'No way... he stood on his own... without using any superpower?' Horatius won, but he couldn't believe that Satoshi matched his power without even activating anything!
He didn't even infuse his hands with energy!
A huge blow was dealt to his pride as he stared at Satoshi who calmly shook his hand in front of him. It was apparent that he lost the first round, but that didn't even affect him in the least bit.
Aside from thinking that Horatius was actually stronger than he thought, Satoshi wasn't worried at all. Besides, he was able to gauge his power just by going head-to-head with him without using any superpower.
Then again, no normal person would resort to the blatant tactic that Satoshi did. In retrospect, Satoshi was far from normal, so resorting to something deviating from the norm should be expected of him.
"That was faster than I thought," Satoshi muttered to himself, shaking his head at his poor performance. It was probably because everyone around him was considered Disciple. And a couple of months ago, he had no idea that they existed.
Now he was one of them, and he concluded that it might take ample time to get used to this scenario. It was an entirely different atmosphere compared to when people would watch him as an underdog powerless student.
Satoshi felt way more nervous than usual. After all, these Disciples rival him in terms of superpower. They may not rival him in a physical sense, but when it comes to their superpowers, Satoshi knew just how formidable they were.
While Satoshi was trying to figure out whether Horatius was taking it easy or not, everyone started letting out an 'oooh' as Horatius placed his arm on the stomach-height pillar. This was a gesture for the second round.
'Yeah, there's no way he struggled after using his full power. He's probably holding back so he wouldn't humiliate me that much.' Satoshi concluded to himself. Even then, he didn't want to underestimate or overestimate his opponent, and the only thing he could do to fulfill that was to give it his all in the next round.
Or not?
Following Horatius's lead, Satoshi also put his arm on top of the pillar. For the second round, Satoshi planned to go beyond his limits so he won't be using his superpower. He was able to temporarily stop Horatius's forceful top roll with his physical strength alone, and he figured that trying harder might put him at a slight disadvantage.
Furthermore, Satoshi actually found a hole in Horatius's technique. Satoshi was prepared to utilize that weakness against him, and he was pretty sure that that would be the tipping point to his victory even if he decided to not use any of his superpowers.
Once again, there was no need for anyone to give the signal. As soon as their hands touched, it was game time. With great anticipation, everyone held their breaths as they awaited the winner of the second round.
Every Disciple in the vicinity was aware that one split second could utterly change the tide of the arm wrestling round, that's why they couldn't dare breathe the moment Horatius and Satoshi went in on each other.
Fwoosh!
Although it was sudden, Satoshi immediately felt the right moment when Horatius activated all his skills before forcing his arm. At the same time, Satoshi also forced his arm, trying to counter his press, Satoshi brought his arms closer and leaned his body to the opposite side.
In the first round, Satoshi used the entirety of his arm strength, but right now, Satoshi used his entire lat as well as his core strength to squeeze as much power as he could. He also placed his leg in an advantageous position, hooking it a bit around the pillar so it would act as a counterweight.
The plan worked!
Despite Horatius activating everything in his arsenal, Satoshi just wouldn't budge. In the face of overwhelming power, Satoshi managed to counter Horatius with his pure physical strength and technique.
And Satoshi wasn't even sweating!
"Oi... is that even possible?"
"No way, a human could actually be that strong?!"
"He's probably superhuman... or maybe a superior breed of a human, like a manekian or something."
"What's a manekian?"
"I don't know, I made that stuff up."
While everyone was arguing whether Satoshi was really human or not, Horatius had hit a wall and it was only a matter of time before his defensive stance broke down.
For the last minute, the two of them just wouldn't budge, but there was an entirely different take on the way they spent their time. While Horatius got increasingly impatient since he got a chance at winning, he decided to force everything with every second, hoping that Satoshi would drop down his guard and he would unleash a finishing move on that opening.
However, Satoshi was completely locked in, and his arm wasn't even getting exhausted.
In layman's terms, Horatius was playing offensively, while Satoshi was playing the waiting game. He was waiting for the next moment when Horatius would weaken, and then he could deliver the final blow.
ραΠdαsΝοvel.cοm The fight became exponentially more anxiety-inducing to the crowd. As seconds passed, the crowd continued holding their breaths as if to match both of their paces.
And yes, after all this time, Horatius and Satoshi were actually holding their breaths just to get a couple more ounces of power into their arms. With everything tightened tautly, it wouldn't take long before one of them gives out.
Then the inevitable happened— Horatius relaxed for a split second to take in a short burst of air into his lungs!
That was the only opening Satoshi needed, and he used all his strength to push up with a top roll, catching Horatius off-guard, and then he brought his arms down with a locked forearm.
It still was pretty hard to break through Horatius's defenses since he was using some sort of enhancements on his body. For a moment, Satoshi even thought that his forearms would snap in two, but fortunately, that didn't happen.
BAM!
Without using a sliver of his superpower, Satoshi brought down Horatius's arms which were buffed to the teeth with enhancements and skills. It was the greatest upset everyone had ever seen in the history of Magnus Carter's Disciples.
And it was the greatest insult that Horatius had ever received since birth! Unsurprisingly, he was born as a Disciple, so his strength had always been backed with the title of being a Disciple of one of the strongest Managers.
That's why the humiliation felt a thousand times worse. Moreover, most of the Disciples were watching, and it made the humiliation a thousand times worse than a thousand times.
"Whoa~ can a human really be that strong? How is that possible?" Finana asked, turning to Lucy since she assumed that she might know a thing or two about Satoshi.
But Lucy had no idea that Satoshi was that strong. Even she was shocked, and she stared, dumbfounded, at Satoshi upon witnessing his raw power.
Seeing her reaction, Finana realized that Lucy had no idea about Satoshi's real strength. Now she was beginning to question how the two of them knew each other but she didn't ask any prying questions.
She'll eventually come to that information, after all, and she didn't want to sound as if she was eyeing Satoshi out. That would make it even more obvious.
"All right! Since the two of you are clearly a match... then I'll just do the refereeing! Is that what it's called? The name's Rogueland Hill by the way." Rogueland said, stepping forward out of nowhere.
Rogueland had red hair and energy that matched his vibrant colors. He was famous for his fiery and passionate take in fighting, and just like Horatius, he was easily one of the strongest among Magnus Carter's disciples.
He had been watching the fight unfold from afar now, and seeing Satoshi's technique and pure power just made him want to take a closer look. He didn't want to miss his chance to observe someone who could rival him, that's why he took this opportune moment to get closer.
Quite frankly, this was one of the ideas that Horatius could get behind with. After all, with the referee in place, he could time his skill activation the moment he gives the go signal. With this, there won't be a split-second delay and he could totally catch Satoshi off-guard.
It was time for the third round.
"All right, both hands in place. Equal grip. Thumbs should be facing each other with both palms parallel... right." Rogueland gave the words of the referee even though he wasn't an expert in arm wrestling. He did know the basics though.
"All right, on my count, I'll release and then you guys do your thing." Upon saying that, Rogueland gave the usual countdown. "Three. Two. One. Go!"
BAM!
Unlike the previous rounds, this round was as anticlimactic as it was sudden. The moment Rogueland gave the signal, someone had already won the third round.
And to everyone's surprise, it was Satoshi who won!
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