I Became the Genius of the Gigant Academy - Chapter 2:

When Rabbit kicked into the ground, Lumberjack swung his giant ax in the air and brought it down quickly.

Bang-!

The ax hit the ground where Rabbit was standing before.

“Ooooooooo!”

[As always, Rabbit dodges the attack with his quick movements.]

Abel’s Gigant Rabbit jumped when his opponent swung his ax and flew his body to the right.

Suddenly changing his direction of movement was one of Rabbit’s specialties.

However, Rabbit didn’t just run toward his opponents head-on with those quick movements.

Instead, he would hover around his opponent to judge and analyze him.

Whirring-!

When Rabbit came close, Lumberjack swung the axe nimbly, which didn’t match his robust and heavy build.

A fierce attack, coupled with a lively dodge. It was as if they were performing a planned routine.

This attack and dodge situation kept on going for a while

“Rabbit! Why so scared today, huh?!”

“Just like your name! You cowardly bastard!”

The audience started booing and jeering in response.

But Abel completely ignored them.

‘As always, he’s the type to trust in his body and then charge into the fight.’

Lumberjack’s body was quite helpful, but the rider’s skill level couldn’t match up to it and use it to its full potential.

His stiff movements made it obvious.

His synchronization was awful, so even with spectacular features, he couldn’t use them to their best potential.

If Abel decided to just dodge his opponent’s moves, he could make them fall apart by exhausting them.

‘But that’s why I can’t do that.’

See, Abel’s goal was not merely winning; it was the overwhelming defeat of his opponents by crushing them because that would definitely attract Scarlett’s attention, who was in the audience.

The rough diamond you’re looking for is right here, in this place. And that’s me– To let that be known to all, Abel increased the synchronization to the maximum.

Thud-!

At that moment, Lumberjack stamped his feet and bobbed his ax up and down.

“You cowardly bastard! Come here, huh! I’ll cut you in half.”

Then came the opponent’s provocation.

After hearing that, Rabbit suddenly lifted the arm holding the sword, and just like that, he spread his palms wide and let it go.

Thud-!

The sword fell with a loud noise.

Reasonably, both Lumberjack and the audience were shocked, and their expressions perfectly expressed their utter confusion.

Why is he suddenly throwing away his weapon?

It was a nonsensical act.

The viewers who had just seen Rabbit’s desperate attempt at survival using just his body thought that Rabbit lost the will to fight. So they started to complain and criticize him.

But Rabbit hadn’t lost his fighting spirit. In fact, it was the complete opposite.

Rabbit ran straight in Lumberjack’s direction.

“Have you gone mad?”

His opponent shouted with amusement and regained his control of Lumberjack.

The gigantic axe came swinging towards Rabbit diagonally to tear him apart. Instead of moving his body back, this time, he dodged to the right and jumped high up.

Bang!

“Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!”

Rabbit, a huge metallic giant, jumped up so high that sounds of admiration and astonishment erupted around the arena.

Rabbit’s natural movements were like a human’s, and everyone was fascinated.

‘Doesn’t matter if I break apart.’

At that moment, Abel forgot all the limits that ever held him back.

He increased the level of synchronization and pushed past his limits.

Whooooooosh!

The trajectory of the axe changed mid-air and headed towards Rabbit. Without trying to avoid it, he spread his hands out and caught the axe head.

Crack!

His left hand couldn’t stand the impact of the flying axe and was shattered, but his right hand endured the damage and held the ax head tightly.

That alone was a shocking sight, but Rabbit didn’t stop there.

He twisted his body and put Lumberjack in a headlock with both his legs around Lumberjack’s neck, and just like that, he slammed his opponent into the ground using his weight and strength.

Thud-!

A sound never heard before exploded in the stadium.

“Ack! Wh-What!”

The opponent rider screamed in excruciating pain and confusion while his face turned pale.

This wasn’t simply the level of a good fighter.

Catching an axe head coming at you mid-air and then twisting the body around, getting a hold of the neck, and knocking out the opponent just like that?

A Gigant just did something that was difficult even for humans, so it was far beyond rational possibilities that anyone there could understand.

Yet Abel wasn’t going to be satisfied with just that.

Urgh-!

Lumberjack slowly managed to get up.

He was quite sturdy, very robust indeed. It was probably a costly purchase.

Abel once again got Rabbit to stand up, run straight towards Lumberjack, and gave a wild swing with his left hand to crush him.

Bang!

