Shizuka Hiratsuka looked at the students with a slight smirk, then uttered a sentence that left everyone dumbfounded. Beaming, she announced, "Next, you will form up in your pre-assigned groups and fight Ren!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, the students froze. They stared at Shizuka Hiratsuka in bewilderment. Sora was the first to raise her hand. "Sensei, we're fighting Ren?"
"That's right! You're fighting Ren. Get ready, everyone. Ren, don't hold back. Try to beat them to a pulp. If you guys don't want to get thrashed, you'd better go all out. No weapons allowed!" Shizuka Hiratsuka chuckled mischievously.
She could already imagine what was about to happen. It was truly something to look forward to. The students, however, felt as if the sky was falling.
Did they not know how ridiculously strong Ren was? If he used magic, he could probably wipe them all out in an instant. Thinking of this, another student quickly raised his hand.
"Sensei, is magic banned? This is a martial arts class, so we shouldn't use magic, right?" Leo called out in all seriousness. His words immediately earned the approval of the majority of the class.
Exactly! This was a martial arts class. Magic shouldn't be allowed. If magic was in play, there would be no point in even trying. Ren would pick them off one by one. Even in a magical shootout, Ren could just kite them and wipe out the entire class.
"Of course magic is banned. This is strictly a martial arts class. Groups of four! For those of you who haven't broken through in martial arts but have in magic, I want to see you break through today!" Shizuka Hiratsuka agreed.
Banning magic and setting a goal for certain students—there were a few in this class who only managed to enter the Dungeon because of their magical breakthroughs.
Today, her goal was to drag the physical capabilities of these students up to par. Hearing this, the pressure on many of them instantly spiked.
However, hearing that magic was banned also made the crowd sigh in relief. If that was the case, it shouldn't be a problem, right? Four against Ren... probably?
"What about us?" Yukino Yukinoshita spoke up at that moment. They were in the same party as Ren. Now that he was pulled away, what were they supposed to do?
"You girls? You're going first, of course! The three of you will set an example for everyone!" Shizuka Hiratsuka smiled, saying something that gave Yukino a very bad feeling.
*No one is escaping this. And since you're in Ren's party, you get to go first and show everyone exactly how he beats you up!*
Seeing Shizuka Hiratsuka's beaming face, Yukino felt a surge of irritation. *This woman is just waiting to watch us make fools of ourselves, isn't she?* Asuna also chimed in at that moment.
"If it's three against one... it doesn't seem like we have zero chance of winning." She looked at Ren, her eyes suddenly gleaming with eagerness. In a one-on-one, she definitely wasn't his match.
But now, the three of them could attack together. Would the outcome be different? Thinking this, Asuna looked at Yukino and Megumi Kato. The three exchanged glances.
Yukino also calmed down. Asuna had a point. A one-on-one was a guaranteed loss, but a group fight might be a different story. Maybe they could give it a try?
"It looks like you've made up your minds. In that case, get ready to start. Ren, you don't have any objections, do you?" Shizuka Hiratsuka looked at the three girls before turning to ask Ren.
Hearing her question, Ren shrugged. "I have no objections. We can start whenever. I actually want to see where my limits are!"
Even if he did have objections, it probably wouldn't matter. Shizuka Hiratsuka had already laid down the law. This fight was happening today no matter what, so what was there to object to?
"OK, then go get ready. Don't hold back. I've already spoken with the school nurses; they have all kinds of medicinal herbs prepared. Go all out!" Shizuka Hiratsuka said, stepping to the side.
Hearing her last sentence, many students in the class were startled. *The school nurses are already prepared? Looks like everyone is going to get hurt today.* A sense of urgency suddenly gripped the crowd.
"Do your best, Asuna! Wear Ren down and create an opening for us!!" Sora shouted, urging them to exhaust Ren.
After all, in her eyes, the three girls definitely couldn't beat him. She was absolutely certain of this. The aura Ren gave off was simply too dangerous; he was an opponent they couldn't defeat even if they went all out.
Asuna and the other two rolled their eyes at Sora, then walked over to take their positions. The surrounding students quickly scattered, clearing the area for the four of them.
