CH 35.2

「Oops」

The fist Chihiro had thrown out was dodged nonchalantly.

Then, turning his body back to the front, he tried to kick Maisaka, but he stepped back and avoided it. When Chihiro pulled his foot back, Maisaka moved forward and hit his shoulder with his fist.

Although not as hard as Kamishiro’s, the hard man’s fist caused pain.

「Kuh!」

To counterattack, he twists his body and throws his elbow.

「Yosh」

But Maisaka had read him.

He grabbed his arm as Chihiro stepped back, and with a swipe of his foot, Maisaka slammed him to the floor.

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「Ou!」

Chihiro grunted and tried to sit up.

But, a fist was about landed on his stomach, cutting through the air, and stopped just short of hitting him.

「I give up」

「Then, I won. Thank you very much」

Chihiro grabbed the offered hand, stood up, and bowed to each other.

As he looked at his opponent, Maisaka, and the people around him, he saw that many of the students in the indoor training area were still playing.

After confirming this, Chihiro turned to Maisaka again.

「...As usual, it seems like all my attacks are being read」

「I wonder」

Maisaka smiles and nods.

「That’s just my ability anyway. If I store the patterns of each opponent, I can find various ways to deal with them」

Moreover, the more Maisaka fights, the more data he accumulates. Unlike Chihiro’s mind-reading, it is only a prediction, not a clear idea of what the opponent will do at that moment, but in exchange, there is no need to look the opponent in the eye, and it is easier to concentrate on the opponent’s movements.

The ability has a wide range of applications, from everyday life to combat - in a sense, it’s like a cheat.

「There are quite a few opponents I can’t help, though, even if I know how to deal with them. Like Kamishiro, Fukami-san, and so on」

Currently, there is a little time lag in retrieving the necessary information, and there is a limit to the amount of information that can be used at once.

And only Chihiro, Riko, and Aika, whose combat abilities are not unique, that Maisaka are able to respond in time by retrieving partial data each time. For Maria, no matter how much he reads her behavior, he can’t counter her ability at all.

Because of these weaknesses, and the fact that it is only a substitute for a computer in situations other than combat, and because it is only an ability to accumulate knowledge and the role of Maisaka himself is to analyze it, his rank was kept at E.

But the amount of experience is directly related to the performance... And since it is an ability that grows in a clear way, the current assessment does not necessarily correspond to the future potential.

「...Well, in Izumi’s case, it might have been a different story if you’d shown me what you did to Kamishiro the other day」

「You saw it, huh」

「Of course. How could I miss something so interesting?」

Apparently it gave him some good data.

Maisaka was right, a fist like that might have turned the tide of the battle.

But Chihiro promised Aika that he would not do anything rash again.

Well, the reason why his fist was crushed was because he hit Kamishiro’s fist head-on, but there should be no problem if he used it normally.

However, that doesn’t mean that he should use the technique all the time.

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「Let’s watch the fight over there. You’re interested in Fukami-san’s fight, aren’t you?」

Maisaka pointed to a booth.

There, Maria is confronting a female student. It’s unusual that her match is still going on, even though it’s now past the halfway point.

The reason may be that her opponent is concentrating on defense.

The other girl is holding a wooden sword and is defending herself against Maria’s fists. If the girl attacks, Maria’s [Retaliation] will be active, so she can’t attack. Well, Maria’s main ability is the counterattack damage by [Retaliation], so if the opponent doesn’t attack her, she can’t be decisive.

「Well, it’s a little skinny, but it’s a good tactic. It’s not a tournament, it’s just a training」

「Yes」

Defending against an opponent’s attack is also good training.

So, Maria can’t blame the other student, and it’s wrong to complain.

――What will Maria do in this situation?

Will she finish the match in vain, or will she find a way out? As Maisaka and Chihiro watched with bated breath...

「Oh!」

Maria moved.

*Fuh*

She lets out a ragged breath, approaches her opponent and unleashes a left fist. An effortless straight left. It can be clearly seen from the momentum that it is not a feint.

The power of the fist, thrust out at high speed, seems a bit excessive.

And the sight of Maria gave Chihiro a strange sense of déjà vu.

*gasp*

A fist struck the blade of the wooden sword.

「It hurts!」

Even though the girl was holding the hilt with both hands, the girl frowned and pulled her left hand away. Her hand seemed to have gone numb from the impact of the straight hit.

Then, a follow-up attack.

「Ha!」

Maria’s right fist comes at the wooden sword in her right hand, which is less stable.

Another good sound, and the wooden sword is flung back with the girl’s arm.

*ponk*

Then, the girl lowered the wooden sword with a look of disbelief and said,

「I give up」

「Thank you very much」

As Maria and the others greeted each other, Chihiro looked at Maisaka.

The move Maria had just pulled off was, without a doubt, the one Chihiro had used before.

「Hey Izumi, the one Fukami-san used... Did you teach her?」

「No」

He shook his head. He had only used it once, with Kamishiro. From that one experience, Maria must have recreated the technique.

Come to think of it... it’s a good move for her, given her pain tolerance and self-healing abilities.

「Fukami-san is really something」

「...I guess so」

Maria is getting stronger. Kamishiro is working hard every day to get stronger.

So, Chihiro also has to get stronger and stronger to catch up with them.

With that thought, Chihiro clenched both of his fists tightly.