370 Jayden VS Reece
The barriers around the stage changed, and the Referee stood a bit away from the stage.
The duel hadn't even started yet, but both of their mana were already clashing.
Both of them were waiting for the signal to start as they would clash with each other.
Their last battle resulted in Jayden's win, but this time, they weren't using any artifacts at all.
It was their own strength and wits they could rely on now.
Apart from Jayden and Reece's personal interest, this duel was important for other students who joined their faction as well.
If Jayden lost, the people who joined his faction would have to face the consequences and stick with their choices.
In all these four years of World Academy, these students were not only building their strength but also building their network.
Jayden had many strong people who had joined his faction, but Reece wasn't behind either.
Even when he was out of World Academy, students who were on his side remained loyal because of Leonard and Raelyn's presence inside the Academy.
Normally, this wouldn't have been the case as Hargrave was stronger than Williams, but Jayden's Heir Position wasn't fixed.
And that was because he wasn't part of the Main family.
And Vin Hargrave being in the Third Year didn't help it at all.
Despite being weak, Vin still had the status of being the Son of the Family Head of the Hargrave Family.
They had no way of confirming the fact that even his own family had given up on him.
That's why Jayden despised Vin's existence itself.
Even when it was obvious he was being pushed by the Hargrave Family just because of his status, people doubted whether to join him or not.
But that changed after the performance Jayden showed last year.
Each of his opponents got badly injured, and his dominant performance left a mark on other's heads.
Jayden was sure he wouldn't have a hard time gaining support and gathering achievements outside of World Academy.
But if he lost here in the presence of Xarax Hargrave, all the work he had put in to build a solid foundation in his family till now would crumble into pieces.
The only obstacle in his current path was Reece Williams.
In the Medical Facility, Leonard was getting his hand treated while he was watching the match as well.
"If we let you stay awake, it will hurt a lot," The Doctor warned Leonard.
"It's fine. Just block the mana meridians from my shoulders," Leonard told the Doctor, making him frown.
Blocking mana meridians allowed them to numb the senses of that particular area, as it would have been impossible for them to numb a B Rank hunter without giving him strong drugs that could induce such effects.
"It might slow down the recovery rate," The Doctor warned Leonard.
"Go ahead and do it," Leonard replied, not caring much about it.
Even if it took more than a month, it was fine because he didn't need to fight anymore for the next few months.
Right now, it was more important for him to see how this duel went.
Leonard wanted Reece to win, but he knew it wouldn't be easy. But he needed Reece to win by any means possible.
'Even if a few things went wrong, we just need this one win,' Leonard thought.
At the Arena,
"Start in..." The Referee said out loud.
"3...2....1....Start!!"
The Referee was far away from the stage, but he felt the pressure of the clash between those two.
As soon as their sword met and their auras clashed, it produced a lot of power.
BANG!!!
The sound was quite loud as Jayden stared right into Reece's eyes.
And Reece was the same.
Water circled around, and using his aura, he made another strike while taking a step back.
He turned his body to the side, slashing down with his sword as Jayden stopped it easily.
"You think these attacks would even hurt me?" Jayden mocked Reece as he pushed back.
He increased his aura, making cracks on the ground where he was standing.
Despite the barrier blocking most of the power, the students could feel the terrifying strength of these two just by looking at their auras.
Both of them had honed their aura quite a lot and faced multiple monsters in the Dungeon.
Fighting in extreme conditions made them into what they were today.
Jayden dashed as he struck down his sword on Reece as he defended against Jayden's strike, but doing so made a small crater on the stage.
A smile appeared on Reece's face, and the other Fourth Years felt that the scene from the last year was about to repeat itself.
Even back then, their duel ended when the Professors intervened as their injuries were too much.
Jayden was declared the winner, but he himself was quite injured, just like Reece.
This time around, because it was their graduation, some students thought that both of them wouldn't go that far, but seeing both of them, it didn't look like they were thinking of ending this duel easily.
"Both of them are above advanced mastery," Dexter said out loud, seeing their duel.
"He is still far from mastering my sword art," Xarax replied.
The Hargrave Family had multiple weapon arts, but the Heir was allowed to learn from Xarax, so Jayden had the opportunity to learn the Sword Art that Xarax used himself.
But seeing Xarax's eyes, Dexter could see he was enjoying the duel.
'Seems like that boy knows how to please that old man,' Dexter thought in his head.
Jayden's sword shined as he slashed it diagonally while Reece took a step back.
A cut appeared on the stage as Jayden immediately pulled his sword up to block Reece's attack.
Jayden's hands had no armor as they disliked the feeling of wearing heavy armor, but on the other hand, Reece was wearing a nano armor that covered his whole body.
Jayden's aura was violent, while Reece's aura imitated the water element.
If Jayden had the upper hand in strength, Reece was superior in agility.
Clang!
Suddenly, Reece managed to slip Jayden's sword downward while shifting his body to the left side, striking his arm.
Jayden saw the attack, and he backstepped immediately, but a small cut appeared on his hand.
But unlike others, Jayden looked unbothered by his injury.
His wounds started to heal quite quickly, and the bleeding also stopped.
Hargrave Bloodline Ability, which had the power to heal their wounds.
A regenerative ability that could allow Jayden to fight while ignoring minor wounds.
There was a reason why Hargrave, just like Greville, was able to retain their position as the Elite family for so long.
The reason behind Xarax's fearless attitude was his ability to heal his wounds, which was the greatest among all SSS Rank Hunters that had similar abilities.
Natural healing was different from the ability of Hargrave Bloodline.
Even B Rank Hunter with a high-ranking bloodline ability from the Hargrave Family could match the healing ability of a S Rank Hunter.
But having such an ability didn't mean that Jayden could take as many wounds as he wanted and rely on his bloodline ability.
His mana was consumed to heal such wounds, and the more he was wounded, the more tired he would feel.
BANG!
Jayden disappeared from his spot as he appeared in front of Reece, and he swung his sword upwards.
Reece looked at the sword as he used his sword to divert the direction, but it felt heavy.
Jayden's sword, despite looking light, was getting heavier, and it was because of the two elements he had an affinity with.
One of them was earth, and the other was an advanced element.
Asher was looking at this duel while examining both of their strengths.
But without using anything that could harm his own body or the Time Dilation skill, defeating Jayden or Reece was impossible.
In a fair battle, both of them were too powerful if they were given the chance to use their personal artifacts that were all S Ranks or above.
But even in that battle, Asher knew he could win if he mastered his sword art a little more.
Right now, there were exactly two nodes that he could see on the stage, each on both of them.
And that meant that Asher still had the chance to kill them.
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