"Come on, stop hiding and show yourself! I don't have all day!"
Sven's shouts echoed through the towering buildings of the commercial district.
Katya knew it was only a matter of time before they were ambushed. Unable to reason with the egocentric brute, she opted for the only sensible strategy at the moment.
"You're such a fool! I'll catch those damn rabbits myself before they steal ours!" she snapped, turning sharply to walk away from the young man with dreadlocks.
Sven didn’t even flinch at her outburst as he strode away, he continued to shout, hoping to provoke the "weaklings" he imagined were lurking. If they attacked, he would relish the chance to crush them and claim the silver rabbit.
From a hidden alley, two men observed the scene.
"Poor woman, she just got stuck with the wrong teammate. Better luck next year," commented one of them, dressed in a knee-length white silk kurta. His matching churidar pants were fitted, and his leather shoes looked both elegant and comfortable.
This was Ahmed Al-Farsi, ranked number four on the list of the strongest competitors in the exam. He had short black hair, tanned skin, long lashes, and a striking red gem on his forehead. His eyes remained closed for reasons known only to him.
"How kind of you," the second man replied with a brief, mischievous smile. His appearance, far less refined, contrasted sharply with Ahmed's.
This was Ryota Takamura, number 14 on the list. His long red hair flowed down to his lower back, matching the fiery shade of his eyes. He was dressed in punk urban style—a black leather jacket adorned with an anarchy symbol, tight jeans, and black boots.
"But if you ask me, what matters most is that it'll be a lot easier to grab that golden rabbit now."
"Don't underestimate a buffalo in the savannah, Ryota. The more cornered it is, the stronger its resolve," Ahmed remarked calmly.
Ryota's smile faded, clearly irritated by Ahmed's cryptic sayings, though he had come to accept his partner's quirks. Despite Ahmed's odd personality, he was a reasonable ally.
"Well, let's turn that buffalo into burgers." Ryota's grin returned as he stepped out of the alley, ready to ambush Sven.
Ahmed followed, his expression serene. Even as they approached a confrontation, he exuded an air of tranquility.
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"Damn... these weaklings are playing hard to get," Sven muttered, bewildered as he walked down yet another empty street. Inwardly, he was relieved that number seven wasn't there to pester him with her chatter, but he couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that someone had been trailing him for several blocks.
"Why don’t they make their move? Whatever they try, it won’t matter." His irritation grew, but then an idea sparked a grin on his face. Slowly, he placed the golden rabbit on the ground and deliberately turned his back to it, moving a few feet away.
The sight of the unprotected rabbit was like a taunt, a bold invitation to anyone watching. It was a show of arrogance, a statement from a man who fancied himself a lion among prey. If they wanted the rabbit, they just needed to stop him long enough to grab it.
Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound sliced through the air. Before Sven could fully register it, Ahmed was already upon him, descending with a powerful guillotine kick, shrouded in a translucent white aura that radiated menace.
Acting on pure instinct, Sven crossed his arms to block the blow, his body enveloped in an aura similar to his attacker’s.
The impact was ferocious, the ground beneath Sven’s feet sinking from the force. A thick cloud of dust erupted around them, obscuring the battlefield.
"Haha, now this is what I'm talking about!" Sven shouted with a wild grin, his body holding firm against Ahmed’s attack, seemingly unfazed.
"Glad you’re having fun, idiot!" Ryota’s voice cut through the dust as he darted past, snatching the golden rabbit with a sly grin. "You just lost," he sneered, already sprinting away from the chaos.
In a sudden burst of power, Sven threw off Ahmed’s attack, sending the number four-ranked fighter hurtling backward. Ahmed twisted in mid-air, landing gracefully on his feet, ready to continue, but when he looked up, Sven had already burst through the smokescreen, completely unfazed.
"Ha! I knew it—just a loudmouth with no real bite," Ryota thought smugly as he raced down the street. He didn't care if Ahmed could handle the muscle-bound brute or not; all that mattered was securing the rabbit and advancing to the next round.
