Amanda Gardner had lost. A faint smile tugged at Norvax's lips.
"I really can't afford to laugh out loud at such a critical time."
Amanda blankly stared at the spot where she was standing.
"This should be a lesson to the rest of the kids, Chrono evaluation does not necessarily determine who will win in and life and death situation," Darius thought calmly.
"This is also why mental manipulators are so dangerous. Anthony may have had a lower Chrono evaluation, but he still managed to outmaneuver his opponent and outsmart her using her overconfidence to his advantage."
Anthony nonchalantly swaggered up to where Amanda stood, with an easy-going smile plastered on his face.
He rhythmically combed through his blonde hair with his fingers.
"Nice of you to let me win. Honestly, you're such a nice person, and all I had to do was ask politely." Anthony grinned shamelessly.
"No hard feelings, right? Let's be friends." He offered her his hand.
"I lost. How could I lose to such a weakling? I must be losing it," Amanda thought.
She slowly looked up, glimpsing Anthony's outstretched hand.
She glanced at his smiling face. Her face contorted in rage.
She lunged forward, ducking low to catch him off guard. Her fist shot forward, aiming for his face.
"Oh shit," Anthony yelled, feigning a look of horror as he leapt back.
He lifted his hands in mock surrender.
" Please don't hurt me." A slow grin spread across his face.
"Just kidding."
Norvax materialized between Amanda and Anthony in a burst of speed.
He gripped her fist, stopping it from advancing any further.
"Enough. I thought that I'd made myself clear that fighting among recruits was forbidden."
Amanda's fists dropped to her sides under Norvax's intense glare.
"Thank you, instructor, I honestly don't know what would have happened if you hadn't intervened," Anthony said with a smile.
He looked anything but intimidated. His voice suddenly took on a more serious undertone.
"You shouldn't have underestimated me, you know, having a higher chrono evaluation than the rest of us doesn't mean you own this place. But, well, it just goes to show that you can have a high evaluation and still not be the sharpest tool in the shed," Anthony said with a smug grin.
"I dare you to say that again," Amanda snarled.
"And thus you graciously continue to prove my point," Anthony continued.
"If you think that the outcome of our fight will change if we fight again, then you're even dumber than you look."
"Did I not make myself clear?" Norvax growled.
Anthony ignored him as well and kept talking.
"Look at all the agents gathered here, do you think that they're all class A-4, or A-5?"
Amanda remained silent, staring at Anthony. She visibly trembled with rage.
"Cat got your tongue? Let me dumb it down for you. I don't think so. They're here because they worked their asses off and made their way up the ranks by honing their skills. Not by loading over others and parading around pretending to be all high and mighty."
Amanda was visibly on the verge of tears at this point.
Norvax inwardly had a double-take.
" Damn, this kid's good and he's right as well, but sadly, I'll have to put an end to this tirade."
"Enough!'' Norvax said. His eyes lit up menacingly, and a dangerous aura spread throughout the room.
Anthony caught himself just as he was about to continue his verbal barrage.
"Sorry," He muttered. Amanda silently walked off, exiting the auditorium.
The next match will now begin, Norvax announced, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief.
"The mouth on that kid." He thought, silently shaking his head.
" Wow, did you see that? He owned her. I wonder how she'll come back from that."
Edmund warily glanced at Anthony.
"Defeated twice in the same day, that's rough."
He murmured.
"Thrice, if you consider the tongue lashing just now," Emily interjected.
Edmund's eyes lit up. He smiled playfully.
" So she speaks,"
" Watch it, hairdo," Samantha said, shooting him a threatening glare. Edmund apologetically lifted his hands while offering Samantha a wry smile.
" It's alright, mama bear, I meant no harm."
The next match proceeded without any upsets; it was a class A-2 fire elemental against a class A-2 water elemental. They were evenly matched, and the match ended in a draw.
Soon it was Edmund's match. Edmund Brewer versus Drake Scylar. He was going up against a class A-2 biological talent.
" Good luck," Emily whispered.
Edmund grinned." I won't need it."
Emily cocked her head and quietly stared at him.
"Don't be cocky. Remember what happened to Amanda."
" I say let him go and have his ass handed to him. It would serve him right." Samantha grunted.
" Don't worry, I don't intend to lose. Not in front of him." He quickly glanced where Warren stood, with his arms folded across his chest.
" What's the hold up?" Edmund's opponent shouted from the stage. Edmund's eyes hardened as he slowly strode to the stage.
