Chapter 144: Helpless Dummy
Chapter 144: Helpless Dummy
The young woman who had followed Leon to the chamber continued watching him. Even after seeing him fail, there wasn’t a trace of contempt in her eyes. For some reason, she felt there was more to the story.
Just like Miss Cicimore. She remained standing quietly. She looked a bit occupied but not tense.
The teacher standing beside the gym trainer raised his voice.
"Alright, students. Focus on the test."
The murmurs stopped slowly.
The male teacher couldn’t help stealing a few glances at Leon. ’What’s going on? How can he have zero strength and no awakened ability? It was definitely him who cleared that gate a few days ago.’
The gym trainer continued calling out names one after another, and before long, the first test came to an end.
"Students, we’ll now begin the second test. I hope you’re ready."
As he spoke, he walked over to the target dummy.
"See this?" He patted the dummy. "Think of it as your enemy and attack with everything you’ve got. Whether you punch it, kick it, or cast a spell at it doesn’t matter. What matters is the amount of damage you inflict. I believe the objective is clear." His gaze swept across the students. "Now, I’ll call your names one by one, just like before."
The second test began.
Just like the first test, the girl named Molly was called up first.
She raised her hand, palm facing the dummy. A stream of wind gathered before it. In the next instant, the swirling wind compressed into a sphere before shooting forward and slamming into the target dummy.
The screen embedded in the dummy immediately lit up.
[Damage: 395]
"Congratulations. You’re already at the peak of F-Class and only a step away from reaching E-Class," the gym trainer praised.
The teacher beside him nodded in approval. "Good job, Molly. Keep it up."
"Thank you, sir." Molly said politely before walking back to her place.
A few students applauded for her.
"James."
It was the class representative’s turn once again.
He strode forward with the same smug confidence as before. Without any warning, he threw a punch.
Baaam!
The screen lit up.
[Damage: 670]
Cheers erupted throughout the room as many students applauded enthusiastically. Whether it was genuine admiration or simple flattery was hard to tell. After all, there were several other E-Class students, yet none of them had received the same level of applause during the mana test as James.
James returned to his place, but not before casting Leon a contemptuous glance.
’You bastard. You think you’re better than me? I don’t know how you’ve fooled everyone, but today I’ll prove you’re nothing more than a fraud.’
Just a month ago, when Leon had been nothing more than a loser in everyone’s eyes, James had been the star of the class. He was the class representative, came from a wealthy and influential family, and girls practically flocked around him.
But after the gate incident, Leon had begun to overshadow him. After the gate outside the restaurant had been cleared, James had immediately asked his father to check the Hunter Association’s records to find out Leon’s rank. However, there wasn’t a single registered hunter named Leon Bale.
There had only been two possibilities.
Either Leon was so powerful that his information had been classified...
Or he was simply a fraud.
When Leon had asked whether he would still be allowed to take the remaining tests if he failed the mana test, it had confirmed James’s suspicions.
Now he was convinced it was the latter.
His mood had never been better as he imagined tearing away Leon’s mask in front of everyone.
"Eric."
A tall boy wearing glasses stepped forward.
Standing a few meters away, he raised his hand and launched a fireball at the dummy.
Boom!
The screen flashed.
[Damage: 375]
Next came a chubby boy carrying a sword.
He walked up to the dummy, drew his sword back, and swung with all his strength.
Smack!
The blunt blade slammed into the dummy with tremendous force.
[Damage: 780]
"Excellent," the gym trainer said instinctively. "You’re already at the peak of E-Class. Very good. Keep training hard, and you’ll have a bright future."
The chubby boy bowed slightly before returning to his spot.
James’s eyelids twitched slightly.
One after another, the students demonstrated what they were capable of. There were quite a few promising talents among them.
However, every student who had failed the mana test also failed this one.
"Leon."
At last, Leon’s name was called again.
This time, the crowd wasn’t nearly as excited as before. Instead, they watched him with scrutinizing eyes as he slowly walked toward the target dummy.
The young woman who had followed Leon crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Many students had noticed her. Especially the boys. Quite a few of them were already lost in wild fantasies. Yet no one approached her or asked who she was. It wasn’t unusual for people to enter a combined training room to watch the training. After all, it was a gym.
Miss Cicimore also straightened her posture ever so slightly.
A smile spread across James’s lips. ’Nowhere left to run, is there?’ He was so sure Leon would make a fool of himself.
The girl who had asked whether Leon had a girlfriend watched him nervously.
Henry’s palms were soaked with sweat. ’I know you can do it, Leon.’
Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Leon stopped in front of the target dummy.
’Should I use my sword? They’re expecting quite a show. But that would be a little too overkill.’ He shook his head.
Instead, he simply drew back his right fist. He didn’t even bother taking a proper punching stance to get the best output.
Then...
Whoosh!
His fist shot forward like a bullet.
Thuuuud!
The screen lit up as the numbers began climbing at an astonishing speed.
100!
200!
300!
400!
...
...
In the blink of an eye, the score surpassed 3,000.
Before the final number could settle, smoke began hissing from the dummy’s joints.
Then...
BOOOOOM!
The entire target dummy exploded into countless pieces. Metal fragments, shattered chips, and tangled wires blasted in every direction.
Silence fell over the hall. Even the sound of breathing seemed to disappear. Everyone could only stare at Leon, their mouths hanging open in utter disbelief.