Julius found himself pleasantly surprised by his opponent. They were a much better sparring partner than he suspected they would be. Especially when they mentioned they wanted to surrender.

  He was impressed by how well they took a hit. Their massive weight and weird concept provided a challenge as well, but it was their sheer durability that was the most impressive. Julius wasn’t taking it too easy either. He was forced to use [Void Strike] to some extent. Not a full-powered [Void Strike] but just enough to get through their defenses.

  Just forcing Julius to do that was impressive.

  That metal body of theirs was pretty challenging to break through. Julius felt bad for the guy because, in a fight like this, he likely couldn’t showcase all his skills. These one-on-ones were not to his benefit. During actual battles against monsters and in complex environments, his opponent likely had a better chance at demonstrating their strengths.

  You could never underestimate the value of a good tank or frontliner.

  With that being said, his opponent was just too slow at the end of the day. Perhaps if he had some other long-range skills or something, it might have helped. The Magnetic Concept could only restrict Julius’s movements so much. With a bit of testing and a lot of willpower, Julius was able to run circles around the guy.

  He had finally managed to wear his opponent down in the end. The metal armor, which had been continuously regenerating itself, had stopped. It was battered and cracked, barely holding together.

  Julius was waiting for his opponent to surrender, but despite the defeat being evident, his opponent showed no signs of surrender. There was still an unyielding feel to the guy’s aura.

  Julius shook his head with amusement. For a person who was so pessimistic about winning from the get-go, the guy was weirdly stubborn to keep fighting. Not that Julius minded it. It just made it more fun for him.

  It also allowed him to test [Kinetic Shell] a decent amount. The skill was even better than he could have hoped. His control over kinetic energy had never been the most amazing, especially when compared to geniuses like Arthur or even most of the students at Cain’s school.

  However, this skill was already changing things for Julius. He hadn’t realized how much a skill like this helped him manipulate his kinetic energy. Keeping a passive field of it around him at all times was quite a boon.

  It gave him more freedom to experiment or even to focus on other aspects of kinetic energy.

  Julius only wished it could have lasted longer. He was slightly out of breath from beating his fists into his opponent, but it still wasn't enough.

  He ducked underneath the massive hammer once more. The guy was tired; he was gasping for breath with each swing, his face was flushed entirely red, and his eyes were bloodshot. However, Julius couldn’t fully relax; he was still a dangerous opponent and still had some tricks up his sleeve.

  One of these tricks suddenly appeared. Just as Julius stepped in to siphon some kinetic energy from the hammer, he was surprised when the hammer fell apart. With nothing to siphon, he was left confused and missed the flying elbow that caught him in the chest.

  The incredible weight of his opponent sent him flying off into the distance. Despite being able to absorb more kinetic energy than ever, attacks with significant mass behind them were still hard to deal with.

  He slid to a stop and laughed before dashing back in aggressively. The thought of throwing constructs at his opponent didn’t even pop into his mind. Why would he waste such a perfect opportunity to fight someone who could contend with him in close combat?

  He barely avoided the hands of the larger teen who was trying to grapple him, likely trying to wrestle him to the ground. Julius was having fun, but he knew better than to be stupid. If he got into a wrestling position, that wouldn't be good, and he would probably have to use some of his other skills to get out of it.

  Thankfully, he was able to stay one step ahead and kept on laying down more aggression. His fists had already been broken or fractured several times. Even with constructs laid over them, the sturdiness of his opponent's body was tough to get through.

  However, he doubted anyone other than a few extremely perceptive people would even spot the healing. And if they did, they wouldn’t know just how powerful his healing skill was. Many warriors had some form of self-healing skill; while they weren't as strong as his own skill, they were still effective.

  His opponent had a skill like that. It wasn’t a direct healing skill, but Julius could sense gentle pulses of mana that invigorated the guy’s vitality. It was likely a nice passive skill that helped with general recovery and fatigue.

  It was only after a few more minutes of constantly pouring attacks onto his opponent that Julius finally felt something give way. The skill that maintained the metal armor around his opponent flickered a few times and eventually vanished.

  The metal armor was suddenly gone, and in its place was a tired and battered young man.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Julius and his opponent met gazes for a fraction of a second, and they both let out tired laughs. There was a flash of respect from both of them. They knew how this match would end, but they also wanted to finish it with a bang.

  Julius waited for his opponent to gather as much mana into his body as possible. The damage he had received throughout the fight meant some of this mana leaked out, but Julius could still feel its power.

  Then once the guy was ready, they both gave a firm nod of their heads. There were no funny games or dodging. Julius went right at the frontliner and utilized all of the kinetic energy he had left. His shell grew brighter from the excess kinetic energy, and Julius could physically feel the field around him get heavier as he jammed more energy into it.

