Theodore and I glanced at each other while Asmura didn't react at all. From the look on Theodore's face, it was clear that he didn't want to attack the old man. While I, on the other hand, wanted to observe a bit.
The only person who didn't seem to mind was Asmura, who took a fighting stance. I expected this of her. Asmura actually practiced martial arts prior to entering the academy. She studied karate, if I remember correctly.
I didn't know all that much about her since she was a minor character. In fact, all I remembered was her being a hench of the leader of Class Wu Wei. Class Wu Wei was more or less filled with demons. I imagine the developers of the story made it that way to make things easier.
Asmura stood with her feet shoulder-width apart and her knees slightly bent. She had one arm extended and the other pulled back to her rib.
She slowly crept towards Sensei Barrett, which made you think she was going to take things slow, but as if to shatter all preconceived notions and surprise her opponent, she launched herself forward with explosive power.
At that moment, I saw a small smile on the sensei's face, and I immediately knew what Asmura was in for. Asmura kicked at the sensei's face, her movements graceful and fluid. The speed at which she kicked was so fast that it was almost a blur.
The sensei reacted by raising his hand in a blocking position. Her kick landed squarely on his hand as he protected his face. This seemed to annoy Asmura, as she tried to follow up with a jab, but before she could even extend her hand, the sensei's fist met her unguarded stomach.
Asmura slumped over in pain, but as she lowered her head, the sensei's knee impacted the bridge of her nose. For a moment, I thought I heard a small crack.
Asmura's knees buckled under the two consecutive blows, causing her to fall to her knees, blood dripping onto the mat below her.
Theodore watched the events unfold with his mouth agape. He couldn't believe that a teacher had injured a student like that, a girl, no less.
While I, on the other hand, was pleasantly pleased that the tales I heard recounted in the game weren't an exaggeration. I remembered a minor conversation of the protagonist talking to some second-years who had chosen the martial arts elective.
With the look of a soldier recounting war stories, the students recounted how brutal this class was. Because of the brutality of the sensei, they dropped out of the elective within the same week they enrolled.
In short, this was the perfect place for me.
I loved my adaptation ability, but there was one major downside I found hard to get over. That downside was my sensitivity to pain. It was 10 times that of a regular human.
My body was constantly monitoring the surroundings, aiming to adapt at the slightest change. For example, if I was exposed to a high amount of electricity for a prolonged period of time, then my body would start to adapt to this change.
In that instance, my skin would become rubber so I wouldn't be affected by the electricity.
If I was dropped into an ocean, then after a while of being exposed to the salt water, I would start to grow gills, allowing me to breathe under water. But that was only if I sat in the water and did nothing. If I thrashed around or tried to swim then after a while I would grow webbing, between my fingers and toes. A step further and I would start growing fish-like scales.
Of course, the rate at which I adapt and how effective the adaptation is would all depend on my proficiency. In order to adapt, my body needed to be sensitive to the environment around me, which is where my high sensitivity to pain came in.
Well, that was my theory behind it anyhow. I wasn't entirely sure. I had done my own tests and done a bit of research on adaptation, which led to this moment.
If I was exposed to Sensei's brutal training and fighting for a prolonged period of time, then I would naturally adapt in a way that made my body more suitable for combat. Even now, I could feel the changes happening to my body.
The punch Asmura received to her stomach was nothing but a blur to me, but by the second attack, where he kneed her on the bridge of the nose, I could see his attack perfectly. My brain and eyes had adapted in a way that allowed me to see the sensei's movements perfectly.
With Asmura collapsed onto the ground, Sensei Barrett turned his attention to the two boys staring at him blankly.
"Wait!" Theodore shouted, raising his arms in the air, but all that did was leave his stomach exposed.
Sensei planted his knee into the chubby boy's gut. The sound that escaped Theodore's mouth was sickening.
How could an old man move so fast?!
It was like he teleported.
Seeing what happened to Theodore, I raised my arms to create some sort of defense, but my movements were far too slow. The last thing I remembered was the sensei's pearly white teeth as his mouth curved up into a wide grin before everything went black.
I knew I had been kicked in the head, but I had no recollection of seeing it happen.
It seems I still can't keep up with him.
My head felt as if it had been bashed in by a hammer, yet still I pried myself off the ground, staggering as I did.
With my vision slightly blurred, I glanced around to see that Theodore and Asmura were still on the ground nursing their injuries. It seemed I was the only one who stood back up.
Sensei had his back turned as if to walk away, but he immediately turned around when he saw that I had gotten back up.
At that moment, it was as if a silent understanding had passed between the two of us. He gave me a slight nod, then resumed his fighting stance.
I did the same and bowed to the man who knocked my lights out before taking an awkward fighting stance.