Wave exhaled as she looked at Hector’s terrible state.
"I don’t think he’s that weak... How could he have overcome the first challenge?"
"You think so too, huh?"
She folded her arms and thrust out her chest, glancing at Violet.
"He deserves it..." Violet stared at Hector with a deadpan expression for a moment before letting out a breath.
She seemed unsure about her feelings. Yet, a few seconds later, both of them showed subtle changes in their demeanor.
Then, something strange occurred.
Why wasn’t Tom striking anymore?
At first, they thought he was playing with Hector, but he simply remained there, frozen, unresponsive.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing? Attack him!" Haley shouted angrily from below the fighting yard.
Despite Haley’s order, Tom stayed still. He was struggling to maintain his balance, his body trembling in an unnatural way.
His left leg shook for reasons he couldn’t comprehend.
"Damn! What the hell? My leg?!" Tom’s face contorted in confusion as he looked down.
Something wasn’t right.
It was a sensation he had never experienced before.
It was as if his left leg... had vanished.
At this point, he remained upright only because he was leaning against that "dead" limb.
And it had all begun the instant he kicked Hector.
Which meant... Hector was the cause.
"F** you! What the hell did you do to my leg?!" Tom roared in fury, his eyes darting toward the referee, seeking help.
"I-Instructor... He cheated!"
Yet, when the instructor heard that, he only sighed, his gaze shifting toward Hector, who was still trembling from the pain.
"You little rat...!" Hector groaned, gripping his injured right arm tightly.
His vision blurred, breath unsteady, but he forced himself to inhale deeply, trying to endure the torment coursing through his body.
And then, he saw Tom, frozen, his rage warping into something darker.
The mana flow in Tom’s left leg had been completely cut off—he couldn’t see it, but he sensed the technique had worked.
Hector had struck a pressure point at the exact moment he was hit by that devastating kick... and it had paid off.
"It’s my turn now..." Hector murmured with a faint smirk.
A sharp jolt surged through his arm, making him flinch. He glanced at the broken limb.
It was in the worst possible state.
"I need to end this quickly," he muttered and quickly stepped
"N-No... No... No... No!" Tom’s dread escalated as Hector advanced with swift, resolute strides.
Panic took over. He tried to flee.
But he had forgotten—his left leg was a dead weight.
He crumpled onto the cold ground, terror widening his eyes.
Worse still, his pathetic, petrified face was now turned toward Haley, who stood at a distance, seething with fury.
Tom’s shaking intensified.
He knew... this was it.
Whether he resisted or not, his fate was decided.
He would be mercilessly punished.
Suddenly, a few dull aches struck his back.
But oddly, they felt light—more like faint taps.
His whole body went numb.
He couldn’t sense anything.
"Sheesh! I didn’t expect his mindset to be that fragile," Hector exhaled deeply, feeling a mix of relief and unease.
Still, it worked in his favor—if Tom had fought on without hesitation or fear, things would’ve been far tougher.
"Well, nice work, kid!" the referee said with satisfaction, briefly shutting his eyes. Then, he looked toward the crowd below the fighting yard and shouted:
"HECTOR IS THE WINNER!"
Once more, murmurs and whispers rippled through the arena.
The students remained puzzled. What exactly had happened to Tom’s leg?
Some speculated that Hector had used a concealed weapon or some kind of toxin. But if that were true, Tom would’ve been declared the victor instead.
Maybe Hector’s power stemmed from his own skills... or perhaps he wielded an Enhanced Coin.
Of course, the Instructor knew what had truly occurred. After all, they were experts at the Academy.
"Pressure points... Nobody really uses them in fights because they’re invisible. The only way to hit them is with just the right amount of force—anything else makes the technique nearly worthless."
"I never imagined he was able to hit that kind of precision..." Michael gave a faint smile, though it faded quickly after a few seconds.
"Tch... I’d rather lose my money than lose that bet with you." He sighed in mild irritation, glancing at Weren, who looked absolutely thrilled.
She bounced like a child who had just won a contest.
But why did she trust him so completely? Hector? A low-tier student she had once dismissed as weak.
Simply because Michael had once said Hector reminded him of himself...
Just like that, the match came to an end, and Hector headed to the healing room. Initially, he had planned to meet Bam, but he couldn’t because of the fight.
After his wounds had completely healed, he quickly returned to his room.
"Fucking instructor! He only gave me a small bag of money after everything I did," Hector muttered angrily while sitting on his chair.
He emptied the contents of the pouch onto the table and began counting slowly.
"Three gold coins, twenty-five silver coins, and eighty-six copper coins? This is robbery... asshole!"
He only dared to curse in the privacy of his room. If he had said those words in front of Michael, his chances of survival would have dropped drastically.
"Sigh... I should focus on the positives," Hector exhaled deeply, then stored all the coins in his space system—except for a single copper coin.
’’I’ll check this free skill .’’
Holding it between his fingers, he suddenly tensed his muscles and flicked the coin toward a picture hanging on the wall.
Then, he froze, staring at the image in shock.
"Wow... I didn’t expect my shooting force to be this strong. Alright, now I can finally sleep in peace."
The coin was now firmly embedded in the picture, with two-thirds of it buried deep into the surface.
This proved that his coin-throwing technique was indeed a strength, and it would surely come in handy in the future, anyway.