There was no way Nate could forget how William turned out even after he covered his whole body in earth. It did nothing to stop this monster in front of him.
'I better go all out from the beginning,' meeting Atticus's eyes, Nate felt pressure the likes of which he had never felt before.
Nate had trained with many instructors during the course of the years. His family couldn't be said to be very high ranking in the Ravenstein family, but they still held significant influence.
But even then, none of his instructors, each of them master ranks for that matter, made him feel what his age mate in front of him was making him feel.
There was nothing like holding back his strength in front of Atticus. The one minute he was given to attack didn't mean the fight would truly start after one minute, it simply meant it would end.
The youths in the training ground noticed that a fight was about to occur and upon seeing that it was their leader who wanted to spar with someone, many of them rushed over to watch the battle.
The area became crowded in an instant as they formed a large circle around the duo.
Atticus had hardly ever visited the training grounds during the month, this was the first time they would see him spar with one of the Ravenstein youths.
Their excitement increased as they saw it was Nate, who many in the camp had tagged as the third strongest in the camp.
Every eyes focused on duo, waiting for the battle to begin.
As Nate's eyes locked on to Atticus, his gaze lit a blaze in steely resolve.
And then, without warning, his bulk form rocketed towards Atticus with astonishing speed, materializing in front of him within a second.
His broadsword, clasped firmly with both hands, emanated a palpable yellow aura as he unleashed a powerful horizontal attack directly at Atticus.
Every spectator could feel the raw power in Nate's assault — it was clear that he held nothing back!
But who was he fighting?
With almost imperceptible grace, Atticus seamlessly glided backward, effortlessly evading the massive broadsword by a mere two meters.
The colossal weapon's swing reverberated through the surroundings, creating shockwaves that echoed the force behind Nate's strike.
Undeterred by the miss, Nate's eyes flashed with determination. The very earth beneath Atticus responded to his command, as multiple earthen spikes erupted with ferocity, hurtling toward Atticus from behind.
Without the need to turn around. It was as if he had eyes at the back of his head. His figure left afterimages in the air as he moved at shocking speeds.
To onlookers, it appeared as though he hadn't moved an inch. The brutal impaling that should have occurred never transpired, as the earthen spikes effortlessly phased through the space where his torso should have been.
Seizing the moment, Nate's bulky figure materialized in front of Atticus once again. His broadsword, raised skyward, descended with a powerful vertical slash, aiming to cleave through Atticus's form.
Yet, with ease, Atticus deftly sidestepped to the left, narrowly avoiding the sweeping strike.
The broadsword struck the earth with a thunderous impact, sending shockwaves rippling through the surroundings, shaking the very ground beneath them.
'Now!' as though expecting this to happen, Nate, with his sword still embedded in the ground, shot his shoulders forward, the earthen shoulder pad erupted with menacing spikes.
The earth beneath him simultaneously responded with a swift swirl, propelling his bulky figure straight at Atticus as if in a forceful tackle.
But instead of the collision he was expecting, Nate was met with the cold unfeeling air as Atticus had vanished from his original position, reappearing directly behind him as though he had always been there.
After moving forward for a few meters, Nate finally halted his momentum. He swiftly turned behind him to see Atticus looking at him with the same neutral gaze he had since the beginning of the fight.
'Damn, I can't even hit him once?' Nate thought, frustration clouding his mind.
He honestly hadn't been expecting to achieve much during this fight, but at the very least, he assumed Atticus would have to block one of his strikes!
But throughout the fight, he had only dodged, and it was very obvious that he could do this all day if he wanted!
Nate cleared his head of any unnecessary thoughts, lifting his broadsword he hadn't let go of, Nate entered another stance.
And without hesitation, he charged at Atticus once more, unleashing a barrage of varied attacks that sent shockwaves and dust rippling through the scene.
Nate didn't even bother using any of his attacking arts. They were each focused on increasing his attacking power, which was pretty useless considering the fact that he couldn't even lay a single hand on Atticus.
Atticus easily evaded every single one of Nate's attacks with minimal movement.
And after a while, seeing Nate's massive broadsword descending towards his form, Atticus's eyes flashed, and with lightning fast manipulation, the earth swirled from beneath him, coalescing between his two fingers as he raised it to meet the impending strike.
The broadsword landed with a thunderous impact, the intense force creating snake like cracks on the earth beneath Atticus.
Shockwaves and dust swept through the area, covering the outcome.
As the dust settled, Nate's eyes widened as he saw his strike had been blocked, by a frigging finger!
Before Nate could formulate his next move, Atticus calmly spoke, "That's one minute."
The echo of Atticus's words had barely faded when Nate's massive frame found itself abruptly suspended in the air.
Atticus, with seemingly effortless precision, executed a judo flip.
In the blink of an eye, Nate's bulk figure crashed onto the hard unforgiving earth. The impact was swift and brutal, immediately robbing him of precious breath, forcibly expelling the air from his lungs.
The crowd of youths went silent for a brief second before they all erupted in cheers. The battle wasn't as large scale and big as they were used to seeing Atticus fight, but it was still a breath of fresh air.
