Fetu watched him steadily while he slowly went through some warm-up exercises.

He stretched, cracked his joints, and took deep breaths.

"Thanks for not attacking me while I warm up," he said casually to Kawao.

"For some reason, I can't shake the feeling that you're not inherently a bad person. I don't have a reason to take every chance to attack you," Kawao replied.

Fetu seemed surprised and then burst into wild laughter.

"Hahahaha! You're a funny one! You have a 'good' feeling about me? And you didn't have that with Paikon? You're a strange guy!"

"Paikon seemed more like a leashed wild beast, just waiting for the chance to be unleashed."

"Hmm... You might not be entirely wrong there, but you're still mistaken!"

"In what way?"

"I'm worse than Paikon!" he said with a sly smile and charged at Kawao.

Slightly surprised, Kawao readied a combat stance.

Fetu opened the next round with a barrage of powerful punches and unexpected kicks, which Kawao couldn't deflect in time.

Moreover, he felt that his opponent was now hitting harder and fighting more strategically.

He fought like someone with a lot of experience against enemies like Kawao.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Is that all you've got? Where's the fighting spirit you had before?"

Kawao had no choice.

Just like before, when he was on the ground, he had to gather more energy.

But this time, he had to do it directly during the fight, making it harder to concentrate.

He had to focus more on not getting beaten up.

Yet, just like the last time, he managed to gather a bit of energy, even if only a little.

He had to build on that!

He had to improve in the heat of the moment!

Bit by bit, he had to try—no, learn—how to gain energy during a direct fight.

After a few minutes, a slight shift in power became noticeable.

It became easier for him to react to Fetu's attacks.

He could even start dodging his kicks.

The fight had now moved to the center of the bar.

Around them lay chairs, stools, overturned glasses, bottles, and some tables.

Kawao now had enough strength to look around while fighting.

How can I use the environment to my advantage?

...

I've got it!

When Fetu next tried to land an uppercut, Kawao ducked under it and grabbed a stool from the floor.

Luckily, Fetu didn't notice and tried to hit him with his other fist.

With a twist, Kawao dodged and channeled as much energy as possible into the stool, then slammed it into Fetu's unprotected side with full force.

Fetu screamed in pain and was thrown against the bar counter again by the sheer force behind the stool.

But this time, he literally crashed through the counter, leaving a big hole.

The stool was still intact, but when Kawao withdrew his energy from it, it immediately fell apart.

The excess power was too much for the object.

He wanted to charge at Fetu again, but then he remembered that Fetu hadn't even used his ability yet.

Speak of the devil.

Shortly afterward, Fetu rose from the wreckage of the counter.

Apparently, the attack had really hurt, as he now had visible injuries on his face.

He was bleeding!

For a moment, Kawao was relieved to find that he could stand up to such a strong opponent.

But his relief vanished just as quickly.

With a dark look, Fetu stared at him.

"You really are strong! Now I understand how you could kill Paikon! I should probably finish this quickly before you get even stronger," he said slowly.

Shortly afterward, a scorching aura spread throughout the tavern.