"Fucker!" Denton moved at astonishing speed to confront Kiernan at the center of the stage. He unleashed his punches and kicks. They moved in very random patterns.
If it were anyone else, they couldn't imagine where the attack would come from. That's why Denton was very good in formats like this, where you only needed to hit your opponent to win.
However, his opponent was Kiernan.
Kiernan stood his ground and moved his hands in a blur of motion. His hands smacked against Denton's fists and legs. It made his attacks miss Kiernan by an inch.
'That's it!' Azer gulped with a dry throat. 'That's Kiernan's rock-solid defense. Dominic was completely defenseless against it!'
Kiernan's hands moved like snakes, parrying and deflecting Denton's every strike.
Denton's veins bulged around his forehead. He was fuming in anger. He wanted to smash his fist through Kiernan's face, but every attack of his missed the target just barely.
It was incredibly frustrating!
"Fuck this!" Denton slammed his hands together. A small air bubble appeared between his hands.
"Taruzhang Style, Anarc—"
Kiernan suddenly whipped his leg upwards and kicked Denton's hands. The air bubble burst, disrupting Denton's concentration and causing his attack to fizzle out into nothing.
"Argh!" Denton cried out in pain. His hands were red and swollen.
Kiernan's arm moved like a snake—his fist connected with Denton's nose and jaw—it was two successful attacks.
"Two hits, Denton!" Jin shouted with a startled expression. 'Denton is losing? This fool is losing his composure, but still, this Kiernan is strong!'
Azer jumped out of his seat. His eyes couldn't believe it. He was about to see something very special.
Denton cried out in anger and pain. He rushed towards Kiernan like a mad beast, his arms flailing wildly. The right hand slowly turned into a fist. His shoulders slightly rotated, as if he were about to throw a punch.
'A punch? No!' Jin's eyes widened.
"Rah!" Denton stopped his punch mid-swing and then dove down towards Kiernan's legs.
He was going for a tackle!
'Kiernan is next to the edge.' Jin's mouth opened round. 'He plans to throw Kiernan off the stage!'
"You cannot fake me."
Kiernan stated coldly and slammed his knee into Denton's face. The impact was brutal, pushing Denton's head backward with blood spurting from his mouth.
Jin stared in shock and forgot to speak.
At that moment, Kiernan grabbed Denton by the collar, swept his legs underneath him, and held him in the air as if he didn't weigh anything.
"Wait, he los—" Jin couldn't finish his sentence in time.
Kiernan swung his hand and hurled Denton with a powerful throw. He flew off the stage and crashed to the ground, knocked out cold.
"That's for your rude comments." Kiernan said.
"Denton's out!" Jin shouted, sweat drippling down his face.
Hearing that, both Ryan and Nath halted their fight. They turned to Kiernan with amazed looks.
"Denton lost…" Klaus and Timothy were sitting on the bench outside the stage. They were mostly focused on Ryan versus Nath, but at the final moments, they caught sight of Kiernan completely destroying Denton.
"Is he really a first-year?" Ryan thought out loud with a frown.
Azer's lips twitched, and slowly, a giant smile appeared on his face.
'Kiernan will be the future of Karuza High!'
"Oho." Nath's eyes widened in surprise, and he then moved out of his fighting stance. "Ryan, I suppose we need to test this youngling, don't you think so?"
"Oh, we'll put our fight to a pause?" Ryan said with a smirk as he eyed Kiernan up and down. "Me or you?"
"I am on his team; I couldn't possibly attack him." Nath laughed innocently. "You go."
Ryan shot forward like a bolt of lightning. His initial acceleration was even faster than when he defeated Klaus. His agility was ridiculous!
Kiernan's eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly placed his right arm as a block, but Ryan moved past him with insane speed and punched him in the stomach before he could react.
"Argh!" Kiernan coughed out in pain and quickly jumped away, but Ryan followed right behind him and smashed his elbow at Kiernan's stomach.
"Ngh!" Kiernan stumbled backwards with a distorted face. 'It hurts!'
"Two hits, Kiernan!" Jin shouted with a pale face. 'Is it too early for him to face Ryan?'
'Ryan broke through Kiernan's rock-solid defense.' Azer thought with a serious expression. 'So, speed is Kiernan's weakness.'
'What atrocious speed.' Kiernan's muscles strained as he pushed himself harder. 'Bring it on, then!"
Ryan smiled slightly. He lowered his stance and put his fist beside his waist. He was going for his fastest strike yet.
Ryan's leg muscles tensed and bulged. It was almost like he was having a cramp. It was just his whole body preparing for this strike.
At that moment, his body shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
No one in the room was able to see him move. Not even Kiernan.
It was the maximum speed of Karuza High's ace, Ryan Lee. It was speed that could even rival those of the Martial Fighter rank.
If Ryan Lee had trained to the extent of his immense talent and reached Martial Fighter, without a doubt, he would be the fastest high schooler in New Rakuya!
Kiernan twisted his waist and threw an ordinary punch. It only hit the empty air in front of him. It wasn't powerful or flashy. It was the exact same punch he threw at the tree in his backyard.
SMACK!
At that moment, a figure was sent flying across the stage, blood splattering across the floor. Thud. The figure crashed at the end of the stage, not moving an inch.
The figure had unique silver hair and wore a blue vest. It was none other than Ryan; his eyes rolled back into his head, and his body was completely motionless.
"Whooo!" Kiernan let out a long sigh, his fist trembling.
"What?!" Jin and Azer jumped to their feet and shouted in shock.
"Ryan!" Nath rushed to his friend's side and frantically checked for a pulse. The pulse was steady and strong. "How in the world…"
Klaus and Timothy couldn't believe their eyes. They thought they were living in a dreamworld.
Denton, who was stuffing his bleeding nose with paper, froze in shock.
'You're strong, Ryan…' Kiernan thought with an exhausted look. 'You just made one mistake.'
"That…" Jin touched his balding head in shock. "He actually managed to do that?"
"Do what?" Azer impatiently asked.
"It looked like Kiernan punched." Jin said. "However, it wasn't a punch. He placed his fist in front of him."
"Placed?" Azer frowned.
"Ryan's Super Acceleration has one big flaw." Jin said with a serious look. "It is hard for him to stop. His deceleration can't match his monstrous acceleration, so it always takes him a longer distance to come to a complete stop.
"Also, Ryan can only use his Super Acceleration in a straight line. Kiernan noticed that. Therefore, he simply stood in the path of his attack and placed his fist in front of him. Ryan crashed into Kiernan's fist, knocking himself out."
"Ah…" Ryan slowly woke up, a hazy look in his eyes. "That hurts…"
"Ryan, are you alright?" Nath asked in a hurry. "You got hit pretty bad."
"Yeah…" Ryan, with a struggle, sat back up. "I lost, huh…"
Kiernan fell down on one knee. He was breathing very heavily. It was more exhausting than he expected.
'It isn't just their strength; Martial Soldier's radiate energy that makes it exhausting to fight them. In this world, Martial Recruit's aren't supposed to be able to defeat them.'
'I got a long way to go…' Kiernan said, then heard a familiar ding.
Ding, ding!
[You have defeated a Low Stage Martial Soldier!]
[15 XP Acquired!]
[You have defeated a High Stage Martial Soldier!]
[25 XP Acquired!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[Level 1 → 2]