Chapter 17 - Unknown Monster

The crowd was silent for a few seconds before the physique students once again broke into cheers at Daron winning his fight against Julian.

Two healers were brought out as Julian was put on a stretcher, while one healer went to heal Daron's arms. Seeing the bone piercing out of the arm, the healer was shocked that he had continued the fight to win with an injury like this.

Meanwhile, the silent ability domain students all had one thought on their mind. Just who the hell was this monster? How had no one known about him?

The healer thought it would take some time to heal Daron, but along with Daron's natural healing power, his arms were fully healed in ten minutes. This was even more shocking than the injury itself. It was no wonder Daron had decided to take every hit Julian sent out. He had full confidence in his healing power.

Daron had gotten multiple notifications as he ended the fight.

[All notifications turned off for combat]

[-10 Health]

[-7 Health]

[-14 Health]

[-30 Health]

[Opponent Defeated]

[Notifications turned on]

[+10 Experience]

[Quest Updated]

Daron didn't have much time to go over his notifications as he was waved at by Mr. Gail to come over.

Mr. Gail had the widest smile on his face than Daron had ever seen, and Mr. Gail had been smiling quite often in the past week.

"Haha! Boy, you actually did it!" Mr. Gail smacked Daron's back. "Looks like I was right saying you had the chance to win! Did you use Aspect Infusion at all during the fight?"

"No, I just used the combination Life-Saving Energy Focus technique," Daron said.

"Great! That means you should have your full power for the next round! I bet those people who designed this competition thought they were smart for making all the rounds happen one after the other. Even if someone with a physique passed their round, could they pass the next? But, you still have your full power! Haha! I can't wait to see the look on that boy's face when he loses. If he tries anything, don't worry. I'll protect you." Mr. Gail smiled.

Daron felt odd about the amount of confidence Mr. Gail had in him. Sure, even Daron said he was suited to go up against Rylen, but he just wanted to make them feel better about his chances. He was unsure if he could actually pull it off.

Rylen's ability domain had power, and it also had speed. Daron would be unable to dodge an attack even if he tried. He wasn't sure if he would be able to land a hit either. The only thing he had going for him was his healing power and his Aspect Infusion skill. He knew his strength and constitution should be better than Rylen's. However, the last attack he had inflicted on Sarah might be as strong as Daron infusing his strength aspect in his body. If Rylen could use that attack multiple times in succession, Daron didn't like his chances of winning. He could try to infuse his constitution aspect to withstand the onslaught, but he would only be able to last for a few minutes.

Thinking about his Aspect Infusion skill, he brought it up to see if there were any improvements upon it now that it was an actual skill.

[Aspect Infusion]

[Level 1]

[Infuse an aspect of your physique into your entire body to temporarily increase that aspect]

[Cost: 100 Energy/Min]

It seemed the energy cost was a little better than when he had been learning, but it only gave him an extra two minutes of use. Then again, two minutes could change the tide of a battle. Daron could only hope he wouldn't have to infuse constitution into his body.

As Daron was healed, the next round of the competition was about to start.

"Please welcome again, Rylen Dwyl!"

Cheers went up again, but there were notably less. Those who knew of Julian thought it would be bad if they cheered for Rylen, as Julian respected strength. With Daron defeating him, no doubt he would look down on those cheering for Rylen.

Their thought process was correct, as the healed, Julian sat in the stands and sneered at Rylen. Feeling the difference between the cheers from the first round and this round had again soured his mood, making him angry once again. This anger would amplify with the event that happened next.

"Please welcome again, Daron Finley!"

The physique students erupted in cheers and a standing ovation, while Julian had joined them in their cheering. Daron saw the expression on Rylen's face and grew even more worried about the fight ahead. He saw what happened when Rylen got angry in Sarah's fight, and now he would be starting the fight against an already angered Rylen.

With Julian, Daron hadn't had the worry of facing his death, but staring at the pissed off expression on Rylen's face, the worry started gnawing at him. Would Mr. Gail interfere in the fight before a winner or loser was called? Would he, or anyone, even be fast enough to stop it?

Daron entered the ring and knew he couldn't let his worries interfere in the battle ahead or he would lose. His worries retreated, and before the round started, the referee had decided to recite a few rules.

"Now, remember, attacks to the head are not allowed, and you will be immediately disqualified if you do. The death of an opponent will also cause disqualification and immediate guilt of manslaughter, according to the rules given by the governing powers," the referee said.

Daron understood why the referee had recited these rules. Looking at Rylen, he needed to calm the boy down. Surely, the thought of disqualification would do that.

It seemed to work a little, but Rylen still held an angry gaze focused on Daron. Daron crossed his arms in front of him, waiting for the fight to start. He would win this competition, changing how people thought about physiques, at least at his school.

The whistle to start the fight blew, and Rylen launched towards Daron.