Free Web NovelChapter 23: Thirty Seconds of Survival
[Ding! New Quest has been found!]
[MISSION: Survive for 30 Seconds!]
[REWARD: 1x Lucky Draw!]
"What?!"
Alden looked at Darius with a shocked expression hidden carefully behind his calm face, while internally cursing his bad luck.
’Why the hell is he aiming for a duel with me? I expected that he might make me duel against some other student, but not him...’
"Student Alden, you should take your position."
"Is giving up an option?"
"Nope."
"Sigh... What a pain."
Alden took a step back and maintained a safe distance from him. He looked at his quest, which made him terrified rather than happy. The mission explicitly mentioned that he had to survive for at least thirty seconds. The system would not give him this task if it was easily possible. This meant the chances of him getting beaten up and transferred to the infirmary were much higher than him standing here and surviving.
’Whatever. I just have to survive within the given time...’
As they stood opposite each other, the voices filling the stadium quieted down. The students were cautious about what would happen to him, knowing it would be their turn right after him.
"So, before we start the duel, in order to maintain a proper balance, I will hold back my strength. I will fight you with only 1% of my power."
A loud hush filled the stadium as the students finally sighed in relief, knowing that the instructor was going to hold back against them.
But Alden, who stood right before him, didn’t seem even a tiny bit happy after hearing that.
’He is saying he will hold back... But I know his 1% might be even more than what he used in his unconscious attack against his assistant earlier.’
Darius smiled slightly as he noticed Alden’s cautious state.
’Hmph... Interesting. It seems he knows that he still cannot handle my 1% strength. He is not as overconfident as he looks...’
"So let’s begin the duel without wasting time. The duel will last for exactly one minute. You have to survive for one minute to win."
As the duel began, Alden didn’t lunge forward toward him. He knew that lunging toward that monster would be suicidal for him. So, he stood there waiting for Darius to make the first move.
Darius narrowed his eyes and burst from the ground with incredible speed, moving as a blur. Alden reacted instantly, sidestepping just as Darius’s massive fist tore through the air where he had been standing a moment before.
*CRASH!*
The force of the blow created a small crater in the ground, sending dust and small pebbles flying in all directions.
Alden quickly created distance from the man, but as he ran back, Darius already appeared right in front of him again.
Alden tried to dodge as a heavy punch flew forward toward his chest. There was no time to step away. He quickly leaned down with a fast step.
*BOOOOM!*
The sheer air pressure created by his punch was enough to form a large crater in the ground. Alden pulled back, using a burst of his mana to launch himself out of the impact zone.
’What the hell is this guy? Is he really holding back? If this is his 1% strength, which is easily enough to shatter a boulder, then what is his 100% strength?’
Alden backed away several meters from him.
Darius looked at him with a wide smile and then burst from his spot. He shot his fist straight toward Alden’s head.
As the punch closed in on him, instead of dodging backward from the attack, Alden leaned forward into the strike. Darius’s eyes widened, as he fully expected the boy to dodge away.
Alden twisted his body mid-step, dodging the giant punch by a mere inch. He leaned down, imbued his own fist with a dense, concentrated amount of mana, and punched Darius directly in the chest with all of his strength.
*BOOOM!*
The punch hit its target perfectly. Dust covered the training field as Alden pulled back immediately, waiting to see what would happen.
As the dust slowly cleared, Darius stood there calmly. He casually dusted off his shirt, acting as if the punch Alden landed was nothing, not even enough to leave a small scratch on him. As his gray eyes locked onto Alden, the boy felt a sharp shiver run down his spine.
Darius burst from his place again with a terrifying smile.
Alden didn’t get the time to dodge properly. He quickly looked at his system window to check the timer.
’Shit! Only ten seconds remain. It will be impossible to survive now, I just have to endure this somehow!’
Alden dodged the incoming punch, barely managing to side-step and saving himself by an inch of difference.
Darius didn’t stop. Without wasting a single second, he started to shower a heavy barrage of rapid punches.
The whole stadium quieted down as they watched the weak student barely able to survive. Many of them actually felt pity for him.
Alden kept dodging the attacks from a short distance, trying to survive just a second longer until the time period for the reward was completed. He already knew he couldn’t beat the instructor or survive much longer, so he was giving his best just to survive until the timer ended.
In front of him, Darius was in a completely different mood. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the boy.
’How can this kid keep dodging my attacks? It should be impossible for him to dodge continuously. I can take a few moments as pure luck, but no, he keeps dodging every single strike.’
’He must be the type of mysterious guy who is hiding his true power. Yes, that is the only possible answer. No normal student can dodge such an attack. I even went slightly beyond my 1% limit, but he is still able to dodge me. Interesting...’
Darius was stuck in his own dilemma, assuming that Alden was some secretly overpowered guy hiding his strength. But he was unaware of Alden’s overpowered luck stat, which guided his narrow escapes.
As the last few seconds ticked down, Alden’s feet suddenly slipped in the ground while dodging. Darius didn’t give him the time to recover.
*BOOOM!*
Alden’s frail body launched backward several meters. He skidded across the ground as his body slammed hard into the end wall of the stadium.
*Thud!*
He fell down to the ground and remained motionless for a second. The students looked at him in shock as Darius walked toward him calmly with slow steps.
Alden stirred slightly. He felt a massive amount of pain as he clutched his stomach. He tried to stand up but stumbled back. His body was bruised all over as he looked up in front of him.
"Okay, it seems you can no longer continue the match. Here, take this and go back to your seat."
Darius threw a glass healing potion. Alden was barely able to catch it.
Darius turned around and then called the name of the next student on the list.
Alden sighed, shaking his head slowly.
’Damn, it pains so much. I feel like my ribs have been crushed by that single punch...’
He popped the cork of the healing potion and drank the liquid. His wounds and dark bruises started to fade away as vapors rose from the injured spots on his body.
’This potion is quite effective. It is my first time using something like this. At least for the real me, since potions do not exist on modern Earth...’
Alden walked back toward the stadium seats, still stumbling slightly because of the lingering pain. As he walked over to his seat, he passed through the students. Their expressions changed for a brief second from disdain to pity.
’Sigh, at least their hate felt better than this pity. I hate it when someone looks at me like that.’
As he sat down in his seat, he noticed a sudden gaze fixed on him. He looked up.
A girl with vibrant red hair and bright emarald eyes was staring at him. He couldn’t recognize her face, but he felt she was familiar for some reason. He just couldn’t quite put a name to her. After a moment, she looked away and focused on the training ground below.
’Who is she? Why does she feel so familiar?’
Alden looked away and focused on the ongoing class, pushing back any other distracting thoughts. Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in his mind.
[Ding!]
[The quest ’Survive for 30 Seconds!’ has been successfully completed!]
[Ding! 1x Lucky draw has been claimed!]
[Ding!]
[Do you want to Spin the Lucky Draw?]
[Yes/No]
***
[A/N:
Hello everyone, Quick Question!
•What do you want the Red hair girl to be?
>New Heroine
>Some new Supporting character
>MC’s Fianceé
>MC’s Sister
>Other
Comment me quickly!]
