Ranking System

"Well done. While the performance was boring, you have done incredibly well."

"Why don't you try it..."

I grumbled at his tone. He made it sound like this was amusing for him to watch. After fighting the orc, I was somewhat drained. I needed a few resting moments to continue with the next fight.

"Why would I? A punch could easily kill these monsters. Since you want to act smart, here's the next monster."

"..."

Without a doubt, Charles was here to kill me. I was already on the brink of exhaustion. Any more, and I would die.

"Anyways, be careful with this nasty bunch. You will lose something in a fight like this."

Hearing Charles's warning, I became wary of the next monster that would be sent. With the next monster sent, they were small than I thought they would be. It was ten groups of monkeys dancing around.

These monsters didn't look intimidating, but with how many there were, I had to be careful of their numbers.

After I tried to get ready for a fight, I felt something sticky on the floor. Looking at what was on the ground, I saw a bunch of sticky substances on the floor.

When did these monkeys set these up? Because of their actions, I was already tricked by their distractions. These monsters had already limited my movement. This fight was totally different from the previous two.

"WOO OHH AHH!!!"

The monkeys started to screech in a rather annoying tone. They jumped and attacked in full synchronization, making this fight the most annoying I ever had.

Trying to slash down one monkey was impossible. The monsters were quick and had teamwork that even those who had worked together for years couldn't match. With my stamina already low, this situation looked worse by the minute.

[Charles' POV]

This fight should be the beginning of Clyde's growth. I would have sent in the same monsters even without his rude remark. All I needed to do was drain Clyde's stamina and force him to power up.

These monkeys were playing with him, and the fight was becoming more brutal by the second.

Clyde's growth was about to begin. He was now down to his knees, barely able to stand up. What made these monkeys excellent was their sinister personality.

Instead of going for the kill, these monkeys would degrade their opponent. They take great joy in demolishing their competently strong opponents.

The monsters dance around Clyde, doing whatever it takes to humiliate him. Unable to stand up, these monkeys jumped over Clyde's back. His back looked like it was about to snap from how powerfully they were jumping around.

While it wasn't apparent at first glance, I could tell the strength within Clyde was rising steadily. With each passing pain, Clyde's power grows.

I smiled, finally finding the results I was looking for. Even on the floor, the power coming from Clyde was much better than before. Now show me how much you can grow here.

[Clyde's POV]

This situation was the worst... My stamina was gone, and I was inches away from being in trouble. Taking the first step, within seconds, I slipped from the mess these monkeys had made to the floor, worsening my situation.

Once I tripped, the monkeys here stepped on my back. I didn't think these little things would be this powerful. While they couldn't shatter my bones, they had many ways of hurting me.

Shit... My body was about to give out. These monsters weren't making it easy for me, even in this state. Instead of killing me, they did whatever it took to humiliate me.

They pulled my hair, scratched my skin, and did many annoying acts that children should only do.

Am I going to die like this? It was a pathetic way to die when you look at it. I wonder if my death would affect anyone.

Mira should be fine even without me. Her mental fortitude was what she was praised for. Alya and Beatrice might cry along with Katie.

"Are you giving up like this hero? Maybe I might have to play with your sister instead."

Charles... What was I thinking!!! Why am I allowing myself to die at the hands of these vile creatures?I refuse to lose to them!!! I knew that I wasn't a proud person, but to go so far as to humiliate someone was intolerable.

"CHARLES!!! DON'T YOU DARE!!!"

The power I gained was something I wasn't worried about. All I cared about was killing these monsters. These pieces of shit should drown in their own despair.

Surprised that I had stood up despite all the beating, I had managed to capture one of the monkey's tails when it was off guard.

"OOHH!!! AWWWW!!!"

Looking at my face, the monkey screamed in fear. The monster tried its best to struggle out of my grasp. Despite the dire situation, these monkeys genuinely care for each other.

This was perfect. Once the monkeys had attacked in coordination, I immediately pointed my sword at the monkey's neck. Even with me growing up, there was no guarantee that I could beat them all. I had to use one of them as a hostage to keep the odds in my favor.

I would have never expected to use these tactics, but I felt it was necessary here. With all these monkeys put to a stop, I immediately grabbed one of them, the closest one. Due to my increase in speed, I quickly caught the second monster.

There were only eight of them--one dead and one used as a hostage. The monkeys shouted in anger at seeing one of their comrades die. As for the monkey in my arms, it tried its best to struggle, even if it meant hurting itself.

Capturing these things was now useless. Since I killed one of them, they will do their best to crush me even more. And if that were the case, the monkey I had kept would no longer be helpful.

After getting rid of the two monsters, only eight were left. The fewer of these irritating creatures there are, the better.

All the monkeys here had lost most of their rationality from their friends' losses. The advantage was now on my side.

My entire body had grown to an unfathomable extent. These monsters' tricks were no longer helpful against my absolute speed and strength. One by one, these monkeys died at my hands.

When all this was done, I felt my vision darkening. I couldn't keep my eyes open from the loss of adrenaline.

~

"Clyde!!!"

Ugh... My head... Upon waking up, the first voice I heard was Mira. She shook my head wildly as I began to wake up.

"Mira? Katie? What's going on?"

"That's what we want to find out. You've been missing for hours, and you were found injured in your bed."

"Your sister is right. We were worried that you had disappeared and come back with injuries."

Both Mira and Katie were angry at my disappearance. While I appreciate their concerns, I wasn't in the mood to listen to them complain.

"You have grown again, didn't you? What have you been through?"

Mira's instincts were as sharp as ever. My sister's words had shocked Katie to the core, which wasn't surprising in the least. She knew we had grown a lot during this month, but for me to grow again was unfair to most.

"Didn't you have a significant improvement because of the school's exam??? I didn't think you would grow this fast..."

"So what did you do?"

"Mira, could you wait for a second? My head isn't feeling well."

After waking up from a battle, my mind was still boggled by the events that had happened today. I had to get my sister and Katie to stop questioning me so I could calmly think.

"I met with Charles today."

Everyone in the room reacted strangely to my words. I get why Mira would, but not Katie. While Charles was famous, Katie seemed to know more about Charles on a personal level.

"You met him??? Did he beat you up so you could power up again???"

"He trained me. We didn't fight. He made me fight various types of monsters."

"Why was he training you?"

"I don't know. He said I had talent. He teleported me to a different location and had me fight for my life. I had almost died there. I'm surprised he didn't take you with me. You're much better at these kinds of things."

I don't know why, but I felt like I shouldn't have said those words. I told them the remaining details of what had happened and ended the conversation at that.

"Katie, Mira. Could you girls get me something to eat?"

After that training regimen, I only wanted to rest in bed. Katie was nice enough to cook something up for me to eat. For the whole day, I could only think about when Charles would come back for more hellish training.