It was clear to Nephis what Asher had done.
He had feigned distraction, leaving himself wide open—deliberately. No wonder his opponent had hesitated. That single moment of hesitation was all Asher needed.
But the real key to his victory wasn't just timing. It was power.
'He used his Aspect,' Nephis concluded silently.
Back in the ring, Asher's expression twitched.
His eyes drifted to the crumpled form of the muscle man, now lying unconscious against the dojo wall. He sighed and walked over, lifting the man's limp body over his shoulder with a grunt.
"Instructor Rock," he called out, keeping his voice even. Rock turned his towards Asher, causing him to flinch.
'I wouldn't be suprised if what Sunny said is true. His mother definitely sinned with a bear!'
"P-Please let someone else take my place. I'll take him to the infirmary..."
Rock raised an eyebrow, watching him closely before giving a small nod. "Good attitude. Go."
Turning back to the crowd, Rock's voice boomed once more. "I need two new volunteers!"
Meanwhile, Asher exited through the dojo doors and entered the quiet hallway, the unconscious sleeper still slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
That's when he paused, glancing down at his leg.
'Great,' he thought dryly.
The pain confirmed what he had suspected. The drawback of using his Aspect this way—he wasn't just increasing gravity. No, he was amplifying force.
Weight is mass times gravity.
His mass was constant, but by cranking up the gravity around his leg to boost the kick, he had magnified the pressure exponentially. His bones and muscles, however, weren't reinforced. The limb had absorbed all that strain—and it had not appreciated it.
If he had increased the force even a bit more, he was fairly certain his leg would've shattered.
"I really need to stop using my powers all the time," he muttered. "This isn't an anime."
Despite the dull ache crawling up his calf, a wry smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"At least I've got a legitimate reason to visit the infirmary now."
With Awakened medics around, a sprain wouldn't take more than a few seconds to heal. Still, it was a good reminder that raw power came with a price—and he needed to learn how to use it wisely.
Especially in a world .
Asher returned from the infirmary just as Nephis and Caster's match wrapped up. A shame he'd missed it…
Asher shivered, remembering the nurse.
That man had biceps as big as watermelons... and he wore a Nurse's clothes. Being manhandled like a ragdoll had done wonders for his leg—and shocking his nervous system.
He let out an odd, strangled sound. "Euh…"
Rock's voice boomed across the room. "Asher. You're the last one."
"Euh." Another involuntary noise escaped him.
Before stepping into the ring, Asher made sure to unsummon his armor. It was unfair, after all.
Not that it helped much. He had to fight Caster.
He stepped into the ring to face the heir of the Hang Li clan. The room fell completely silent. After the earlier battles, the conclusion was universal: The source of this content ɪs 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾·𝗇𝖾𝗍
'The top three are monsters.'
"Begin," Rock declared.
Sunny leaned forward in his seat, practically vibrating with anticipation. He wasn't sure if Asher had used his Aspect earlier, but Caster? Caster definitely was.
The boy vanished in a blur.
He went straight for the win—one blow, decisive.
Caster narrowed his eyes. 'Lucky.'
He surged forward again, this time faster. His kick whipped toward Asher's waist, sharp and brutal—only to miss by a hair as Asher twisted his body at the last second.
Caster's eyes widened slightly. 'This mongrel… can see me?'
Nephis was looking at Asher's eyes. They were tracking everything.
In fact, it seemed as if his body itself couldn't keep up with how fast it was.
Caster's eyes got a little serious, a sense of coldness washing over him.
He pushed himself harder, ramping up his speed once more. Asher's jaw clenched. He was barely keeping up. Every move was a close call. Attacking? Forget it. He could barely dodge!
A kick streaked toward his face, threatening to bash his marvelous face!
Asher couldn't let this guy do that!
Against all odds, Asher bent his back in an angle that would make john wick proud. However, Caster knew better.
Seizing his one, singular opportunity, he launched a kick at Caster's crotch.
Caster smirked a little. Though Asher dodged the kick to his face, he left himself very open.
Caster clenched his fist, aiming for Asher's chest.
He won. And that was why he never saw the kick
Asher's foot connected. Caster let out a strangled gasp—right before his own fist smashed into Asher's chest, sending him plummeting onto the floor as he coughed saliva. But fate wasn't done with Caster. Asher's trailing leg joined his other leg
A second blow landed to Caster's already very sensitive area.
Sunny winced in sympathetic pain while Nephis discreetly averted her gaze, unwilling to witness the unfortunate spectacle unfolding before her. Meanwhile,
Caster was on the ground, face pale, clutching himself while panting for breath. It was like he was hyper ventilating!
Asher felt a sharp pain in his chest as he got up from the floor and looked at Caster with pity. 'The poor guy only has a year to live.' then an intrusive thought came to his mind. 'Augmenting my kick would have undoubtedly broken his balls.' he shook his head quickly 'It's his fault for letting his guard down on me.'
He suddenly smirked as he looked, while glancing at a dying Caster. A cringe line came to his mind as his body shadowed Caster, he was still grabbing his crouch, wincing in pain.
"Hey, you know what they say. You may have won, but at what cost?"
His laughter bubbled up uncontrollably. Continuing his laughter, he left the ring as Rock looked at Caster with pity. Caster, meanwhile, finally looked at Asher while gritting his teeth in pain. He began to mumble under his breath, "I swear upon the Hang Li clan, I will kill you one day!"