The air in the training grounds was electric as Alex stepped into the circle, rolling his shoulders with an eager grin.
His excitement was practically radiating off him, and Raven could already feel a headache forming.
'Dumb muscle at its finest,' he thought, shaking his head.
Across from them, Darren's team momentarily hesitated before a tall, lean fighter stepped forward. Unlike Troy, this one wasn't built for brute force—he was a speed-type fighter, agile and precise.
That guy was trained to be a striker, or a damage dealer, to be precise.
"Reese," Darren called out, his voice sharp and impatient. "Crush him."
Reese nodded once, adjusting the bandages on his fists. He wasn't the type to waste breath on trash talk. His movements were calculated, his expression unreadable.
"Ah," Raven muttered as soon as he saw who Darren chose for the next match. "Bad pick."
Clara raised an eyebrow. "You think so? He's fast. And he looks like he packs good punches. While Alex is strong, he's dumb. Wouldn't that guy be an ideal counter for Alex?"
Raven shook his head. "That's what they think as well. But Alex isn't your normal guy. He is a mix of a defender (tank) and a striker."
Jake didn't even look up and added to Raven's words. "He's like a beast who won't go down until his opponent's down."
Raven nodded. "Exactly."
The reason why Clara didn't know all this was because she hadn't fought with Alex. Ever.
The only ones who ever fought with the guy are Raven and Jake, as that guy's power is too disastrous for Clara.
'However,' Raven's eyes sharpened as he turned to Reese, 'That guy isn't an easy opponent.'
Reese was the only one among Darren's group who had received a title later in the story.
Raven wanted to know the level at which Reese was right now, as that would help him understand if the plot was messed up or if it was still going as it was supposed to be.
Instructor Gale stepped forward when the participants, Alex and Reese entered the circle and raised his hand. "Second match—begin!"
The moment his hand dropped, Reese moved first.
He was fast.
A blur of motion, his foot cutting through the air in a precise arc, aiming straight for Alex's ribs.
Alex didn't dodge.
He stepped into it.
THUD!
A collective gasp rippled through the onlookers as Alex met the kick head-on, letting it slam into his forearm. The sound was dull but solid, like someone had just kicked a brick wall.
Reese's eyes widened slightly. That was not the reaction he expected.
"Oh shit, he took that head-on?!" Someone in the crowd muttered.
"Didn't even flinch…" Another whispered.
"That idiot's built like a bear!"
But Reese wasn't intimidated. He shifted smoothly, unleashing a rapid combination of punches and kicks, striking at Alex's weak points with pinpoint accuracy.
Thwack!
Baam!
Thud!
His fists and kicks met Alex's defenses, and for a moment, it looked like he had the upper hand.
Alex was on the defensive, blocking blow after blow, his muscles tensing under the repeated impact. His grin never wavered, but his stance suggested he was being pushed back.
"Reese is too fast for him," one student whispered.
"Speed wins over strength every time."
"I don't know... something feels off."
Raven agreed, smirking. 'Something's off, alright.'
Alex wasn't struggling.
He was waiting.
And then, it happened.
Reese went for another strike—a quick jab to the jaw.
And Alex—
—didn't dodge.
SMACK!
The punch landed clean, making Alex's head jerk to the side.
The audience gasped.
But the next second, they saw something shocking.
Alex's head creaked, his eyes turning toward Reese, as he turned his head, forcing the guy's punch back.
The punch was still connected, but it was being pushed back as Alex straightened his neck, a grin ever-present on his face.
Reese's eyes widened as he jumped back, his instincts telling him one thing: danger.
It was only when he was some steps away from Alex he realized what he had done and got confused.
'His instincts,' Raven, looking at this nodded his head. 'I guess he would be called 'Primal Striker' for a reason.'
Raven was sure if Reese was even a second late, he would've met Alex's fist.
Alex's grin, however, didn't falter, it widened, turning into a wild and excited grin.
"... he isn't a masochist is he?" Clara muttered doubtfully, taking a step back, while Jake, who knew Alex's 'that' look, sighed. "Here we go."
Reese's body tensed as his eyes sharpened.
It wasn't that he hadn't been serious until now, but now, he felt he had to do better than his best.
Alex cracked his knuckles. "My turn."
And then—
Alex moved.
He wasn't as fast as Reese. Not even close. But what he lacked in speed, he made up for with sheer explosive power.
His first punch came in like a cannonball.
Reese barely managed to block it—a big mistake.
When he did it, he was sent skidding backward several feet, his arms trembling from the impact.
"What the hell was that?!" Someone shouted from the crowd.
"He just swatted him away!"
"That wasn't a punch. That was a damn sledgehammer!"
Reese's composure cracked for the first time. He had trained to fight speed-based opponents, technical fighters, and even assassins.
He had even trained his body not to get taken down easily.
But this?
This was a beast.
Alex's strength was unlike anything he had seen.
'Is he the strongest in their group?' This thought flashed past Reese's mind as he glanced at Team Raven.
Darren's expression darkened. "Tch. Reese, stop playing and take him down!"
Reese gritted his teeth, steadied himself, then moved in again.
He wanted to yell that he was already doing his best but he didn't. He knew that doing so would make Darren's anger explode, so he decided to change his approach.
This time, he was more cautious, weaving through Alex's range and striking from blind spots.
But it didn't matter.
Alex took the hits and kept moving forward.
Raven watched with amusement. 'Reese's attacks are just making him more excited. It's no wonder Clara mistook him for a masochist.'
And then Alex stomped the ground.
The sheer force of it made Reese flinch—just a split-second of hesitation.
But that was all Alex needed.
A wild hook came next, aimed straight at Reese's ribs.
BOOM!
Reese's body twisted midair before he slammed into the ground, coughing violently.
Dead silence.
"Did… did he just…"
"He threw him like a ragdoll!"
"No way. That wasn't even a proper technique!"
Raven smirked. 'No technique, just raw destruction.'
That had always been Alex's fighting style.
Raven had even once tried to teach him Krav Maga, hoping to increase the guy's lethality, but he learned nothing.
The complexity of the technique didn't enter Alex's thick skull. To him, it looked like acrobats.
In the end, Raven had to give up.
Now, looking at the result, even Instructor Gale paused briefly before nodding. "Winner: Alex."
The crowd erupted in noise—cheers, groans, and mostly just shock.
Meanwhile, Darren looked like he was about to murder someone. His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"Useless trash!" He spat, glaring at Reese's unmoving form before turning to the rest of his team. "All of you are useless!"
Alex strolled back to his team, rubbing his jaw. "Damn, that guy was fast. My head's still ringing."
Clara smirked. "Yeah, but your skull's too thick to break."
"Piss off, Clara!"
Raven, however, had his eyes on Darren.
'He's losing control.'
And that was exactly what Raven wanted.
Meanwhile, in the judge's area, Vance looked enraged.
His fingers dug into the chair's armrests, his face set in a tight scowl.
Damien, seated beside him, let out a small chuckle. "Not looking so good for your side, huh?"
Vance's jaw twitched. He refused to respond, keeping his glare locked on the match.
Damien smirked slightly but didn't press further. He leaned back in his chair, resting his chin on his hand.
"I wonder who Team Raven will send next. They are all so interesting," he mused, watching as the next fighters stepped forward.