Today was the 15th of August, 2116, and I was currently in class. Over a week had passed since the battle, and it'd been a couple of days since Director Silva found out that I was an Anomaly. Classes had resumed yesterday, and...well, that was it really, nothing else notable to speak of. No crimes to investigate or whatever, not yet anyway.

Director Silva had said that I don't need to hide the fact that I was a part of that Mission, but I'm not really interested in glory or attention, in fact, it'd probably annoy me. So, I won't say anything, if my classmates find out on their own, then so be it. Because otherwise, I'm fine with no one knowing about it.

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"Pay attention, students, I've got an important topic to discuss," Remarked Kumar, snapping me out of my thoughts.

It was the first session of the day, theory class, and I hadn't gotten enough sleep last night...so I was kinda dozing off.

"Wonder what this is about," Said Suri in response.

"Who knows, probably something that isn't actually all that important," I muttered in reply.

"You've really got that 'wet blanket' vibe to you, man," Chimed in Mitchell, who was sitting in front of me.

"Shut up...," I grumbled in reply, as Kumar began to talk.

"Okay, what we're discussing today is the new ability that we've discovered Prodigies are capable of, which was seen during the recent battle by the Ace, Zarina Serik, and directly witnessed and recorded by your own classmate," He explained, nodding at me.

Oh, come on...

"Wait, what exactly do you mean, instructor?" Inquired Suri with a confused look, as the rest of the class turned to stare at me with baffled expressions, "Are you saying that Kilzachs was a part of that battle?"

"Oh...of course he didn't tell you. Yup, he was one of our key players, actually."

That's kind of an exaggeration, I wasn't that important...

"No way, quit kidding around, instructor, there's no way that this Dud could have been a part of such a high level Mission and come back alive!" Laughed Asshole in disbelief.

"Well, as it happens, regarding the newly discovered Prodigy ability, I'm to show you a clip of the footage Kilzachs recorded of it," He replied, as a projector descended from the ceiling and projected onto the whiteboard.

It then began playing the part where I saw Zarina use Manifestation Overdrive, my classmates watching with awe and shock.

"Woah, there's another technique we can unlock? That's so awesome!" Exclaimed Lin with a grin.

"Yeah, this is pretty cool," Agreed Andre, looking intrigued.

"It's probably going to be crazy hard to figure out though, I mean, after all this time, only one Prodigy has discovered it, and she's as Ace at that," Pointed out Mitchell objectively.

"Hah, I knew it, the Dud can't fly, so that can't be him recording!" Scoffed Asshole triumphantly.

"He was using a jetpack. Here's more footage, you can see that it's his weapons and fighting style," Responded Kumar with a frown, playing a few more clips.

Not that I don't appreciate it, but it's kinda embarrassing that he's getting all defensive on my behalf.

"No, this has to be fake...," Muttered Asshole skeptically.

"You're an idiot, aren't you?" Sighed Kumar with a look of disbelief.

"I agree, you're acting like accepting the fact that Kilzachs was a part of that Mission would kill you or something," Remarked Mitchell disdainfully.

"No, I refuse to believe it, that would be like admitting that he's better than us!" He exclaimed with a frown.

"No, it really wouldn't, but at the very least, I know that I'm better than you, Asshole," I chimed in condescendingly.

"What was that!? You fucking Dud, don't get so ahead of yourself! I challenge you to a duel!" He declared, standing up and turning around to glare at me.

You know what, that sounds great, actually...

"Bring it, I'll break your fucking face, dipshit."

"You're asking for it, I'll crush you with everything I've got!" He snarled viciously.

"Yeah, I'd like to see you try," I scoffed, in an attempt to provoke him further.

After a couple of seconds of silence, Kumar spoke up...

"You know what, I'm supposed to discuss the Manifestation Overdrive thing with you guys, but let's put that on hold. Let's go down to one of the training halls and settle this."

Woah, I think he actually wants to see me humiliate Asshole...so this is what it's like to be on the positive end of favoritism, huh, I was always at the other end of it when I was in school...well, I'm much obliged...

...

About ten minutes later, I was inside a Duel Field with Asshole, the countdown ticking over to the start of the fight...is this really happening? I got to kill Kilrafhe Floence a few days ago, and now I get to beat the crap out of the person I hate the most after him...heh, what'd I do to deserve such good fucking luck?

"Fair warning, Dud, give up now, before I embarrass you in front of everyone!" He snickered arrogantly.

Oh, I'm so going to enjoy this...

"Give up? Why though, you're like, the weakest person in the class," I remarked, putting on a confused expression.

"Why, you-...! Grr, I'll make you eat those words, you fucking worm...!" He growled, before activating his X-Abilities, ", !"

I drew out my X-Blade handles and activated them, as the countdown ticked below ten seconds. I won't use my X-Blasters, I don't need to against him, that'd make it too easy...and too boring.

It's almost time...three...two...one!

I shot forwards towards him at top speed, springing up as he swung his sword horizontally across at me as I closed in. He then raised his shield defensively, I used it as a springboard to leap up and over him, combining my blade handles along their lengths to reform the blades into a single wide and long blade, swiftly slashing it straight up at him as I landed behind him, teleporting him out before he could react.

Woah...he's so slow. I mean, I expected this to be easy, but holy shit...that was just pathetic. That was so anticlimactic and unsatisfying. I didn't even get to inflict any pain on him, no fair! This won't do, I can't leave this the way it is...

"I demand a rematch!" I called out with a look of disappointment, "I mean, that...that was just sad."

