Leon grinned upon just seeing the look on Tiger's face and clenched his fist. He stared at him until Tiger walked through the door leading to the washroom.
'If he's a Tier 2, then why did he join this training? What is he looking for?' Leon thought the moment Tiger turned and vanished from his sight.
The moment Leon shifted his gaze to the closed door, he heard the proctor mentioning his name. Then, as he walked toward the door, he heard screams of insults coming from all sides.
"This guy again?"
"What's he even looking for?"
"Can't someone just tear him up into countless pieces so he doesn't rise again?"
Leon clutched his ears and walked toward the platform's door with the name of his current opponent ringing in his mind: Lucas – the swordsman's grandson.
From the data-pad he had looked at, he knew a little bit about Lucas, but what gave him some courage was that on the data-pad, Lucas did not have any ability, but only strength.
Then slowly, Leon climbed the stage, leaned on one leg, and waited.
Though the crowd was shouting, since he had focused his senses on the door the opponent would erupt through, all their screams were just nonsense.
For a while, he stood there staring at the torn pieces of human skin scattered across the platform.
'Did Tiger really tear her apart?' Leon thought as he pinched his nose, trying so hard to stop himself from taking in the stench of the skins.
Just as a four-foot skinny boy appeared when the door opened, Leon laughed. The size and height of his opponent made Leon laugh so loud he forgot that he was the one about to fight against him.
But his laughter was cut short as the boy smiled. The pressure from Lucas's smile alone made Leon tremble.
But still, something in him hung on the smile packed under his ribs.
'Is he the swordsman's grandson?' Leon's thoughts screamed as he covered his mouth tightly, preventing his smile from being seen.
As soon as the door was sealed, Lucas clapped and whispered, "Do you have an ability? Or should we just go at it hand to hand?"
Lucas's voice boomed as he stepped forward, one step after another.
Leon stood there, still covering his mouth as Lucas neared him. Then, as he swallowed the remaining sounds of laughter, he tightened his jaw.
Yet, his face still showed he hadn't fully overcome the surging laughter. "I will go by your ways. But for me, I prefer hand to hand."
Leon responded and cracked his knuckles. But as the starting signal echoed, Lucas laughed with a changed expression.
"Wow, no one has ever asked for a hand to hand combat before. Let's see how you handle my strikes."
Lucas surged forward without giving Leon time to strengthen his stance. The moment he neared Leon, the only thing Leon saw was the heavy punch coming toward his face.
For the first strike, Leon managed to dodge, but got a cut on his cheek. But for the second strike, it struck him in the chest so hard, blood spilled out of his mouth and rippled to the ground.
Lucas's strikes continued one after another, all hitting Leon from different angles of his body.
No matter how hard he tried, he wasn't able to block them, even as he moved his hands trying to do so.
After receiving over fifty punches, Leon felt his body become limp like a hanging tree branch. Just as he fell and hit the ground, Lucas loomed over him, gasping.
"Get up and face me like you stated earlier. Fight me with the same strength you used to laugh at me!"
Lucas's voice echoed around Leon so loud that he heard it like a pulse in his bones.
"You thought I'm just a normal person? Don't just judge me by my size or looks! Fear the name I have, the name of the father's father, and their legacy!"
Slowly, Lucas's voice began to fade, turning into a distant scream rather than words. For a while, Leon heard nothing, until something struck his stomach after he heard a short noise.
Great pain surged through Leon so deep that tears began to fall from his eyes. His body trembled as he clutched his stomach with both his hands and curled his knees to his chest.
Leon lay there trembling and crying until the signal sounded again, declaring Lucas as the winner.
In that instant, Leon heard the sound of footsteps roaming around him, and then they raised him up. He could see them but not in detail, only as shapes.
"Why are we helping this rat? He's as good as dead if he stays here another day."
"Why don't we just give him to the dungeon monsters like we did with the dead bodies of the unclaimed participants?"
"Don't you think that is rushed if we do that? Let's just wait for him to fight with one of the unstoppable participants."
"Who are you talking about? Is it the demon prince who pretends to be cool?"
"Nah, not Malphas. I'm talking about the maniac among the participants."
"Oh, you mean Kang, T?"
"Yeah."
"I don't think this boy can even stand a second with him on the platform. Yeah, that will give us the advantage to use him as a meal for the beasts."
Leon felt his body floating in the air before he fell into a foamy, stiff twelve-foot chair. Instantly, his eyes cracked open, showing him someone he wasn't ready to see.
"I can't wait to see you get destroyed by my boyfriend." A voice echoed around him so loud it struck Leon's bones the moment he tilted his gaze toward her.
The lady brushed her finger on Leon's chest and pressed down on Leon's forehead with her sharp fingernails.
Leon could feel his skull getting pierced by her fingernails. He tried raising his hands to push her away, but he wasn't able to do so due to the pains and broken bones he had received earlier.
"After the fight, tell your father my father sent his greetings." Her voice boomed as she stepped out of the room with laughter.