Chapter 211

My sudden declaration of another face-off took the Hopeless Trio and the Orbis Class guys aback.

‘Why’s he acting like this after winning?’

their expressions seemed to say.

The fourth-year senior was just as startled.

“Ha-Haha... What did I just hear? You and me? Why?”

“Because you’re a piece of shit.”

“... What?”

“Looking at you, it seems like you’re the shittiest of the shitty.”

I clenched my fists and stared him down. He might have been a victim of this system, and suffering through it had turned him into an oppressor. He could very well still be a victim. But...

“I can’t stand pieces of shit like you.”

He was a fourth year student of the Orbis Class... I was going to lose.

“So I don’t care about winning or losing. I just want you to understand that you’re a piece of shit. Got it?”

My aggressive words caused everyone’s expressions to become increasingly strange, and the fourth-year senior, who had been grinning, started to grow tense.

“Have some shame, you worm. Just how rotten are you to need to hear this from a seventeen-year-old junior from another class? Do you find this fun? Screwing around with juniors who are way younger than you? Is your brain still not fully developed?”

“... The problems in the Orbis Class are Orbis Class’s problems. I don’t think it’s your place to interfere,” the senior replied.

“When it turns perfectly fine kids into idiots, it’s not just a class problem, it’s a societal problem. You’re a social menace.”

“... What?”

I stared at the fourth-year senior, who seemed to be getting increasingly pissed off.

“The problem isn’t that the Orbis Class is different. It’s different, but it’s people like you that make it worse.”

“... What?”

“Being in a shitty place doesn’t make a person shitty. A place becomes shitty because of shitty people like you. You’re the perfect example—always stirring up trouble and destroying the atmosphere. Even as a senior, instead of trying to fix the shitty atmosphere, you just inherit it and make it worse. Because of people like you, the culture never changes.”

A bastard is a bastard, no matter where they go.

This guy was the worst of the worst. He wasn’t bullying anyone directly, but he made his point through implications and undertones. He did not directly threaten to kill anyone. Even in the Lilka Aaron situation, he probably would not do anything personally, but push the responsibility onto the juniors to handle it themselves.

He did not directly harass or hit someone. He only made hints and insinuations, and thus avoided being labeled a bad guy. If a problem arose, he would act all innocent and protest that he did not do anything. Even before this fight, he never said anything like, “Prepare to die if you surrender.”

He just said, “If you lose, I’ll kneel.”

That single statement had caused the kids to imagine all sorts of terrible things. He wasn’t just a bad guy; he was also a coward. The systemic issues aside, this guy was, by himself, a complete piece of shit.

My direct insults caused the Orbis Class guys to look increasingly perplexed.

‘What’s up with this guy? Did he go insane or something?’

The Hopeless Trio had slightly different expressions.

‘This guy is causing trouble again.’

Although their expressions said so, it also looked as if they had been secretly anticipating this.

‘Taste Reinhart’s spiciness, you bastards!’

“Even if I beat a first-year, it won’t look good. Why should I bother?”

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

As expected, the senior didn’t want to fight. Winning was a given, but even if he won, he wouldn’t be looked upon favorably. Losing wasn’t even an option, and I didn’t think I could beat him either. However, he kept pressuring the juniors even while pretending as though he wasn’t.

It was clear that his actions did not endear him to his juniors, but he was the type who never wanted to get his hands dirty. Therefore, there was no reason for him to engage in a fight in which he had nothing to gain.

The root cause of the Ender Wilton incident was the abuse meted out by his seniors. In this vicious cycle where the victim became the perpetrator, a case like Ender Wilton was inevitable. I didn’t know if I could break it, but I could send a message.

If it’s shitty, stand up to your seniors. So what if it gets you killed?

“Are you scared, you bastard? If you’re scared, piss off. Stop spouting bullshit. Why is an old bastard like you butting into first-year’s problems? Aren’t you ashamed? Don’t you have anything better to do? Or are you so utterly useless that picking on juniors is all you’ve got?”

An old bastard with nothing better to do, intruding on lower-class problems. My words seemed to push him to his limit.

“... Hah.”

He glared at me and brushed his hair back. It was my first time meeting this narrow-eyed character.

“Impertinent brat.”

His eyes widened right away. “Fine, let’s do this.”

A fight that he had nothing to gain from... It seemed he’d decided to give an insolent junior a lesson.

“Oh, I guess you don’t know my name yet? Fine, I’ll tell you since it’s come to this.”

He laughed as he looked at me. “Orbis Class, 4th-year, A-1—Oscar de Gradias.”

‘Wait a minute. Are you royalty?’

Only then did I get a good look at his appearance.

Blonde hair and golden eyes.

Those were the characteristics of the Gradias family.

‘Is being narrow-eyed a family trait?’

Now that I thought about it, even Vertus and Charlotte had that narrow-eyed look.

Oscar de Gradias... Although he pretended to be kind, I could sense his savage aura after he revealed his true colors.

‘Is this guy special? Of all people, I had to call him a shitty bastard, and he turns out to be royalty...

‘Not all blondes with golden eyes are Gradias family members, right? I should be careful around narrow-eyed characters from now on.’

But the die had been cast.

It was hard to take back words I’d already said, and besides, I didn’t want to take them back either.

It was a wall I had to face.

“If you’ve changed your mind after learning who I am, I’d be a bit disappointed.”

“That’s not going to happen, so let’s do this.”

I didn’t know how skilled this guy was, or what position he held among the imperial family.

But I wasn’t planning to say, “Oh, I didn’t know you were royalty, I’m sorry.” There was no way to take back the milk I’d already spilled.

Royalty or not, if he was shitty, I had to confront him. Although I had not thought like that initially, since it had come to this, I had to move forward.