"Lost? A true king doesn’t know the meaning of that word." Sven’s voice boomed behind Ryota.
In an instant, Sven was on him, grabbing Ryota by the head and slamming him into the concrete with brutal force, stopping him cold.
"Damn..." Ryota groaned, struggling to focus through the pain. He searched for his opponent, but Sven held him pinned with ease, using nothing but raw physical strength. His aura flickered around him, the telltale sign that he had used his synchrony in the attack.
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"You’re weak. No matter how fast you run, you can’t escape me. Know your place and stay down until I decide to have some fun," Sven growled, releasing Ryota’s head as he stood upright, turning to face the direction he had come from.
Calmly, with steady determination, Ahmed walked toward them, his expression unreadable.
"I would've preferred to face number one, but you'll do it as a warm-up!" Sven declared proudly, stretching his muscles in a deliberate show of confidence, preparing for the fight with a cocky grin.
"As for me, I’d rather avoid a confrontation," Ahmed responded calmly. "If I defeat you, you’ll hand over your golden rabbit. No objections, right?"
Ryota, still lying injured on the ground, was taken aback by Ahmed’s casual tone.
"Hahaha, sure, if you can beat me, it’s yours!" Sven laughed, as if he'd just heard a great joke.
"In that case, I hope you’ll forgive me in your next life if I accidentally kill you," Ahmed said, his tone chillingly serious. At that moment, he opened his eyes, revealing deep crimson irises, and assumed an unusual fighting stance. His legs bent sharply at ninety degrees, one behind the other, while his arms crossed in front of his chest in an X-shape. His gaze was laser-focused on Sven, unblinking and intense.
The air around them grew heavy with tension. Even Sven, usually reckless, felt his instincts screaming at him to stay on guard—this opponent was dangerous.
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Meanwhile, as the fight between Sven and Ahmed was about to escalate, several other confrontations erupted among the remaining participants in the exam.
Among them, a group of four—number 15 Kenji Sato, number 24 Daniel Johnson, number 21 Yue Moon, and number 25 Bartholomew Seagull—had teamed up for the test.
"No matter if you're number one, you can't take on four of us at once!" Kenji taunted, brimming with overconfidence.
The group had surrounded Xin Hua, ranked number one, and her companion Sophie Tanaka, number 25, cutting off any possible escape.
Sophie’s eyes darted nervously from side to side, searching desperately for a way out, but all she saw were the sneering faces of her enemies.
"Ihhh..." she whimpered softly, overwhelmed by the hopelessness of their situation. It felt unfair that they were trapped like this, especially since it was Xin Hua's idea for her to carry the rabbit out in the open.
“Do you think four is a big number?” Xin Hua replied calmly. “All it takes is a zero to turn it into ten.”
Her serene demeanor and the quiet confidence in her voice made Sophie pause. Xin Hua, with her graceful features and elegant oriental attire, seemed unshaken. She stood like a beacon of calm amidst the tension, as though she had anticipated this moment all along.
Was this the strategy she had been thinking of from the start?
"Get them!" Kenji barked, and the four attackers lunged at the two women, aiming to prove their numerical superiority.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. The attackers could only see an intense white aura enveloping Xin's body before they each fell to the ground, taken down by a single strike from the woman.
As the aura around Xin gradually faded, Sophie stood in stunned disbelief. The woman beside her had responded to every attack with swift, fluid movements, reminiscent of a master martial artist. Even more incredible was how Xin had defended her with flawless precision and grace.
"I'm sorry, I got carried away and stopped you from teaching them a lesson!" Xin Hue apologized with a slight bow, her tone sincere.
"N-No, it’s fine..." Sophie stammered, doing her best to hide her surprise and not disappoint Xin, who seemed to have confidence in her abilities.
"I’ll grab the silver rabbit, so I can be useful too." Sophie quickly offered, heading towards the unconscious attackers. She rummaged through their clothes and soon found two identical statuettes, gleaming in a shiny silver hue.
