"Now we have the last fight of the first round, we can only hope that it will be as good as the last ones" Buck announced.
"Can fighters number two and three please come up" He called. However before he even finished calling them up, Zane was already speed walking towards the arena.
His enthusiasm even surprised himself, he remembered not being a fan of fighting. Maybe it was because this wouldn't be a fight to the death.
"Esteemed guests, believe it or not, the guy in white has been training here for only one month. However even though his opponents have had over half a dozen more months of training than him, he is still one of the favorites to win this whole thing" Buck pointed at Zane.
The nobles were very intrigued when they heard this, all of them were friends of Old man so they knew his training methods.
According to their calculations, a month of training actually equated to about only 5 days of active training because of the rest days.
Which meant that Zane only really trained for at most eight days but still being the tournament favorite?. That meant that his learning speed was off the charts.
If they heard that Zane also had a job at that time they would be even more shocked because that would mean Zane had at most two days of training!.
Of course this was because none of the nobles knew that Zane could use healing mana at a very high proficiency rate. If they knew that he was a mortal healer, they wouldn't be so surprised.
Seeing their interest, Old man Reed didn't tell them about Zane's prowess. He didn't feel the need to since they might find out soon enough.
Zane stood across his opponent with a smile, he even went as far as waving at the man he was supposed to fight.
His opponent was a average sized young man with black curly hair. Zane noticed that the man's boots were slightly bigger than what a man of his size would wear.
Zane wasn't stupid enough to think that the man wore oversized shoes by mistake. Those boots were obviously a weapon of some sort, like the metal on the knuckles of Zane's gloves.
Zane immediately knew that his opponent was well versed in using his legs as a means of attack, so he started thinking of ways to counter him, kicks were obviously stronger than punches, but they were slower as well.
Zane's opponent narrowed his eyes, he obviously knew Zane very well. Who didn't know the man who came a month ago and got easily pummeled to the ground by Keith?.
"Ready?" Buck asked the two fighters, who both nodded.
"Fight!"
Zane's opponent quickly got into action by running towards Zane in a zig zag manner, similar to what Charlotte did during her fight.
However, Zane could see that the man was faster than Charlotte and his movements were more refined and fluid. In no time at all the man arrived at Zane's position and threw a kick towards the side of his abdomen.
Zane, wanting to test the man's strength, blocked with the palm of his hands, and was sent flying for three meters.
Zane would be lying if he said he wasn't shocked, this man showed levels of strength Zane didn't think he would see on a mortal.
However, Zane had a feeling this wasn't strength, but technique. At least from that little exchange, Zane learnt that blocking this man's attacks wasn't a good idea.
Due to the fact that Zane was sent flying, the man couldn't follow up with another kick, instead he took a step before jumping at Zane with a flying kick.
At this time Zane was already back on his feet so he easily sidestepped the incoming kick. His opponent, seeing Zane successfully dodge quickly landed and pivoting his foot sent another kick towards Zane's thigh.
Zane managed to jump backwards and evade the kick and seeing that his opponent was still standing on one foot he dashed forward with a punch aimed at the man's head.
Zane's opponent knew that Zane was strong and he also knew that blocking an attack from Zane would leave him open, however he didn't have a choice since he couldn't evade, he was still off balance from his previous kick.
The man quickly parried Zane's punch and also caught it before Zane could pull back. It was at this moment that his foot touched the ground before flying in the direction of Zane's stomach.
Zane saw the attack coming but he couldn't evade because the man was holding his arm, so he quickly used his other hand and blocked the kick, however his forearm cracked from the power of the man's kick.
As soon as the man's attack met Zane's forearm, Zane's foot was already in mid air and it didn't take long for it to connect with the man's ribs. The man didn't expect this and was blasted away by the power of Zane's attack.
Zane didn't let the man recover as he jumped into the air and stomped at the man's face. However, surprisingly enough, the man was able to somehow raise his knees to his face and blocked Zane's blow.
As soon as the man felt Zane's foot touch his knees, he pushed him away and managed to create some room to stand up.
A moment of peace appeared as Zane and his opponent faced each other, both internally praising the skills of the other.
Even the audience was impressed, especially those who knew Zane. It wasn't long ago when Zane started training but here he was, going toe to toe with someone who had been training for ten months.
Bella could be seen standing at the side with a giant smile on her face, it was obvious that she was proud of her student, and herself for teaching him.
The nobles were also especially impressed, they couldn't believe that this man had only a few weeks of training.
Zane and the man continued their battle with no one getting the upper hand at first. It was obvious to see that both of the fighters had similar levels of strength.
However, after six minutes of exchanging blows, Zane's opponent started making silly mistakes. Everyone could see that he was running out of stamina, but Zane was still going strong.
It didn't take long for the man to make a fatal mistake, which Zane didn't fail to capitalize on and deliver a decisive blow to the man's head, knocking him out in the process.
This was the first time in the competition were someone was actually knocked out instead of being sent out the ring.
"I want him" three nobles said at the same time