Sticking with the Night Blade, John thought of using the sword's special attack 'Adamant Slash' that allows for slicing through anything and everything; even diamond (or shadows), but for a limited time only. By imbuing the sword with energy, it automatically activates the ability without even an activation command.
While holding the handle tightly, John closed his eyes for a moment and channeled his energy to the katana. The dark blade began glowing in blue and emitting electric bolts.
Opening his eyes quickly, he gave Kane a smirk.
Kane was frowning on the other hand, "So that's what you're thinking, eh?" he said, knowing what he was planning to do. He immediately dashed back a few meters, before halting at a safe distance.
He plunged his katana into the ground, "Dark Stalker, unleash the darkness within!" he called out.
In response, the sword gathered shadows on the ground and dispersed them into slithering lines in every direction, running straight to John.
John quickly lifted his sword and sliced the dirt multiple times. The shadow snakes dissipated with every slash.
He rushed back, evading them as much as possible, and they advanced with every step he made.
Slashing the ground times and times again didn't seem to stop them from coming.
"Heh. Now you can't attack me. I wonder for how long you're gonna evade them," shouted Kane.
"Oh, I'm coming for you, bastard!" John shouted back.
"You can't. Soon you'll be surrounded by my shadows and you won't be able to do a thing. Just give up already and save us some time,"
"Once I get rid of them I'm coming, you hear me?"
John continued cutting through the ground aimlessly. He was nearly exhausted and the shadows kept coming. The special attack was about to wear out.
I should simply attack him straight away. I can't waste any more time and energy on these creatures. Thought John.
He swiftly bolted straight forward, towards Kane, dodging the shadows with complete—mind and body—acceleration.
As sparks surrounded his body, he flowed freely in between the shadows, his focus boosted by mental acceleration. He appeared and reappeared, hardly to be seen.
Focusing on spirit-shifting instead of weaponry was a great strategy for this type of attack. He put the remainder of his energy towards agility rather than strength.
John clearly had the advantage now with faster speed than those shadow snakes...But perhaps not Kane.
None of the shadows were able to catch him, which aggravated Kane.
Grinding his teeth in anger, Kane released his sword's handle and stepped back a few feet. He was overwhelmed, but not yet giving up.
The instant John materialized on his face, he accelerated and gave him a knee kick to the gut.
Kane was more agile as he clearly had higher energy capacity and output than John, due to his power level, which exceeded John's. Both used buffs, which also meant that he would still be more powerful—probably his power level was boosted upto 4.4.
"Gah!" uttered John in an enervated voice, his eyes wide open and shrinking, and spit gushing out of his mouth.
He quickly released his katana, dropped and wobbled along with it, holding his stomach in pain.
Kane decelerated and continued kicking his gut a couple more times. Then the shadows came and wrapped around his body up till his neck, strangling him. John was toiling and clenching his teeth in resistance. The Night Blade, which lied near him, gleamed in blue before dematerializing.
"So! You're gonna give up or what?" Kane grinned at his state, curving his fingers slowly.
Blinking from agony and gasping for breath, he replied in struggle, "I-I…,"
"Yeah?"
The tightening at his neck went slower and began reversing.
"I give up," he said as quietly as he could.
"Louder, I can't hear you,"
"I said I do!" he shouted.
Kane opened his palm, signaling the shadows to release him. They did so, spiraling back and being absorbed by the sword.
"You heard him, sir?" said Kane.
"Kane is the winner of this round!" announced Mr. Lee.
The Dark Stalker glowed and disappeared the moment Kane grabbed the handle and took it out.
Kane walked to the stadium stand, while John tried standing with struggle. He soon followed him back, holding his abdomen and staggering a little.
How could I fail him a second time? I thought those energy buffs worked. Should've chosen an Epic or even a Legendary weapon instead. John thought and sighed in regret, realizing that he made a big mistake by choosing a weak Kronix like the Night Blade, but of course it was too late.
Kane's rank shot up from 15th to 9th, while John dropped from his 26th rank to the 30th, very close to his female friend, Luna—who was 31st, out of 35 students.
The third round opponents were Hector and Zero.
Among the delinquents, Hector was the second in rank after Leon. The one who demanded the money from John in the locker room. He was a close friend to Leon, and was a bodybuilder like Alex, but stronger than him. However, he wasn't as fast as him. Alex had equal strength and agility, both of which were higher than most of his class.
As a habit of the delinquents, Hector had his hair long to the shoulders and black, but unlike his cousin, Kane, he didn't want to tie it up.
Zero, on the other hand, was a typical edgy cryomancer with white spiky hair and light-blue eyes. A Stovar—or Astrian—from the Star province of the Moon region. He wasn't a delinquent, but a calm and nonchalant person.
Both stepped out from the stadium stand and headed for the field at lightning speed. They situated themselves contrary to each other, with a mile apart.