"Heh, I'll play with you."
Moran moved as if frolicking through a flower garden.
He did not choose to finish Amures with a single punch like he had Kemia.
He seemed to transform into a butterfly dancing in a gale, repeatedly evading Amures's furious barrage of punches.
A deep, crescent-shaped smile still hung on his face.
To Amures, it was mockery.
"Why do you keep dodging?! Are you a fly!?"
"Oh? Then are you so weak you can't even hit a fly? Or did you expect me to stupidly catch your punches with my face?"
"Go die!"
Amures clenched his teeth so hard they seemed ready to shatter.
If he had not been in Kayneth's class, where he could not curse, he would have already insulted Moran's entire family.
This bastard was utterly hateful!
Watching Amures nearly explode from fury,
Moran gradually put away his smile as well.
He leaned slightly back, dodging Amures's flying knee.
"Got you!"
A vicious smile appeared on Amures's face.
He twisted his body, as though pouring all the resentment he had suffered into his right foot, then stepped down with released mana.
The cone-like tip of his right foot aimed straight at Moran's chest.
"Moran!"
Camus's heart tightened at the sight.
She hoped the miracle Moran had displayed when he crushed Kemia would appear again this time.
His right leg shot out like a bullet.
It was about to strike Moran.
Yet Moran had already extended both hands and seized his ankle, stopping Amures from pressing his attack any further.
It was as if he had anticipated the move long ago.
Their combat experience was simply not on the same level.
Crack—!!
A crisp, grating sound of breaking bone rang out.
Then came the thunderous impact of a body slamming into the ground.
Moran seized Amures's right foot and viciously smashed him into the floor.
At the same time, he crushed his ankle.
"Gah... bastard...!"
Amures could only touch the ground with his toes.
Moran had crippled half the mobility in his right foot.
Not only had his attack failed, but he had been counterattacked.
"Heh, thank you for the compliment. This is a long-lost ancient Greek martial art taught to me by a rather nagging master. The words of his that left the deepest impression on me were—once you catch them, you must destroy them. That is Pankration."
Moran explained warmly, his voice full of nostalgia.
That centaur sage had put him through quite a few brutal training sessions to make sure he learned it.
Thanks to him, he had become a hero.
Even now, he still used the martial arts Chiron had taught him.
"This body still feels a little unfamiliar to use... I'll have to review all of Teacher Chiron's lessons afterward..."
Moran said helplessly as he loosened up his joints.
The body he had possessed in the simulation had been tempered by countless battles, allowing him to perform master-level Pankration through instinct alone.
This was the first time this body had used Pankration.
At most, he could only display twenty percent of his former strength. To return to the level he had possessed as a hero, he would likely need several more years of training.
In a master's eyes, his movements were full of openings.
But to everyone else, that was not the case.
"Pankration...?"
Kayneth murmured in confusion.
He was not particularly accomplished in self-defense.
But he had at least heard of Pankration. It was a fighting art that even Alexander the Great and Sparta's soldiers had needed to devote twenty-five years of their lives to learning.
It had long since been lost in modern times.
Only books contained passing mentions of the combat art.
In ancient Greece, Pankration carried another meaning as well—"all strength."
From Moran's movements and techniques,
he appeared to have reached the realm of a consummate master. Kayneth had no idea how Moran had inherited such an ancient and mysterious school.
Though the belief that older things were stronger was rather vague,
Magus were accustomed to holding ancient things in awe.
Just how many more surprises would Moran bring him?
"Who cares about your Pankration?! I'll kill you—!"
Amures's reason was overwhelmed by rage.
He had been the honor student everyone recognized from the beginning, while the other had been branded worthless trash.
So why were those people now
looking at him with such pitying eyes?
His desperation to reclaim his former glory and his fury at this incomprehensible situation. Amures could feel something slipping away constantly, yet all he could do was rage, unable to take it back.
He charged at Moran once more.
But the result was still cruel enough to make one laugh.
Although his Magic Circuits were far superior to Moran's in number, their quality was vastly inferior.
Not to mention that Moran knew how to control them with precision.
Just five Magic Circuits were enough for him to crush Amures.
"Guh! Aah—!"
Amures was battered back by a gale-like offensive.
Unexpected developments came one after another, and even his conscious reactions were struggling to keep up.
It was like a film made from disjointed, rapidly spliced fragments.
The image of Moran throwing punch after punch before his eyes
was like a waterfall, like a torrential downpour, changing in an instant as it surged toward him like raging waves.
He even suspected that his heartbeat had suddenly changed pace midway through, yet Moran never let up and continued attacking.
He had long since been beaten bloody beneath that rain of fists.
Calling him bruised and swollen would not have been an exaggeration.
Only now did Amures realize
that Moran had not even reinforced his fists with mana.
He only infused mana into his limbs when moving, like the pity an iron giant might show to kittens and puppies.
The humiliation made him want to grind his teeth to pieces once again.
This could not even be called a fight.
Moran pressed Amures relentlessly.
Different experience, different perspective, different planes of existence.
He was utterly helpless. This was what it meant to be unrivaled!
P.S.: Stop scolding me, stop scolding me. The author knows he was wrong. I'll finish the modern arc today, I won't drag it out... boohoohoo... (teary-eyed).
I offer my knees to all you readers.
Just treat this modern arc as a buffer and transition.
The simulation will resume soon.
No Rules, No Order. Please Send Flowers! Please Vote Monthly Tickets!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fists crisscrossed as they pounded into his cheeks.
He could only raise both arms into a shell, barely blocking the fierce assault that came like thunder and rain.
No, Amures could not even defend himself.
Moran's fists struck his cheeks, spraying blood.
Amures was beaten dizzy and disoriented.
He escaped the crossing blockade of continuous punches on instinct, only to be grabbed by the collar and hair and dragged back.
Like a beast that refused to release its prey.
Splat! Splat! Splat!
Moran gripped Amures's collar with his left hand while his right fist continuously hammered his cheeks.
It had the springy force of hand-pounded beef balls.
Every punch landing on his face produced a wonderfully resonant sound.
"Whoa... Amures... that honor student actually..."
"How can this be... he can't even fight back at all... When did Moran become so strong!?"
"This is too miserable... This isn't a duel at all, it's practically an execution! I absolutely can't fight that guy in the future!"
Quite a few watching Magus felt fear rise in their hearts.
No one was not shocked by the outcome of this contest.
The overwhelming majority believed in bloodline theory.
They believed those born with inferior blood and talent could never defeat fate.
Yet reality slapped them hard across the face.
Through his actions, Moran told them that fate could be changed. It was absolutely not something to be avoided.
Of course, some also looked at Moran with admiration.
Only because he had overturned the impossible.
"Professor Kayneth, there's no need to continue this fight, right? If this goes on, I'm afraid I won't be able to take care of my classmate afterward~"
Moran threw out the Amures he had been holding.
Before you continue