Unfortunately the whip didn't connect, Rose wasn't going to let it hit her and she dodged in a hurry. On the other side Henry wasn't really proficient at using the whip, he had never used one so he used it "by instinct", he just slashed around hoping it would hit.
During his school days when Henry didn't have his own equipments would always train using the school's daggers and sword, now these two weapons were his specialty but since he hadn't unlocked a sword in the shop yet he just decided to rely completely on daggers but when he saw Rose fighting he knew that although the effects of his dagger were insane, if he couldn't hit he just had to use a weapon with a longer range.
He had hesitated between a spear and the whip, most people would have taken the spear because although very different from a sword it was definitely easier to use than a whip with no training, the reason why he chose the whip was because of it's implemented skill, it's destructive power could also be used as a pressure tool if he wasn't able to hit the opponent !
While Henry was clumsily whipping around trying to land a hit on Rose while destructing the stage with an explosion each time the whip touched the floor, Rose was dodging as if every single one of Henry's attacks was in slow motion.
BOOM!
A powerful arrow connected with Henry's stomach and sent him flying a few meters ! He landed on his back, even though he was wearing an armor the powerful hit still made him almost throw up ! It was the first time he had felt such pain while wearing his armor.
Before Henry even stood up a second arrow came flying towards his head.
"Fuck you !"
He couldn't help you but curse at Rose who wasn't giving him even a second of rest, he changed his armor to the third form with a though and lifted both his arms to protect his head.
BOOM!
His arms once again were sent flying and collided with his helmet, although there was no bloody nose this time he felt dizzy because of the impact.
'I'll lose if I don't take the initiative, it's time to use that thing. If it doesn't work then I'll accept my loss.'
Henry stood up after dodging a third arrow and switching back to the second form of the armor, he then went on all fours, his palms against the ground and every muscle of his body tense. He gritted his teeth and
BOOOOOOOM!
In a split second he was a few centimeters away from Rose and kept going !
'Shit I forgot about this !'
Both he and Rose flew out of the arena after the impact and landed outside the ring, Henry lying down on top and Rose looking at him weirdly.
"Uhm... Sorry."
Henry stood up and looked back, the ring was at least 20 meters away ! The crowd also didn't know how to react to what had just happened.
"Winner : Henry from planet Buton !"
"WAIT WAIT REFEREE ! They are both outside of the ring !"
The referee looked at Henry and Rose lying down and the director of Rose's school who had yelled also looked in that direction.
"Rose touched the ground first."
Finally the referee said.
"Congratulations."
Said Rose, she didn't seem disappointed in the least and just smiled to him like she usually did.
"What was that last explosion?"
"A grenade..."
"Eh ?!"
"I thought I'd need something surprising to win so I readied a propulsive grenade before the fight."
"Hahahaha ! I can't tell if you're stupid or reckless."
Henry was surprised that she took the defeat so calmly, she was about to win after all but he stole the victory from her.
"Alright next fight Rick form the Capitole against Drew from Escuri !"
The referee didn't lose time and called for the two semi finalists to fight for the third place but another referee came running over and whispered to him something.
"Rick is still unconscious because of his injuries, since we can't report the fight Drew is the number three by forfeit !"
/
/
/
"You really didn't hold back against that Rick."
While the podium was being readied Henry and Rose were sitting next to each other.
"I was in a hurry to win."
"By the way did you win with the psychic attack focused on you ?"
Henry was expecting this question, as he couldn't talk about the potion since it was such a rare item that even he had very rarely heard about it ! Psychic type native skills were so rare that very few peoples were interested in stuff that concerned them so this kind of potion was a rarity everywhere.
Henry had a passion for smithing that he couldn't give up but these kind of potions might very well be way more lucrative than any armor or weapon he could make now !
"I think he might have over used it, it became weaker during the fight."
He wasn't sure if these kinds of native skills required stamina but he couldn't think of anything else, Rose had also experienced it so she must know that it wasn't something you could counter with will alone.
"I see..."
After a short while the podium was set and Mr. Herman, the Academy's dean who had started the tournament came up on stage again to give the rewards.
"Although you lost today it doesn't mean that you're any worse than the winners, I believe talent isn't a thing we're born with but something we develop through time and hardships. You youngsters probably don't know him but the 86th WUC winner was called a "loser" all his life, with enough motivation he finally bloomed at 26 years old and won the WUC at 28 years old. I hope you can keep your eyes set on your dreams and never give up !"
After a short speech the dean was handed a bronze medal that he hung on Drew from Escuri's neck, next was Rose and finally Henry got the gold medal.
"I also hope our winners won't become arrogant and still work as hard as the rest, to rest on your laurels would be the worst mistake you can make.
That's it for me, I hope everyone is having a wonderful day."
Rose left to regroup with her group and Henry did the same, the group was in a turmoil. Everybody was so happy that they decided to hold a party at their hotel that night.
'Now that I made it into the Academy I need a new workshop, it's time to make money and level up the system.'