"By the way, I have a question. If I use [Lightness Technique], does that count as using magic?" Ren suddenly asked Shizuka Hiratsuka before they began.
"It doesn't count!" Shizuka Hiratsuka waved her hand from the sidelines. That didn't count as magic. They could go all out. As long as no one was killed, it was fine. As long as they had a single breath left, the school could heal them.
"Understood." Having received confirmation, Ren shifted his gaze to the three girls. Asuna, Yukino, and Megumi exchanged a look. The next moment, with perfect synchronization, the three of them launched their attack.
Activating [Lightness Technique], the three vanished from their spots and charged at Ren, attacking him from three different directions simultaneously.
Facing the incoming trio, Ren instantly switched into Sage Mode, his gaze turning cold and indifferent. Instead of retreating, he advanced, closing the distance to Megumi in the blink of an eye.
Seeing Ren suddenly appear right in front of her, Megumi's pupils shrank. Instinctively, she tried to attack, but the fist she had just swung out was caught firmly in Ren's grasp.
Then, Ren pivoted and exerted force, sending Megumi flying with a clean shoulder throw, hurling her directly toward Asuna's position.
That's right, Ren used her as a literal projectile. Asuna, who had been preparing a sneak attack, had no choice but to hastily catch the airborne Megumi. The terrifying kinetic force instantly pushed her back several meters.
Fortunately, she managed to catch Megumi steadily, preventing both of them from tumbling to the ground. But by the time Asuna recovered, Ren had already launched an assault on Yukino Yukinoshita.
Shizuka Hiratsuka had told him to go all out, so they couldn't blame him for what happened next. Ren dashed in front of Yukino at an even faster speed. Watching him close in within the blink of an eye, Yukino gritted her teeth.
She channeled all her strength into her fists and swung at Ren. The two clashed, a series of dull thuds echoing through the air.
Yukino's strikes landed on Ren, but he blocked them all with ease. After parrying her assault, Ren turned his right hand into a palm strike, thrusting it straight toward her chest.
At the very last fraction of a second, his palm curled into a fist. A lightning-fast punch ruthlessly slammed into her chest. Yukino had absolutely no time to react before a wave of agonizing pain radiated from her sternum.
She was blasted backward. It was the One-Inch Punch. The merciless strike made Yukino feel as if her ribs were about to snap.
Sent flying by a single punch, Yukino rolled across the ground several times before finally stabilizing herself. At this moment, she looked rather disheveled.
This scene made many students gulp. How were they supposed to fight this? The speed Ren displayed was on a completely different level from theirs. Even if they went all out, they probably wouldn't be able to do a thing to him.
Shizuka Hiratsuka, on the other hand, was extremely satisfied with the spectacle. At some point, a smartphone had appeared in her hand, and she had recorded the entire battle.
Especially the part where Yukino was brutally punched away and sent rolling across the floor—that was an absolute classic shot. She was definitely going to share it when she got home tonight!
But now wasn't the time to think about that. While Ren was engaging Yukino, Asuna and Megumi had already readjusted and launched another offensive.
This time, the two attacked together, attempting to use Megumi's talent to mask their presence and ambush Ren. Aside from Shizuka Hiratsuka, no one else in the class noticed this maneuver.
Of course... Ren was the exception. After all, he was far too familiar with Megumi's talent. Her stealth might work on others, but it was completely useless against him.
Because Ren had it too. So, the moment the two girls slipped behind him, Ren turned around and met their clash head-on. This time, Asuna took the lead, with Megumi assisting from the side.
Asuna's talent didn't just make her sword strikes fast; her punching speed was equally impressive. However, every single punch she threw was firmly caught by Ren.
While the two were tangled up, Megumi seized the opportunity to strike, launching an attack from Ren's left flank. Without a weapon, Megumi could only rely on her fists.
This punch was aimed straight at Ren's face. Seeing the fist emerging from Asuna's left side, Ren decisively let go of Asuna and quickly retreated.
The next moment, Ren took a quick step forward, shooting out like a bullet to close the distance in the blink of an eye. Seeing this, Asuna was completely stunned because she already knew what he was about to do.
