My Scumbag System Chapter 458: A Simple Piece of Advice: Cheat

We formed a line.

Seventeen figures, along with Carmen who was already sipping from her flask beside the weight rack.

Braxton’s gaze swept over us all.

It lingered on the cat perched right beside me.

"Nakano. Why’s there a cat in my gym."

"Emotional support animal."

"This is a combat training facility, not a therapy session."

"She helps me focus."

"She?"

"The cat. Maki."

Maki let out a meow.

A loud one.

Carmen snorted into her flask.

Braxton pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Fine. Whatever. But if your emotional support cat pisses on my equipment, you’re cleaning it with your tongue."

"Noted."

He strode to the room’s center.

Clapped his hands once.

"Today we’re running scenarios. Three-person teams. Randomized. You’ll face a tactical situation and have sixty seconds to solve it without dying. Failures get remedial cardio until they puke."

Groans rippled across the gym.

"First team: Kuzmina, Cabana, Nakano."

Hold on.

"Cabana?"

The door swung open once more.

Reyna stepped inside.

Her crimson hair pulled into a high ponytail, green eyes scanning the room as if hunting prey.

She sported the Scarlet Phantoms’ colors.

Red and black.

Clinging tight enough to turn every curve into a deadly asset.

"Hope I’m not late, Professor."

"Right on time." Braxton grinned. "Joint training. Your Professor Takamura thought it would be educational."

Reyna’s eyes locked onto mine.

Held steady.

"Educational. Sure."

The room’s temperature plunged roughly ten degrees.

Natalia’s frost crept across the floor in delicate spirals.

"This should be fun," Akari whispered to Skylar.

Skylar simply tugged her hood up and slumped against the wall.

Braxton fired up the holographic projector.

A three-dimensional scenario sprang to life in the gym’s center.

It depicted a tight corridor.

Swarming with hostiles.

A countdown timer ticking away.

"You have sixty seconds to clear the corridor and hit the extraction point. Go."

The simulation kicked in.

The gym vanished.

Stone walls, flickering lights, and a musty mildew stench took over.

Enemies popped into existence ahead.

Basic constructs.

Six in total.

Clogging the way forward.

I glanced left at Natalia.

Then right at Reyna.

"Any plans, Stray Dog?"

"Yeah. Don’t die."

"Inspiring."

"I try."

The timer began its count.

Fifty-nine seconds.

The constructs rushed us.

Reyna struck first, electricity sparking in her palms as she called forth twin marionettes to block the initial two foes.

Natalia hoisted three others via telekinesis, smashing them into the ceiling with stone-cracking force.

One remained.

Barreling right toward me.

I swung hard.

Spatial Cleave sliced clean through its torso.

The construct crumpled into two halves.

"Forty-two seconds," Braxton’s voice boomed from all directions.

We advanced.

Fresh constructs spawned.

These quicker.

More cunning.

Reyna’s marionettes hemmed them in as Natalia shaped a killbox from hovering rubble.

I took them down individually, bat pulverizing skulls and shattering cores.

It was brutally effective.

"Twenty seconds."

The extraction point glowed into view ahead.

A shimmering door.

Yet another wave erupted.

Ten constructs now.

"We’re not making it," Reyna warned.

"Watch me."

I barreled through the center.

Shade Cloak engaged.

Transformed me into shadow for a vital second.

Phased past the front three enemies.

Rematerialized in their rear.

Natalia iced the ground under their feet.

Reyna’s lightning scorched them in place.

We slammed through the door with two seconds left.

The simulation faded away.

Back in the gym we stood.

Heaving breaths.

Covered in sweat.

But victorious.

Braxton gave a single nod.

"Adequate."

The ultimate compliment.

"Next team."

As others shuffled into place, Reyna pivoted toward me.

"You’re faster than you look."

"Thanks?"

"Wasn’t a compliment." She closed in. Voice dropped low. "But you held back. I felt it."

"No idea what you’re talking about."

"Liar."

"So I’ve been told."

Her smile flashed.

Sharp and lethal.

"Three days, Nakano. I’m going to uncover exactly what you’re hiding."

"Looking forward to it."

She turned and departed.

Natalia appeared at my side in an instant.

