I Became a Person Who Wanted To Drop Out of the Academy

Episode 7 – Life is not beautiful 3 –

Episode 7 – Life is not beautiful 3 –

Even a genius kindergartener cannot beat an adult in boxing.

It’s designed for a fair fight, excluding variables as much as possible.

Rather, a fistfight might offer a better chance of winning. With their strength, kindergarteners could stab an adult’s vital organs with a knife and kill them. Being a genius, they might find a way to win somehow.

Therefore, my chances of defeating him this time are slim.

Though in the last session, I was able to win the match against Professor Rachel by bringing in something outside of the competition. Normally, sports like competitions are much fairer.

Rachel, who was affected by something external, was an exception.

“Anyone who harms themselves this time will simply fail.”

Professor Maximilian has prevented the incident that occurred during the team assignment test.

Although a strategy that can only be used once. It’s just that there hasn’t been a case where people pursue realism while discarding their honor by hurting themselves.

It is a behavior that can be sufficiently prevented.

Even the Korean Suicide Prevention Association consistently argued that self-harm is not good and tried to prevent it. But looking at the suicide rate, it seems it wasn’t very effective.

“Firstly, it should be you and me, Abraxas student!”

Why?

“Because I am the professor! I have to set an example!”

He had a rebuttal, but chose not to voice it. He realized, no argument would persuade him.

“Take your position, Abraxas student. Naturally, I won’t go all out. Just show me what you got.”

Maximilian kept urging me and eventually, pushed by his will, I found myself at the forefront.

After that declaration, under the guidance of the martial arts professor, all the A-class students headed towards the arena.

The same applied to the non-combat students. It was meant to be prepared for potential scenarios.

“The duel lasts 5 minutes. If you knock down your opponent or get them to surrender within that time, you win. If neither happens, the one who did more damage wins. Any objections?”

“Even if there were, you wouldn’t listen, would you?”

“Begin the duel.”

Surprisingly, the person to start the duel was Maximilian. He was his own referee.

Though I was dumbfounded at his behavior, as I was weaker, there was nothing I could do but grip my wooden sword in readiness.

—-

‘Surely according to Rachel, he appears to be talented.’

Maximilian couldn’t yet acknowledge the fact that Abraxas was talented.

Despite his talent, his attempt to leave the academy was nothing but a futile effort.

‘His actions were a bit peculiar. He was simply a fool. Of course, if he has some purpose leaving the academy, it’s reasonable. But even.’

Moving behind the claim, knowing the chances are slim is effectively the same as not being able to assert it.

It’s like claiming that despite having video evidence of the criminal, it was another person who just happened to look identical to the criminal who committed the crime.

Certainly, the smart Emperor and other high-ranking nobles would be able to explain what this is.

But he didn’t need to go that far.

‘I’ll be able to tell from this duel whether he is really talented or if Rachel was mistaken.’

That’s why he decided to duel right from the first day.

So now all he had to do was wait and see.

They each took their positions. Maximilian saw Abraxas wielding a wooden sword in his eyeline.

It was obvious that he hadn’t received any training like Professor Rachel mentioned.

‘His stance is unstable, and his lower body is weak. His sword is also wobbling uncontrolled.’

He was emphasizing the point that he was untrained in every regard. Probably never had proper training before.

If he’d learned to reinforce aura, he could move his body as he pleased.

Seeing that he was in that state… either he was deliberately lackadaisical or didn’t consider it important.

“We will not use weapons. And we won’t use our full powers, so relax.”

That’s why he set a restriction. Even a genius couldn’t bridge the gap if it was too broad.

This was truth, not overconfidence or neglect.

The disparity between Abraxas and Maximilian was that severe.

But despite saying so.

Abraxas did not appear to intend to move.

Maximilian saw in him an earlier figure, who somehow kept buying time.

And so the attack began immediately.

“It’s not going to hold up.”

Crash—

He lightly jumped towards Avraxas.

The augmentation of his physical prowess and the aura outburst that pushes everything away were combined, propelling him at a tremendous speed.

And his right hand that had sprung up so quickly soared straight towards Avraxas’ face.

Whoosh—

But his punch sliced through just air by a hair’s breadth.

Avraxas barely managed to dodge his punch.

‘Sense- check.’

Maximilian admired his evasion.

An ability to use Aura Outburst on any part of his body. Therefore, skilled Aura users can exert attraction or repulsion from any area of their body.

It enables unconventional movements, ignoring any preparatory moves or inertia.

‘If he dodges early, I’ll change my course with the Aura Outburst. Since I can’t gain the upper hand in speed, I’ve waited until the last moment to avoid it.’

Even though my body is strengthened by Aura Enhancement, a punch that’s already thrown can’t land an effective hit.

It was the best move he could have chosen.

Swoosh—

Yet, Avraxas could not relax.

His right foot flew up again.

Having stabilised his overall weight with the Aura Outburst, Maximilian is able to deliver a powerful kick even without bracing himself.

Boom—

And Avraxas couldn’t dodge the second attack.

