Yaxoc and Marcus stirred awake as the morning light crept through their windows. Yaxoc stretched lazily, yawning as he looked over at Marcus.
"Hey, Marcus... what should we do today?" Yaxoc asked, still half-asleep.
Marcus sat up, a smirk forming on his face. "How about we spar each other? We need to keep improving, and since we've got identical stats, it'll be a good test."
Yaxoc rubbed his eyes, thinking it over. "Yeah... good idea. Let's see who's really stronger."
They wasted no time and headed outside to a desolate, destroyed battlefield. The eerie quiet of the place stood in stark contrast to its former glory.
"This used to be the site for tournaments," Marcus said, surveying the wreckage. "But ever since that enemy raid, it's been reduced to ruins. Still, it's the perfect place to spar—no one's going to mind if we knock things around here. At least we won't be destroying buildings like you did last night." Marcus shot Yaxoc a sideways glance, a teasing grin on his face.
Yaxoc rolled his eyes but couldn't hide the smirk creeping onto his face. "You always bring that up."
"Hey, I'm serious. Even without magic, your brute strength could level a city if you wanted to. You don't need fancy spells when you can just punch through everything," Marcus replied, half-joking but with a hint of awe in his voice.
Yaxoc chuckled. "Interesting. But enough talk, let's get this started."
Marcus nodded, his expression growing serious. "Yeah, let's do this."
Both of them assumed their fighting stances, the atmosphere between them crackling with anticipation. Despite their camaraderie, there was a fierce competition brewing, and neither was going to back down.
The battle kicked off with intensity as Yaxoc exploded into action, rushing at Marcus with blistering speed. Before Marcus could even think of defending, Yaxoc's fists collided with him, sending him staggering backward, his feet skidding against the ground.
Shaking it off quickly, Marcus countered, summoning his magic. "Fire and Ice Magic: Elemental Phoenix!" he shouted, as two glowing phoenixes—one blazing with flames, the other shimmering with ice—emerged and launched themselves at Yaxoc.
Yaxoc smirked, unimpressed. "Birds? Seriously?"
Leaping into the air, Yaxoc threw punches and kicks at the phoenixes. But they were faster than they looked, skillfully dodging his attacks and managing to land a sharp hit to his face, knocking him to the ground.
Yaxoc quickly got back on his feet, rubbing his cheek with a growing grin. "Hmph, I get it now..."
In a blur of movement, Yaxoc dashed toward the phoenixes at lightning speed—faster than Marcus had ever seen him move before. His SSS+ rank speed was too much for the creatures, and with a single, powerful kick, he obliterated them, their forms dissipating into nothing.
Marcus's eyes widened in disbelief. His speed... it's way beyond what I've heard. Three times faster than what Mr. Hight said... He barely managed to dodge an incoming punch from Yaxoc. This guy can't be serious!
Regaining his composure, Marcus leaped back, trying to put some distance between them. But as soon as he turned to face Yaxoc, the space between them was gone. Yaxoc was already there, his fist coming down in a crushing arc.
"Too slow," Yaxoc growled, slamming Marcus with a sledgehammer punch that sent him crashing into the ground, the force of the impact creating cracks in the earth beneath them.
Marcus groaned, the wind knocked out of him as he lay sprawled on the ground. Dust and debris rose around them, and Yaxoc stood over him, unfazed, ready for the next round.
Marcus gritted his teeth, feeling the rush of power surge through him as his spell activated. "Magic Technique: Power Up!" he called out, his body immediately enveloped in a glowing aura. His stats doubled, his strength and speed reaching new heights. The air crackled around him.
Yaxoc noticed the transformation, his eyes narrowing. "The hell—"
Before he could finish, Marcus was on him, moving at blinding X+ speed. His fists flew at Yaxoc with newfound intensity, each punch faster and more powerful than before. Yaxoc, barely managing to keep up, dodged and weaved, but the pressure was building. Marcus's attacks were relentless.
He's faster than I thought, Yaxoc realized, his movements just enough to avoid getting hit directly. But then, he spotted an opening—a slight misstep in Marcus's flurry of blows.
Without hesitation, Yaxoc seized the moment. He stepped in and delivered a devastating punch to Marcus's gut, his fist connecting with such force that the shockwave rippled through the battlefield like a sonic boom. The very ground beneath them shattered, and the battlefield—spanning the size of two entire cities—cracked and buckled under the sheer force of Yaxoc's blow.
Marcus staggered, the impact knocking him off balance, but he quickly stood back up, eyes widening as he saw the destruction Yaxoc had caused. The landscape around them was in ruins, buildings in the distance crumbled, and large fissures spider-webbed across the terrain.
"Yaxoc, what did I tell you about this?" Marcus groaned, pointing at the wreckage around them.
Yaxoc simply shrugged, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Hey, I can't control these forces. It's just natural," he said casually, as if breaking the battlefield was just part of the routine.
Marcus sighed, shaking his head as the battle continued.
As Yaxoc and Marcus exchanged blows in mid-air, the intensity of their clash grew, each punch generating powerful shockwaves that reverberated across the already battered battlefield. The ground beneath them trembled, with each strike threatening to crack it further.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a knife flew toward them at lightning speed.
Both Yaxoc and Marcus reacted instantly, their heightened reflexes kicking in as they sidestepped the attack, narrowly avoiding the blade.
"What the...?" Marcus said, eyes narrowing as he searched for the source of the attack.
Yaxoc's gaze darted around the battlefield before spotting a figure in the distance. "It's an enemy," he said with an irritated sigh, locking eyes with their mysterious assailant.
"Great," Marcus muttered. "Looks like they knew we were sparring…"
Without waiting for another word, Yaxoc dashed toward the enemy at breakneck speed. Before the figure could react, Yaxoc delivered a crushing punch directly to its face. The impact was so powerful that the enemy was sent rocketing across the sky, vanishing from sight as it soared miles away—into another continent entirely.
Marcus stood there, dumbfounded, watching the distant horizon where the enemy had disappeared. He turned to Yaxoc, shaking his head in disbelief. "How the #### can you send someone to a different continent with just one punch?"
Yaxoc shrugged nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal. "I told you, man, it's just natural strength," he said with a smirk, dusting off his hands as if he'd just handled a minor inconvenience.
Marcus could only stare at him, speechless, as the shockwaves of the earlier fight continued to ripple through the battlefield.