The fight exploded without warning. Raven's fist crashed into Noah's jaw with the force of a sledgehammer, sending him staggering backward as copper filled his mouth. The impact felt wrong - like taking a hit from a concrete wall rather than flesh and bone.
'What the hell was that?' Noah's mind raced even as his vision blurred. 'No one hits that hard. Not naturally.'
Through the stars dancing in his vision, Noah caught sight of Lila in the crowd, her usual playful expression replaced by intense focus. She'd seen him in the cave, seen what he was capable of. Now she was waiting to see if that had been a fluke.
"That's for disrespecting me in class," Raven snarled, following up with a kick that caught Noah in the ribs. The sound of the impact made several students wince.
'Focus, damn it!' Noah commanded himself, forcing air back into his lungs. 'There's something off about his strikes. The force... it's not consistent.'
Above the makeshift arena, Kane Wilson's bored expression finally shifted. "That first hit should have ended it," he mused, glancing at Micah. "Your cave survivor's still standing."
"Watch his eyes," Micah responded quietly. "He's analyzing something."
Noah rolled with the next blow, cataloging every sensation. 'Left hook feels normal, but that straight right might as well be a metal bar. What changed? What's the difference?'
"Pathetic," Raven called out, pressing forward with textbook combinations. "All that talk in class, and this is what you bring?"
'There it is again!' Noah thought as he barely blocked another strike. 'A delay... like he's switching something on and off. But where...?'
The crowd's excitement built with each exchange. Money changed hands as new bets were placed, the odds shifting with every blow. Through the crowd, someone had arrived.
Kelvin pushed through the throng, ignoring the angry protests as he made his way to the front. He'd told Noah to stay in their room, but of course the idiot hadn't listened.
"Someone stop this!" Kelvin shouted, but his voice was drowned out by the cheers as Raven landed another devastating body shot.
Noah crashed to the mat, chest heaving. 'Can't keep taking hits like this. Think, think! The pattern... hardening ability? Has to be. But he can't maintain it everywhere at once.'
"Is that all you've got?" Raven taunted, circling like a predator. "The great cave survivor, brought down by a real fighter?"
'Got you now, you smug bastard,' Noah thought, a plan forming through the haze of pain. 'Let's test that theory.'
From her spot in the crowd, Lila's eyes narrowed. Something had changed in Noah's posture. But she couldn't quite place what it was.
The next exchange was brutal. Raven's right cross should have knocked Noah out - instead, Noah took the hit deliberately, sacrificing his defense to drive his elbow into Raven's unprotected ribs. The sound of cracking bone cut through the crowd's roar.
'Bingo!' Noah's mind sang even as his body screamed in protest. 'One spot at a time. He's got to choose - defend or attack. Can't do both.'
"Interesting," Sienna murmured from her perch above, speaking for the first time. "He sacrificed defense to confirm a weakness."
Then Noah saw them - white lines tracing through the air, mapping out Raven's movements before they happened. 'Oh, I missed you, beautiful. Show me where he's weak.'
The fight shifted. Noah wasn't winning - not by any stretch - but each exchange now ended with Raven nursing a new injury. 'Head protected? Hit the body. Torso hardened? Go for the legs. Make him chase, make him work.'
"What the hell?" Raven spat blood, genuine anger replacing his earlier confidence. His next combination was sloppy, driven by frustration rather than technique.
'Amateur mistake,' Noah thought grimly. 'Getting angry, getting predictable. Just like the beast in the cave.'
Noah countered with savage efficiency - a jab to force head protection, low kick while the hardening focused upward, liver shot when the power shifted down. 'Dance for me, armor boy. Show me where you're soft.'
"He's reading the pattern," Xavier breathed, adjusting his glasses. "But how? There's no way he could have enough combat experience to-"
The end came suddenly. Raven, exhausted and furious, committed everything to a massive right cross. 'Perfect,' Noah thought, doing something that made Kelvin's heart stop - stepping into the punch instead of away, letting it graze his temple while driving his own fist into Raven's unprotected throat.
'Can't harden what you need to breathe through.'
The sound Raven made as he collapsed was horrible. The referee didn't even need to count.
[Quest Complete]
Silence fell over the arena. Then chaos erupted - cheers, arguments over bets, shocked discussions about what they'd just witnessed. Through it all, Noah remained standing, swaying slightly as blood dripped from his split lips.
"You absolute idiot," Kelvin muttered, shoving past the last row of spectators to reach his friend. He caught Noah just as his legs gave out.
"Told you to stay in the room," Noah managed through swollen lips, trying to grin.
"Yeah, well, someone had to be ready to carry your corpse back," Kelvin replied, slinging Noah's arm over his shoulder. "Hospital wing. Now."
'Box later,' Noah reminded himself as darkness crept at the edges of his vision. 'Breathing first.'
As they limped away from the arena, four elite students watched with newfound interest. Below them, Lila stood motionless in the dispersing crowd, her earlier questions replaced by dozens more.
The "cave incident" suddenly seemed a lot less mysterious - and a lot more intriguing.
The four elite students watched as Kelvin half-carried Noah away from the arena, the crowd still buzzing with excitement below them.
"Sloppy technique," Kane commented, arms crossed. "But the reading ability... that was something else."
Xavier adjusted his glasses, frowning slightly. "No formal training that I could see. Yet he dismantled a second-generation talent like he was reading a manual on its weaknesses."
"Interesting pet project you've found, Micah," Sienna said, her cold eyes following Noah's limping form. "Though I fail to see what has you so fascinated. Raw instinct only gets you so far."
