Silas had no reaction at all upon hearing the cadets words, or the implied threat within. Once upon a time, the thought of a beating would have had him trembling. Once upon a time, he would have been shy, and awkward, and unsure of how to handle himself in this situation.
Now, he looked Andrew, the cadet in the middle who was speaking, dead in the eyes without so much as a hint of fear.
How could he be afraid after knowing that, no matter what, Andrew could not kill Silas? Yes, he could hurt Silas, and maybe even break a few bones. But after everything at Lumina... after walking out alive in the face of certain death, the fear Silas used to feel from bullies had reduced drastically.
"They could see my failures, or they could see my resilience. Either way, do not expect that you will be able to change my mind. You don’t have what it takes," he said as he began walking away. He was not trying to run from them - instead, he was just expediting what was to come.
Andrew clicked his teeth as he looked at Silas’ back with mild irritation. He was less bothered about Silas’ comeback and more at his refusal to cooperate.
"Silas, why do you have to be so stubborn? It’s just a joint exercise. You help us out, and we all benefit from it. I don’t see the harm. It’s a win-win situation for the both of us," Andrew argued as he followed Silas casually.
"Yeah, right up until word spreads that I can be used and discarded at will for anyone having trouble passing the Midnight Battle Course," Silas responded evenly, his voice level.
Alright, in truth, as he walked towards the battle arena, his body started to remember the pain of the beatings he’d experienced the past month, and his recently acquired tough buy persona began to crack. He kept his teeth clenched tight to keep them from chattering, and refused to respond to any of Andrew’s questions. Hopefully, he’d issue the challenge on his own and get this over with. Originally, Silas had planned on looking tough by issuing the challenge himself, but his knees were beginning to weaken and he didn’t want to be caught stuttering.
He took solace in the fact that, though he would be taking a beating now, soon Nero would get his revenge for him. Now, Silas wasn’t about to go crying over to Nero and complain - that would go firmly against this new persona that he had been trying to build. But, based on their history, he was sure Nero would protect him, as he’d always done.
Yes, that protection would come with a price. Probably something difficult and challenging, and good for his own growth. Yet it would be totally worth it to see that smug face receive a punch in the face!
Ignoring all of Andrew’s bait, Silas walked the familiar path all the way to the battle arena. In KMA, private fights were strictly forbidden. However, all the professors prayed and wished that their students would fight privately because the punishment afterwards would be so satisfying - at least for them. For the cadets, not so much.
While private fights were forbidden, a Crucible challenge was a welcome sight. Crucible challenges involved a fight between two cadets, and they came with certain rules.
First and foremost, each cadet could only participate in one Crucible challenge a day, and the challenges could only take place during free hours, so generally in the evening before bed though there were exceptions.
Secondly, each challenge needed to be issued in front of a referee in the battle grounds. If the challenge was accepted, because it could most certainly be refused, the referee would first check to ensure that neither of them had fought before during that individual day, since sometimes cadets had night training and so got their free time early during the day.
While checking if the cadets had fought, the referee would also check if both of them were eligible to fight one another, because there were certain rules as to who one could challenge or not. The rules mainly depended on which semester one enrolled in, basically meaning that one could not challenge one’s senior - at least right off the bat. The respective positions on the Crucible list also made a difference, meaning the top contender could not challenge the bottom one.
Once the fight was registered, then came the actual rules of the fight. Each fight could only last ten minutes. If the time limit was reached, and neither of the fighters had lost, then it would be considered a draw.
Within that time limit, victory could be attained by throwing a candidate outside the battle arena bounds, by knocking them out or seriously injuring them, if one of them admit defeat on their own, or by the referees discretion.
No innate abilities or cards could be used during the fight, and if someone had a passive ability that would provide an advantage in the fight, then the referee would use a card which would disable the passive for a period of time.
The rest was pretty much intuitive. Winning would raise rankings on the Crucible list and losing would lower it. Although the academy did not provide any direct benefits to those on the list, their battalions would receive benefits, not to mention accumulate prestige.
Even so, all the cadets paid great attention to the Crucible list because it was a matter of pride and distinction. For Silas, unfortunately, it was a nightmare.
Once they arrived in the battle arena, he waited while giving Andrew an exhausted look, as if waiting for him to issue the challenge.
Oh right, the Crucible list also became a way certain cadets were bullied. While Silas had every right to refuse a challenge, with the knowledge that they were being observed and their actions recorded, hardly anyone ever refused a challenge unless there were extenuating circumstances. Not to mention, losing would not do as much damage to one’s reputation as refusing a challenge, and reputation was everything among the cadets.
Just as Silas expected, Andrew issued the challenge and as soon as Silas nodded, they were brought to a battle area, which was basically just a large, rectangular arena for them to fight on.
A nurse approached as soon as the fight began, because for the past month, this had been a common sight, and it always ended the same way.
Silas took his position on the arena floor, doing his best to keep his knees from wobbling as he honed his senses towards Andrew. By all means, Silas’ innate ability was perfect for physical combat. Since it did not seem to give him a decided advantage in a fight, no one had thought to suppress it either.
He could see Andrew’s each move clearly, feel his intention, hear the exact weight behind each footstep. He was certain that if Nero had Arithmetic Perception, he would somehow find a way to use that to become the ultimate fighter - better than he was even now.
Silas, unfortunately, could not do that. He tried - every bruise and broken bone he’d ever suffered here could attest to the fact that he tried to use the advantages it gave him. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t automatically become a better fighter even if he knew Andrew was going to feint from the left and attack from the right.
As soon as the punch came, Silas tried to use the information to his advantage and attack the opening. Unfortunately, while he dodged the first feint, he could not react fast enough when Andrew turned that feint into a real attack.
Andrew’s elbow slammed into Silas’ chin as he swung it in an upper cut, and everything after that exactly what one would expect. Disoriented, he was not able to react. Though he did not give up, grit alone could not win a fight.
As Andrew punched Silas in the stomach, pushing the air out of his lungs, the only thing Silas could think of was how much he’d enjoy it when Nero beat this guy up.
He collapsed on the floor and Andrew kicked him once, but before he could continue, the referee called the fight. In less than forty seconds, Silas had lost.
Most fights hardly ever lasted more than a couple of minutes, but such a quick defeat was generally rare.
Andrew passed a few comments, but Silas blocked them out. He was just thinking of how he needed to return to his studies after this. His ability as an Artisan had been his greatest asset so far, and his plan was to just focus on and develop that.
As for fighting... well, he just needed to become good enough to run away or survive during any confrontation. He was never destined to become a fighter anyway, so there was no point in dwelling on such things.