"Why did she pick him?"
"He's only Grade E."
"Poor bastard."
"I can already feel his pain."
The crowd murmured restlessly, unsure whether to feel pity or disdain for Kane—the 'doomed fella,' as they now called him.
Sympathy? Maybe.
Empathy? Not a chance.
They pitied him, but none of them would trade places with him.
"Why would she pick Kane... Kane?" Leo muttered in disbelief, his heart pounding as he watched his friend step toward the ring. Unrivaled fear twisted his gut.
Liam stood beside him, equally baffled. "What's her motive?" he wondered aloud, his eyes narrowing as he observed Aliya's smug grin. "And that smile of hers… what's she up to?"
Kane, meanwhile, had already accepted his fate. He climbed into the ring without hesitation, a serene expression masking his turmoil. If this was how it ended, so be it. The universe, he figured, was doing him a favor.
She wants to see me scared. She wants to humiliate me, break me, and spit on my pride. She wants to drag my dignity through the mud and that's exactly when I vow on stopping. Kane repeated this mantra silently, his thoughts boiling with defiance. He was engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the grin creeping across his face.
The grin of a maniac.
"Is he smiling?" Aliya froze for a moment, unnerved. She quickly glanced at his status grade again, confirming it was still E. "Creepy," she muttered under her breath, "but that's all there is to him."
The crowd noticed too.
"Is he smiling?"
"Yeah, I see it too."
"Nah, the guy's gone mad.
"He's probably daydreaming of how heaven would look like"
The confusion rippled through the spectators, but it only fueled their excitement.
"Hey, is your friend smiling?" Alex asked, perplexed.
Leo snapped out of his daze. "Wait, what? Kane's… smiling?" His voice shook, disbelief etched into his face.
"Do you think he's okay?"
"I don't know, Leo. I just don't know."
In the ring, Kane's smile remained intact, his gaze fixed on Aliya, they were sharp and unsettling.
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Aliya taunted. "That grin won't make this hurt any less."
Master Hirata stepped forward, his voice commanding the crowd's attention. "The rules are simple. This is a test of pure skill and strength. No weapons. No abilities. Any violation of this rule will incur my wrath." His tone darkened at the last word, sending chills through the crowd.
The rules were simple and short, no extra emphasis added to it.
"Now, begin."
A notification flashed before Kane's eyes.
[New Objective: Win the spar against your potential greatest rival.]
[Reward: New skill.]
[Penalty: ??]
Once again, the system demanded violence. Kane clenched his fists, the burning bloodlust consuming him. He had never felt that way before, he didn't want to just defeat Aliya, a part of him wanted to 'kill!' her. He hated how it felt—how much he loved it.
[The system will temporarily assign all status points.]
Energy surged through his body, it was raw and exhilarating, similar to the feeling got when getting married.
Master Hirata's eyes narrowed. He noticed the shift in kane's aura, it turned darker like something had possessed him. Something was off.
[Martial Art : Phase One activated.]
[Knowledge will be downloaded directly into the cerebrum.]
Kane's stance shifted instinctively, his aura dark and resolute.
SWISH!
Kane sidestepped Aliya's opening strike, her movements was quick but predictable.
"Did you see that?"
"How did he dodge that?"
"No way he's Grade E!"
Aliya retreated a step, resetting her stance.
[4 stat points allocated to Agility]
[Current Agility: 12.]
Kane smirked, it turned out that the fight was revealing more about the system's quirks. Interesting.
He moved forward, his newfound knowledge guiding him. Aliya launched a flurry of punches and jabs, but Kane evaded each one with precision, using her speed against her. His counters flowed instinctively.
He lashed out with a high kick. Aliya rolled away, springing to her feet in one fluid motion. She dashed toward him, aiming to dislocate his knee joint, but Kane leapt over her sweep.
"So damn predictable," he muttered, shaking his head.
Aliya spun, using the momentum for a head kick. Kane dodged by a hairbreadth.
"I've got you now," Aliya thought, smirking. Her attack had been bait.
Sidestepping, she pivoted and delivered a brutal horizontal axe kick to Kane's stomach.
CRACK!
Kane flew backward, slamming into the far end of the ring.
[HP: -6]
"Got him," Aliya declared, triumphant.
"Kane!" Leo yelled, panic seizing his voice.
A cough escaped Kane's lips, but he pushed himself to his feet in one fluid motion, the grin returning.
"I'm not done yet, bitch." kane proclaimed.
