Brain vs Brawn

The entire crowd roared with anticipation. Then, gradually, their cheers died down.

A thousand eyes watched eagerly upon us, waiting to see who'd make the first move.

Usually, I'd obliterate my opponent before they even had a chance to mutter a spell. But that was the old me.

Now, all I had were my instincts, and a gut feeling that this fight wouldn't end well.

I had no choice but to play it safe.

Baron stood motionless, observing me with stern, red eyes. I felt my skin prickle. There was no anger or malice in his stare... Just pure focus.

Like a street wrestler, he casually cracked his neck, shoulders, and knuckles.

I expected him to make the first move, and I expected right. He took off his red blazer, tossing it to the side. Then he casually marched towards me, like a tiger ready to devour his prey.

"Whatever happens, Stormborn," he said, just loud enough for me to hear. "I want you to know that it isn't personal."

"Of course it isn't," I retorted. "You're just obeying your mistress, like the good puppet you are."

I probably shouldn't have said that.

Baron's forehead creased.

"Very well... Stormborn. Prepare yourself," he said, rolling his neck one last time.

In one swift move, he covered the distance between us.

I saw his left hook coming, but this time, I anticipated his two-punch combo. Rather than dodging his blows one at a time. I simply leapt backwards, evading him completely.

"And Baron makes the first move," Sasha announced from her platform. "But Rin seems to be quicker on his feet."

Baron charged at me once again, his eyes determined, but my instincts were on full alert.

Once again, he closed the gap between us and sent another two-punch combo at me, but as soon as I evaded it, I noticed him shift his center of gravity.

A kick was coming.

Just as expected, he threw a front kick at me. I simply stepped to the side, but he had anticipated that. He quickly converted it to a round house kick and thrust it at me.

Too slow.

I took another leap back, and added in a flip just to make sure I kept a good distance from him.

This dance went on a few more times, until Baron finally paused.

He wore a smile on his face, but I noticed the slight twitch in his eye. He wasn't used to being dodged, and he was exerting a lot of force in his punches.

On the other hand, I was barely keeping up with his moves. My lungs burned and my legs ached, but I was determined to keep evading.

"At some point, you're going to have to make your own attack, Stormborn."

"Nah... I think I'll just wear you out instead."

"So be it."

Then, he stood still.

"Uh oh..." Sasha announced. "We're about to see our first spell."

Just like she predicted, Baron opened his mouth and yelled out a single phrase:

"Body Affinity; Muscle Increase!"

At the sound, a dim red aura circled around him. His big muscles grew even larger, ripping his shirt apart.

The sight was intimidating, but there was no guarantee he would catch up to me with bigger muscles.

At least, that's what I thought his intention was, until he uttered another spell.

"Earth Formation!" he roared.

He punched his arm into the ground, and simultaneously, large boulders of hardened earth erupted from the ground, surrounding him.

The audience cheered loudly at the feat.

To be honest, It was quite impressive. Earth Formation was a common D-Tier spell which required sufficient core strength from the Spellcaster. Baron supplemented that strength by combining it with his Body Affinity spell, thereby increasing the amount of earth summoned.

Brilliant.

"Oh my," Sasha beamed "It seems Baron is about to end the fight. Will Rin be able to counter with a spell of his own?"

Good question.

Then, Baron made his move.

One by one, he lifted the huge boulders with ease, and hurled them at me with all his might.

Despite the distance between us, the rocks came flying with surprising speed. Directing all my energy to my legs, I began to run around the arena, narrowly evading every boulder that came at me.

The boulders smashed into the walls of the arena, breaking into smaller pieces on impact.

And so, a new pattern began. Baron punched into the ground, summoned more boulders and tossed them at me, while I focused on evading the boulders.

At one point, Baron threw a huge boulder, way larger than the rest. I evaded it, but this time, I failed to realise that two more boulders were right behind it.

I couldn't move left or right in time, so I bent my knees and leapt into the air.

"Got you," he whispered.

I gasped.

Baron was right in front of me.

This had been his plan all along. He used the boulders as a distraction to divert my attention from him.

It worked. I was stuck in mid-air, at his mercy.

Baron drew his right hand back, and just as quickly as he did, he thrust it forward again, punching me in the chest with his full strength.

The punch hit me like a cannon blast. It was so powerful that it sent me propelling across the arena. Before I realised what was happening, I slammed into the arena stone wall, and fell to the ground.

Around me, the audience applauded happily.

"Baron delivers a powerful blow to Rin. And he seems to be unconscious. Has Baron won already?"

I could feel my chest burning immensely. Something was definitely broken within.

The blow was powerful, no doubt – but he'd need to do a lot more than that to take me out.

Every instinct screamed at me to stay down, but I had to prove to myself, that I didn't need magic to win a fight.

I pressed my hands against the ground, and lifted myself upward.

"Wow... Rin is still moving despite taking such a devastating blow to his chest. He definitely has more endurance than we think..."

I quickly rose to my feet, ready to continue the fight. But as soon as I got up, my vision grew blurry, and I fell back down to my knees.

Something was terribly wrong.

I felt a warm fluid flow down my right cheek. I quickly bent my head low and felt at the spot with my finger.

It was blood. My blood.

My ears were bleeding...

A blow to my chest wouldn't cause my ears to bleed, not even from a body-enhanced brute like him.

No, this was something else.

Something worse.

I raise my head upward, despite the raging pain. Sure enough, Baron was there, walking toward me like he was ready to claim my corpse.

I saw the diabolical look in his eyes, and I immediately realised what it was.

Baron Borain wasn't just using Body Magic anymore.

It was something far more dangerous.