Noah exhaled sharply, rolling his shoulders as he set his stance again. Nothing had changed. Nothing except the fact that Riku had already used up his one lifeline.
'No more resets. No more safety nets.'
Riku had played his best card, erased a mont of Noah's triumph, and reset the fight to his favor. But that trick was a one-ti deal. Now, all Noah had to do was continue exactly what he was doing before.
Noah lunged.
His chi surged through his legs, propelling him forward at an angle just as Riku swung a right hook. Noah ducked under it, feeling the air rush past his ear. He knew better than to assu that was it—the echo would co next.
Anticipating the replay, Noah pivoted, shifting positions just as the second punch materialized out of thin air. Riku's fist t empty space, and Noah wasted no ti capitalizing.
His counterpunch snapped forward, chi-infused, drilling into Riku's ribs.
A cough burst from Riku's lips, but Noah wasn't stopping. He couldn't let him regain control.
A lightning-fast knee ca up, slamming into Riku's gut, folding him over. Noah followed with an overhead elbow, sending his opponent staggering back.
'No ti to breathe, Riku. No more stacking. No more stored attacks.'
Noah pressed the assault, not allowing Riku to set up another Compression Vault. Every attack was followed by a swift position change, never letting Riku predict where the next hit would co from.
A right jab. Chi-enhanced. Snapping Riku's head back.
A low kick. Targeting his stance, buckling his knee.
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A sharp feint—forcing Riku to guard high—before Noah torqued his body into a brutal body hook that cracked against his ribs.
The crowd was losing it.
Lucas leaned forward, eyes widening. "He's completely flipped the fight."
Sophie's breath hitched, nails biting into her skin. "Oh my god, he's breaking him."
Miss Brooks remained impassive, but her lips curled ever so slightly like she was enjoying the show more than she cared to admit.
Noah barely registered any of it. He was too deep in the mont. His body moved like clockwork, chi amplifying every motion.
Riku swung wildly in retaliation, but it was sloppy. Desperate.
Noah sidestepped effortlessly.
Another gut punch. Riku coughed blood this ti.
'You thought I'd break first?'
Noah slamd a heel into Riku's chest, sending him skidding across the mat.
He didn't let him fall.
He rushed in before Riku could even process the pain.
A chi-powered uppercut sent Riku airborne—Noah caught him mid-air with a spinning kick, launching him across the arena.
Riku hit the ground hard.
Silence.
The entire arena froze.
Noah exhaled, eyes locked on his opponent.
"Get up."
Riku wasn't getting up.
Noah stood there, breathing heavy, as his opponent lay sprawled out, completely knocked out cold. The damage had been done. More than done.
The automated countdown began its cold, chanical judgnt.
5...
4...
'No movent.'
3...
2...
'He's finished.'
1.
The buzzer sounded.
The announcer's voice bood through the arena. "Winner—Noah Eclipse!"
A roar erupted from the waiting students, but Noah barely paid attention. His job was done.
He stepped out of the ring imdiately, leaving Riku behind as a team of dics rushed in to tend to him. So of them peeled off toward Noah, but he barely flinched as they pressed glowing hands against his arms, shoulders, and ribs, their healing powers weaving through his injuries.
Warmth flooded through him, sealing cuts, nding bruises, soothing sore muscles. Not that he needed it.
'Tch. I'd heal just fine on my own. But this way, no one gets suspicious.'
He let them do their work, sitting just by the ring's edge, arms draped over his knees as the last traces of pain faded away. His uniform, however, was a different story. Torn, scuffed, and still damp with sweat and blood.
A shadow fell over him.
Noah glanced up.
Sophie stood there, arms folded, staring down at him.
For a mont, she didn't say anything. Just looked. Her lips faltered, her usual sharpness dulling slightly as her gaze searched his face.
Then she mouthed, "Are you okay?"
Noah smirked, flashing a boyish grin. "You should see the other guy."
Her expression wavered—sowhere between relief and exasperation—before she ca over and sat beside him. He could feel her eyes scanning him, looking for any lingering bruises or wounds.
There weren't many left. The dics had done a thorough job.
Still, she frowned at his ruined uniform.
