Leila was propelled out of the building, quickly closing the distance with Nova.
They both enveloped themselves in their synchro auras and engaged in a fierce battle in the middle of the street.
Leila's strikes sliced through the air, while Nova, with his guard up, blocked the most dangerous blows and dodged the majority with impressive agility.
"Damn it. It's like he anticipates my every move," Leila thought, frustrated as she tried to land a clean hit on Nova.
They moved at blinding speed.
Leila's fighting style merged kickboxing with a variety of kicks from different angles, while Nova, in an orthodox stance, struggled to keep pace with his opponent.
In these moments, Nova's mind drifted back to Alpha's moves. Each of Alpha's attacks had not only taught him about combat but had also honed his superhuman instincts for self-preservation.
The Mobling race was relentless; even a single hit from them meant losing consciousness.
"Thanks, buddy," Nova thought, a smile tugging at his lips, appreciating how Alpha's training had sharpened his perception of Leila's movements.
"Tsk! Are you mocking me?" Leila shouted when she saw Nova's smile. She immediately leaped and spun in the air, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick.
Though Nova blocked the kick with his guard, the force pushed him several feet back, leaving bruises on his forearms.
"What? No, I was just recalling something. It has nothing to do with you," Nova replied, unintentionally belittling Leila further with his explanation.
"So you have time to think about other things, huh? You're too arrogant for just a number three!" she retorted, launching into another attack. This time, her approach shifted abruptly; instead of close or medium-range strikes, she barreled towards him like a human projectile.
"What?" Nova attempted to sidestep the blow with his footwork but was taken aback when Leila's arms extended outward, eliminating all his escape routes. She caught him in a powerful hug at waist level.
"I knew it—you have no intention of attacking me!" Leila snarled. Using her grip, she lifted Nova and threw him to the ground. "You've already lost!"
They crashed down, with Nova hitting the ground first.
Immediately, Leila positioned herself on top of him, skillfully maneuvering to secure Nova's arm and lock it in an armbar, which triggered his pain sensors instantly.
"KUG!" Nova groaned as the pain in his elbow intensified.
Desperately, he tensed his arm muscles to resist Leila's hold. She elevated her hips to apply more pressure, sending a sharp pain through his elbow joint.
"Hahaha, I bet you wish you'd aimed that kick at a broader target, don't you?" Leila taunted arrogantly.
Nova yelped in pain and, with quick reflexes, brought his free hand to his trapped arm’s forearm.
He gripped his forearm tightly, keeping it slightly bent to prevent Leila from fully extending the lock.
"You aimed for my face, knowing I'd block it and my synchro aura would absorb the impact. I'm grateful that number three is such a fool," Leila said with a chuckle.
"You pushed my partner away because you didn't want to harm a girl, right? You're incredibly naive, haha..."
Leila's words hit home. Nova had even intentionally reduced his force when pushing the young girl, ensuring that when she fell from the second floor, she wouldn’t be seriously injured.
"Why would I attack someone who hasn't even awakened her aura yet?" Nova said through gritted teeth.
"I see. You know that the lowest levels on the board are those just starting to awaken their synchro. I wonder what event triggered your awakening to reach this level."
The tension between them remained palpable.
Nova fought to keep Leila's legs from forcing him to release his forearm. He knew that if she adjusted her leg position, the damage to his elbow could become permanent.
Leila watched Nova’s efforts to maintain his arm’s position.
Despite the effectiveness of the armbar, Nova managed to keep his arm slightly flexed, preventing her from fully extending it and bringing him to complete submission.
The match hung in a precarious balance between Leila's control and Nova's resistance, each fighting to gain the upper hand.
"I don’t understand why you’re so stubborn; you don’t even have the right mindset to win. Someone like you could never be an agent," Leila taunted.
"Kug... Shut up," Nova replied angrily.
"The only goal is to get the damn rabbit you need. I don’t see why you have to hurt your future partners to achieve it!" Nova shouted, lifting one leg and slamming it into the ground, causing a deafening rumble.
