Chapter 26- Pre-Hunter Exam (Part 5)

Acht's speed was tremendously high and that fact became even more apparent with his continuous level-ups. He was even surprised by his own strength as he approached Thyrus.

When he was close enough he slashed his sword to his side. It was an attack with the intent to kill and no restraints whatsoever. 

Thyrus didn't feel intimidated by Acht but he didn't underestimate his power either. He used his free leg and kicked the sword up with his knee. 

Acht lost the momentum of the hit and had to readjust his position as quickly as possible. He then bent down and sent a direct kick to his face while his sword was still in the middle of the air. Thyrus was taken aback by the wit of the small boy.

'He's an expert.' he thought with a serious look. It was apparent from his movements and decisions that he was a master in his craft so the image of a small and frail boy disappeared from Thyrus's mind.

At the last moment before Acht's leg hit his face, Thyrus bent his head to the side. The kick touched some strands of his brown hair for a brief moment.

Acht clicked his tongue before he jumped away to make a distance. He wanted to think of an idea on how to take him by surprise.

'I still have my gift that he won't expect.'

He was waiting for the perfect moment to use it when he least expected it. But, the question remains. How will he do so?

"Your skills….they're pretty good. Who taught you?" Thyrus suddenly asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason in particular….I thought…Umm…I could know that person."

"No…I don't think you do and neither will I tell you his name…"

Then, he charged at him again in the same way as before. He wanted to find any weak points in Thyrus. From a point of view, it was foolish to expect that the strongest human in the lower world had weak points but Acht believed that there will never be a perfect defense or perfect offense.

'Humans aren't perfect, they make mistakes and that translates into our martial arts. He could be a master in close combat but he will still have flaws in his defense. I just need to find it.'

With that in mind he jumped high in the sky and dove down like an eagle with his sword pointed at Thyrus's face. The latter didn't dwindle much and sidestepped the upcoming human arrow. 

Acht wasn't able to hit him and found himself heading straight for the ground. Quickly, he adjusted his body posture and landed on his feet before making a diagonal slash to his left.

Thyrus was ready for that attack and retreated slightly backward. 

'Faster!' Acht thought as he moved toward him again and sent a barrage of slashes and kicks toward him like a maniac. It was an insane sight to look at. His speed had reached such a high level that even if the candidates saw it, they would only be able to perceive blurry lines between the two opponents.

'This is not enough! Faster!' Acht's mind and body were totally concentrated on the fight. He was using every fiber of his being to its utmost efficiency. He had never been this engrossed in a fight before. Maybe it was because he was aware that Thyrus was tremendously stronger than him. Or maybe because he had never gone all out in his life and wanted to feel the sensation of his full power being executed in front of his eyes. 

Either way, Acht was excited like never before, he was enjoying the fight a lot. The sensation of the wind as he moved, the rough and hard handle of the sword he gripped tightly, the energy running through his body like blood. He felt for the first time in a long while that he was alive.

The fight continued for more than 2 minutes, inside the arena, two silhouettes kept on moving at an inhuman speed around the place, leaving behind nothing but destruction.

The rather hard arena turned into a bumpy road full of holes. Most of the place was filled with clouds of dust that made it near impossible to see clearly.

Acht ran like a bolt and used all of his strength to try and hit Thyrus even once. The latter was also moving around with the same speed as he retreated continuously and evaded every single attack Acht threw at him.

'I can feel it.' Acht thought as he watched Thyrus's movement. He spent a big chunk of the time he had to understanding Thyrus's pattern of movement. He had a precise way of dodging attacks and Acht was able to grasp it properly. 

Then, as he landed his last slash, something different happened. Thyrus was able to evade the slash but he didn't create an optimal distance between them. Acht saw that split second of misjudgment and instantly used his gift. 

He used gravity and pushed himself to reach him faster than before and take him by surprise. The plan worked as Acht saw the shock in Thyrus's eyes while his sword moved closer and closer to him. The outcome was set in stone.

'I got him!' he thought as adrenaline rushed through his veins and intoxicated his mind.

*Boom*

A loud explosion sent a strong shockwave to every corner of the place. Even the candidates who were outside the black barrier felt the earthquake.

The walls of the arena started cracking and crumbling to the ground as if they were made of biscuits.

"Ugh!" Acht felt dust hitting his face so he had to close his eyes and endure the pain of the shape particles of dust and the remnants of the walls as they pricked his face continuously.

Then, when things calmed down after a while, he was able to open his eyes.

'What happened.' he thought as he looked ahead of him. There, Thyrus was still standing still in his place, his hand was holding the blade and his arm was shaking slightly. He didn't seem to be harmed by the attack.

Acht looked at him for a few seconds before he exploded in a burst of loud laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHA!! As expected of the strongest. If you didn't do this at least then I would've questioned this world's power level." He said with a grin. He wasn't frustrated by the outcome or even annoyed. He was genuinely amazed at Thyrus. 

He knew that he wasn't the strongest hunter alive for no reason, but, he wanted to experience that level with his own hands. And now, he was more than certain that he was the strongest. Because….

"You didn't use your soul force the whole time." He added as he sheathed his sword and glanced at the weird man.

Thyrus on the other side wasn't smiling at all. He was just standing still and looking at Acht with deep astonishment. 

Then, with a slow tone, he said.

"You…Who are you?" 

Acht didn't say anything and walked away with casual steps. When he was slightly far from him, he looked back and said,

"Just a small child with big dreams." 

He then left the arena, leaving behind a confused man with a weird expression.

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"What is happening inside. Why can't we watch his fight? this is unfair."

"Yeah, right! Why does he get special treatment?" 

"Guys! Look, the cover is unveiled." A random person pointed at the arena with eager eyes.

Everyone also shifted their eyes to see what happened inside. Everyone felt the strong earthquake from before and wanted to see what happened.

When the arena became fully visible, everyone made a weird voice of shock. The place was rendered into a mess and nothing was unscathed.

"What….happened here?"

"Beat me…This is insane." 

Everyone mattered with widened eyes. They couldn't believe their eyes. Most of them had already fought Thyrus so they knew how strong and resilient the arena was. That rock it was made of was not normal by any means. It was a special type of rock that was enhanced with energy to become even more solid and could even bear attacks from orange soul awakeners.

Amid this chaos, Tania was the one with the least reaction of the bunch. She was looking at a particular place with calm eyes.

"Amazing." She muttered under her breath. Her eyes gave out a weird light for a moment before disappearing instantly, not leaving a chance for anyone to see it.

No one could know what she was thinking about or who she meant with that word except for herself. Maybe she was the least to make a proper reaction, but when it comes to this flight's effect on everyone, she was the most affected one by far. 

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