Chapter 37: The Height of Skill

There was only one reason Declan had chosen it.

During his time in the jungle, he had crafted a spear himself and had spent weeks there relying on that weapon throughout the entire ordeal.

So, if he had to choose something from this wall, he would obviously pick the weapon he was already familiar with.

It was common sense, but ironically...Declan was quickly reminded that common sense wasn’t actually common.

He glanced around, and noticed the students were picking some of the strangest weapons imaginable.

There were weapons Declan couldn’t even name, and some he had never seen before.

Judging by the way several students were holding them, they had no idea what they were doing either.

One student was gripping his weapon from the wrong end.

Another had positioned his hands in a way that made Declan question whether the weapon even had an intended grip.

[Idiots.]

The system notification flashed.

The entire process took less than three minutes, and soon, every student in the dojo had a weapon in their hands.

The instructor then slowly separated his hands, lowering both arms to his sides.

Declan couldn’t help but notice the man’s arms were unusually long as when fully lowered, his hands nearly reached his knees.

Then, without warning, something fell from beneath his robe.

CLAAAANG!

It struck the floor with enough force to make the ground vibrate.

A chain, and an incredibly heavy one at that.

The instructor reached toward his other side, and a dagger suddenly appeared in his hand.

It was in a bizarre form, its double-edged design resembling the shape of an h.

Then...

CLAAAAAANG!

The chain locked itself onto the edge of the dagger.

WHIIIIRRR!

WHHHIIIIR!

WHIIIIIIIR!

The instructor twisted his arm, and the chain began to spin.

The dagger whirled through the air at terrifying speed, the sound of its rotation filling the dojo.

Then the instructor’s deep voice thundered across the room.

"Defend yourselves."

"What!?"

An uproar immediately erupted throughout the dojo.

This was supposed to be a weapon class.

Surely, the instructor was supposed to introduce himself first, explain the different types of weapons, perhaps demonstrate a few techniques, and then let them practice.

Instead, every student now stood with a weapon in hand, some holding weapons they had never even touched before, while the instructor had just told them to defend themselves.

Whatever confusion they felt didn’t last long, because reality came crashing down on them before anyone could even begin to make sense of the situation.

VROOOOOOOOOOM!

The chained dagger tore through the air, appearing before a student who barely managed to raise his weapon in time.

CLANG!

The dagger crashed into the sword with tremendous force, sending the weapon flying from the student’s hands and throwing him backward like a rag doll.

Unfortunately, there was another student standing directly behind him, and the first student went crashing into him with enough force to send them both stumbling backward.

BOOOOOOM!

Both of them slammed into the wall with enough force to leave their bodies embedded in it, their heads hanging limply.

The surrounding students sucked in sharp breaths upon the realization:

Both were unconscious.

"DEFEND YOURSELVES!"

The instructor’s thunderous voice shook the entire dojo as he took a single step forward.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The floor trembled beneath his foot and his chained dagger spun forward once more.

This time, it came for everyone.

"Oh, shit!"

VROOOOOOM!

The air violently parted, and Declan’s head snapped downward.

RIIIIPPP!

The dagger sliced through the air barely an inch from the tip of his nose and Declan caught his own reflection in the blade as it passed.

’That was close.’

He immediately pushed off with both feet, sending his body shooting backward.

One flip...three.

In the blink of an eye, he had crossed nearly five meters and landed at the far end of the dojo, safely outside the instructor’s immediate range.

Declan stared at the chaos unfolding before him.

Students were being launched through the air one after another, crashing into walls and even breaking through portions of the ceiling.

"Yeah, I’ll pass."

He had absolutely no intention of getting involved, so he was content to stay out of the chaos until the system panel suddenly appeared before him.

[NEW MISSION ACTIVATED!]

[Mission: Slice the beaded chain on the Weapon Instructor’s neck!]

"Huh?"

Declan’s eyes shifted toward the instructor’s neck, and there he found a beaded chain hanging around his neck.

"No way I’m..."

[Rewards:]

[1.) +3 Level Up Cards!]

[2.) +5,000 EXP!]

Declan froze, his mouth opening before he closed it again, only to open it once more as if he couldn’t quite decide what to say, until eventually he sighed and his expression gradually became serious and dignified.

’On second thought... I suppose participating in class challenges is actually quite beneficial, don’t you think?’

[Oh, really, you cowardly thief!]

The system immediately fired back, causing Declan to roll his eyes, but despite the teasing, something inside him had already changed.

