Academy’s Drunk Fighter

Drunken Fist is fundamentally one of those unique traits that, despite having passives, is ranked as B-class rather than A-class, which includes base passives.

The trait [Beloved by the World (S)] possesses a passive that grants an overwhelming advantage in all games and probabilities, and during combat, luck increases dramatically.
Moreover, the trait [Peerless Strategist (S)] bestows extremely high intelligence and strategic capabilities as a passive, overpowering other traits.
So, what passives does our Drunken Fist (B) have?

[Unconditional Retaliation to the First Attack]
[The chosen method of attack during this retaliation is solely the skill - Fajing]
It reacts unconditionally to the opponent's first attack and deals with it.

It's an ability perfectly suited to thwart assassinations.
Furthermore, the retaliation triggers unconditionally, even if the user themselves can't react, and the strength of the counter increases proportionally to the opponent's attack power.
It sounds very good so far.

However, there's a reason why this guy is just rated B.
[It reacts to fake motions as well.]
Simply put, it unleashes Fajing at full force even to attacks that aren't meant to be lethal.

It's obviously not suitable for various situations.
Moreover, it can too easily waste a one-time invulnerability that could block an attack, which is why this trait remains at B.
What happens next? Obviously, you're left defenseless.

And that situation just happened.
. . . .
Certainly, in the game, it was like an entity that never moved once, just decoration.

Was it the Red Giant or something?
So, I was digging, ignoring it, when suddenly that thing lifts its foot and strikes down towards me.
"Huh?"
Boom!!!

The unexpected threat reflexively made me use the counterattack.
Unintentionally uttering Fajing, an entity comparable to the size of a 10-story building suddenly sprung up into the air.
Whoosh!!!

And the giant's impact with the ground was enough to lift the body of the girl stuck to the earth.
"Woah!!"
Her body lifted from the ground once and then reconnected.

And she grabs her head with her hands as she gets up.
"Ah, so the game and reality are different, huh..."
Already nauseous from the alcohol, the shock made it feel like I was going to vomit right there.

"Bluuugh...urk."
Suddenly feeling the rise of bile, the nausea, I vomit into the hole I had been digging, and that seemed to help.
Thud...

The dust clouds still rising around me only show the remaining time hanging in the sky.
[8:32]
"What, there's still so much time left?"

[8:31]
"Huh."
[8:30]

I thought there was still time left, but instead, the time was decreasing by the second, quickly cooling my head.
"Just a minute..."
It was a relief for me, already drunk and without any sense of time, but the harsh reality was that there were only about 8 minutes left.

Damn, if I hadn't been drunk, I would have been looking for summons by now!
And now, the time hanging in the sky is just 7 minutes.
That’s barely enough time to rip open a frozen meal and throw it into the microwave to eat.

"Ugh..."
Slowly thinking again, my head hurts, so I drink again.
Probably the damned Drunkard trait kicking in.

Even though I've been diluting weak alcohol to make it last longer, as soon as the buzz fades, a headache rushes in, so I can't stop drinking.
"Ah~ I don't know anymore."
The Red Giant might not be moving now, but that doesn't mean I can knock it down, as Drunken Fist is for humans.

Drunken Fist is a martial art meant for dealing with humanoid foes, not a 30-meter giant.
So, I just sit and keep drinking.
"Pffft..."

Even if the giant attacks again, having already used my counter once, I can't respond.
I just lie down, expecting the examiners to handle it.
"They wouldn’t actually kill me, right?"

Even if they look down on ordinary people, they wouldn't go that far.
...Probably?
But expectations are always there to be broken.

The giant gets up again and looks down at me from its great height.
"Eh?"
Sensing something wrong, I throw my body to the side as quickly as I can.

Screeeeeech!!!
The earth splits under the force of the fist that strikes down.
The stage crumbles, and the shield in the sky breaks.

"What the what!!!"
Even if the Red Giant is a summon of an academy professor to be used in the latter half, why would it attack me with full force?
Boom!!!

But the giant doesn't give me time to think and continues its assault.
I can dodge, but I definitely can't counter.
If I mess up, I'll definitely break a bone!

Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Uh..."
While continuing to dodge, I realize that these attacks are seriously monotonous.

"I would have been flattened like dried fish if it had just smashed me earlier~"
It's as if it's expecting something from me.
Ratatat!

Proving that, I go into the woods and hide my presence.
Then the attack stops.
It's not attacking indiscriminately, but as if it must deliberately miss.

