The Author's POV

"I've been waiting for you..."

Slowly walking in my direction, Arnold smirked.

"...I should've taken care of you shortly after what had happened in the virtual world, but because of everything that had happened in Hollberg and the many other things going on with my life, I completely forgot about an insect like you"

"But worry not, now that I've remembered. I'm going to make sure you suffer..."

-Crack!

Cracking his neck, Arnold disdainfully looked at me

"Let's start by making you fail the exam"

Watching Arnold walking in my direction, raising my hands, I slowly backed off. Smiling wryly I said

"...ah, Arnold, let's talk things out. Let's not get physical shall we?"

"Yes. We will talk. But not with our mouths"

-Boom!

Finished with what he wanted to say, Arnold tensed his calves and propelled his body forwards. Like a bullet, he quickly appeared before me.

Noticing his actions, as I watched him appear before me, I couldn't help but curse out loud.

"Oh come on man! why must people always resort to violence!"

"Die!"

As Arnold arrived a few meters before me, I saw his huge fist heading towards my face.

Sigh

Sighing, moving my head to the side, the fist flew past my head.

"Huh?"

Soon after, before Arnold could make out how I had dodged it, clenching my fist and concentrating my mana there, I threw a punch towards his right upper area.

-Bam!

A shockwave swept the surroundings.

"Wh-khuuuaa!"

Before Arnold could even have time to react, my fist connected to his liver. Soon after, he found himself on the ground kneeling.

"kkhhhhhh"

As saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth, Arnold tried standing up.

But was a futile effort on his end. His legs refused to budge.

As he tried to move, it felt as though a jolt of electricity coursed through his body from his liver down to his right leg and up to his brain stem. Within about half a second of when my fist connected to his liver, Arnold found his body paralyzed on the ground. He was in complete agony, unable to breathe, stand, or think clearly.

No matter how much he tried to stand up, he couldn't

"It's pointless. I concentrated everything I had towards your liver area"

Staring at Arnold squirming on the ground, I slowly walked up to him and said.

"If you've paid attention in class...as the liver is one of the largest organs in the human body when faced with a stimulus, the liver releases both the body toxins it tries to filter and a very large amount of blood back into the body, resulting in your body completely shutting down as a means of self-preservation."

Squatting down, at Arnold's eye level, I grabbed him by the hair and slowly said

"...so regardless of how much you want to stand up, your body won't allow it."

Regaining some clarity, staring at me with wide eyes, Arnold couldn't help but mutter

"Y-ou, h-how?"

It had to be noted that despite the fact that he was caught off guard even though he never took his opponent seriously, Arnold shouldn't have been this hurt from a simple punch.

Especially since he specialized in defense. Unless his opponent had higher stats than him, it was impossible.

Recalling the fact that his target was only <G> ranked two months prior, he didn't believe he had higher stats than him.

It was impossible.

Moreover, the blow came too fast and too precisely.

...almost as if he had been waiting for that moment since the very beginning. Slowly he came to a realization.

"Y-ou, you've been waiting for this moment since the very beginning!"

Smiling, I didn't reply.

His analysis wasn't wrong.

I indeed had been expecting his attack from the very beginning.

With Arnold being a somewhat important character in the latter half of the novel, I thoroughly analyzed his fighting style.

...and when I did, I noticed that he had a habit of always starting a fight with a right hook. From there, it was fairly easy. With him thinking I was weak, I pretty much exploited the opening he created when he punched in my direction and hit him straight in the liver with the fastest and strongest attack I could muster.

What I did wasn't rocket science. It was just a simple analysis.

"Hmm? what are you trying to say?"

Pretending to have not have understood what Arnold was saying, I leaned my head forward.

"Let go of my he-ad!"

Glaring at me, Arnold with both hands on the ground tried to stand up.

...I said he tried, but it's not like I was going to let him stand up. Since I had the advantage, I wasn't just going to throw it away like that. Pulling him by the hair, I smashed his face on the ground.

-Bam!

"Khhhhhauuu!"

"Nope, stay down. You need to rest a little more"

"I'll kill you!"

With his nose dripping with blood, I soon found, to my surprise, Arnold's head lunging in my direction. Almost like he wanted to bite me.

"Wow!"

His action caught me off-guard.

Moving my head backward, raising my hand by reflex, a loud slap resounded across the empty space.

-Slap!

Staring at my hand that had turned red, I couldn't help but raise my voice at Arnold.

"My God, what is wrong with you Arnold? There's no need to resort to biting. What are you a monkey?"

"I-ll kill you!"

-Slap!

Slapping him once again, a red mark appeared on Arnold's face. Looking at Arnold, I apologetically said

"Arnold, I'm just trying to calm you down. Please don't take it to heart"

-Slap!

"As a rule-abiding student, it is my duty to help fellow students who are in trouble..."

-Slap!

Ignoring the fact that Arnold's cheeks were progressively getting bigger, I continuously slapped him in the face.

Like that, for the next minute, loud slapping sounds reverberated across the area I was in.

As I continuously slapped Arnold in the face, I soon saw tears streaming down from the side of his cheeks. They were probably due to the pain. But I didn't care.

He needed to be taught a lesson.