  Each step created a crater in the ground. He chuckled when a few stray pulses of kinetic spiraled out of his control, but continued in a straight line, feeling his new life technique threaten to go out of control as well. However, he maintained everything together with sheer will.

  When they crashed, a shockwave blasted out from the center of the arena. Dust flew everywhere, and the enchantments that contained the damage flickered for a brief moment.

  The entire crowd was silent as they waited for the dust to clear. When it finally did, they erupted into cheers.

  Left standing in the middle of the arena, a little bruised and with a big smile, was Julius. His opponent had collapsed to the ground, completely tired and not an ounce of mana left in his body.

  The downed teen had truly given it his all with nothing left to give. It was something that the crowd seemed to appreciate as well. There were chants for both of their names. From what Julius could tell, they were just happy to watch such an entertaining fight.

  Julius could only laugh and wave at the crowd as he made his way out of the arena.

  His first match of the third stage was done, and he wondered who else he would fight in the upcoming matches.

  ***

  [Kinetic Shell lvl 1 -> lvl 5]

  He glanced at the notification he had received after the match and looked around at the staff surrounding him.

  While there were protections in place to prevent people from dying, injuries were still expected, and that was why a group of healers attended to him after the match. Or at least they tried to. He waved them away before they could touch him. He was fine and realized he didn’t enjoy anyone healing him except himself or Freya.

  It wasn’t personal at all, but it was the way their life mana felt. He was so used to the way his and Freya’s felt, that another person’s life mana didn’t feel right when it was injected into his body.

  If he had to compare it to something, he would compare it to the difference between filtered water and tap water. Once you taste one, you don’t really want the other one unless you can help it.

  He was unashamed to say that he was a life mana snob. In fact, he was proud of it.

  With that being said, the healers certainly didn’t appreciate this part of him. They really wanted to make sure he was okay. It almost felt like they were trying to examine him like they had been wanting to do after the second stage.

  “Is there something wrong?” Julius finally asked after his denial was met with more insistence.

  “We need to make sure you haven’t consumed anything that might have given you an unfair advantage,” the healer finally explained to him after a moment of hesitation. Julius didn’t know if he was supposed to tell him that.

  “Is that a common occurrence?” Julius asked curiously.

  The healer sighed. “More than you would expect. Glory and all that crap make people do silly things.”

  Julius flattened his lips and finally allowed a small gap to allow the healer to slip in his mana. The healer recognized the opening right away and gently examined Julius’s body.

  The healer didn’t go too far. He didn’t go and try picking apart Julius’s soul or anything, but Julius could tell that the man was looking for signs of something. However, after a minute or two, the man looked up at Julius.

  “You can use life mana techniques,” the healer said. It was more of a statement than a question.

  Julius shrugged. “Sort of. Been trying to get better at it at the very least.”

  The healer had a deep frown on his face. “But this technique…” the man paused. “Are you aware that it’s a little…”

  Julius realized the man must have seen his most recent training exercise. “Yeah, I know,” Julius said with a nod.

  “Who in god's name taught you this? It’s so…”

  “Interesting?” Julius offered.

  “Barbaric and cruel,” the healer said with a look that bordered on pity and abhorrence when he gazed at Julius.

  Julius waved his hand at the man. “It is not that bad,” he said, dismissing the man’s concerns.

  “You are literally carving out sections of your mana channels only to regenerate them with life mana and start the process over,” the healer said with concern, leaning in closer to examine Julius.

  “You must have some pretty attuned senses,” Julius commented with an appraising look. He didn’t think many people would have noticed the technique, let alone understood what it was doing. This healer was clearly skilled.

  “Of course I do. I wouldn’t have been chosen as a dedicated healer if I didn’t. I graduated at the top of my class at the Luminous Institute of Healing Arts,” the healer said with a bit of pride.

  “Luminous Institute of Healing Arts?” Julius asked curiously.

  “You haven’t heard of it?” The healer asked, sounding shocked.

  Julius shook his head.

  The healer furrowed his brows. “But you have a life mana affinity. How haven’t you heard of one of the premier schools of healing magic in the Empire?” The healer's eyes widened as if realizing something.

  “Is that why you are using such a barbaric technique? Did you stumble across a manual or something and have been learning on your own? If you need a recommendation, I am sure that you can easily get one. I am even willing to give you one myself. As someone who has made it into the final stage of the tournament, you won’t find it difficult to gain entry or be allowed to take the exam,” the healer said to Julius, clearly making some assumptions on his own.

  Julius didn’t know what to do in the face of such genuine concern.

  However, he noticed that, somehow, this ordeal had evolved into him being offered the option to join or attend another school. He shook his head with amusement.

  He should honestly expect it at this point.

  Patreon!

  Discord server is now open for those who want to discuss the story with others!