The skill Concentration was active. The system sharpened Erie's focus, slowing Lilly's movements just enough for him to track—but the enhanced gravity still felt like cinderblocks dragging his chest down. Every step was a grind.
He barely dodged her next palm strike, watching her eyes lock on him the moment he moved.
"There's my chance," Erie thought.
Lilly's follow-up left her center open. Erie shoved her off balance, and she staggered. He surged forward, ready to press the advantage—but Lilly twisted with the momentum, rolled, and flipped out of reach before his strike landed.
"She still does this fast even when my concentration is active?"
"Concentration has ended."
"Shit." Erie didn't understand his skill; the system never described how long it lasted. What was the condition of the cooldown? Erie was beginning to panic; that was his only advantage over Lilly.
Lilly charged with another palm strike, and she hit Erie in the center of his chest. A yellow flash of light left her palm after the strike, and she stopped the next strike right before his head.
Panting, Lily looked at Erie, confused. "What happened? I thought you would dodge that like you did last time."
"Spar has ended."
"Training Mode has ended: Gravity released."
"Winner: Lilly Moonshine."
"25 Experience points gained."
"55 of 400 Experience points."
Lilly helped Erie up; Erie held his chest while standing.
"You'll heal. Why haven't you been focusing your energy on your attacks? All you've been doing is dodging. Are you afraid to attack or something?"
Lilly didn't give Erie time to answer, throwing questions at him like punches.
"And another thing, why were you moving so slowly? You looked sluggish."
"Look at me when I am talking to you! You need to move faster!"
Erie clenched his jaw with his eyes on the ground. He wasn't sure if he was angry, embarrassed, or tired—but the sting in his chest wasn't the only thing that hurt.
After the spar, Lilly and Erie began to talk about plans to train more after school, and she finally explained the life energy to Erie; she spoke about what she read in the books and what she had experienced on her own.
After speaking, Erie thought, "If only I had someone I could test this life energy skill on."
Erie looked off in the distance, and various students were still out training; he looked around, and Lilly finally pointed out, "Isn't that the kid you were fighting in the center earlier today?"
They saw him approaching different groups of students who were training. He held out his watch, and they touched his watch with theirs, and he walked away. He had done this a few times already, almost like he was a security guard or something.
But Erie knew precisely what he was doing because he had been approached before. This time, he was on his own. Erie pulled Lilly and Rand behind the line of the building near them, and Lilly finally asked what he was doing.
"That's Kyle Markenburger. He takes currency from people who use the training grounds."
Lilly snatched her hand from Erie, "And you're hiding because?"
"I'm going to use this life energy drain on him, that's why."
He walked up to another set of students, and Erie and Lilly could overhear him talking to the others. "Hey, bronze and silver ribbons need to pay up one currency coming to train here; we don't want to report this to Jason now, don't we?"
Erie couldn't believe it. Even after the big fight, he thought the students would slow down the practice of taking currency from other students. Erie looked around to see if anyone else was near him, and he pulled his balaclava out of his pocket.
"Since night-time curfew is almost here, this will be the perfect time to strike!"
As Erie put on his balaclava, he moved closer to Kyle, ensuring that people were leaving and returning home so his fight wouldn't be interrupted.
"Well, you must leave if you refuse to give me your currency; it's not me collecting them. It's the higher-ups. Now beat it if you know what's good for you!"
"But we need our currency for food; we don't eat at the cafeteria."
"Hey, runt! It's not my fault; I don't make the rules here." Kyle said coldly.
As Kyle talked, Erie realized this wasn't just his job. He wasn't forced to do it; he enjoyed it. Kyle loved shaking people down. He wasn't a victim of the system; he was a bully, the type that Erie hated the most.
"This guy is a fusion user, but he's only a rank D."
Lilly followed Erie closely and took out her dual blades to protect him in case someone attacked. She remembered the last time Erie had a mask on. He attacked Stacy and won the fight, and now he has a second round with Kyle.
"Hey, I've got your back in case someone else attacks. Other than that, this is your fight." Lilly said
"Thank you, but I don't need to defeat him. I want to test something out." Erie explained.
The last time Erie and Kyle fought was earlier in the day. He didn't hold back, but Kyle had help from another Fusion user. Every time he attacked, something got in the way of him fully attacking Kyle as he wanted.
This time, Erie can utilize his speed, especially in the open field. When Kyle turned around and left, the two boys were gone, and Erie quickly ran in for a sneak attack on Kyle.
Kyle heard the footsteps, and a dust cloud formed around him, and cracks of small explosions began to sound off. Erie still managed to get a punch in, knocking Kyle to the ground.
Kyle jumped up from his spot. He had a massive smile on his face. "I've been waiting for anyone to attack me! Especially after that fight in the center hall today!" he held out his hand towards Erie, and a cloud showed from his hand. Puffs of small explosions traced the cloud, and Erie jumped out of the way so he wouldn't be hit by it.
"You thought you could take me after the low-level Triple F rank kid could, huh!" he shot another smoke explosion towards Erie, and Erie jumped out of the way again.
"It was only a fluke! He can't beat me, and neither can you!" After the last attack, he knew he had time between the explosions. He used this cooldown time to run toward Kyle. "Now it's time to put this skill to use!"
As he approached Kyle, he activated his sun-slash skill. He felt energy pull from his stomach and travel up his arm, but instead of slashing, he punched; one, like a yellow arura, came from his fist and slashed out 3 meters in front of him. The slash hit Kyle across the hand and left a burnt mark on his wrist.
"Sun Slash!" Erie called out in his mind. "Sun Slash!" he called again. It's working! another one!" Sun slash!"
Erie spammed the move and slashed toward Kyle. The move overwhelmed him and left severe burns on him; each blow hit different areas of his body, but once it hit his head, Kyle finally collapsed to the ground.
"Health points 100 of 100."
"Energy 180 of 200."
"Congratulations, you defeated Stacy Harris and Kyle Markenburger in combat."
"Additional rewards will be granted."
"50 experience points have been granted.'
"An additional 50 experience points have been granted."
"130 of 400 Experience points."
Sun Slash had no cooldown effect and only took five energy points. As long as Erie had energy points, he could continue to cast out his sun-slash skill.
Lilly didn't have to use her dual blades. She watched Erie fight. When they sparred, he moved faster and more fluently than she, and she became irritated watching him fight. "Did he hold back against me?"
She noticed how fast Erie moved. He was faster than her, and she was fast herself without using her ability. After Erie knocked out Kyle, she noticed Erie stood still briefly. He then kneeled and placed his hand on Kyle's head. The light below Erie and Kyl lit up a small circle, but something was different. Instead of turning orange, it swirled in a mystic-like color.
"What is that?" The mark formed on Kyle's head. And Erie pulled his hand back and stared at his own hands. Lilly stopped before approaching Erie, and she waited for him to finish.
"Additional quests have been completed."
"The life energy of Kyle Markenburger has been drained."
"1 Stamina gained."
"Additional Rewards will now be granted."