44 A Sparring Dummy
The next day arrived in the blink of an eye, and once again, Billy was the one responsible for training.
Rey didn't really mind it; as long as Billy didn't pay any special attention to him and simply performed his duties as their tutor.
Unfortunately for Rey, he was in for a rude awakening.
"Rey Skylar, step forward."
Rey didn't like it when people used his full name—especially when it was being said in a public place like this.
'Reminds me of a teacher calling me out in class…'
Why couldn't he just be left alone?
Still, if he refused to step out, he would be drawing more attention to himself.
As a result of this logic, he obeyed.
"Today we're going to be reviewing the Martial Arts techniques you have been learning and providing counters for them."
Rey felt butterflies in his stomach as he felt the gaze of everyone on him.
He still wasn't very comfortable about any of this.
"After the sparring session yesterday, and the rest of it being a theoretical discussion, I have come to the conclusion that you're all lacking in a lot of areas."
At this point, no one bothered to argue with him.
Not Trisha… not Adam… and certainly not Rey.
They all knew their place as inferior students, and Billy seemed to be enjoying himself for that very reason.
"I'll be using Rey here as my training dummy for today. Or, maybe a sparring partner would be the most appropriate word to use."
'The hell…?!' Rey's thoughts echoed as he noticed Billy's sly grin.
'What's he on about now?'
"Everyone present will grab a partner. You'll be engaged in sparring with them. As for me… I'll use this one."
Billy slammed his hand on Rey's back, knowing he would tumble and fall.
In response to the slap, Rey did as expected.
"U-urgh!"
Deciding to move with the flow of the slap, he collapsed to the ground like a helpless student.
'I see what's going on now…'
After their class yesterday, Rey had thought Billy had stopped his petty fixations on him, but apparently he was wrong.
'It makes no sense to make me his sparring partner. We're twenty in the Beta Group. We can evenly split the class and everyone will have sparring buddies.'
However, if they used Billy's model, then one of the Beta Students would be without a partner.
That made no sense!
"Trisha, it'll be unfair for you to have a partner right now, so maybe just observe."
It seemed Billy quickly noticed the problem that his arrangement posed, so he swiftly tried to manage it.
Rey instantly called bullshit on it, though.
'So Trisha is too strong for a sparring buddy and you're not? Why can't you choose Trisha as your sparring buddy? Wouldn't that be perfect?'
The stronger a person was, the better they would be in being Billy's sparring partner or training dummy.
'What he wants isn't the best sparring partner, but the one he can freely beat up.'
Rey could tell already… that Billy was planning to utterly humiliate him.
'This is the third time, Billy. I let it go the first two times, but now…?'
As Rey rose to his feet, he hid his glare under an innocent facade.
'I'll make you regret this.'
******
Just as agreed, the class was split into groups of two.
There were nine groups, and Trisha remained the one without a partner.
The plan was to watch Billy and Rey's fight sequence, and then try to imitate—or replicate—the process in their own turn.
Rey would be the one initiating the Martial Arts Technique, while Billy would use its direct counter.
The purpose of this lesson was to let the students know the diverse use of Martial Arts as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each technique.
Every student thought it was a good lesson to be learning.
All except one.
'This is dumb. Monsters don't use Martial Arts, and all of this seems unnecessary…'
The only reason Martial Arts was being learned in the first place was to improve the abilities the students gained after activating their Skills.
As such, if one had a Buff Skill, they would be able to use Martial Arts as the perfect conduit to get the most out of that Skill.
The same applied for any other Skill; like shapeshifting or flying.
The way to incorporate the existing Skills of the students to their combat… that was its true essence.
'Everyone already had considerably better Skills than most denizens of this world. Instead of learning Martial Arts and it's weaknesses, it's better to adopt whatever Martial Arts technique we learn into our Skills and develop our own style.'
In essence, Rey didn't subscribe to learning fixed techniques, but to appropriate them into his own preferred method of combat.
'But… this is what we get instead.'
Rey stopped himself from sighing since he was being watched by everyone.
As he stood in front of the smirking Billy, he took the Martial Arts form that they were supposed to start with.
'He'll counter me in the most brutal way possible—humiliating me in the process.'
Rey could already see it play out, and he didn't like it at all.
'The very reason I decided to hide my powers is to avoid attention being drawn to me, and yet…'
He wasn't about to be treated like shit just for trying to fit in with everyone.
'We've been told not to use any Skills since this is a purely technical match.'
That was enough to put a smile on Rey's face.
'Let's see how it goes.'
"Alright, Rey. Why don't you begi—?"
~WHOOSH!~
Rey perfectly imitated the footwork of the Martial Arts technique that they were taught, swiftly closing the gap between himself and Billy.
"H-huh?!"
It seemed Billy was more than stunned to see Rey close the distance so quickly.
They were already mere inches from each other, and Billy was yet to move a single muscle.
'As long as no Skills are involved, I should be able to get away with this…'
~WHUUUM!~
Rey sent a blow flying to Billy's stomach, trying his best to hide the wide grin that was forming on his face.
'Why don't I show off a little?'
45 A Spar With Billy
"Keuk!"
Billy winced the moment he felt something land on his stomach.
The fist carried so much force that he could already feel a heavy wind pressure before it even touched him.
