Alan had trouble getting the food to his mouth. With the black cloth binding him, even simple chores became strenuous tasks. Meals were given after exercises, making sure they were both hungry and tired.

Maur clapped his hands. “Five minutes left. If you can’t eat anything, then you’ll have to work on an empty stomach.”

Alan stabbed his fork into the meat. The point barely pierced into the food before coming to a stop. “Goddammit!”

It further soured his bad mood. After tussling with his restraints for some time, he got a piece of meat into his mouth. The lack of spices made it taste bland, but he savored it all the same.

The past fifteen days strained him to the limits. Everytime he got used to the restraints, they tightened, providing no relief.

Apart from the sounds of forks and knives, the room stayed silent. During the training period, no groups or cliques formed as everyone present in the room considered the other person to be a rival. Alan wasn’t concerned about the rivalry, but he didn’t try to befriend other people either.

“Time’s up! Everyone gather around.”

They followed the order grumbling the entire time. Their rigid movements reminded Alan of the clunky older model robots. Chuckling, he took his place in the line.

“Before proceeding with the next part of training, you'll be ranked according to your improvements. The top performers are Alan, Kora, and Adrianna."

Alan grinned despite the hostility directed towards him. Unlike his previous self, the current body was like a dream come true. His thoughts and body worked in perfect sync, leading to flawless movements. Learning new skills took next to no effort and came naturally.

The next in line were two girls, who were the youngest after him. The three of them improved at breakneck speeds.

They became the center of attention, with the others glaring at them in anger and envy.

“They have the highest chance of getting a place in the top five. The remaining ones can fight over the leftover spots.” Maur’s words fanned the flames, enraging them.

Alan shuddered, understanding what the instructor planned on doing. Sure enough, his following sentence didn’t disappoint.

“Sparring will begin from today. Make sure to perform well. It’s the most important factor in your evaluation.”

Alan grimaced while the others brightened up. While his improvements were better than the others, there was no way he could overcome the immense disparity in physical abilities. The chances of him winning a fight were minuscule.

The one advantage he had was the restrictions. From what he noticed, the binding strength varied from person to person. Stronger people didn’t have an easier time. No matter how strong the other person was, his movements would be slow, giving Alan a lot of time to react.

Maur’s words dashed his hopes. “During the spar, you’ll be able to move freely. You’ll start with fists and move to weapons.”

“For the first fight” —he glanced at Alan with the trademark hideous grin— ”it’s Alan versus Jod.”

The moment he saw the instructor’s grin, Alan knew how the situation was going to turn out. The realization didn’t stop him from cursing. Jod was the oldest and the largest recruit in the group.

Everyone moved out of the way, giving them plenty of space to fight. The restriction came off, making Alan sag in relief. The opponents intense look dampened the positive feeling.

They faced each other and took up fighting stances.

“Begin!”

Jod barrelled towards him like a raging bull and threw a kick. It was too fast to dodge, so Alan put up his arms in an effort to stop it. The force behind the blow broke through his defense and sent him sliding on the floor.

He managed to stabilize himself after being pushed back by five meters. When he tried to sit up, but his trembling hands made it difficult to support his body. If he took a few more attacks of the same caliber, his arms would definitely break.

“Nice block,” Jod said. He didn’t continue his attack and gave his opponent time to recover. Watching the three kids run circles around everyone left him with a belly full of anger. The top five ranking was something he wanted to achieve at any cost.

The fight resumed after Alan’s hands stopped trembling. Instead of facing the attacks head-on, Alan tried to take glancing blows, reducing the impact.

Initially, the fight went as everyone expected. Alan was being tossed around like a rag doll. As the fight progressed, everyone noticed a subtle change.

Alan dodged and deflected the attacks more smoothly. Noticing the difference, Jod no longer held back.

Despite the sudden increase in pressure, Alan grinned. The same thing that allowed him to train faster happened again. He got used to Jod's moves and was able to predict his next attack.

Staring at the opponent, Alan knew Jod was going to kick. Dodging the attack, he closed the distance for the first time. Without any hesitation, he attacked Jod’s family jewels. Maur didn't declare any rules for the fight and Alan had no qualms about playing dirty.

Jod’s eyes bulged as he clutched his crotch and howled in pain. Not giving him the time to react, Alan knocked him to the ground and landed solid punches on his face.

Emboldened and excited by his first battle victory, he roared at the others. “Anyone else? This is the same fate awaiting you."

To his surprise, no one reacted to his statement. The girl who had mocked Jett on the first day shook her head and nodded behind him.

Jod stood tall with his nostrils flared in fury.

“Ah Dam….”

His sentence didn’t even finish before the kick sent him flying. The breath wooshed out of his lungs, and he hit the floor with a mighty thud. Miraculously, his ribs weren't broken, but it hurt like hell.

Unable to get up, he lay there, breathing hard.

Maur’s upside-down face entered his vision. “Cocky. After your successful attack, I expected disappointment. Thankfully, you didn’t let me down.”

Gazing at the instructor’s smug grin, Alan wondered if Alaya would entertain his request to execute Maur.

