As he climbed up the steps and got onto the ring, he raised his hands and prepared himself for combat. She raised her hand as she walked further away, leaving quite a distance between the two.
Both of them could probably close the distance quickly, but at least this way, he would have the chance to react.
"Before we start, let me explain the rules of this test. You only need to survive five minutes against me and avoid being thrown off the stage. You can use anything you have on you, like those gauntlets and that armor. If you can throw me off the stage and I hit the ground, you will also pass."
She would begin stretching in place, as she explained; he decided to put on the gauntlets and keep his gaze locked on her. She might choose to try a sneak attack.
"For the first three minutes, I can't use any of my power after that, though, you better be ready."
He increasingly liked his odds; the ideal scenario was knocking her off the stage before three minutes passed.
She finished stretching as she got into her stance; he would spread Chi through his body.
"If you don't got any questions, we can start."
She shot towards him and closed the distance almost immediately. As her fist shot past him, he moved his head at the last second. He tried to grab her arm, but she pulled her hand back, pivoted her body, and struck him in the chest with her other hand. The chest plate caved in slightly from her punch as he was lifted slightly off the ground.
He grits his teeth and tries to kick her in the chest, and she grabs onto his leg and spins around to slam him onto the ground of the ring. He held onto the floor to prevent her from lifting him; in turn, she kicked him in the ribs and sent him rolling on the ground.
He cursed internally if she barely reached the second stage; how was she this much stronger than him?
He got up, and she stood in the same spot as before as she gestured for him to get up. A smile was plastered on her face as he glared.
Was she enjoying this? If so, what part of it? Was it because he was weaker than her, or did she enjoy beating up others?
He tossed these thoughts away and focused on the battle; he had to be faster and stronger to survive.
He didn't let a single drop of Chi remain in storage as everything came to a standstill. All except her, who kept moving although at a slower pace now. She once more shot towards him. Except this time, he did as well.
Her grin was subtly growing as he threw the first punch this time. Except it was a feint as he stopped his blow to her chest just before it hit and tried to claw at her face. She reacted quickly and moved her hand upwards to hold onto his; he didn't stop as he slid his foot between her legs and placed it behind her leg, trying to trip her up.
She looked surprised before smirking and reached for her other hand to try to grab his shirt and spin him so she landed on top. This action didn't go off without consequence as he landed a punch across her face with his other hand.
As they both hit the ground, she would climb over him. His gauntlet had cut her cheek up pretty badly as she bled onto his chest. That didn't seem to stop her; as soon as she was on top, she threw punches at his face. It felt like getting hit with a brick, but that wouldn't stop him. He grabs one of her arms and digs the claws of the gauntlet into her.
She didn't scream, but her face didn't hide how much it hurt as she kept hammering down blows with her other hand. He tried to cover his face with his hand, but every time he tried to grab her other hand, she hit him across the nose. Even with his increase in durability, his nose was most definitely broken as he tasted blood in his mouth.
This went on for a while, but he eventually had to let go of her hand to guard correctly, and she used this chance to get up and move away.
He would get up as the two stared each other down; she still had that same smile as before, although now she looked to be clearly in pain.
He wasn't doing any better; his nose was bent weirdly, and blood was falling onto the ground; if he had a mirror, he would see just how bad she had gotten him as his face was a bleeding, swollen mess.
Although he had left their fight worse off, he was healing slowly. She didn't have that luxury as blood ran down her face from her cheek, and her arm had punctured wounds from the gauntlet. She most likely couldn't use that arm for the rest of this fight, which did at least make the pain worth it.
Her face lit up slightly as she stood up a bit straighter; something felt wrong as he took a deep breath in and out. He had to be ready for whatever she had planned.
He noticed something strange. He could see his breath? He also started feeling a bit colder, and he began to worry that maybe he had bled too much.
But that thought was quickly dashed as three ice spikes formed around her; she laughed and pointed at him with her injured arm.
"Three minutes have passed; I hope you survive these last two minutes. It's been a lot of fun, and I wouldn't want this to be the last time we fight."
Like that, the spikes shot at him with surprising speed, even as fast as they were. He could move faster and quickly dodged the first one as it struck the ground behind him. He tried to dash towards her but fell forward; he looked back to see his right leg had been frozen as a path of ice moved from his leg to where the spike had hit.
He gulped and turned in time to see the other two spikes shoot towards him.