Floch watched the knives floating around Mads—about 50 of them.
Mads's face was full of rage and anger.
—Oh, let me guess. Your technique lets you create knives, right?.
Mads didn't speak, just looked at him with hatred, his hand gripping the hilt of his katana tightly.
—I'll take that as a yes.
His opponent quickly extended his free hand toward Floch, closing his fist into a punch; the knives shot out toward him.
He jumped to the right to dodge, but before the knives hit the wall, they turned toward Floch to attack again.
He kept jumping side to side to dodge them one after another; Mads didn't move from his spot, just followed him with his gaze.
In his mind, Floch tried to figure it all out: "He can manipulate the knives' direction, and that's not all—every time I dodge, his speed increases, but why isn't he moving?".
As he jumped to the side again, one knife turned much earlier than the others to attack him, cutting his left arm slightly.
The knives stopped in the air; Floch looked down at the cut and just smiled.
He looked up to see Mads slowly approaching. In his mind, he thought—"Wow, so emotions can help boost power levels.".
Floch's eye showed that his rival's power had increased a bit now that he was angry.
Mads stopped a few meters from Floch.
—What's wrong? Weren't you a weak opponent?—he said, looking at Floch with disdain.
—I am weak, but whether an opponent is weak or not, you need to think of a plan.
His opponent gritted his teeth tightly.
—Guys like you are the ones that make me the angriest.
—Don't like being called weak?.
—Shut up!—The knives behind him shot out again to attack.
Instead of dodging them again, Floch closed his hands into two fists and ran toward his rival to attack.
In a few seconds, Floch was a few centimeters away; suddenly, the knives stopped again, and Mads lifted his katana to block the blows.
Floch hit the katana's blade—the strike was too strong, making Mads stumble back.
He smiled and turned back to look at the knives in the air; that's when he understood everything.
—I get it now. You can either use your knives or move. You can't do both at the same time, can't you?.
His rival growled when his ability was discovered.
—And if that's how it is?.
—Your technique is amazing; if you train more, you could avoid those limits.
—I don't need your pity—people with talent like you never understand how hard it is to fight with limitations.
Floch let out a small laugh.
—Talented? Me? No, you're wrong—I wasn't born with talent; I trained until I couldn't anymore to overcome my limits.
When young people master their techniques, they usually come with limitations—physical or psychological. To break those limits, you must train until you perfect the technique.
Though there are exceptions—boys with great talent have no technique limitations. Examples of such boys are the marked ones and the promises.
Mads sent his knives above Floch before letting them fall like raindrops.
Floch quickly jumped side to side to dodge them. He started thinking of a strategy: "If I get too close, he won't use his knives anymore—he knows that, so he always keeps his distance. I have no choice.".
Floch ran straight toward him; without thinking, his rival started throwing his knives. Floch covered his face with his forearms.
The knives stuck in his forearms, but he kept running—his opponent jumped back to create distance.
When Floch was within a centimeter of him, Floch suddenly disappeared; Mads, the teachers, and the other students were confused.
In a second, he appeared behind Mads, kicking him—his foot was within a centimeter of his eyes before he appeared.
His opponent blocked the foot with his katana's blade, but the impact was too strong, making Mads fall to the ground.
He quickly got up to back away and create distance; Floch ran toward him again. Mads shot his knives again.
Floch covered his face again—more knives stuck in his body until they were gone.
Mads could only create 50 knives every half hour; now he had none left, so he only had to fight with his katana.
In a blink, Floch was close again—his fist was a centimeter from his stomach. Mads tried to block again but didn't make it in time.
The blow hit his stomach; he spat blood before being thrown into the sand wall. The impact of Mads and the wall made the stands vibrate for a few seconds.
Floch started pulling the knives out of his body, but they disappeared in a second—surprised and confused, he looked up at the smoke where the impact was.
Mads had fainted; he couldn't withstand Floch's immense blow. His face had some blood from the hit; his katana was worn out on the ground next to him.
—SECOND MATCH: FLOCH VS MADS NIELSEN. ENDED.
WINNER: FLOCH.
Applause filled the arena—it was a great display of power for everyone.
Arien was eating a bag of popcorn watching Floch walk out of the arena.
—Ha, he really won with just his hands.
—That was surprising,—said Rika.
—I also want to do the same,—Arien exclaimed with her mouth full of popcorn.
On the other side of the stands, Kael watched the next matches—behind his cold gaze was anxiety for his turn.
The matches continued; after a few minutes, Floch returned next to Terrmomix.
He sat next to him; his arms were bandaged from the cuts he received.
—What did you think?.
—Your opponent had no chance against you.—His voice and gaze had no emotion.
—Wow, so cold. You know what? I'm anxious to see how much you've improved.
—Don't have too high expectations—you're still stronger than me.
Floch smiled at his words; the matches advanced until...
ELEVENTH MATCH: EERO KORHONEN VS ARIEN VALKAEN.
The stands fell silent; from his seat, Arien smiled widely—his turn had finally come.
Everyone knew it; this round wouldn't last long. Arien stood up from his seat to walk toward the entrance.
He and his rival entered at the same time—most likely, he wouldn't need to draw his sword either. The match started.
Floch sighed and relaxed, closing his eyes for a few seconds.
—My arms hurt...
—Can you fight your next match?—asked Terrmomix.
—Of course—the academy has doctors who use healing techniques.
—There are such techniques?.
—Surprising, right? I didn't even know they existed.
ELEVENTH MATCH: EERO KORHONEN VS ARIEN VALKAEN.
ENDED
WINNER: ARIEN VALKAEN.
Floch was surprised when he heard the announcement—only a few minutes had passed.
Arien walked toward the exit.
—No time to waste,—he said with a smile—he hadn't received a single scratch.
His opponent lay on the ground, totally defeated—he had finished him off in three minutes.
—Wow, how scary,—Floch whispered to Terrmomix.
Arien returned to his seat to watch the next matches as if nothing had happened.
—That was easy.
TWELFTH MATCH: NAERIS LUNETH VS RAIDEN ISHIDA.
Naeris entered the arena with a big smile; the wind gently moved her pink hair.
The boys next to Kenzo recognized her.
—Naeris? Isn't she the one you told me was as beautiful as Rika?—asked boy 1.
—Yes, that's her... And she is indeed beautiful.
TWELFTH MATCH, LET'S BEGIN!.
This one too.