My Disciples Grind, I Get 100x Their Progress

Whenever Eland looked at Julian, he always felt this strange sensation he couldn’t quite place. He knew perfectly well that the man standing in front of him was just Julian, an ordinary human from the Slums, but something about his presence, the way he stood, the way he moved, the way that cold expression of his surveyed everything around him as though none of it mattered in the slightest, all of it felt strangely, oddly... oppressive.

Privately, Eland actually felt a little overwhelmed. But he pushed it down, convincing himself it was nothing more than his own imagination.

At the end of the day, Julian was nothing more than someone from the Slums. All it would take was a generous sum of money, and he’d walk away willingly, following his own greed, exactly as expected.

Right?

"I refuse."

"....!"

’Huh? He refused?’

But reality didn’t unfold the way it was supposed to. For the first time in a very long while, Eland found himself completely frozen, his face utterly stunned.

It was a rare expression on him, though understandably so. Not that it was any different from the adults gathered around him, all wearing that exact same look of bewilderment.

"Is he an idiot? D-did he seriously just turn that down?"

"This guy... he’s got to be broken somehow... his brain’s clearly been ruined by growing up in the Slums."

"He just threw away an opportunity like that, something that’ll never come around twice..."

’Exactly... this is the kind of opportunity that only comes along once in a lifetime, so why would you refuse it!?’

Eland’s fists clenched tight, fury boiling up at being rejected so bluntly. He had no idea what the reason was, all he could tell was that the man standing in front of him clearly wasn’t even remotely interested in money.

’Arrogant Slum trash.’

In the end, Eland couldn’t push the matter any further, since both Roland and Kiena had already stepped out onto the middle of the field.

Eland scoffed, his gaze locking onto Kiena, a pretty girl with sharp, piercing eyes.

A small smile crept onto his face.

’...I don’t care. I will get that girl, one way or another.’

***

’That’s a huge amount of money, such a shame the conditions had to be like that...’

Julian let out a wistful sigh. He genuinely regretted having to hear such a promising offer, one attached to a condition he could never possibly accept.

If only the condition had been something else entirely, he might have actually considered it.

Regretfully, Julian walked toward the field and quickly spotted Kina standing there, holding a wooden sword.

"....?"

Curious, Julian glanced over at Roland, who’d shown up wearing gleaming iron armor, along with a staff that looked suspiciously like an artifact.

Then Julian’s gaze returned to Kina.

"...."

’What are you doing? Your opponent’s pulling out everything he’s got...’

Was Kina really that confident?

She hadn’t even brought a proper blade, just a flimsy wooden sword, one that would snap easily and stand no chance against that iron armor at all.

Whispers rippled through the crowd of students. Naturally, they were all wondering the exact same thing Julian was, though the conversation quickly drifted somewhere else entirely.

"Maybe she just doesn’t have the money for a real sword."

"Right, she’s from the Slums, remember? They’re all dirt poor."

"Makes sense. But doesn’t the Academy provide one, though?"

Kina wasn’t poor, she had a considerable sum of money she’d stolen from her own family. Julian knew this well, since Kina had shared plenty of it with him, so if she was doing this deliberately, there had to be a clear reason behind it.

Julian’s lips twitched, torn between amusement and unease.

***

The Academy field itself was covered in short, neatly trimmed green grass, kept low so it wouldn’t interfere with student activities. It was a wide, spacious field, filled with equipment students could use to train both their physical conditioning and their combat skills.

Aside from being used for certain classes, this spot also frequently served as a dueling ground whenever students had disputes they wanted settled through combat.

Kina glanced around briefly, scanning the excited rows of spectators. Her brow furrowed as she searched for someone in particular, and the moment her gaze landed on a specific figure, her whole body went still. A sweet smile spread across her face as she waved to greet her Master.

Her Master simply gave a small smile and nodded back at her.

It would be a lie to say Kina wasn’t feeling a little arrogant right now. She genuinely looked down on Roland, someone who’d never once stepped foot on a real battlefield, but just because that happened to be true didn’t mean Kina would let her guard down or hold back.

She was doing this purely to mock him.

’After nearly making Master kneel...’ No matter how many times Kina replayed that moment in her head, her whole body would flare up with heat, flooded with the urge to tear Roland apart.

But she quickly steadied herself, and right then, her gaze locked onto Roland, his entire body wrapped tightly in armor.

A cheerful laugh escaped Kina’s lips. "Young master... you really went all out, huh? Nice, that suits your clown costume perfectly! And your face too, yeah, keep holding onto that expression, you already look exactly like a real clown, huhu."

Roland’s jaw tightened, his teeth grinding as he fought to hold back his fury, the muscles in his face twitching while his lips curled into a strained, forced sneer.

"Your mouth is just as filthy as where you came from. Though, I suppose that’s to be expected from someone who never got a proper upbringing from her parents, you clearly don’t understand basic manners."

Hearing Roland’s words cut straight to her core, for a brief moment, Kina nearly screamed and hurled curses right back at him, but she held herself in check and forced a smile instead.

"Eyy~ I wouldn’t be talking, coming from someone who bullied and tried to assault a defenseless girl~"

Roland clicked his tongue, saying nothing more, since the professor serving as their homeroom teacher had just stepped out into the middle of the field.

"That’s enough. Let’s settle this quickly."

The professor looked between Roland and Kina, then said, "No killing blows, no deliberate attacks targeting vital areas that could cause a critical incident, no use of skills that pose a genuine threat to life. Losing consciousness counts as a loss, surrendering counts as a loss. That’s it."

The professor stepped back. "Alright then, the match begins."

Without any further ceremony, the duel began just like that. Kina took in the professor’s words for a moment, then smiled, a little rueful.

’Such a shame.’

Because of the rules, that meant Kina couldn’t use One Slash, a move that would obviously put Roland’s life at real risk.

Kina only had Flash Step, something she hadn’t wanted to reveal before the tournament started. But given how things had turned out, why not?

She intended to give them a show. No, not "them," she intended to give her Master a show.

Her gaze met Roland’s as he raised his hand, two orbs of fire forming behind him, slowly reshaping themselves into sharp, needle-like points.

Even if Roland lacked serious progress and had no real combat experience to speak of, he’d still been blessed with the resources his family provided.

So what if Roland was using an artifact, what if he pulled out something else entirely?

No one would bat an eye, given how corrupt this particular Central Academy already was. It wasn’t remotely on the same level as the elite academies.

Watching the fireballs streak toward her, Kina bent her knees and lunged forward.

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