Fortunately, he had been fast enough to take a step backward, so that mitigated the blow by a considerable degree.
'A-ahh…!'
Billy did his best not to clutch his stomach despite the burning sensation that now swirled on it.
It stung him, to say the least, but he endured the pain.
He also tried to hide his downright shock, but Billy failed woefully at that.
His bloodshot eyes were glued to Rey, who had resumed his standby stance—almost as if prepared to deliver another volley.
'D-did Rey just land a hit… on me?'
Sure, Billy was already aware that he wasn't using any Skills, but his Stats were meant to be superior.
How was Rey able to do something like that?!
'Calm down, Billy. He just got lucky. Yes… I was distracted and he had a lucky score.'
After chalking it down to a fluke, Billy found himself regaining composure.
There was no way Rey could beat him in a thousand years.
'I'm a lot stronger now! I'm among the Top 5 in Alpha Class!'
"Let's try that once again. I wasn't paying enough attention." Billy quickly spoke.
He had been unable to show everyone watching the proper counter to give to the Martial Arts that Rey displayed.
He never thought he would make a blunder, but Billy quickly took it in stride.
'Next time… it won't happen again!'
"Begin!"
As soon as Billy said this, Rey used the same footworks as last time, but he drastically changed the rhythm.
As such, instead of arriving at Billy in six steps, he did so in eight.
'He's too… slow!'
Billy had already begun his counter the moment he saw Rey approach him, already ensuring Rey wouldn't be too fast and catch him off guard again.
Unfortunately, by acting too early, Billy's counter failed woefully.
And… the moment it failed…
~WHOOOSSH!~
… Rey closed in with a powerful fist.
~CRUNCH!~
This time, Rey's heavy blow landed right on Billy's face, causing him to stumble backwards.
The cracking sound he heard was most likely the sound of his nose breaking.
'E-eh? Again? How…?'
How was this happening?!
Billy gritted his teeth now, a heated glare traveling to Rey, who—for the purpose of the training—had gone back to his earlier position and returned to his standby stance.
It pissed Billy off to an absurd degree to see Rey appear so calm.
"Twice in a row, huh? Interesting…" Billy touched the bridge of his nose and readjusted the cartilage that had gotten shifted.
Even though he managed to smile, he was burning with rage within.
"Let's try this again."
Billy, at this point, didn't care if he was going to badly damage Rey in this next round.
'I planned on inflicting light punishment on him throughout the course of this training, but now… I've changed my mind.'
It was better to break him as early as possible.
'Come, Rey! I'll show you the difference in our abilities!'
The third try for Rey was the very opposite of the second.
Rather than utilizing six steps to draw closer to the target, Rey completed the process in four.
His swift movement allowed him to get near Billy faster, eliminating two of the tedious steps by improving his momentum.
Sure, it would come at the sacrifice of some stamina, but the speed made the improvisation worth it.
'Hehehe! I can see what you're doing, Rey!' Billy grinned internally.
Whether or not Rey was speeding towards him, it didn't matter.
He was going to counter perfectly!
Billy began to push his body forward for a counter.
'I'll match your speed! You can't escape me!'
As his body arched forward, and he made to grab Rey, who was now within distance, Rey made the final two steps and rerouted his blow.
Billy did not realize when Rey had moved to his right flank, completely evading the grapple that would have served as a perfect counter.
The result was inevitable.
~WHAM!~
Rey's blow hit Billy right in the cheek, causing Billy to stumble and finally fall to the ground.
Everyone's gasp came like a chorus, and their surprised stared greeted the surprising victor.
Several of them mouthed words like:
"H-how?!"
"What the hell?!"
"Rey actually won?!"
It was amazing—no, downright inspiring—to see someone from the Beta Class defeat an Alpha Student.
And to think it was the most average of all of them—Rey Skylar.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" The voice came from the ground.
Billy was rising from his feet, having a furious expression.
He glared at Rey with a passion, not even bothering to hide his emotions any longer.
"That wasn't the Martial Arts Technique you were supposed to use. What the hell did you do?!"
Billy's words sounded like the sayings of a sore loser, but no one could say that.
They only waited patiently for how Rey would respond.
"But I used the Martial Arts Technique. Six Steps and a Thrust."
No one could deny that was what he did.
However…
"B-but you—!"freewebnσvel.cѳm
"I delayed for a brief moment and gave a feint—which is allowed in Martial Arts."
The veins on Billy's face increased slightly.
"What of the second round? You used eight steps before the thrust!"
For a moment, there was silence.
Billy was being petty about the moves, and everyone knew that, but he wasn't wrong.
Rey hadn't been faithful to the technique he was meant to use.
"I made a mistake in my footwork and ended up with eight instead of six. But, you never corrected me or said I was in the wrong back then."
As Rey said this, everyone's eyes widened instantly.
"I don't know why you're mentioning it now… Bill."
Rey's condescending words were laced properly with a respectful tone. It clearly made a mockery of Billy and his pride, but no one was complaining.
Something about the weak beating the strong—even if it was merely on the grounds of technicality—made them feel good.
Sure, they knew that if Billy was to use his Skills, he would destroy Rey.
However, the apparent nobody had found a way to grow stronger without relying on his Skills.
And whether Rey knew that or not, his action managed to inspire a lot of his fellows.