"For this kind of quest to come up, then this guy is definitely dangerous."
"I must be serious about this," Nathan thought as he raised his sword and took his stance.
"So, you're Nathan Langley, huh? This'll be a good one," Billy said with a grin.
The ring was like a raised platform with a flat rocky floor.
"Start," Orion said, signalling the start of the match.
Nathan didn't attack neither did Billy.
They just stared at each other with Billy still having a large grin on his face.
But Nathan wasn't expecting what happened next.
With a burst of speed, Billy instantly reached Nathan.
His right fist was heading for Nathan's head.
*BAM*
Nathan was able to summon an earth shield with his left hand on time, stopping the punch.
[Ability Energy: 32/35]
The impact shattered the earth shield like a glass.
"Who's that Billy guy?"
"I haven't seen him in the academy before."
The students were all discussing about Billy.
He was a face they have never seen.
Nathan leaped back to create some distance, he knew Billy was trouble.
"He's physically stronger than me," Nathan thought.
Nathan raised his sword, ready for the next attack.
Billy raced towards him, ready to deliver a punch and this time Nathan was slightly able to follow his movement.
Nathan jumped to the right, avoiding the punch and without wasting a second, he swung his sword towards Billy's left side.
*CLANG*
His sword clashed with Billy's gauntlet, causing a clanging sound.
Billy used his other hand to punch Nathan's stomach, and this time, it connected.
"Ugh," Nathan groaned in pain.
[Health points: 63/70]
He could feel that some of his ribs were broken but at the same time, they were healing.
He stood up and looked at Billy who was at the other end of the ring.
"I must not lose," Nathan thought.
Five earth spikes appeared above him and instantly moved towards Billy.
[Ability Energy: 22/35]
*WHOOSH*
As soon as the earth spikes moved, Nathan swiftly dashed towards Billy with his sword in his left hand.
Billy easily destroyed the earth spikes but Nathan had already reached him with his sword swinging down.
Billy was able to block it with his gauntlet but Nathan already knew that would happen.
Nathan's right fist was suddenly covered in a rock-like surface and he punched Billy's chest.
Billy staggered backwards and Nathan saw that as a chance.
He swung his sword horizontally but Billy suddenly ducked at a suprising speed.
He threw an uppercut towards Nathan which he was able to dodge quickly.
Like a machine, Billy started throwing punches at a wild speed.
Nathan could only use his sword to defend himself against the punches.
*CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG*
Sparks were flying as Nathan's sword and Billy's gauntlets clashed.
The students were hyped. Some of them started cheering for Billy while some still cheered for Nathan.
"This guy is not a middle rank gifted. Was it arranged?" Nathan thought.
The difference made it clear that Billy was above middle rank.
"Hahaha, you're not that bad, this'll surely be a good report," Billy said.
Because of the barrier, the students couldn't hear what he said.
"Something is certainly going on," Nathan thought.
Billy's assault continued with Nathan being on the defensive.
More of Billy's punches connected because of the speed at which they were delivered.
[Health points: 15/70]
"Think…think, there must be something I can do," Nathan thought.
"Wait…. vampiric senses, it'll not be noticed if I activate it," Nathan thought.
He created some distance between himself and Billy.
He moved his blood energy towards his head, amplifying his senses.
"Oh, you need time to rest? I'm sorry, but I can't allow that," Billy said with a grin.
Nathan could see everything more clearly. His senses increased greatly. Nobody noticed it because there was no physical change when using the vampiric senses skill.
He suddenly dashed towards Billy and leaped up with his sword swinging down.
It looked like a dumb move but Nathan knew why he did it.
"You know it won't work," Billy said as he caught the sword with his gauntlets.
"Got you," Nathan muttered.
Before Billy could let go of the sword, Nathan delivered a knee to his face, making him stagger.
"I can try it now," Nathan thought.
When he was training his vampiric senses, he found out that he could also move his blood energy to other parts of his body.
And it was the same for his ability energy. With enough concentration, which he had, he could move both energies.
Billy regained himself and tried to punch Nathan's face but due to the vampiric senses, he was able to follow the punch.
He moved his face to the right, dodging the punch.
Nathan used his earth fist skill on both of his hands and moved his ability energy to amplify it.
*BAM*
It was now Nathan's turn. With incredible speed, he bombarded Billy's face with punches
The crowd erupted in cheers, the turn of events was sudden.
"You've got it, Nathan!!" Joey shouted while jumping up and down even though he couldn't hear her.
Billy's face became bloody and filled with wounds.
"You think you've won? Not gonna happen," Billy said.
Nathan suddenly felt danger. He leaped back and saw Billy's body shrouded in a yellow-colored energy.
"I'll end this," Billy said.
He slammed his foot on the ground causing debris to fly around.
"What's his ability?" Nathan thought but he didn't have time to dwell on that now because Billy was walking towards him.
Nathan knew he had to prepare for this attack. He raised his right fist and used the earth fist skill on it.
His sword was broken because of all the attack it received.
He further reinforced the fist with the rest of his ability energy, making it stronger.
The yellow energy surrounding Billy gathered together on his right gauntlet.
"More…. it won't be enough," Nathan thought.
This time, he added blood energy, causing his hand to vibrate and pulse with power.
Billy's hand was now glowing yellow and Nathan's fist was trembling.
Everyone could tell that this was the final moment of the match.
"Bring it on!!" Billy shouted.
He swung his hand that was glowing yellow, with the intention of delivering the final blow.
Nathan also swung his fist towards Billy.
Time seemed to stop. The whole arena was quiet with everyone anticipating the result.
Nathan's fist creaked with intense power. He was confident that the power packed in his fist was enough to rival Billy's punch.
As their punches grew closer, the force seemed to push the wind away.
Some of the students held their breath with questions going through their mind.
Who would be the last man standing?
Who would win the match?
A chilling smile appeared on Nathan's face which he was unaware of.
He was eager…eager to know the result…eager to see how strong he was.
Well, those questions were quickly answered because…it finally…happened.
*BOOM*
A loud booming sound resounded in the arena.
A dust cloud covered the ring, making the students not to know the result.
The impact caused little cracks to appear on the barrier and the raging wind inside the ring escaped through the cracks.
*WHOOSH*
The wind made the students close their eyes and their hair to flutter.
"Kyahh!~"
Some of the girls screamed because the wind raised their short skirts, exposing their underwear.
The wind finally calmed down and the dust cloud disappeared. All the students raised their head to see the outcome.
"Wait…what the hell is this!!?
The students were in an uproar because of the result.
They expected to see either Nathan or Billy lying on the floor but the result was different.
With gloves on both hands, Jagger stood in the middle of Nathan and Billy with his hands on Nathan's fist and Billy's gauntlet.
"It's a draw," Jagger announced.
"HUH?!! The students exclaimed.
*********
[A/N: I spent time on this chapter. I'm not the best when it comes to writing action scenes but I'll try my best. Thanks]