What Marla had considered a talent in berserking was merely his experience from the past timeline.
But he needed to admit that whatever else that she said was the truth. Old habits die hard. And in his case, he had already died once. So in a way, his berserking habits were more persistent than him.
“I’m sure about my path as a close combat expert, Master Marla. It’s just that I try to copy my friend Steve sometimes who is also a berserker. But I’m sure your guidance would help me get rid of those habits for good.”
Steve would have coughed blood after knowing he was being used as an excuse like that.
“I’m not sure how you can copy someone in a test and still score more than them. Anyway, it’s good that you are steadfast in your current path. So we’ll go ahead with our training from the next session.
I’ll include some more exercises to increase your body’s flexibility. We’ll focus on that first before moving on to the katar arts. If you don’t have any questions, you can consider yourself dismissed for today.
And be sure to answer my calls when I summon you next. Hehe! I have a surprise for you.”
Marla said this and went inside her abode, leaving her apprentice to his devices. The butcher dusted his clothes off and found his way outside his courtyard. He was thinking about ways he could get rid of his berserking ways or implement them in his current battle style in such a way that they don’t come off as a hindrance.
********************
“Ron’s Raiders 1/A vs. White Raven Crew 1/C!”
The teams are requested to approach the battle ring and prepare in the corners assigned to them. The battle will start in five minutes.”
Two groups of students could be seen approaching the battle ring surrounded by a crowd. Both teams had seven members each. One of the teams belonged to the class of 1/A while the other was from class 1/C.
Ron Valencia was the team leader of his team Ron’s Raiders. He was confident in his team’s strength. And most of all, he was confident about himself.
Ron boasted the BTP value of 17 while his other team member Dino Moretti was flaunting the BTP value of 16. They both were exceptionally talented than their peers and had started their ranking journeys much earlier with abundant resources.
Ron’s team had an unusual setup. It had two berserkers namely Ron himself and the other being Dino. The team had discarded the inclusion of a close combat expert to achieve this. But it didn’t lose its battle prowess in the process.
That’s because Ron and Dino worked excellently as a pair. The coordination between them had been fine-tuned for years. That’s because they were instructed in the path of a berserker by the same teacher that had taught them from their adolescence.
The team focused on Ron and Dino getting prepared for their attacks while the other team members handled the first few minutes of the battle in a defensive mode. Then when they were ready, the other team members would retreat in the back followed by the duo launching its sync attack.
Ron had tried and tested this strategy many times now. They even conducted mock battles with other teams in total confidentiality. Their team battle practices showed promising results.
Therefore, Ron’s team didn’t pay much attention to the team they were up against. This team was only going to be their stepping stone to reach a higher stage of battles after all.
What Ron and Dino didn’t know was that there was someone in the other team whose eyes shine with cold-blooded brutality when he saw them.
Eren couldn’t stop himself from showing that glint in his eyes after he saw who his team was up against. The butcher looked down so that nobody would see the hate in his eyes. And nobody did. Except for Becky. She was the most sensitive towards Eren’s aura which had gotten even colder than normal ever since the other team made its appearance.
‘What is this guy up to now?’
Becky thought to herself. Of course, she wanted to ask about the issue. but she figured this was not an appropriate time. And even if it was, this deep schemer would not necessarily tell her the truth.
He’d just spout half-truths and half-lies coated with thoughts of euphemism to steer away from the topic. One had to say, Becky had an uncanny ability to judge a person’s character.
Ron Valencia and Dino Moretti. The two berserkers would get pretty famous for their feats later on in their lives if things proceed as they’ve been usually ordained. They were the same students who had harassed Eren in his previous timeline after Selena Slughorn started spreading rumours about him.
In the previous timeline, Eren had to attend compulsory battle classes meant for all the berserkers. That’s because he had changed his path from being a potioneer to that of a berserker. These battle classes were held from the third academic year onwards and nobody was allowed to skip them.
There, Ron and Dino would always pick fights with him and trash him up real good. They were all berserkers at that time. So it was still technically counted as a fair fight. It wasn’t Ron and Dino’s fault the guy had to switch paths in his third academic year after all.
But today, at this time, this place, and in this timeline, things would be different. The butcher would make sure of that.
‘Hmm! What did I promise myself back then? That I’d fry these guys’ balls, huh? Well, I obviously can’t do that thing here. But I’ll at least give them a small taste of hell heading their way.’
Eren thought to himself and sported the most cheerful smile on his face. To the rest of the team members and onlookers, it looked like Eren was trying to build confidence in them for their upcoming match. But to Becky, it felt like the smile of a devil before he commits his vile deeds.
“The five minutes are up. Both the teams should step into the battle ring now.”
The battle between Ron’s Raiders and White Raven Crew was about to start.
===========================
AN: Hi. In case anyone’s wondering, Ron Valencia and Dino Moretti have been introduced briefly in chapter 64.