"Great, we can use both. What should we do with the extra one?" she asked, holding them up.
"Leave it," Xin Hua replied with a kind smile. "If any of them wake up, they can still participate. After all, we only need one."
Sophie nodded, admiration sparkling in her eyes as she left the extra statuette behind. With their mission complete, they became the first team to finish the test.
Not far from the scene, a pair of figures lurked in the shadows, witnessing everything. John Williams, number 28, and Brennan Deville, number 31, exchanged gleeful glances, hugging each other with mischievous grins. They couldn’t believe their luck.
"Thank you, God! Good things really do happen to good people!" they exclaimed, practically in tears with joy, even if it came at the cost of their dignity.
As soon as Xin and Sophie left, the two men scrambled out of hiding like rats, rushing to claim the abandoned silver statuette. By sheer fortune, they became the second group to pass the test, taking full advantage of the opportunity that fate had handed them.
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"Haha, incredible! Number One, Xin Hua, managed to overcome overwhelming odds with her skill alone!"
Textex’s voice boomed over the broadcast as his drones finished capturing the scene.
"And what do we have here? A lucky pair has also passed the test! Remember, folks, one man's trash is another man's treasure!"
The rabbit-masked commentator laughed into his mic, while agents across the continent either chuckled or groaned, depending on how their bets were placed.
"I wonder who bet on this duo—someone’s about to make a nice profit today."
One of the agents watching the broadcast received a notification. A small rabbit icon with a money symbol popped up on his screen, indicating a substantial win from his bet. He had been the only one to wager on the two men who, by a twist of fate, passed the test.
"Fortunate indeed," he murmured, offering a serene smile of satisfaction. The boy, no older than 13, with tousled blond hair and deep blue eyes, lounged in a pool atop a luxurious building, enjoying the show.
"And for those of you who haven’t placed your bets yet, now’s your chance!" Textex continued with a grin. "Several teams still need to claim the rabbit they deserve. Support the new generation of agents and line your pockets at the same time!"
Overhead, rabbit-headed drones flew through the air, closely tracking various participants. One drone in particular stayed locked on the intense showdown between Ahmed and Sven.
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Sven, who had been standing tall moments earlier, was hurled with brutal force into the interior of a building. Ahmed's devastating technique hit with such intensity that it tore through the structure, sending rubble and fragments of wall and wood flying in every direction.
“Kug... what the hell?” Sven muttered, disbelief etched on his face as he lay on a makeshift bed of debris.
“That bastard... I’m sure I blocked his punch...” he growled, standing up and recalling the moment when Ahmed, surrounded by his aura of synchrony, had charged at him with relentless fury.
Sven had instinctively raised his aura-clad arm to block the attack, preparing to counter. But just as he thought he had neutralized the blow, a crushing force smashed into his face, sending him crashing through the building.
Out on the street, Ahmed kept his gaze fixed on the wreckage.
“Ugh... idiot, take the rabbits and get out. All I want is to pass the exam,” Ryota groaned from the ground, still reeling from Sven’s earlier attack.
“The real fool is you,” Ahmed replied calmly. “Didn’t that punch teach you anything? This isn’t an opponent you can outrun.” Ahmed had realized something critical—the speed Sven used to grab Ryota exceeded his own. Escaping from him would be nearly impossible.
“Ahhh, that hurt... what did you do?” Sven’s voice boomed from the hole he had left in the building. He emerged moments later, covered in dust, bruised but otherwise unscathed.
“This is the martial art my people have perfected through generations,” Ahmed explained, shifting into a new stance. “Long before B-Synchro or modern societies, this form of combat already existed.”
Ahmed spread his legs shoulder-width apart, bending them at a precise ninety-degree angle. His hands came together in front of his face, as if gripping an invisible hammer, preparing for the next move.
“It’s called Kala Rudra.”
“Hahaha, that sounds exciting.” Sven’s eyes sharpened with anticipation, his body coiled, ready to deliver the next strike.