BXBX NOVEL Chapter 11 – The Man Out of Time at the Academy (3)
Chapter 11 – The Man Out of Time at the Academy (3)
Chapter 11 – The Man Out of Time at the Academy (3)
The score in the friendly match had reached a dire 4-0. But in the blink of an eye, it was tied.
In just 4 minutes. 1 minute per person. It was more like 10 seconds per person with the time it took to rearrange the arena.
It was only natural for the swordsmanship club to desperately call for a time-out.
“Hold on! Hold on! Time! Tactical time-out!”
How was that possible?! Huh? Did that even make sense!!
How could a man break a sword with his bare fist!
It seemed too much even for an expert!
The members who barely managed to get a time-out huddled together.
“This, we’ll lose every match at this rate. Seniors.”
“We can’t win with the people we have here. The remaining match will surely end in 1 minute!”
“I think so too. We can’t handle that right now.”
‘That.’ Yes, that’s right. Not that person, not that student, but ‘that.’
Where else in the world could someone shatter military-grade weapons with their bare hands!
…Okay, let’s say you could have done it. It might have been possible if one had tried a hundred times.
However, it was normal for the fist that struck the sword to be equally cut in half.
Even those with martial-type abilities did not have bodies as hard as steel.
That was a defense-type specialty, not a martial-type strength.
In other words, the performance that the new student just displayed wasn’t simply based on their ability.
Transcendental durability that far surpasses people with special abilities. An overwhelming physique. It might as well be considered that he received another special ability.
“Hey! Swordsmanship club? Your time-out is over.”
Those cowards! Bringing a monster into a human fight!
This was a clear violation of the war agreement!
Yes, it was!
“Let’s postpone the match for now. We also need to use our secret weapon.”
“Our secret weapon, you ask?”
“Don’t we have ‘that person’ in our club?”
Third-year student’s words made the fourth-year leader gasp.
“Are you serious about that, junior?”
“Yes, senior. I am very serious and desperate.”
“Nah. It’s not that I don’t understand my junior. I also want to win this too. Still… calling ‘that person’ for a friendly club match seems a bit excessive don’t you think?”
The other members nodded their heads at those words.
The swordsman club had an official president and a publicly recognized ace. However, if you look the unofficial way, the club’s center and true ace was someone else.
They remained silent because this person was not someone to be called upon lightly.
“I will do my best to ask them. I happen to be close to them after all, ”
“That’s… true.”
“We can’t just surrender this friendly match without a fight. For the glory of our swordsmanship club! For a comfortable club room! We must win!”
They didn’t know about glory. Honestly, that word was a bit too strong for club activities. But the club room? Comfortable, cozy, and most importantly, spacious?
‘We can’t let this go.’
‘The club room is a serious matter!’
The conclusion was reached. The timeout had also ended.
“Our swordsmanship club!”
What about the swordsmanship club?
“We request to postpone the friendly match with the martial arts club!”
“…Huh?”
That makes no sense. The martial arts club members looked confused.
That makes no sense. Deus also grumbled ‘I’m a temporary club member, aren’t I?’
“Those little punks! Are they spouting nonsense again?!”
“We are spouting nonsense. You’re the one who suddenly brought in a mercenary!”
“He’s not a mercenary! He’s a temporary club member for the day!”
“That is it?! And since when did your club have a 1-day experience pass?!”
The bickering continued. You were the one who started it, we were doing nothing wrong.
Oh, what was this? Are they going to fight? This might be actually interesting. Deus crossed his arms.
“We’ll acknowledge the current score of 4:4. But since the martial arts club has been unreasonable, we think it’s only fair to postpone today’s match.”
“That’s all nonsense! Are you going to listen to them?!”
“…Well, if you think about it, it’s not entirely wrong.”
“Your junior is right. You can’t just reject the swordsmanship club’s request outright.”
They included him in the friendly match even though he wasn’t an official member.
If the swordsmanship club had objected, they wouldn’t have gotten this far.
So, they had to comply with their request at least once.
“Alright, swordsmanship club. When do you plan to reschedule today’s postponed match?”
“Hold on. Junior, when do you think it’ll be possible?… Okay. Two days later! How about Friday afternoon!”
Two days from now in the afternoon. Deus. Was it even possible for him?
Deus responded to questions from the martial arts club members. He drooled a little bit.
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t bothered. But it was already happening, wasn’t it?
He believed it was impolite to leave without finishing what he had started.
