The World After the Bad Ending

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The mock battle continues.

Some are desperate to raise their rankings.

Some are fighting to maintain their rankings.

A bloody struggle erupted among the students.

Jerion Academy is a meritocracy.

Students with high grades get more support and benefits.

Moreover, this place is like a miniature version of the vast societal hierarchy.

It’s where many noble offspring and future heroes will make their names during their childhood.

Making a name for yourself at Jerion Academy means making a name for yourself across the world.

Thus, the children are increasingly desperate to climb the rankings.

Even the professors carefully observe the mock battles.

It’s a time when the children’s passion is excessively ignited.

At this moment,

Someone charged across the arena.

Smack!

My fist landed squarely on my opponent’s jaw.

“Ugh, crazy, bird, dude.”

With just one hit, my opponent’s consciousness slipped away, and he crumpled helplessly.

He had been dragged into an endurance battle all day long.

Ultimately, I took advantage of his exhaustion and struck.

The eyes of the children momentarily turned this way.

“What rank are you now?”

“30th.”

“……”

Soon, all the voices of mockery vanished.

In their place, an expression of wariness began to appear on their faces.

My relentless winning streak continued.

Already 17 children had fallen to my fists.

All of them had succumbed in the same way as the first, Mirizan.

“Do you use martial arts?”

“But you hardly even used martial arts.”

“Most of them lost in endurance battles.”

“This is intentional, hiding your skills.”

“You have remarkable resilience. A few solid hits landed, yet you endured perfectly.”

The kids started to gauge my abilities.

That means I have now appeared as a threat to them.

‘Up to this point, I somehow carried through with stamina and protracted battles.’

But there are limits.

As my rank rises, so do the skills of my opponents, making it gradually harder to evade.

Just earlier, I allowed quite a few effective hits.

‘Thank goodness for my steel skin.’

If it weren’t for that, I could have sustained some serious damage.

‘Now I’m entering the mid-tier ranks.’

Only those who won’t be swayed by my tricks remain.

Even with my steel skin.

There are those who aren’t easily intimidated.

Boom!

In that moment, a deafening noise pierced my ears.

Turning in the direction, I saw a guy with green hair tied in a ponytail rolling before Isabel.

Rank 9, Gelond Basys.

“Ugh.”

Before him stood a girl with honey-blonde hair fluttering around.

Isabel Luna, wielding a dagger shaped like a diamond and a long sword.

Unlike usual, she looked down at Gelond with cold eyes.

In battle, Isabel is notoriously fierce.

She’s usually a bright and lovely girl.

But when it comes to fighting, she shows a level of concentration that makes her seem like a different person.

But today, she felt sharper than usual.

“Isabel, haven’t your skills gotten better?”

“I’ve been going to the training hall alone quite a bit lately.”

“You’re going to rise even higher.”

The children expressed their astonishment at Isabel’s skills.

Isabel was originally within the top ranks.

However, after Lucas’s death, she lost her motivation and consistently dropped in rank.

But today,

She was showing a markedly different aspect.

More than her prime.

An overwhelming aura emanated from her.

Isabel turned her head.

Her eyes, reminiscent of the sun, met mine.

Within those eyes, a fierce blaze of anger flickered.

I could clearly see why she had regained her power and grown stronger.

She aimed to surely crush me and demand an apology for disrespecting Lucas.

It was like saying that outright.

‘That’s burning bright.’

I’m grateful that she’s showing such spirit.

That means I’m solidifying my position as her life’s goal.

‘Keep growing, Isabel.’

As you grow, expand your desires even more.

Taking a breath, I noticed first-years engaging in their mock battles.

In the distance, there was a bizarrely monstrous child swinging a huge sword.

The great sword master, Aisha Bizbel.

The student charging at her got whacked by the great sword and flew into the air.

Still, perhaps he narrowly avoided it, landing on the ground with a shocked expression as he gazed at Aisha.

But Aisha, with her long azure hair flying wildly, appeared even more fervent.