I was no longer the passive me from back then.

Although I still loved to not stand out, that didn't mean I would stand by and get abused like before. If my opponent was someone I absolutely couldn't pick a fight with I would endure, but if it wasn't...well, good luck.

-Slap!

After another round of slaps, lightly laughing I stopped. Arnold's cheeks were currently a dark shade of blue, and his eyes were completely hidden beneath his swollen cheeks.

Letting go of his hair, I stood up. Patting my body I jokingly said

"...Anyways, since you specialize in defense these slaps shouldn't hurt your right? Just take it as me caressing your cheeks gently"

"I-ll...kkk"

As Arnold was on the ground battered, although he tried to speak, because of how swollen his cheeks were, barely any sound came out from his mouth.

Ignoring him and glancing around, I sighed in relief.

Fortunately, no one witnessed what had happened. It most probably had to do with the fact that all the stronger students were already ahead, but currently, no one saw me 'educating' Arnold.

Of course, as I was 'educating' Arnold, I made sure to not overdue it. Altough the second and third years were here, they didn't actually know what was going on.

They were only here to either monitor some of the students or rescue them when they were in danger.

So, if Arnold showed any signs of being in danger, his suit would immediately light up, warning the second and third years of the fact that he was in danger. Only then would they move.

...Thus when I was 'educating' him like the good student I was, I had to be careful not to severely injure him.

"What's going on here?"

Just as I finished dealing with Arnold, a crisp and pleasant voice entered my ears prompting me to freeze on the spot.

"Huh?"

Soon, Melissa's figure emerged from the middle road of the forked paths. Glancing at me for a second, her eyesight soon paused on Arnold's sorry state

Coughing lightly, my mouth twitched.

"keuuumm...keummm...errr, would you believe me if I said he tripped?"

"No--hmmm"

Though Arnold couldn't see, his ears were working. As soon as he noticed someone coming, he immediately tried to speak. However, before he could do so, I immediately placed my foot on his face and stopped him from speaking.

"Shut up I'm talking over here"

"..."

Looking at the scene before her, Melissa was speechless.

I mean, it didn't take someone with a high IQ to understand what had happened.

Soon an awkward silence prevailed in the surroundings.

After a short pause, shaking her head Melissa proceeded to make her way towards the left side of the fork road.

"...Forget I even asked. I have no interest in your kinks. Move aside, I can't be bothered to watch your circus act any longer"

Pushing me away, Melissa slowly walked towards the left path of the forked roads.

Smiling, I waved at her

"Bye, have a safe trip"

"Tch"

Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Melissa quickly disappeared into the distance.

Watching her leave and enter the left road, I couldn't help but laugh inwardly.

'That road is a dead-end..'

"Aight..."

-Kacha!

After making sure Melissa had left, looking back at Arnold, I stomped my foot on his face. Knocking him out unconscious.

-Khueekh!

A couple of seconds after I knocked Arnold unconscious, my ears twitched and I soon heard the sound of goblins coming from the middle path of the forked roads.

Without a second thought, I quickly hid both me and Arnold in the corner, beneath a boulder. I then patiently waited for the goblins to come by.

-Khueekh! -Khueekh! -Khueekh!

"One...two...five...perfect"

Counting the goblins that passed by my direction, I managed to spot five goblins. A smile appeared on my face.

"huuuup!"

Without a second thought, jumping out from the boulder, I quickly appeared before the goblins.

-Khuaaak! -Khuaaak! -Khuaaak!

-Bam!

Catching the goblins off guard, using my fist, I precisely hit every goblin towards the middle of their brows. Their weak spots.

-khhhha! -khhhha!

Under my quick and fast punches, the goblins died instantly.

It wasn't even a fight...

"Done..."

Soon after the goblins died, without skipping a beat, I dragged their bodies towards where Arnold was and proceeded to stack them on top of him.

"Alright, this should be perfect"

Clapping my hands in satisfaction, I stared at Arnold who was currently buried beneath a pile of goblins.

When I killed the goblins, I made sure to not use my sword precisely so that it looked like it was Arnold who fought them.

"hmm...something isn't right"

Frowning, as I looked at Arnold beneath the pile of goblins, I fell into deep thought. It felt as if something was missing...

"Ah!"

Hitting my fist on my palm, I suddenly realized what was wrong.

-Kacha! -Kacha!

Arriving before the goblins, I started battering their body so that it didn't look like they died in one shot but that they had actually fought with Arnold.

...I almost neglected the obvious.

After a minute of battering, touching my chin, I nodded my head multiple times.

Flawless.

"yup, it definitely looks like he fought against multiple goblins at once and unfortunately lost after having fought with them with his life on the line..."

Since he wanted to fail me, I may as well reciprocate his intentions right?

-Bam!

-Kacha!

Glancing at Arnold one last time, I forcefully kicked him in the ribs. The sound of his ribs breaking soon resounded across the space.

-Beeeeep! -Beeeeep! -Beeeeep!

Soon after I broke Arnold's ribs, his suit turned red and beeping sounds started coming out from his suit.

"Bye now"

Satisfied, I immediately ran towards the right path.

00H : 27M : 67S

Checking my watch, I smiled.

'Still on track...'