With one side of his head caved in, Lumberjack collapsed again, returning to his original position.

Of course, the left hand Rabbit swung so widely was destroyed too, but he was least concerned about it.

“Th-This crazy bastard!”

Seeing that, the opponent screamed loudly.

Abel spoke to his frightened opponent with a smile on his face.

“What do you mean crazy? I haven’t even started.”

He wasn’t simply bragging. It was more like a declaration of war.

Bang!

Rabbit kicked off the ground and began sprinting.

Not towards the collapsed Lumberjack but towards the bluish barrier around the arena.

“Oh oh oh , oh!”

[R-Rabbit. What is he doing!]

The spectators in that direction stood up in a frenzy, and even the veteran announcer fumbled over his words.

Abel strengthened his control over Rabbit with even more aggression as if he was telling someone, “look at me”.

Rabbit jumped high and smashed into the barrier that covered the seating area and the arena.

Whing-!

The shock-absorbent barrier shook violently, and Rabbit flew into the sky.

The steel giant floating in the air performed a somersault.

With that flashy body stunt, the Rabbit’s flying gigantic body was directed toward where Lumberjack had just stood.

And just like that, Rabbit landed with his knees hitting lumberjack’s chest.

Bang!

A sound of a different dimension, unlike anything heard before, reverberated, and just then, Abel also felt a dizzying shock.

A combat suit is not all-powerful.

It reduces shock, but injuries to the rider are inevitable with such aggressive movements.

Abel felt something warm flowing through his nose.

His hand resting on the core had turned pale white as if it were a ghost’s.

‘A little longer.’

However, Abel still felt something was lacking.

Abel forced Rabbit, who was being unyielding, to stand up.

Rabbit’s knee was about to lose sensation, and his whole body screamed from being worked to its limit.

If it were someone else, merely lifting a finger would have been nearly impossible, let alone lifting the gigantic body to a standing position.

Abel’s tenacity, determination, and extraordinary ability to synchronize with a Gigant was the only reason he could control a Gigant that had lost half the sensation of his body.

The more anyone knew about a Gigant, the more astonishing and absurd this sight would be for them.

‘Look closely.’

That’s why Abel was sure that if Scarlet was watching the match, she would recognize his true value, and he could finally go further.

‘What would it look like if I were to ride a real Gigant that’s not a midget?’

With that curiosity and excitement in his mind, this plan would be a success.

Arrgggh-!

The opponent rider tried his best to get Lumberjack standing at any cost. In the meantime, Abel moved Rabbit toward that guy’s back.

Thhhomp!

---

Infamous Scans

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With his already half-ruined arms, Rabbit firmly grabbed Lumberjack, who was still out of his senses and unsteady, by his waist.

Rattle!

The struggling Lumberjack slowly rose into the air. Rabbit’s whole body radiated a piercing, shrill mechanic sound that reverberated in the arena.

[Rabbit! Rabbit is holding and raising Lumberjack in the air.]

Whooong-!

Little by little, Lumberjack came up higher and higher.

[Ohohoh! What-What is he doi……!]

The whole situation was so absurd that even the announcer couldn’t describe it.

Baammm!

And from that same position, Rabbit squeezed out his last bit of strength to bend his body backward with his opponent’s waist held tight in his hands.

From the ground into the sky and then back onto the ground, a Gigant of approximately a few hundred kilograms started to fall.

The moment Lumberjack’s head hit the ground.

Thuumpp-!

Sccreeech-!

A deafening roar erupted.

Lumberjack’s head was distorted grotesquely, and his body got buried deep into the ground.

Uuurrrghh! Uuuaaaccckk!

A gut-wrenching scream arose from Lumberjack’s half-crushed cockpit.

But Abel didn’t cast a single glance in that direction.

Or, to be exact, he couldn’t.

“Hm, Huuh.”

Because Abel’s condition was no different.

After performing a German suplex, that too at the level of a pro-wrestler, with a half-destroyed Gigant, him being okay would be impossible.

He felt intense, excruciating pain in his head as if it was being split apart.

His muscles and joints shrieked with pain.

But Abel gritted his teeth and stood upright, acting as if he was unaffected.

The stunned audiences were in a daze and stared blankly at the arena. They should have prepared to cheer, but the announcer was also speechless.

The fallen Lumberjack.

The unfazed Rabbit on his two feet.

The winner was clear.

The announcer took a long time to be able to speak, and when he did, he shouted.

[Ra-Rabbit! The winner of this match is Rabbit!]

