"Hiss—"
Early morning, in the bathroom of Room 403, Natsukawa Sosuke twitched the corner of his mouth slightly in front of the mirror, then immediately sucked in a breath of cold air.
The face in the mirror was still handsome, but there were several inconspicuous bruises on the cheekbones and the corners of the mouth. This was just the tip of the iceberg; if he took off his shirt, he would find purplish marks from blunt force trauma all over his ribs, arms, and the sides of his thighs.
"That poker-faced guy... he really didn't hold back at all. Luckily, I exchanged for some medical knowledge beforehand and prepared some medicine to promote blood circulation and remove stasis."
Natsukawa splashed his face with cold water, feeling the soreness coming from his muscles, and sighed helplessly.
This certainly wasn't because he was itching for a beating, nor was it truly for so-called "practice."
The root of it all lay with that money-grubbing system.
[Exchange Item: Basic Fighting Mastery]
[Price to be Paid: Within ten calendar days, conduct 15 effective combat sessions with a target whose fighting level is "Proficiency" or above (each session no less than 15 minutes, must go all out).]
Originally, Natsukawa thought this was just a formality. After all, with the experience of "Junior Programming Mastery," he thought that exchanging for a skill was like clicking a skill point in a game—instantly transforming into a martial arts master, punching the old folks' home in the south and kicking the kindergarten in the north.
However, reality gave him a loud slap—in the physical sense.
Brain: "I know this move, left hook followed by right whip kick, the opening is here!"
Body: "No, you don't. Legs won't lift, center of gravity is unstable, about to fall."
Although the system indeed instilled fighting knowledge and force-exerting techniques into his mind, the body's muscle memory and nerve reaction speed couldn't keep up instantly. It was like being given a peerless martial arts manual; your brain understood it, but your hands and feet wouldn't obey.
Especially since his sparring partner was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, the "Masterpiece."
"But... pain aside, the progress is real."
Natsukawa moved his wrists. After last night's hellish fifteen minutes, he could clearly feel that the knowledge that originally only existed in his mind was being carved into his body bit by bit along with the pain.
As long as he persisted for a few more days and let his body adapt to this rhythm, although he wouldn't be qualified for high-end matches yet, dealing with Ryuuen's bunch of thugs should be more than enough... When he arrived at the classroom, the atmosphere in Class D was quite lively.
Although everyone was nervous about the upcoming final exams, they were also full of confidence. Especially after the Class D vs. Class C matchup was established, everyone was holding their breath, wanting to completely crush Class C under their feet.
Natsukawa had just sat down and adjusted his posture slightly when he accidentally strained the injury on his back, causing his brow to furrow involuntarily.
"Natsukawa-kun? Are you okay?"
Kushida Kikyo, who had been paying attention to him, immediately leaned over with a worried expression on her face.
"Your face looks a bit pale, and the corner of your mouth... are you injured?"
As soon as she spoke, the attention of several nearby girls was also drawn over.
Natsukawa brushed it off with the lame excuse of "falling down the stairs because it was too dark at night." Karuizawa Kei also took the opportunity to come over and give him a Band-Aid, using her eyes to express a coquettish "How could you be so careless?" Natsukawa could only give a dry laugh in response; he couldn't exactly say he went out of his way to get beaten up... During lunch break,
"Hey! You guys from Class C, what are you doing here?!"
Sudo Ken's angry roar suddenly came from outside the hallway.
Everyone in the classroom was startled and looked toward the door.
At the classroom door, several boys from Class C were leaning against the doorframe, holding drinks and looking inside with mocking expressions. The leader was Ishizaki Daichi.
"Yo, Sudo. Still reviewing?"
Ishizaki Daichi whistled, his voice so loud he wanted the whole floor to hear.
"Can you even understand the questions? Do you want big brother to teach you? Oh, right, I forgot you're just a gorilla who only knows violence. Recognizing words must be too hard for you, right?"
"Hahaha! Don't say that, Ishizaki. He's the 'hero' of Class D now."
Komiya, who was next to him, chimed in sarcastically.
"But Paper Shuffle tests your brain. In a place like Class D, full of Defective Products, we could probably get a perfect score on the questions you set with our eyes closed. As for you guys, be careful not to end up crying and begging us to go easy on you."
This was a blatant provocation.
"Bastard! Say that again if you dare!"
Sudo Ken kicked his chair back violently, veins bulging on his fierce face.
Although he had restrained himself a lot lately under Horikita's discipline, now that someone was insulting him right at his doorstep, his explosive temper was instantly ignited.
"I'll say it! You guys are just a bunch of tras—"
"Sudo!"
A voice as cold as frost, like a sharp blade, instantly cut through the conflict that was about to erupt between the two sides.
Horikita Suzune sat in her seat, pen in hand, without even lifting her head.
"Sit down. Continue with the questions."
"But Horikita! These guys are too arrogant! They've come right to our door to bully us!" Sudo pointed at the door, trembling with rage. "They're insulting us!"
"So what?"
Horikita Suzune finally looked up, her reddish-purple eyes showing a calm clarity.
"Our opponent for this exam is Class C. According to the rules, we need to set questions for each other and compete on total scores."
"Their purpose in coming here now is obvious."
Horikita's sharp gaze swept over Ishizaki and the others at the door.
"First, to scout and simultaneously disrupt our review progress. Second, to provoke you, making you unable to focus on reviewing, or even inducing you to get physical."
"If you rush out and hit them now, that's exactly the result Ryuuen wants."
"This..." Sudo was stunned.
Though impulsive, he wasn't stupid.
"Tch... a bunch of despicable cowards!"
Sudo glared fiercely at the door, gritted his teeth, and sat back down, picking up his pen and stabbing it forcefully onto the paper.
"I won't fall for it! I'm going to crush you with my scores!"
Seeing this, Ishizaki and the others didn't leave immediately. Instead, they let out a few bored boos and continued to chat loudly at the door, trying to create noise interference.
Although the other students in the classroom weren't as impulsive as Sudo, they all showed expressions of indignation.
"The people in Class C are too shameless, aren't they?"
"Exactly, to use such methods to interfere with our review."
"Truly disgusting."
Natsukawa watched this scene from the back row, his eyes narrowing slightly.
'Is it starting already?'
'The matchup list was only confirmed yesterday, and they're already starting the door-to-door harassment.' dragon boy's execution was indeed impeccable.
Moreover, this harassment probably isn't just targeting Sudo; Hirata's side likely won't be much better off...
....
Read 40 more chapters at patreon.com/Zeaser