training uniform, I quickly got changed.

"I was prepared for it though"

Putting on my shorts, I paused slightly and looked at Kevin.

"Actually, what's the point of you agreeing to every fight?"

"They are good practice dummies"

Rolling my eyes, I retorted, "Stupid, if you want proper training dummies just practice with the VR machines"

The VR machine had a special function that allowed people to fight against virtual models of well-known heroes.

Though it could not replicate their fighting experience in full, they were much better than the students Kevin was fighting.

They were cannon-fodder after all.

"It's just not the same"

"How so?"

"Because the feeling is not the same"

Hearing his response, I once again rolled my eyes.

'I guess that 1% really bothers him'

Stretching my neck, I stood up.

"Well, you do you. I'm not planning on wasting my day endlessly fighting opponents"

My goal was simple.

Crush my opponent thoroughly. Use him as an example and deter others from challenging me.

Jin did the same, and things worked out well for him. Now no one dares to challenge him.

I couldn't be like Kevin where I would endlessly waste my time fighting against a bunch of nobodies. I had other things to do after all.

"Good luck"

"Sure, I'll see you after the fight is over"

"Alright"

-Clank

Exiting the training room, I quickly moved to the arena grounds.

*

Arriving before the arena, my opponent, Haris was already waiting for me. Looking up, I saw that the stands were filled with students.

Everyone's attention was directed towards me. Seeing this scene, I clicked my tongue.

'Tsk, who would've expected for such a day to come'

It really was weird.

From suddenly trying my everything to not stand out, to now being the center of everyone's attention.

With his eyes locked on me, Haris chuckled.

"Hehe, to think you actually accepted my challenge. Today I will prove to the whole school that you are just a phony. I will let them know who the true prod-"

Raising my hand, I irritably said, "Can you stop?"

"What?"

"What is it with you people always giving speeches before you fight? Like do I look like someone who cares about what you have to say?"

With this not being an official match, there were no hosts nor speakers. Apart from me, no one else could understand what he was saying. Not like the others would actually care.

Actually, there was someone else. The referee, though I doubt he cared.

Before letting Haris continue his rant, I stared at the referee and said, "Ref, can we get this fight started?"

Nodding his head, the referee raised his hand, "Are you guys ready?"

It seems like we were on the same page.

Staring at me with burning eyes, Haris gnashed his teeth and nodded his head. I did too.

"Yes"

"Yes"

Slashing his hand down, the referee shouted.

"You may begin"

—Booom!

The ground shook and Haris disappeared from his spot.

I stood still.

Staring at Haris's figure that was quickly approaching me, I shook my head. Covering half of my face with my hand, my eyes slowly turned dull grey.

The arena came to a standstill.

"The one..."

...

A/N : I'm sorry. I know. I repenting.