The welcoming ceremony ended with a thunderous applause. The hopeful new students began to file out, while I stayed seated, letting the crowd pass. Every second felt like a countdown to my execution.
As I finally walked towards the exit, fate had me run into Damian von Elysia and Isolde, just like in the game. A hateful shoulder-check from Isolde and a confused glance from Damian only solidified my position as an extra who had somehow gotten tangled up with the main characters. I broke away from them as quickly as I could and headed to the back of the dojo, a cold dread creeping into my stomach.
The duel arena looked just as intimidating. And in the center, Kira was already waiting.
She was warming up, wearing only her sarashi and training pants. Her toned muscles glistened with sweat. She was the embodiment of power.
She stopped when she sensed my presence and turned with a predatory grin on her face.
"You finally showed up, kid. Ready to have your bones crushed?"
I stepped into the packed dirt circle, my eyes immediately drawn to a bench at the edge of the arena. There, folded neatly, was her uniform top. My target, the damn button, was there, not on her.
Shit. My plan was completely ruined.
[Warning: Mission item is not on the target. Conquest method must be adjusted. Think fast, Host, or prepare to live with a shameful title.]
Kira looked at me, seeing the hesitation in my eyes.
"What's wrong, kid? Lost your nerve?"
I had to stall for time. I had to make a new plan. And the craziest, most arrogant, and most absurd idea suddenly popped into my head. An idea born from pure desperation.
"Before we begin," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I want to know... what's the prize if I win?"
Kira paused for a moment, then burst out laughing. A loud, echoing, and mocking laugh.
"Hahahaha! Win?! You?! Kid, you're hilarious!"
"Every duel has to have stakes, right, Senpai?" I continued, forcing myself to meet her golden eyes. "If I lose, you can do whatever you want with me. Make me your punching bag for a month, make me clean the dojo with my tongue, I don't care. But... if by some miracle I win..."
She stopped laughing, now looking at me with amusement. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, accentuating her biceps and making her large tits press together even more.
"Alright, I'm curious. What does a rabbit challenging a wolf want? Money? A weapon?"
I shook my head. I pointed towards her folded uniform on the bench.
"If I win," I said in the most serious voice I could muster. "I want... that uniform top of yours."
A total silence fell over the arena. Kira's grin vanished, replaced by a confused expression that slowly morphed into rage. Her wolf ears stiffened and her tail stopped swaying. The temperature around us seemed to drop a few degrees.
"You..." she growled, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "You just... asked for my uniform... as a prize?"
I didn't answer. I just looked at her, letting my words hang in the air.
She suddenly smiled, but this time it was no longer amused. It was a cold smile, filled with the promise of pain.
"Alright, kid. You've got a deal," she said in a low, threatening voice. "But now, this isn't just a practice duel anymore. Now... it's personal."
She took a fighting stance, her hands clenched at her sides. A thick, intimidating aura emanated from her, so strong it made it hard for me to breathe.
"I'm going to make sure you can never walk again to ask for any girl's uniform."
Kira's killing intent was so thick the air around me felt heavy and cold. Cold sweat started to drench my back. Every instinct in my new body the body of a weak teenager screamed at me to turn and run. But I couldn't. The system's penalty felt more terrifying than death itself.
[Analysis: Host's heart rate has reached 200 BPM. There is a 35% chance you will die of a heart attack before the first punch lands. Ironic, isn't it?]
'Not the time for jokes, you asshole!' I thought, my legs trembling as I tried to mimic a fighting stance I'd seen in movies. It must have looked pathetic.
Kira didn't attack right away. She was savoring it. She circled me slowly, like a wolf circling its cornered prey. Her golden eyes scanned every part of my body, as if deciding which part to break first.
"You know, kid," she said, her voice a low growl that made the hairs on my neck stand up. "I could end this in a second. One punch to your solar plexus, and you wouldn't be able to breathe for an hour. But for you... I'm going to take my time. I'm going to break your bones one by one."
I knew she wasn't bluffing. I had to do something. My plan to get the button during the duel was shot. My new bet to win her uniform was the only way. But how could I possibly win?
My panicked brain was working a hundred times faster than usual. Strength vs. Strength was suicide. Agility vs. Agility was the same. The only asset I had was... she was underestimating me. She saw me as an insect. And sometimes, insects can win in the most unexpected ways.
"Duel start!" Kira shouted, her voice echoing in the empty arena.
And then she moved.
