Seeing Jordan getting ready to fight, Marco quickly added, "You won't be fighting me, of course. You'll be fighting Sebastian right here."
To an outsider, it might've sounded like Marco was avoiding a fight, but Jordan knew with clarity that he'd stand no chance against Marco in a serious fight. His instincts had warned him.
Sebastian stepped forward and began speaking. "Before we get into Spike combat, I'll give an explanation about our abilities and our place in the world."
Jordan only responded with a nod. Satisfied with the answer, Sebastian continued.
"All natural-born Spikes start their lives just like normal humans. However, when facing severe trauma, they tend to awaken the power hidden within their genes. In your case, the loss of your parents. This special strand of DNA is called the Primarch Gene. How it came to be, however, is currently unknown. All we know is that it causes a qualitative leap in our bodies and that it's hereditary."
This caught Jordan's attention. "You mean my parents were Spikes?" he questioned.
Instead of Sebastian, Marco stepped up and replied, "The answer to that is both yes and no. Yes, they had the potential to be Spikes, but no, because they hadn't awakened at the time of the crash. I think that's enough explaining—get to the fun part, Seb."
To this, Sebastian only gave a tired sigh before addressing Jordan.
"Before we start, I'll tell you about how we train our bodies to the optimal conditions suited for brutal combat. Most Spikes prefer unarmed melee combat because most metals can't handle our strength or get past our defenses. Though rarely, some use weapons made of Mythril. There are only ten such weapons in existence, and most are made from mixing in other metals into a tiny amount of Mythril. The gear in the gym Trevor took you to is made from the same alloy, though the amount of Mythril mixed into them is only about 1%."
Sebastian waited for a bit before continuing.
"We have the same gear here, so you won't have to go there anymore. Now, let's get into combat training, shall we?"
Finally. Jordan was barely keeping his eyes open during Sebastian's prolonged explanation. Now, he'd be able to see how Spikes fought at last.
Sebastian led Jordan inside a boxing ring.
"Jordan, I need you to give me your hardest punch," Sebastian said as he patted his chest.
Jordan nodded before leaping in to deliver the punch. It connected—Jordan could feel the hit landing perfectly on Sebastian. But the result was not what he was expecting.
Sebastian just stood there. He hadn't moved an inch. Seeing the disbelief on Jordan's face, Sebastian gave a brief smile before he spoke.
"You are strong, Jordan. I'll give you that. But you can't hit anyone with your full power, can you?"
Jordan stared at him for a bit before he nodded. He hadn't fought anyone seriously since his first fight with Trevor. When they first fought, despite being similar in strength at first, Jordan had grown stronger as they fought on. And for a brief moment, he'd lost control of his strength. One of his punches had crushed two of Trevor's ribs, ending the fight. Back then, he'd been worried about Trevor being hospitalized and himself being held accountable—only for Trevor to return the next day looking brand new.
Ever since that first fight, Jordan had always unconsciously held back when fighting others, afraid they might break under his strength.
"Heh. Don't worry, young man. When I'm done with you, you won't have a chance to hold back."
Sebastian gave a kind smile as he finished. Though to Jordan, it looked like the devil's grin.
And thus began the long-awaited event—Jordan's beatdown.
Two hours later, Jordan was lying with his face planted on the ring. He'd been punched, kicked, body-slammed, and thrown like a ragdoll around the ring. It was important to note that this ring was larger than normal—at least by three times.
And worst of all, from time to time, Marco would throw popcorn he got from God knows where and yell, "Get up, champ!" as if he were Jordan's manager or something.
Only Trevor looked a bit worried. God bless his kind heart. Though it didn't stop him from reaching out to grab some of Marco's popcorn.
'Why me? Damn it, why me,' Jordan thought to himself before the devil—yes, the devil—yeeted him away once more.
Jordan struggled to get back on his feet, only his anger and adrenaline driving him forward. Thank God there were no women around. Otherwise, he'd have to live out the rest of his life in shame. His pride as a man was crushed by that monster.
After two hours, Jordan hadn't been able to land a single hit on him after the first one.
Though even if he had landed a punch, it wouldn't have mattered. The man was built like a tank—a fast one at that.
Seeing Jordan's desperate attempt to stay standing, Sebastian felt satisfied. Despite usually being compassionate, recent events were taking their toll on his mind. And at the perfect moment, Jordan, the unbreakable punching bag, had arrived.
Had Jordan heard his thoughts, he would've regretted ever abusing his regenerative powers to skip school.
It seemed as if even the heavens were against him. The regeneration he'd been once proud of only served to prolong his suffering.
"Damn it, how much longer do we have to fight?!" Jordan finally snapped. The beating was just too much for him. In these two hours, he'd suffered more pain than being burnt alive. His bones were crushed, only to be healed within seconds.
Truly, his regenerative powers were a curse.
"You call that a fight, Jordi?" Marco yelled from the sidelines.
Yes, Jordi. This was Marco's new pet name for Jordan. At least before, despite being insufferable, Marco had been somewhat respectful toward him. But now, he was reduced to a mere Jordi.
Using all his willpower, Jordan ignored Marco and looked at Sebastian, hoping for his suffering to end.
After a brief moment of silence, he finally answered. Though the reluctance in his voice was evident.
"We can stop now, Jordan. You've proven yourself already, and with a few more years of training, you might even surpass me."
Despite his annoyance, there was nothing he could do except nod in response, keeping his thoughts to himself.
'I'll get stronger. At least then, I won't get beaten up asbadly.'
Stepping out of the ring, Jordan stared at Marco's grinning face before he asked,
"Did you confirm whatever you were trying to check?"
Sensing the entire group's attention on him, Marco's grin widened.
"Yep. All done. Good job, Jordan. You've done well."
If not for his earlier actions, Jordan would've actually thought that this was all for his sake—now, he wasn't so sure. But he could only nod in response, just like he'd done with Sebastian.
This encounter had greatly affected Jordan's personality. Now he didn't even bother thinking about how he'd get back at them.
He only wanted the suffering to end.
'It can't get any worse, right?' he questioned himself as Marco led the group elsewhere.