It wasn't just fast.

It came at the perfect time.

Three of the students were laying siege upon him, one with a heavy axe from above, another with a katana by the side, and a third who threw shuriken that he had dodged with the chains.

None could have expected the strike Everlearn gave from behind.

His fist pierced with speed, swift and precise, toward the instructor's spine, and yet at the last moment, with both eyes widened,

BAAANG!

VROOOOOM!

Everlearn felt the dojo ground beneath his feet crumble, and in that instant, the instructor's image glitched out of existence.

'He dodged it!'

'Above!'

The words echoed in Everlearn's head, and he didn't turn his gaze up at all, immediately rolling away from where he stood.

A pulse echoed and,

BOOM!

A dagger cleaved through where he had stood, carving a meter-long blade stroke upon the ground.

The combat instructor landed upon the ground, shaking it with his heavy might, and in the next moment, his chained dagger flung out in a circle.

Everlearn dodged his head, avoiding the chain's whip, but when it collided with the students, they were all blown back, leaving a five-meter diameter space that contained only the weapon instructor and Everlearn.

Everlearn took a step back, but the air before his face blew back, ruffling his hair backward, and he found the instructor a meter away from him.

"I'll be getting rid of you first,"

He said, and in the next moment, the dagger lashed toward Everlearn, same for the two edges of the chain that slammed downward like whips.

Taking a step back, he could avoid the dagger, but the chains would smash into him, and with that whistling force they made, they would cut a wound deep enough to truly get him out of the fight.

Taking a step forward, he would be forced to face all three strikes at once.

"What to do?"

There was just one thing.

FIGHT!

"I WON'T LOSE!"

Everlearn roared out in the next moment, both gauntlet fists jerked backward, their pointed edges tearing out from the knuckles.

'Activate Apex Strike!'

Neon blue light shone out from Everlearn's hand, but was obscured from view by the gauntlets he was wearing.

In the next moment, both hands shot forward, punches clashing against the dagger and the chain.

BOOOOOOM!

BOOOOOOM!

BOOOOOOOM!

Three strikes in a second, but it was only the beginning.

Everlearn's fist punched outward with all his might, a total of four fist afterimages surrounding him as he continued to defend furiously, blocking every strike.

But he still failed, partially; a part of his cloth got ripped apart, the side of his face got bruised, and blood splashed out.

Step by step, he was being forced back.

He was losing.

Grinding his teeth together, he called out,

'Hey, system.'

║ Yes.║

'Input two Ability Upgrade Cards to Apex Strike.'

║Congratulations. Apex Strike has reached Level 3! ║

FLICKER!

This time, even the gauntlets failed to hold back the neon blue light glowing from his hands.

Everlearn felt a sudden force pass into his arms, spreading through them as a blue glow flickered in his eyes.

The insanely fast dagger and chain strike slowed down to a crawl, making each of the instructor's attacks seem to be coming from a mile away.

Taking a step forward,

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Four strikes in a single second, and the dagger edges were all knocked away as the combat instructor took a step backward, eyes gleaming with white light.

'He grew again!?'

The thought flickered in his mind as he watched Everlearn surge towards him.

Another round of powerful collisions began, but this time, no one was pushed back.

Everlearn stood his ground, blocking each attack with perfect precision.

The chain took a sudden turn, reaching for his leg, a fast sneak attack amidst the bombardment, but he saw it coming and dodged by jumping up.

The Weapon Instructor raised his head, just to watch as Everlean's kick slammed down towards his face from above.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Another round of shockwave undulated in the air as the back of his leg slammed into the dojo floor from above, bending the chain up until it hung an inch away from his head.

In response, the instructor's hand shifted back, gripping the edge of his dagger tightly, and then,

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!

The air was sliced into nothing as the dagger speared straight toward Everlearn's neck.

BAAAAAANG!

At the last moment, he drew both gauntleted hands to his face, catching the blade in between the gap in his fists, locking it tight.

With the one remaining leg he had—

BAAAAAAANG!

Everlearn kicked forward with the last vestige of power within him, reaching for the instructor's chest, but the man still dodged it, shifting to the side, but he couldn't completely avoid it.

BAAAANG!

It landed on his shoulder instead; the resultant force was powerful enough to send Everlearn flying back, escaping the range of the dagger.

He landed on the ground, his gauntlet-clad hands dragging hard against the floor before he brought himself to a stop just a meter from slamming into the wall.

He turned to look at the instructor...but he was no longer there!

'What the!?'

Turning his head up, there was the instructor, his chained dagger cleaving right towards Everlearn's head.

'How?'

'How had he moved so fast!?' Everlearn said in disbelief, and all he could do was raise both hands above his head.

But it failed him.

When the dagger collided with the raised fist, it completely ripped through the gauntlets, and blood sprayed into the air, followed by the sound of bones cracking.

The dagger cut through the gauntlets and slammed down, his hand bones within shattering into pieces from the force.

Everlearn managed to roll away, aided by the force of the blow.

He smashed into the wall, rolling down, only to fall on both knees with his arms laid out before him.

It wasn't enough; blood began gushing out from them as the metallic bit of the gauntlets fell off.

'That... that wasn't a Newcomer strength level,' Everlearn thought silently as he felt the world slowly darken once more.

Though he remained kneeling, he was completely out.

The combat instructor rose upright from his slashing position, the chain dagger sinking back into his robes.

He turned to the students and told them,

"Class is over for today."

Walking over, he grabbed Everlearn's shoulder, dragging him toward the wall at the back.

Before he entered into it, he paused, turning to give a sideways glance at the rest of the students.

"You all realize he has surpassed you all by a step... right?"

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