"Um, um. So that's it!"
Realizing this, my mind quickly works even through the alcohol haze.
And one conclusion I reach.

The professors above expect me to show the same kind of counter as before.
Given the target, it's no wonder the power of the counterattack has grown so tremendously.
"Then..."

[5:11]
Checking the time hanging in the sky, I calculate.
"Yep! It'll work!"

 
****
"Was it just a coincidence?" "That was too precise to be called a coincidence, no... it was a counterattack."

A previously subdued heat and curiosity among the professors began to simmer like lava.
An attack that could blow away the Red Giant in one hit? The professors themselves could manage that.
It definitely wasn't beyond their capabilities.

But they were veterans who had spent decades in this field of combat, masters of situational response.
In contrast, the student out there had just been thrown into a combat situation.
And to deliver an attack of such destructive power that it temporarily neutralized even the Red Giant, with an unidentifiable technique?

And to ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) do it all while seated, without even properly assuming a stance?
That was... something even they would hesitate to claim they could easily do.
"Hey, Eileen, did you see that?" "No... I didn't."

What further captivated the professors was that the girl's attack was completely invisible to the eye.
That alone was the reason the professors were testing the girl.
Hoping, just hoping, she would show that same technique just once more.

[The participant has disappeared from sight! Hidden in the forest!]
At that moment, the girl had hidden herself in the forest.
Even then, her face was still flushed, inebriated.

"Um... what to do. We can't pinpoint her exact location now."
Until now, because they had intentionally missed their attacks, the girl had been able to dodge, but now that she had disappeared from sight, it was a different situation.
"Should we strike anywhere?" "No, we can't, no matter how impressive the previous attack was, you never know."

A blind strike could result in a life being lost in the arena.
No matter how curious and excited they were, they weren't the scum of humanity to gamble someone else's life for their own desires.
[Where did she go!!]

As time continued to flow, with only a minute left in the sky.
[Oh! The participant has reemerged!!]
Just one minute.

It might not seem like much, but a minute on the battlefield could mean life or death.
"She wouldn't have come out without a reason, right?" "It doesn't seem so."
All the lights and cameras in the stage were now focused on the girl.

Everyone in the stadium was anticipating what would happen next.
"Hopefully, she's prepared something."
 

****
It was an experiment.
You know how it is, suddenly while walking down the street, a strange hypothesis pops into your head, or you start wondering about various paradoxes.

...Or maybe not.
Maybe it was just me being weird, but I liked to think.
This time was no different.

The counterattack of Drunken Fist doesn’t cool down until Drunken Fist ends.
And now, my Drunken Fist is being forcibly maintained by the curse of the Alcoholic.
So, what if the intoxication ends and the Alcoholic trait finishes?

"The cooldown for the counterattack could reset."
The Drunken Fist turns off as I sober up.
"Ugh."

And the headache that comes rushing in, but that's not enough.
I definitely need to sober up completely.
[Mental strength decreases]

My head hurts.
[Mental strength decreases]
I want to give up.

[Mental strength decreases]
Ah, why am I doing this?
[Mental strength decreases]

I want to lie in bed, mock my miserable life and cry.
Why am I here, pathetically, just drinking?
[Mental strength decreases] [Mental strength decreases] [Mental strength decreases]

[Current Intoxication: 0%] [Drunken Fist is deactivated]
"Gulp! Gulp!"
However, the moment I felt completely sober, I immediately drank again.

"Phew—That was close."
[Current Intoxication: 1%] [Curse, Alcoholic and trait, Drunken Fist synergy activated] [Drunken Fist is constantly activated]
Indeed, the curse was not just a curse.

Even though it was only for a moment, it had driven me to thoughts of suicide.
But there's no time to think about this.
Only 1 minute left.

Only the future me will know what happens next.
Step by step.
So, I silently came out of the woods and moved forward.

What appeared was like the massive body of a giant castle.
As the giant’s eyes met mine and its hands slowly lifted and then struck down, I took my stance and steadied my breath and quietly said,
"Fajing."

... ... ... ... ...
All I could hear was a loud tinnitus.
Eeeeeeeeeee-----------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Wowwwww!!"
I felt the overwhelming air pressure surrounding me and lost consciousness.
Boom!!

"Ouch!"
But more than the air pressure, it seemed the liquor bottle I had hit my head with had the biggest impact.