"Hahaha. What? Do you think you can pass the test without defeating me? You’re a fucking joke! You’re just a pathetic weakling! No matter how much you kick, I'll break your arm!" Leila laughed at Nova’s naive words.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
She couldn't fathom how anyone could hope to win a confrontation without directly hurting their opponent.
Even if Nova's strategy involved surprising others, he would still need to attack them to force them to give up their dreams of becoming an agent. Otherwise, success would be impossible.
"Kug! Let’s see if you can break it or not!" Nova continued to struggle, his leg pounding the ground repeatedly, causing cracks to form.
Amid their struggle, Leila’s feet managed to close around Nova’s arm, securing her victory.
"I will end your pathetic attempt at becoming an agent!" Leila declared, fully leveraging her move and bending Nova’s arm at an unnatural angle.
But just before she could complete the move, Nova's final kick struck the ground with such force that both of them suddenly lost their footing.
"What the hell?" Leila thought as she felt her body plummet into free fall.
The ground beneath them gave way completely, and they plunged straight into the city's sewers.
In mid-air, Nova managed to free his arm, but not before Leila’s powerful kick sent him crashing against the wall of the subway tunnel. Without any foothold to stabilize himself, he had no chance to use his movements effectively.
"Ugh," Nova groaned as his body collided with the tunnel wall, cracking it before he tumbled onto one of the pathways that stretched hundreds of feet underground.
"That was close. If I hadn’t seen those two fighting, I wouldn’t have realized these cities have aqueduct systems like those from my time," Nova thought, relieved. He recalled Ahmed using a manhole cover as a shield, which had inspired his strategy to escape Leila’s grip.
Standing up, he noticed his opponent already on the other concrete walkway, poised to continue the fight.
The space was a classic sewer system: two pathways on either side of the tunnel, with a flowing river of water in the middle connecting to the surrounding buildings.
"Good job escaping my grip," Leila said with irritation, "but if you don't attack, it’s only a matter of time before you’re at a disadvantage again."
"You’re right. I’ll have to use my last resort," Nova said with resolve.
"Wow, it seems you’re finally ready to fight. It’s illogical to expect to win without a real struggle. Well, in that case, I’ll tear you apart as necessary," Leila responded, raising her hands into a fighting stance.
"Could you please try again next year and let me become an agent?" Nova asked, clasping his hands in a clear gesture of pleading.
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Many of the agents watching the broadcast erupted in laughter when they heard Nova’s pleading request.
"Hahaha, I think he's the first person to ever ask that during an exam," Adan chuckled loudly as he watched the broadcast from atop the defeated B-Synchro’s body.
Across the continent, numerous agents hoped the white-haired boy would become an agent, and many even placed bets on him. Conversely, others saw his request as an affront and hoped Leila would teach him a lesson.
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"Are you a fucking clown or what's wrong with you?!! I'm going to kill you!"
Leila’s fury was so intense that her hair stood on end from the sheer power of her synchro aura. Without hesitation, she charged at Nova with a powerful attack.
Surprised by her reaction, Nova immediately fled down the tunnel to escape her wrath.
"Stop, worm!"
"It was just a question; you don’t have to take it so personally!" Nova shouted with a terrified expression as he desperately ran for his life with Leila in hot pursuit.
Yet, as he glanced forward, the drone following them captured a slight, almost defiant smile on his lips.
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In that moment, Angelo recalled the words Nova had said during their rooftop strategy session:
"I have just one condition: let's try to win the test without seriously harming our opponents. They are just people striving for their goals, like us. This test doesn’t require us to hurt them, right?"
"How I dislike that guy. His naive idealism frustrates me," Angelo thought with resignation as he gently helped the girl in front of him to her feet.
"Beatriz Oliveira, are you alright?" he asked politely, offering a friendly smile.
"Ah, yes..." Beatriz replied, initially distracted by the man's handsome appearance. Quickly snapping back to reality, she turned away from him, refusing his assistance.
"You're one of the participants! Don’t even think about keeping the statuettes!" the girl exclaimed, her eyes searching desperately for an escape from the floor where she had been thrown.
"Don’t worry about it. I’ve already got two." Angelo displayed two statuettes in one hand—one obviously a fake, made of shiny paper from the office they were in, closely resembling the statuette Textex had left at the meeting point, and the other was one Nova had reluctantly given him when they decided on their strategy.