She didn't use any complicated martial arts techniques. She just lunged forward. Fast. So fast my eyes could barely follow. In the blink of an eye, she was in front of me, her clenched fist swinging straight for my face.
This wasn't a test punch. This was a punch meant to destroy.
I had no time to dodge to the side. I did the only thing I could think of. I dropped.
I didn't jump or roll. I just let my legs go limp and collapsed to the ground like a sack of rice.
Whoosh!
Kira's punch missed just over my head, the wind from it blowing my hair back. She was surprised that her attack had completely missed. Her momentum made her slightly lose her balance.
I was on the ground, in an extremely vulnerable position. Kira snorted, clearly annoyed that I didn't take her punch like a man.
"Coward! Is that all you've got?"
She didn't give me time to answer. She lifted her leg, preparing to stomp or kick me while I was down.
I didn't try to stand. I rolled sideways frantically, dodging her kick which hit the ground and created a small crater.
THUD!
I kept rolling, getting away from her, like a cockroach running from bug spray. It must have been a very unheroic and pathetic sight. But I was still alive, and that's what mattered.
Kira looked even more pissed.
"Stand up and fight, you bastard!"
I stopped rolling and tried to get up into a half-kneeling position.
"I... I give up!" I shouted, raising my hands.
Kira froze, her leg still raised in the air.
"What?"
"I give up!" I repeated. "You win! I can't fight you!"
The smirk returned to her face, this time full of victory and scorn.
"Hmph. You finally realized. Fine. As we agreed, now you are..."
"BUT!" I cut in quickly, before she could finish her sentence.
I pointed at her feet, then at the white chalk line that marked the boundary of the arena.
"You won the duel, Senpai. But the bet was... whoever steps out of the circle first. And when you attacked me just now..."
Kira followed my pointing finger. Her eyes widened in shock.
When she had lunged forward to punch me and when she had kicked, her immense momentum had carried her too far. Both of her feet were, clearly, several inches outside the circle's boundary line.
An awkward silence fell over the arena.
She was outside. I, still in a pathetic position on the ground, was inside.
Technically... I had won the bet.
Kira's face went from pale, to red, to a dark shade of purple with sheer rage and humiliation. She realized what had happened. I had tricked her. I had sacrificed my pride, pretending to be a pathetic coward, just to bait her out of the circle.
"You..." she hissed, her voice trembling. "You... tricked me?"
I slowly stood up, dusting off my pants, trying to look as calm as possible even though my heart felt like it was going to explode.
"A bet is a bet, Senpai," I said carefully. "I never said I would fight you head-on. I just agreed to the rule 'whoever steps out of the circle, loses'. I lost the fight, but I won our bet."
My logic only made her angrier.
She stared at me, her golden eyes flashing dangerously. I could see the muscles in her jaw clenching. For a moment, I was sure she was going to ignore everything and just beat me to death.
But then, something unexpected happened. She took a deep breath, and then burst out into a laugh even louder than before.
"Gahahahaha! You son of a bitch, kid! You son of a bitch!" She laughed so hard she had to hold her stomach. "Deceitful! Cunning! Shameless! But... you won! Hahahaha!"
I stared at her, confused. I expected her to be furious.
After her laughter subsided, she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and looked at me with a completely new expression. There was no more scorn. There was only... amusement and a strange hint of respect.
"You've got balls, I'll give you that," she said, walking back into the circle. "And you used your brain, not those pathetic muscles of yours."
She walked to the bench, picked up her folded uniform top, and without hesitation, threw it at me.
"Here," she said. "Take it. A deal's a deal."
I caught the uniform with both hands. The fabric felt heavy and slightly warm. And there, on the front, were five shiny bronze buttons. My target.
I looked at the uniform in my hands, then at her.
"You're... not mad?"
Her wild grin returned.
"Oh, I'm mad. I'm furious for being humiliated by such a cheap trick. But I also respect a win, no matter how you get it. And you, kid... you won today."
She clapped me on the shoulder hard, nearly making me fall over.
"But don't get me wrong. This isn't over. Our bet is settled. But our real duel... is just about to begin. Now, I'm going to beat you up without any stakes, just for the fun of it."
Before I could protest, a panel glowed in front of my eyes, visible only to me.
[Mission Objective 3/3 (Obtain one uniform button from Kira) has been fulfilled!]
[All Objectives for the First Main Mission Have Been Achieved!]
[Rewards are being processed...]
My mission... was complete. Just as Kira raised her fist, ready to pummel me.