Chapter 52 You disappoint me

I intensely watched the ongoing fight; one after another, they called all the 13 students that I found to have great potential and talents. They showed remarkable skills and defeated the seniors, a feat that shocked the seniors as an E class student. After a few more students' fights ended, finally a senior called me, the same spiky haired guy. His name is Ryn, and he was tall and muscular, with a confident air that made it clear he was used to winning.

"You're Juhya's and Elfa's brother, right?" He asked while standing in front of me.

"I'm not"

"Really?"

"Yeah, you can ask them if you want. Although we have the same first name, our surname and appearance are different. As you can see, I'm handsome."

"Mmm, you're certainly right; although that guy is also handsome, he is not as handsome as you."

'Huh! The hell! Did he actually believe that?'

"Ready?" he asked, his tone almost condescending.

"Yes"

"No weapons?"

"I prefer my hands most when it comes to fighting humans."

"Oh, same as me, huh. Let's start."

Ryn attacked first, his movements swift and precise. I dodged, trying to anticipate his next move, but somehow he landed a solid hit, sending me staggering back.

'Huh? How did his kick connect?'

"Come on, you can do better than that, right?" he taunted.

Inhale! Exhale!

'Let's test the breathing technique' I focused on my breathing and on the mana flowing through me. The exercises from the book came to mind, and I tried to apply them, channeling my energy more efficiently.

I felt like it was somehow similar to Core Release, but I couldn't grasp what it was.

Approaching him, I kicked his leg, and as he tried to block, I changed the trajectory and kicked to his face, executing a perfect Brazilian kick.

Bam!

The kick made his legs wobble, but he quickly recovered. "A perfect question mark kick; I like it," he said with a smile. "Guess I will have to increase the difficulty a little."

Bam!

"Guhh" All I could see was a blurry figure approaching me; the next thing I knew was pain coursing through my stomach. 'That speed, it's definitely higher than D+ rank.

「Lost Gem」

"Huh!?" I activated the lost gem, trying to read his attack trajectory, but when I did that, all I could see were entangled lines that connected to my body.

He swiftly approached me and kicked, raising my guard, I tried to block it. But again, that somehow connected to my body.

Bam! Pow!

***

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***

"Isn't he having a kind of hard time against the senior?" A student spoke, watching the ongoing fight between Ryn and Jadel.

Every time Jadel tried to block or dodge the attack, it somehow landed on him.

"Winning against Ryn will be impossible for him, even if he has unlimited mana and stamina." Hearing the question, a senior spoke to the student.

"Why is that?" Lui suddenly asked the senior, eager to know the reason.

"Well, it's simple; he is ranked third, and the martial art he is using will annoy the opponents; that's how unpredictable it is."

"Mmm, is that so? But I'm sure the senior is going to lose."

"Do you even hear what I say, kid? If Ryn goes all out against Juhya in a head on battle, even Juhya won't stand a chance."

Lui didn't say anything and pointed at the fight. "Well, let's watch and see."

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Ryn constantly hit Jadel without giving him a chance to catch his breath; even if he did, the result would be the same anyway.

"The first time I saw you, I got a weird feeling from you that I can't explain in words." Ryn suddenly said, his face showing a slight disappointment. "And when I spoke to you, the same weird feeling tingled all over my body as if it's trying to converse with me, but..." he stopped fighting and looked at him clearly disappointed. "You disappoint me. So I will end this quickly."

His figure disappeared. His speed is becoming even faster. Appearing in front of Jadel, he kicked him.

Swoosh!

The kick produced a powerful gust of wind. But the kick didn't find its mark. As the kick approached Jadel, he bent his body backwards, dodging the kick.

"Yo, senior, what are you yapping about feeling and tingling?" He grabbed the senior leg, and using it as support, he kicked the senior face, sending him staggering back.

"Man, I thought of losing myself, but you irritate me, and the fighting style of yours too; at the same time, I wanted to learn that." Jadel took his stance. Instead of guarding his face, he half extended both hands with an open palm, taking a new stance.

"Ho, you have something new to show me," he said, smiling broadly, clearly impressed by Jadel as he dodged his kick. "This time, don't disappoint me," he ran to Jadel and kicked again.

Thud!

"Huh!" Before he knew it, Ryn was on the ground, looking at the ceiling. 'Huh, what happened? Why am I on the ground–' he couldn't think more. As Jadel's leg approached him, trying to stomp his face, he quickly dodged and stood up.

"What was that? What did you do?"

"Hhe, come and find out," he said with a smile. Ryn's smile widened. appearing in front of him again, he punched. The next thing he knew, he was clearly on the air, and quickly approaching the ground.

THUD!

"Guhh!" The impact was so powerful that he grunted in pain. He slowly got up. 'When I punched him, he used the force generated by the punch to throw me to the ground,' he thought. 'I know that martial art... it's an ancient martial art that got forgotten because it's not usable for awakeners. What was its name?' He tried to remember, but he couldn't remember at all.