There was now something worth gaining.

He gripped his spear.

’Fine.’

If there was a reward, then participating suddenly seemed a lot more reasonable.

But Declan didn’t charge straight toward the instructor; instead, he moved, weaving through the class and circling around the other students as they were sent flying in every direction.

The instructor’s dagger suddenly came toward him.

Declan jumped, his feet landing briefly against the flat side of the spinning dagger before he pushed off.

BOOM!

Explosive momentum erupted beneath his feet, sending Declan shooting forward as he used the dagger itself as a platform.

STEP!

STEP!

STEP!

Three rapid steps carried him forward until he was only a meter away, his body coiling in midair as the spear drew backward.

Then...

PIERCE!

The spear shot toward the instructor’s neck.

BANG!

Something slammed into Declan’s side, knocking his attack off course as the spear missed the instructor’s neck by a mere five centimeters.

BAAAAAANG!

Declan was sent flying, smashing into the wall before sliding down and landing face-first on the dojo floor.

"The chains..."

He slowly peeled his face off the ground.

"He can attack with the chain too."

CLAAANG!

CLAAANG!

The sound of metal colliding caught his attention, and Declan turned toward it before freezing when he realized that someone was actually exchanging blows with the instructor.

A pink-haired girl wielding a katana was moving across the battlefield at incredible speed.

"So fast!?"

Declan stared, barely able to follow her movements as her feet seemed to vanish whenever she moved, with one moment finding her on the floor and the next seeing her on the ceiling before she bounced off a wall and came rushing back toward the instructor, her katana flashing toward him with deadly precision.

She never stopped attacking, and she wasn’t the only one.

A blue-haired young man wielding twin long swords was fighting alongside her, both weapons carrying curved blades as he moved with enough speed to barely evade the instructor’s attacks.

As the battle continued, more students began joining the fight.

’Going toe-to-toe with the instructor...How the hell are they even doing that?’

[That’s because the instructor is only exerting an equal level of power to you guys.]

Declan blinked.

"Equal power?"

[Yes.]

[The only reason he’s sending you all flying is because of his proficiency with his weapon.]

[Watch closely. This is what even a little bit of power can accomplish when paired with sufficient skill.]

Declan slowly sat up, stopping his worries about the battle for a moment as he simply watched.

The longer he watched, the more stunned he became.

Every strike from the instructor possessed enough force to send a student flying, yet Declan could feel it.

The instructor wasn’t actually stronger than them in terms of raw power.

The difference was how he used it.

The precision behind every swing of the chain, the timing of every strike, and the control behind every movement were all executed with frightening accuracy, yet somehow, despite that precision, none of his attacks were predictable.

The instructor’s movements were almost like a perfectly rehearsed performance, except there was no pattern to exploit.

"This..."

Declan tightened his grip around his spear.

"This is skill?"

[This is the Height of Skill.]

For once, Declan didn’t have a sarcastic response.

He simply stared.

He possessed the same amount of power as the instructor, yet he knew for certain that he couldn’t take on three students at the same time, while the instructor was holding hundreds of students at bay without even being forced to move from his original position.

’So is it really just more level-ups and stat points that I need?’

Declan’s gaze sharpened.

’Or do I need to learn how to properly use the little strength I already have?’

He slowly rose to his feet, his fingers tightening around the spear as he spun the weapon once through his hands before crouching low.

And moved.

CLANG!

The chain shot toward his feet, but Declan jumped at the last possible moment, allowing the chain to sweep beneath him before it suddenly stopped.

Declan’s pupils contracted.

The chain whipped upward between his spread legs, but he had already anticipated it and twisted his body sideways, causing the chain to pass by him by a hair’s breadth.

RIIIP!

The force tore through his clothes.

Declan landed, and the moment his feet touched the floor...

BOOM!

He exploded forward.

In an instant, he was beneath the instructor, whose white eyes flickered with a trace of surprise.

RIIIIIP!

Air exploded around Declan’s spear as it thrust toward the instructor’s neck.

For the first time...

BOOOOM!

The entire dojo shook.

The instructor took a single step backward, his head jerking to the side as the spear’s blade passed just above his face.

Then something came flying toward Declan.

The dagger.

His eyes narrowed as he immediately pulled his spear across his body.

BANG!

Spear and dagger collided, and one of Declan’s knees buckled beneath the impact as he was forced down against the dojo floor.

His teeth clenched.

’So... so heavy!’