Chapter 6: Wagner VS Vonner

Reis Vonner is a real threat to me. Based on my past experiences, I could easily become a victim of his bullying if I don't find a way to neutralize him. He's strong, equipped with a powerful physique, and an aggression that turns into violence against the weaker ones. He's known as one of the school bullies. So far, I've kept a low profile, but after yesterday's incident in class, he'll want to settle the score. In the next test, he'll be my opponent. My weakness might prompt him to target me. Winning, on the other hand, would make me stand out too much, attracting unwanted attention that could ruin my ambitions.

I need to address the issue. The only language bullies understand is violence, so I'll have to try to hurt him as much as possible to render him harmless. This way, he'll fear me and avoid bothering me. It's not a certainty, as some of these brutes are unpredictable, but in any case, I need to perform well to get a good grade.

"We're going to have a lot of fun, Wagner!" he says with a mocking smile.

[[ SCAN TARGET >>

REIS VONNERAGE: 18LEVEL: 1RANK: CCLASS: Warrior > BarbarianMAX HP: 510MAX MP: 80STRENGTH: 23DEFENSE: 17AGILITY: 15INTELLIGENCE: 9

ABILITIES:

????

????

*Hidden, increase the level of the [SCAN EYE] ability to reveal hidden information.

END SCAN]]

I couldn't have prepared better than I did.

The battle begins.

Reis Vonner charges at me fiercely with his hammer. I block the attack with my shield, but the recoil pushes me back a few meters, causing me to fall to the ground. I quickly get back up, but the pain makes me lower my guard. I only have time to realize Vonner's right hook hitting my face before I fall to the ground, spitting out blood and a tooth.

A violent kick strikes my stomach while I'm on the ground. I scream in pain.

My opponent seems to be enjoying himself greatly, laughing triumphantly. "From now on, you'll be my favorite doormat! You're great for cleaning shoes!" he taunts me, then kicks me in the stomach again. I vomit blood.

"Alright, there are healers... but who knows if they'll be able to fix you after all this," he says as he lifts the hammer high, intending to strike me with all his strength while I'm on the ground. I don't think I'd survive a blow like that. The hammer descends rapidly. With a desperate effort, I roll away just in time. The hammer strikes the ground with a dull thud. I narrowly avoided the impact. I struggle to get back on my feet.

"Why do you want to prolong the agony?" he asks, surprised. "You're too weak for me," he states casually. "It's amusing to break every single bone in your body, but I don't like people who don't know their place."

He places the hammerhead on the ground and leans wearily on the long handle. He looks at me with disdain and mockery.

"Don't be arrogant. Surrender, F-boy," he orders with a threatening tone.

The prospect of surrendering isn't bad. It would spare me a lot of pain. Unfortunately, I wouldn't get a good grade.

I approach him, showing resignation.

"Ahahah. I see you're reasoning!" he chuckles. "Now kneel, if you don't want me to hurt you some more."

I pretend to make the motion of kneeling, but in reality, I gather momentum and throw myself toward Reis Vonner. My face is a mask of blood, and I have blood in my mouth that I spit into his face. I blind him for a moment and hit him with a headbutt.

Vonner staggers backward, putting his hands over his face to cover it. However, he quickly recovers. "ARGH... You damn bastard... You're finished!" he shouts menacingly. He swings the war hammer with great force. I block the blow with my shield, but the violent impact shatters my protection and almost breaks my arm. I scream in pain.

I take a series of more punches in succession. I am about to collapse.

*DLING* [HP < 5% CONDITION MET] The signal in my head alerts me that I have fulfilled the last of the conditions necessary to activate the curse. "Activation," I whisper. Well, the curse is activated.

Then automatically, an ability I had prepared earlier activates:[Auto-HEAL]

For my fake class, I don't only have [MINOR HEAL] as I told Professor Merfal. [Auto-HEAL] is one of those abilities I keep hidden: it's very useful, but I can only use it once a day.

{ABILITY} [AUTO-HEAL] Mana Cost: 10 MPActivation: Automatic, when HP is below 10%. Usage: Once a day. Target: Self. Effect: Every hour, the ability accumulates 5 HP, up to a maximum of 120 HP. Upon activation, the user is healed for the amount of HP stored. Once the ability is used, it resets to 0 HP, and you'll have to wait 12 hours before using it again. By leveling up, the HP accumulated per hour and the maximum capacity increase. More info available in the 'Details' section. {ABILITY}

"You have incredible strength, Vonner. Despite having accumulated a large amount of HP in Auto-HEAL, the ability couldn't fully heal me."

"Huh? You healed yourself? Well, you're a cleric, aren't you? It doesn't matter. Why do you want to prolong the agony?"

"I wanted to wear you out and turn the situation around after regenerating," I lie.

"AHAHHAHA! Too amusing, Wagner! You see, I'll never get tired of beating you up! Ahahah"

I surprise him with my mace, striking his right arm. I don't have great strength, and normally, an attack like that would do very little damage to a monster like my opponent. But the conditions have been met, and a magic circle that only I can see activates where I hit him.

At the very moment of activation, Reis Vonner screams in pain as if I had broken his arm.

"BASTARD!!!" he curses in agony.

I don't let go and strike his left leg. The curse activates, and the effect is the same.

"UARGHH! My leg!"

I would like to keep pressing him with these attacks, but Vonner, feeling cornered, swings the hammer and hits me in the stomach.

I stagger back.

I spit blood on the ground.

Another hit, and it's Game Over for me.

