44 A Sparring Dummy
The next day arrived in the blink of an eye, and once again, Billy was the one responsible for training.
Rey didn't really mind it; as long as Billy didn't pay any special attention to him and simply performed his duties as their tutor.
Unfortunately for Rey, he was in for a rude awakening.
"Rey Skylar, step forward."
Rey didn't like it when people used his full name—especially when it was being said in a public place like this.
'Reminds me of a teacher calling me out in class…'
Why couldn't he just be left alone?
Still, if he refused to step out, he would be drawing more attention to himself.
As a result of this logic, he obeyed.
"Today we're going to be reviewing the Martial Arts techniques you have been learning and providing counters for them."
Rey felt butterflies in his stomach as he felt the gaze of everyone on him.
He still wasn't very comfortable about any of this.
"After the sparring session yesterday, and the rest of it being a theoretical discussion, I have come to the conclusion that you're all lacking in a lot of areas."
At this point, no one bothered to argue with him.
Not Trisha… not Adam… and certainly not Rey.
They all knew their place as inferior students, and Billy seemed to be enjoying himself for that very reason.
"I'll be using Rey here as my training dummy for today. Or, maybe a sparring partner would be the most appropriate word to use."
'The hell…?!' Rey's thoughts echoed as he noticed Billy's sly grin.
'What's he on about now?'
"Everyone present will grab a partner. You'll be engaged in sparring with them. As for me… I'll use this one."
Billy slammed his hand on Rey's back, knowing he would tumble and fall.
In response to the slap, Rey did as expected.
"U-urgh!"
Deciding to move with the flow of the slap, he collapsed to the ground like a helpless student.
'I see what's going on now…'
After their class yesterday, Rey had thought Billy had stopped his petty fixations on him, but apparently he was wrong.
'It makes no sense to make me his sparring partner. We're twenty in the Beta Group. We can evenly split the class and everyone will have sparring buddies.'
However, if they used Billy's model, then one of the Beta Students would be without a partner.
That made no sense!
"Trisha, it'll be unfair for you to have a partner right now, so maybe just observe."
It seemed Billy quickly noticed the problem that his arrangement posed, so he swiftly tried to manage it.
Rey instantly called bullshit on it, though.
'So Trisha is too strong for a sparring buddy and you're not? Why can't you choose Trisha as your sparring buddy? Wouldn't that be perfect?'
The stronger a person was, the better they would be in being Billy's sparring partner or training dummy.
'What he wants isn't the best sparring partner, but the one he can freely beat up.'
Rey could tell already… that Billy was planning to utterly humiliate him.
'This is the third time, Billy. I let it go the first two times, but now…?'
As Rey rose to his feet, he hid his glare under an innocent facade.
'I'll make you regret this.'
******
Just as agreed, the class was split into groups of two.
There were nine groups, and Trisha remained the one without a partner.
The plan was to watch Billy and Rey's fight sequence, and then try to imitate—or replicate—the process in their own turn.
Rey would be the one initiating the Martial Arts Technique, while Billy would use its direct counter.
The purpose of this lesson was to let the students know the diverse use of Martial Arts as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each technique.
Every student thought it was a good lesson to be learning.
All except one.
'This is dumb. Monsters don't use Martial Arts, and all of this seems unnecessary…'
The only reason Martial Arts was being learned in the first place was to improve the abilities the students gained after activating their Skills.
As such, if one had a Buff Skill, they would be able to use Martial Arts as the perfect conduit to get the most out of that Skill.
The same applied for any other Skill; like shapeshifting or flying.
The way to incorporate the existing Skills of the students to their combat… that was its true essence.
'Everyone already had considerably better Skills than most denizens of this world. Instead of learning Martial Arts and it's weaknesses, it's better to adopt whatever Martial Arts technique we learn into our Skills and develop our own style.'
In essence, Rey didn't subscribe to learning fixed techniques, but to appropriate them into his own preferred method of combat.
'But… this is what we get instead.'
Rey stopped himself from sighing since he was being watched by everyone.
As he stood in front of the smirking Billy, he took the Martial Arts form that they were supposed to start with.
'He'll counter me in the most brutal way possible—humiliating me in the process.'
Rey could already see it play out, and he didn't like it at all.
'The very reason I decided to hide my powers is to avoid attention being drawn to me, and yet…'
He wasn't about to be treated like shit just for trying to fit in with everyone.
'We've been told not to use any Skills since this is a purely technical match.'
That was enough to put a smile on Rey's face.
'Let's see how it goes.'
"Alright, Rey. Why don't you begi—?"
~WHOOSH!~
Rey perfectly imitated the footwork of the Martial Arts technique that they were taught, swiftly closing the gap between himself and Billy.
"H-huh?!"
It seemed Billy was more than stunned to see Rey close the distance so quickly.
They were already mere inches from each other, and Billy was yet to move a single muscle.
'As long as no Skills are involved, I should be able to get away with this…'
~WHUUUM!~
Rey sent a blow flying to Billy's stomach, trying his best to hide the wide grin that was forming on his face.
'Why don't I show off a little?'
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