After the men’s sprinting finished, the women’s measurements began immediately.
While the average time for the men was in the 7-second range, it was between 8 to 9 seconds for the women.
Well, it was inevitable that men were faster than women, but among them, there was someone exceptional.
It was Sasha, the Russian exchange student, who transferred today.
Beep!
“6.43 seconds!”
Wowwwww!
Both men and women admired the record she set.
Because she crossed the finish line just 0.02 seconds slower than Sakamoto Ryuji, the fastest in the class besides me.
As everyone praised her, Sasha confidently flipped her straight hair back over her shoulder with pride.“Hmph, of course. I am perfect, after all.”
An action that would have seemed arrogant if done by someone else somehow looked fitting when she did it.
Anyway, after the physical measurements for both genders were completed, it was decided to play dodgeball by dividing the 26 members of Class 2-B in half.
Certainly, dodgeball was one of the best activities in which the entire class could participate.
Pairing exercises or activities where only a few excel would obviously lead to a loss of enthusiasm and dropouts.
Since two students, a boy and a girl, selected by Teacher Oonuma took turns picking team members via rock-paper-scissors, the teams were quickly formed.
Team A and Team B.
I was in Team A, and Sakamoto Ryuji, the protagonist, was in Team B.
“Kim, I’m counting on you.”
“Uh? Uh, sure.”
Kids who usually didn’t talk much to me treated me almost like the ace of the team now that we were on the same side.
“Honestly, it’s an easy win with Kim Yu-seong on our team.”
“If he’s the enemy, he’s the most fearsome; if he’s an ally, he’s the most reliable guy.”
The bald trio, like the jack-of-all-trades in an herbal shop, muttered and nodded in agreement.
The reason only two of them spoke was that the third one was on the opposing team.
For reference, Rika and Satoru were also in Team B.
“Let’s do well.”
“…Sure.”
Somehow, Sasha, who ended up on the same team as me, said that while patting my shoulder.
Maybe because she was over 170cm tall with a model’s physique, there wasn’t much difference in our eye levels.
That was how the dodgeball game started.
“Everyone, spread out!”
Following the instructions of our team leader and brain, the Class President, our team members scattered in all directions.
Since Team B had the first attack, it was probably the best time to be hit by a blind spot and be eliminated.
“Aaaah!”
And as expected, one of the girls was hit by the ball and immediately out.
Now, it was our team’s turn to attack.
One of the bald trio picked up a ball that had fallen to the ground and spun around, shouting,
“This is my special pitch!”
The ball, thrown straight towards a group, hit a shoulder and bounced, knocking out two people instantly.
“Yesss!”
Bald kid 1 was ecstatic with his unexpected performance.
As we took turns like this, the game gradually gained momentum.
Team B, thinking that if I got the ball, someone would inevitably be out, didn’t target me at all.
Instead, they steadily reduced our numbers, targeting others around me.
We retaliated, but Team B, with relatively more athletic members, was able to preserve more players.
Thus, the number of Team A members decreased rapidly.
“Grrr! Frustrating!”
The last bald kid, doing fairly well but then outed by an outer attacker of Team B, shouted in frustration as he exited, leaving only 5 members in Team A.
Meanwhile, Team B still had 8 members left.
Clearly, Team A was at a disadvantage now.
Except for me.
With most of my team out, I warmed up, getting ready to move freely in the space created.
Seeing this, the opposing team began to stir.
“…He’s finally moving. The strongest in the academy.”
“Don’t be scared! We outnumber them!”
“Focus on hitting the ones behind Kim Yu-seong, and avoid him!”
Team B seemed to be sticking to their original strategy.
Certainly, it was the right choice.
If they threw the ball at me, I would catch it every time and counterattack.
Then, an attacker from the opposing team shouted and threw the volleyball in his hand.
“Ha!”
The target of the ball was the Class President hiding in the corner.
I was surprised she had survived this long, but given she wasn’t athletic, she likely couldn’t dodge this attack.
“Hmm!”
Watching from the center, I made my move.
Bang!!
The ball aimed at the Class President was caught in my hand and stopped.
And with the ball in my hand, the attack right shifted to our team.
