Chapter 16: Observe

"No. 3 and No. 4, come out!"

This time, it was two guys. Both of them were from 3rd Grade Class. Rewen was least interested in watching the fight after watching the boring match. Both of them wore their helmets and appeared on the screen. After about thirty seconds, a guy came out victorious.

Rewen yawned as he sat down on the ground cross-legged. Zaplin, Vin, and Zelic followed him. "Got some cards?"

"Yup." Vin took out a pack of cards from his pocket and started distributing.

"Ah, both of them are from our class this time," Zelic muttered, then looked at the three. "What are your numbers?"

Zaplin: "46."

Rewen: "43."

Vin: "12."

Zelic: "54."

A few minutes later, Vin got up and grabbed his sword.

"No. 11 and No. 12, come out!"

His opponent was a girl from 3rd Grade Class.

A moment later, Vin came back winning the fight and continued playing cards. "What's even the point of this?" He grumbled.

At this moment, Rewen was guessing the strength of his peers and if their strength can be classified in numbers. For example, Rewen's all stats were 5. He knew he was stronger than his peers but he was still interested. 'System, search.'

[Ding! Check initiated…1… 99...100%]

[Ding! Passive skill 'Observe' found! Do you want to learn it?]

[Yes] [No]

Rewen felt a bit baffled seeing how generous the system was being. Not overthinking, he pressed 'Yes'.

[Ding! The Host has successfully learned 'Observe'!]

He didn't particularly feel any changes in his eyes but there was a very notable change in the world around him. Everyone suddenly had their stats written in green text above their heads. Most of the students had an average stat of 3, some had 4. 'I suppose this is normal. Alright, how to stop using this skill?'

[If the Host wants to stop, it would.]

Rewen 'hmm'-ed as he started observing everyone's stats. Zaplin, Vin and Zelic had an average stat of 3. As his eyes darted towards the Instructors, he was shocked. All of their stats were 70+. Instructor Xovin even had 80+ stats and they weren't even Rank 4 yet. For Rewen, it was a moment of realisation.

Just from the stats, he understood how powerful they are. During his fight with Ruby, his stats boosted to 20 and he was still at a disadvantage. He presumed that she had an average stat of 23-24 and automatically made an estimate of Rank 3 and Rank 4 which now turned out to be wrong. 'There is a significant gap between ranks.'

Rewen smiled inwardly. 'The longer you starve, the sweeter the food tastes.' His mother used to tell this to him when he continuously failed in smithing. Rewen previously thought that his road to get stronger would be easy as he had the system beside him. Now, it seems he needs to re-evaluate his thinking.

"No. 43 and No. 44, come out!"

Rewen was slightly surprised to find his turn arrived so quickly. Getting up, he found almost everyone's eyes on him. He grabbed his spear and walked towards the platform with a tall green-haired guy, groups of mocking cheers erupted. Rewen was helpless in this regard. He knew none of them had any ill intentions and just wanted to poke fun.

Walking up to the platform, he put on the helmet. His spear remained in his hand. The green-haired guy Rewen is matched with following him.

Rewen opened his eyes to find himself on a clean ground. Looking at the sky, he uselessly thought. 'The sky is blue and the sun is bright.' As his eyeballs lowered, he found the green-haired guy standing about ten meters away from him. Without a single word, he rotated the spear using his fingers and wrist. He planned to end this quickly.

"It is my honour to fight the renowned- kukk!"

Blood spurted from his mouth and sharp pain arose from his chest. He didn't know what happened as he fell backwards. Rewen threw the spear towards his chest using [Freestyle Knights Combat] technique and ended it.

***

The referee, Assistant Instructor Wylla, rubbed her eyes and looked at the screen again.

"No. 43 wins."

In the real world, everyone was ready to watch the so-called 'Future Strongest Man on Earth' in action but when they saw Rewen rotating the heavy spear like the men from the circus, their smiles faded away. The next scene shocked them even more.

"Is he some kind of spear master?"

"He has to be."

"Holy, who could have predicted the biggest meme currently would have such techniques!"

On the platform, Rewen took off his helmet and got up. Shaking his hands with the green-haired guy, he joined his friends.

"That was one hell of a surprise!" Vin exclaimed.

***

The training ended after about ten-some minutes. With this, the academy ended its day. But since it was only afternoon, many students went to the canteen for lunch. Rewen also had to have lunch here since he didn't want to cook going home. Bidding farewell to Zaplin and Vin, he along with Zelic headed to the canteen.

"Ah, Zel. Can you do me a favour?"

"What is it?"

"Can you bring me two cans of Hagver for me?"

Zelic's face was not good. "I'm not your errand girl-"

"Okay, the lunch is on me today."

Within a few seconds, Zelic vanished. Rewen laughed lightly and walked to the canteen when he saw Svety in front of the canteen.

"What are you doing here?" Rewen took the initiative to ask.

"Oh! I was waiting for my friends." Svety replied.

"Is the 'Good Hagver' closed today?" Rewen asked. Svety and her friends usually hung around in 'Good Hagver'. Rewen didn't eat there because the food is a tad bit expensive there.

"Yes." Svety gave a slight nod.

'Damn, there goes my 120 credits…' Rewen knew that Zelic definitely won't listen to any of his explanations and would demand he pay for her lunch.

Entering the canteen, he found a quiet table and sat down keeping his bag on the other chair for Zelic. Within a few seconds, a short-haired guy came, took the bag from the chair, and threw it towards Rewen.

"Hey, that chair is reserved. Why don't you go sit there?" Pointing to a table beside him, he said. He was a bit angry at him but he knew misunderstandings like this happen in everyday life.

"What? Got a problem if I sit here? I'm a third-year." The short-haired guy said with an intimidating glare.

Hearing this, Rewen no longer felt the need to be polite. "What a fucking retard." Not bothering with the crazy person any longer, he picked his bag and went to another table.

*Slam*

He just sat down when a hand slammed on his table hard. "I dare you to say the word one again." The short-haired guy said, making his voice deeper.

"Retard!"

The short-haired guy grabbed his collar and picked him up. His eyes were bulged out and his nose was emitting carbon dioxide at a steady rate. "I. Dare. You. To. Say. It. Once. More."

Rewen sneered. "R*tard, take this." As soon as he finished speaking, he steadily threw his fist towards the short-haired guy's forehead using the [Freestyle Knights Combat] technique.

*Bam*

The short-haired guy fell flat on the floor. Gasps could be heard from the surroundings. Rewen snorted and sat down on his chair not bothering with the unconscious figure. 'Violence isn't the answer to everything, it is a goddamn fact.'