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The Top Three

Brian braced himself and got up on the platform. When he stood opposite of Domian, he knew that he could not win. But that didn't mean that he would forfeit. He will be able to use this situation and improve his saber skills.

"Good luck.", Domian said with a calm smile.

"Thanks, I'll need it!", Brian said, not caring about the reactions of others.

Domian himself was quite surprised as well, but he just smiled and prepared to fight. After the referee gave the signal, their match started. They both moved towards each other, brandishing their blades. As they swung their blades at each other, a screeching noise sounded out. Brian was not surprised to find out that he was lacking in strength. Nonetheless, Brian was able to lead Domian's sword down and continued by tackling him. Domian was shocked for a moment. Who would fight like that? But he reacted fast. Domian moved aside, dodging the incoming tackle. At the same time, he hit the hilt of Brian's saber with his sword, making Brian let go of it. When Brian turned around, he let out a short sigh.

"I was hoping to hold on a bit longer, but it seems I still need some training.", Brian said before leaving the arena after picking up his saber.

Everyone was watching their fight with interest because both of them had never lost before this fight. But when they saw how easily Brian got dispatched, they finally got a feeling of how terrifying Domian is. The matches continued in the same manner as before. As Beta looked at this scene, he couldn't help but wonder what these kids had done in their lives to be so weak. Some even just randomly hit others and started crying themselves.

Beta wasn't the only one who was disappointed in the progress. Hanz, the headmaster of the academy, frowned. "Are there kids who will show us a good fight or just these bunch of babies?", is what he wanted to say. But he still had some hope. There were some kids who showed some extraordinary talent. The headmaster then smirked, as he thought of something to kill his boredom. He then announced, "Beta vs. Domian!".

When everybody heard the announcement, there was a huge commotion. Whispers of excitement and talks of guessing on who's going to be the victor erupted among the audience. This was a fight everyone was already itching to see. Both were very strong and in no way relatable to the others. As soon as they stood on the arena, the mood changed. Everyone immediately kept quiet and watched them, afraid to miss something.

"Good luck.", Domian said with a calm smile once again.

"Thanks. I wish you good luck as well.", Beta said with a slight smile.

When the fight started, they both didn't move. They calmly watched their opponent, figuring out how to defeat each other. Suddenly, Beta started walking up to Domian with slow steps. Domian imitated Beta and just slowly walked up to him. When they were only two meters away from each other, Beta finally moved his staff.

He suddenly swung it from the lower right to the upper left. Domian looked at the incoming staff and moved his sword as well, trying to deflect the staff. What he didn't expect, however, was Beta's strength. When his sword hit the staff he only felt an unstoppable force coming at him, not caring about the sword the slightest bit. Domian quickly moved away from the staff, dodging it barely. Beta didn't let him go though. He followed up with a thrust, aiming for Domian's abdomen. Domian quickly took a step back, but was still slightly hit by the staff. When he felt the force hitting him, he couldn't help but move back for another five steps. He looked at Beta's calm smile and found new resolve.

He then leaped forward, using his sword to pierce at Beta. When Beta twisted his staff to deflect the sword, Domian suddenly changed the trajectory of his stab and avoided the staff, letting his sword move like a snake. Beta was surprised since Domian didn't show his full strength before, but it still didn't faze him. He simply twisted his staff so fast that he looked like he had a propeller in front of him, blocking every attempt that Domian tried to hit him. When Domian finally decided to attack the legs instead of the upper body, Beta used the inertia of the staff and changed its direction towards Domian. The inertia made it so fast that Domian wasn't able to defend himself. As he saw the staff approaching the side of his body he couldn't help but sigh.

"I guess I'll stay in the hospital for a while...", Domian muttered.

But just when the staff was about to hit him it stopped abruptly. Domian looked up at Beta, who still had a calm face as if nothing happened.

"Alright, I give up. Thanks for sparing me.", Domian said with a faint smile.

Beta nodded and left the arena. Although Domian was strong, it still wasn't enough to defeat Beta. It was obvious, for he hadn't had a life like Beta's. Afterall, the experience and skills that Beta picked up over the few years since he was born, were too shocking, that it would be a disaster if known to everyone. It is no wonder why he's beyond his peers and to add the fact that he has gone through body modification many times, his body's strength can't be compared to any kid his age.

After this battle, everyone finally understood what Beta meant when he said that these battles are just like playing around to him. Seeing the other's battle now, it felt lackluster. Even though Beta and Domian's fight didn't last long at all, it was full of excitement. They couldn't help but gasp and felt like their breath stopped, especially the moment when Domian was almost hit by the staff at the end. They really thought he was going to die, if not for the fact that the headmaster set up the rules, the end of another talent would come too soon. Some were grateful that they didn't have to face this monster kid in front of them – Beta.

After another hour passed, everything was finally finished and the headmaster announced the results. After calling many, many names, he then announced the top three.

"Now, we finally come to the top three! On the third place is Brian! On the second place is Domian and first place goes to Beta, who didn't lose a single match!"