14 The Culprit (2)

However, now that Matthew knew that he could use a weapon, a black sword materialized in his hand.

Ding!

New Mission Issued—Win The Examination

Rewards: Guaranteed Unique Hidden Class.

Looking at the panel, Matthew smiled. It was just what he needed.

He gripped his sword tightly as he asked Kennard directly.

"Tell me... do you know why I was expelled from Class A? I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't get expelled for such a measly injury that could be easily healed."

"Ahh? What do you mean by that?" Kennard was taken back from his words, and his expression told Matthew that he really didn't know anything about it.

"So... it's not you." Matthew whispered.

"Ah, that makes sense. Although you're quite the hothead, you wouldn't do things like that." Matthew chuckled.

"Huh!? What are you talking about!?" Kennard was getting even more confused.

"Nothing much... Don't worry; since it wasn't you, I'll go easy on you and spare your ugly face any scars," Matthew pointed his sword at Kennard.

At his words, Kennard clenched his teeth tightly and lunged at Matthew.

He really was restraining himself, because he didn't say anything and just sprang forward.

CLANG!

The clash of metal rang out as Kennard lunged forward with his spear, aiming for Matthew's chest.

Matthew swiftly sidestepped, the black sword in his hand slicing through the air as he countered with a swift strike towards Kennard's exposed flank.

Kennard managed to block just in time, but the force of the blow staggered him backward.

"Agh..." He groaned, and the flame in his eyes increased as he saw Matthew's calm demeanor.

"Body Enhancement!" His body was covered by mana as he said so.

He regained his footing and launched another attack, thrusting his spear with precision towards Matthew's abdomen. 

Matthew deftly parried the strike, then countered with a series of quick swings. But, since half of his strength was sealed...

Kennard could evade each blow; however, he was still being pushed back by Matthew.

"Huff..." He breathed heavily as he jumped backwards to gain space.

"H-how... are you so s...strong!?" Kennard couldn't help but say that.

He was already very frustrated because he still couldn't compare to half of Matthew's strength.

Despite his best efforts, he found himself unable to gain the upper hand against Matthew!

"Well... I'm just a genius that you can't compare to." Matthew teased Kennard, but as soon as he saw Kennard's eyes, he stopped.

"You... really changed." Matthew spoke with a faint smile.

This time, it wasn't a mocking smile or anything like that, but really a sincere one.

Kennard was a bit shocked upon seeing his expression.

"You finally woke up from those delusions, didn't you?" Matthew asked.

"Instead of continuing to vent your frustration on someone weaker, you finally decided to man up and continue to challenge your body to the limit... I'm glad that you chose me as a rival, but let me tell you something..."

"What...?" Kennard inquired.

Just like Matthew said, Kennard really decided to make Matthew his rival.

Mostly because he felt like Matthew was an unparalleled mountain that he couldn't surpass, no matter how hard he trained.

And since he kept that in mind, he noticed that his growth had increased by a ton! That really generated a ton of respect for Matthew, and that's why Matthew suddenly spoke.

He saw the determination and respect in Kennard's eyes, so he decided not to provoke him because Kennard was really looking to improve.

Matthew really respected this kind of man.

"If you really want to beat me, you'll need to train a lot harder!"

BOOM!

From his body, a faint-red aura sprung out, and Kennard immediately felt a huge pressure over his body.

Sweat started forming on his forehead and slid down his chin as the pressure only seemed to increase.

He poured mana into his body, hoping to protect himself from that pressure, but it was simply too powerful

"Keukkk!" Kennard started groaning in pain.

However, as the pressure continued pushing him back, his consciousness slowly left his body.

He staggered backward, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he struggled to regain his composure. 

Swoosh!

Suddenly, the pressure dissipated, and Kennard lifted his head. In front of him, Matthew was looking at him with a faint smile.

"You fought well." Matthew tilted his head with a smile.

He tapped Kennard's forehead, and Kennard fell to the ground with a soft thud. He really overworked himself.

"The winner is Matthew!" Lilian announced.

Instantly, the healers came to the arena and grabbed Kennard's body, while Matthew got back to his side of the arena, waiting for another opponent.

However, something that didn't escape his vision was how James gritted his teeth upon seeing him winning the match.

'Huh... Why would he be mad at me? Even if he was the culprit, he wouldn't mind because I still can't get back to Class A or... S.'

'So... why is he mad?' 

Thinking about the reason, Matthew looked at Stacy and found her frozen, looking at himself with her eyes full of admiration.

It seems that her eyes even had a few stars as her eyes remained solely on him.

Yet, as their gazes met, a small blush appeared on her face, and she tilted her head away.

'Huh!? HUHHHH!? Isn't she supposed to be scared of me?' For a moment, Matthew thought that it was Lilian impersonating her again.

