Melee Scholar, Partially Digested

"You should have some special abilities, right?" Bang said. "I noticed you using some strange energy while climbing the stairs."

"Use everything you have now." Bang felt himself getting more fired up the longer they fought.

He had not felt this way in a long time.

Back when he was young, when he was still known as Blood Wind, he had been a complete martial arts lunatic.

[Remember this site's domain name. Enjoy reading every day—it's great!]

Though his beloved oni-chan had later used the Love Fist to awaken his longing for "love," his innate enjoyment of martial arts had never changed.

Ever since his disciple had betrayed and fled, he had not had such a satisfying fight in a long time.

Morien had an excellent foundation in combat and even better physical abilities. Bang only needed to hold back a little to have a thoroughly enjoyable time.

Still, it was not quite enough.

He wanted to see Morien's trump card, and he also wanted to let himself loosen up a little more.

But Morien merely shrugged during a gap in his defense.

"Uh..."

"I converted everything into physical attributes."

"..."

"Is that so?"

"Fine. The body is the foundation of everything."

Bang's fist came at Morien once more from a direction he had not expected. Morien barely raised his hand in time to block it.

This "placement test" continued as Morien fought and thought.

In this world governed by the mind, where exactly could he obtain "Mind Force"?

Meditate on Aha like he had in the Lord of Mysteries world?

No, he did not believe in gods at all.

Or should he simply believe in "himself"?

That felt far too broad.

He was the Royal Insect of Propagation. What if he directly believed in "the swarm"?

But Morien did not think he was responsible enough to become that kind of person...

Morien came up with one option after another, then rejected them all again and again.

They all seemed slightly off.

The "test" between Morien and Bang continued.

As fists rained down like raindrops, Morien seized the opening to grab Bang's wrist, twisted his waist, turned his back, and executed an over-the-shoulder throw.

Bang's feet left the ground as Morien hurled him away, but before landing, he casually planted one hand on the floor and righted himself.

Looking into Bang's eyes, Morien suddenly thought of something.

Why was he overthinking this?

Wouldn't it be enough if he was having fun?

The corner of Morien's mouth lifted.

That was right. As long as he enjoyed himself, that was enough.

He lowered himself into a half-crouch, stretched his right hand behind him, raised his left hand to seize his mask, then ripped it off and slapped it onto his right palm.

The mask struck his palm and shattered with a snap into specks of starlight, then transformed into orange-red radiance that covered his hand.

Was he about to turn in his paper?

Watching Morien's movements, Bang understood.

He raised both hands, grabbed his collar, and pulled outward.

Riiip.

His shirt tore open, revealing powerful muscles utterly inconsistent with his age, along with scar after scar.

"Let me see your final question," Bang said.

"Master's actually getting serious?" Charanko clutched his hair in shock. "For some guy who came from who knows where?"

"Sure." Morien answered, using his palm like a blade as he chopped at Bang with a hand strike.

Bang threw a punch as well, its force winding and twisting like a stream.

Whoosh!

Splurt!

The two men passed by each other.

Morien slowly turned around and touched his face.

Blood trickled down his cheek.

A shallow cut had appeared along the side of his face.

At the very last moment, Bang had failed to hold back a little, and the wind from his fist had cut Morien's face.

Morien straightened up, slowly turned, and looked at Bang.

"Good kid..."

Bang kept his head lowered. Two seconds after Morien had turned around, he finally turned as well.

He raised his left hand before his chest, the muscles in it tightly tensed.

A slanted line of blood ran from the back of his left hand to his elbow.

"How is that possible?!" Charanko felt that he had been shocked several times more today than usual. "That guy actually injured Master!"

"The sky is falling!"

Bang had obviously not used his full strength, but aside from Garou, this was the first time Charanko had seen anyone trade blows with Bang on equal footing through martial arts alone.

And injuring Bang was something even Garou, who had once swept through the entire dojo, had failed to accomplish.

Not far away, Mosquito Girl's face had turned slightly red as she licked her lips.

Morien was injured. Scarlet blood flowed from the wound on his cheek.

Mosquito Girl knelt on the floor and stared at Morien. Her lips felt a little dry, so she pressed them together.

She recalled what had happened not long ago and could not help savoring the memory.

That truly had been the most delicious blood she had ever tasted.

After the blood entered her throat, there had been that sensation of her entire body being torn apart and put back together...

Cracks had split open across the surface of her skin before fusing shut again, leaving behind fluorescent patterns. Her originally scythe-like limbs had been violently twisted and reshaped into arms and legs like those of a human...

It had certainly hurt, but looking back now, those few drops of blood left her endlessly craving more.

At the thought of that taste, her face reddened even further.

I really want to experience it again... that taste.

She rose from the tatami and jogged over to Morien.

"What are you doing?" Morien looked at her in confusion.

He saw Mosquito Girl holding several tissues as she carefully wiped his face, dabbing away the blood seeping from the cut drop by drop.

"Did you take the wrong medicine?" Morien asked in confusion. "What did Charanko give you? You should eat less stuff strangers give you in the future."

Though he had used his own blood to transform Mosquito Girl into his retainer, he had not directly twisted her mind.

Mosquito Girl should not have had this kind of fawning personality.

But Morien soon realized that he had overthought it.

After Mosquito Girl removed the tissue from his face, she immediately left him standing there and excitedly ran back to her original spot to sit down again.

Damn it, I've become part of her play.

Morien curled his lip and looked at Bang, who was grinning as he watched from across the room. With a slight lift of his left hand, an orange-red Mocking Mask gathered in his palm once more.

Morien slowly put it back over his face, covering it completely.

He could feel it: the Potion had been partially digested.

The acting method for the Melee Scholar was not merely "learning combat," but also learning through combat and gaining insight through combat.

"Old in body, young at heart," Morien said with a smile beneath his mask. "So? What do you say?"

"Did I pass the entrance exam?"

Bang looked at Morien with a broad smile.

"Of course. You passed quite well."

"Congratulations. You've earned a 'scholarship.'"

"From now on, you may stay here for tuition of 'one hundred yuan per month.'"

"Mm... meals and lodging included."

Bang was still holding up the arm Morien had cut open, its muscles tensed.

"Oh, right. One more thing."

As Bang relaxed his muscles—

Splurt!

A long spray of blood immediately burst out.

"Good kid..."

"You're quite capable."

Next chapter: Lord of Mysteries

PS:

Sorry, there was only one update early this morning.

The dorm air conditioner broke. It was stuffy and hot, and I haven't slept for two days because of it. Now that the air conditioner has finally been fixed, I really can't hold on anymore. I'll make up for it with one chapter at noon and another extra chapter in the afternoon.

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