Kapitel 32: Continuous Battle

In everything, there were exceptions. In order to perceive something, you need a relative viewpoint. How can you tell something was moving? Because everything else is still. That was exactly the skill Steal was for me.

The reason why it sounded so good, but had bad results was simply because no one had the affinity for it. They recorded it as a neutral spell, but it actually had a dark affinity. Dark affinity was the rarest affinity to come by, so of course they couldn't disprove or prove my statement.

In the game, only a few characters had dark affinity. The main ones were the Villain and dark elves. There were some beastmen that had it, but it wasn't as potent.

I was able to turn Steal into Gluttony thanks to Sonia, but I would have never imagined the large amount of mana it consumed with each use. And if I needed to use Glutton's Void to freely steal a skill, then it would take me a long time to build up my skill set. I sighed. I must first deal with the problem ahead of me.

I sat with the Mystia sisters, Lily, and Luna. Donkor and Sonia left since they were hungry, and Bodil never was interested in watching. Naturally, Irene followed her.

"Was that the reason you opted out of the training sessions?" Aurora asked me.

"Yeah. I barely managed to get it, so I'm still adjusting to it," I sighed.

"That skill seems like it takes a toll on your body. Will you be able to manage?"

"I don't have much of a choice. If I want to get into the academy, I have to make it to at least the top four," I crossed my arms.

"I don't think it's the tool we need to worry about…" Luna chimed in.

Oh yeah, I kinda forgot she was here… well I didn't. I just never acknowledged it.

"Since a year ago, there was one main noticeable difference about you Smarus. There seem to be two great forces fighting each other in your body. What if your new skill will give one force the upper hand?" Luna shared her thoughts.

"I kind of understand your point, Lady Luna," Aurora nodded her head. "I noticed it too at your Awakening, Lord Smarus."

Ugh… First Donkor and now these two were mentioning it. What a pain. It only increased my worry about the villain's lingering thoughts that were attached to this body.

"Hmm? He seems normal to me," Myra said. Lily agreed with her.

"Yeah, let's go with that," I agreed with them.

Luna looked like she wanted to say more, but she was interrupted by the crowd's roar. The match that we were watching was decided.

"Xander wins the fight with an overwhelming victory!" The announcer declared! "Two exciting matches back to back!"

The crowd cheered as the winner celebrated. Xander was a huge, gorilla-sized man. He could easily crush me, but I didn't intend to be an easy target for him. I was way more agile than he was.

"That's your next opponent?" Lily leaned forward. "You can beat him!" She turned and gave me a thumbs-up.

Why did she sound surprised if she believed me? Actually, why did she even bother stating such an obvious statement? Xander turned to the crowd and singled me out. Was this a common thing for people to do? It was more annoying than anything.

"You're next, Dragonborne!" His deep voice silenced the crowd.

I stayed seated with my arms crossed. Should I entertain this stupid charade? Perhaps he was trying to make a name for himself so that he would have a chance to still be accepted in the academy after he lost. I sighed.

"Don't point at me, ape," I scowled at him. "Don't get so excited just because you won a single match. If anything, you should be scared of the thought of entering the ring with me."

He was visibly angry by my insult. Good. Our battle had already begun.

"Get out of here!" Some guy threw an apple at me.

"Yeah!"

"What a jerk!"

"What is wrong with you!? Where's your sportsmanship!?"

"It seems our very own villain has made himself stick out once again!" The announcer mocked me as well.

The crowd continued jeering and throwing things at me. Aurora was getting visibly angry while the others were worried. She was about to protest before I stopped her. I grabbed her wrist.

"Don't bother. If anything, this was a massive filtration of the weak from the strong," I looked at her.

"B-but…"

"If you want to follow me, get used to weaklings resorting to complaints and cries," I let her go. "It's not worth it. They already made up their minds to be nothing more than cattle."

She reluctantly sat back down. I was still able to see the anger in her face, but she chose to listen… for now. I was still under suspension that she was part of the cause of Lord Dragonborne's death in the game, but I still didn't have any solid evidence. I did not want to push her buttons.

