Athanasia: My Hacker System-Chapter 54: Another Dual-Ability Student!

[Mental Point (MP): 356/432]

Just before the fight would start, and by habit, John checked his Mental Points. During the past week, he had made sure to borrow a steady stream of Mental Points from his teammates through training, recharging his reserve to a satisfying degree. His capacity was higher than ever, and his tank was nearly full.

’Nothing can stop me from completing this quest... Frame Recognition!’

He started by activating his primary battle ability. The world shifted into a familiar grid of green codes and wireframes. In front of him, the three students were illuminated in a pale glow, each possessing dozens of white special codes denoting their special abilities and power.

However, the third student—the captain—stood out. John could see two distinct, dense clusters of special codes swirling within his body.

’Tsk! Seeing this makes me wonder if having a dual ability is now as common as cabbage on the street,’ he inwardly sighed. Despite his cynical thought, he was genuinely curious to see what type of second ability the third student possessed that was precious enough to warrant forfeiting a match just to keep it hidden.

"Let’s go!" As expected, the third student shouted, his voice carrying the authority of a seasoned leader.

"You are mine, btch!" the strength-focused student roared, charging with a heavy, thundering gait toward Cissel. He was blinded by the need for revenge, his movements wide and predictable.

The second student moved with a blurred speed, aiming for Ricky, hoping to catch the heavy hitter off-balance. Meanwhile, the third student stayed behind, his eyes narrowed, calmly watching and analysing the initial clash like a grandmaster at a chessboard.

"Sorry about that, but," just before the two of them could reach their targets, John flickered into motion, stepping into the gap. "The two of you will play with me first!"

His advance was perfectly synchronised with a tactical retreat from Cissel and Ricky. While the Year Two team was a chaotic mess of individual vendettas, the Year One trio moved like a single unit. Just from this simple opening, it was clear how vast the teamwork gap was between the two years.

"Stay away, you loser!" the strength student roared, closing a massive fist before slamming it downward with enough force to shatter stone.

"Just mind your own business, okay?" The speedy student hissed, jumping into the air while arcing his leg like a whip, the friction of his movement whistling in the air.

One heavy fist aimed for John’s belly; one lightning-fast kick aimed for his neck. Both students were desperate to silence the foul-mouthed junior who had humiliated them in public. They poured everything into this initial strike, intending to make an example of him.

"What did you two just say?"

To the audience, it looked like John was trapped between a hammer and an anvil. But in John’s eyes, the world showed him everything he needed. He simply rotated his torso and ducked his head, a move so smooth and natural it looked like water flowing around two stones. He evaded both attacks with insulting ease.

"I don’t hear well the voices of losers like you!"

*Boom!* *Boom!*

As if a grenade had detonated on the stage, the sound of impact echoed through the arena. John’s fists moved so fast they were nearly invisible, punching the two students as if he were training on stationary punchbags.

The counter-attack was swift and utterly unpredictable. Yet, to their credit as upperclassmen, the two managed to shift their weight and shield their vital spots at the very last second.

"Not too shabby," John’s smirk was starting to grow increasingly annoying to everyone on the opposing side. "Still not good enough. Come on, stand up. We are just warming up!"

"Fck you!" the strength student spat.

Their initial plan had actually been aimed entirely at John. They had feinted toward Cissel and Ricky to draw them out, intending to bypass them and crush the arrogant Class President. Who could have guessed that John would take the initiative to attack them both head-on and come out on top?

The plan that should have ended with John rolling on the ground, getting severely beaten to restore the face of the Year Two students, had backfired spectacularly. Instead, his two teammates were the ones struggling to find their footing.

Seeing his vanguard falter, the third student finally lost his patience. He didn’t say a word, but one group of special codes erupted in a faint, shimmering white light in John’s special world. Then he dashed towards John.

"Wanted help?" Ricky shouted from behind. For a second, John wanted to say no—to prove he could handle all three solo. But he decided against it.

"Take care of the other two; they are on their last legs," John replied, his eyes locked on the approaching captain.

John knew that even though he had held back most of his power in those two punches, the damage was done. Even with their successful blocks, the students’ arms were likely vibrating with bone-deep pain and beginning to bruise.

So it was easy to let Ricky and Cissel finish them off, while he’d play with the enraged third student. The battlefield had been segmented exactly as John wanted. With the two secondary students weakened, they were sitting ducks, while he’d distract the third student till his teammates would finish their opponents off.

"Keep them away until I finish this bastard off!" the third student roared at his teammates, his voice cracking with the strain of his anger.

In John’s special vision, he saw the shift immediately.

’He is activating his two special abilities at the same time!’ Within the wireframe of the third student’s body, the two groups of special codes began to shimmer with an intense white light, humming and moving in erratic, distinct rhythms. The student’s speed wasn’t particularly high, and he didn’t show the tell-tale glowing filaments like Ricky.

’Perhaps he is a vampire-type like Cissel,’ John thought, his mind racing through the limited list of second abilities he knew of. He prepared his counters by activating more of his own toolkit: ’MP Absorption, Object Lockdown!’

He braced for an impact, but he didn’t realise he had already foiled the student’s plan before it even began. In front of the gasping crowd, the Year Two captain suddenly vanished into thin air, as if he had been erased from the world or wrapped in an invisibility cloak.