Wahhab was really shocked. His baton was rated at the mutant realm. He even augmented his strength with his bull beast blood mutation. His strength which would overwhelm that of someone of the same level coupled with his baton was enough to crush the bones of his opponents but this was not the case.
It could not even break the brat's bone and it would seem like his attack was blocked by a measly mutant realm skill. He could not accept this result and launched another attack. He swung the baton in his right hand but was met with the same outcome. His attack was blocked again by the boy's forearm which was covered by the rock body skill.
'Let's see if you can endure my attacks' thought the now-infuriated Wahhab. He began to swing his batons in a barrage. There were continuous impact sounds reverberating throughout the stage. 5 hits… 10 hits… 20 hits… the hit count kept increasing at an alarming rate but Kane still defended himself like it was nothing.
He kept accurately predicting where the attack would land by studying the trajectory of his opponent's hands and kept blocking them with his arms by alternating the arm covered by the rock body skill.
Wahhab was getting worried. He did not know his enemy's mutation and maintaining his mutation ability was also draining his elemental energy much more than what it would take for his opponent to use the rock body skill. He made up his mind to immediately change tactics.
He suddenly spread his arms wide and tackled his opponent. Kane saw and predicted the tackle but was unable to dodge it since they were too close to each other and Wahhab's body was almost two times larger than his. He was thrown to the floor and Wahhab sat on his stomach before raining down blows with his batons.
Wahhab's blows were aimed at his opponent's head and since the brat was in a difficult position, he managed to sneak some of his countless blows on different parts of the boy's head. The only problem was that the part being attacked would quickly be covered by the rock body skill thereby reducing the damage dealt.
Kane who had been hit in the head a few times began to worry. Although he had the adamantine body and the rock body skill, his head was still a weak and vital part of the body. The accumulated damage he had been receiving had already started making his head hurt a lot. He had to end this.
Instead of using the rock body skill on his forearm to defend against the incoming attack, the skill was formed on his palm as he grabbed the baton and pulled.
Wahhab who was not expecting the sudden change of events was taken by surprise by the strength contained in the pull and the baton was yanked out of his hand by his opponent.
Kane who had taken the baton from his dazed opponent swung hard at Wahhab's head with the handle of the baton.
BANG!!!
Wahhab who was flung away by the force of the impact crashed hard into the ground. His head was bleeding from his injury. He now had a somber look on his face as he looked at the kid who had adjusted his hold on the baton. He had been raining blows on him but dealt no visible damage but one hit was all it took for his opponent to injure him.
The terrifying part was the brat's strength. How could all that strength that was on par or even greater than his reside in this body that was not even as bulky as his?
"Don't tell me you have lost your mind just from that hit to your head, come," said Kane as he beckoned to Wahhab with his fingers.
Wahhab who was short-tempered probably due to his mutation was incensed by the brat's provocation. He quickly threw caution to the wind and charged at the brat. He arrived in front of Kane almost immediately and swung the baton in his right hand at Kane's head.
When the baton was blocked by Kane's forearm, Wahhab threw a punch at the brat's face with his free left hand. The punch connected with Kane's head but apart from jerking the boy's head, Wahhab felt like he hit a hard object. He did not even have enough time to marvel at the development when he suddenly felt excruciating pain in his knee joint.
Kane who felt mild pain had smashed the baton on his enemy's knee when he was punched in the face. Wahhab's knee was aching unbearably and found it hard to support the weight of his body. He knelt down involuntarily on the injured knee and another jolt of pain shot from his knee.
He was about to adjust when the saw a baton heading for his ribcage. He quickly raised his baton to block the attack.
BANG!!!
The two batons clashed and Wahhab who felt strong force transmitted into his body from the impact struggled as he desperately tried not to lose his balance. He was horrified as this confirmed the fact that the boy was a lot stronger than him. He looked up when he noticed something but was too late to react.
BAM!!!
Kane threw a fist at Wahhab's face. The punch connected with his face and his head was thrown from the impact and smashed on the hard ground. Kane gathered more energy on his fist and launched another punch at his opponent's head which was already bleeding a lot when it hit the ground.
Kane felt a strong force that grabbed onto his hand and dispelled the force behind his punch. He looked up and saw the referee who was grabbing unto his hand. He quickly retreated as the referee waved his hand and announced the end of the match before declaring Kane the winner.
Kane felt relieved as he looked at his opponent who was fading in and out of consciousness. His view was soon blocked by white light as he was teleported out of the stage. He soon reappeared on the teleportation platform back in the waiting room. The way the people present in the room looked at him had changed.
Very few were looks filled with respect but most were filled with frowns and worry. He did not mind though. He calmly walked to his previous position and sat down before looking at the fixtures. His name had been moved beside other names of the previous winners and Wahhab had been stricken off the table.
When he took his eyes off the placings, he saw Qusay walking up to him. "Hi, I'm Qusay. Nice to meet you" he said with his trademark huge grin on his face as he extended his hand for a handshake.
"Hello" Kane returned the greeting and shook Qusay's hand. Qusay seemed even happier when Kane shook his hand before getting straight to the point "I was wondering, what body hardening skill are you using? What is your elemental affinity? And what is your mutation?"
Kane was confused as to why he was asking such personal questions to a complete stranger who might even end up being his opponent in this recruitment examination. His face fell and he immediately had a bad impression of him.
"I am not going to answer those questions" Kane replied and turned away not wanting to continue the conversation.
Qusay immediately replied, "sorry, I was just being curious. I will tell you mine. I have a dual elemental affinity of both fire and lightning. My mutation is the dragon beast blood mutation".
"Stupid. Sharing your elemental affinity with others is considered okay but why did you have to reveal your mutation" Kane heard his master's voice from within his Plain.
"No problem. I am still not answering those questions though. You should not reveal your mutation to others, you know" said Kane as he looked around only to see that almost everyone in the room had suddenly developed an interest in their conversation. Qusay was very loud.
"It does not matter if they find out or not. What matters is that I am strong. Let's be friends. Strong people like us need to stick together. What do you say?" replied Qusay loudly with his hands on his hip.
"If what he said about his mutation is true, then he is an outgoing and cheerful character. He is quite strong to boot. His beast blood mutation belongs to that of a mythical creature and is quite special even among other special mutations.
Become friends with him but remember to keep your secrets away from him. Oh, don't let him stay near you throughout the examination. He will bug you to death" said Abel. Qusay was strong and his powerful mutation would guarantee him a spot in the storm cradle sect. It was good if the kid began building connections.
"Very well. Nice to know you. I would like to stay alone till the end of the examination" said Kane.
"Hahahaha. Very well. I will treat you to something good when we get into the sect" replied Qusay as he patted Kane's shoulder and headed back to his position.
Kane heaved a sigh of relief when Qusay left and there was an announcement for the commencement of the next match.