[MINOR HEAL] I activate my healing ability, recovering half of my health.

He would like to strike me again, but he takes on the demeanor of a wounded animal and remains on the defensive, having experienced pain that he probably has never felt in his life. He spits on the ground, frustrated.

His blows are equally strong, and if I hadn't boosted myself with several of my own concocted doping potions before the match, I would have been knocked out a long time ago. I can heal myself with the HEAL magic, but I'm rapidly running out of my MP, which is also needed to activate the curses I've marked. The strategy is to target the points I've marked while he's beating me, to make it seem like the damage is from the blow of my blunt weapon. It's hard work keeping my abilities hidden! Unfortunately, with that professor, there's a risk of being discovered, so I need to be cautious. In the end, this results in me taking quite a beating.

"It seems incredible, but you hit hard for an F. I underestimated you," he says after he's recovered a bit. As if to prove a point, the only language these guys understand is pain. I'll make him feel some more of it.

I activate [HASTE]. It's another one of the abilities at my disposal that I've kept hidden. It increases the target's speed by 50% for a few minutes. The target, of course, is me. This way, I can unleash a series of very fast attacks.

I strike first at his left arm, then his right leg. The curse's magic circles activate, and Reis Vonner's suffering intensifies. I'd like to strike again, but he pushes me back with a shove that makes me see stars.

"I'll kill you!" he exclaims, twirling his war hammer. Thanks to [HASTE], I dodge his first swing by moving to the left. Vonner reverses the direction of the hammer, but I duck. Taking advantage of the opening with my shield arm, I deliver a powerful upward strike to his chin. The curse activates, and Reis Vonner flies backward, crashing to the ground.

I've inflicted quite a bit of damage on him, but being a monster, Reis Vonner gets back up.

I see anger in his eyes, but also fear. He knows he can't take me lightly and hesitates to attack.

Little does he know, at this very moment, all the buffs I had have worn off. My MP is almost depleted, and my HP is dangerously below twenty percent. The situation is dire, and I don't think I would survive another assault.

Fortunately, Reis Vonner's HP is now at 50%. According to my calculations, to achieve at least a passing score in a test match, you need to bring the opponent's hit points down to half or below. Even if I wanted to do better, I couldn't without revealing my curses.

"I surrender!" I exclaim loud enough for the referee to hear. "W-what?" Vonner is surprised.

"Sure?" the official asks for confirmation. I nod.

"THE WINNER IS REIS VONNER!" the referee exclaims, raising the winner's arm.

There's not much of an audience in the stands. Obviously, Vonner's lackeys are celebrating, but they can't see the devastated expression he's showing right now. I've wounded his pride, and for him, this is effectively a defeat. But this is just the beginning: I've successfully implanted a curse on him inspired by a ritual of Hidan. Mine is a simplified but quite effective version. It's named like thate because the book Professor Merfal gave me refers to a certain Hidan as its creator. It's a masochistic curse that requires blood and pain, but with some risk, it can be effectively used in battle, as in this case.

The system warns me.

[[Curse Successfully Implanted: 1000 Exp Earned]]

That's a lot. It was worth it.

Luckily, I don't see Professor Merfal in the audience. With her around, there's always a risk of being discovered. However, I do spot that loose cannon named Rero Sansanti, with a worried expression. Afraid of losing your supplier, Sansanti? I'd like to laugh, but every muscle in my body aches. I feel a piercing gaze. I spot a girl scrutinizing me with a terrifying expression. She has long blonde hair and ice-colored eyes. Her expression is just as icy. Could she have seen my curses? No, it shouldn't be possible... Yet, she keeps staring at me. I know who she is. She's one of the academy's top prospects. Luisya Camclair. A natural prodigy. As beautiful as she is dangerous. I need to investigate her thoroughly. I don't like the way she's looking at me. I sense danger.

But for now, I need to get as far away as possible. I could lose consciousness at any moment.

I stagger my way to the locker rooms.

"Hey, Wagner! Come on, we'll take you to the infirmary," one of the medics says, pointing to a stretcher.

With a force of will, I pull myself together. "Don't worry, I'm already taking care of myself. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" he asks, not entirely convinced.

"Of course, I'm a healer too," I reply with a smile.

I can't afford to let them discover the substances they would call 'doping' that I've taken. I grab my backpack and pull out a healing potion. I gulp it down. Unfortunately, the effect isn't immediate, but it regenerates over time. It will take a few hours and some rest. Between the damage from the fight with Vonner and the unwanted effects of the buffs, my body is in worse shape than I thought.

I wait for the medics to move away and then exit the locker rooms as quickly as I can. I need to avoid crossing paths with my opponent. I can't show weakness, or I'll become a target for his bullying.

I swiftly walk the path that leads to my dormitory. I turn the corner and feel like I'm about to faint.

I manage to lean against the wall, struggling hard not to lose consciousness.

I'm at my limit.

"Wagner!" a familiar, annoying voice calls out to me.

"Now is not the time, Sansanti," I try to push her away.

"You're not well! I need to take you to the medics!" she says with concern.

"No... Don't you dare..."

"But..."

"Quiet and listen to me. If the medics examine me, we're in trouble..."

"But I can't leave you like this!" she protests.

"If you want to help me, just support me. I need to get to my room."

She hesitates.

"I'll give you... another potion for this favor," I tell her, trying to convince her.

Considering yesterday's experience, she still seems intimidated but eventually agrees.

"It'll cost you dearly! Hehe," she laughs while putting my arm over her shoulder to support me.