"She’s right. You did hold back."

"Had to. Can’t reveal everything in practice."

"Smart." Her hand slipped into mine. Squeezed gently. "But risky. She’s dissecting you."

"Let her dissect."

"You’re confident."

"I’m terrified. There’s a difference."

She laughed softly.

Real and warm.

"Good. Fear keeps you alive."

Training dragged on for another two hours.

Scenario after grueling scenario.

Varying team setups.

Diverse objectives.

When Braxton finally ended it, exhaustion gripped everyone.

Even Jaime, typically his loud and energetic self throughout the afternoon, had gone utterly quiet. No more showing off muscles. No striking poses. No booming boasts about his warrior's resolve. He simply stood frozen, his green eyes fixed intently on me with an expression disturbingly akin to pity.

That was the clear indicator that things were truly dire.

"Dismissed," Braxton growled, his rough voice reverberating across the gym. "Go stuff your faces. Get some sleep. Tomorrow morning, we’re running the Crucible at 0600 sharp, and I expect all of you conscious enough to stand."

Celeste, who had stayed silent near the wall, tilted her head in her usual heart-wrenchingly pure manner. "The Crucible? I don’t think I’ve seen that on any of the facility maps we reviewed..."

Braxton flashed a ferocious grin.

"It’s the open-air colosseum perched directly atop the volcanic crater. Prime real estate. Best view on campus. Also happens to be where your boyfriend over there"—he jerked his thumb straight at me—"is going to throw down with La Sirena herself in front of every single student, instructor, and administrator this gods-forsaken Academy has to offer."

Celeste’s fair skin instantly turned a soft pink, the flush spreading from her cheeks to her neck. "He’s not my—"

"Sure, princess." Braxton brushed her off with a casual wave. "Tell yourself whatever bedtime story helps you drift off to dreamland."

Celeste parted her lips, then snapped them shut, torn between outrage and the fear of challenging an S-Rank Hunter directly. She opted to fold her arms and avert her gaze, which only deepened the blush.

I barely had time to absorb that awkward exchange.

Reyna, predictably, had already slipped away.

The instant Braxton uttered "dismissed," she dissolved into thin air. No flashy departure. No final taunt. One moment by the equipment racks, the next—vanished. Professional. Efficient. A hunter retreating to her lair to gear up for the hunt.

In its own twisted way, it unnerved more than lingering to crow.

As I crossed half the training floor toward the main stairwell leading back to ground level, a firm grip seized my forearm with unexpected force.

"A word, kiddo."

I spun around.

Carmen.

Her lone green eye bored into mine with that chilling, hunter-like intensity often linked to those about to either embrace or eviscerate you. Considering her history, it was a real coin toss.

"Now?" I questioned, eyeing the exit where Class 1-E trudged out in weary groups.

"Right now."

Her tone left zero wiggle room.

Without awaiting my nod, she tugged me to the gym's remote corner, beyond the bustle and into the gloom cast by piled sparring gear. Once beyond hearing range, she let go and pivoted to confront me squarely, her face gravely intent.

"You get that you can’t beat her, right? Not in a fair fight."

I blinked.

"Wow. Thanks for the ringing endorsement, Carmen. Feeling the love."

"I’m serious, Satori." Her tone stayed hushed and incisive, slicing past my quip like a blade through fine fabric. "Reyna Cabana’s trained for this since age five. Elite coaches. Exclusive gyms costing more monthly than most Hunters earn yearly. And her Aspect counters close-combat fighters like you perfectly. She dominates from afar and roasts you before you close the gap."

"So, what’s your advice, then?"

Carmen’s lips twisted into a sly, razor-edged smirk.

"Easy. Don’t fight her."

I gaped at her.

"I can’t just quit now. I committed in front of half the Academy staff."

"Then don’t fight," she emphasized, voice sinking further. "Cheat."

I had to stop and confirm I heard right.

"What?"

Carmen’s grin turned perilous.

"You’re loaded with dirty tricks—deploy them. Play straight against Reyna Cabana, and you’ll land in the med bay."

"Or the morgue."

"Or the morgue."

She freed my arm.

Took a deep swig from her flask.

"Three days, kid. Make ’em count."