CHAPTER 57: DISCIPLE CULTIVATION SYSTEM CH57 BATTLE ROYALE PT2.

A loud ring went off in Valaria’s head.

Her consciousness blurred the line between awake and numb.

"Urgh..."

A low groan escaped her lips, the continuous ringing causing an intense headache in her mind.

"Just accept defeat," Kurt said, bringing his sword down on her.

"No!"

Mustering as much strength as she could, she pushed herself out of the trajectory of the strike, her body awkwardly rolling to the side in a desperate attempt to survive.

"You heard the Headmistress... just because you lose now doesn’t mean you lose in the future," Kurt retorted, annoyed by her persistence. He pulled back his sword and pursued her.

"It’s an assumption," Val screamed, stabbing one of her batons into the wall.

She then forced herself up and launched the other one at Kurt.

He sighed, watching the incoming projectile with calm eyes before effortlessly cleaving it in two.

As the two halves flew past him, he continued pursuing Val, who tapped her ring once more.

"Another weapon will be futile," Kurt declared, charging forward. His steps crashed against the ground before he launched himself in a powerful leap.

Raising his sword once more, it ripped through the ceiling before he followed with a ruthless slash aimed at Valaria.

"Maybe."

Val didn’t deny his claim, but she didn’t stand still for the attack to reach her either.

Dodging too early could lead to him altering his attack, so she kept her cool, waited, and—just as the tip of the blade was about to make contact with her hair—she crouched and dashed forward.

Her target was Kurt, whom she crashed into.

Most of his force had been concentrated on his sword, which dug deep into her shoulder.

She screamed, feeling the metallic edge of the blade scrape deep into her skin, but she didn’t back down. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him and tackled him to the ground.

The sudden shift sent them both tumbling down.

Kurt, his face now pale, looked up at Val, who was on top of him with a vicious smile.

"Huh!"

Attempting to sweep her off, he found a dagger lodged into his side, causing him to gasp as hot pain shot deep into his nerves.

His gaze quickly darted to his sword, which had fallen from his grasp when he was tackled.

"Don’t think about it."

Another dagger grazed across his wrist as Val stared at him with a threatening smile.

"How do you have so many weapons?"

Most weapons in the modern era were laced with Anti-Mana and Aura properties, so even with his Aura-augmented body, he wasn’t sure he could withstand her stab.

If he tried overpowering her—which he knew he could—he would lose an arm. The pain would probably distract him enough for Valaria to slit his throat before he could break free.

"Let’s make a deal."

"Ok... arghhhh!"

Right after he responded, the knife in his side was twisted further into his body, causing him to let out a bloodcurdling scream that echoed through the hallway.

The school was nice enough to not let students actually kill each other during this assessment, but they were also cruel enough to allow pain and the accumulation of wounds.

Right now, he was bleeding rapidly, the dagger digging deep into his body and almost touching his ribs.

"Sorry!" Valaria smiled in pity and took out the knife. She, too, was bleeding from the shoulder—that grudge had made her act up.

"About your question."

Bringing the blood-soaked dagger to his throat, she continued to smile.

"That’s because I can’t use my Aura. So, I was made an exception. I currently have an arsenal of weapons in my ring. Be my knight and help me survive for twelve hours. After that, you can eliminate me..."

Kurt, now clutching the wound in his side, gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot and full of resentment.

"Urgh... I’ll take you at your word," he said after a grunt.

Val observed him. The thought of him eliminating her right after she got off him flashed in her mind, but she didn’t have time to worry about betrayal.

Time was of the essence, and the longer she stayed in one place, the slimmer her chances of surviving to the twelve-hour mark.

Also, it wasn’t as if she was being honest either.

Kurt definitely held a grudge against her now, but he wasn’t going to have the satisfaction of eliminating her.

That belonged to someone else.

So, getting off him, she tossed her bloody daggers back into the storage ring and grabbed her baton before helping Kurt up.

The delinquent-looking teenager clicked his tongue and pushed her hand aside.

He then dragged his body toward the wall, leaving behind a trail of blood.

After reaching his destination, he dug his fingers—reinforced by Aura—into the wall and began pushing himself up.

"Suit yourself, then."

Frankly, she didn’t care about whatever emotion Kurt had toward her now.

Using him was a means to an end.

Art had told her to use any underhanded trick to survive.

She was doing just that.

She had a far greater disadvantage than most—her Aura wasn’t working, meaning she was the most vulnerable individual in this battle royale.

For her own pride, among other things, she had decided she would do anything to survive the twelve hours Trish had given her.

At the very least, she wanted to go out fighting.

"You’re just like me," she whispered to the struggling Kurt, who leaned against the wall, bleeding.

"You hold grudges. I do the same. You probably want to end me right now, but how about you wait? Let’s stick together for twelve hours, at least."

Now that she was no longer threatening him with a blade, Kurt could refuse and leave. But Val had been right on the money.

He really wanted to be the one to eliminate her, so even while disgusted at the thought of sticking with her, he didn’t refuse.

But he did wonder about one thing:

Why twelve hours exactly?