Chapter 66 - The Second Event [2]
"Once your name is called, climb onto the arena."
Professor Ulfar stated after showing everyone the matching. His calm, commanding voice echoed clearly across the wide indoor facility, making sure every single student heard him.
"The others, prepare for your turn and watch. You can learn a lot by watching other people fight, it’s more helpful than you think."
He added, looking at everyone. He swept his strict gaze across the gathering of students, emphasizing the importance of analyzing our peers’ combat styles.
After that announcement, he let all of us rest and prepare for a couple minutes, and once he noticed that everyone was set and ready—
"Let’s begin."
Professor Ulfar declared that and immediately called for the first pair of fighters.
*****
I still couldn’t believe that the enemy that was supposed to be facing the protagonist is not matched against me instead of Zion.
My mind was still spinning as I stared blankly at the floating holographic bracket hovering high above the stone grounds.
I gave it the benefit of doubt that I have something that I am forgetting something or got the information wrong.
Maybe I was misremembering the exact timeline of events, or maybe my own actions had shifted the butterfly effect far more than I initially calculated.
I looked at Jodan.
He looks completely fine, he was just sitting among his peers, laughing and talking with his friends. He’s not showing any sign that he’s being corrupted. He was casually chatting with two other [C CLASS] students, casually grinning.
There was no visible dark aura leaking out, no bloodshot eyes, and no chaotic energy surrounding his body.
’Please... just this once... let my memory be wrong.’
I asked internally. I desperately hoped that this whole situation was just a false alarm and that I wouldn’t have to deal with a dangerous monster outbreak today.
"You okay? Your stomach hurts or something?"
Zion then asked that, looking at me a bit worried. He’s right beside me.
He crossed his arms, leaning over slightly to check on my visibly tense posture.
"No, I’m fine... I’m just preparing myself from the fight."
I told him.
"Oh, is that like a mental fight?"
He followed up. He grinned, tilting his head with a curious expression on his face.
"..."
I just looked at him for a while, unsure how I would answer him. But in the end—
"Yeah."
I just nodded my head and told him that. It was easier to just agree with his goofy assumption than to explain the complex plot details running through my head.
*****
The first two fighters stepped onto the stone platform, their weapons drawn as the protective magical barriers shimmered into place around them.
TINK! CLANK! CLANG--!!!
Sparks flew across the ring as they exchanged quick strikes, but the skill gap between them made the outcome obvious within moments.
FWISH~
The instructor signaled the end of the first duel, dropping the barrier as the victorious student walked off the stage with a satisfied smile.
Matches started and ended faster than I realized.
Initially, I thought that it would take a while for the spars to finish since it’s a one versus one and we’re only using one arena—but the duels were shorter than I had anticipated.
Fights barely lasted three minutes, most of them reached a conclusion before the Professors’ timers hit that time.
One solid hit or a well-placed counter was usually all it took to force a surrender or cause the supervising staff to step in.
And not going to lie, I became a little nervous as my turn got near. Just a little though.
My heart beat a little faster against my chest as I mentally reviewed my dual-wielding defensive patterns one more time.
But before me... It would be Zion’s turn first.
I checked the bracket line above us, confirming that the main protagonist was scheduled for the match right before mine.
In the game, the reason Vael’s fight was completely omitted was because he wasn’t even able to fight at all.
Zion, or the player, went before his turn—and during that time, [The Corrupted] revealed itself to everyone. This forced Zion to fight and stall time until the professors were able to disable the barrier covering the arena and respond to the situation.
The dark mana burst had locked the barrier controls from the inside, creating an isolated death match that caught everyone off guard.
After that, the whole joint session ended abruptly.
The practical test was immediately canceled, and the facility was put on lockdown while the teaching staff investigated the incident.
"Zion Braveheart."
Just then, before I even knew it—the protagonist got called.
Professor Ulfar’s loud voice cut through my thoughts, echoing across the waiting area as he announced the next pair.
"I’ll be going first."
Zion said with a smile as he climbed on top of the arena.
He unclipped the sheath of [Excalibur] from his side, unbothered by the heavy stares coming from the audience.
I looked at Zion’s back as he walked, and inside my head—
’I guess we’ll see if it will still go as it was in the game story.’
I thought of that. I leaned back against the safety railing, watching his every move as he stepped onto the concrete ring.
*****
Zion’s opponent was a tall [C CLASS] student who stepped onto the platform wearing heavy, reinforced steel gauntlets on both hands.
"Ready?"
The professor of the [C CLASS] asked and raised their hand, calling out for both fighters to take their respective battle stances.
SWOOSH~
Multiple layers of translucent blue magic barriers flared up around the perimeter, completely sealing Zion and his opponent inside the ring.
The two fighters locked eyes, taking deep breaths as they waited for the signal.
"Start!"
Then the professor brought their hand down sharply, signaling the start of the match.
And just as I expected, It was Zion who attacked first.
BAM!
Zion kicked off the concrete floor with incredible explosive force, leaving a faint cloud of dust behind as he closed the distance instantly.
He drew [Excalibur] in a single fluid motion, sending a bright flash of golden aura sweeping across the stage in a horizontal arc!
