The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 17

The mock battles continue.

Some fight to raise their rank.

Some fight to protect theirs.

The students’ fierce battles went on.

At Zeryon Academy, meritocracy reigns supreme.

Students with higher grades receive more support and benefits.

This place is, after all, a microcosm of the vast world society.

A place where the children of many high-ranking nobles and future heroes spend their youth.

Making a name for yourself at Zeryon Academy means making a name for yourself in the world.

So, the students are even more desperate to climb the ranks.

Even the professors watch the mock battles carefully.

It’s a time when the students’ passion burns too fiercely.

And in this very moment, someone was sprinting through the arena.

Smack!

My fist landed squarely on my opponent’s jaw.

“Ughh, you crazy, son of a—”

With just one blow, my opponent lost consciousness and collapsed helplessly.

He had been dragging out the fight all day with a battle of endurance.

In the end, I took advantage of his exhaustion and made my move.

The other students’ eyes briefly focused on me.

“What rank was that?”

“30th.”

“…”

Suddenly, all the mocking voices disappeared.

Instead, a wary tension began to show on their faces.

A winning streak that continued without stopping.

Seventeen students had fallen to my fists already.

All of them defeated in the same way as the first one, Mirizen.

“He uses hand-to-hand combat, doesn’t he?”

“But he hardly ever actually relies on it.”

“Most of his opponents are beaten in endurance fights.”

“He’s deliberately hiding his skills.”

“His resilience is impressive, too. He’s taken some solid hits, but he’s still standing like nothing happened.”

The students were starting to gauge my abilities.

That meant they also saw me as a growing threat.

‘Up until now, I’ve relied on endurance and drawn-out battles to get this far.’

But there are limits.

As I rise in the ranks, so do the abilities of my opponents, and it’s getting harder to avoid them.

Just a moment ago, I took a few solid hits.

‘Good thing I have Skin of Steel.’

Without it, those strikes would’ve been dangerous.

‘Now, I’m entering the mid-ranks.’

From here on, my usual tactics won’t work against these opponents.

Even with my Skin of Steel, there are those it won’t work against.

Boom!

Suddenly, a deafening noise pierced through the arena.

When I turned my head in that direction, a man with green hair tied at the back was lying at Isabel’s feet.

It was Zerlond Bassith, ranked 9th.

“Ughhh.”

In front of him stood a girl with flowing honey-blonde hair.

She held a crystal dagger in one hand and a long sword in the other.

Isabel Luna.

She looked down at Zerlond with cold eyes, a stark contrast to her usual self.

Isabel was notorious for being ruthless in battle.

Though she was usually a bright and lovable girl, the moment she entered a fight, she displayed a level of focus that made her seem like a different person.

But today, there was an even sharper edge to her.

“Isabel, haven’t you gotten even better?”

“She’s been going to the training grounds alone a lot lately.”

“She’s aiming for a higher rank.”

The other students were clearly surprised by Isabel’s skill.

Isabel had always been among the top ranks.

But after Lucas’s death, she lost all her motivation, and her rank had been steadily dropping.

However, today, she was showing a completely different side.

She seemed more powerful than ever, even stronger than in her prime.

Isabel’s head turned.

Her eyes, bright like the sun, met mine directly.

In those eyes, a deep flame of anger flickered.

The reason she had regained her strength and grown stronger was clear.

To defeat me without question and make me apologize for speaking ill of Lucas.

Her gaze said as much.

‘She’s burning with determination.’

Her intense resolve is almost amusing.

I’ve become the clear goal of Isabel’s life.

‘Keep growing, Isabel.’

If she’s going to grow, let her grow her grudge even more.

As I took a moment to catch my breath, I saw a group of first-years having their mock battles.

In the distance, a student with monstrous strength was wildly swinging a greatsword.

It was Aisha Bizbell, the ‘Iron Maiden of the Greatsword’.

A student who rushed at her was struck by her sword and sent flying through the air.

Still, the student managed to barely avoid a direct hit, landing on the ground with a terrified look at Aisha.

