A Fateful Encounter (Revision)

The young man had been easily provoked into confrontation earlier, challenging Hoshiharu with enthusiastic expressions that he wanted to compete, but now his face was filled with confusion.

The black-haired boy was clearly very naive and didn't understand what Hoshiharu was talking about.

He couldn't understand, and Hoshiharu had no intention of explaining.

"Let's introduce ourselves again, my name is—"

Seeing his breath slowly calm down, the black-haired boy awkwardly extended his hand and introduced himself.

"Kurogane Ikki, right? A descendant of the Great Hero Kurogane Ryoma."

Hoshiharu took a deep breath, controlled his heartbeat through breathing, gradually reducing his heart and lung function, then looked at the stunned boy across from him.

"My name is Hoshiharu, Nangou Hoshiharu."

He also extended his hand and clasped Ikki's hanging wrist.

—Nangou.

Upon hearing this surname, Ikki's expression froze instantly.

From just a few minutes of meeting, he sensed the scent of destiny.

"Are you physically strong?"

Hoshiharu straightened his body and looked at the other party with a bit of envy.

"I wouldn't say I'm strong, just average."

Ikki released his hand, burying the antagonism that had resurfaced in his heart, speaking very modestly.

"How many kilometers can you run?"

"If we go back and forth, it's about twenty kilometers."

"...Jogging?"

"There are also sprints. If you keep jogging, the exercise won't be much."

What a monster!

It was just a morning run. Within the limited half-hour, Ikki could run about 20 kilometers. Considering a combination of jogging and sprints, his instantaneous speed could rival that of a car.

Thinking about the fact that classes were about to start, Hoshiharu couldn't run to class like a dying dog. He had to save some energy.

He ran five kilometers in twenty minutes and panted like a dying dog. During this period, he kept suppressing his cardiopulmonary function, enhancing his explosiveness, and expending his physical energy to the limit before he could barely complete the run.

The physical fitness of both parties was not on the same level at all.

Hoshiharu envied the protagonist.

If he had Ikki's physical strength, he could be more arrogant when using Absolute Speed.

The essence of Absolute Speed is to be faster than the opponent.

However, the concept of "speed" is reflected in many aspects, such as the speed of swinging a weapon, running, throwing, etc. If one truly wants to use it, there are many tricks, and it doesn't just apply to Lightning Flint.

Lightning Flint is a full-force effort, a sword strike with all one's strength. Failing to succeed would result in failure, so the negative effects are unimaginable.

However, if it's just a normal output, like making the sword swing faster than the opponent's blocking speed, and integrating the ability into regular attacks, the negative effects would be much smaller.

When Hoshiharu dueled with Kurono before, the sword that pierced the arm defense and cut the edge of the clothes used Absolute Speed.

But even with normal output of Absolute Speed, in the final analysis, it gave Hoshiharu speed he didn't initially possess, and it still imposed a great burden on his body.

If he had Ikki's physical abilities, he could use Absolute Speed more calmly and immorally.

"Do you need a sports drink?"

Seeing that Hoshiharu was no longer out of breath, Ikki took a thermos cup from a backpack in the corner of the main entrance and handed it to him kindly.

"Thanks."

Hoshiharu took it without hesitation, removed the bottle cap, opened the filter, and poured the astringent drink into his mouth in large gulps.

"Return it to you."

Ikki took it again, replaced the filter and cap, and put it back in his backpack.

"You still want to run?"

Seeing this, Hoshiharu understood immediately.

"Um, today's exercise is less than a quarter of before."

Ikki's eyes shone with persistence, and he murmured to himself, "It's a rare opportunity to participate in actual combat training this year. I have to work harder!"

Hoshiharu raised his eyebrows slightly.

Anyone who has watched the anime Rakudai Kishi no Eiyuutan knows that the protagonist in this world is the boy in front of him, Kurogane Ikki. Unlike traditional school harem dramas, this is basically a very enthusiastic harem drama.

Anyway, Ikki is the center of this world. Hoshiharu also consciously memorized various information about Ikki, so he knew that the other party had many difficulties.

"Then keep working hard. I've almost reached my limit, so I'll leave first."

Hoshiharu had no intention of delving deeper. Although he was very interested in the other party, he was in the same school, and there would be many opportunities to connect in the future. Without looking back, he built a relationship and left.

"Nangou Hoshiharu, what a strange name... But Nangou."

Ikki watched the departing youth, with very complicated thoughts in his heart.

In theory, since he is a descendant of the Kurogane Family, after meeting the God of War directly, he should have a strong and uncontrollable sense of antagonism and treat him as an old enemy.

Kurogane Ryoma and Nangou Torajiro.

Born into two families, Kurogane and Nangou, decades ago. In the era of war and chaos, they together made great contributions to world peace – as symbols of pacifism, they subdued imperialism and defeated the Axis powers in World War II.

They were close friends and old enemies. For people today, they are both legendary Blazers.

The meeting between him and Hoshiharu here might be a fateful arrangement.

"But what does this have to do with me?"

Ikki suddenly smiled bitterly again, and his expression became very complicated.

After all, even though he still bears the name of the Kurogane Family, the family probably no longer considers him a member. Even if the fate between Kurogane and Nangou continues, it is unlikely to become a reality for him.

For him at the moment, rather than thinking about the fate between Kurogane and Nangou, it's better to focus on the upcoming Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival Representative Selection Battle.

He shook his head to dispel some disturbing thoughts from his mind, his fighting spirit reemerged in his eyes, and he ran towards the road again.

❀❀❀

"Where is the student council room?"

On the other side, Hoshiharu was walking around the school with a confused expression on his face.

After finishing his morning exercises, he initially wanted to return to the dormitory to take a shower and wash off the hot sweat all over his body, then he wandered around the academy, trying to find the student council room.

At this moment, the weakness of the large academy environment became apparent. Hoshiharu walked around the academy for more than ten minutes and couldn't find the student council room at all.

The student handbook that allowed him to contact his Senior Sister was also left in the dormitory because it was inconvenient to carry while exercising.

"A wrong decision. I should have asked Kurogane Ikki earlier."

Hoshiharu had a gloomy expression on his face and had no choice but to continue walking around the school. Soon he saw a figure and hurriedly walked over to ask for directions.

"The student council room? I know, follow me!"

It seemed she was a female teacher. When she saw Hoshiharu, her eyes suddenly lit up.