On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

The taste of defeat is unsavory. As someone who has tasted it quite a lot, I know it well. What is more frustrating, however, is having a standoff with your opponent. Lying in my own pool of blood, I get to understand that feeling.

I have been fighting for half an hour, but other than getting injuries and power-ups, I haven\'t done much harm to my assailants.

All of my injuries have always been healed by the power-ups, meanwhile scratching them is all I have done to them. It is, indeed, a complete standoff.

Whoosh!

"It\'s my sixth power-up, but I don\'t think anything will change soon," I mutter as the injuries I have sustained are slowly healed. "These bastards... They are purposely holding back."

I initially guessed—after knocking out the Warrior with the worst reflex—that all of the Warriors in the Arena were using a Spell similar to [Virimisce], which allows you to combine your power with your partner(s).

They are indeed doing that, but the one that I have immobilized was really the weakest out of the seventeen. In other words, rather than weakening their overall power, I just removed the one dragging down the team.

In result, their power get more explosive than before.

"Lesson learned." I stand up when all of my injuries have disappeared. "No matter how bad of a fighter you are, as long as you have a good amount of Mana, you are still powerful."

It was the case with the weakest Warrior. His fighting skill is subpar compared to the others, but because of their support, he could perform just as good.

Pitter-patter!

Just as I stand up, I can already hear footsteps approaching. Like it always has been for the past five power-ups, as if getting stronger alongside me, the Warriors come at me with a heavier pressure than before.

A gigantic machete is swung at me, but I can easily detect it. I step aside, and turn my body to the right, which is the direction where the machete is coming.

Missing me, the machete strikes the ground, splitting it open. I channel Mana to my foot, and kick the hand of the Warrior that is still holding the machete.

Crack!

The bone fractures instantly, prompting the Warrior to retract his hand. Spinning my body as I lift my foot, I deliver the Warrior a circle kick to his head.

My foot hits his helmet, producing an audible \'clang\' as it makes a dent on the helmet. It stings a bit, but I can barely register it due to my satisfaction for being able to send the Warrior flying.

Whoosh!

"Huh? Another power-up?"

I am not complaining, mind you, but I can\'t help finding the situation ridiculous. I have spent half an hour trying to immobilize them, but after my sixth power-up, I can already knock them out with a mere kick to the head? Ridiculous!

Something must be going on, and I have to figure out what it is.

Kicking the ground to propel myself upwards; a spine-like, pointy structure emerges out of the ground. I have sensed it coming, so it can do nothing to me.

Upon landing on the ground, I trace the Warrior that sent the spine. I find him with a glance, and immediately rush at him, who didn\'t seem to expect me to be able to tell it was him.

\'Luxia, immobilize him!\'

\'Understood.\'

The ground below the Warrior suddenly splits open, causing him to fall into it. He is quick to react however; he stops his fall with his broadsword.

Unfortunately for him, it is still enough for Luxia to immobilize him. The ground immediately closes, entrapping half of his body in it.

"Fuck!" I hear him exclaim.

Using my Footwork Technique, I instantly appear in front of him. I kick the side of his head with my Mana powered foot, causing him to blackout instantly.

A second passed—as I retreat to avoid getting ganged up by the other Warriors, I receive another power-up. At the same time, the pressure the remaining Warriors are exuding, although not much, also got heavier.

At this, I realized something.

"Ah, I see... So, there are only a couple of actually strong Warriors among them in the very first place. In other words, my job is to weed the weak out before finishing the really strong ones."

Rather than training my instinct, this battle royale has been training my analytical ability instead. I use my head instead of my heart, which is the reason why I can figure out what exactly is happening.

The only time I followed my heart, I almost lost my foot. That instance completely convinced me that Kruff is just an unnaturally lucky Orc.

"Good, Layland! You are following your heart now!"

Ignoring the nonsense Kruff is shouting, I stop in my tracks and swiftly turn around. Raising Rexorem, I activate [Wave of Death] a moment before it blocks the warhammer of my opponent.

