Tak—!!
Clang, Clang, Clang—!!
Thwack—!!
"Arghh!"
Grunting and mumbling in pain, I fell to my knees, panting. My breath was shallow and ragged, and my heart felt like it was about to burst.
Taking out a bottle of cold water from the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet, I pushed down its content in big gulps and let out a long, satisfied sigh.
As the burning sensation in my lungs slightly cooled down and the pain subsided a little, I got up and cast an angry gaze at the person responsible for rendering me in this state.
Of course, that person was none other than my own master – Leo Kurogami.
"You want to kill me, don't you!" I cried out.
Around us, long blades of grass swayed along the wind. After our clash, some of the grass blades in the area were cut short, creating several clearings.
The sun was directly above us, yet it wasn't scorching us with its heat. I would say it was warm – as if on a winter's morning.
With a clear blue sky in the backdrop, the red-haired man in front of me smirked.
He wore a red and black Kendo Keikogi, with his long red hair untied, swaying with the grass along the wind.
Scrutinizing me with his matching red eyes for a second, Leo quickly disappeared from my sight the next moment.
Kwish—
"....What the?"
Before I could register what had happened, Leo was already right in front of me, his blade poised over his head.
Swish—
Leo brought his sword down, cleaving my body into two vertical halves.
"Heh!"
However, a smirk formed on my face as the two halves of my body wavered and disappeared like a mirage.
It was my illusion.
I had used this time to encircle Leo. Azure lightning sparked all around my body as I enveloped my body in the Lightning Aura.
I felt my speed and reaction time heightening visibly as I lunged forward, thrusting my spear, which was also clad in lightning, at Leo.
"Nice try," Leo muttered.
Confusion was evident on my face. My spear was about to hit him, so what did he mean by "nice try"?!
…It was too late for me before I finally grasped the meaning of his words.
Leo's figure blurred in a burst of speed as he sidestepped to avoid my spear. From the side, he swung his sword and hit the back of my neck with his glowing red blade.
As soon as his blade met the back of my neck, it cut through my flesh and bone like a hot knife to butter.
In the blink of an eye, my head was severed from my body as a bright crimson light flashed through the area.
As my head rolled through the air, with my widened eyes, I saw the world upside-down before it finally hit the ground.
Soon after, darkness shrouded my vision, and everything turned black.
I was dead.
***
"Gaaah!"
Clutching my neck, I sat up straight. My whole body was drenched in a cold sweat as I looked around with terror-filled widened eyes.
My chest heaved in and out as I struggled to gasp for breath. Panic settled in, but along with it came clarity.
Gently rubbing my neck and turning my head side to side – so slowly that I was scared it would fall – I had to make sure it was in place.
After confirming that I was definitely alive, I clutched my chest and tried to calm down my violently beating heart by taking long, deep breaths.
"It was not real! It was not real!" I repeatedly told myself.
It was indeed not real. We were in Virtual Reality.
Since I didn't have much time to practice my Elemental Aura and new magic spells, master suggested a brilliant idea.
He asked me to train in Virtual Reality with a time dilation effect.
Basically, with the time dilation effect in place, one day spent in Virtual Reality would only be six hours in the real world.
So basically, I could continuously train for four days while in reality only a day would have passed.
There were only two problems.
You see, no matter how much you train in VR, it would only affect your mind, not your body.
But I was fine with it since I only need to get used to the feeling of using Elemental Aura and my new magic spells.
However, the second problem was that only the third-year cadets could use the time dilation effect in VR.
But since it was Leo who wanted me to train with time dilation in effect, the Cadet Council didn't have much choice but to give me permission to access it.
Unbeknownst to me, there was also a third problem.
You see since I can't die in VR, Leo thought that it would be a good idea to FUCKING KILL ME!
He killed me thrice! Thrice!
That man is not right in the head! He's insane! He shouldn't be allowed anywhere outside of a mental asylum!
"Are you fine, my dear disciple?"
Oh, speak of the devil!
I looked around as soon as I heard a familiar voice. Right now, we were in the VR room.
I was sitting up straight inside my VR pod, drenched in cold sweat after dying inside the Virtual Reality with 100% immersion!
Yeah! 100% immersion meant I felt every ounce of pain that this man who calls himself my master inflicted on me!
Stepping out of my VR pod, I looked at Leo who was also out of his VR pod and was now leaning against it.
He had a satisfied smile on his face that did nothing to calm my rage.
"Fine?! You ask if I'm fine after killing me for the third time!"
"Oh, it was just VR. Don't be dramatic."
"Just VR?! It was a hundred percent immersion! I felt all that pain!"
"Well, now you know what dying feels like so you'll do good to avoid it."
"..."
Is this man for real?!
I can't tell him I already know what dying feels like, but even if I didn't, his argument doesn't make any sense!
'Oh, I simply killed you so you would do good to avoid dying.'
Yeah, right! Because otherwise, I was eager to die!
As I was lost in my silent rant, a thoughtful look appeared on Leo's face.
"It's weird…" he muttered to himself.
"Hmm? What?" I asked, still pouting.
"You know, it doesn't feel like you're learning anything new. It feels like you're just remembering what you've already learned." Leo remarked, touching his chin.
"What nonsense are you on about now, master?" I looked at him with a blank expression.
"Nothing, maybe I'm just overthinking," Leo waved his hand. "Anyway, isn't it time for you to go?"
"Hmm?"
Casting a confused look, I gazed at the smart bracelet on my wrist to know the time.
It was [7:35 AM] right now.
The main event would start in thirty minutes.
"Arghh! Yeah, I should go!"
Quickly rushing for the door, I waved at master and thanked him for the training, even though he killed me THRICE!
But still, because of him, I did manage to learn some High-level spells. My arsenal is very versatile now thanks to him.
"Haaa!" I couldn't help but let out a sigh as I rushed home to freshen up and get ready.
The day was finally here– The day of the King's Tournament.