"Is he a masochist or what?"
"That kick hit squarely!"
"How is he still standing?"
Aliya's smugness faltered as Kane steadied himself, his aura darker than before.
Master Hirata's eyes narrowed further. What's wrong with this kid?
Kane advanced, his confidence unwavering. The real fight had just begun.
Aliya's eyes sharpened as she saw Kane advancing, his unsettling grin unbroken despite the blow he'd just taken. She steadied herself, her stance growing tighter, more calculated.
"Still standing? Impressive," she muttered. "But I'm done playing."
Kane charged, closing the distance between them in a flash. He swung a quick left hook, which Aliya narrowly ducked, countering with a precise jab aimed at his ribs. Kane twisted mid-strike, evading her punch, but Aliya didn't give him time to recover. She flowed seamlessly into a spinning back kick, forcing Kane to block with his forearms.
THUD!
The impact sent him skidding backward, his heels digging into the ring.
"Getting serious now, huh?" Kane grunted, rolling his shoulders as he stepped forward again.
The crowd murmured excitedly.
"He's keeping up with her!"
"This guy… he's no normal Grade E."
"Aliya's gotta end this soon."
Aliya exhaled slowly, her eyes narrowing. For a moment, something in her form shifted. Kane's grin faded as he sensed it—a faint ripple in the air around her.
Master Hirata's gaze locked onto her, his expression darkening.
Kane felt it too.
Aliya lunged forward with newfound speed, her movements almost a blur. Kane barely reacted in time, raising his guard to block her fist, but the sheer force of the punch rattled him.
"What the—" Kane gasped, stumbling backward.
Aliya didn't relent. Her strikes came faster, harder, each one forcing Kane to retreat. She feinted a high punch, then dropped low, sweeping his legs out from under him. Kane hit the mat hard but rolled away just as her foot came down, cracking the spot where his head had been moments before.
The crowd roared in shock.
"She's faster!"
"Did she just get stronger?"
"Something's changed!"
Kane pushed himself up, his breathing ragged. He gritted his teeth, his grin now forced. "So, that's how it is," he muttered, wiping blood from his lip.
Aliya's face was unreadable as she closed in again. Her movements were methodical, her strikes precise and unrelenting. Kane managed to dodge a few more attacks, but her overwhelming speed and power left him on the defensive.
She spun, delivering a brutal roundhouse kick that caught him square in the chest, sending him sprawling into the ropes.
Kane's vision blurred.
[HP: -12]
He coughed violently, struggling to catch his breath. His body screamed at him to stay down, but something deep inside forced him to rise again. His knees wobbled as he stood, his fists trembling.
Aliya's expression didn't change. She stepped forward, her movements now almost inhumanly graceful. Kane lunged with a desperate punch, but she sidestepped effortlessly, countering with a devastating uppercut that lifted him off his feet.
The world spun as Kane hit the mat hard, his body refusing to respond.
The system chimed faintly in his mind.
[Objective Passed: New skill Acquired]
Kane's vision faded as Master Hirata raised his hand.
"Enough. Aliya wins."
The crowd erupted in cheers, but there was an undercurrent of unease. Many stared at Aliya with wide eyes, whispering amongst themselves.
"Did she… use something?"
"Her movements were different—like she wasn't holding back anymore."
"She's scary when she gets serious."
Aliya glanced down at Kane, her cold expression softening ever so slightly. For a moment, it looked as though she might say something, but instead, she turned and left the ring.
Leo and Liam rushed to Kane's side as the crowd began to disperse, murmuring about the fight.
"Kane, are you okay?" Leo asked, shaking him gently.
Kane groaned, his grin long gone. "I'll live," he muttered, though every inch of his body screamed otherwise, he wasn't even angry that he lost, he was just happy that to tge system, he had won fair and square, tge question was;
[Why does the system thinks that I won]
Master Hirata's voice cut through the chatter. "The lesson here is clear. Strength comes not just from skill but from understanding your opponent—and yourself. Remember that." As he said these words, he stuttered a bit, for even he noticed the change in Aliya's aura as they battled.
As the crowd thinned, Aliya lingered near the edge of the ring, casting a single glance back at Kane before disappearing into the shadows.
A/N: please guys, I've been thinking of dropping this novel fo a while back now but it seems that a fraction ofy readers are still interested.
Please if you really are, show this by engaging the story actively, tell me my mistakes, like, dislike and many more. I promise that it is of great help to me.