But Micah didn't respond. His smile remained fixed, studying Noah's retreating figure with the intensity of someone who had just discovered something rare and valuable.
"We're done here," Kane announced, turning away. "Coming, Micah?"
"In a moment," Micah replied softly, not moving from his spot.
The others exchanged glances before departing, leaving Micah alone on his perch. Below, Noah and Kelvin disappeared around a corner, but Micah's smile never wavered.
He stayed there long after everyone else had gone, watching the empty space where Noah had vanished, like a chess master who had just spotted an unexpected piece on the board.
---
The walk to the clinic felt longer than Noah anticipated. The hits from Raven had done significant damages but he couldn't be more thankful to be alive when he was finally being attended to.
The healer's hands glowed with a soft blue light as she worked, mending torn tissue and knitting broken bones. Noah felt the familiar warmth of accelerated healing coursing through his body, erasing the worst of the damage.
Her lack of questions spoke volumes about how routine these "training accidents" must be.
'Wonder how many fights they patch up every week,' Noah thought, wincing as his split lips, the last part she attended to healed.
'At least getting beaten half to death isn't permanent around here,' he thought, flexing his newly healed jaw.
"Trying to die again, I see?"
Noah turned to find Lila leaning against the doorframe, trying and failing to look casual. She strode in, inspecting him with those intense eyes of hers.
"You do remember we have Planet Cannadah to explore in a few days, right? Or were you planning to skip that too?" She poked his newly healed ribs. "Can't have my exploration partner dying on me before we even get there."
'Always about the exploration with this one.'
"I had it under control," Noah said, standing up to test his legs.
"Oh really?" Lila raised an eyebrow, moving uncomfortably close to examine his face. "Because from where I was standing, it looked like you were letting him turn you into ground meat. Speaking of which, how did you..." She trailed off, that familiar calculating look returning.
Noah managed a crooked smile despite his swollen jaw. "What kind of reputation would a dead guy have ducking a fight?"
Kelvin, leaning against the wall, shook his head. "I don't even know who you are anymore, man. Last few days, it's like someone replaced my best friend with his evil twin. I'll give you two some space. Try not to get into any more fights while I'm gone, Noah."
'Thanks for the backup, traitor.'
Once Kelvin left, Lila dropped all pretense of casualness. "Seriously, what were you thinking? First the cave, now this? Is this going to be our thing now - me watching you nearly die every few weeks?"
"Didn't know you cared so much," Noah teased, trying to deflect.
"Of course I care!" She huffed, then caught herself. "I mean, who else is going to help me map the unexplored regions? Can't trust anyone else to keep up."
'Right. The exploring. That's totally what this is about.'
"I need a shower," Noah said, standing up. His first void loot box was waiting, and the anticipation was killing him. "Unless you want to watch that too?"
Lila's cheeks colored slightly. "I'll see you tomorrow, zombie boy." She turned to leave, then spun back. "Oh, and Noah? Next time you decide to fight someone twice your size? Maybe give me a heads up so I can sell tickets."
She winked and disappeared, leaving Noah shaking his head.
Outside, Kelvin was practically vibrating with excitement, tablet in hand. "Dude, you're trending! Look at these theories about how you won! Some people think you have a secret ability, others say you're actually a third-year student in disguise..."
'If they only knew,' Noah thought, his mind fixed on the notification promising his first void loot box. Whatever was inside, it had better be worth all this trouble.
"...and the betting pool went crazy! People lost fortunes on this fight!" Kelvin continued, scrolling endlessly through the forum. "You're officially a legend now!"
But Noah was barely listening. His thoughts were consumed by what awaited him in their room. His first void loot box - earned with blood, sweat, and more than a few cracked bones.
'Just a few more minutes,' he told himself as Kelvin launched into another excited recap. 'Then we'll see what this system really has in store for me.'
The walk back to their room had never felt longer.
____
Noah made a beeline for the bathroom the moment they entered their room, cutting off Kelvin's endless commentary.
"—and I'm telling you, man, that's not just trauma bonding!" Kelvin called through the door. "You don't look at someone like that just because you almost died together. The way she rushed to the clinic? Classic signs—"
'Finally,' Noah thought, letting the sound of running water drown out his friend's relationship analysis. Standing before the mirror, he closed his eyes and accessed the system interface.
[Open Void Loot Box?]
[Yes/No]
His mental command triggered an immediate response. The air before him shimmered and darkened, coalescing into a box that seemed to absorb the bathroom's light. It hung there, suspended, its surface rippling like liquid shadow.
The box split open with absolute silence, darkness peeling back to reveal its contents. A blade emerged, floating in the dead space between light and shadow.
'What the...'
The weapon was unlike anything Noah had seen before. Longer than a dagger but shorter than a sword, its blade was pitch black, seeming to drink in the light around it. The edge held an impossible sharpness, as if it cut through reality itself. Dark energy writhed along its length like ink in water, never quite settling into a fixed pattern.
[Void Eclipse Blade (Level 1)]
[A weapon forged in the space between spaces]
The handle was wrapped in what looked like leather, but felt wrong somehow – too cool to the touch, too perfect in its grip. Geometric patterns traced themselves along the crossguard, glowing with a faint purple light before fading back to black.
As Noah reached for it, the blade descended into his waiting hand with deliberate grace. The moment his fingers closed around the grip, he felt it – a connection, like completing a circuit he never knew was broken.
"You okay in there?" Kelvin's voice penetrated his trance. "If you passed out, I'm not coming in to get you!"
The blade pulsed once in Noah's hand, as if acknowledging its new master.
'Well,' Noah thought, staring at his empty hand. 'This should make things interesting.'