After Jack won his fight against Ariella, he instantly became the dark horse of the competition. Numerous people now supported him, but a large number of them—mostly Ariella's fans—disliked him.
"Tch, he's definitely going to lose this match, Robzo won't go easy on him like Ariella."
"Yeah, Robzo isn't as kind-hearted as her. Ariella only lost because she pitied him too much."
"You all have eyes but can't see Mount Tai, there's no way Robzo can win. The only person capable of beating number 36 in this competition is Aster."
"Hahaha, you don't even know his name and you're glazing him."
…
Jack's opponent, Robzo, was a chubby boy, and from a single look, one could tell his fists packed a punch.
Both of them stood facing each other as the announcer continued to call other fights. Only when all rings were filled did the fights start. A loud gong resounded, signifying the start of the second stage.
Robzo had no plans of underestimating his opponent: immediately the fight started, he didn't hesitate to enter his strongest form.
His skin began to glow with a metallic light, and soon he started looking like a silver golem.
A normal person would have a hard time understanding what was happening but Vale knew exactly what that transformation was. In fact, he had tried to learn that skill once in his past life, but failed.
The entire essence of a body mage was the ability to use magic on one's own body instead of the outside world.
That way, it was possible to change the properties of the body. This could grant the user endless powers.
The skill Robzo used was a common one known as metal shell.
It turned his skin, or at least most parts of it, into metal. That way his punches would carry devastating power.
Robzo's form was still incomplete, as his skin only had a metallic glow; it wasn't completely metal.
He wasted no time running to Jack. The arena shook with each step and his feet made imprints on the floor.
Jack still held his short sword, but he made no attempt to fight back. With nimble feet, he manoeuvred his way out of his opponent's reach. Robzo's transformation wasn't complete, so it made him heavy and reduced his speed.
Only when one fully mastered the skill would it be possible to move with normal speed.
So it was quite easy for Jack to stay out of reach. But the longer their game of cat and mouse dragged on the more people got bored.
"I told you number 36 was a fraud. All he can do is run around."
"The coward doesn't dare get close."
"What do you expect? If he gets close, he'll be smashed to smithereens."
"You can't blame him, though. After all, it's not like he's breaking the rules."
There were still a few people who saw nothing wrong in Jack's action. It was Robzo's fault for being slow.
But the majority still tagged him as a coward.
Vale would have loved to watch them longer, but his number was called out.
"Ring three: Participant 27 vs Participant 16."
To Vale's bewilderment, his opponent was a cute, petite girl carrying a small wand—quite fitting for her size.
But he wasn't stupid enough to look down on her. He still remembered her match where her opponent, although much larger than her, had surrendered without a fight.
She must surely have a hidden power. They stood before each other, and the girl even seemed quite timid.
Tsk, she's trying so hard to fool me, luckily I'm an experienced veteran.
"Guys, look, isn't that Aster's little sister?"
Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to Vale's ring.
"Yeah, that's her. She may not have Aster's talent, but her cuteness makes up for it."
"She's so adorable."
"Her opponent is entering a fighting stance. Don't tell me he actually plans on fighting."
"No way, no one in their right mind will lay their hands on someone so adorable. Not to mention the fact that she's Aster's sister."
"It's that guy who beat Azoth. I really wanted him to pass but right now his only option is to resign."
…
The audience continued talking, but Vale wasn't paying attention to what they said. The only thing he cared about was the fight.
He might be overestimating his opponent, but then again it would do more harm to underestimate them.
The match began, and everyone else—including the girl—was immediately surprised when he began running towards her. It was so shocking that everyone went silent.
The little girl was the most affected. This wasn't the script she had expected.
The match was supposed to start and her opponent would then resign. Why then was this lunatic running towards her?
Unless he didn't know who her brother was, attacking her would be pure madness.
But Vale wasn't planning to give her the time she needed to analyse everything. He sprinted toward her with his dagger in hand.
However, Aster's sister wasn't weak. She immediately composed herself and began attacking too.
With the wave of her wand, she sent out fireball after fireball.
Vale dodged them all easily, and they achieved nothing other than slowing him down a bit. At this point, she was starting to get scared as nothing she did seemed to affect him.
His movements were unpredictable, and her hands had begun to shake.
There was only one option left for her. Her lips moved quickly, reciting incantations for a spell her brother had taught her.
Vale had already reached her when she finished the incantation.
"Hellfire: Burning bridge."
With those words the incantation was complete. A stream of black flames poured out from her wand completely covering a part of the ring.
The stream lasted for an entire ten seconds, and clouds of smoke covered the entire ring.
Aster's sister breathed heavily, her legs shaking as she tried her hardest to stay upright. Her opponent was dead, and there was no other possible option.
Perhaps that was too much–
Her thoughts were interrupted as a strong arm clasped her neck.
Vale then proceeded to bash her head with the back of the dagger, and the girl immediately passed out right there.
There was silence, then the voice announced his victory.
But unlike what Vale expected, the crowd remained silent; then someone in the audience broke the silence.
"Did he just knock out Aster's sister?"