"What are you thinking so hard about that you forgot about me?" Before Ryn realized it, Jadel was in front of him. Because of his trained reflexes, he punched Jadel unknowingly, only to end up on the ground.

Thud!

"Whoa, what's that?"

"What kind of martial arts is he using?"

"Now, you get it, senior," he said, looking at the senior with a smirk. "Close combatants are clearly at a disadvantage if they are fighting with him. One, they need to end him quickly, or two, they need to attack him with long range attacks."

"I get what you mean now," he said to Lui with a surprised face. "He adepts at a quicker rate. And what kind of martial art is he using?" He looked at Liu with an expecting gaze. but to his disappointment, he only saw him shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't know; it's my first time seeing it as well." They focused on the fight again.

"You, what is that martial art? I know something like that, but I forgot its name."

'Oh, right, it's a forgotten martial art' It's been centuries since humans experienced awakening, and since normal martial arts can't be used with superhuman strength and speed, awakeners started to create new martial arts that are perfect for their bodies, and in these years, some martial arts have slowly gotten forgotten.

"It's aikido," I said honestly.

"How is that possible? It's been forgotten for centuries."

"Well, I came across a technique book, so I bought it."

"Then how are you able to use this in an awakeners fight?" I saw some seniors face palming while others were smiling at Ryn.

"... Are you seriously asking me that?"

"Well, I forgot we were fighting. so then I will come up with a plan to counter this martial art."

"Stop." As he moved slightly, a commanding voice resonated on the training ground. It was Juhya. "Don't move if you don't want to be cut down into pieces."

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused by her words.

"Touch your neck, and you will know."

He touched his neck, feeling something warm, he looked at his hand and saw blood. Sensing something was amiss, he imbued mana into his eyes.

".... Strings?" He was stunned to find out he was inside a trap that Jadel slowly yet carefully made. 'I didn't even notice. If Juhya didn't say anything, I would be cut into multiple pieces.'

Jadel tapped one of the strings, and instantly it became visible to others. "You have nice eyes, senior Juhya.

"It's impossible for me to not notice when my head is also trapped in these strings."

"Sorry about that," apologizing, he again tapped into the strings, causing them to instantly turn water.

'Why is nobody coming to me to strike an offer?' He thought as everyone just stood there watching, even after the battle fight ended, 'Am I not good enough?' He didn't need to think too much about it, as he sensed why nobody was approaching me.

Turning around, he saw a sharp gaze on others. It was Ryn, scaring away the seniors. Seeing my gaze on him, he instantly smiled and approached me. "So, will you team up with me?" he asked in anticipation.

"...There are powerful students in A classes, so why me?" He asked in confusion and genuine curiosity.

"For the first reason, I tested them, and aside from a few top rankers, others didn't piqued my interest. Second, I felt unsatisfied for some reason. Third, I'm getting a weird vibe from you that aroused my interest, that's all."

'Come to think of it, he said he was getting a weird feeling when I fought with him. What is he really meant by that?'

"... Sure I accept your offer." After thinking for a bit, he agreed to his offer.

"Nice, J–"

"Already did."

"Quick as always."

…..

After half an hour, all the fighting ended, and some of the students successfully joined with a senior.

"Now, as the second test is over, let's do the final test of willpower."

Juhya walked and stood in front of us, the students. "Everyone will be participating in this; there is no exception for the selected students, understand?"

"Yes"

"Then, brace yourselves." Suddenly, her shadow started to grow and enveloped all the students.

Students were looking here and there, surprised to see they were in a completely dark place. The place was completely dark, and they could hardly see the students.

"Where am I? Where are we?"

"Is this some kind of illusion magic?" the students murmured to themselves, facing an unknown situation.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Suddenly, the walking sound of a group of people resonated in the dark place. In a dim light, the students saw it was seniors. But before they could ask anything, the seniors went on a killing spree.

"One down," Juhya said, looking at the student who was sitting on the ground with an expression of dread. "Can't handle your classmates dying even though you know it's an illusion; you're too soft." Looking at his uniform, she noted it on her holographic screen.

"Excuse me." Hearing a voice, she looked in front of her with a surprised face.

"I have been standing here for a few seconds, not knowing what happened. Can you tell me?" Jadel said, expressing his confusion.

"...you–"

"Is it finished quickly?" Another voice cut her off. Looking at the side, she saw Lui standing there, escaping from the illusion she had cast. One after another, a few more students escaped from the illusion, stunning her.

'What is happening? How are they able to escape this quickly?' All she could do was think. not finding anything, she composed herself and announced it to the students who had escaped from the illusion. "You've all passed the third test. Give your contact information to the senior who selected you; after that, you can go to your class."