Chapter 11

The murmur of people echoed in the martial arts garden.

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All eyes were directed at the two men facing each other in the middle of the Martial Arts Garden.

Their weapons, their physiques, and their reputations were completely opposite.

Jihad Roundel and Nozomu Bountis.

Both were standing there, keeping an eye on the other.

The third-year students were watching them from outside the arena. They, too, couldn't hide their turmoil at the unexpected matchup.

"What the hell is going on here?"

It was Kevin who reacted to the first-class students who tilted their heads. He made no effort to hide his displeasure.

"Heck, this is a waste of time. Jihad will defeat him with a single blow."

"Yeah, that's right. Why him? I was hoping that Jihad-sensei would have sparred with me..."

"Well, it's alright, isn't it? As Kevin says, he will be defeated in a few seconds anyway."

The third-year students around him nodded and agreed with Kevin's words.

From their point of view, this moment when they can have sparring with Jihad was a rare opportunity to improve themselves.

There was no way they could be favorable to someone who had snatched such a chance away from them. Even more so if they thought that the person was much weaker than them and the one who would abandon his lover.

In the midst of all this, it was Mars, the tenth-class student of the same class as Nozomu, who interrupted their words.

"We can't be sure about it yet. It seems that Jihad guy doesn't use his specialized sword..."

He didn't like the ridicule he had just heard. Mars' expression was severe and angry as if he was ready to explode at any moment.

In fact, he looked as if he was about to lose his temper. His tightly clenched fists were trembling slightly.

"You mean it's some kind of handicap? You don't seem to know this, but Jihad always uses those weapons when he was dealing with us."

Kevin replied to Mars' words in a mocking tone.

Mars frowned at his words.

"... Is that true, Irisdina?"

"Yeah. I hate to say this, but I've never seen him use that Jaw Drop against us."

Mars asked to confirm with Irisdina, who was next to him, but apparently, Jihad had never really used that giant sword on them.

Well, it was certainly a giant sword that exceeded the height of its owner. It might be difficult for him to go easy on them with such a sword.

However, Mars shook his head as he thought about it.

"So, that's how much of a monster he is..."

What resurfaced in Mars' mind was the S-rank vampire he had once faced.

He could do crazy things like controlling 10 magic at the same time by himself, and he also had the unique ability of a vampire.

Given the fact that Irisdina, Tima, and Mars were only able to buy themselves some time by taking on him at the same time, it was not surprising that Jihad was trying to avoid using his specialized weapon.

When he thought about it, Mars felt that it was only natural that the troublesome guy next to him would be thinking like that.

"Even Irisdina and I can't get Jihad to take us seriously. I don't think that bottom of the barrel would even be able to clash swords with him."

As he looked sideways at Kevin, who was ridiculing Nozomu, Mars noticed that the anger he had felt earlier, which had made his bowels boiled, had subsided.

He knew a lot more about Nozomu than Kevin did, so perhaps he was able to keep his cool.

While thinking about this, Mars turned his attention to Irisdina, Shna, and Tima, who were on the opposite side.

Irisdina and Shna didn't seem to be paying much attention to what Kevin and the others were saying, and their eyes were fixed on the two people in the middle of the arena.

Tima's expression was somewhat stiff as if she was worried about Mars, who had almost exploded earlier, but now she was relieved and relaxed her shoulders.

Mars once again meditated to calm himself, and then slowly opened his mouth.

"... Well, we'll see."

While shrugging his shoulders, Mars spoke his thoughts.

Certainly, Nozomu's opponent was powerful. It was unlikely that Nozomu, who could only find a way to fight in close quarters combat due to his Ability Suppression, would be able to defeat Jihad without using "that" power.

But even so, Mars had a hunch that he might be able to pull something off.

He was talking about Nozomu, who was completely oblivious to the extent to which his own skills were out of step from his surroundings. At the very least, he would be able to surprise those who still underestimate him as the bottom of the barrel. When Mars thought about it, his cheeks unconsciously lifted up.

Kevin frowned when he was looking at the expression on Mars' face.

When Kevin was about to open his mouth to say something again, dignified voices echoed around.

"Either way, we'll find out soon enough... Though I can't imagine Nozomu losing easily in a pure sword fight."

"We never know what's going to happen in a battle. I'm sure you're aware of that from the previous special training."

The owners of the voices were a dark-haired girl and an elf girl who were right beside them. They let out dignified voices that silenced the people around them who had been buzzing.

Kevin was also at a loss for words when Irisdina and Shna spoke.

Certainly, the existence of an Undead Dragon that suddenly appeared in the middle of the training ground at that time was still fresh in the memory.

It had an overwhelming physique and a body that felt no pain because it was already dead. It was an incarnation of violence that was driven by a sense of hunger.

For the students of the third year, that presence was the first time in a long time that they had felt the presence of death itself.

If the Jihad hadn't rushed to the rescue, it wouldn't have been strange if there were deaths.

Knowing this fact, no one in that place snickered at Irisdina's words, and a heavy silence fell over the place.

Irisdina and Shna took a glance at their silent surroundings and glanced sideways at the red-haired girl nearby.

She was now simply staring silently at hi