Her brain reacted rapidly, raising both arms to guard her front. *Bang!* With a stepping side kick, Ren sent Asuna flying... This brutal scene made Megumi swallow hard.
*Is it too late to surrender?* But it was merely a passing thought. She hurriedly looked over at Asuna. Asuna had been kicked several meters away and was currently sprawled on the ground.
"Asuna!" Megumi quickly ran over. Hearing Megumi's voice, Asuna drew in a sharp breath of cold air and hurriedly got up. "Hiss... I'm fine... my arms are just numb."
Saying this, Asuna shot Ren a resentful glare. This guy was absolutely ruthless, delivering a kick without the slightest hesitation. Thank goodness she had reacted quickly.
Moreover, Ren had held back. Otherwise, if that kick had landed on Megumi, she felt like Ren would have sent her straight to the infirmary on the spot.
"I held back. Otherwise, Asuna, you'd be out cold right now." Ren looked at her calmly. He knew exactly how much force he had used and whether his opponent could withstand it.
If he had gone all out, Asuna's arms would have snapped on the spot. Blocking with her arms? That wouldn't have stopped a thing.
After helping Asuna up, Megumi rolled her eyes. Seeing that Asuna wasn't seriously injured, she realized Ren was telling the truth, and she felt a lingering sense of fear.
Ren had clearly let her off the hook... Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to block it as easily as Asuna did. If Ren had hit her like that, she would have been scrapped on the spot.
"Sensei, I protest! This guy is too strong; we can't beat him at all. I suggest the whole class fight him together!!" At that moment, Yukino walked over, looking somewhat humiliated and furious.
After all, Ren had just hit her in the chest with a One-Inch Punch. She was already small enough as it was; after taking a hit like that, she suspected Ren had flattened her completely.
This was the second time! That bastard! This was the second time he had done this to her. The first time, he hit her in the stomach, and the second time, he hit her in the chest, nearly breaking her ribs.
She suspected that if there was a next time, Ren would punch her right in the face without hesitation. The mere thought of it instantly broke Yukino's composure.
*Fight? Fight my ass! We can't fight him at all! If we're going to fight, the whole class needs to jump him! And you, you old hag, don't think I didn't see you put your phone away!!*
*Will someone please do something about this guy?! The power gap is massive! Are you blind, you old hag? We can't fight him at all, okay?!*
If anyone could hear Yukino's inner thoughts, they would hear a series of roaring complaints. She felt that Ren was simply bullying them too much.
She originally thought that with the three of them attacking together, they might gain some sort of advantage. But only after actually fighting him did she realize there was no advantage to be had.
Because Ren's overall explosive power was on a completely different level. Whether it was speed, strength, or reaction time, he was vastly superior to them as Tier 3s.
Yukino's words immediately made the other students nod in agreement. They quickly chimed in, "Yeah, yeah! Sensei, this won't work! We can't beat him. We might as well have the whole class fight him together!!"
Everyone strongly agreed with Yukino. They could already picture it: if they only went up in groups of four, they would all be beaten black and blue by Ren in a matter of minutes.
Just look at Asuna. He hadn't hesitated to kick her flying, and she was a classmate he was actually on good terms with!
What about them? Would Ren be even more ruthless? The moment they thought of this, many in the class shivered, frantically racking their brains to recall if they had ever offended Ren.
They probably hadn't, right? But Shizuka Hiratsuka had already told Ren to go wild and beat them black and blue. And right now, Yukino and the others were supposedly the ones he had "held back" against.
If the rest of them went up... it would probably turn out exactly as Shizuka Hiratsuka said. They would be beaten to a pulp, entirely powerless against him.
Seeing that the students were on the verge of a mutiny, Shizuka Hiratsuka looked at Ren and asked, "What do you think, Ren? How does their proposal sound?"
To be honest, even she hadn't expected Ren's progression to be this fast. She thought he would need to consolidate his strength after just breaking through to Tier 4... As expected, she couldn't judge this guy by normal standards.
"I have no objections. In fact, I think it makes perfect sense. You guys should all come at me together!" Ren said, stretching his arms lazily. Fighting Asuna and the others just now didn't even count as a warm-up!