SWOOSH!
The blade cut through the air with terrifying speed and weight, threatening to crush his opponent’s guard in one hit.
TINK!
His opponent didn’t panic at all.
He stepped smoothly inside Zion’s attack range, raising his left gauntlet at a sharp angle to catch the flat of [Excalibur] near the hilt.
Using the reinforced steel plating on his forearm, he slid the heavy golden blade off to the side, completely redirecting the sheer force of Zion’s strike harmlessly into the air!
WHACK!
Without wasting a single millisecond, the martial artist pivoted on his right foot and threw a heavy counter-punch aimed straight for Zion’s ribs!
"Whoa!"
Zion shouted out in genuine surprise, quickly twisting his upper body backward to let the steel fist graze past his chest.
SWOOSH!
The wind pressure from the guy’s punch rustled Zion’s hair, showing just how much physical power was packed into those gauntlets.
I watched the exchange intently from the side of the arena, my eyes wide as I analyzed the martial artist’s defense.
’His deflecting technique is amazing.’
I thought to myself, genuinely impressed by how smoothly he handled Zion’s raw strength.
Instead of trying to meet [Excalibur] head-on with brute force, he used the sloped shape of his gauntlets to divert the golden blade every time it came down.
Watching him use his weight distribution and angle adjustments to neutralize heavy sword strikes was actually super educational for me.
It was very similar to the core principles of the dual-wielding redirection style I had just tested out during our quick spar earlier.
I took a mental note of how he positioned his elbows and shoulders, absorbing every small detail to refine my own dagger deflections later on.
CLANG! TINK! BUMP!
Sparks flew continuously inside the barrier as Zion launched a fast flurry of overhead slashes and sharp diagonal cuts.
His swordsmanship was fast, heavy, and extremely clean, leaving bright golden arcs hovering in the air behind every swing.
Yet, his opponent managed to keep up with every single move.
The gauntlet wielder shifted his feet with rhythmic precision, blocking, parrying, and sliding past Zion’s heavy assault with absolute calm.
TINK!
He caught another downward chop on his left gauntlet, using his right hand to push the flat of Zion’s blade upward to throw him off balance.
"You’re really good at that!"
Zion grinned, his eyes sparkling with pure excitement as he felt the pushback.
"I’ve spent years perfecting my close-range parries... You won’t break through so easily!"
His opponent replied with a smile, taking a firm, low stance as he prepared for the next exchange.
"Then I’ll just have to speed things up!"
Zion exclaimed, his golden mana flaring up twice as bright around his arms and boots.
BAM!
Zion pushed off the concrete again, but this time his movements became significantly faster and far more unpredictable!
Instead of relying solely on heavy direct strikes, Zion began integrating rapid footwork changes, shifting his weight mid-dash to strike from unexpected angles.
SWOOSH! CLANG!
He feinted a high slash toward the head, then instantly dropped low to sweep [Excalibur] across the guy’s legs.
The martial artist managed to drop his right gauntlet down to block the low sweep, but the sheer force behind Zion’s accelerated strike rattled his entire arm.
TUNK!
"Ugh!"
The martial artist gritted his teeth, feeling his footing slip slightly against the hard floor.
Zion didn’t give him a single second to reset his defense.
He pressed the advantage aggressively, accelerating his sword swings until his golden blade turned into a dazzling blur of light.
CLANG! CLANG! TINK! CLANG—!
The continuous metallic impacts sounded like rapid gunfire inside the ring as Zion began completely dominating the flow of the match.
Slowly but surely, the martial artist’s smooth deflections began to falter under the overwhelming speed and stamina of the protagonist.
His gauntlets were being pushed back closer and closer to his own body with every block, leaving him no room to throw any counter-punches.
"Here it comes!"
Zion yelled out, stepping inside the guy’s guard with a sudden surge of physical speed.
He swept the hilt of [Excalibur] upward, striking the guy’s right wrist and knocking his primary defensive stance wide open!
SWOOSH!
Before the martial artist could pull his arm back, the tip of Zion’s golden blade stopped less than an inch away from his throat.
The intense golden mana humming around the blade blew back the guy’s hair, forcing him to freeze completely in place.
The match was over.
... ... ...
"Winner: Zion Braveheart!"
Professor Ulfar announced loudly, bringing their hand down as the blue barrier layers slowly dissolved away.
"Phew... That was a tough defense to crack!"
Zion laughed, sheathing [Excalibur] back at his side before extending his hand to shake his opponent’s gauntlet.
"You’re a monster..."
The martial artist let out a long, exhausted sigh, shaking Zion’s hand with a small, respectful smile.
"Great match!"
Zion said bright and cheerily as he stepped down off the concrete platform, heading back toward our class spectating area.
And as soon as that happen, a complicated smile appeared on my face accompanied by a frown.
My eyes slowly shifted away from the cheering crowd and landed directly on the bracket screen once again.
The next line on the holographic display began to glow in bright yellow text, signaling the upcoming match.
[ Match 17: Vael Frostguard vs. Jodan Headbrawler ]
It really seems like this time, it will be me to face [The Corrupted]--It was really Jodan.