CHAPTER 51: DISCIPLE CULTIVATION SYSTEM CH51 SIGHTLESS.

"No... cake for you!"

Sitting on a mat in a gym where an unlikely ally had patched his face up, Art grumbled while chomping down a slice of chocolate cake.

The one he was addressing was Valaria, who was also having her bruises tended to by a pink-haired elf.

"Thanks again, Ellie."

Ignoring him, Val expressed her gratitude to the elf, who—using a contracted spirit—began mending her cuts and soothing her bruises.

"It’s alright," Ellie smiled, glancing at Cheshire, who was gently cleaning Art’s wounded face with a damp cloth.

Cheshire, to Ellie’s surprise, had a background in using a med kit and had been the first to rush to Art after he suffered a beatdown at Valaria’s hands.

For a moment, Ellie even wondered if Cheshire was sane. After all, she should have been the one enjoying the show the most, especially after what Art had done to her. But watching how gently she tended to him, the pink-haired elf concluded that yes, Cheshire was indeed insane.

Her personality seemed to have done a complete 180-degree turn. Instead of treating her once-despised teacher with contempt, she now tended to him like a wounded child.

"Does it hurt?"

Every time she ran the damp cloth over his face, she paused, her eyes gentle as she tried to comfort him.

Art would gaze at her in confusion before throwing Ellie a glance.

The elf would shrug, and the same scene would repeat.

"Teach, I’m all done."

Having finished wiping the blood away, Cheshire gave him a rather strange smile, unsure what to do next.

"Hey, I’m grateful for your sudden kindness, but aren’t we supposed to be... y’know, enemies? You hate me, don’t you?"

"Precisely!" Ellie chimed in while Valaria chose not to intervene in the conversation.

Cheshire calmly accepted his question, letting out a sigh before flashing a teasing smile.

"Of course I hate you." She didn’t deny it.

She held a grudge against Art, and until she got her payback, she would continue to hate him. And yet, now that she had witnessed a side of him she hadn’t known before, she found herself conflicted.

She had spent so long playing second fiddle to others that it had wounded her self-esteem, damaging both her confidence and courage.

She no longer had the will to try or learn—only performing the bare minimum while hiding behind a smile. But not anymore.

She would never be the strongest nor the most perfect, and she knew that now.

But she wouldn’t be a sore loser either.

At the very least, she didn’t want to cry again, so...

"...I’ll learn to compromise."

Without another word, she wrung out the damp cloth and exchanged places with Ellie so she could heal Art’s wounds.

Watching her antics, Art gave a proud smile, glad his involvement had altered some events for the better.

A prompt followed shortly after.

[Disciple: Cheshire]

[Emotional Meter: Interest Lvl 2]

[Skill: Med Kit Learnt]

On that day, Art didn’t just leave with a new student—he also gained a skill that increased his survival points by one.

---

"Thanks again, Ellie and Cheshire."

After their wounds had been treated, Cheshire and Ellie—preparing for the long day ahead—chose to retire to their dorms.

Art and Val saw them off with faces full of gratitude. Once they had disappeared, the former gazed at the bright sunset above.

For the next part of the training, Art wanted fewer eyes around since he intended it to be a surprise for Trish. So, he took Val to the rooftop of the gym for the true lesson of the day.

"Sightless. That’s what it’s called."

Helping her adjust the blindfold he had bought, he remarked, only for Val to respond sarcastically,

"Like being blind will help me survive a battle royale."

"Usually, it wouldn’t, but this time is an exception."

Once he was sure the blindfold was properly secured, he grabbed his wooden sword and pointed it at Val once more.

"Now, we’re going to play a game of trust."

"Trust?" Val gulped—the one thing she couldn’t offer Art was what he was demanding.

"Not me, of course."

"Phew!"

"Why are you relieved?"

Actually hurt by her reaction, he snapped and flicked her forehead.

"Ow!"

A grunt escaped her lips as she clutched the spot in pain.

"You old man, why do you like abusing me so much?"

"Tch... like I was saying, we’re going to play a game of trust."

