Struggle

"You've messed up big time, Ethan. You should've stayed low." Zack cracked his neck. "You know somebody high up's targeting you. But you didn't stay quiet." Ethan balled his fist, preparing himself for the fight. "I don't think I've ever met anybody as stupid as you. Every act of defiance, every thought of rebellion will bring you much more pain." Zack flexed his fingers.

"Why do you care? You're must be happy that you've gotten an excuse to beat somebody up. You're just a sadistic piece of shit." Ethan took a step forward, nearing him. "You know, I never really liked that look in your eyes. Even when I trashed you on the first day of school, you never gave up. You kept staring at me with those same, annoying eyes. As if there was a way out. As if you could ever win."

The two started circling each other, fists raised as they prepared to fight. "I won't ask you to back down." Zack smiled. "Because I'd be disappointed if you did." Ethan didn't reply. He tensed his body, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. "Tell me one thing. It was Douglas who sent you, right? That no-good piece of shit is probably why you're after me."

Zack's eyes narrowed. "It seems like you don't have an ounce of respect for your superiors." Thud...thud...thud. Their feet pounded on the floor as they continued to move. "You don't realise how terrifying those behemoths could be. There's a world of difference between you and them."

"Oh yeah? Thanks for the tip. I'll need it when make Douglas suffer." Zack snarled. "You'll never reach him. Because you'll never get past me." Whoosh! Zack shot forward, closing the distance between them. Slam! His fist shot out, shooting towards Ethan's chest.

"Oof!" Ethan was pushed backwards as he brought his arms upwards. "Ow!" He shook his arms in pain. "Scared? You should be. Because I won't be going easy on you." Whoosh! Zack's fist shot out once again. Ethan swerved, trying to avoid the attack. Slam! He wasn't fast enough. Zack's fist crashed into his shoulder.

He jumped backwards, trying to increase the distance between them. "Huff...huff...huff." Zack's hits were no joke. Well, then. He'd just have to be faster than those fists. He rushed forward, trying to attack before Zack could strike him. Whoosh! Zack's fist shot out once again. Bam! It crashed into his stomach, lifting him off his feet.

Ethan was thrown into the air as he flew backwards. Crash! He fell back onto the floor as his face touched the ground. "Get up! This isn't over yet." Zack wanted to see Ethan struggle before he ended the battle. Ethan jumped back up. He swayed on his feet, feeling slightly dizzy.

This wasn't an easy fight. Back when he'd fought against that white-haired young master and his lackeys in the first test, he'd been able to handle both of the lackeys, even though they were one rank above his. But he still couldn't beat Zack.

The biggest difference between Zack and the lackeys was that Zack got into KGS, while they did not. Zack was skilled. He could proclaim himself to be one of the best among all G-7 ranked awakeners of his age. That was exactly what separated Class 7 from Class 10. Even though both of them had G-7 ranked students, Class 7 stood far above Class 10 in terms of battle prowess.

"Why aren't you attacking? Can you finally see the difference between the both of us? It's too late to repent, though. This gap will just grow wider as the days go by. And there's absolutely nothing you can do." He smiled.

The difference between him and Ethan was much more than that of Ethan and the two lackeys. So given Zack's advantage in his rank, it was no surprise that he was much better than Ethan. But Ethan wasn't that easy to beat. He stared at Zack.

Whoosh! Ethan shot forward, closing the distance between both of them as he pounced towards Zack. He clenched his fist, aiming for his stomach. "Useless!" Whoosh! Ethan's fist curved upwards as he changed the direction mid-punch. Slam! Zack was thrown backwards as Ethan's fist landed square on his nose. Crash! Zack landed on a desk as it was destroyed instantly. The very same desk behind which he sat as he terrorised all the students of Dust House.

What Zack didn't know about Ethan was that he wasn't like any other person he'd fought against. No, Ethan was the kid who'd defeated a Spinolanus on his own. He was the kid who'd beaten an F rank monster when he was a G-6 rank awakener. "Yeah, I think I can see the difference between us." Ethan's battle prowess....was terrifying.

Crash! Crash! "I have to admit, you got me there." Zack jumped to his feet. "I never thought you'd be able to fight against me. Congratulations! You're the king of trashes. However..." he flicked a piece of wood off his shoulder. "...that's still not enough to beat me."

