"B-Begin!" The supervisor commenced the battle.
And like clockwork, Kane sashayed out of reality with the Void Step technique.
The battle had begun.
Rui pushed his mind to the very limit as Primordial Instinct and Seismic Mapping worked overtime as they did their best to pick anything they could on Kane's movements.
This time, however, he didn't close his eyes. His eyes darted around.
Rui could sense Kane was circling around him at a distance of roughly five meters.
Suddenly, there was a change.
Kane rushed in towards him.
Yet, Rui didn't react.
Yet, Rui didn't move.
Kane threw several jabs at Rui from the side.
Rui finally made a move, but only after he was struck. He threw a heavy haymaker in the direction of the attacks, but they merely hit empty air.
A jab struck his face from the other side.
Rui once again swung only after Kane had struck him.
He refused to attack before Kane attacked him, attacking only after Kane had struck him.
In the eyes of everyone spectating, Rui was helpless. He was merely trying to fight Kane the same way they had all already tried.
The sighed in disappointment.
This was the final match.
This was also the match that would decide who would be chosen as representative of the Academy in the Martial Contest in the Martial Festival.
And yet, the outcome seemed to be already decided.
Rui was trying to hit Kane immediately as Kane hit him, since Kane would be close to him the moment he struck Rui.
However, this wasn't a genius strategy. All of them had tried the exact same strategy, and all of them failed.
Kane's evasiveness was simply too damn good. He could easily avoid their desperate measure to strike him, especially when they couldn't even see him.
Rui was clearly trying the same thing in their eyes, meaning that he was unable to sense Kane either, correct?
None of them knew Rui had mastered Primordial Instinct and Seismic Mapping. Or the fact that these two techniques together were able to crack a dent in the invincible armour of the Void Step technique.
Rui hadn't told any of them.
Furthermore, these techniques were not visually flashy. It was almost impossible to directly infer that a person had mastered Primordial instinct and Seismic Mapping simply by looking at them.
Not even Kane knew that he had mastered these techniques.
Nor did he know that Rui could constantly sense the direction he was in and get a vague sense of how far he was from himself.
Rui did not intend to haphazardly reveal this like Nel did. Unlike Nel, he was a resourceful, tactical and intelligent fighter who made use of everything he had.
He played the role of the blindsided victim who had fallen prey to the miracle of the Void Step technique like many others in this preliminary contest.
He endured all the punishment that Kane dished out. Taking all of them.
He was biding his time.
He truly had one chance, and one chance only.
If he failed, his task would become immeasurably harder. Furthermore, with how much he had put to stake, if he failed, he would be far too lost to be able to turn the tables around.
Down outside the ring, their friends spectated the match with great concentration.
"Awww." Nel grumbled. "Void boy's getting pushed around by vanish boy."
The rest of them sighed, feeling a bit depressed. Kane had pushed around all of them dominantly as well, and it seemed the same was inevitably happening.
Only Nel had managed to not to lose against him.
"Shame." Fae sighed. "I hoped the match would be more competitive but..."
"Seems like Kane is set for the win." Hever noted. "Not a surprising outcome. As brilliant of a fighter as Rui Quarrier is, there are hurdles that simply cannot be bypassed by purely tactics alone. At this rate, he will be knocked down or ringed-out."
"Tsk." Nel tutted grumpily. "If I were in his shoes, I would have kicked his ass!"
People threw a strange look at Nel at those words.
"You already tried..." Fae glanced at him with a frown. "And failed to kick his ass."
"Hmph." He snorted. "That was a long time ago. A man grows."
"That was a few days ago." Hever corrected. "And you're still a minor."
"Shut up!" Nel barked, sparking a commotion.
Fae simply shook her head, turning back to the fight, staring at Rui. There was nothing else to look at. Fights with Kane were fascinating, yet they grew boring to most spectaters after some time because no one had any idea what was happening.
"Which one do you think will win?" Squire Dylon asked as his sharp eyes followed Kane's movements effortlessly.
The Apprentice-level version of the Void Step technique was an almost invincible technique in the Apprentice Realm. Yet the powerful minds of the Martial Squires could resist Kane's misdirection entirely.
"Hard to say." Squire Kyrie replied passively.
"Oh come on." Dlyon complained. "Don't be a spoilsport. I put ten coins on Kane winning."
"As do I." Squire Helen chirped, sparking several more Martial Squires to follow suit.
"Hmph..." Squire Kyrie. "Then I'll bet on Rui."
"Huh?" Dylon tilted his head in confusion. "Really? Rui? Have you grown dull over the years?"
"I guess we'll find out." Squire Kyrie replied unperturbed as she gazed straight at Rui.
His eyes held an unyielding determination beneath his façade. This was not stubborn perseverance, nor resigned resistance.
Those were the eyes of one who believed they could win. Those were the eyes of one who was willing to do anything to do anything to win.
She did not want to bet against those eyes. Her instincts told her that the fight was not over, and that the outcome was far from settled.
Although she bet on him, she was curious as to why she felt that way, and how the battle would unfold.
What kind of miracle would that boy conjure up this time?