She’s diligent and hardworking normally, but when she wields that great sword, her demeanor changes entirely.

‘I was also on the receiving end of that.’

Recalling the day I sparred with Aisha before the mock battles, I couldn’t help but grin ruefully.

Just watching her made my side ache again.

“29th, Seron Parmia, 30th, Hanon Irey.”

As I finished watching Aisha thoroughly dismantle her opponent,

I heard the instructor call my name.

I shifted my gaze to see a girl from the group that always slandered me stepping forward.

With burgundy hair and a headband pulled to reveal her forehead.

Dressed in slightly oversized clothes, likely to accentuate her cuteness.

She was one of the four who constantly criticized me.

Seron Parmia.

Upon making eye contact with me, she snorted in disdain.

“What are you looking at, burnt sweet potato?”

Oh, really?

Calling me a burnt sweet potato is some insult.

She ascended into the arena first.

“Seron, teach him a lesson!”

“Give that naughty one a thrashing!”

“You’re dead to Seron.”

The crowd in the stands hollered excitedly.

Seron, basking in their cheers, wore a victorious expression.

“Don’t think that kind of nonsense will work on me. You’ll die, sweet potato.”

She warned me.

Like before, trying to exhaust her stamina to swing the tide wouldn’t work.

Also, I knew well the nickname stuck to her.

“The unlucky one, Seron.”

She has no inherent luck.

Every mock battle, unfortunate events occurred, leading to her rank suffering regardless of ability.

For reasons unknown, she constantly ends up in mishaps that send her to the hospital.

Huff!

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

Her combat skills are genuine.

She certainly isn’t of a caliber to stay in the mid-low ranks.

‘Actually, she had the highest stats among the four.’

But as mentioned before,

Her luck is terrible.

“Yeah, I know.”

I grabbed a weapon from the rack below the arena.

Seron’s eyes widened gradually.

What I drew was one.

A shield.

So far, I hadn’t wielded any weapons.

As I picked up the shield at this moment, her expression darkened.

All my previous data would likely mean nothing now.

An understandable reaction.

“What’s going to change just because you’re holding a shield?”

She exhibited an incredulous response, and I climbed atop the arena.

“I couldn’t help it.”

Then I lifted the shield slightly.

“Your forehead is so shiny, it was hurting my eyes, so I needed to block it.”

Smack!

I could see the vein on Seron’s forehead pulsing.

“What’s wrong with my forehead?!”

True to her nature, she easily took the bait and fell for my cheap provocation.

Straightforward.

“Start.”

Here she comes.

As soon as I sensed her coming, my shield moved reflexively.

Bang!

With a deafening noise, Seron’s axe collided with my shield.

Contrary to appearances, Seron’s axe was heavy and left a significant impact.

“To Isabel!”

Seron raged, fire blazing in her eyes.

“I didn’t like you from the moment you said that!”

Bang!

I blocked her axe once more with my shield.

She twisted her body in the stance she had taken and continued attacking with her axes.

“Now I can clearly see!”

Swoosh!

As she shouted, I heard the sound of igniting at the axe’s tip.

At the same time, flames licked around my shield.

Seron’s unique trait.

The ‘Flame Axe.’

Boom!

With an explosion, I took a step back.

Her burning axe causes an explosion upon contact with the target.

A mild smell of gunpowder wafted into my nostrils.

The shockwave from the explosion coursed through and made my arm tingle.

“Become a burnt sweet potato!”

Leaping up, Seron unleashed a relentless series of strikes utilizing her agile body.

With each attack, I repeatedly blocked her axes with my shield.

My body was being pushed back.

I grasped Seron’s intent.

She seemed to aim to push me completely out of the arena.

‘There are out-of-bounds rulings in mock battles.’

A pretty decent strategy.

But as mentioned, Seron has terrible luck.

Just as I was about to step outside the arena,

My foot was pushed forward for the first time.

Seron’s eyes immediately caught my foot’s movement.

