The next day, Ian, Izzy, and Numba woke up groaning in pain. Their bodies felt sore all over after their nightly exercise. It took each one of them half an hour of stretching and twisting until their aches and pains had gone down to tolerable levels, just in time to head to the canteen.
“I knew he was a monster, but if this is his idea of training, I’m worried we might not survive our stay here.” Ian complained as they met up in front of the canteen. “It’s frightening how much stamina that guy has. Sh*t, I just realised that he did all of that pretty much on an empty stomach. Doesn’t that mean, tonight it’s going to get even worse?!”
“His stamina isn’t the only concerning thing.” Numba added. “Even after the three of us finally managed to trap him thanks to Izzy’s idea, we were unable to damage him, even though I made sure to not hold back my punches. I might not have been in peak condition… but he didn’t even flinch. It was as if I was punching an iron wall!”
Unbeknownst to the Goat Altered, Gary had felt it. Unfortunately for him, given the Werewolf’s high Endurance and large Health pool, he had remained calm, aware that he could sustain dozens of punches without having to worry about his well-being.
“He’s surprisingly good at analysing fights.” Izzy spoke up. “All those points he made about us were spot on. When you showed off, I noticed the same thing as he did. However, his talent to do that during a fight is clearly one notch above mine. Sigh, it’s as if he was practically born to become an AFC champion.”
While the three of them were bantering casually, they entered the canteen. The atmosphere inside was unusually heavy. Rather than the normal chit-chat, the place was filled with hushed whispers as everyone was waiting for something to happen between the top rankers and those in the top 25.
“That's right, I nearly forgot that today’s the last day before the assessment. Apollo and his group just need to keep their positions to advance. Since no one has seen them fight, there are some people that are going to hedge their bets and challenge them. At least that's what most students assume is going to happen.” Izzy commented, when the three of them sat down at their table.
“Well, Gary won't have to worry about anything then. Truth be told, I hope something will actually go down today. No offence, Numba, but if we ignore the fact that Sty kicked your butt, him fighting was pretty impressive. I wouldn’t mind seeing the other top rankers show off their abilities.” Ian said.
“Speaking of rumours, I’ve heard one about our future treatment in the AFA being linked to what rank we end up with before advancing. However, seeing as the top rankers don’t exactly seem overeager to challenge those above them, it might only be something the teachers spread to encourage fighting.” Izzy shared her thoughts while enjoying her meal.
“In that regard, it’s actually a smart way to force us to fight each other. It would certainly fit in line with those weekly assessments where the teachers decide what rank each of us should have instead of allowing the rank 11-20 students to become the new top rankers.
“Any one of them who fails to enter the top 10 would automatically have an incentive to challenge the new top rankers, thus making it hard for everyone to keep their positions for a week…”
“Only Apollo broke that System, so who knows what kind of assessment awaits us today.” Numba pointed out.
——
Numerous dishes were being brought out one after the other. Just the ingredients that were being used to make them rivalled the yearly income of the average Tier-3 family. While everyone was staring at this spectacle, a certain green haired teenager only had eyes for the food in front of him.
Atop five plates were different types of steaks, but the one thing they all had in common was that all of them had been cooked blue. What’s more, there were eight to ten per plate, spreading their aroma throughout the canteen.
‘They weren’t kidding about serving whatever my heart desires. This is EXACTLY what I’ve been dreaming of!’ Gary didn’t care about the fact that he was drooling, without caring the slightest bit about his image, he started digging in at an incredible pace.
To the onlookers, it appeared as if he was barely chewing his food, devouring all of it like a black hole. Even after he had topped up his Energy, the Werewolf didn’t stop. After all, it was all free!!! In his eyes, he was earning money for each steak he consumed.
‘I’m going to eat my fill until my stomach explodes!’ Gary thought in glee.
“For a small body, you sure eat a lot.” Apollo laughed when the rank 4 student asked for seconds.
“Oi, Wolf bastard, there are other people at this table. Can’t you mind your manners even a little?” A girl whose badge showed the number 8 complained.
“Sorry.” Gary apologised while licking the juice off his fingers. He hadn’t bothered using a knife or fork to eat. “After having only soup for days, I really needed this. You guys will leave after today, so I hope you can tolerate my behaviour for one day.”
It wasn't that he didn’t have manners, his mum had brought him and his sister up well, it was just that for the first time in his life, he wanted to act as he pleased without having to care about others. Since this place advocated might make right and neither Apollo nor his friends said anything about Gary’s behaviour, the Werewolf enjoyed letting loose for once.
With breakfast over, the students were excited because the time most challenges and fights occurred was between breakfast and lunch, followed by after lunch. When heading back and exiting the canteen doors, everyone was looking around, looking for the first challenger.
“Sty!” A voice shouted and pointed towards the student whose badge now showed the number 5. “I challenge you for your position.”
The challenger was rank 11, the student who had left the top ranks due to Gary. Many found it reasonable that the guy would be pissed, and since Sty had been seriously injured in yesterday’s fight, he might not be in peak form today.
As for the pact between the top rankers, with this being the last day, it was practically useless. After his fight, rank 11 could make use of the rules to refuse any challenges for this day, so he had nothing to fear.
The two of them walked into the fighting arena, and the match began. Immediately, the challenger ran across and punched Sty, who just stood there taking it. He didn't transform and just remained on the floor.
‘What is he doing?’ Izzy thought. ‘If he just wins this match, then he gets through and can join the academy!’
However, the Fly Altered remained on the floor and didn't get up. Only once the match had been deemed resolved, and his badge changed to the number 6, did he finally get up.
‘I’ll stay here, and I’ll make sure that damned Goat quits on his own. It's because of him and his green haired friend that I got so humiliated!!!’ Sty thought, as he pointed at the student whose rank was one above his current one, Rank 7.
“I challenge you to a fight!”
*****
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