Nathaniel was unsure if his attack would land on his opponent, but that did not stop him from trying. Confidence oozed from him. As soon as the mana circled his arm and his brain crystal pumped the mana, his arm started supercharging and converting mana into this mysterious force. He felt the energy flowing through his veins and knew he had to make the most of it. He lunged forward with fierce determination and unbridled rage, aiming to strike his opponent with all his might.
Nathaniel then punched; his fist shot out in a blur as soon as his mind registered he was ready to strike. The area around his fist, which was in the center, was about 30 centimeters wide, and it almost hit the Awakener hard enough to push it against a wall. However, Erik dodged the blow by moving one meter to Nathaniel's side, greatly surprising the young man. Nathaniel quickly got himself together and got ready for Erik to attack. His heart was pumping adrenaline all over his body as he prepared for his opponent's next move. He knew he couldn't afford to let his guard down, not even for a second if he wanted to emerge victorious from this intense battle.
Nathaniel was too proud to see Erik's fights, as he didn't believe he would be able to even remotely catch up to him, and yet, despite all odds, here they were. It was clear to Nathaniel that Erik had gained an incredible amount of strength and was at a complete loss for words, yet he refused to think of him as an equal like he did with Anderson or Amber. Nathaniel couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy towards Erik's progress, as he had always considered himself the better fighter. However, as he watched Erik's movements with a mix of awe and envy, Nathaniel realized that the fight wouldn't be as simple as he had initially assumed.
Erik had been practicing for months, honing his skills at every opportunity. He was confident in himself, much more than when he took his entrance test or fought against Zak. The increase in strength was helpful, but it would make it hard for him to increase his mana reserves since, to get more points, he needed to level up and kill creatures.
However, thanks to his increased speed and agility, his body moved like water, entirely under his command, fluidly shifting in position whenever the young man willed. That didn't sit well with Nathaniel; that increased the amount of mana channeled through his neural links, and he tried to punch Erik again.
BOOM BOOM
Nathaniel unleashed two punches at him, and the radius of his power significantly increased. The young man was also increasing his speed by using his power to make his attacks gain momentum. That way, Nathaniel was still much slower than Erik. Soon after, the fight started getting heated, with Nathaniel trying to attack him relentlessly while keeping his mana output relatively low.
Five minutes went on, with Erik swiftly dodging Nathaniel's attacks and landing a few counterattacks of his own. Their punches echoed through the room, creating deafening sounds that seemed to shake the walls.
Nathaniel yelled, "STOP RUNNING, YOU COWARD PIECE OF CRAP!" as frustration rose within him. Erik disregarded the taunt; he did not allow Nathaniel's teasing to affect him. This further enraged the Mambas' scion, who decided to increase his mana output and step up the game.
"FIGHT ME! YOU LITTLE BITCH!" Nathaniel shouted again.
The rage inside him made him lose control. His fists flew forward faster than ever, each swing causing a loud sound due to the mana hitting the empty air but making him look like an angry god throwing boulders at his enemies. Each hit came closer to hitting its target, becoming dangerous for the Awakener's safety.
Nathaniel's fists became so supercharged with mana that they could easily injure Erik, only thanks to the shockwaves. But the Awakener could avoid the attacks because he could move several meters in a matter of seconds from where he was and without notice.
As he felt another blow coming towards him, Erik found himself avoiding Nathaniel's attack again; he had been playing it passive most of the time until now.
Erik's blows would be dangerous to Nathaniel, too, since he could easily break a bone with the amount of strength he possessed. The fight became increasingly dangerous and intense in the following minutes, something the healer quickly noticed. The amount of mana in the room was off the charts, but what was scary was that almost all of it came from Nathaniel.
The healer was, however, astounded by Erik's mana management. At the moment, he wasn't even using mana to sharpen his flyssa, instead focusing solely on avoiding Nathaniel's fast attacks. The Awakener's opponent punched again; some minutes earlier, he had thrown the trident away and focused solely on using his power.
However, Erik collected enough "data" about Nathaniel's fighting style during the fight, and he started understanding how to land hits on him. That was all Erik did until that moment: collect data.
The problem was that Nathaniel was much better than him technique-wise, and he left no opening for Erik to exploit. It wasn't like he didn't have any, as he still had a lot to learn, but Erik couldn't see them easily since he wasn't as skilled as him, who had trained since an early age.
However, all his battles, training, and stats he pumped into intelligence and dexterity made it so that it was only a matter of time before he saw one. The young man didn't have to wait long as Nathaniel's fighting style became more unruly and unrefined; Erik immediately saw an opening and smirked. Nathaniel noticed the smile.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU LAUGHING FOR?!" he asked, clearly enraged by Erik's lack of fear or respect for him.
"It's just that I find it funny," Erik replied, avoiding another one of Nathaniel's seemingly unavoidable and fast attacks.
"WHAT?!"
SWOOOOSH
BOOM
"The fact that, up until two months ago, I saw you as an insurmountable obstacle, and yet, here I am, fighting against you on equal ground," the Awakener said while smiling. That wasn't the only reason, though, as most of Erik's happiness came from seeing Nathaniel's openings now.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." Nathaniel burst out in a maniacal laugh; he looked like a madman.
"YOU THINK YOU ARE MY EQUAL?! SERIOUSLY?!?" Nathaniel paused and attacked the young man again, but he could not surprise his opponent sufficiently to land a blow.
"I WILL ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOUR SKILLS HAVE IMPROVED OVER THE LAST TWO MONTHS AND THAT YOU ARE NO LONGER THE WEAKLING YOU WERE, BUT THERE IS STILL A MOUNTAIN BETWEEN MINE AND YOUR POWER! "DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE YOU CAN BEAT ME?" Nathaniel barked at Erik.
"I do not think so; I'm certain..." answered Erik, dodging another attack. "You see, this match started twenty minutes ago, and you couldn't land a single blow on me!" Erik said.
That statement caused Nathaniel to stop laughing suddenly. His face darkened, then slowly turned red because of the boiling rage he was currently feeling. He started breathing heavily and clenching his fist, and that was the moment he snapped. He didn't care anymore about the consequences, and he unrestrained himself.
The amount of mana inside Nathaniel's body bubbled to the point that it started manifesting around his skin. It appeared like a blue glow that glistened when he moved. His speed suddenly increased several folds. Nathaniel was hell-bent on killing Erik at that point.
Nathaniel unleashed every ounce of mana he had. Every tiny spark of energy he could muster was used, and he let loose in full fury.
<How the fuck can this guy have this much mana?!> thought Erik in shock, clearly able to feel the substance swirling around him.
The healer, Martin Middleton, immediately noticed the sudden shift in Nathaniel's mood and the amount of mana he unleashed; it was like a tsunami. However, he didn't think that Nathaniel would do something so stupid and risk being expelled by the Red Palace. He didn't anticipate that his rage would drive him so far as actually to try to kill him though he warned him.
"Nathaniel McConel, I'm warning you. The mana levels you are unleashing are too high above the threshold. If you do not calm down, I will declare you the loser and kick you out." Martin, the healer, said.
However, the young man didn't care what he said. He wanted Erik to pay; he would never accept these words from anyone. Not even his father. So, instead of calming down, his rage only increased.
<This is bad,> thought Martin with worry. <If he keeps attacking like this, he might hurt or even kill Erik.>
Martin knew that Nathaniel was capable of doing precisely that. Since Martin noticed how Nathaniel was unfazed by the healer's threat, he immediately pressed a button and called the security.
"There is a problem in room 883. Immediate assistance is required! I repeat immediate assistance is required!"
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