"Smarus, will everyone hate us?" Lily asked.

When I looked at her, I saw that Myra was just as worried as well. I sighed.

"Probably," I told her the truth. "However, never lower your head. I'm confident that a few, trusted allies will come our way. Only the strong can stand tall when the world's against them," I sighed as I stood up.

"Where are you going Lord Smarus?" Aurora asked.

"It's clear I'm not welcome here, so I shall take my leave. Perhaps a nap before I fight that ape will be nice."

I was still struggling with fatigue. I noticed it when I fought Arlo since my train of thought wasn't nearly as clear as it normally was. It was dumb of me to think I could make up a week's loss of sleep in one night.

"Have a nice nap!" Lily waved as I left.

"We shall await for your next battle," Aurora bowed her head.

"Y-yeah. See you then Lord Smarus," Myra mimicked her sister.

"Goodbye, Smaurs," Luna said.

I walked back to my room and lay down on the sofa. It was small and uncomfortable, but it was better than nothing. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. For some reason, my mind was tired, but my body was wide awake. I felt energy running through my veins, just waiting to be released. Was this from Gluttony? No, it must have been something else. Something felt wrong.

The sound of the crowd cheering slowly faded into the back. I was able to hear my heartbeat.

Bum Bum… Bum Bum…

Everything was dark. Nothing existed but the sound of my heartbeat. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't see anything. I tried to look around, but my body wasn't responding. I took a deep breath to calm myself. I must have been in a state of limbo. I guessed this was like a dream-like state, but why was this happening?

In the distance, I saw a faint glow. It was a flickering purple glow. I tried to move towards it in vain. Something was wrong… It was coming closer. And fast! There was nothing I could do but brace for impact. The swirling purple lights only gained speed as they twisted and changed into two, peering eyes.

"Who are you!" An aggressive, yet cold voice filled my head.

I shot up on the sofa in a cold sweat. I looked around to confirm that I was still in my room. I was breathing heavily, so I had to force myself to slow down my breathing. It took a moment to completely calm down.

Was that a dream? No, it felt different. Whatever it was, I knew for sure I didn't want to encounter it again. I stood up and stretched.

"It's time for the second round of battles!" I faintly heard the announcer.

That meant that it was about to be my turn to fight. I splashed cold water on my face and strapped my sword around my waste. I made sure my ring was on my finger. My hand still had cuts on it from the fish wire, but it wasn't unbearable. I couldn't go on stage looking like I saw a ghost. I looked at the mirror in my room to check my complex. There were still small bags under my eyes, but nothing major.

"First up! The unsuspected winner that is already building a reputation for himself, and not a good one, if I may add, Smarus Dragonborne!" The announcer called my name.

It was time for me to go up. I exited my room and went to the stage at the center of the Coliseum. Everyone booed as I stepped on stage. I stood with my hands in my pockets as I waited for my opponent.

"Next is our ray of hope! The noble and strong man from Lakesworm, Xander!!" My opponent was introduced.

He was much larger now that I saw him up close. I easily towered over me at about six foot 7. As he stepped on stage, the crowd cheered him on.

"Kick his ass, Xander!"

"We love you!"

"Show him who's boss!"

What a pain. Most of these guys weren't even participating, so who are they to be so invested? Was our struggle to get into the academy that entertaining for you? What a load of shit. I scanned his stats.

Name: Xander

Age: 16

Strength: 5.5

Intelligence: 1.5

Agility: 2

Charisma: .5

Magic: 1

Class: Brawler

Mana: 200/200

This guy was pure muscle. I doubted that he would be someone worth worrying about… His strength was admirable though, but that seemed like the only thing he worked on. He may be huge, but he was at a major disadvantage in every other field.

"No hard feelings, but I won't be holding back. I need to get into this academy," I faced Xander.

"Those are some bold words. I saw your fight with that Arlo guy. You're fast, but weak. If I get one hit in, you're done!" He gave a hearty laugh.

I only shook my head as he said this. I took my hands out of my pockets and raised my fists.

"You don't get it. I was apologizing," I sighed.