The eerie grey of the small stadium generated a sense of dread in Jetore that he refused to show. Albert felt the same way; in fact, he had already guessed what the issue with the battle platform was. Mr. Kran's piercing gaze through his glasses shattered the feeling in the air as his tone shifted.
"The third and final test of the Marked Mercenary selection shall begin. Even though I've a rough idea of your individual capabilities, it's still not enough to meet the standards. After all, there's a reason we're called Mercenaries, so you should expect violence all the time. In this test, you will duel an opponent in a fierce battle. When your opponent has lost consciousness, surrendered, or has been kicked off the battle platform, you pass," Mr. Kran explained.
The room went silent, but not out of fear. "Hell yeah! Finally some real action!" Riko exclaimed as he performed some stretches as if warming up. Jetore smiled maniacally, as if his raw, animalistic, primate-like nature was escaping. Maddeline and Albert weren't as happy; both of them were exceptional but would rather settle the final test in a more civilized way.
Rennet stretched his arms and pulled his fingers with a determined smile. "I'm fired up now!" he exclaimed so loudly that Mei instinctively looked away as if trying to conceal their acquaintance. Felix wasn't too bothered by the statement, however.
"My assistant Clara has decided on your matchups, and no, there are no questions or negotiations," Kran said, staring directly at Riko.
A man walked in with shiny glasses and a white jacket paired with headphones. "Sup' newbies, the name's Jerak and I'll be the referee. Anyway, we don't have time to lose, so the first match is between Contestant Robu and Jetore. Can you two get your asses up? I want a nice, fun match, got it?" he said, sounding like he was rapping every sentence.
Jetore clicked his fingers as a tremor of excitement washed over him. Robu walked to the opposite side. "I heard the architect did a number on you, aye? Give up—your weak ass ain't no match for my fiery explosions," Jetore taunted, sparks igniting from his hand.
Robu wore the same scummy smile that Jetore shared, showing a certain similarity between the two. In an instant, Jetore rushed forward, his arm and mark glowing a bright orange. A series of explosions erupted and aimed directly at Robu. "Bomber Fury!" Jetore yelled, naming his technique as he summoned an onslaught of explosions, causing smoke to fill the platform.
Maddeline stepped out of her seat, but before she could do anything, Riko stopped her. "What? Are you even watching? That idiot's gonna kill that guy!" Maddeline argued.
"This is a duel between two awesome men. Besides, Jetore's stupid, but he ain't that stupid," Riko answered, clearly hinting that Jetore was aware of the rules.
"A passion mark that grants the power to create explosions? Interesting. It's similar to your power, flame brat," Mei commented, observing the furious explosions that shook the platform.
"Don't call me a brat! We're like the same age!" Rennet talked back, looking pissed.
"That simpleton—is he not aware of good sportsmanship?" Albert remarked, though Maddeline looked a bit annoyed, since Albert had no room to comment about sportsmanship after the way he dealt with Robu, as he had revealed in a past conversation before test two.
Jetore jumped back from the smoke, panting from exhaustion but still smiling stubbornly. "You weren't even a chall—" Jetore was unable to finish his sentence. He was stunned to see multiple bending formations of rock patterns formed from the platform that seemed to have created a protective barrier. As it broke down, Robu stood tall with his pickaxe, smiling like he'd already won the battle. He clutched his pickaxe in his left hand and wore the most prideful of faces.
"While it's true my power lets me mine anything, the true nature of it is being able to rearrange and manipulate minerals I mine. Not that yer dense skull could ever understand."
Albert stared at the battle in disbelief. "Impossible. I had no idea he had power like that," he said, wondering if the confrontation in the first test would have gone less smoothly had he given Robu time to focus.
"You think your stupid pick and pebbles can actually do shit?" Jetore taunted as he dodged the falling rock pillars Robu had made. Dodging a kick, Robu slammed his pickaxe down in close vicinity to Jetore, causing the flooring to break. In a split second, Robu manipulated the pieces from the floor to form multiple large, curving spikes. Jetore's efforts to dodge were foiled as one of the spikes cut the back of his jacket, drawing blood.
The animalistic fight between the two was entertaining to Riko, who stood watching every move Jetore made and looked for openings.
Jetore coughed before recuperating himself and creating an explosion to blast into the air before delivering a kick toward Robu. In the second he had, Robu blocked it with the top of his pickaxe, however, this left him wide open as Jetore twisted in the air and generated a bursting explosion toward Robu's chest.
The blow was serious. Maddeline looked ready to jump down; Rennet gritted his teeth; and even Mr. Kran seemed ever so slightly concerned.
Jetore touched down, laughing. "Your dumbass tricks are useless if you're trash at usin' 'em," he said.