Before she could nag him about it, Noah stood up. The randomizer had already begun selecting the next matchups—more qualification fights to determine who would make it to the actual tournant. This would go on for hours.
But Noah had sothing else to do first.
He turned to Sophie. "I'll be back."
She looked ready to protest, but before she could, he was already walking off, leaving her in the company of Oba and Bailey.
Lucas was waiting for him.
Noah pulled him aside. "So? Did you set it up?"
Lucas smirked. He reached into his jacket, pulling out a small, flat mirror-like device. Noah recognized it instantly. A storage drive.
The display lit up. 500 credits.
Noah's smirk widened.
Lucas tilted his head. "That's your cut. The bet pool on your match paid out."
Noah flipped the device over in his palm. 'Not bad. For a first round, anyway.'
This was what he had talked to Lucas about earlier in the day. He needed a way to make money. A safe, legal way. Lucas had suggested plenty—most of which Noah either didn't have the ti or skills for.
Except fighting.
Noah was already competing in this tournant. Why not make it profitable?
Sure, he could've asked Kelvin—his hacker friend—to set up sothing similar. But funny enough, Lucas had co up with the exact sa idea on his own. And Noah wasn't about to turn down two great minds thinking alike.
Besides, Kelvin was busy.
Busy working on finding the "lost" tablet. The one Noah had secretly hidden in his void storage.
Noah pocketed the device. "Appreciate it."
Lucas grinned. "Don't spend it all at once."
Noah shook his head, then turned back toward Sophie.
She was watching him. Arms still folded.
As soon as he approached, she smirked. "What was that about?"
Noah shrugged. "Nothing you should worry about."
She narrowed her eyes but didn't push it.
He sat back down beside her, leaning back on his hands, money earned, points secured.
The system scoreboard would update soon. Since he had knocked out his opponent, he'd be awarded five points. When the rankings were revealed, he'd definitely be among the top nas on the leaderboard.
Day 1 of Selection. And everything was going exactly how he planned.
Lucas hadn't fought yet.
Neither had Sophie.
Noah was going to stick around. Support them both.
Even if Sophie tried to nag him into going back to the dorms to rest.
That wasn't happening.
They stood amongst the sea of students, watching the ongoing fights unfold in the ring. The crowd buzzed with energy—so cheering, others whispering, bets being placed in the background. Noah stood with Sophie and Lucas, arms crossed, observing the competitors while waiting for Sophie's match to be called.
Then, from the side, Lila approached.
She had a smirk was in place as she stopped beside them, tossing a glance at Noah.
"Nice fight," she said, crossing her arms. "Didn't think you'd get that brutal with him, but hey, can't say I didn't enjoy the show."
Noah let out a small exhale. "Yeah, well. He gave plenty of reasons to return the favor."
Lila chuckled, then turned to Sophie. Their gazes locked for the briefest mont—a silent exchange passing between them.
"Good luck on your match," Lila said, voice even.
Sophie offered a faint smile. "Thanks."
It was a tense kind of politeness. The type where both sides knew they weren't about to start clawing each other's eyes out, but neither was interested in pretending they got along either.
Noah glanced between them, choosing, wisely, to remain out of it.
One was his girlfriend.
The other was a psycho blonde who had saved his ass just yesterday.
'The life of Noah freaking Eclipse,' he thought dryly.
Sophie crossed her arms, still watching the ongoing matches but clearly lost in thought. Then, almost absently, she muttered, "This isn't going to go down well with the 1A students."
Noah barely spared her a glance. "And why's that?"
She turned to him, raising a brow. "Because you just humiliated one of their own. Took all his points. And you're from 1B. A 1B with no combat ability, even."
Noah shrugged. "That's their problem."
Riku and Mr. Vain could kill each other for all he cared. If their pride was so fragile that they couldn't handle one loss, that was on them.
His own horoom teacher, Miss Brooks, had already given him a silent thumbs-up from across the ring earlier. That was her way of saying, 'Job well done.'
And if Kelvin were here? He'd probably still be gushing over him like he just watched the greatest fight in history.
Noah had his own fair share of support.
And that was all that mattered.
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