**********

“Left kick.”

“Right Uppercut.”

Alan was absentmindedly commenting on the fight between two trainees. Surprisingly, their movements perfectly followed Alan’s predictions. After a few moments, the match ended and the outcome of the fight came as no surprise to him.

When sparring started, the performance of the previous top three drastically fell. The ones who took the top spots were almost all adults. Even so, the disparity in talent became obvious during the training period. Alan, Kora, and Adrianna showed visible improvements during the sparring.

After his fight with Jod, the others didn’t give him any time to get used to their moves. They ended the match within the first few moves. After a few sessions, his fights started lasting longer. Somehow, he predicted the opponent’s moves. It came to him naturally, as if he had always been able to do it.

Alan wasn’t foolish to think it was due to talent. His new body might have provided greater physical abilities and coordination, but the capability to predict moves came from the mind. There was no way he miraculously developed something he didn’t have in his previous life.

He used the ability to eke out a few draws. Victory was beyond his sight as his meager strength didn’t allow him to get a decisive advantage.

“Next fight, Alan versus Trent.”

Alan grimaced.

Trent was one of the rare people who ranked in the top five list despite being young. At 13, his well developed body and skills allowed him to fight with the top contenders. Most of the people expected him to stay on the list till the end of the competition.

Both of them stood facing each other.

“Begin!”

Unlike the previous times, where he waited for the other party to attack, Alan rushed forwards. It surprised everyone, including Trent.

Before Alan could reach him, his opponent gathered himself and was ready for him. Trent dodged the punch and swept his leg, trying to put some distance between Alan. His longer reach provided him with an advantage he wanted to abuse.

Alan read the attack and was ready for it. Jumping in, he closed the distance and attacked Trent.

The fight entered a stalemate in which both opponents tried to gain the upper hand. The skill displayed by both the fighters surprised the onlookers.

After some time, a shift occurred in the battle. Trent lost his rhythm and struggled to defend against Alan’s attacks. Ever since the fight began, he had the uncomfortable feeling of slowly getting choked. Even while attacking, it felt like he followed Alan’s pace. He managed to hold on for some time and waited for an opportunity, but it never came.

“I concede!” Trent didn't waste time trying to win a futile battle. Honestly speaking, victory would be his if he held on. Alan neither had the strength, nor the stamina to defeat him, but winning in such a way would leave a sour taste in his mouth. He didn’t begrudge the opponent’s victory and went forward to congratulate him. “It was an amazing fight. You're unbelievably skilled for such a young guy. The spar pointed out a lot of my flaws. Thanks for that.”

Alan happily accepted the compliment. It was his very first victory, and he had a hard time suppressing his grin. “Thank you.”

“Come with me.” Maur stood beside him with folded arms and a frown on his face. “The rest of you, keep training.”

They moved away from the others. “How did you do that?"

His question enraged Alan. Was the instructor insinuating he cheated, or did he expect him to keep losing every fight he was in?

“By training long and hard.” He didn’t try to hide the displeasure in his voice.

Understanding his mistake, Maur modified his query. "How did you improve so quickly?"

"By training long and hard?" It was the only answer Alan could give, but he knew it wasn't the answer Maur expected.

"Don't hide it!" Maur raised his tone, startling Alan. "No matter how much of a genius you are, no one can improve the way you do. In your fight against Trent you fought like someone with years of battle experience. Explain!"

"I find it easy to read my opponents moves. Don't ask me how, as I can't explain it." Alan didn't understand what the big deal was. Shouldn't his student's improvement make him happy.

"Things that rapidly increase your power are appealing, but they aren't always good." Maur bent down and scrutinized Alan. "Now, answer my question."

"No matter how many times you ask me, my answer remains the same."

"Fine." Maur got up and moved towards the students.

All of a sudden, an intense feeling of danger assaulted Alan. A phantom appeared in the instructor's place and attacked him. It was too fast to react, but the attack harmlessly passed through him.

A second later, Maur mimicked the exact same motion. Alan managed to dodge the attack, but the fist grazed his cheek, creating a sharp cut.

The force behind the attack horrified him. He stared at the extended fist with his back covered in cold sweat.

"What're you doing?" Alan's fear turned into rage. There was no way he would've survived the punch.

Maur pulled his fist back. "Do you want to keep denying it? Even the Duke will have a hard time dodging the attack using pure skill."

"So your bright idea was to try and kill me?" Alan's voice was loud, causing the other students to stop training and stare at them.

"If I wanted you dead, you would've been dead. Now, stop wasting my time and answer the question."

"I just told you I can read other people's moves!"

"Even if I consider it, you aren't fast enough to dodge my fist."

"My answer won't change just because you insist I'm telling lies." Alan didn't lie as technically speaking, he did read Maur's move. While it was an over-simplification, explaining more wouldn't be of any use. It wasn't like there was a demon tempting him for power.

"Fine. I'll believe you for now."

Alan wanted to rejoin the others when something strange happened.

A line of text appeared in front of him.

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