69 Nakayama Tadashii's Plot

Nakayama stopped only a few meters away from Kiyoshi. If one looked at the scene from a landscape point of view, the announcer would be in the middle while the teenagers were on each side. Nakayama spoke up after putting a hand up to his chest and standing his ground in response to Kiyoshi.

"I am Nakayama Tadashii." he said. "I'm a foreigner from Moku City. I transferred into the first quadrant of the academy yesterday morning."

"...So, the one who transferred into the trap academy was you. Speak your piece so that I may be on my way. I've no desire for small talk."

"It's simple. I want to fight you."

"...What?" Kiyoshi's eyebrows twitched in confusion. "You've just seen my skills, have you not? You must be powerful if you feel as though you can defeat me."

"No, not at all. I'm a complete level 1 novice."

Nakayama could see that Kiyoshi couldn't understand what was going on. After all, any other person, even someone as powerful as Edward, would know to stay away. No one would want to fight Kiyoshi after seeing how well he performed against that Edward Quill and yet…

Here Nakayama was speaking on equal terms with him.

"Tch. A level one, you say? What is your ultimate objective?" Kiyoshi spoke in a low tone, his interest seemingly piqued. He felt like he was intrigued to know more.

"Well…if you really want to know, I'm in a situation right now where I need power. And quickly. I don't have any time to fool around and do nothing if I want to achieve my goal, so I have to obtain as many levels as I can by any means necessary. Me challenging you to a duel should be proof enough. I've seen your strength. I heard you managed to gain significant strength from the time you started your freshman year up til now. I don't know how you did it, but if you could become so powerful in such a short amount of time, then I know I can. So, by fighting you, according to what I heard about leveling up, I think I can gain enough power to achieve my goal in no time…!"

…

"...You see me as an object for your own improvement, do you?" Kiyoshi growled deeply.

This startled Nakayama a bit. He felt like a child staring a grizzly in the face.

"...N-no…not exactly!" he opened his palms, an accidental sign of weakness. Kiyoshi stared him down like a lion to his prey. It looked as though he was thinking about something.

"You are a naive brat," said Kiyoshi with a hint of anger. "There are thousands of people in this stadium, you are a level 1 impotent, and yet you dare to stand there and act as though the shortcut to your goal is just within reach. By landing a few hits on me, you believe that you'll level up enough to accomplish this dream of yours?"

Once again, Nakayama balled up his fists. "Yes. I do."

"You'll ultimately be humiliated."

"If that's what it takes, then I'm prepared for it."

"..." Kiyoshi's face did not move. He seemed neither impressed nor infuriated with Nakayama's attitude towards his path to power. Just indifferent.

"H-h-hold on, you two!" the announcer interrupted the two teenagers of complete opposite skill levels. "Do you seriously intend to fight here? I'm not even sure we have clearance yet. I mean, I think you two would be better off fighting at a duel station…!"

"Allow us to battle here," Kiyoshi demanded without taking his eyes off Nakayama. He didn't raise his voice, but he startled the announcer. "It will be over quickly. I wish to punish this child. What are your terms, freshman?"

"Anything goes except for killing."

"A given. I must warn you, removing all other restrictions puts you at an even further disadvantage."

"That's fine," Nakayama smirked, but that smile couldn't hide a bead of sweat that dripped down his cheek. This was his best shot. If he could do even a little against this titan of a magic fighter, then that meant his levels might increase rapidly if luck was on his side. He was unaware of Kiyoshi Lionheart's level, but all he knew was that he was in a realm of his own. If an unprivileged child of Class F could rise above someone from Class A in only a year, that meant he could do something similar, right? He knew nothing about Kiyoshi or what he was truly capable of, he knew nothing of his intentions, he knew nothing of his past struggles, he didn't have any spells that would be too useful in this fight, and was a complete novice when it came to any kind of physical altercations.

He was at a complete disadvantage.

Regardless, he still stood his ground in the hopes that he could grow stronger.

"W-well…I don't think this is a good idea, Mr…Tadashii, was it?" the announcer spoke nervously. "But, this quadrant is also used for duels just like any other duel station. So, I guess it wouldn't hurt anything if I let you two go at it. Let's get through with the legal formalities."

The announcer had the two teenagers stand a few more meters away from one another. He then opened his magic menu and punched in a few things (Nakayama couldn't see what he was doing), then a magic menu popped up in front of both Nakayama and Kiyoshi simultaneously. On it was some legal documentation that roughly had to do with the rules of this specific match. That must've meant, in specific duels, two people could kill each other so long as both combatants agreed to it.

"Yeesh…how barbaric," Nakayama said to himself as he confirmed his entry into the match. He looked back up at Kiyoshi. Nakayama thought for a few more moments to collect himself as his nervousness was overbearing.

He was challenging Kiyoshi for the sole purpose of growing strong enough to protect Kiyomi, Koko, and Chiaki from Keegan. Just like with Kiyoshi, he didn't know how strong Keegan or his family truly was. But, he certainly must've been strong considering he had enough strength and influence to render Kiyomi helpless at the mere sight of him. By fighting Kiyoshi, he felt he could use the monster's strength to grow stronger and quickly. He did this out of care for his friends. And, even still…

The mere sight of Kiyoshi looking in his direction was enough to send shivers down his spine. Even though he knew he wasn't going to be killed, his instincts caused him to fear for his safety.