Boom!

Like the strong wave of the sea that calls death upon whom it devours, my Mana that I have channeled into Rexorem explodes. The Warrior\'s warhammer rebounds, causing him to lose balance.

Although it is slightly irritating that one of my prided Spells can only do that much to him, it gives me a gap to exploit. I activate [Death Blow]; punch him in the solar plexus, denting his armor; and launch him back.

As soon as the Warrior hits the wall of the Arena, I feel a surge of power that is significantly more noticeable than before in my body. I have just got another power-up, and it gave me a great boost to my overall power.

Observing the remaining fourteen Warriors, I can\'t sense any change in their pressure. This can only mean one thing.

"Hoh? Have I just defeated one of the strongest? Interesting."

Although I still can\'t tell how much power each of them actually possesses, the power-up I just had convinces me that my victory is close. Smirking as I can\'t help my joy, I rush at the Warrior that my sense tells me is weaker than the others.

...

Clank!

Another half an hour has passed. Other than the fact that my fight gets easier the more the time passes, the fact that the previously silent crowd has got rowdy is also something worthy of note.

Boom!

"Uwooh! There you go, kid! That\'s how you fight."

"What a freshing twist!"

"Ku-ku-ku. Show us more blood!"

The crowd cheers loudly after I planted one of the two remaining Warriors in the Arena into the wall. I don\'t know what makes them so excited; I can\'t get excited anymore since I realized they have been indeed holding back for all this time.

"No more holding back," I say to the last Warrior. "Isn\'t it frustrating to see your comrades getting beaten up? You may face the same destiny, you know? Stop going easy on me!"

The Warriors who have been fighting with me in the Arena are all under the command of Velucan. They are my seniors, so it is not unusual for them to go easy on me.

I appreciate their consideration greatly, but I hate people who are holding back when they are fighting against me. My quick growth relies on my Origin: Pride, so doing that will only slow down my growth.

"That is... Uh..." The last conscious Warrior, which is a 7-feet tall, buffed Hobgoblin, smiles awkwardly. "We are not holding back against you; at least, for the latter part of the fight."

"Yeah, bullshit."

I don\'t know why it is hard for him to admit how strong he really is. Regardless, I have my own way to force him to show his real power.

Activating [Senbonzakura], I make eight thousand lethal petals, and make them swirl around Rexorem. The Warrior seems to notice something dangerous is coming as he immediately distances himself from me.

Using my Footwork Technique as I channel Mana to my feet, I chase after him. When I am just 10-feet away from him, I immediately thrust Rexorem forward, sending the swirling petals to him like a horizontally spinning vortex.

He swiftly dashes away, but due to the constant power-ups I have received, the petals [Senbonzakura] made this time possess a quite ridiculous speed. They catch up to him easily, forcing him to protect himself with a Magic Barrier.

Screech!

An ear-grating sound can be heard each time the petals clash against the Barrier protecting the Warrior. The Warrior is too occupied by them to realize he has a gap that I can exploit.

Channeling my Mana into Rexorem as I advance at the Warrior, I activate [Whistle of Death]. I swing Rexorem at the Warrior the moment he is within its reach, producing a whistling sound as it tears through the air.

The first swing destroys the Magic Barrier protecting him, and the second swing lacerates his chest. I am about to swing it for the third time when I realized I will only bisect him if I do that.

\'Wait, why is he so weak? Does this mean he wasn\'t lying when he said none of them had held themselves back?\'

Stomping my urge down, I kick the Warrior in the abdomen instead. It is by no means a weak kick—it will ruin some of his viscera—so it is enough to make him lose consciousness.

Whoosh!

"Congratulations, Layland! You have understood how to use your instinct," Kruff shouts gleefully as I receive my power-up.

"Instinct?" I laugh faintly. "Do you mean paranoia?"

What I have learned from this "training" is that being paranoid will make you more aware of your surroundings ... Which is not that surprising.