Chapter 144: Against the Hexed Rose

For the first few seconds, neither Sabrina nor Shobin moved.

Kelly watched from the stands with a worried expression. Having two friends fight each other was apparently becoming a regular feature of this tournament.

Marty leaned toward Daniel. "So, who are you betting on?"

"From what we’ve seen so far, Shobin has the better chance."

"Really? Why?"

Daniel glanced toward Zac. "Why don’t you let him explain? You’re thinking the same thing, aren’t you?"

Zac sighed. "That Ice Cube is a good fighter, but her greatest strength is still her elemental affinity. Her mana control is excellent, but Shobin has shown far more martial arts experience during these matches."

He looked toward the stage.

"Physically, Sabrina shouldn’t be stronger than him. At most, they’re probably around the same level. If that’s all she has, beating Shobin won’t be easy."

"His martial arts are too damn well trained."

"But..."

"But?"

Daniel understood what he meant. "If Shobin were facing almost anyone else, I’d confidently bet on him. But we are talking about someone known as the most talented prodigy of our generation."

He looked at Zac. "He just doesn’t want to admit it."

"Oh." Marty nodded.

Kelly nodded along with him. "So that’s how it is."

Zac gave Daniel a flat look. "I didn’t actually mean that."

A short distance away, Adrian sat with his arms folded, still visibly wounded by his earlier defeat.

Mimi leaned over the railing, glaring at the stage. The audience had spent the entire tournament calling Sabrina beautiful, and Mimi hated every second of it.

"Come on, Ice Princess. Let the Martial Nerd win."

Sabrina’s head turned slightly, and her terrifying side glare found Mimi in the crowd.

"Why did I say that? Why did I say that out loud? Why do I keep saying terrible things to people with beautiful faces and terrifying power?"

Matilda watched the fighters carefully. "Shobin’s control is impressive, but Sabrina doesn’t look nervous."

Simon folded his arms. "She may be waiting for him to reveal his rhythm."

Murphy grinned. "Or she’s about to surprise everyone."

On the stage, Shobin finally moved.

He closed the distance quickly, mana coating his arms and legs with remarkable precision. His first strike went toward Sabrina’s shoulder, but when she shifted aside, his stance changed and a second strike followed toward her ribs.

Sabrina blocked, but Shobin was already moving again.

His footwork was controlled, his attacks flowing smoothly from one position to the next. Every bit of mana appeared exactly where he needed it.

For the first few exchanges, Sabrina was forced onto the defensive.

A murmur spread through the stands.

"He’s actually pushing her back."

"I thought Sabrina Snow was supposed to be one of the strongest."

Mimi gripped the railing. "Yes. Keep going, martial nerd. Don’t let her win."

Shobin redirected Sabrina’s arm and drove a palm toward her chest, but this time, Sabrina moved differently. Her arm curved around his strike instead of meeting it directly.

Shobin’s palm slid past, and his eyes narrowed. Sabrina turned with his momentum, guiding him half a step past her before striking toward his side.

Shobin blocked and immediately retreated.

For the first time, surprise crossed his face.

They exchanged moves again, and the difference became clearer to him.

Sabrina flowed around his attacks with almost no resistance, but whenever Shobin tried to overpower her position, she yielded just enough to redirect his force.

And when she attacked, that softness vanished, with her stance becoming firm. Her strikes were short and solid before she returned to that fluid movement.

Shobin’s expression grew serious. "What kind of martial art is this?"

He changed his rhythm and attacked from another angle, but Sabrina adapted almost immediately.

Shobin tried to control her wrist as he had done with previous opponents, but her arm slipped free before he could secure it.

Mimi’s mouth fell open. "Since when could Ice Princess do that?"

Sabrina’s posture changed again; the flowing movement stopped for a single instant with mana tightened around her body.

Shobin recognized the danger and raised his guard, but Sabrina’s palm struck through it and sent him stumbling backward.

Though he recovered quickly, Sabrina was already in front of him. He tried to counter, but she redirected his arm, turned with his momentum, and swept his footing away.

He hit the stage, and before he could rise, Sabrina’s mana-coated fist stopped in front of his face.

The referee raised his hand. "Stop! Winner, Sabrina Snow!"

Shobin remained on the ground for a moment before looking at her outstretched fist. Then he exhaled and accepted the result.

Mimi sank into her seat, defeated in every possible sense.

From the stands, Marty slowly leaned back. "Okay. Apparently, the Ice Princess knows martial arts too."

Zac kept his eyes on Sabrina. "Yeah. It seems like it."

The audience erupted into cheers.

As Sabrina stepped down from the stage, Shobin caught up with her. "What kind of martial art was that? I’ve never seen anything like it."

"It’s something I learned in my homeland."

"Really?" Shobin’s interest immediately sharpened. "I thought I knew about almost every martial art in the world."

He gave a small smile. "Seems there’s still an ocean left for me to cross. Anyway, could you teach me someday?"

"Sure."

The two returned to the waiting area, where Kelly was naturally the first to speak. "Are you okay, Shobin?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?"

Marty stared at him. "Bro, you kinda just got your ass handed to you."

"Oh, you mean the match?" Shobin remained completely unfazed. "I gave it everything I had and did my best. There’s nothing to be upset about after losing a fair fight. I’ll just have to improve."

Marty blinked. "When did you become so optimistic?"

"I’m not being optimistic. I’m stating reality."

"Oh. So you’re becoming Daniel now."

"Why am I involved in this?" Daniel asked.

The mention of him reminded Marty of something. He turned toward the tournament board just as Daniel began preparing for his match.