As expected, her keen vision was commendable for a master of axes.

But it didn’t matter.

My shield, slipping in at a misaligned moment, collided with Seron’s axe.

Clang!

The forces applied to the axe and shield clashed simultaneously.

As a result, both the axe and shield flew off in different directions.

The two forces neutralized each other.

However, Seron had more than one axe.

The combat techniques she used were twin axes.

The axe in her opposite hand charged straight for my unguarded body.

Victory was already clear in Seron’s eyes.

Just before her axe reached me,

I extended my left arm towards it.

Seron’s eyes widened.

Although the axes had been magically treated at the academy, so they wouldn’t cause real injury,

Her axe possessed the unique trait of igniting.

It was a situation where my left arm could be cleanly severed.

No matter how many top-tier healers stood by, it was a reckless move.

Grit!

But a contest is a contest.

Seron, undeterred, poured all her energy into the axe.

She must have been thinking to give me a taste of pain.

And her axe made contact with my arm.

Boom!

The explosion swept across the surroundings.

An effective hit.

The moment victory illuminated Seron’s eyes,

Whoosh!

A hand emerged from the smoke, grabbing Seron by her collar.

Her eyes bulged wide.

“What?!”

An absurd reaction burst from her lips.

Of course, that hand was on the arm where her igniting axe had struck.

While it didn’t fly away, it undoubtedly suffered a serious twist.

Yet here I stood, perfectly intact, grabbing her by the collar.

For a moment, Seron was frozen in disbelief.

But her body moved instinctively.

The axe she had swung found its way back swiftly, aiming for the arm that held her collar.

Boom!

Another explosion resonated, activating her igniting axe.

This time, I thought for sure that I would be broken.

Wheeew!

In an instant, her body lifted into the air.

A look of horror spread across Seron’s eyes.

My arm was still intact.

Again, I’ll emphasize, Seron has terrible luck.

More so because she encountered me at the beginning of this mock battle.

The Steel Empress had granted me my unique trait.

Steel Skin.

The effects of Steel Skin are twofold.

It weakens physical and slashing attacks.

And it grants immunity to fire.

To pierce my steel skin, you’d need firepower exceeding dozens of my fire crystals.

Seron’s igniting axe was no match at all.

The shield was just a ruse to mislead her into thinking her attacks might connect.

Falling for that trap, I descended on Seron from mid-air.

Boom!

Seron’s arms and legs flailed in the air upon slamming onto the ground.

Simultaneously, her limbs slowly drooped downward.

Her body trembled faintly.

“Ugh, urgh.”

A weak sound escaped her lips.

Like a hunted critter, her body shivered in fear.

Seeing that, I lightly brushed off my left arm.

Even with Steel Skin, I wouldn’t be completely unscathed.

Though I did run into a capable wielder quickly, overdoing it wasn’t wise.

Slick—

I walked towards Seron.

“Ugh, ugh!”

Seron struggled, trying to rise.

However, having been slammed down with all her strength, she couldn’t manage to lift herself.

Perhaps due to the lights, shadows fell across my face.

Watching her slowly realize the impending threat, Seron trembled in fear.

“Don’t, don’t come near!”

Just moments before, her bravado vanished, replaced by a scream of dread.

I glanced at her for a moment before breaking into a smirk.

“I’ll leave right away.”

Taste that burnt sweet potato.

And I raised my fist mercilessly.

“No, no way!”

My descending fist crashed into Seron’s face directly.

Crack!

Her body shuddered once before going limp.

Her tiny legs, gathered cutely, had lost all their strength.

“30th, Hanon Irey wins.”

With the instructor’s terse proclamation, I lifted my head.

The children, who didn’t expect Seron to be this utterly destroyed, were left speechless.

Especially three out of the four girls from her group looked most interesting.

I made eye contact with them.

A warning that if it got much worse, they wouldn’t be any different.

Make sure to clearly understand just how terrifying a burnt sweet potato can be.