"I-I wasn't fully ready, don't let that fluke get to your head, Dud!" He exclaimed in reply, re-entering the Duel Field.

This is way beyond just being in denial...what is wrong with him? Well, then it's settled...I'm going to hammer into him the fact that it wasn't a fluke...I'll leave no doubts in his mind about which of us is stronger...I'll shatter his ego into a million pieces. That brief exchange just now was enough for me to confirm that he's way slower than me, and that my technique is several times sharper than his is.

I'll destroy him, crush his confidence and break every last one of his bones. The countdown began again, this time starting at ten seconds, as he re-formed his Manifestations with gritted teeth, a deep grimace on his face.

Oh, I'm going to enjoy this, here we go again...three...two...one!

This time, he made the first move, rushing towards me with his sword poised and his shield protectively in front of his torso.

Woah...he's got so many openings that I don't know which one to use...I don't think I even need to use any of my weapons to defeat him...I've worked extensively on every aspect of my fighting style when training, from shooting to swordplay to bare handed combat...and against an opponent like this, I was confident that just a single one of those attacks would be more than enough to defeat him...so I'll go with regular old-fashioned hand-to-hand combat.

"Since I'm too strong for you with my weapons, this time I'll crush you with my bare fists!" I remarked with a cold smirk, "You're welcome!"

"You fucking Dud...!"

He closed in and let out a fierce yell as he swung his sword at my neck, I responded by swiftly dropping to the ground, his blade slicing through the air. I then swiftly planted my hands on the ground and drove my foot straight up at him, my rising kick slamming onto the bottom of his jaw and sending him flying back with a dazed gasp of pain.

I then shot forward, and right before he could crash onto the ground, I unleashed a swift front-flip kick, my heel crashing onto the middle of his chest with a resounding impact, he coughed out blood as his back slammed onto the ground, as I felt a rib crack.

No doubt about it, the more I train, the more I bridge the gap between the physical strength levels between myself and Prodigies...of course, I'll never be able to match the ones that actively work on their physical strength, but against someone like Asshole, who primarily works mostly on his skills with using his Manifestations, I can definitely narrow down that gap.

As he shakily got back on his feet, he quickly raised his shield in alarm as I closed in again, I swiftly spun myself across with a shuffle of my feet so that I was to his right, and then drove my fist towards his side, my knuckles slamming onto his left side, just below his ribcage. He let out a gasp of pain as his shield Manifestation got destabilized and disappeared, before shakily swinging his sword down at me with a yell.

I struck his wrist with my palm to deflect his strike, dissipating his sword Manifestation, and slammed my knee onto his solar plexus, his torso fully exposed now that his shield was gone...he's so full of openings that this is ridiculously easy. I then drew back my leg slightly, but instead of lowering it, I rapidly extended it, swinging my foot straight up and across, which struck the side of his face, knocking out a tooth as he stumbled back.

As the tooth skidded away along the ground, I swiftly closed in again, not giving him a chance to recover. I then ran a little bit of XFE into my gloves and struck his torso with a couple of swift punches, the electric charge deliberately not strong enough to knock him out, just enough to daze him a bit. His knees wobbled a bit and he stumbled back...now to really have some fun, I won't even give you a chance to breathe...

I swung a punch at the side of his face, blood splattering on ground as I struck him, followed by a twisting palm strike to the throat, eliciting a pained cough from him, blood running down the sides of his mouth. I then swiftly leapt up and unleashed a rapid triple kick at him, striking his abdomen, chest and chin in quick succession.

I then used the upward momentum on my foot to raise it up as high as possible, before swinging it down with as much force as I could generate, the bottom of my heel slamming onto his forehead, as I felt his skull crack slightly. He stumbled back while wheezing with pain, his forehead bleeding and his eyes glossing over.

Good, he's still conscious and standing, though just barely...

As I drove another punch towards him, the memory of the time he almost burnt me with hot coffee back in middle school flashed through my head, my left fist striking his chest with a crushing impact, before I twisted across and drove my right elbow straight towards his neck, striking his throat and eliciting a strangled gasp of pain from him, blood spraying out his mouth.

I then spun around behind him, grabbed his wrists firmly, pulled his arms back and jumped up, bending my knees as I aimed the bottom of my feet at his back, the memory of the incident with Bytra went through my mind, which he had masterminded...I let go of his wrists right as my feet slammed onto his back, as he crashed onto the ground on his front, both arms dislocated at the shoulders.

Oh, he's getting up again...he's barely even conscious anymore, but he's still that desperate not to lose to me? I shot forward and leapt towards him as he stood back up, slamming my knee onto his chest, cracking another rib, as the memories of him calling me a Dud and insulting me for no apparent reason went through my mind...

I grabbed the top of his hair and lifted him back up as he fell onto the ground again, pulling him onto his feet, his eyes looking glassy and lifeless...not long before he loses consciousness now. I've been careful not to inflict any damage that'll activate the Duel Field's teleportation function, it only reacts to fatal blows and attacks that leave permanent damage, like cutting off a limb or something.

I then unleashed an absolute barrage of punches and kicks at him, pushing him back bit by bit, till his back struck the wall of the barrier...I drew back my right fist, rapidly running XFE into my right glove and building up an electric charge.

"S-stop...," He uttered weakly, but that only encouraged me, sending a chill of satisfaction down my spine.

I drove my fist forward towards his face, and right as it began to strike his face...he got teleported out, my fist instead going forward and hitting the wall of the Duel Field, the electric charge dispersing throughout the barrier upon impact, which cracked slightly. Looks like I failed to land the money shot...but regardless, that was still supremely satisfying...

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