The strength of sequential speed aside, his body couldn’t withstand the second Aura Outburst.

‘Even if he uses aura enhancement, both the total quantity of aura and basic physical abilities are lacking.’

Aura Outburst just generates attraction and repulsion, it doesn’t enhance the body.

Trying to generate strong repulsion with a weak body is the equivalent of hitting one’s own body with that force.

However, fortunately, he used a slightly different method.

Unable to evade the attack, he decides to lessen the pain of the hit.

‘He filled his aura into the area to be hit to enhance his body, and used the Aura Outburst only on that specific area to push my attack away.’

The key is to lessen the pain of the hit, while dodging or blocking. This is why a pre-emptive strike or a surprise attack can turn the tide.

A strong initial blow can lead to continuous pain, making it difficult to perform optimally.

‘He has talent, that’s for sure.’

One thing’s for sure- he has talent. His movements might be awkward, but his dealing methods are precise and overflow with acumen.

Even now, while flying, he’s adjusting his body with Aura Outburst to prepare for a safe landing.

Thud—

Avraxas, sent flying, lands unscathed.

He rubs his struck calf a few times as if it was tingling.

Seeing this, Maximilian immediately prepared to leap forward. His hefty body was tossed forward in an instant.

Bang—

Air exploded around his toes, temporarily faster than sound.

His body was slower than that, but it was just slower than sound.

When the sound of cleaving the air stuck in everyone’s eardrums,

Abraxas turned around and ran off into the distance.

“aaah!!!”

Screaming all the while.

‘He’s managing to maintain composure even while running away.’

His running form was awkward,

and his breathing was in total chaos.

He didn’t seem to be thinking about stamina management at all,

but one aspect made him worth watching again.

‘He’s making up for his absolute physical deficiency with aura manipulation.’

He was using aura support by wrapping aura around both substances to maximize friction. He was maximizing the friction between his feet and the ground.

He used aura enhancement to amplify his thighs and calves, generating explosive power.

At the appropriate time, he would release the aura support and accelerate through aura eruption.

This reduced his inertia and allowed for more nimble movements.

And…

‘Wind? He can use magic? Without a holy spark?’

He was using wind magic, a basic wind magic, to adjust the movement of the air to accelerate his movements.

He was using his magic even in a desperate situation. Despite being a first-year student with no practical experience, he was too calm.

‘Is he really hiding his power? Or is he really a genius? If he’s hiding his power, why is he hiding it? And if he’s a genius, why isn’t he making an effort and why is he trying to leave the academy?’

As the duel progressed, Maximillian’s curiosity increased.

At some point, solving his curiosity took precedence over the duel.

But even though he ran away, he couldn’t be faster than Maximillian.

Abraxas allowed a hit to his chest at some point,

and a kick flew to his face.

Maximillian’s foot stepped on his abdomen while he was lying against the wall, not the floor.

At some point, Abraxas didn’t even see the attack.

The remaining time was 1 minute and 12 seconds.

Abraxas’s body was a wreck.

Bruises were all over the place,

and blood was flowing from the scars inflicted by the fists.

His clothes were blood-stained and gruesome,

and his body was gasping for breath from exhaustion.

In the midst of this situation, Maximillian opened his mouth.

“Are you going to keep running? The odds are against you in this current situation.”

To win a duel, you either inflict more damage or knock your opponent down.

But Abraxas had not inflicted any damage on Maximillian.

Naturally, if he had a way to turn the tide, he would have done it by now, but he hasn’t.

‘Is it stubbornness, or does he really have a method? At this point, if he surrenders, no one would say anything.’

If there’s no way out, it’s right to surrender. The fact that he’s still holding up means either he has something, or he’s stubborn.

Deep down, he wished there was more to it.

Thwack–

Once again his feet left the ground as he soared into the sky.

Abroxis just stood by, watching him charge at high speed.

Suddenly, Abroxis pointed at Maximilian with his left hand.

A flash of light sprung from his hand, engulfing Maximilian.

‘A Flash… is it magic?’

His line of vision was disrupted by the intense light that shot from the tip of his left index finger.

But that didn’t matter to Maximilian.

Those who’ve reached a heightened state and are aura enhanced can ‘see’ without seeing.

‘Using his fist instead of the hand holding the sword was a good psychological tactic, yet insufficient.’

Thus, within his obscured view, Abroxis thrust his left hand at Maximilian.

His right hand still clutched the hilt of his sword.

Maximilian presumed that Abroxis had used his left hand for psychological warfare as his vision was blocked.

His attack with his right hand holding the sword would start from his right after all.

Jus

‘Appropriate sacrifice and the creation of variables. Excellent sense. And a psychological war to lead an opponent stronger than oneself according to one’s will… Professor Rachel was right.’

He certainly had talent. And to an impressive degree, at that.

And all he could say to his victorious adversary was one thing.

“That’s your victory.”

Words spat out from the mouth of Maximilian Wilhelm.

And so Abraxas’s victory was secured.

“Argggggggggggggghhhhh!!!!”

Abraxas let out a victory roar.