Just like Kairo, Eric is an F+ rank rookie.
Kairo could tell immediately as soon as he stepped into the same combat arena with the brown-haired boy.
Kairo observed his combat stance. 'Unlike me, he seems trained'.
'He's skilled. I don't see any obvious weaknesses about him, he's a balanced fighter, and he seems to have actual experience in urban combat tournaments'.
Kairo deduced all this from just a single glance.
Reading people was an ability he learned by being a street rat. Every day from the tender age of 8, he'd dealt with distrustful bastards and gangsters who wanted to take advantage of him, so reading people was an instinctive skill for him.
It was also the reason why he let Mira get so close to him. He was yet to sense a single trace of hostility from her.
Kairo breathed. 'Let me test my limits with this guy'.
Unlike his opponent, he had an advantage, his E-Rank strength.
Eric entered the arena confidently, smirking in his direction. "You're the slumrat with bare fists, right?" he grinned. "I researched about you. Those fists of yours can do nothing against my Stone Skin". He bragged.
"You talk too much". Kairo said coldly in annoyance.
Eric froze, but then his smirk returned. "I'll love to see you say that again by the end of the duel".
DONG!
The bell rang and the duel started.
Eric had 2 special abilities. He already revealed one, Stone Skin, a defensive buff that gives him high resistance to physical attacks. His second ability is Shockwave Strike, a powerful close-range AOE attack.
So, yes, Kairo's deduction was correct. With his 2 synergetic special abilities, Eric was the perfect balanced Awakened warrior.
His class was the warrior class like Kairo, and he also fought with his fists.
As soon as the duel started, Eric confidently charged forward. As he charged, he gathered his mana and concentrated it on his right fist, aiming to overwhelm his opponent and end the battle quickly.
Unlike Eric who charged, Kairo stood in place, waiting for him to come.
Eric punched but dodging to the side, Kairo moved with newfound instincts thanks to his E- strength stat as the punch missed his face.
Kairo aimed to counterattack immediately, but not so fast… Eric had a plan, and he used it immediately.
[Shockwave Strike!]
BAM!
Kairo grimaced as the attack slammed straight into his upper body, knocking him off balance. The only reason why he didn't cough blood was because he used Muscle Lock at the last moment to defend.
But the crowd didn't know that.
"What a powerful special ability!"
"It's already over!"
But no, Kairo was not out yet. Out? He would rather commit suicide than go out so cheaply when his only motivation for living was what was on the line.
For Leora, Eric was to cheap of an obstacle to cross.
Kairo finally switched it on.
Muscle Lock may have blocked the attack but it was still an AOE attack. His whole body ached from the attack, but gritting his teeth through the pain, Kairo steadied, and then he countered with sheer brute force.
[Hypermuscle Creation!]
KACHA!
His fist punched right through Eric's defense, breaking through his Stone Skin layer. Eric's eyes widened in shock; he finally took the fight serious.
For the next few minutes, they exchanged dozens of blows as the fight escalated into a gritty, close-range brawl.
Unlike how opponent, Kairo didn't just throw his fists though, he also tried to grapple and that was what slightly gave him the edge. But Eric's style was too well-trained to succumb quickly.
Eric activated his Shockwave again, expecting to blow Kairo away, but this time, planting his feet, Kairo's muscles bulged as he withstood it with Muscle Lock.
With a growl, he overpowered the pushback force of the shockwave with raw strength, shocking the spectators.
Eric was also shocked. Before he could react, he felt Kairo's left hand grab his head even as his right hand flashed like a bullet.
BAM!
A punch straight to the gut.
"Argh…!"
The punch was so powerful that it lifted Eric off the ground as he coughed blood. His eyes flashed with panic, trying to react, but too late…
BAM!
Kairo finished him off with a brutal follow-up, a devastating uppercut that sent his opponent to sleep, decisively ending the battle.
Eric collapsed in a heap. His eyes were already white; he was unconscious.
Eric didn't kill him. He just looked at the referee, and so…
"Winner, Kairo Vale!" The referee called.
On the floating platforms, a gathering of nobles sneered at the display. "Absolutely barbaric, no elegance at all".
"But it's exciting," one of them countered. "Ah, it's just like a dogfight, you just love to watch muscleheads like them go at each other sometimes".
"They'll both make good underground gladiators". One of the nobles said, contemplating. "Should I hire them? I'm tempted".
While the nobles sneered, the guild scouts didn't as understanding the intricacies of the battle that they just witnessed, they scribbled down their thoughts on their note with interest.
On the touchline, Mira smiled faintly, relieved.
The holographic screen updated again.
[Applicant 438 progresses…]
[Applicant 315 eliminated…]
The first round of the combat phase continued as more batches entered the arena to fight. The 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th batch till the 26th batch eventually fought their battles, bringing the first round to an end.
269 applicants progressed, while 269 were eliminated.
After their battle, while resting, Kairo and Mira tried to find Larry to help with his healing ability. This was when they learned that Larry was among the applicants who withdrew from the tournament yesterday.
In hindsight, he made the right decision.
The entrance tournament was truly no place for a healer.
By the time the first round ended, it was already evening, and that was when Major Pain addressed the crowd from his floating platform.
"Let round 2 begin".
Like he said before, there were no breaks in between.
As the A.I projected the brackets again, randomizing the selections, Kairo took a deep breath and looked at his system interface.
~----~
[SYSTEM WARNING: Nutritional Deficiency!]
[Urgent Recommendation: Consume protein immediately!]
~----~
His eyes remained emotionless but inside, he was worried as his stomach started growling again. 'Can I make it to the end?'
He clenched his fists. 'This is just the first round. If I can't endure this, I'll never endure what's coming'.
The matchups were soon finalized.
[Kairo Vale vs George Best – 7th batch]