Chapter 120: The Mock Duels (Part-6)
Since the day at the brothel, I’ve been trying to closely monitor what Alex’s doing though his sister, Arora. Black warned me, and even I knew, that he will definitely try to get back at me for what I did to him that day.
And obviously, I want to be fully prepared when that happens…
For more than a week after that incident, Arora didn’t report anything concerning or unusual— Alex stayed inside his room for most of the time, didn’t even talk to anyone. But five days ago, I got an urgent call from her early in the morning. She told me that Alex finally got out of his room again (not just for food), and that he’s getting ready for school.
Of course, I immediately alerted Kate and Riley about this, telling them to be cautious around him and also to keep their ears open for anything major happening in school. Considering Alex’s supposedly deteriorated mental state, I believed that he might try to spread false rumors (like he did with Kate before) or do something even more stupid and reckless.
But well, I was wrong…
Even at school, Alex mostly kept to himself and his friends (hoodlums). Unlike before, he didn’t go around beating people for fun or flirting with girls. Instead, he applied for and received special permission from Principal Winde to participate in extra duels so that he can cover up for his absence.
Since then, Alex’s main focus has been the tournament. Without losing a single match, he tore his way through the ranks, destroying all of his opponents with overwhelming power, and in no time, acquiring the fourth position in the mock duels.
Though honestly, I cannot tell what’s going through his mind these days.
Is he trying to forget what happened that day? Does he want to take his mind off those things by concentrating on the tournament?
Or… is he cleverly waiting for me to lower my guard?
Well, to be honest, it doesn’t matter. I am not taking any chances. I will continue to observe him until I’m satisfied. And if I see anything even remotely suspicious, I won’t hesitate to threaten him with the video we made that day.
Anyway, as for now…
“Hmm…”
With a slight frown, I look at the slip in my hand.
Name – Jacob
Group – 2nd
Opponent – Alex Kremer
Turn over the paper…
A match with Alex…
Well, great. I will get to whoop his broken ass.
And what’s written down here? Turn over the paper?
Hmm… It’s clearly handwritten. Though I’ve never seen such beautiful handwriting before.
Without giving it much thought, I flip the slip— only to find a small note written on the backside.
If you win today’s mock duel, come to the P.E. storage room as fast as you could. I want to talk to you.
…
… What the hell!? No name, no nothing!?
Who wrote this!? And why do they want me to come to the P.E. storage room if I win against Alex!?
Well, it’s clearly not Alex himself, I’ve seen his handwriting before— it’s pure shit. Maybe his hoodlums wrote this?
Nah, impossible. They are all stupid fucktards.
But then who?
Hmm… As suspicious as this is, I guess I can only go and find out.
“Who do you got?”
Kate asks suddenly, trying to look at my slip.
“E-Eh… Alex!” I quickly say, stuffing the slip into my pocket so that she couldn’t see the note.
Kate will definitely force me to let her come if she finds out about this.
“What!? Him!?” She asks, surprised.
“Wow, really? I cannot wait for your match then. It’s going to be fun seeing you break his winning streak,” Riley says with an amused smile.
“Well, he can break mine as well,” I say modestly.
[Really?]
Of course not! I will totally demolish that bastard!
[Fufufu…]
“No, I think you will win, Jacob. You’re strong,” Kate says.
“Yeah, only the two of us know that you still haven’t gone all out yet,” Riley says.
Not really, Leena also knows that…
“Well, true. Let’s see what happens,” I say with a shrug.
“Anyway, who do you girls get? And which group?”
“Group five, with some girl named Penelope Gill. She’s a senior, I think,” Kate replies, checking her slip again.
“My opponent is Matthew Cox. We’re in group seven,” Riley says.
“Five and seven? That’s good! We will have a lot of time to practice today. You girls are doing great, but neither of you can afford to lose another match,” I say, a little stern.
“We won’t lose, Jacob. You’re our teacher, after all,” Kate says, grinning.
…
“O-Oh, look! Principle Winde is about to call the first group!” I exclaim, blushing despite myself.
As everyone in the first group kept dueling until the very end of the time limit, the victors got chosen based on the amount of damage done (like in most cases). The matches were decently entertaining, but no one paid much attention to them— everyone has seen much better duels.
“My turn,” I say, standing up from my seat.
“Beast of luck, Jacob!” Kate says.
“Yeah, best of luck. Don’t go easy on that waste of space!” Riley says.
“Thanks! I won’t,” I say, starting to move down the stands.
Immediately, the crowd starts stirring. People turn around to look at me, pointing and beginning to cheer.
“Hey, look! Jacob is going to duel!”
“This early? Oh shit, you’re right! This is going to be fun!”
“You suck!”
“Woohoo! Good luck, Jacob!”
“One-shot victory! I want a one-shot victory!”
“Yo mama suck!”
“Woah, Alex is getting up as well! Do you think they might be paired together?”
“I’ve bet all my money on you, Jacob! Don’t you dare lose this one!”
“Yo papa, yo broda, yo sista, yo entire family suck!”
…
Who the fuck is this bastard!? And broda!? Seriously!?
I search the crowd in anger but couldn’t find the idiot— too many people are shouting things at me, though most of them are nice.
Over the last ten days, due to my consecutive victories in the mock duels, I’ve unexpectedly become quite popular in school. People cheer for me whenever I walk down to the arena, they look at me with admiration, and many even approach me to become friends.
This is quite a wonderful and different experience for an ex-nobody like me… or, it should be.
These days, I am so preoccupied with thinking about ways to fix my glitch, that I am not really in the mood to enjoy or take advantage of my new-found popularity.
Sigh…
In a couple of minutes, everyone in my group gathers in the arena and take position in their respective blocks.
“Alex…” I mutter.
He’s standing right in front of me with his head down, fists clenched, and his legs spread wide. Though mind, it’s not exactly his battle stance— he even walks these days with his legs wide open.
A lot of people were confused as to why he suddenly started walking like this after being absent for a week. There were even some speculations going around that he might have gotten Haemorrhoids.
Well, they’re are not far away from the truth. After all, his ass got totally demolished that day— getting Haemorrhoids is a must.
Fufufu…
“Get ready, group two. Start the duel on the count of three!” Principal Winde says in his magnified voice.
“Hey, Jacob!”
Suddenly, Alex calls out to me. Though his eyes are fixed on my feet, still not looking at my face directly.
“1… 2…”
“I was not kidding, you know!” he says in a loud yet strangely creepy voice.
“Huh!? What are you talking about—”
“… 3!”
The moment Principal Winde finishes the countdown, Alex raises his hands and conjures two huge fireballs— even bigger than the ones I produce— immediately throwing them at me.
Before these fireballs could even leave his hands properly, he summons another two and throws them as well. Like this, in no time, a barrage of fireballs gets launched towards me.
Holy shit! He distracted me!
“Earth shield!” I shout.
Instantly, the ground erupts beneath my feet, forming a concave wall in front of me. I could literally hear the swooshing sound of the fireballs colliding against the wall.
Damn… That was close.
How is that bastard throwing so many fireballs!? And why are they so fast!?
Fuck it! I cannot even counterattack as long as he keeps doing this. For now, I should just wait behind my shield and look out for an opening—
*WOOSH*
Suddenly, a bright light blinds me and a mildly warm sensation covers my face.
…
What the fuck!? Did the fireball just… hit me?
Yes— yes it did! I didn’t feel anything because of Naomi’s barrier.
But how!? There is a freaking wall in front of me!
…
Unless… No way…
Did Alex just used double elemental magic!?