But Aisha, her long, dark-blue hair flowing behind her, wore an even fiercer expression.

Normally diligent and hardworking, she became completely unhinged whenever she wielded a greatsword.

‘I’ve been on the receiving end of that, too.’

I chuckled bitterly, recalling the day I sparred with Aisha before a mock battle.

Just thinking about it still makes my side ache.

“29th rank, Seron Parmia, 30th rank, Airei.”

As I watched Aisha finish off her opponent with her greatsword, I heard an assistant call my name.

When I looked over, one of the girls who always insulted me stepped forward from the crowd.

She had burgundy-colored hair tied in a ponytail and a headband pulling back her bangs to expose her forehead.

Her clothes were a bit too big, as if she was deliberately trying to look cute.

One of the four who constantly badmouthed me—Seron Parmia.

The moment our eyes met, she snorted derisively.

“What are you looking at? You potato-faced idiot.”

“Excuse me? Potato-faced? That’s a new one.”

She stepped into the arena first.

“Seron, teach him a lesson!”

“Make sure that jerk pays!”

“You’re done for, against Seron!”

The voices from the crowd were loud and annoying.

Seron, fueled by their cheers, wore a smug expression.

“Don’t think your cheap tricks will work on me. You’ll end up dead, potato.”

She warned me.

It was a warning that my usual tactic of draining my opponent’s stamina, like in my previous battles, wouldn’t work on her.

On top of that, I was well aware of the nickname attached to her.

‘The Unlucky Seron.’

She was born with terrible luck.

Not only had bad luck always struck her during mock battles, lowering her rank despite her actual skill,

But misfortune seemed to follow her constantly, landing her in the hospital more times than she could count.

Whoosh!

At that moment, Seron drew two axes from her belt at once.

Her axe technique was the real deal.

She definitely didn’t belong in the lower mid-ranks.

‘In fact, her stats are the strongest among the four who badmouth me.’

But as I said before, She’s unlucky.

“Yeah, I know.”

I reached down to the weapon rack below the arena and pulled out a piece of equipment.

Seron’s eyes widened as she watched.

I only grabbed one thing.

A shield.

Up until now, I hadn’t used any weapons.

The fact that I chose to use a shield at this moment made her scowl deeply.

All the data she had gathered on me became meaningless.

Her reaction was only natural.

“You think using a shield will change anything?”

Her tone was incredulous as I stepped into the arena.

“I didn’t have much of a choice.”

I lifted the shield casually.

“Your shiny forehead was too bright, I needed something to block it.”

Crack!

A vein bulged on Seron’s forehead.

“What did you say about my forehead!?”

As expected of someone who liked to dish out cheap provocations, she was quick to take the bait.

Simple.

“Begin.”

Here she comes.

The moment I felt it, my shield moved reflexively.

Clang!

With a loud crash, Seron’s axe collided with my shield.

Despite appearances, her axes packed a serious punch, leaving a heavy impact.

“For Isabel!”

Mentioning Isabel’s nickname, Seron’s eyes flared with anger.

“I hated you the moment you started talking down to her!”

Clang!

I blocked her second swing with my shield.

She twisted her body, maintaining her axe-wielding stance, and unleashed a rapid series of strikes.

“Now I see it clearly!”

Sizzle!

Along with the sound of ignition, flames erupted from the tips of her axes.

Fire flickered beyond the shield.

Seron’s unique ability.

‘Ignition Axe.’

Boom!

With the sound of an explosion, I stepped back.

Her Ignition Axe triggers an explosion upon contact.

The faint smell of gunpowder tickled my nose.

The impact from the explosion that traveled through my shield left my arm tingling.

“Turn into a burnt sweet potato already!”

Seron, using her flexible body, unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks.

Each time, I blocked her axes with my shield.

My body was gradually being pushed back.

I understood Seron’s plan.

She intended to push me completely out of the arena.

‘Since out-of-bounds counts as a loss in mock battles.’

It was a pretty good strategy.

But as I said earlier, Seron was unlucky.

Just before I was about to step outside the arena,

I took my first step forward.

