The atmosphere in the sparring hall had reached a fever pitch, the air crackling with a tension that made the skin of every student crawl. John's eyes were locked on Cissel, a smirk playing on his lips that was both maddening and magnetic.
It was crystal clear what John wanted; he wanted to fight Cissel as well!
"I don't want to…" Cissel began, her voice trailing off as she was taken aback by such an out-of-the-blue provocation. She was a predator who preferred the shadows, the sudden, silent strike.
To be called out like this in front of the entire class was a violation of her nature. Yet before she could even finish her refusal, a booming voice shattered the moment.
"I like that!" Nikolas excitedly shouted. He had been startled for a heartbeat, but then he broke out into a deep, thunderous laughter that rattled the recording cube in his hand.
"Let's raise the stakes then! In return for this, John, if you managed to beat the two of them at once, I'll make sure the entire freshman class calls you 'Boss' from this moment onward! A true leader forged in fire!"
"What?!!" Ricky and Cissel shouted in unison, their faces masks of pure outrage. The idea of being forced to acknowledge John, the zero-score student, as their superior was a bitter pill they weren't ready to swallow.
Meanwhile, John was undeterred. He was bouncing from foot to foot. He felt lighter, faster, and more dangerous than he ever had with the mere thought of having his Mental Points reserve fully recharged from Ricky.
"What do you say?!" Nikolas ignored the protests, his eyes glued to John with curiosity.
"I'll ask for a permanent permission for the night patrol role as well," John added, his voice coolly opportunistic. Since he was already gambling, he might as well play for the house. "I want to roam the academy grounds at night uninterrupted… No questions asked, no reports filed."
"I like that! Hahaha! I swear I haven't seen a freshman with your level of gall in ages, boy! It's settled then!" Nikolas turned his gaze to Cissel, a look that made it clear she was no longer a spectator. She was a combatant, whether she liked it or not.
"Fine," she finally gave in, shaking her head as she stepped into the fighting space that grew larger by the retreating students. She looked at John with a chilling coldness. "He is signing his own death certificate, you know that?" She didn't say it to the teacher; she said it directly to John.
John simply shrugged, his expression casual. "I already signed one not long before. One more won't hurt."
His response was so nonchalant that no one took it literally, not even Nikolas, who assumed it was just the bravado of a youth high on adrenaline.
"Round two, start at will!" Nikolas cried, his excitement reaching a new peak. He knew he had been right about these three. By forcing them into a three-way collision with sky-high stakes, he had ensured that no one would hold back. No one would mask their strength today.
"Say your prayers, arrogant boy!" Cissel hissed.
She was the first to move. She didn't run; she flashed. She came at John in a single, direct dash, a spear of pure intent. John's mind raced, his Frame Recognition tracking the slight shift in her hip. He knew her pattern; he knew what she was truly aiming for. She would feint the direct strike, then use her short-distance acceleration ability to vanish and reappear at his blind spot.
Fwoosh
'As expected,' John thought. Cissel changed her direction mid-air, activating her short-range acceleration to appear instantly at his side, her leg cocked for a fierce, bone-shattering kick aimed at his flank.
'That's why I want to test this on you… Object Lockdown! MP Absorption!'
He activated both abilities simultaneously, one for the very first time in live combat. As Cissel's foot whistled toward his ribs from an inescapable angle, Ricky didn't stay idle. He moved as fast as his body allowed, timing his filaments to strike the exact trajectory John's body would take once Cissel slammed into him.
The last time they had clashed in the past competition, this attack had sent John flying, forcing him to withdraw in shame. Ricky didn't believe for a second that John could do any better at a second round of that synchronised brutality.
To Nikolas, the timing was exquisite. It looked as if the two had trained for a long time to sync their attacks so perfectly. But just as the class braced for John's utter humiliation, the laws of the fight were rewritten.
Agh
Cissel's scream of shock cut through the air. As her foot connected with John's side, he didn't fly away. He took the impact like a mountain taking a breeze. At the same instant, John's hands shot out like steel traps, grabbing her thigh and knee with a grip that left no room for escape.
It was a move no one saw coming. Instead of being thrown into the air, John used her momentum. He planted his feet and spun, turning his entire body into a centrifugal engine. He swung Cissel around like a worthless, weighted bag, the air whistling as she was hauled through a high-speed arc.
After three violent turns, he released her. Her body became a projectile, hurtling through the air until she slammed directly into the stupefied Ricky, who had been mid-lunge with his filaments.
A deafening silence slammed down over the class. It was as if a terrifying, legendary figure had suddenly manifested in the centre of the hall. Even Nikolas stood with his jaw dropped, his disbelief morphing slowly into a wild, endless grin of pure ecstasy.
As the students struggled to grasp the reality of what they had just witnessed, John stood in the centre of the fighting space, watching as he absorbed more Mental Points than he lost to Cissel's special ability.
"Hahahaha!"
The sound of John's laughter tore through the stunned silence of the sparring arena. His eyes danced with a manic brilliance as he watched Cissel struggle to untangle herself from Ricky and his invisible filaments.
'You wanted to suck me dry when I was the one to do it!' he thought, his heart pounding strongly against his chest. 'Suits you well, vampire girl! Hehehe!'
He savoured the victory for a fleeting heartbeat, but his analytical mind was already moving, shifting the euphoria aside to evaluate the data. He had held her leg for a significant duration, far longer than a simple strike, far longer than what he had done with Ricky so far.
During this, he hadn't just absorbed her Mental Points; he had used his Object Lockdown ability. He had previously hypothesised that Object Lockdown wasn't limited to inanimate objects, that it could be used against humans, as they were nothing more than complex codes in this world.
Now, he waited to see the results of this ability.
Ouch
Cissel was the first to scramble up. The impact of falling on top of Ricky had caused a friendly fire collision that left them both dazed. But as she rose, an obvious look of agony flashed across her face. She clutched her thigh, her breathing ragged.
"What did you do to me? What did you do to my leg?!" she screamed, her voice bordering on panic; she had never shown before.