" Don't hold back on me, A-3," Drake growled.
His skin hardened, turning into a turtle-like shell that spread to cover his whole body. His eyes glowed with an orange light as he stared intently at Edmund.
He slowly moved forward with his arms raised in front of him in a loose turtle stance.
Edmund unhurriedly cracked his neck, moving his head from side to side as he watched Drake's approach.
Drake suddenly burst forward and swung a hardened fist at Edmund. Edmund swiftly ducked under the blow and spun away, turning to face Drake, lightly bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"That was a close call," Emily said as she observed the fight, standing beside Samantha.
Drake turned and rushed forward, abandoning any pretense of stalling.
Edmund's lips quirked up as he smiled. Drake threw a flurry of punches at Edmund.
Edmund calmly dodged them before ducking to the ground and rolling. He got behind Drake and quickly got to his feet.
He quickly cast a glance at where Warren stood.
"I hope you're watching."
Drake snarled furiously as he crossed the distance between them.
" Don't underestimate me, use your full strength." He threw a jab, which Edmund dodged. Edmund's eyes widened slightly as Drake's fist hit him from the right.
"Shit, that was a feint." He braced himself, crossing his arms in front of his chest at the last second as the blow slammed into his makeshift guard.
Cheers erupted as some of the kids cheered Drake on.
" Damn, he got me good."
Edmund stared at his trembling arms in disbelief.
" This guy packs quite the punch. I'll have to end this quickly."
Drake was closing in fast; he was already within striking range.
" Do you still want to hold back on me, A-3?"
A small grin tugged at Drake's lips as he continued to throw punches at Edmund.
"You ain't shit. You've got nothing on me." Drake taunted.
Edmund continued to observe Drake, weaving through his attacks and bobbing from side to side.
He feinted then sidestepped at the last second when Drake took the bait, creating some distance between them.
" You're right," Edmund said, "I shouldn't have held back on you. I just wanted to see how much you could do. I was a little excited, I guess, so I got a bit carried away. I apologize for that."
Drake abruptly stopped in his advance. "What?!"
"Hey, did you hear that? He was supposedly testing Drake. Feeling him out."
" He's just bluffin', he's probably tired from all the power he used earlier."
Edmund's eyes suddenly glowed.
" I'll end it here. You'd better go all out if you want to survive."
He casually stretched out an arm.
Suddenly, Drake felt a gigantic force wrap around him. His eyes widened in surprise.
" I can't move. What's this? What are you doing?"
Edmund smirked as he watched Drake squirm. His eyes were eerily cold.
" Allow me to introduce you to my second ability. Telekinesis. I'll admit, it's my secondary talent, but it should be enough to finish the job."
Drake's mouth opened in surprise.
"Right, this is also the reason why I'm A-3 and you're A-2, I can easily tap into and use more abilities, don't forget that." Edmund started to walk away.
" Release me," Drake yelled. " I haven't surrendered yet. You haven't won."
Edmund paused. He slowly turned around, facing Drake.
Drake recoiled in fear. Something about Edmund felt off; he could just feel it.
There was just something about the way he looked at him that wasn't right.
" You're right about that. Allow me to pay you back for the punch from earlier. You see, I may not look like it, appearances are quite deceptive after all, but I'm a very petty person." Edmund said as he activated his elemental ability.
A gigantic fist made of water formed in the air beside him. Drake's eyes widened in realization.
" No, please, I was just joking around, man. I swear. Wait, I s.."
Edmund's arm shot out with inhuman speed, and Drake flew wildly through the air.
The watery fist accelerated towards him and crashed into him.
A small crater formed in the middle of the stage from the impact.
Drake's body horrendously flipped over in the air and landed with a dull thud in the crater. He was unconscious.
"Damn, I may have gone a little overboard," Edmund thought, assessing the damage on the stage.
Drake's skin was slowly returning to normal since his ability had deactivated.
A few of the agents had rushed onto the stage and were assessing Drake's condition.
Edmund slowly walked back to where Emily stood.
Samantha regarded him curiously."Is there something on my face?"
He casually wiped his face.
"She's still staring at me."
Edmund looked at her in puzzlement.
" What? Is something wrong with my face?"
" Nothing," She hurriedly looked away.
" Honestly, Sammy's probably surprised that you'd be capable of such..." Emily said, staring intently at something on the ground.
" Such?"
Emily looked up from the ground and stared at him, her green eyes boring into his blue ones.
" Violence...such violence".