Duel (2): You are lucky

"Who's that handsome man?"

"He's so handsome. How could we miss that gorgeous face? Ah~ Just his sharp gaze alone made me wet."

"Although his body is covered by the uniform. I'm pretty sure he had a well-toned physique and six-pack abs. Oh my god! Can I even maintain my sanity once I see him half-naked?"

While the girls wondered in awe as they watched Draven walking in the direction of Isabella. The boys felt annoyed by their comments filled with admiration and lewdness.

"What's amazing with that guy? He only has his handsome face and nothing else. Furthermore, it appeared he offended Isabella and challenged her to a duel. Is it his first time coming here? If so, then his conceited personality brought destruction to himself," one of the guys on another platform guffawed.

"You are right. He might be in some other higher-grade country and want to show off, but he is too arrogant and ignorant. Is he aware that Isabella's talent could be compared to the rising generation in S-Grade?"

"That's right! Let's stop our battle for now and watch this man getting beat up by a woman! How disgraceful of sight is that?!" He purposely raised his voice, causing other combatants to stop their duel, and decided to follow what he said.

"Tsk! should we warn him? His face is too handsome and delicate to be contorted. It's not worth it."

"You are right, but we can't do anything about it. Judging from Isabella's expression, it appeared he offended her so much that Isabella might have decided to kill him." One of the girls sighed regretfully.

"I hope he will be all right." The other girl resigned with a sigh.

The boys naturally heard their conversation, and their faces were heated with ashamed and envy. If only the girl showed concern whenever they battled to the point they broke their bones. They would have not felt envious and ashamed of themselves for not taking care of their appearance.

They could only turn their head and gaze at Draven, who was already at the platform having an eye-to-eye contest with Isabella, as they cursed Draven with all their hearts. They hoped for each and every God and Goddess that existed in the universe to hear their plea and humiliate Draven to the point the girls would feel ashamed of showing their admiration to him at first.

"Are you ready now? There's no need for the rule to apply. Just let me beat you up until I'm satisfied," said Isabella.

She stared at the incoming referee to halt his intentions and should watch from the side. The referee felt pressure and complied. Draven did not mind it, though, since even if he was beaten up. He could heal his injuries by cultivating at night anyway. What he wanted to aim for right now was to gain experience by fighting a worthy opponent.

"Sure, using soul power is allowed, and applying every technique, trick, and cheats are allowed. After all, you could not complain on a battlefield that does not recognize rules, right?" replied Draven.

Isabella was satisfied by his answers, but that did not mean her boiling anger lessened. It only became intense once the battle was about to begin. She saw Draven take out a coin from his pocket and knew what Draven intended to do. Although tricks were allowed, such as Draven throwing the coin at her, she believed she could still defeat him anyway.

"Here we go."

Flick!

The coin flew in mid-air as it halted once it reached its highest point. Gravity takes effect as it slowly falls down while its velocity increases as time passes by. Everyone held their breath, and as they widened their eyes wanted not to miss every ins and outs of the battle.

Meanwhile, Draven and Isabella paid no heed to the coin as they gazed at each other. One was full of excitement and anticipation while the other was filled with anger and a feeling to take it out on someone. While their central vision focused on each other, their gaze moved to a coin, which was falling to the ground slowly, as though their sense of time slowed.

They moved their body slightly as though they were preparing to attack. Draven decided to use a simple move which was punching Isabella with a jab from what he learned from basic martial arts provided by the school. Unlike Isabella who was trained even before the cataclysm and knew advanced martial arts, as could be seen by her form.

While Draven generated a layer of blue flame on his fist, it was likewise for Isabella's red flame fist as well. However, Isabella was startled and surprised by Draven's burning fist. She could not help but ask in a chilling tone.

"You awakened your path? Congrats, then. However, what will it make any difference in the outcome, then? In addition, daring to use that path, which correlated to mine, is kind of daring, don't you think? Anyway, you are nothing but a peasant who dreamed of copying a noble, after all."

After Isabella said her piece, the coin hit the ground with a clank. Isabella made a move and vanished in the blink of an eye. It was this reason why every student did not dare to blink their eyes as they opened it wide, for they already expected this would happen. However, it was regretful to admit they still could not see Isabella despite their attempt.

"Breathing technique, Phoenix Flapped."

The name was self-explanatory, as it explained how Isabella vanished in a second. However, in Draven's vision does not mean Isabella totally vanished. Draven had a physique that was blessed by the Goddess, which made him reach a level beyond a Superhuman. He saw Isabella leap towards him as though she was using wings not to let her shoes touch the ground.

Draven grinned while Isabella was internally shocked. Normally, whenever she performed this moved. Her opponent would only watch her previous position when they failed to react. However, if they reacted, they would still be confused and wary while shaking their head to determine where she was.

Meanwhile, the man in front of him stared calmly while his pupils reflected her appearance. She knew she was exposed, but she decided not to halt her dash. It did not matter anyway, as long as her burning fist touched Draven. It's enough to scorch his flesh while he would screamed in pain.

Draven continued to stare at Isabella, whose distance was only five meters away from him. Draven did not make a move yet. He started to analyze and tried to predict what Isabella was about to make. He knew Isabella aimed to smack her raging fist at him, but the question was, "How will she do it?"

Isabella made a simple direct jab. It should have been simple, and with a single thought that even a kid would decide to dodge it, Draven hesitated. He thought it should be a feint, so he moved his gaze to Isabella's other fist. However, it was as though Isabella does not even intend to move her other fist while she continued placing more strength on her burning fist.

Draven could feel a heat breezing on his face, and without thinking further, he tilted his head sideways. Isabella's fist missed Draven's head, but the layer of heat burned Draven's hair. Hence, Draven leaped backward while attentively watching Isabella, whose face distorted in frustration.

Draven sneered outside, but he was relieved on the inside. His inexperience in battle made him fail to analyze Isabella's thoughts toward him. Isabella might have concluded he was not worthy enough to show off her skills and thought she could end the battle without placing an effort.

Meanwhile, Draven kept overthinking, which made him almost lose the flesh and skin on his face. Thankfully, he did not hesitate to let his instinct move and dodge while retreating once he felt his hair burn.

He reached out for his hair and caressed it as he knew it was indeed burned. His hair was slightly long by the boy's hair standard, so it did not affect the skin at the back of his head. Meanwhile, he heard a mocking, contemptuous comment directed at him.

"You are lucky."