"Don’t you ignore me!"

"I’ll strike with my sword and inform you of the positioning and target of my attack. Using this info, you’ll respond either by dodging or parrying my blow with the baton I gave you."

"Understood!"

"Hey, quit—"

"A diagonal cut at your midsection."

The moment he spoke, Val—acting on reflex—moved the batons to guard herself, but—

"Altered into a piercing strike aimed at your head."

She immediately tilted her head in panic. Just as she did, a sharp concentration of wind zipped past her, frightening her—had she not moved, the attack would have pierced her skull.

"Let’s start over again."

Art stepped back patiently.

Val was worn out, and even standing was becoming difficult for her. But this was the only way she could stand a chance against Trish in a fight.

He wasn’t teaching her how to fight—that had already been done.

What he was doing now was upgrading her dodging skills.

Without Aura, Valeria simply couldn’t defeat Trish with spearwork alone. She might know the weakness of [Snowdance], but it wouldn’t matter if she was killed before she could exploit it.

Unlike him, Trish wasn’t one to play around with serious opponents. And she wasn’t honorable enough to avoid using Aura just because Val couldn’t.

Trish wasn’t a knight like those cadets of Excalibur Institute.

She had been trained to win—not to win honorably.

To her, she would crush Valaria with everything she had. It didn’t matter if Val was as strong as a dragon or as weak as a mosquito.

This rivalry wasn’t about pride—it was about proving who was better.

And unfortunately for Val, she was outclassed.

No Aura, and her spearwork being easily countered by Trish, already put her at a severe disadvantage. So, she needed to even the playing field somehow.

"Vertical cut—forward position."

Valaria leaped back just as Art’s crescent slash whipped past her face and struck the ground.

"Pursuit—going for a stab at the neck area."

Following his warning, Val sidestepped his attack.

"Counter!" Art barked, causing Val to swing her batons amateurishly at his outstretched sword.

The clash sent them both flying back, with Val suffering the worst of the impact as she lost balance, dropping to one knee and nearly tumbling to the ground.

"Above you—slash aimed at your head."

Val rolled to the side, and Art pursued.

"In pursuit—incoming stab aimed at your back."

Heeding his words, Val tried to swing her batons to intercept the attack, but she missed no...her attack meet nothing while an unseen blow crushed her knee joint.

She screamed, rolling on the ground and clutching her knee in agony.

Art watched her struggle, resting the wooden sword on his shoulder before speaking.

"I never said ’trust me.’"

"B-but..."

"I did say I’d inform you about the positioning and target of my strikes, but before that, I said ’trust... not me.’ You even sighed in relief back then, so this one’s on you."

"You’re so cruel."

Pushing the blindfold up, Val sneaked a resentful glance at Art.

He was right.

He had clearly told her to trust—but not him—before stating that he would disclose the location of his attacks.

A deliberate misdirection—one she had fallen for.

She had to admit, her teacher knew how to play with words. He could twist a humorous conversation into an misdirection without revealing his intentions, and that was terrifying.

Doubt crept into her soul.

If she couldn’t trust Art—since his words had been a clear misdirection—how else was she supposed to dodge his attacks while blindfolded?

"Teach... what do you expect me to do?" She groaned, regretting ever coming to him for help.

"Trust." He smirked, crouching to meet her gaze before flicking her forehead again.

She groaned, clenching her fists but restraining herself. She didn’t want a repeat of what had happened an hour ago on this rooftop.

For some reason, the thought of testing Art’s patience scared her. She didn’t want to anger him just to satisfy her petty vengeance.

"Teach..."

Exhausted, she slumped to the ground, a pleading look on her worn-out face.

She was so tired that even thinking made her dizzy. But she needed this training to survive the rank games the next day.

She couldn’t give up—but she also couldn’t continue. Her mind was a mess, her body arching in pain while her joints were all sores.

Art, recognizing her exhaustion, sighed and gave her the answer.

"Trust your senses. All of them—except your eyes."

With that, he pulled the blindfold back over Val’s eyes and prepared for round three.