Chapter 19: First Fight
After Denim reminded me of what I had momentarily forgotten amidst the lingering darkness of the previous day, he made me breakfast. Then, he cast strength, stamina, and speed buff spells on me before I headed to the town square.
On my way, I met Leah. She noticed the change in my demeanor almost immediately.
"Is everything okay with you, Eason?" she asked, her expression filled with worry.
"I'm fine," I replied, my face devoid of emotion.
Before we realized it, we had reached the town square. I glanced toward the arena and saw a match already underway between a boy and a girl. They fought for a few minutes before the girl emerged victorious, her rank rising to 15th.
I made my way to the board near the arena, where the list of matchups was displayed. My opponent was the current 7th-ranked contestant: **Veloce Sterling**, a 15-year-old boy with tousled brown hair and green eyes.
We both walked up to the arena. Standing face to face, I could see the confidence—or rather arrogance—oozing from him.
"*Salve, amigo!*" he hollered, bowing with an exaggerated smile. "I'll take good care of you. I promise not to break any bones," he added with a prideful tone.
"Really?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow in annoyance. "I won't make any promises," I said flatly, slowly unsheathing my sword.
His jaw clenched, and his cheerful expression turned cold as his green eyes filled with malice. "A mere *unawakened* talking to me like this?" he sneered, shifting into a combat stance.
I rushed forward, aiming a sideways slash, but he dodged effortlessly. I took a half-step back, tilted my body to the right, and stabbed toward his left hand—he dodged. I slashed at his right hand, and he dodged again. No matter what I tried, he evaded my every move.
"Hahaha! Are you getting tired from all that swinging at the air? I feel really sorry for you," he mocked, his voice dripping with disdain. "Now, let me get serious about this fight," he announced as he reached out to grab my sword.
The moment his hand made contact, the speed of my sword dropped drastically, almost by half. The sudden reduction in momentum caused me to lose my balance, and Veloce capitalized on the opportunity, landing a powerful uppercut on my face and pushing me back several meters.
As I steadied myself, the nature of his ability became clear. **It had something to do with kinetic energy**—perhaps he could manipulate it or detect where it would land if he was close enough. That had to be how he slowed down my sword.
Dodging another incoming strike, I moved in closer with a loose fist. I used the same amount of force one would for a simple wave or handshake to throw a punch, deliberately keeping my movements slow and predictable. Then, at the last moment, I **increased the speed of my fist**, catching him completely off guard. My punch landed squarely on his face, sending him staggering before he finally fell to the ground.
"Turns out I'm actually stronger than you—physically, at least," I said with a smirk. "Dumbo."
*A/n :Please give me some power stones and or vote for me