Finally, a shocking match that the audience had never seen in their lives before ended.

From the dead silent crowd, a booming roar burst out.

“Whoaaaaaa-!”

It was a childish, youthful cheer that Abel heard for the first time, even after playing countless matches.

Right after that, a message appeared.

[Progress Level 100%]

[Your name will be talked about in the Red Bear Underground Arena for a very long time!]

[Your fame has slightly increased!]

[You have completed the quest “Frog in the Well”.]

[A reward will be given to you!]

As soon as he finished reading the message, Able looked at one side of the arena.

At that place was the red-haired woman who was still standing there with an amusing smile.

When he confirmed that sight, Abel finally removed his hand from the core with a satisfied smile on his face.

»————- ★ ————-«

“What do you mean? How can you say you won’t play in another match?” The confused bald, middle-aged man asked Abel.

Abel replied while gently massaging his throbbing forehead.

“Rabbit is completely crushed. How can I play the match?”

“You played a match like that, of course, it’s smashed in…… We’ll lend you a Gigant, okay?”

“But this is a Gigant junkyard.”

“Oh? Th-Then we’ll get a new one for you! For a really cheap price! You can even pay for it in installments! You know what? You can just pay it all later, not a single penny upfront! I’m telling you, the audience’s response to this game was amazing!”

Abel didn’t waver because of the unusually generous offer of the bald middle-aged penny-pincher and shook his head.

“It’s okay. Just let it be.”

“Why?! Okay, then I’ll build it and lend it to you free of cost! All you have to do is return it after the match!”

The conditions got better and better as he went on.

Without the original goal in his mind, he would’ve accepted it, but he ignored without so much as listening to the offer.

The middle-aged man’s expression turned sour when Abel started ignoring him rather than straight out rejecting him.

He was a manager, and Abel was before him, a wanderer who didn’t even have a clear status.

And no matter how skilled or famous Abel was, this was an Underground fighting arena.

An Underground Arena where the government’s restrictive claws couldn’t reach.

“You…….”

The middle-aged man was about to say something with a stiff expression on his face when someone knocked on the door.

“Abel? Are you here?”

It was the voice of another manager.

“Yes, I’m here.”

Abel, who was responding to the middle-aged man’s words with silence till now, replied right away.

Seeing that, the bald man turned red with fury from head to toe.

But he didn’t get the chance to vent out his anger at Abel,

“A customer’s here.”

Because the door opened, and the manager entered the room along with a woman.

“Oh, Goof. So you’re here too. Let’s get out of here because she needs to have a chat with Abel, just the two of them.”

And just like that, the new manager dragged out the furious bald manager, who was completely red.

Thanks to him, Abel and the woman who came to meet him were the only people left in the room.

Fiery red hair and eyes that slightly slanted upwards.

Not to mention, a brooch with a shape that resembled an eagle.

She was the one Abel eagerly awaited, and it was none other than Scarlett.

With a steady gaze on Abel, Scarlett posed a question.

“So, you’re Abel?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I’m Scarlett.”

The moment he heard that name, his heartbeat got faster.

He was already half sure from her appearance and unique characteristics, but this was the first time he was certain.

The plan he had fixed over and over in his head for over a year finally started rolling in full swing.

[Joint Quest ‘The Best of the Bunch’ is in progress!]

A message popped up at a great time.

When he saw it, Abel controlled his excitement and responded calmly.

“I see.”

Scarlett asked Abel with an intrigued voice.

“Do you know who I am?”

She thought Abel didn’t react much because he didn’t know who she was.

Abel answered with a slight nod.

“Yeah.”

Scarlett. Abel played countless matches in this trashy arena for months to meet her.

He would be screaming with joy right now if he could do as he pleased.

It’s just that he was suppressing the urge to do that.

Abel’s composed response intrigued her even more, so much so that she had a slight smile on her face.

It was rare for someone to stay that confident despite knowing who she was, so it was understandable.

To tell the truth, Abel was a bit worried too about seeming arrogant as it might anger her.

But there was only one reason to stick to this attitude.

Because the Scarlett he knew wasn’t that sort of a person. On the contrary…

“You.”

She was someone who’d get even more amused.

“Do you have any plans to enroll in the Academy?”

Abel squashed the beaming smile about to burst onto his face and nodded yes.

Scarlett’s eyes met his eyes again, brimming with pure desire and thrill.

The first step of his plan was complete.

[To be continued.]