Art and Rego stood close to the fighting ring with faces full of anticipation as they would get an opportunity to see Micah and Tineya fight. The two had already fought once, but it was barely a proper brawl and wasn’t as exciting as it appeared to be this time.

Micah and Tineya were both in positions ready to fight at a moment’s notice. They slowly circled around each other as they waited for the other to reveal an opening or show a weakness.

Eventually, Micah spoke.

“Let’s compete in brute strength first.”

Tineya was slightly surprised. Since Micah had beaten her by using trickery and technique the last time, she was sure he would do it again. But she didn’t have any intentions of refusing, and she grinned after her initial surprise faded.

“If you say so, bossman.”

Micah and Tineya met in the middle of the ring and clasped their hands together in a double high-five. Then, after a few seconds, they started pushing against each other. Micah with a calm face, and Tineya with a fierce expression, that once again quickly turned to surprise.

It had only been a few moments, but Tineya was already pushing Micah backward. Micah naturally did his best to resist, but there wasn’t much he could do when his feet slid on the floor. However, it wasn’t due to his shoes. Tineya was simply strong enough to make Micah’s resistance pointless.

And that wasn’t the only thing. When Tineya noticed how much physically stronger she was, Tineya began lifting Micah and pushing him upward, which, unsurprisingly, led to him losing his balance.

However, Micah wasn’t going to give up with just that, and he unleashed a kick.

Tineya’s hands were locked together with Micah’s and raised in the air, so she couldn’t block with her arm. And she had to have both feet on the ground to maintain balance as she pushed Micah backward, so she couldn’t use her leg either.

Micah’s leg rushed through the air and struck Tineya’s side like an axe striking a tree. But rather than an axe, based on how much it affected Tineya, it was more like a baseball bat. She felt the impact, and it would probably do some damage after enough strikes. But that single kick hadn’t done much to her.

Tineya looked at Micah’s leg and then at Micah’s face with unmasked shock.

“How the fuck did I lose against you, man?”

Micah was a lot weaker than she thought. It was to the point where she couldn’t believe it. She then remembered their short exchange after she entered the Cube.

“Didn’t you say you had gotten stronger? Did you absorb a single bronze, or what?”

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Micah looked at Tineya with an annoyingly composed expression.

“Let go, and I’ll tell you.”

Tineya was a little interested in beating the shit out of Micah. And she would have done it if they had fought like this right after she lost the last time. But after accompanying Micah in taking over the town, Tineya was more interested in finding out what Micah meant. So, although reluctantly, she let go of his hands and stepped back.

“First, what do you think strength is, Tineya?”

Tineya looked at Micah as he straightened his shirt for a few moments before answering.

“It’s obviously this, right…?”

Tineya held up her arm and showed off her bicep as she answered.

Micah rubbed his chin.

“Well, you’re not wrong. But are muscles all there is to strength?”

“Ye- No….”

Tineya was about to say yes, but she hurriedly changed her answer after seeing Art shake his head behind Micah.

“No? Then what do you think strength is? And don’t help her this time, Art.”

Art stiffened after hearing Micah’s words, and he slumped his head while Tineya began trying to come up with an answer.

“Maybe being able to win?”

Tineya based her answer on how Micah had called her weak after she lost. And based on the slight smile that showed itself on Micah’s lips, she felt it was a good answer.

“Close enough.”

“But don’t big muscles make you win?”

“Hmm. Then what if it’s a contest of speed? Or intellect? Big muscles won’t necessarily make you fast, and they almost definitely won’t make you super smart.”

“...”

“If you ask me, someone strong should be able to win, regardless of the circumstances.”

Tineya felt as if she was beginning to understand Micah’s philosophy.

“But how do you win against someone that’s just better than you?”

However, Tineya wasn’t satisfied with what Micah had said and questioned him with a slightly defiant and cocky attitude.

Micah grinned.

“Wanna find out?”

Micah got in a ready position and moved toward Tineya. Seeing that Micah was serious, Tineya also hurried to raise her guard and got ready to fight Micah again.

Since she had overwhelmed Micah earlier using her physical strength, Tineya didn’t see a reason to hold back. If Micah wanted to be overconfident and pick a fight with her after she had already demonstrated her strength, she wouldn’t mind giving him one.

Tineya lunged forward and aimed for Micah’s face with her fist. Tineya knew from hearing about Micah’s fights with the others that he was quick on his feet and that he intentionally tanked her blows during his fight with her.

So, Tineya wasn’t surprised when Micah dodged her attack, and she already had her other fist lined up and on the way toward Micah’s torso. And when that also missed, she stepped forward and unleashed a front kick toward Micah’s stomach.

Since Micah had dodged her other attacks with ease, Tienya naturally assumed that he wouldn’t have any trouble evading her kick, either, and she was ready to switch feet and attack Micah with a spinning heel kick toward his head.

She usually didn’t rely on advanced techniques, but she could tell that they were necessary against Micah.

However, she was so caught up in what she was going to do next that she wasn’t prepared for what would happen if Micah acted in a way she hadn’t imagined.