But that was impossible; the "string of fate" had already been resolved, and Lilian herself was leading the examination.

"Don't tell me... Stacy is actually a masochist...?"

And as if that had awakened something in Matthew, everything suddenly started to make sense.

"An overly kind and beautiful person... and someone who doesn't mind using her body as a shield..."

"Doesn't that... align perfectly? Maybe people think that she's kind because she was protecting them using her own body."

"But.. what if she's 'kind' and protects others, not minding hurting herself due to the pleasure of getting injured!?"

"Wouldn't that mind... that instead of getting on her bad side, I got on her 'good' side...?"

Upon realizing this, Matthew's world seemed to have turned upside down.

His original plan of distancing himself from the protagonist seemed to only have backfired on himself.

"Wait... calm down... Huff...! There's still a chance that she's only overly kind." Matthew took deep breaths.

He started praying that his hypothesis wasn't true at all.

"Next one!" 

This time, it was actually Leon that entered the arena.

"As expected... Stacy will be the last." Matthew thought to himself.

"Did she awaken her origin power already? If she really awakened [Aether] I don't know if I can win even if I use [Desperation]..."

"That shit is overpowered as hell!" He mumbled.

"Oh, wait... I still have my beautiful [Spades???] so it really shouldn't be a problem even if she indeed uses [Aether]..."

Grip...!

"When are you going to stop ignoring me!?" Leon cursed loudly.

Only at this moment did Matthew realize that he had been ignoring Leon for quite a while.

"Oh... interesting..." Matthew looked at Leon.

From Leon's body, an intense radiation of mana could be seen spinning around him.

"Advanced Body Enhancement!"

Leon channeled his mana to enhance his physical strength; however, it wasn't a normal body enhancement but an advanced one.

That quite surprised Matthew, but since Leon was a male lead, it made sense for him.

Swoosh!

Leon sprung forward, swinging his sword at Matthew's neck; however, when Matthew swung his sword, parrying against his...

CLANG!

He immediately retracted a few steps back.

"Damn... he's still stronger than me!" Leon clutched his sword tightly.

However, he wasn't done.

Suddenly, Leon unleashed a powerful surge of energy, surrounding himself with a shimmering sword aura.

Gasp!

The students on the crow couldn't help but gasp at this. Even the students from the second year stood up.

Sword Aura is a really difficult thing to get, and people say that even a genius needs to train for at least 20 years to use it.

But Leon, someone who only started training with his sword when he was seven years old, already had a grasp of sword aura!

That shocked all of them.

Despite that, Matthew remained very calm. He wasn't even using mana, and seeing this infuriated Leon.

Yet, this time, Matthew was the one who took the initiative.

With a swift motion, he lunged forward, his black sword slicing through the air towards Leon's chest.

Leon met his attack head-on, deflecting Matthew's blow to the side. He then took the opportunity and swung his sword once again.

His sword crackled with aura as he swung it directly at Matthew's head, gathering all of his mana on the sword.

"Ah... he really is trying to kill me..." Matthew smirked.

Without even using Mana, he sidestepped Leon's attack, then countered with a fluid strike at his exposed flank.

"Heuk!" Leon swiftly blocked with his sword, but the impact caused him to retract a few meters back.

"Hahh... huff..." He breathed heavily.

But seeing Matthew yawn during their match got him even more annoyed.

"W-why aren't you using all of your power!?" Leon asked between breaths.

Hearing this, Matthew sneered.

"Let me ask you a question... were you the one that caused me to be expelled?"

"Expelled...? Didn't you simply get expelled for doing too much damage to the students?" Leon said confusingly.

"Forget about it..." Matthew waved his hand.

"As for the reason I'm not suing all of my power, it's because you're simply too weak for me to do it." He shook his head with a smile.

"What!? I'm much stronger than Kennard and even more talented!" Leon gritted his teeth.

"So? You don't have as much determination as him."

"Besides, why are you complaining so much? Your "Master" if you have one, should be much stronger than me."

"And since you're from the Royal Family, there shouldn't be a problem getting someone to train you."

"Still...!"

"Whatever... let's just finish this." Matthew dashed towards Leon.

He swung at Leon's head, but just as it was about to meet with Leon's sword...

Matthew felt that something was strange...

"K-kauhgh!" Matthew suddenly groaned in pain.

His eyes fell on James, who had a strange smile on his face, and he couldn't help but grit his teeth.

CLANG!

Leon's sword finally met his, and Matthew was almost sent flying back.

However, he quickly stabbed his sword on the ground, which allowed him to return to his feet and avoid getting thrown off the arena.

You have been weakened due to an overwhelming bloody aura.

- 20% All Attributes

"I'll fucking kill you..."