I put a spin on the ball and first targeted Rika, who was hiding behind a teammate.
“Aah!”
“There it is! Snake shot!”
“Darn! I thought that was only possible in tennis!”
Thus, Rika was out, and the attack right returned to the opposing team.
This time, Ryuji Sakamoto, the ace of Team B, caught the ball and jumped high.
Instinctively, I looked up at him and squinted momentarily at the sunlight streaming down in a straight line.
“There it is! Sun Fist!”
“Geez! I thought only baldies could do that!”
The dodgeball flew towards me at high speed.
As I struggled to see clearly due to the sunlight and reached out reflexively to catch the ball, suddenly, someone from my team leaped from behind.
“My ball!”
Seeing that familiar back, I exclaimed without realizing it.
“Sasha!”
Bang!!
The dodgeball thrown by Sakamoto was swiftly caught by Sasha, who immediately counterattacked.
“Argh!”
One of the boys behind Sakamoto was hit by the ball and immediately out.
Having skillfully counterattacked, Sasha turned slightly and gave a thumbs-up.
Impressed by her reliable action, I nodded and looked towards the opposing team.
With that, the score was 5 to 6.
It was now a fight worth retrying.
Sakamoto Ryuji felt anxious that his trump card, the Sun Fist, had failed.
‘What do I do now? I never expected there would be another dark horse other than Kim Yu-seong.’
The newly transferred Alex Something.
He had noticed her during the 50m run earlier; her overall physical ability seemed no less than that of an average adult male.
Currently, Team A has a total of 5 members left.
And Team B had 6 members remaining.
While Team B still had a higher number of males, giving them an advantage, Team A had unexpectedly strong opponents, Kim Yu-seong and Alex Something.
Ryuji Sakamoto asked Momochi Satoru, who had approached him and was from the same middle school.
“Hey, Momochi. Isn’t there a way to tackle Kim Yu-seong?”
Then, Momochi Satoru, who had been considered an information source among the kids since old times, pushed up the center of his glasses with his middle finger and said.
“As far as I know, there isn’t. Yu-seong is the strongest attacker and defender.”
“…But why does he pose like he’s cool?”
“Because that’s the promise.”
Sakamoto, watching Momochi mimic the sexy lines of a fun and cool famous politician, decided to focus his mind.
After all, Kim Yu-seong, like himself, was a human made of flesh and blood.
He had to have at least one weakness, for sure.
He was searching for the enemy team’s weakness when it happened.
“Keke, do you desire power?”
Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded in his head.
Startled, Sakamoto quickly looked around, but the now-familiar Egyptian ghost was nowhere to be seen.
Teasing Sakamoto, the voice whispered in his ear once again.
“I am now within you, Contractor. And don’t make me repeat myself. If you desire power, I can lend it to you—the power to defeat that man, Kim Yu-seong.”
Tempted by the whispers of the dark Pharaoh, Sakamoto, clutching the dodgeball tightly, asked in a low voice.
“…What’s the condition?”
“Just lend your body to me for a moment. I simply wish to contend with a man who has the Twt-Ra of a great warrior.”
Sakamoto calculated coolly.
The risk difference between lending his body to Mahes now and not doing so.
‘If I lend it, I can beat Kim Yu-seong. And I might also win the ice cream bet.’
The reason the class was more enthusiastic about dodgeball than ever was that the losing team had to buy ice cream for each member of the winning team.
‘On the other hand, if we lose, my already thin wallet will get thinner.’
Due to recently buying the latest game, the monthly allowance from his parents was running dangerously low.
As an older brother, he couldn’t ask his younger sister for money, so he had to make do with what he had left.
“Alright. Deal.”
“…What’s a deal? Don’t suddenly use difficult words. I am from thousands of years ago.”
“It means let’s make a deal.”
“Good. The deal is sealed here and now.”
As Sakamoto accepted Mahes’s offer, the ghost of Mahes lurking within him merged into his physical body.
Yielding control of his body, Sakamoto Ryuji, having briefly closed and then reopened his eyes, murmured in an entirely different demeanor.
“From now on, it is my time.”
This moment, overheard by Momochi Satoru standing nearby, gave rise to the nickname ‘Dark Ryuji’.
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