“That’s right, there are two of royal blood in the Royal Class first year. Are you saying you’re not the type to be scared by something like that?”

Oscar de Gradias picked up a practice sword from the stand. He was trained in the use of weapons.

I picked up a practice sword as well.

It wasn’t just that he was royal, he was A-1 in his fourth year. He wasn’t just someone who found confidence by bullying juniors—he was actually highly-skilled.

Royal or not, I had to admit the odds weren’t in my favor.

“Let’s stick to the same rules as before. Incapacitation or declaration of defeat.”

“Sounds good.”

Oscar gave me a sly smile after his self-introduction as a royal and his rank of A-1. The Hopeless Trio seemed to believe I had stepped firmly on a landmine, and the Orbis first-years were already predicting a bleak future for me, believing I had picked a fight with someone untouchable.

The rules were the same as before.

Declaration of defeat or incapacitation.

However, Oscar de Gradias seemed determined not to give me the time to declare defeat, intending to end it in one go.

Kwaakang!

In a flash, he rushed at me and struck my practice sword. My palms stung, but I didn’t let go of the sword.

I enhanced my body with the Swordsmanship preset. Oscar attacked with a thrust, and I matched it, pushing back.

Kakak! Kak!

In this swordfight, the objective was to point our blade at our opponent’s neck. If the balance of power shifted even a little, an attack would land immediately. He moved his left hand onto the blade of the sword.

‘Half-swording...’

I grabbed the blade of my sword as well, matching his movements so as not to lose in this contest of strength.

-

Kakakakak!

“Your basics... seem solid.”

He smiled wickedly as he stared at me. He seemed honestly surprised that I had been able to respond when he tried to overwhelm me instantly.

“It looks like you’ve studied under a pretty good teacher.”

Was he trying to demonstrate his composure by making casual conversation?

“Yeah... Someone you can’t even compare to.”

Having studied under Ellen, my advantage in swordsmanship went beyond just technique. I knew how to respond in any situation, when to strike and when to retreat, since I’d spent every day getting beaten and learning from someone who had the ultimate combat instincts.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Oscar kicked my ankle while our swords were entangled, making me lose my balance, and jabbed his sword at me.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

The blunt tip of the practice sword jabbed into my solar plexus, and I stepped back quickly, catching my breath.

“If this were real, you’d already be dead, you know that?” He glared at me with a relaxed expression. “But this is a fight, so it’s not over yet.”

One of his attacks had landed.

If it had been real, I’d have been killed by Oscar de Gradias. But this was a fight, so it wasn’t over yet. He’d keep hitting me until I declared defeat.

There was no room for shame.

“It doesn’t seem like you’ll say ‘I surrender’ easily.”

“...”

“Alright, let’s see how long it takes.”

Kang! Ka-Kang! Kang!

Having landed one successful attack, Oscar pressed forward even more fiercely. The probing phase was over, and his assault grew relentless.

Slashes to the side, up high, down low, and thrusts to the center.

He wasn’t simply trying to clash swords. He bombarded me with attacks, and whenever he saw an opening in my defenses, he’d punch, kick, or thrust with the training sword itself.

Thud! Thwack! Bang!

“Ugh!”

“You’re full of openings, kid.”

This was incomparable to the fight with Lilka Aaron. Oscar’s physical abilities and swordsmanship were far superior to mine.

I wasn’t a match for him. If we were having a practice duel, I would have already lost more than five times. But since this was an all-out fight, he kept slashing, thrusting, and striking, trying to knock me down.

The damage I’d accumulated from the fight with Lilka Aaron was also significant.

Bam!

“Ugh!”

A front kick to my abdomen sent me stumbling back several steps. Oscar showed no signs of holding back, charging at me immediately and slashing downward with his sword.

‘This isn’t good. I’m going to have to use “that”.’

Kaang!

I deflected his downward strike from below, lifting his arm and exposing his chest.

“Hup!”

Bam!

“Ugh!” Oscar grunted.

A powerful right kick to his side sent him tumbling sideways.

“What the?”

He quickly got up, panting to catch his breath. He adjusted his stance, and a look of confusion crossed his face. “What was that just now?”

He seemed slightly bewildered, as if something that shouldn’t have happened just had.

‘Yeah, you must be confused.’

“Didn’t you know? I’m a superhuman.”

Supernatural powers...

Lilka Aaron seemed aware of this, but Oscar de Gradias didn’t seem to know I was a superhuman. However, I hadn’t used “that” in my fight with Aaron earlier on.

“... Supernatural powers.”

Oscar intensified his focus with the mention of my supernatural powers.

He was taken by surprise because I’d suddenly swept away his sword with an explosive strength that I hadn’t shown before.

Oscar had gauged my strength, so a sudden burst of such abnormal strength was bound to throw him off.

I was comfortable with using Self-Deception as a way of enhancing my physical abilities.

However, I’d recently discovered a more advanced way to use Self-Deception.

I’d created another category called Skills.

I began a new, borderline cringeworthy self-insert act where I visualized my concept and attached a skill name to it before using it.

As always, using such an ability filled me with a self-loathing strong enough to feel suicidal, but its effectiveness was undeniable.

What I’d just used was a skill that I called Single Strike.

It focused all my supernatural powers into strengthening a single attack.

“Here I come.”

This time, I employed Haste (迅速).

Before Oscar could even react, I’d reached him and thrust with my sword.

Kadududuk!

“Argh!”

He turned the blade aside, and I leaned in further and headbutted him.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Thud, Thud, Thud!

I watched with a smile as he stumbled back a few steps, grabbing his ringing head.

“What? Feeling uneasy?”

It had been embarrassing as hell to set up these skills, but their effectiveness was unmatched.