The moment the signal was given, I armed myself with all forms of enhancements.
In a battle against a superior opponent, it was best to be at one's peak—physically.
Using all five of my Cores to multi-cast, I was able to arm myself with several spells within the time frame of seconds.
"Are you done with your preparations?" Kuzon smiled as he spoke.
"Who knows? Am I?" I retorted.
"I see you're taking this match seriously... why? It's really no big deal who wins or loses. This is just a ceremonial activity that this Academy uses to flaunt the superiority of the Upper-Class students." Kuzon shrugged.
Well, he wasn't wrong.
"Or, don't tell me... you aim to rebel against that notion by achieving victory here. Is that it?"
"No!" I sharply responded to his insinuations.
"My goals are not as grand as that. This is just something I want to do. It's nothing personal, well, it wasn't... but now..."
"Is it because I won against the female friend who always hangs around you?"
I furrowed my brow slightly at his jestful remark.
"Not really. But... I consider you a challenge to surpass. That's all there is to it."
The moment I said this, Kuzon paused for a moment—looking dazed.
His silence didn't last for long, though, as he soon burst into laughter.
"Hahahahaha! Oh my, to think you'd say it like that."
His golden hair swayed as he cocked his hair to the side and supported it with his hand. With his fingers frolicking his hair and putting it into place, he gave a wide smile.
"Well, I don't consider you a challenge at all. Your skills are great, but... you can't beat me."
I stared straight into the boy's eyes. It didn't seem like he was lying or even overconfident in his strength.
What he spoke was most likely the truth!
... But...
"We'll see about that!" I grinned excitedly.
... Why was my heart beating so fast in anticipation the more I thought of how right the boy was? My obsessive nature was surfacing, and the desire to win rang truer than ever.
"Let's do this!"
>BOOOOMMMMM!!!<
In a flash, I shattered the ground I stood on, truly breaking it into pieces as I zoomed at Kuzon.
>WHOOOOSHHH!!!<
My speed had long transcended human limits and the only reason I hadn't been torn apart by the pressure was thanks to my enhancement.
"Hahaha! Interesting!" Kuzon laughed, doing the same.
He lunged at me with equal speed, causing my eyes to bulge in both shock and excitement.
I heard the loud cracking noise behind him as the platform he stood on had most likely shattered apart as well.
There was no chance to confirm my suspicions, though, as the boy was already right in front of me.
>BOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!<
Both our arms clashed in direct combat, hitting each other at similar wavelengths.
The air around seemed to part for us, as everywhere became clearer than ever. I heard the gasps of the audience—most likely due to the bizarre sight of the ground breaking, or maybe the wind that blew all over them.
My plan was simple!
'He's very adept at using Spells so, why don't we try a little enhanced Magic combat?'
I had to size him up a bit.
>WHOOOMMM!!!<
Raising my fist with quick precision, I aimed for his defenseless head, putting all my strength into the hit.
>BAM!<
To my surprise, he matched my speed and raised his unoccupied hand to block.
"Tch!"
Twisting my body in the air, I detached both limbs from the opponent and sent two kicks flying in succession.
Both moved at frightening degrees and packed the brunt of my enhancements. Still, to my surprise, Kuzon tanked them both.
'Hmm? Let's get a bit more serious then!'
>WHOOOOSHH!!!<
Increasing my flow, I rushed past Kuzon breaking the ground with every step I took as I circled around him.
Trying many different attempts and failing, I sent my fists flying, or kicked violently, yet the boy caught every single one!
"Shit!" I unconsciously let out, realizing none of my blows had any effect.
I couldn't properly use Martial Arts since that would be against the rules, but I at least thought I had the upper hand in combat.
Realizing I was wrong, I dashed back to gather my thoughts.
"Oh, no, you don't!" Kuzon yelled in what I could only call excitement, charging at me as I retreated.
'Damnit!' I gritted my teeth and prepared my defenses.
>WHOOSH<
>BAM<
>WHOOOM<
>SWOOSH<
We exchanged hits, throwing arms and legs as we matched each other's pace and countered our attacks.
It lasted for some time and I was beginning to feel numb in my arms, but I persisted. There had to be a way to get rid of him!
'How ironic!' My mind rang.
I intended to overwhelm the boy in close combat, but it now seemed like he was overwhelming me. No, that wasn't exactly accurate.
Seeing as close combat wasn't the right call, I wanted to use something else, but Kuzon's barrage of attacks was making things difficult.
I had no choice.
Increasing the flow of my Mana, I made use of one of my Cores, while using the other four to sustain my enhancements.
>BRUUUPPPP!!!<
The ground beneath Kuzon suddenly turned liquid, like wet cement, causing the boy's legs to begin to sink.
As expected, he realized this on time and jumped away, detaching himself from the earth trap before it was too late.
"Not bad!" He grinned in slight amusement.
Taking it as my chance, I altered the form of the liquid ground, turning it into several muddy arms that stretched for my target.
>BOOOOMMMM!!!<
In an instant, they erupted in flames.
'His magic is still quite impressive!'
He didn't even appear to be casting, yet the combustion effect was instantaneous. To catch up with his speed and power, I would have to constantly use all five of my Cores.
"I remember making a deal with you... that if you could understand what happened with your friend back there in her match against me... I would take my time with you and properly enjoy this match." Kuzon said, now a distance from me.
Of course, I remembered those words perfectly.
"Well, I'm about to test you now... let's see if you truly learned something."
