Some days passed, and Erik only missed one fight before being eligible to have a go against Nathaniel, who was still ranked 370 in the peasant rank. Today he was going to fight a girl named Julia Armstrong, who was at rank 571 in the peasant rank. As far as Erik knew, the young woman was at the RHO3 level, which is pretty high for her age but in line with what most people at the Red Palace have at that rank.
Erik felt confident about this fight because he had been training hard for the past few days and felt ready to face off against Julia. Besides, if he won, it would only be a matter of days before he could fight Nathaniel.
During these days, he kept circulating rumors about his target. He actually managed to connect not only to his phone but also to Natasha's and Karl's phones during lunch at the cafeteria. He found many conversations where the three talked about other people, even people on the Squire rank, and obviously, they didn't say anything good about them. Erik knew he had to take advantage of this information and use it to his advantage, so he clearly released everything.
He spread the rumors far and wide, causing many problems for the young man and ensuring that Nathaniel would be far from his best mental state. This also resulted in him and his friends having some minor scuffles with these people. Since Erik made it so that these conversations were sent by either Natasha, Karl, or Nathaniel, the friendship between the three started to crack.
Erik also got proof that the rumors about Nathaniel and Natasha were true and that they had a sexual relationship. They also sent private photos to each other, which he shared with basically everyone, further making the two think that the other shared this content. This worsened the situation and caused a massive rift between the two, as they were all embarrassed and hurt by Erik's covert actions. They stopped talking to each other, and Nathaniel ended up alone.
Erik was now waiting in the Blue Palace's lobby. It wasn't the appointed time yet, but Erik didn't want to be late. Amber was actually with him, chatting about this and that while they waited. She seemed confident enough for Erik to win today, while he was pretty sure. The reason was that his next opponent had a weapon conjuring power—a hammer, to be precise—with which she could manipulate the shape, the density, the weight, and so on.
Weapon-conjuring powers were common but were also the easiest to fight for Erik since the individual's battle prowess mainly depended on their physical stats. It didn't matter that the weapon they wielded was insanely powerful and could cut steel easily if the person who wielded it was as slow as a turtle.
Since Erik had higher stats than the girl, so he firmly believed he could win against her, as she was at Zak's level. "So, I didn't ask before, but can you tell me why you are trying to climb the ranks so fast?" Amber asked.
Erik couldn't possibly tell that he wanted to humiliate Nathaniel because that would mean she would ask why, and then he would have to tell her that he sent the thaids. This would lead to other questions when Erik's next part of the plan occurred.
"I'm just really motivated," he answered. Amber nodded and smiled, but she wasn't convinced.
The lobby became crowded soon after the appointed hour arrived; more fights must have been set to take place that day too. When the time came, Erik received the usual notification on his phone.
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ERIK ROMANO (RANK 790, FIRST YEAR) VERSUS JULIA ARMSTRONG (RANK 571, SECOND YEAR)
ROOM 286, SECOND FLOOR.
HEALER: WALTER BROWN
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"Ok, it's my turn now... Wish me good luck," Erik said.
"Good luck, Erik!" Amber cheered.
As the young man went to the elevator, a woman quickly approached and asked Erik to stop it. The girl quickly entered it, and Erik recognized her; it was his opponent, Julia Armstrong. The young girl probably recognized him, too, since he was sure she had come to see a couple of his fights.
However, despite the situation, she looked very calm and cheerful as she took out an apple from her backpack and bit into it. She wore a black leather jacket over a white tank top and blue gym pants. Her long, straight blond hair fell to her shoulders, giving her a lovely, feminine look.
However, despite having asked him to stop the elevator, she didn't say anything else to Erik. She only smiled at him, although he was her opponent. Erik thought she was confident in winning the match; otherwise, that behavior was weird.
The elevator moved slowly toward the second floor when the doors closed behind the girl. Later, the doors opened, and the two entered the usual long corridor containing the many fighting rooms. As always, the hallways were filled with students heading to their respective rooms.
After walking for ten minutes, they reached Room 286; both fighters went inside. They saw their designated healer, Walter Brown, already waiting inside the safe room as they entered. His short brown hair framed his face well, giving him a somewhat youthful appearance. He had a muscular body covered in light gray clothes.
Then Walter Brown began speaking to them through the intercom. "I don't need to remember the rules, am I right?"
"No sir," both contestants replied.
"Good then. Are we ready?" he asked. Erik and Julia replied affirmatively.
"All right then. You may begin whenever you wish." And with those words, the healer closed all communications. Erik and Julia nodded in agreement and began preparing for the task ahead. At the same time, the young man didn't waste time and immediately checked the young woman's stats. He had to know how strong she was to understand how to fight her.
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- Name: Julia Armstrong.
- Brain crystal power: weapon conjuring (common); hammer variant (slightly uncommon).
-Race: Human.
-Physical characteristics: She has blond hair and blue eyes and is tall, lean, and athletic. Her estimated height is 1.7 meters, while her weight has been estimated to be 65 kilograms.
-Personality and traits: There is no information about her personality. She looks cheerful and polite. No hostility was detected.
-Power Level: 63.
-Approximate Strength: 22.
-Approximate Intelligence: 13.
-Approximate Dexterity: 19.
-Approximate Energy: 189.
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Erik could see from the screen that she was stronger than Zak, but her stats were still lower than his. The young man was surprised when he saw them. It was true that she was many ranks higher than Zak, but usually, there wasn't much difference in terms of physical characteristics.
<So far, this doesn't seem like a bad matchup,> Erik thought.
However, fighting against a hammer with a flyssa wasn't easy either. The weapon was much heavier, and Erik could risk having his weapon destroyed if he didn't pay attention. Julia was clearly aware of this as she started moving towards Erik confidently.
Julia rushed forward, employing the same tactic that most hammer users employed during these encounters with sword users: go first, hit hard and quickly, and do not give your opponent any time. She seemed to think Erik would try not to block her attacks and instead try to dodge and strike at the right time.
The woman charged at Erik, who stood his ground waiting for her, and swung her hammer with great force. He managed to avoid the strike, which ended up hitting the ground but didn't cause environmental damage due to how strong and durable the room was. Erik then used the opportunity to counterattack, striking with his sword and putting Julia on the defensive.
However, Julia was prepared; she pushed all her weight on the hammer and tried to kick the young man in the face with a sort of flying kick. But, thanks to his training, Erik easily avoided the move and even attempted to land a blow himself.
But Julia pulled down the hammer and easily blocked the dangerous cut with the weapon's long handle, which she had lengthened for defense. When attacking, she didn't need to exert much strength since the hammer was heavy and very big, and its weight alone was enough. She also had to avoid fatal moves so she didn't attack too hard. Besides, the hammer offered easy protection against the young man's attacks thanks to the tough handle.
Though there was a moment in which Julia was unable to move due to the weapon's weight, Erik decided to take advantage of the momentary break in momentum to kick the young woman in the stomach.
The kick's sheer force sent Julia flying a few meters after it connected. Erik jumped backward after kicking and got distance from his opponent. A warrior on the ground was often much more dangerous than one who stood on their feet since they could grab him easily and apply suppressing moves in which she was clearly trained like everyone else.
Clearly, the young woman took advantage of the situation and regained her footing quickly, raising the hammer once again. She started running toward Erik with the weapon in hand and swung it again, aiming for the young man's head.
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