Chapter 30: The Challenge [3]

Bruz’s eyes darkened, his expression twisting with barely restrained anger.

"I’m gonna stomp you into the dirt, then show Zephra what a pathetic wimp you really are."

I raised an eyebrow on hearing him mention Zephra.

And suddenly everything clicked into place.

So that was what this was really about?

Me being called the Chosen had probably bruised his pride, but it wasn’t the real reason he was standing in front of me looking ready to explode.

This was about Zephra.

I looked at him with exaggerated realization before a grin spread across my face.

"So that’s your motivation?" I asked, dragging out the words. "You’re trying to impress her, eh?"

Bruz’s nostrils flared, his lips twitching as his face flushed with fury.

Honestly, it didn’t take much thought to figure out what was going on. The goblin had a crush, and unfortunately for him, I’d somehow become the obstacle standing between him and the goblin girl he wanted to impress.

He’d had eyes for Zephra for a long time, and from what I’d seen, she’d barely spared him a second glance. Yet I’d only just arrived, and she was already hovering around me.

No wonder the guy looked like he wanted to bite someone’s head off.

A chuckle escaped me. "You’re throwing a tantrum because she finds me more interesting than you?"

Bruz’s face twisted with fury, thick veins bulging across his neck as his claws dug so deeply into his palms they nearly drew blood.

"Shut your mouth, outsider!"

A smirk spread across my face. "Didn’t deny it, though. I see."

His answer was a growl that rumbled through the clearing like a distant landslide.

His fists tightened until his knuckles cracked like splitting wood, then Bruz charged.

His fist shot toward my head like a battering ram, cutting through the air with frightening speed, but I had no intention of meeting that kind of power head-on.

I twisted my body, ducked beneath the swing, and slipped to the side just as the blow rushed past my face, close enough for me to feel the wind it carried.

He didn’t stop there.

Another punch came. Then another. Then another.

Bruz unleashed a relentless barrage, throwing his full weight into every strike, each one capable of crushing bone if it connected.

But with my Physical already above thirty points, his attacks did not feel impossible to evade. My body responded almost instinctively, my feet gliding across the dirt as I weaved between his fists with smooth, effortless movements, always staying just beyond his reach.

The spectators exploded into cheers.

"Crush him, Bruz!"

"Coward! Stop running like a fly!"

From where they stood, the fight looked completely one-sided.

Bruz was the one pressing the attack while I did nothing but evade, making it seem as though I was being overwhelmed.

With every punch that failed to land, the grin on his face only grew wider, his confidence swelling as he mistook my caution for fear.

"Gonna run all day, little bug?"

I didn’t respond. I simply let the moment stretch, ignoring the roar of the crowd surrounding the ring as they cheered with bloodthirsty excitement, their eyes gleaming with a hunger for violence, spectacle, and the humiliation of the weak.

I stood at the very edge of the ring, exactly where he wanted me.

In his mind, I was trapped with nowhere left to run.

His broad chest rose and fell with heavy breaths, his nostrils flaring like an enraged bull as a cruel sneer spread across his face, promising pain.

He didn’t just want to win. He wanted to make an example out of me, to remind everyone exactly where I belonged.

Too bad for him.

With a thunderous roar, he reeled back, coiling every ounce of strength into a devastating right hook. His eyes gleamed with savage satisfaction, the kind that only came from absolute certainty, the certainty that victory was already his, and I was about to be crushed beneath it.

"YOU’RE DONE!"

His fist tore through the air with terrifying force.

But instead of connecting...it sliced through nothing.

He missed.

For a split second, Bruz’s expression froze, confusion flickering across his face as he struggled to understand why his attack had failed.

Before his sluggish mind could process the mistake, before the shock had fully settled into his brutish features, I was already moving.

My fist shot forward in a precise, brutal strike that slammed directly into his throat.

BAM!

"Gaah!"

His roar died the instant it left his mouth, replaced by a violent choke as his windpipe seized shut.

The massive brute staggered backward, both hands flying instinctively to his neck while his face twisted in agony, desperate gasps escaping his lips as he fought to draw even a single breath.

The crowd froze.

A stunned silence swept through the clearing as wide eyes locked onto the scene in utter disbelief. No one had expected me to land the first real hit, least of all Bruz himself.

The massive goblin stared at me, shock written plainly across his face as his thick fingers instinctively clutched at his bruised throat. He wheezed, his enormous chest rising and falling in uneven bursts while he struggled to catch his breath.

But the surprise didn’t last.

His face twisted into something monstrous as a guttural growl rumbled from his throat, every muscle in his body bunching beneath his skin. His nostrils flared, veins bulged across his neck and arms, and without another second of hesitation, he lunged straight at me.

A big mistake, because the instant I saw his fist twitch, I inhaled deeply and unleashed my newest skill:

[Thunderous Roar]

The deafening bellow exploded from the depths of my chest, raw, primal, and impossibly loud. It wasn’t just a roar. It was a weapon. A crushing wave of force burst outward, violently shaking the air and making the ground beneath our feet tremble.

The shockwave slammed into Bruz like a charging beast, sending his balance faltering as his ears rang with a piercing shriek.

Even the goblins outside the ring staggered, some nearly collapsing from the sheer force of my voice, while the bonfires flickered violently, their flames bending and struggling against the invisible shockwave that rippled through the clearing.

Bruz wobbled where he stood, his stance unsteady.

I grinned and surged forward, my fist flashing through the firelight in a blur as I unleashed a merciless barrage that gave him no chance to recover, every strike flowing seamlessly into the next with brutal efficiency until a savage uppercut crashed into his gut.

WHUMP!

The impact lifted him an inch off the ground, his breath hitching in surprise before a spinning elbow crashed into his jaw with a sickening crack.

His head snapped violently to the side, his vision blurring as his eyes rolled back for the briefest fraction of a second before sheer will forced them into focus again.

Bruz stumbled, his massive frame swaying unsteadily as the lingering effects of [Thunderous Roar] continued to cloud his mind, slowing his reactions and dulling his reflexes.

But that wasn’t the real problem.

The real problem was that...