Daniel Martel vs. Ravena Voss.

Marty slowly looked back at him. "You know, Daniel, you’re my friend, and obviously I want you to win."

Daniel narrowed his eyes. "But there’s also a tiny part of me that really wants to see you get your ass whooped for what you did to me yesterday."

"Yeah, that’s not gonna happen."

Before Marty could argue any further, Mimi’s voice rang across the arena. "And now, dear audience, we move on to the third and final match of the morning!"

"Entering first from Class A, the disciplined spear user with excellent range control, the man who looks like he alphabetizes his training schedule... Daniel Martel!"

Daniel’s expression tightened slightly as laughter rippled through the stands.

He stepped forward with his spear in hand. "And his opponent from Class B, the dark beauty whose black mana has left the entire academy buzzing... the Hexed Rose, Ravena Voss!"

Mimi’s smile twitched. "Dark beauty? Why the hell did I call her that? I just handed her points against myself. Idiot! Lovable Mimi, you traitor."

Several boys in the audience immediately started whispering.

"She looks scary, but she’s actually really pretty."

"Yeah. Those piercings somehow make her even more attractive."

"Damn... look at those piercings. Ears, nose, lips, and even in her eyebrow."

"Do you think she has piercings anywhere else?"

"Hey, don’t turn this into R18 because of your weird fetish."

"I’m just saying she looks pretty in a dangerous way."

Mimi kept smiling. "How does pretty and dangerous even work together? Do these people have functioning brains?"

"If I carried a dagger around, would they start calling me dangerously beautiful too?"

Ignoring the comments, Ravena walked onto the stage and stopped opposite Daniel.

Before the match began, she looked him over. "You’re one of the guys hanging around that narcissist and Pretty Boy, aren’t you?"

"Yeah. They’re my friends."

Ravena narrowed her eyes. "You like that narcissist too?"

"If you mean whether I’m a noble, then yes. I come from a prestigious family. But if you’re asking whether I’m narcissistic, I don’t think so."

"You nobles are all self-conceited anyway."

Daniel sighed. "So you really do have a problem with nobles. Zac was right."

"Shut the fuck up and let’s finish this already."

Daniel stared at her. "’Wasn’t she the one who started the conversation?"

The referee raised his hand.

"Begin!"

The moment the referee’s hand dropped, Daniel moved. There was no hesitation at all.

Mana flowed along his spear in a thin, controlled layer as he closed the distance before Ravena’s cursed zone could wear him down.

Ravena drew both daggers, and their weapons met with a sharp clang.

Daniel immediately followed with another thrust, then shifted the spear halfway through the motion and swept toward her side.

Ravena blocked with one dagger and slipped away from the other end of the shaft.

Mimi leaned forward. "Seems like red hair isn’t wasting a second! Looks like our painfully serious spearman has decided breathing near Ravena for too long is bad for his health!"

"That’s actually the right strategy," Shobin said from the stands.

Daniel’s spear moved cleanly from one attack into the next, never giving Ravena enough time to settle into her usual rhythm. He wasn’t fighting recklessly, but he was moving far more aggressively than he normally did.

Ravena blocked another thrust and clicked her tongue. "In a hurry, noble boy?"

"Very."

"Good. At least one of you knows when to shut up and fight."

Daniel ignored her and pressed forward.

The reach of his spear kept Ravena from freely closing in, while his superior physical strength forced her backward whenever their weapons clashed.

A few surprised murmurs spread through the crowd.

"He’s actually pushing her back."

"That’s a real noble for you."

"Is he not affected by the curse?"

Zac narrowed his eyes. "That’s the point."

Kelly turned toward him. "What do you mean?"

"He knows staying inside her range will weaken him anyway. So instead of wasting mana trying to avoid everything, he’s betting on ending the fight before the curse catches up."

Simon reached the same conclusion from the upper stands. "Good decision."

Murphy glanced at him. "Risky, though."

"Of course it is. What other options did he get?"

On the stage, Ravena suddenly slipped past the spearhead and closed the distance with black mana coated in her dagger.

Daniel twisted the shaft sideways and blocked. The instant the two coatings touched, his arm felt noticeably heavier.

Ravena grinned. "Felt that, didn’t you?"

Daniel pulled away immediately. His breathing had already begun to deepen.

The longer he remained inside her cursed zone, the heavier his body became. Even his mana, usually so responsive, was beginning to feel sluggish.

Mimi watched with unusual focus. "Daniel’s still controlling the range, but he’s slowing down. And Ravena looks like she’s only getting more comfortable."

Ravena charged this time.

Daniel caught one dagger on the spear shaft, redirected the second, and drove the butt of his spear toward her stomach.

She twisted aside, but the strike still clipped her and forced her back several steps.

One thrust. Two thrusts. Three thrusts...

Ravena’s daggers flashed as she defended, black mana rippling around them, and the final clash drove her close to the boundary.

Ravena glanced behind herself and saw she was barely two steps away from the edge.

Daniel’s breathing was rough now, and the curse had already taken enough from him. He knew there wouldn’t be many more chances.

So he stopped holding back, mana rushed along the spear, and got compressed at the tip.

Marty immediately recognized it. "Is that..."

"The same one that he used against you," Zac said.

Ravena’s smile disappeared.

Daniel lowered his stance. "One clean hit, that’s all I needed."

He surged forward and thrusted.

Ravena didn’t dodge. Instead, black mana exploded across both daggers as she crossed them directly in front of the incoming spear.

Daniel’s eyes widened, the spearhead struck, and the entire stage shook.