The Academy's Terminally Ill Side Character-Chapter 74: Teaching A Lesson [2]

Anger clouded judgment.

And a clouded opponent was the easiest kind to beat.

One of the golden rules of fighting—no matter what—was to stay calm. Always.

But Buttcheeks had already thrown that out the window.

She wasn’t thinking anymore.

She was just reacting. Lashing out without strategy.

It made her easy prey for anyone...

Well, anyone except me, of course.

I couldn’t help but grin at the thought.

The second she saw my smile, it was like throwing gasoline on a bonfire.

Her face twisted with fury.

She gritted her teeth so hard I half-expected to hear them crack.

Then crack!—

She snapped her whip again, harder this time.

The air split with a violent boom as the whip shot toward me—faster, sharper, and a whole lot more desperate.

Wild.

Uncontrolled.

Sure, her anger gave her a small boost in power, but it made her attacks sloppy. Predictable.

I leaned casually to the side, letting the whip slice past me by mere inches.

That was close!

If not for my eyes, enhanced through my [Enhancement] talent, I’d probably be eating dirt right now.

Thanks to that power, everything looked clearer, sharper.

Every movement, every twitch of her muscles—I could see it all.

It wasn’t just luck that kept me standing. It was talent.

At that moment, Buttcheeks stumbled forward, thrown off balance by her own reckless momentum.

"Careful," I said, smirking. "You’ll end up hurting yourself before you hurt me."

Her nostrils flared, her face turning an even deeper shade of red.

If looks could kill, I’d have been six feet under.

But that was fine.

Let her burn herself out chasing ghosts.

All I had to do was stay calm—and judging by the way she was already panting—

That moment wasn’t far off.

"You’ll pay for this humiliation!" she screamed.

She swung her whip wildly, the attacks blending into a chaotic barrage, filling the air with cracks and whistles.

To anyone else, it might’ve looked impossible to get close.

A solid wall of attacks.

But I wasn’t like everyone else.

I wasn’t as strong as Ryen.

I didn’t have Leo’s flawless footwork.

But I had something they didn’t.

’My own broken, overpowered talent.’

And it was time to end this.

I stepped forward—calmly—right into the barrage.

Where anyone else would see an impenetrable storm of attacks, I saw...openings.

Gaps.

Moments.

Thanks to [Enhancement], the world around me slowed down.

The whip that others couldn’t even track with their eyes seemed sluggish, almost frozen.

While it danced wildly, it was still just a line moving through the air—a line that hadn’t hit anything yet.

A rapidly approaching weapon might be scary.

But a slow, predictable one?

Not at all.

My body wasn’t fast.

It wasn’t strong.

But it was just enough.

I slipped through the gaps in her attacks with ease, weaving between the flurry of strikes like I was simply walking through a curtain of rain.

The so-called ’wall’ created by her barrage of whips?

Completely useless.

In the next second—

I was already standing right in front of her.

So close, I could see the panic flicker in her wide eyes.

"Huh? How... how is this possible?" she muttered under her breath, completely stunned.

From her perspective, I must’ve looked like a ghost—someone who just walked through her attacks like they were nothing.

I smiled, calm and pleasant, like I wasn’t even breaking a sweat.

"Don’t worry," I said softly. "I’ll teach you a lesson you won’t forget."

If I wanted to, I could’ve ended it right there.

The small practice dagger in my hand gleamed under the arena lights.

Time to end this.

Without hesitation, I stabbed her—not a deep or serious stab, of course, just a clean, solid hit to signal the end of the match.

At the same moment, I felt the sting of her whip catch my side.

A sloppy, desperate strike—

but it still hurt like hell.

Damn it. I wanted to win without getting hit...

I grimaced internally. Guess I got a little too careless at the finish line.

"Draw!"

Instructor Ray’s voice rang out immediately, decisive and loud.

To the crowd watching from the sidelines, it probably looked like I had charged in recklessly, eaten a hit, and managed to land a lucky strike.

Only the two of us knew what had really happened.

The cadets broke out into excited chatter, buzzing about the close match.

As for her... she just stood there, frozen, clutching her whip tightly, her lips pressed into a thin line.

Her pride had been shattered.

I lowered my dagger casually and turned my back to her, already walking away before the instructor even finished giving basic feedback.

Seven days left.

That’s all the time she had.

And all the time I had left to decide what to do with her.

----

Buttcheeks POV

I stood there, frozen, my whip dangling uselessly at my side.

I didn’t even feel the sting in my hand where the leather had snapped back.

All I could focus on was him—

walking away like I was nothing.

Like I hadn’t even been worth his time.

How?

I gritted my teeth hard enough that my jaw ached.

It didn’t make any sense.

He shouldn’t have been able to dodge me like that—

Shouldn’t have gotten past my defenses so easily—

Shouldn’t have looked so calm and smug while doing it.

I was better than him.

I had to be.

And yet... in front of everyone...

I lost.

Even if it was called a "draw," I knew the truth.

He had won.

The murmurs around the training grounds grew louder, but I couldn’t make out the words.

I didn’t have to.

I could feel their judgment cutting into me sharper than any weapon.

Pathetic.

That’s what they were thinking.

I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms.

My face burned with humiliation, but underneath the shame, something else boiled hotter:

Rage.

I wouldn’t accept this.

Not from him.

Not from someone like him who didn’t even seem to care.