After the shocking announcement from the General, the venue was filled with disappointment. The students felt it was unfair that only the strongest or those with the highest Origin counts would have the privilege of gaining such benefits. General Matthias looked at his students and spoke.
"It is not unfair. And the reason why is because they are far stronger than all of you. Even with your True Origin Abilities combined, you will not defeat these five students today. Their bodies have already reached and broken through the threshold of human limits, so it is reasonable enough that they will receive privileges regarding this matter and its benefits. Now, if you have any objections, I'll have all of you fight me instead. And I promise you, I will not go easy at all."
General Matthias clarified the situation while threatening the students not to challenge his decision.
The students were scared and hopelessly agreed.
"Good. Now, I will give you three hours, the class time allotted for this subject today. If you fail to defeat me within that time frame, you will go through the class normally for the rest of the year. Do you understand?" He added the rules of the challenge and asked if they understood them completely.
"Yes, Sir!" the students in the ring agreed, except for Raia. He was still looking at General Matthias intensely.
"Okay. Your time… starts now." The General then pulled out a pocket watch from his pocket and pressed it. The hands on the clock moved as it ticked. The countdown had begun.
As the General signaled the start of the challenge, a shadow suddenly appeared behind him, attempting to deliver a kick. The General dodged it easily, as if he had already anticipated it. He looked at the attacker and smiled. It was Raia.
The other four students in the ring felt pressured, realizing now that, in terms of speed, Raia had already excelled beyond them.
But it didn't discourage them. They attacked synchronously. The scrawny-looking guy attacked first, and blades, knives in length, suddenly protruded out of the sides of both his arms. Amazingly, he was fast too, though not at Raia's level. He leapt into the air and swung his arm down, aiming to slash the General. The General saw this and kicked the man in the face. The impact was so strong that the guy flew to the other side of the ring.
He lay on the ground, unconscious.
The other students in the ring saw this and became wary. Except for Raia, the other three jumped away from the General and waited for an opportunity to attack.
"This won't be easy at all. Ge-he," said the guy in the jacket, wearing a tired expression.
"Honestly, he is really powerful! But look at the student, he's faring well with the General," said the bodybuilder-looking girl in a pink fitted shirt.
The guy in the hood didn't say anything and just observed. The other two waited for a while for any opening to strike. When they finally saw one, the girl suddenly transformed. Her entire body became covered in hair, and she grew larger, ripping her shirt off. Dog-like ears appeared, replacing her original ones, and her face transformed into that of a wolf. Her eyes turned fierce and golden.
"A-A-A Werewolf! She's a Werewolf!"
The students were in commotion at the girl's sudden transformation. But instead of being distracted, the girl lunged toward the General's exposed back. Unfortunately for her, the General noticed it at the last second and grabbed her descending hand. He then slammed the Werewolf down onto the ring, making her groan in pain.
While this was happening, the guy in the jacket transformed as well. Black-red spikes appeared on his back, tearing holes through his jacket. The jacket guy broke off two spikes and threw them directly at Matthias. Like guided drones, the spikes attacked the General relentlessly but he treated them like flies. They didn't bother him at all, and he simply slapped them away.
The onlookers watched in awe. They now understood that these people were out of their league.
Raia received a kick from Matthias but blocked it with his arms. He then sprang away from the General's vicinity. Raia stopped and tried to catch his breath. He looked at the students with him, who were now transforming into monstrous and dangerous beings. A Werewolf. A Porcupine Man. A man with knives all over his body!
He looked around the venue and noticed something. Some students wore uniforms while others didn't. Then it hit him. The ununiformed students might have transformation abilities as well!
Raia shrugged and shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking about anything outside of the battle.
He didn't attack and instead let the charging Werewolf take on the General head-on. This time, the Werewolf Girl stopped and took a stance with her hands forward. Her hands looked like fangs due to her massive claws. When she did that, the area around her became frigid. Not literally, but it felt like a predator was stalking... hunting for prey.
"Let me show you my family's greatest fighting style… Alpha Wolf Kung Fu!"
After she said that, her left hand lunged forward at incredible speed. The presence of her attack was like that of a hungry, massive wolf, ready to devour its target whole. The General managed to dodge it, but another wolf-like hand was already lunging at him. It left him no choice but to counter with a force-filled kick.
Boom!
The sudden impact of the attacks echoed through the venue. The Werewolf Girl didn't stop there, though, and showcased incredible footwork and twisting movements. Her agility and instincts became practically wolf-like, and she used that instinct to fuel her Alpha Wolf Kung Fu. The fight grew wild as exchanges of blows boomed through the venue. The Werewolf Girl was now faring much better than before.
Her speed became more prominent over time, and students could feel the predator within her, yearning to devour her prey... the General. They shivered at her wild yet magnificent nature and fighting style. The gap between her and the other students became clearer.
