Chapter 8: The Pit
I stayed on the floor for a moment, just long enough to catch my breath. My ankle still burned a little.
Park turned and left the arena to the congratulations of his friends. He didn’t give me a second glance. I was already forgotten.
I got up, limping slightly. The humiliation was back, as familiar as an old scar. I was back at square one.
The teacher looked at me, his face impassive.
"Your defense is interesting, Mr. Kang. Your weapon is unique. But it’s useless if you don’t have the fundamentals. You’re slow. Your stamina is low. You don’t know how to fight."
Every word was a painful truth.
"Go back to the side," he ordered.
I returned to my spot next to Min-Soo. He didn’t look at me with pity. He was watching me with his usual analytical expression.
"His attack patterns were predictable," he murmured so only I could hear. "He always uses a projectile to force a dodge, then attacks in close combat. The problem isn’t your strategy. It’s your body. It can’t keep up."
I clenched my fists. He was right. My dagger might be able to erase Aura, but it couldn’t make me faster or stronger. I was the weak link. It was me.
The rest of the class was torture. The teacher made us do physical exercises. Push-ups, running, squats.
I lagged behind in everything. The other students, even the D-ranks, were all in much better physical condition than me. Their bodies were already used to using Aura. Mine wasn’t.