"I just saw that idiot throw you in here and wanted to check if you were alright," he said, maintaining his practiced, charming smile.
Seeing the statuettes, Beatriz felt reassured. Her cheeks flushed slightly at the black-haired man’s concern. "Th-thank you for caring. I..." She looked down shyly.
"Once we get to the venue, you and your partner will be approved right away, whether you meet up or not," Angelo emphasized, his eyes sparkling as he tried to captivate the young girl.
"Ah, yes, let’s go." Beatriz replied, unaware she was holding the hand of a demon.
"Thank you for your help; you’re an angel," she said bashfully as they walked in the same direction.
Unfortunately, Beatriz’s consciousness slipped away when her neck received a slight, strategic blow, leaving her unconscious.
"Yes, an angel..." Angelo remarked as he took the statuettes from the girl, realizing he still had one left.
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In the sewers, Nova continued to flee from an enraged Leila, who was causing destruction with every attack.
"Stop running and fight like a man! You're a disgrace!" Leila shouted in fury, tearing through everything in her path as she relentlessly struck on Nova’s back.
He narrowly evaded each blow and kept running without pause.
"I told you! I have no reason to hurt future allies!" Nova shouted back, his fear evident as he evaded the woman's furious onslaught.
"If you can’t defeat me, you’ll never survive this ordeal! I’m tired of guys like you who pretend to be nice but are just all talk!" Leila’s final blow struck a supporting beam of the tunnel.
The impact caused the ceiling above them to crack, and debris began to fall, endangering both their lives.
"Leila!" Without hesitation, Nova rushed over, grabbed her hand, and hurled her out of the way, preventing the debris from crushing her.
"Number three!" Leila shouted as she watched the tunnel fill with falling sediment and rocks.
Stunned, Leila stared in disbelief at what Nova had just done—he had risked himself to save her.
"What... What a fool... Why… No, this doesn’t make sense..." She was bewildered, unable to comprehend why an enemy would save her.
"WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Nova suddenly emerged in the water channel. After pushing Leila to safety, he had jumped into the channel to avoid the falling rocks, managing to escape unharmed.
"What do you think you just did?!" Leila yelled as she saw Nova scrambling to the shore and collapsing on the ground.
"What do you mean what did I do? I survived a damn cave-in! Even though these clothes were new and I liked them..." Nova replied, catching his breath and lamenting his soaked clothes.
"That’s not what I mean! You should have left me there! Then you would have won!" Leila said, exasperated.
"Wow, you really have issues," Nova said with a serious expression.
"I just want to become an agent to explore this world without limits. I don’t see why I should harm or hurt others and take pride in it," Nova said, thinking of Nathaniel and Adan.
"You don’t understand! Many of us have trained day and night to get here! We’ve sacrificed so much to become strong! If you don’t fight seriously, it’s as if you’re mocking all our suffering!" Leila shouted, her frustration still evident but less intense than before.
"Who told you I’m not fighting seriously?" Nova retorted, his annoyance clear.
"I may not fit the typical mold you expect, but believe me, I’m serious about becoming an agent." Nova rose from the ground and faced Leila.
Leila was taken aback by his words, and at that moment, her TN device notified her that her partner was knocked out.
"My only duty was to keep you away from your partner. I’m sorry if this isn’t the fight you were hoping for, but I’ve only won one fight in my life and I have no intention of losing this test," Nova said before turning and heading for an exit.
Leila was stunned. From the beginning, the white-haired man had done his best to keep her away from her partner. Instead of recognizing his strategy, she had focused on defeating him simply because he was her rival.
"I’ve lost... completely," she concluded, sinking to her knees in the sewer.
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Angelo watched the battle from one of the elevated floors.
"Wow... that girl is intense. Well, I’ve kept my end of the bargain," he thought as he dropped the rabbit statuette he had kept after taking Beatrice’s.
Nova, ranked #3, and Angelo, ranked #18, had advanced to the next round.
Nova #3 on the list and Angelo #18 had advanced to the next round.