Chapter 26

The two bodies hit the ground right after the explosion. At the same time, chunks of molten rocks fall down from the sky.

On one side, handsome guy's Molten Armor is almost completely busted. The lava rocks covering his abdoment has been bursted open. Only the two arms and head are still intact. From the chest down, there is no place that is unharmed. Little scratches and wounds caused by Sam's wolverine claws are all over his chest, especially around the area of his heart.

And in the middle of his stomach is a gaping burned hole at the size of a fist. Surrounding it are charred skin and blisters.

"Argh. Damn it. Ack." Handsome guy coughs. His mouth is instantly filled with the iron smell of blood as it comes out from his throat.

*Cough cough*

Unable to swallow the blood down, he has no other choice but to let them all out.

"Blergh. Ugh. This is painful...I can hardly breath."

Turning his head to the side, he makes a pool of crimson liquid on the ground.

He does not feel bad. In fact, he feels lucky.

It was a very close call. He could have died then and there. His life did flash in front of him like a slow movie. He saw his parents, his master, the first time he had his cherry popped, the look on his girlfriend's face when he did not last 3 minutes...All of them.

Handsome guy lays there, looking up at the water screen on top of the arena. He sees his figure: tattered and torn, with a hole in his abdoment. His position right now is similar to Sam just two days ago. Although Sam not only lost the fight, but also lost the will to live at that point.

Thinking about what just happened, handsome guy is a little scared.

Everything proceeded like it was practiced thousands of times. From the moment handsome guy discovered Sam was not actually there, to the blinding flash and the claws ripping out his chest armor, every single moment was perfectly planned. It was so simple, yet incredibly hard to pull off, like a flow of river cutting through the rocks. No one in their right mind would believe such a thing would be success. Yet here he is.

Sam was consistent all throughout.

In that fraction of a second when Sam inserted Fire Bomb into the chest cavity, handsome guy has already opened the back of the molten armor to escape. However, it was clearly not enough to dodge the attack completely. The explosion were still carved into his stomach.

By now, handsome guy is absolutely certain that his opponent is by no means weak.

People of this world have been judging one's abilities by their natural birth blessings, rather than one's struggles. To them, if a person does not have good affinity with magic, they can simply not care about the person anymore.

What they always overlook is one's mentality, one's persistent.

Through thousands of battles, even an idiot can become stronger. The only problem would be to let themselves be beaten up over and over and over again in order to learn and grow. If one can withstand the pain created during the trainings and the fights, they should become more powerful in the end. However, that kind of training is simply inhumane.

It is like a cockroach, always getting up just to be stepped down.

Coincidentally, Sam is that kind.

Not to mention that he is a natural battle talent. The time it takes him to react, devise and execute an attack is impecable. He is not just fighting with his fist, but his minds at the same time. The guy is cunning yet behaves like a muscle head. Truly terrifying combination for his foes as no one will ever know his real intentions.

Sam is only limited by his magic blessings.

But is he now really limited by his magic anymore?

Who could have defeated 5 enemies way above his level like that?

Who could have created Thunderstrike that easily?

Who could have used Mist, Condensation to create rain covering the whole arena?

*Tap tap tap*

Handsome guy hears footsteps.

He looks at where the sounds are coming from.

Dragging their feet, with a contorted, mostly broken left arm and a black-burned right arm, Sam stands in front of handsome guy. Crimson blood drips from the two arms down the ground constantly, creating two distinctive trails from where Sam landed.

There is no place on his body that is not covered with wound, no matter how big or small. Sam's shirt has been long blown off. Even his trousers are now shorter, only half of the beginning.

His back is visible to everyone still on the seating area. Scars on top of scars, they connect each other like a geographic map.

Still.

He looks at handsome guy with his only eye.

His young face is filled with determination.

His will, unbreakable.

Handsome guy does not get how is he still able to walk with such a body.

As Sam walks closer small Ice Lances form on Sam's right hand like claws.

Water Creation Magic: Ice Lance.

He draws his fist.

"Don't. Kugh. I surrender. You have won. Sam."

While coughing up more blood, handsome guy says. He is almost wheezing at this point.

"Thank you."

Sam dispells his magic.

Handsome guy looks up at Sam. Subconsciously, he compares the guy with the Hero.

One is constantly beaten down, but keeps on crawling up. No matter the pain, no matter the struggles, he will find his way through it. A clear battle freak.

One is perfect in every way, with extreme blessings from the Goddess, being able to control the most powerful magic of all. A pure genius, no less.

Surely, Sam is not as good as Hero.

But somehow, his spirits are already changing people.

On the seating area, people have long been standing up, cheering for him. The fight has been entertaining, to say the least. While many are still doubting Sam due to the post on Twotter, it seems he is now more likeable than before.

He showed an undying will, which resonates with everyone in the stadium.

The three girls are in tears of joy as Sam triumphs over his opponents.

Lily's vocal cords vibrate violently as she calls out his name. She jumps down the seating area of the stadium and runs down to the arena.

Yui and Yuno quickly follow after her. They keep on shouting that they were good little girls and did not interfere with his fight.

Sam just stands there. He does not wave to the crowd like a winning champion or smile at them.

He smiles but to the three girls alone.

He is not here to be a saint or an idol.

He is not here to save the world.

He is not here because of a sacred mission from the Goddess.

He is here just to live.

He is here to conquer himself.

If Hero is the embodiment of the strong, an absolute unit.

Then Sam is the embodiment of the weak, the scale of said unit.

Sam's figure casts a big shadow upon handsome guy.

Sam is not as good as Hero.

Yet.