Rex got into a loose stance. Scorch marks flashed under his boots. His eyes locked onto Alvian with intense killing intent.
Up in the sponsor boxes, the MAG-tech lenses were running at full speed. Noble aides held crystal tablets. They were ready to record everything. The Academy was watching very closely now.
"Begin!" Helen shouted.
Rex did not charge blindly. He circled. His Ember Step gave him crazy burst speed. He crossed three meters in a single flash! He left a trail of burned tiles. He faked left, dashed right, and threw a fast jab. The heat was strong enough to burn eyebrows.
Alvian stepped back quickly. The hot air washed over his face. The burst speed was actually very fast. Not as fast as him, but very close. Rex was Level 12. His C-Rank Talent boosted his speed and power.
Rex circled again. He was not stupid. He watched the first fight. He knew Alvian wanted to get close and use acid. Rex decided to completely deny him that chance.
"Whoosh!"
Rex dashed in with an Ember Step burst. He threw a super hot left hook.
"Clang!"
Alvian blocked with his coated short sword. The heat transfer was instant. The acid coating hissed loudly. It partly evaporated from the burning fist. The heavy force traveled into Alvian’s arm and numbed his wrist for a second.
’He’s fast,’ Alvian thought coldly. ’And his heat is destroying my acid coating.’
Rex attacked again from the left side. His right fist came low. The air twisted from the intense heat. Alvian dodged sideways. But the heat grazed his ribs right through his jacket. A painful burn stung his skin.
The MAG-tech readouts updated fast. Rex showed a clean C-Rank thermal Talent. Alvian stayed at a D-Rank corrosive output. By standard logic, Rex was easily winning.
But Alvian did not care about standard logic. He only cared about brutal chemistry.
"Thump!"
He dropped to one knee and slammed both hands flat on the arena floor.
Clearwater Coating spread outward from his hands like a fast wave. A thin film of acid covered the tiles in a large circle. It was not deep enough to melt the strong floor, but it created a very slippery, corrosive puddle all around him.
Rex saw the move and laughed mockingly. "Acid on the floor? Are you going to melt my shoes? What a joke!"
He dashed in again with a burst of speed. He wanted to crush Alvian before he could even stand up.
His boots stepped right into the Clearwater puddle.
The acid instantly started melting his soles. But that was not the worst part. The intense heat from the Ember Step ignited the chemical acid!
"BOOM!"
Acid and fire smashed together! A massive burst of superheated steam and toxic gas exploded upward from the floor.
"Cough! Cough!"
Rex staggered backward. He choked violently. The toxic gas burned his throat and blinded his eyes. He tried to dash away, but he slipped on the melting floor. The tiles crumbled under his boots like wet mud. He looked completely pathetic.
The audience gasped and shouted! Many people jumped out of their seats. The MAG-tech readouts flickered crazily. The chemical explosion created energy numbers they could not even read.
Helen Croft gripped her datapad tightly. This was battlefield survival tactics! She never saw a student fight this dirty in a formal tournament.
Rex stumbled out of the steam cloud. His eyes were red and crying. He could barely see anything. His Ember Step was broken. Every time he tried to use his fire, it hit the acid and made more toxic gas! He was trapped in a painful loop.
Alvian was already moving. He crossed the distance in two steps. His high Speed made him a dark blur in the steam. Both of his palms were dripping with acid.
He reached out and tightly grabbed Rex’s wrists.
"Sizzle!"
The acid burned right through Rex’s combat gloves in one second. Clearwater Coating on raw skin was terrifying. It melted the gloves, then the skin, then the flesh underneath in a brutal reaction.
"AHHHHHHH!"
Rex let out a pig like scream! It was a sound of pure agony. The scream echoed off the walls and completely silenced the entire arena.
He dropped hard to his knees. His Ember Step died completely. The fire faded from his fists. He could not focus at all. The pain of acid melting his wrists was too much to handle.
"YIELD!" Helen shouted loudly. She stepped onto the platform quickly to stop Alvian from melting his hands off.
Rex sobbed loudly like a baby. His teeth were clenched in pain. "I yield! I yield! Please stop!"
Alvian let go and stepped back. He looked at the crying genius with total indifference. The acid slowly faded from his hands.
Match time, forty-seven seconds.
The arena was split in half. Many spectators stood up and yelled angrily. They complained about dirty tricks and chemical attacks. The rest sat in pure shock. An E-Rank trash just destroyed a C-Rank genius. He did not use overwhelming power. He used dirty chemistry and ruthless tactics.
Up in the waiting area, Darius Magnus jumped to his feet. His face turned dark red with rage. His magma fire blazed wildly around his fists. He was so hot that other students ran away from him in fear. His proud cousin was beaten by floor puddles and acid tricks!
"That was not a real fight!" Darius growled in pure anger. "That was a cowardly chemical attack!"
Nobody dared to speak to him.
The MAG-tech readouts caught something scary. When Alvian grabbed Rex, his acid power spiked. It briefly touched the C-Rank level before dropping back down. It was less than a second, but the system recorded it perfectly.
[Ding!]
Helen’s datapad vibrated. She looked at the screen.
[Three anomalies flagged. Formal review triggered. Hearing scheduled within 48 hours.]
She looked up at Alvian. He walked back to the tunnel. His sword was put away. His face was cold and emotionless.
The giant bracket updated above them. Round three. The system did its job.
Alvian Vance, E-Rank Clearwater, versus Darius Magnus, C-Rank Magma.
[Re-Roll Token status: 1 (Active)]
[Expiration: None]
[The System suggests you stop saving it for a rainy day. Today is the rainy day.]
The match that truly mattered was finally here.
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Sorry for the late update guys. I’ll post bonus Chapters to make up for it🙏