In that moment, while coughing blood, Robu stood, his silver pickaxe holding his pride as he lunged toward Jetore, smashing away with his pickaxe. However, Jetore grinned as Robu stepped to a certain point. Within a second, small sparks appeared on that spot on the platform as it exploded. The pressure pushed Robu into the air and ravaged parts of his body, creating multiple wounds. The fight was brutal, yet no one spoke about it as such—it was necessary, after all.
Jetore jumped before kicking Robu to the ground as he grunted in pain. However, as if by miracle, Robu willed himself to struggle up, still clenching his pickaxe as if it were his life.
"F-fuck you, asshole! I'ma pound your skull with my pickaxe first. Tell me, you're friends with that stupid Albert boy, right? Well then, I'll have to avenge my pride with you first before I get to him," Robu said, stuttering and coughing as he talked.
"Nah, don't associate me with that creep. I don't do friends," Jetore replied, clicking his fingers.
Robu didn't hear a thing and immediately rushed toward Jetore with wild swings. Jetore evaded and smirked before attempting to deliver another explosion, but soon realized Robu was aiming for the ground below. Slamming down, he broke off a few chunks that immediately shifted together with his ability and formed pillars that slammed into Jetore, sending him flying through the air and coughing up blood.
As Jetore slammed down, he struggled to stand from the weight that had just hit him. He was inches away from the border of the half-shattered platform as Robu slowly crouched over.
"I-I…I'll never…give up, you idiot…I have a promise to fulfill. My mother's gotta be treated, and I need the money," Robu said as he grunted. The fight had unfolded rather upsettingly; it proved his "bluffs" against Carmalitta were true indeed.
Suddenly, the large battle platform shifted as the injured Robu and Jetore were pulled to another side, as if the platform were a three-dimensional cube with different sides this whole time. The platform now had a few trees and vegetation, and the floor seemed to be pure dirt.
"Hey! Glasses! The hell is this all about?" Riko asked disrespectfully from the sidelines.
Mr. Kran pulled up his glasses. "Be quiet, you impertinent swine, but you do remind me—I forgot to mention that the battleground may change styles and surroundings randomly throughout this test. I apologize," he said with a slight grin that irritated Riko.
"Damn, this battlefield's the disadvantage for the both of us now. I can't afford to be sparing with explosions 'cause they can ignite all this, and that freak can't mine and control rocks anymore!" Jetore thought to himself as he struggled up.
Suddenly, Robu launched from a bush. "You're not fighting for anything like me! Get lost, punk!" Robu yelled as he proceeded to slam the pickaxe, pinning Jetore.
Those words were what struck Jetore the most, however. He couldn't make it out in the moment, but it sounded like someone was calling out to him. In that moment, his veiled past flashed before his eyes for but a moment as he raged, "I'll never lose again! You hear me?!!!" Jetore yelled with his lungs as he created a large spark of explosion and focused it like a beam that collided into Robu and burned down the nature-inspired platform. The explosion was huge and covered the stadium.
Reacting fast, Rennet and Riko jumped into the air. Riko created a large water hose from his back and fired to put out the flames, as Rennet activated his power and manipulated the flames, absorbing them into his palms.
As the smoke cleared, Jetore stood, barely, with a smile. He had multiple wounds. Robu was on the floor, unable to move, covered in scratches, wounds, and a burn mark.
"Don't be a stinkin' Marked Mercenary, y-you idiot," Jetore said as he stumbled forward.
Before Robu could argue, he noticed Jetore's eyes weren't mocking him. In fact, no one in the stadium mocked him for losing. There glowed a hint of respect in Jetore's eyes.
"I could feel it in those strikes with your pickaxe—you ain't never hit anyone with that thing, have ye?" Jetore asked, his black hair flowing and his nose piercing glinting.
"My uncle's setting up a street food restaurant. If you need money for your mom, you could totally work for him. But this Marked Mercenary stuff's too deep—you might die, you know?" Jetore said.
"Hell if I care! I'm repaying her for her treatment no matter what! She needs the surgery for her heart…or she'll…". Jetore didn't mock Robu; his eyes held nothing but respect despite his attitude.
"Do you really think your mom would like to know her son died for her, huh!? You'd give her too much guilt. If you wanna save your mum, let her live peacefully without worrying for you. Go see my uncle; I'm sure he'd hook you up with a job," Jetore advised as he grinned before slowly turning to walk away.
Maddeline jumped down to assess Robu's condition and began healing him immediately.
"Damn, I had no idea Jetore's such a good guy at heart!" Riko remarked as he smirked.
"For a criminal, he gives some good advice. I suppose I should also apologize to that Robu; I shouldn't have judged him as a low-class simpleton," Albert said, looking to the side.
Riko grinned at him. Albert blushed with embarrassment. "I didn't say that!" he said, trying to cover his earlier sentiment.
Felix watched Jetore walk back to the sidelines. He gave a small smile, as if acknowledging him.