Slam! He pounded his foot into the wreck, smashing the desk into smithereens. So Zack was going to use mana. Well, if he wanted to play rough, Ethan would oblige. Slam...Slam...Slam! Zack's feet pounded into the floor as he rushed towards Ethan.

Whoosh! He shot into the air. Ethan poured mana into his arms, preparing to meet the attack. Zack extended his foot outwards as he swung his body in an arc. Slam! His leg crashed into Ethan's arm. "Arghh!" The disparity between their ranks was showing. His arm jolted in pain, but he didn't move, staying right where he was.

Zack didn't let him rest, pouring mana into his arms. Slam! Slam! Slam! His fist shot towards Ethan as he rained blows incessantly. Ethan desperately tried to block the attacks with his arms. Slam! Slam! Slam! Ethan was barely keeping up with Zack. Slam! "Oof!" Zack breached his defences as he landed a hit on his chest. This wasn't working.

Zack was stronger and faster than him. Additionally, he was incredibly skilled. And the lack of weapons wasn't helping Ethan at all. Zack was used to fighting with his fists, while Ethan had almost no experience fighting bare-handed.

Slam! Slam! Slam! Zack's fists got faster and faster. Ethan's movements slowed down as he managed to block half of his attacks. Think! Think! There must be something he could do. All he was good at was using a dagger. He'd always flip the dagger backwards and forwards using his....his fingers.

An idea suddenly popped into his head! Slam! He caught Zack's fist in his palm. "Oof!" He was pushed behind slightly. He had to act quickly, or he'd miss this chance. Zack's greatest strength right now was his lightning fast fists that wore Ethan down bit-by-bit. So how could he fight against them? Simple.

Ethan channeled mana into his fingers as he strengthened them as much as he could. He closed his palm. Crack! "Argh!!" A satisfying crack echoed as Ethan disabled Zack's right hand. Ethan didn't miss this chance. He extended his palms outwards as he brought his fingers together, sticking them to one another.

"If I don't have a dagger, I'll make one." Slash! His palm sliced against Zack's chest. Bam! Zack was thrown away as Ethan's mana-infused palm sent him flying. Crash! He crashed into the wall as he fell to the floor. Ethan jumped into the air as he pounced on him.

Slam! Slam! Slam! Palm met fist as Ethan continued to wave his arms as if he were holding a knife. Each time his palm crashed into Zack's fist, his fingers smarted in pain. But he didn't give up. "You....how the hell do you have so much mana?"

Zack was bewildered. Not only was this no-good Class 10 trash with F rank potential holding his own, he was actually gaining an edge over him. And worst of all, even though he was using up his stores of mana, he wasn't even running out of it. For the first time while fighting, Zack didn't feel like smiling. No, he felt fear.

What he was fighting against was supposed to be a Physical type awakener who should have a lower Mana stat than his own. But this bastard actually had a higher Mana stat than his. Of course he did. How else would he still be slashing him with his palms in an incessant barrage. But this made absolutely no sense. Wasn't Ethan a Physical type awakener? Then how did he have so much mana. He couldn't be a Mage type awakener. His Strength and Agility were too high.

"Damn training freak!" Zack feebly tried to dodge Ethan's blows as he was pummeled into a corner. This idiot could train all he wanted. In the end, he was limited by his pathetic potential. And when his efforts finally started to betray him, Zack would be there, ready to take everything away from him. But....he couldn't lose here. Not at any cost.

Because if he did, he wouldn't be forgiven him. "I'll make you a king. But only if you're worthy." He smiled. "Butch! Frank! Larry! What the hell do you think you're doing? Get your asses over here!" Whoosh! Three figures shot past as they aimed for Ethan.

"Grab him," commanded Zack. If he couldn't beat Ethan with his own power, he'd simply defeat him with borrowed strength. After all, there was no way Ethan could win in, say, three months from now. So it made perfect sense to gang up on him. Trash couldn't complain anyway. If Zack was going to win in the future, then he might as well win today. Who could complain? Only the strong deserved that right. And Zack didn't doubt that he'd become stronger than this piece of shit.