:::[Third Person POV]:::
Adam's first duel was about to begin and even though he was sure to win, there was also something that intrigued him.
"The next duel would put Farah Vyh Blazenain against Adam Von Kepalta. As you may have already guessed, this lady is the daughter of the strongest man in the Empire, the Fire Guardian, the legend, Derige Blazenain!"
Adam didn't understand why there was a need to have a commentator for this event, almost as if it was a UFC match.
However, it looked like the audience was hyped and when Derige's face was shown on the enormous screen, the audience began to shout and applaud.
It looked like Derige and some of the other guardians showed up for the first day of the test.
Such a fact didn't really make Adam feel anything in particular but he also didn't miss this chance to observe these individuals considered the Empire's strongest.
"Are you ready?"
The referee asked Adam and Farah if they were ready after explaining the rules to them.
The rules while simple. If one of the participants capitulated, was unable to move for a certain amount of time, or got pushed back beyond the limit of the arena, the other one wins.
These rules were created so that the weak would have a chance to win against the strong, or so it was emphasized.
The rules didn't mean anything much to Adam, but it was important to understand the limits of what someone could do during the duel.
Therefore, after considering all of the possibilities and adjusting his plans related to the twins and the other participants affiliated with the Raizel family, Adam nodded at the referees' words.
"Ready, Fight!"
The referee announced the start of the duel, but Adam found it weird that the Holy Academy's test turned into something like a martial arts competition.
The spectators who shouted at the top of their lungs, the commentators who tried to liven up the event, and the participants who gave their all.
'What's this?' Adam asked himself. To think that he was just attacked by an unknown entity the day before.
Swoosh! Boom!
While Adam looked like he was thinking about various things, Farah didn't hesitate to attack to end the duel with a single attack.
"Did you see that, Jacob?!!"
"Yeah, Jim. It looked like the duel ended with that one move. I can feel the temperature rising all the way here."
The whole arena was engulfed in a sea of flames, and the spectators felt threatened despite knowing that there was a barrier protecting them.
From the look of it, Farah knew about Adam's deeds and didn't go easy on him.
"I wouldn't be sure about that, I heard some rumors about the other participant, and it seems like he is not someone that can be taken down with one attack."
"Hmph! Are you saying that he stands a chance against Farah the Red Phoenix? She is a genius that is said to be at the level of Liu the Ice Queen you know. Look at that, magnificent! Jim, that's the Phoenix armor!"
Farah's uniform turned into ashes but underneath her clothes was a rare full-body suit crafted using dragon's scales that could withstand high temperature.
This suit let her use her ability to the fullest without holding back, but even without it, she was already at the level where she could materialize suit with her power.
Nonetheless, it was not all that would change anything when it came to Adam's assured victory.
Still, he had learned to never underestimate his opponents. Like him, they also may have four or five trump cards up their sleeves, or so Adam thought.
Shoowsh!
"It's not over yet!"
A silhouette appeared from within the smoke and rose to the sky. Black wings and red crimson eyes looking down at Farah, were the first thing that the people watching the duel noticed.
Adam was unscathed and his white clothes even have any trace of burn on them, even though he decided to not bring his black coat with him during the duel.
"I can't believe it. It looks like you are right, Jim! This boy, Adam, he is not going down easily. Do you hear that? The audience is waiting to see more from this duel!"
"I told you. His background might not be extraordinary, but you should not judge a book by its cover."
The comments annoyed Adam but he was calm and looked like he wasn't in the least threatened by Farah.
It might have been an act but the character that Adam tried to portray had also affected his personality.
"Tsk!"
No one else heard it but Adam noticed that Farah had just shown an expression of displeasure.
Swoosh!
This time, Farah used her power to leap upward and darted toward Adam like a meteorite.
Her whole body was covered in red flames and it showed what kind of fighter she was.
Instead of using tricks and some kind of martial arts, she was the kind of person who used her overwhelming power to annihilate her opponent.
Adam felt the temperature rising and it was getting harder for him to breathe.
Boom!
"Again, the Red Phoenix Farah demonstrated her abilities with that power attack! The whole arena went up in smoke I got chills all over my body just by witnessing this. Jim, it looks like this is the end after all."
"Compared to her, Adam is on the defensive, but it must be because he has a plan."
"I hope so because Farah doesn't look like she intends to drag on this battle. Is Adam another overrated genius? We will find the answer soon!"
The commentators were just doing their job but most of the spectators were just there to see Adam being beaten one-sidedly by Farah.
They wanted to see something entertaining, and they wanted to see blood, and Adam felt like he was fighting inside of a roman coliseum.
'What are they hiding?' Adam thought to himself. He hasn't still found the reason why the Shadow king didn't make his move yet despite noticing his presence. Therefore, he had begun to question everything that was happening and the connection between all of the events, as well as the probable outcomes.
However, he couldn't also ignore the girl in front of him as she made a very frustrated face, seeing that her attack didn't even make Adam move an inch.
Instead, a block of metal appeared in front of her, and even though it was about to melt due to the temperature, her attack didn't reach Adam.
Moreover, even though she could use her ability to stay in mid-air for a certain amount of time, her mobility was restricted so she decided to distance herself from Adam.
Apart from the fact that her attack failed to reach Adam, she also became uneasy when she realized that Adam didn't attack back.
At first, she just thought that Adam was just another arrogant kid who was too confident in their ability. Thus, even though she didn't know what exactly Adam's gift was, she thought that it would be useless if she couldn't use it.
As such, she began to observe the man in front of her more seriously and discarded away the idea of finishing the battle with a single attack.
"Farah Vyh Blazenain, what is your dream?"
"Huh?!!"
However, before she could even do anything, Adam closed the distance between them.
He stood extremely close to her and looked down at her eyes as if he was looking at her soul.
"What am I seeing? Jacob, is this even a battle?"
"I don't know Jim. I feel like I am looking at a theatrical play where an angel is trying to seduce a stubborn girl."
"Well, that's quite a detailed imagination."
Farah didn't understand what was happening and Adam's question didn't make any sense to her.
However, she was taken aback. She was the kind of woman who discarded away the feelings that could lead her to fall in love or show any expression that could be considered a weakness.
"Bastard!!! What are you doing?!" Among the audience, Derige's voice could be heard and it was clear that he didn't like what he was seeing.
Nonetheless, after a few seconds, Farah regained her composure and immediately used a powerful attack enough to turn someone into ashes.
She directed her attack at Adam's face, using both of her hands to shoot blazing fire from her palms while jumping back.
Boom!
"Hahaha! That's my daughter! Burn him! Turn him into dust!!!" Derige shouted, and all of the other Guardians were extremely shocked to see him reacting like that. The image of him being a quiet and mysterious person disappeared from everyone's mind.
The headmaster just laughed a little bit seeing him, but then an expression of concern appeared on her face, once again. As she feared, the Holy Academy's test turned into something unsightly.
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