CHAPTER 130: COMBAT ARENA

"Yes." Elliot nodded. "It looks simple."

"Hahaha, it is. But not as much as it looks. You’ll have to suffer a bit. Don’t waste any more time, go in there and win as many as possible. If you get a WinRate less than 60%, you’d be my worst student, so be careful." She walked away as soon as she said this and gave him no further instructions.

She didn’t tell him the rules he would play by or what restrictions he had, but having listened to her these past few days, Elliot could understand why she didn’t.

’She wants me to think about what will be best for me.’ He smiled.

Using his summonings would embarrass all he had learned and improved. Using powerful weapons was also.

So, he put the restrictions on himself. He would fight without weapons, only with the martial arts he had learned before her.

That was the best way to increase his strength.

With that in mind, he entered the arena and registered. Well, he had already registered since he had awakened, and even more so because he used his real identity.

It came out as: Winner of the most recent Tournament of the Stars, Elliot Clark.

He told the arena he wanted to start climbing the Arena Ranks, so he was given an opponent shortly after.

His first match...

It ended in a knockout.

’That weak?’ Elliot frowned as he saw the guy lying on the ground and the arena announcing him as the winner.

’Well, I guess it’s because I’m just starting.’ He thought.

And he was right.

The second bout wasn’t much different, but the third bout saw him take numerous hits.

With each bout he won, his opponent’s strength increased considerably.

But the first five bouts he won.

He ended up with a few wounds on his body, having fought a spear-wielding Awakened in his fifth fight.

Just then, the Arena device he had been given was activated, and the Arena announced that he had won.

[Scoring System Unlocked]

Each victory will grant you some points, and each defeat will take away a certain number. Collect 100 points to move to the next rank.]

[Rank E: 50 points.]

Elliot nodded. Seeing the 50 points, he wondered if he got 10 points for each victory.

’That being the case, I would be five more to increase to Rank D.’ He thought.

So he asked for one more fight...

The sixth one he won as well.

And there he went up to 70 points.

’This guy was quite dangerous. There are a lot of powerful people in this city.’ He thought with a sigh.

But it didn’t matter.

He went to his seventh bout because he was so close to 100. And he won it, too, earning an additional 20 points and putting himself at 90.

’I just need to win one more.’ He smiled and immediately asked for the eighth bout of the day...

He hadn’t noticed, but his muscles were very exhausted, despite the long breaks they put him through to get him an opponent.

When he went into his bout, he took the lead quickly and managed to hit his opponent easily.

He was not as strong as he was. It was just a matter of time to win that fight.

That’s why he was decisive and pushed him quickly towards the ends of the arena, managing to advance with each step.

’One more step.’ He stomped forward and threw a punch to the stomach to take him out of the fight at once.

But then something changed.

His muscles burned, and his speed slowed considerably.

Then, his opponent moved nimbly, thrust the spear behind Elliot, and held the blow to the stomach hard.

’I’ll win!’ he exclaimed in his mind.

From the start, he had thought he had been set up with an opponent who was too difficult, but suddenly, he ran out of steam. Then it was his golden opportunity.

And he didn’t waste it.

Holding the blow to the stomach, he managed to push Elliot with his spear out of the fighting arena, almost out of breath at the end.

He fell to the ground, but Elliot was already out of the arena, looking at him, perplexed, his muscles in terrible pain.

These were contracting at the system’s announcement that he had lost.

Soon, he had to leave the fighting arena.

There was nothing he could do.

He had lost.

As he left, he looked thoughtful, so much so that he didn’t look at Anna, who was looking at him.

"Pensive over a small defeat?" she asked suddenly.

He looked at her and felt embarrassed.

"He wasn’t stronger than me, but... he was smarter, " he replied. He had gone over that fight in his memory now, and he could understand what he had failed at and what was good about his opponent.

She smiled. "What did he do to beat you? Did you make a mistake, or did he get it right?"

He sighed.

"Well, I didn’t expect to receive that kind of pain so suddenly; that’s my fault. I shouldn’t have acted so confidently. And he attacked at just the right time, making the best decisions on the spot."

"Deciding to take my punch in the stomach only to gamble on throwing me forcefully out of the arena with a strange move was a great decision."

"Hahaha." She walked over to him and patted him on the shoulder. "Well said. Recognize your mistake and your rival’s greatness, which will make you great." She then turned to leave.

"You will lose several matches, Elliot. Maybe if I let you fight at your true strength and without so many matches a day, you could win it all and become a legitimate winner. But that won’t do." She spoke.

"A real winner is one who lost, got up, and won. Besides, your muscles will be sore, so hang in there as long as possible. The best is yet to come."

She left Elliot watching her from behind, thinking about her words.

’She always has something to teach me.’ He thought and smiled softly.

He still had two more bouts, so he turned around and went to request them.

The ninth bout...

He lost it. His muscles were burning, and his body was not reacting as he wanted. In the two bouts he lost, he lost 20 points in total.

And the tenth bout...

He managed to deliver the final blow to his opponent and subsequently fell to the ground with a terrible exhaustion in his muscles. Especially those of the arms, legs, and chest in that same order.

It was where he had received the most blows.

Lying on the combat arena, completely exhausted, he looked at his Arena device.

[You have earned 20 Points]

[Rank E: 90 points.]

[10 Games Played.

8 Games Won.

2 Games Lost.

WinRate: 80%.]