As the fight went on, the Porcupine Guy was already breaking off more spike-like quills from his back. The quills were as thick as glass and floated in the air, ready to strike the General. When the time was right, he directed the flying quills toward the General, attempting to skewer him but failed. The General was too nimble and instinctive; he dodged every single attack.
Every strike missed, and the Porcupine Guy became frustrated. He felt like the students were laughing at him for being so useless. His attacks grew more reckless by the second, he even nearly hit the Werewolf Girl.
"Hey! Watch your quill, spike boy!" the Werewolf shouted in anger after nearly getting stabbed.
The Porcupine Guy's face contorted. He thought the girl had just mocked him. Intense rage filled his heart, and he broke several more quills from his back. His back bled from the constant plucking. He stopped only after gathering nearly forty quills floating midair. Even the ones on the ground unlodged themselves and floated, joining the newly plucked ones. Now, nearly sixty quills hovered in the air.
"Ge-he… Ge-he… GE-HEHEHE! HEHEHEHE!!!" The Porcupine Boy suddenly lost his mind and laughed devilishly.
"BOTH OF YOU! DIE!!!" With a wave of his hand, the quills rained down toward both the Werewolf Girl and General Matthias.
"Are you f*cking crazy?!" the Werewolf Girl screamed in dread. She knew she wouldn't be fast enough to dodge the rain of attacks, nor strong enough to block them.
General Matthias frowned and stepped in front of the Werewolf Girl. He pulled out the pocket watch again and pushed something.
In the next second, the Porcupine Boy was instantly pinned down by one of his own quills. It pierced through the edge of his jacket and pinned him to the ground... unconscious. The Werewolf Girl was bewildered. She didn't know what had just happened. And it wasn't just her, everyone in the venue was equally stunned. It was as if time had skipped.
Raia looked at the General putting the pocket watch away. He didn't see what happened either, but he knew it must have been that pocket watch.
'Is it another time-related ability?' Raia wondered.
The Werewolf Girl moved quickly when she saw the General's exposed back. Without wasting the opportunity, she slashed her claws at him. But before they could make contact, the General's fist was already at her face and—
BOOM!
The Werewolf was flung to the side of the ring. She, too, went unconscious.
Now, only three people remained standing: the General, the hooded guy, and Raia.
After what he saw, Raia didn't make any reckless moves. He glared at the General with hostility, and surprisingly, the General only smiled at him. General Matthias turned to face the hooded guy.
"You've been watching from the sidelines since the battle started. Let me remind you that I only gave you three hours to defeat me, and now… you've wasted an hour and a half just observing. I hope you've gathered some important information about me that will help you win." He checked the remaining time on his pocket watch before putting it back into his pocket.
The hooded guy stood still. He didn't respond at all. This made General Matthias frown.
In an instant, the General disappeared from where he stood and reappeared beside the hooded guy, aiming a fist at him.
Everyone thought he was done for but what happened next left them speechless. The fist hit the guy directly in the stomach. The students watching felt as if they had taken the punch themselves.
As they expected the body to be flung across the ring, something strange happened, the area where Matthias had struck extended and stretched toward the back. The students' eyes widened, thinking the General's fist had pierced through the guy's body. But unexpectedly, the stretched part returned to normal as the General retracted his fist. He smiled in amusement. He knew the attack hadn't worked at all.
He immediately jumped back from the hooded guy, who now moved. He took off his hood and revealed his face. Raia saw him and was at a total loss for words. Tears almost fell when he saw the person before him. It was one of his dearest friends, the person he treated like a big brother, Bernard Ballad.
"Bernard…" Raia called out, and Bernard looked at him with a smile.
"Hi Raia, long time no see, right?" he greeted. He was happy to see Raia too but right now, they couldn't afford to be distracted in the middle of battle.
"Raia, let's save the reunion for later. Let's win this battle first," Bernard said, seriousness on his face. Because of that, Raia pulled himself together. Bernard was right, they shouldn't waste this opportunity.
Raia took a deep breath and exhaled. He looked at General Matthias with a confident glare. He knew now that they might actually have a chance to bring the General down.
Bernard clenched his fist and jumped midair. From that height, he struck downward with force. Weirdly enough, his fist was dragged down by the force he expelled, and his arm stretched like rubber. What was amazing was that it happened so fast, it looked like a rubber band being launched.
Matthias saw this and finally, an excited smile spread across his face.
'Interesting! Show me more!' he thought while dodging every one of Bernard's attacks.
Raia watched Bernard in astonishment. He remembered an anime he used to love, and Bernard looked just like a character from it with the same ability!
To support his friend, Raia launched swift attacks as well, limiting the General's space to move.
The duo's combination became something Matthias couldn't ignore, making him more excited to fight. For him, this was the kind of battle he had been waiting for. The excitement, the pressure... it brought him back to his early days as a private, when his life was always on the line.
He couldn't wait to see what these two had to offer today.