Chapter 63 - My Fighting Style [3]

"As usual, there’s always a lot of customers after the academy hours."

Zion said, the two of us are currently sitting inside the kitchen of the restaurant, resting.

He leaned back against the counter, stretching his legs out while wiping a light layer of sweat from his forehead.

That’s right, he also applied for a part time job here when he heard that I will be working here. I don’t know why he did so, but it’s most probably because he needs extra money too.

He might be the main protagonist of this world, but his current financial standing wasn’t much better than mine, leaving him to earn his own pocket money for daily supplies.

"Well, this place is near most of the main facilities, the ambiance is nice, and the food is good... People are hungry too after a long day."

I told Zion. We work mainly as waiters in the restaurant, the pay is good, and we get free dinner too.

I leaned against the adjacent counter, taking a slow sip from a cup of cold water while letting my tired feet recover from hours of walking back and forth.

Working part time here was really helping the two of us save up money.

Having a steady stream of income guaranteed that we wouldn’t have to worry about our basic survival expenses or basic gear maintenance.

... ... ...

We spent the remaining minutes of our scheduled break catching our breath in the quiet corner of the kitchen.

The head chef checked the incoming order tickets pinned near the front window, calling out for extra hands to prepare for the evening rush. Zion and I pushed ourselves up from the counter, putting our aprons back on as we prepared to head back out to the main dining floor.

After our rest, a second wave of influx of customers arrived at the restaurant.

The front doors swung open continuously as large groups of hungry students and staff members streamed into the dining area looking for open tables.

Zion and I were tasked to take care of most of them, getting their orders and delivering them to the tables.

We moved quickly between the crowded tables, balancing heavy trays of steaming dishes while taking down fresh order requests.

We worked nonstop until the time hit [10:00 PM], and the restaurant started closing down.

The long hours of constant movement kept us on our feet, pushing through the dinner rush until the kitchen finally stopped accepting new orders.

The customers are gone by this time, so Zion, me, and the other employees started cleaning up. We wiped down the wooden tables, stacked the chairs, and swept the dining room floor before gathering in the kitchen for our late staff meal.

Then with the remaining ingredients, the chefs cooked delicious food for everyone.

Each of us received a portion of our own, and with that; our shift came to an end.

*****

I went ahead and ate dinner when I got back to my dorm, then after that, I sat down on the bed to rest up before sleeping.

I unbuttoned my collar and leaned back against the headboard, letting out a long, exhausted breath as I stared up at the ceiling.

"Hmm... Is it next week?"

I mumbled to myself, remembering an event from the game.

I crossed my arms over my chest, mentally sorting through the chronological timeline of the original game story to place the upcoming schedule.

A week from now on, we will have a joint session along with the [C CLASS]. And the event will be very simple... Our class is going to spar with them, one by one.

The faculty had scheduled a mandatory cross-class practical exam designed to test the combat readiness of the lower tier divisions.

It was an evaluation to see the difference between the lower class, medium, and high classes.

The instructors wanted to gather direct performance data on how individual students handled pressure when facing opponents outside their standard ranking bracket.

We already had a joint lesson with the [B CLASS] before, so this might sound easier. But this was just the case for me and Zion.

Having already tested our skills against higher-ranked peers, facing the lower tier wouldn’t pose much of a physical challenge for the two of us.

After all, when we compared the results of the physical examination of our CLASS and B CLASS, then except for us two, the rest of the class lost badly.

The gap in raw physical stats and mana output between the different class tiers was surprisingly steep for standard students.

And also...

"There’s that incident too."

My expression darkened slightly as a specific main scenario plot line resurfaced in my memory.

During this event was where they were going to be introduced, [The Corrupted].

They were the tragic, dark element lurking within the academy grounds, acting as the primary antagonists for the early story arcs.

They are people who succumbed to demons’ temptations. They experience a huge power boost and people become crazy strong from it.

Desperate people who sought shortcuts to power would trade their humanity away in exchange for dark magic enhancements.

But of course, holding demons’ hands for power was never meant to be good.

The massive burst of borrowed strength came at a terrifying cost that ultimately destroyed the user from the inside out.

Using the power given to you will sap away your life and sanity, it attacks your mind and makes you do things you normally do. Then slowly... You will stop being able to control your body.

The dark mana would slowly erode their mental stability, twisting their personality until they completely lost control over their actions.