More than anything, he enjoyed being able to briefly experience the same feeling he had during his hellish training. He recalled the moment when he was sweating blood and tears, facing the murderous intent that could kill him at any moment. The time when he thought he was in an apocalyptic world and was desperately trying to survive!
‘Postponing the friendly match like this means they must have some kind of secret weapon hidden away, right?’
Perhaps they’ll bring in a strong fighter who can handle him.
If that happens, there would be no need to hold back and fight while taking it easy.
Maybe there will be an even more thrilling fight than today’s!
After preparing for a struggle for survival that felt like an eternity, he found something to satisfy the fighting spirit that had built up inside him.
The thought of it coming made him nod naturally.
“It’s possible.”
“Oh! Thank you, Junior! Thank you so much!!”
Thank you. On the contrary he was actually enjoying this quite a bit.
He told them to not forget to fill the club room with exercise equipment later.
After giving a thumbs-up, Deus returned to the rooftop.
At first, he thought about jumping up, but that seemed a bit much.
He didn’t want to be scolded for damaging the ground, so he obediently went up the stairs.
***
“Ahahaha! Mr. Hunter, you seem to be in a great mood?!”
“Ahem. No, Ms. Tiamat. That’s not the case.”
“Heehee! No way! Put down those raised corners of your mouth before you say that!!”
At Professor Tiamat’s exclamation, Professor Hunter coughed again. Of course, his raised lips still didn’t seem to want to come down.
Professor Hunter, the literature professor at the Cradle. At the same time, he was also the faculty advisor for the martial arts club.
That martial arts club had been harassed by the Swordsmanship club lately.
It seemed that they were after the club room.
As the faculty advisor, he wanted to help.
However, as a professor, he had to remain neutral.
He wanted to urgently transfuse Deus’s blood, but even that was uncertain.
‘I was worried that the kids would lose the club room… Student Deus…! Thank you so much!!’
He wanted to find Deus right away and shake his hands.
He also wanted to offer him to buy his dinner for a whole week.
That would be a small price for him to pay for putting the swordsmanship club in their place!
“Heehee! See, Mr. Hunter? I can see it all even through your sunglasses! Heeheehee!”
“Ah, no! Professor Tiamat! I’m really not feeling anything special!”
“If you’re not feeling anything special, why don’t you take off your sunglasses and show me your eyes?!”
Although hidden by sunglasses from others, Professor Hunter’s eyes were currently sparkling like the surface of a sunlit lake. They were literally doe eyes.
The sunglasses were a result of his attempt to hide his gentle gaze.
“The look on the swordsmanship club advisor’s face must have been priceless!”
“Just thinking about it guarantees me a week of sweet dreams. Hehehe.”
“Sounds like they’ve been through a lot!”
Professor Tiamat was hopping around next to Professor Hunter like a puppy.
“But, Mr. Hunter?”
Then, as if something had happened, her face suddenly changed to a serious expression.
“This must have made the swordsmanship club pretty desperate.”
“…Probably. No, it is highly likely.”
The martial arts club broke tradition and even used the extreme measure of a temporary member.
Since they crossed the line first, the swordsmanship club has nothing to hold them back.
“They might even ask ‘that student’ for help.”
That student. Mr. Hunter’s face hardened at Professor Tiamat’s mention.
A tradition for all incoming freshmen. The Cradle’s initiation ceremony.
Almost all of the promising students from there became the aces of their year.
Some of them even showed talent comparable to professors later on.
‘Deus was like that among this year’s freshmen, and ‘that student’ was like that three years ago.’
The student that came to both Professor Tiamat’s and Mr. Hunter’s minds.
The top prospect of the Cradle three years ago. The current top student in the fourth-year.
The current leader of the dispatch team. Above all, a disciple of the Saber, the best superhuman in the empire.
Even the teachers click their tongues at that student’s swordsmanship.
Why else would such a comment be openly circulating?
“It’s very difficult to gauge their depth.”
These weren’t the words of students. They were the words of the teachers at the Cradle.
All of them were once promising students at the Cradle, and now they were the most skilled superhumans.
That was what the teachers at the Cradle were.
And those people made such a comment about a current student, not even a graduate.
“This… I’m starting to worry if it was a good thing that Deus helped the club.”
Even Professor Hunter, who was happy just a moment ago reacted this way. Professor Tiamat thought for a moment before bursting into laughter.
“I don’t think you need to worry! Mr. Hunter!”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Hehehe!”
Of course. He was a student who didn’t even go all out against a professor.
Recalling the sparring match with Deus a few days ago, Professor Tiamat smiled.