Seron immediately noticed the movement of my foot.

As expected from an expert in axe techniques, her observation skills were sharp.

But it didn’t matter.

At the wrong moment, my shield collided with her axe.

Clang!

The force from her axe and the force from my shield clashed violently.

Both her axe and my shield bounced in different directions.

Our powers canceled each other out.

But Seron didn’t just have one axe.

Her specialty was dual-wielding axes.

The axe in her other hand rushed toward my now-exposed body.

Seron’s eyes were already filled with the certainty of victory.

Just before her axe could reach me,

I stretched out my left arm toward it.

Seron’s eyes widened in shock.

Though the axes were magically treated by the academy to prevent serious injuries,

Her Ignition Axe had a unique trait.

If I wasn’t careful, my left arm could be blown off.

Even with top-tier healers standing by, it was still reckless.

Grit!

But this was a battle.

Seron, without hesitation, put all her strength into the axe.

Her intention was clear—she wanted me to feel some pain.

And then, her axe hit my arm.

Boom!

The explosion roared around us.

A clean hit.

As Seron’s eyes filled with the certainty of her victory,

Whoosh!

A hand reached through the smoke and grabbed her by the collar.

Seron’s eyes flew wide open.

“Huh?!”

A stunned response escaped her lips.

It was understandable.

This was the arm that had just been struck by her Ignition Axe.

Even if it hadn’t been blown off, it should have at least been twisted by the impact.

But here I was, perfectly fine, gripping her collar.

Seron’s mind momentarily froze.

However, her body instinctively reacted.

The axe she had been swinging quickly returned to its original position, aiming for the arm that was gripping her by the collar.

Boom!

Another explosion rang out as the Ignition Axe activated.

In that moment, she surely thought my arm would be destroyed this time.

Whoosh!

But instead, her body was suddenly lifted into the air and thrown.

Shock filled Seron’s eyes.

My arm was still perfectly fine.

As I’ve said before, Seron is unlucky.

After all, she had the misfortune of facing me early in the mock battle.

I possess a special trait, acquired from the Empress of Steel: Skin of Steel.

Skin of Steel has two effects:

It reduces damage from physical and slashing attacks.

And it grants immunity to fire.

To pierce through my Skin of Steel, she would need firepower far greater than the dozens of Fire Essences I’ve used.

Seron’s Ignition Axe didn’t stand a chance.

The shield was just a ruse, meant to make her believe her attacks were working.

Seron, who had fallen for it so easily, was now slammed into the ground from midair.

Boom!

Her legs and arms shot up into the air upon impact.

Slowly, they drooped back down.

Her body trembled weakly.

“Hic, please…”

A faint sound escaped her lips.

Like a small animal caught by a predator, her body shook uncontrollably.

Seeing this, I casually shook out my left arm.

Even with Skin of Steel, it’s not like I didn’t feel the impact.

I had to use my trump card sooner than expected, but it’s not something I should rely on often.

Step-

I began walking toward Seron.

“Ugh, hic, ugh!”

She struggled to get up, but having been slammed full-force into the ground, she couldn’t move on her own.

Due to the lighting, my face was cast in shadows.

Seeing me approach, Seron shuddered in terror.

“D-Don’t come! Don’t come near me!”

The confidence she had earlier was completely gone, replaced by a fearful scream.

I paused for a moment, then smirked.

“I’ll leave right now.”

Time for her to taste the wrath of a burnt sweet potato.

Without mercy, I raised my fist.

“N-No, please!”

My fist slammed directly into her face.

Crunch!

Her body twitched once before collapsing limply.

Her two thin legs, once neatly gathered, had no strength left in them.

“30th-ranked Airei wins.”

With that short announcement from the instructor, I lifted my head.

The spectators were speechless, shocked that Seron had been beaten so thoroughly.

The reactions of the other three members of her group were especially amusing.

I made eye contact with them.

If anything, what happened to Seron would be mild compared to what awaited them.

Let this be a clear warning:

See for yourselves how terrifying a burnt sweet potato can be.