Their body will start transforming not long, the skin will change color, horns or other monster parts will grow, claws and teeth will sharpen.

Physical mutations would rapidly take over, warping their flesh into grotesque, monstrous forms designed purely for combat.

And as it goes on... The stronger and more violent the person becomes.

They would lose all capacity for reason, driven entirely by an overwhelming urge to inflict harm on everything around them.

They will be covered with a sinister energy that is like mana, but stronger and denser, it was called Evil Energy.

The dark aura would radiate off them in heavy, suffocating waves, suppressing standard mana and terrifying anyone nearby.

Until they turn into a full on [Demonic Human]!

At that point, all trace of their original self would be completely erased, leaving behind only a destructive monster.

Anyway, the one that will appear next week is a [Corrupted] student. Zion is bound to face them in the spar, but it wouldn’t hurt to prepare.

Even though the main protagonist was scripted to handle the encounter in the original game storyline, relying entirely on game memory was dangerous.

After all, it’s not like everything will happen just as I remember.

My very presence and my choices had already caused small ripples in the timeline, meaning unexpected variables could easily alter the outcome.

"It’s better to be safe than to be sorry."

I said to myself.

I pulled my blanket up, closing my eyes to get a good night’s rest so I could focus on my conditioning tomorrow.

*****

The morning sun filtered through the window blinds, signaling the start of another routine day at the academy.

The next day, everything went on as normal.

I followed my strict daily routine without wasting a single minute of the early morning hours.

I woke up and fixed the bed, ate breakfast and took a bath, then dressed up and attended classes.

I gathered my belongings, heading out the door to make it to the classroom before the bell chimed.

The classes for the day were still as long as ever, and the lectures are still hard to sit in through the end, it feels like my head was being fried.

Listening to professors break down complex mana circulation formulas and historical battle strategies for hours on end was mentally exhausting.

During lunch, Zion, Cindy, and I ate together at the canteen. Cordelia and Crystal were there too so the five of us joined up. We got close to each other now, so we met up from time to time even though we’re not a party anymore.

We grabbed a large table near the center of the cafeteria, chatting casually about our recent coursework and training progress over our meals.

And then, after sitting for hours listening to three long lectures and having to train our body for one physical subject—the classes came to an end.

DIIIIIING~!!!

The final bell echoed across the courtyard, signaling the end of the mandatory academic schedule for the day.

Zion and I originally go straight to the restaurant for our part time job after classes.

Our shift wasn’t scheduled to start for another two hours, giving us a rare window of free time before work.

But today, instead of there—

TAP-

We walked down the long outdoor hallway that led away from the central classroom block toward the practical combat facilities. We went to one of the training grounds. We entered the dome-like structure and found and empty arena inside.

The massive reinforced building was completely deserted at this hour, offering a quiet, private space for full-contact sparring.

Zion looked at me with a smile on his face, he rested his hand on the hilt of his weapon, turning to face me with a sharp, eager glint in his eyes.

Then opening his mouth—

"Did you finally finish putting together your fighting style?"

He asked me that.

My own fighting style... I had been figuring out and training myself of it ever since we left the dungeon.

I had spent countless late time in private practice rooms, testing combinations between my primary rapier [Frost] and my newly acquired silver dagger.

Zion had asked me countless of time to spar out of curiosity, but I rejected his invitation every time. It was not ready for use, anyway.

I had consistently turned him down because my fluid dual-wielding transitions and spell timing still lacked the necessary precision.

But today... I already felt confident in it. The fighting style I developed for myself, I want to test it before the next event.

My movements had finally reached a level of muscle memory where I could execute my maneuvers smoothly under pressure.

So I finally accepted Zion’s challenge.

After all, there’s no better way of testing its effectiveness than to use it against the protagonist of the world.

FWISH~

I unbuckled [Frost] and drew the silver dagger from my belt, taking a firm stance in the center of the ring.

Sparring against someone of Zion’s extraordinary talent and combat instinct was the ultimate benchmark to measure my true growth.

"It’s not really finished yet, but it’s enough that I can use it in a fight now."

I replied to Zion, smiling a little with a confident shrug of my shoulders.

FWOOSH!

I raised [Frost] in my right hand, transformed into a rapier, and held the silver dagger in a reverse grip with my left, channeling a faint layer of frost mana around my blades.