The area was a mini world of short grasses, with students walking up and down aimlessly.
Some of them had already taken their seats on the ground.
Unlike the Interdimensional classes, where there were well-arranged seats denoting people’s hierarchy, there was no such thing in this grassy plane world.
Ryuk eventually sat down in a more reclusive area and simply waited patiently.
The students’ numbers kept increasing and increasing until, eventually, they had almost filled this grassy plane.
Just as their numbers reached 500, a presence appeared in the grassy plane—a presence whose mere appearance was enough to silence all of them, appeared.
He was an imposing figure whose very aura exuded dominance and fear.
Towering at a height of 6’8, the man’s sheer stare commanded immediate attention, casting a long, intimidating shadow over the students. His body was a masterpiece of war—broad shoulders, barreled chest, and heavily muscled arms bulging with veins beneath his tight-fitting Instructor’s uniform.
But what was most chilling about him was his face, particularly the deep gash that ran diagonally from his left brow to his jawline, narrowly missing his eye.
The man’s eyes were piercing crimson, but unlike Vampire eyes that seemed like they contained blood, his looked like they were filled with scorching, furious flames.
Jet-black hair streaked with snow-white strands flapped eerily around his face.
"What the hell!?" Ryuk asked in shock, his heart beating disjointedly fast within his chest.
For reasons he didn’t understand, cold, white air began surging from his lungs, and sweat poured down his face.
"This man... This man..."
[WARNING! WARNING!]
[Host has come across a figure with an indomitable Battle Will and is capable of instinctively eliminating Host from existence!]
[Host is advised to be ultra careful!]
"Everyone, sit!" the man suddenly commanded, his voice deep and gravelly, like a distant thunderstorm.
The second he completed his words, Ryuk felt the air shook. It was like gravity had increased to a specific level, forcing those who were still standing to drop to their butts or knees.
"Is this the Combat Mastery Instructor?" some of the students thought, their hearts turning cold.
This man was unlike Instructor Ouse.
It was as though they were standing before a general of death, ready to reap their lives. And truly, when they thought of the words "Combat Mastery," they realized no other figure could embody it better than him.
With everyone seated and the place reduced to silence, only then did the man inhale deeply before walking circularly around all of them. Every single one of his steps was incredibly heavy, and the students turned their heads, following his every move.
He was like a predator stalking them. Even the slightest loss of focus on him might just seize away their lives.
"I am Instructor Dravok Kain, your Combat Instructor for your Newcomer Year. Without wasting any more time, let’s get into it," the man said, his words not containing the slightest bit of sugarcoating and incredibly direct.
"Firstly, you may have noticed the Combat Mastery class is unlike any other class, where you have seats and boards. This here is instead an outside world of grassy plains, very unlike any other classes," he said, as the students nodded.
This was truly unusual.
"There is no other reason except that the Combat Class needs neither a table nor a desk. Even this grassy plain isn’t the true combat class either," the instructor continued.
"Disgusting it is to me, to even want to take the first class here. But since you all are greenhorns and the Principal just seemed to have a sweet tongue, I eventually agreed." The students didn’t know whether to smile or not at this statement.
"The only true combat class is the battlefield—holding the body of the weak and the broken weapons of the strong. A place that forgives no weakness."
"But just because this is a grassy world doesn’t mean I will accept the slightest inkling of weakness from any of you. My rules for combat remain the same."
"Victory is carved in blood and bone. The battlefield does not forgive weakness, and neither will I."
"Here, you will be trained not only to fight but to survive, dominate, and endure in the most brutal and unforgiving circumstances imaginable."
"Even if the academy doesn’t permit a true battlefield, I will forge one just for you all," the man said as he completed a 360-degree walk and eventually returned to their front.
"For today’s first class, we’ll be taking things at the barest minimum. The focus will be the Brutality of War," the man said.
A truly bizarre topic to start the first day of class, but among them, none was dumb enough to utter a single word against it.
"War," Instructor Kain suddenly growled, "is not a battlefield. It is a beast—vicious, unrelenting, and hungry. It feeds on your fear, your weakness, and your hesitation."
"Forget the stories of glory you’ve heard. Forget the songs of valor given a beat by the slamming of spears."
"War doesn’t and never will care for your honor or your name. War comes for one thing, which will be our ultimate focus throughout this year..." Instructor Kain paused before completing his statement.
"Survival! That is all that war cares for—survival. And survival itself comes with a cost you will all soon come to learn."
"The first lesson of the Brutality of War is Death without Discrimination. War is not a duel—it’s chaos incarnate. The strong fall to arrows they never see. The weak survive by sheer accident. Your dearest friends become corpses, and enemies become nightmares that haunt you in your darkest moments."
"In war, death doesn’t knock—it takes!"
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A/N:
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In and Out_SnowySmoos.