DING

After leaving Oliver in the preparation room, Nico returned to the main hall to watch the boy's fight.

It had been a long time since he'd heard anything about Caine—almost a decade since they both joined the Academy and participated in the eighth wave.

Nico shook his head slightly as if to push away the memories. His job now was solely to analyze the boy.

‘He’d better be good. I can only have one protégé in the tower. If he messes up, it could impact my own fights,’ Nico thought, observing Oliver's initial movements.

Oliver had raised his arms in a guard position, cautiously approaching his opponent. But something in the corner of his vision caught his attention.

| Betting Channel

| [NicoY] Bet 1,000 credits

| - End of bets

‘Hmm… that’s it?’ Oliver thought.

'Come on, this should be easy,' Nico cheered, checking the data on his Gauntlet.

Aside from the Betting Channel, basic stats for each opponent were displayed for the bettors.

| Oliver [Nameless]

| Occupation: Cadet - Academy

| Ranger: No

| Floor: 1st

| Record: No record

| Joel [Nameless]

| Occupation: Soldier - NEA

| Ranger: No

| Floor: 1st

| Record: 0 Wins / 2 Losses

‘He lost his first two fights. This shouldn’t be too difficult,’ Nico analyzed. Although Joel was older and had a longer reach, he didn’t seem like a frontline soldier or important enough to have joined one of the Houses.

'Right. How do I fight him?' Oliver was trying to plan his next moves.

Oliver had only one option without his Ranger Weapons: close the distance and try to bring his opponent down. No Artificial Ranger Armor was in use either, so it would be all about raw physical ability. But there was one thing Oliver could still use.

[Observation]

Oliver activated one of his Boons, which allowed him to see possible actions his opponent might take.

With the boon activated, his vision again saw only shades of grey. From his opponent, a few lines were exposed. All of them indicated possible movements, both offensive and defensive. Similar to his fight with Kyle, there were many possibilities, far more than in fights with creatures.

Just by watching the lines in front of him, Oliver quickly realized one of the problems he would face: the difference in reach between the two.

‘Damn. Is it worth pushing forward, even if I take a few hits?’ Oliver thought.

While Oliver was still analyzing his options, his opponent took the initiative. With a flurry of punches thrown without much strategy, Joel sought to overwhelm Oliver with speed. However, the result was the opposite. Oliver dodged each punch with ease.

‘Kyle was way faster than this and much more precise with his attacks,’ Oliver noted.

Meanwhile, Nico was surprised. Oliver’s speed was unusual for a fighter, especially someone still in the Academy.

‘Is this his Boon? If that’s all it is, he might make it to the tenth floor… but he’ll hit the ceiling pretty quickly,’ Nico evaluated.

Now confident in his performance, Oliver took the initiative. Although his punches couldn’t quite reach his opponent, he landed several quick kicks to Joel’s legs, gradually wearing him down.

‘Now, just finish him,’ Oliver thought.

Moving in quickly, Oliver tried to get closer to land heavier blows. His opponent was injured and seemed slower. But to Oliver’s surprise, Joel, whose legs had been clearly hurt, suddenly moved faster.

‘Is that his Boon?’ Oliver wondered. ‘It must have a limit. I just need to keep pressing him.’

While Oliver pushed forward, determined to stay on the offensive, the cadaverous man now focused on evading, using every inch of the room to keep his distance and observe.

Just when it seemed Oliver had cornered his opponent, Joel stepped forward and countered with a punch that landed squarely on the side of Oliver’s face.

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‘What the hell was that?’ Oliver was stunned. ‘It’s not just his speed; he seems stronger too.’

Ping

| Betting Channel

| [NicoY] Bet 1,000 Credits

| [NicoY] Bet 10 Credits - Message: Oops, forgot to mention something.

Ping

| [NicoY] Bet 10 Credits - Message: Bettors can send messages and information through the channel.

Ping

| [NicoY] Bet 10 Credits - Message: They can also send boosts.

“You’re only telling me this now?” Oliver muttered. “How long do these boosts last?”

But there was no response.

“Don’t tell me you can’t hear me?!” Oliver shouted.

‘I’ve got to end this quickly before he gets any stronger,’ Oliver thought, catching his breath before going on the offensive again.

Without hesitating, he charged forward. This time, instead of focusing on evasion, Oliver relied on his Boon to ensure he could land as many attacks as possible, even as he absorbed some blows in return. With each second of the fight, he pushed his opponent to wear himself out more.

‘Just a little more. Just a little more,’ Oliver repeated like a mantra in his mind.

Finally, it happened—a punch connected with Joel’s chin, causing his legs to buckle as he fell forward.

“Go, kid! Finish him!” Nico shouted from his seat as he watched the fight.

This was the opportunity Oliver had been waiting for. With a knee strike to his opponent, all he could see was a mixture of sweat and blood splattering across his face.

Ding Ding Ding

“Fight over! Betting closed!” The holographic referee reappeared.

Still fueled by adrenaline and focused on his opponent, Oliver didn’t register the referee’s signal. But his body felt paralyzed, unable to move.

Around him, several people in uniforms similar to the attendants at the Trial Tower appeared quickly. Before he could fully understand what was happening, his body was floating, being carried out of the arena.

When Oliver regained control of his body, he was back in the waiting room.

Sitting on one of the benches, he finally had a moment to breathe and assess the state of his body. His nose was bent, clearly broken—he didn’t even remember when it had happened. His face was swollen, especially around his eyes, making it difficult to see. Despite all the pain throughout his body, he seemed relatively okay.

Even with his eyes nearly swollen shut, he could see the betting channel's interface.

| Betting Channel

| [NicoY] Bet 10 Credits - Message: They can also send boosts.

| [Bibliokiller] Bet 100 Credits - Message: Congrats on the victory!

| [FryerTuck] Bet 50 Credits - Message: Looking forward to seeing you on the next floor.

| [BlueLagoon] Bet 212 Credits - Message: Beginner's luck?

“Congrats on the fight! Getting your first win in the Trial Tower is an important rite of passage,” a voice said. Oliver couldn’t see who was speaking, but it was likely Nico from the sound.

“You look terrible. Damn, I was hoping you could at least last a bit longer,” Nico continued.

“Thanks for the heads-up,” Oliver replied slowly.

“Oops! But hey, it all worked out in the end,” Nico said, trying to dodge his mistake. “Pay attention—the boosts aren’t permanent, but they’re important. That’s why, be mindful of who’s betting on you next time.”

“A boost is basically a temporary transfer of energy from one crystal to another. Many people think it’s useless, but it’s one of the best ways to train your body. It forces you to push past limits you haven’t reached yet,” Nico explained. "Just be careful; excessive use will deteriorate your body. Like what happened with your last opponent—he could barely stand without a boost."

Oliver nodded, too exhausted to ask more questions or argue.

“But first, two things need to happen. One, you’ve got to recover. Two, we need to fix the way you fight. Has no one ever taught you how to fight? You looked like you were in a TechCockFighting match.”

“I-I specialize in Ranger Weapon,” Oliver muttered.

“That won’t help you, at least not on the next few floors,” Nico said. “You focus on recovering, and I’ll handle improving your fighting technique.”

Nico continued talking about where they would stay and how much they had earned from the fight, but Oliver had already tuned out. His mind was too tired from everything that had happened in a single day.

He barely remembered following Nico to a hotel. Like the others, it was flashy but not overly luxurious. They each stayed in separate rooms, giving Oliver some much-needed space to rest.

Finally, Oliver felt the comfort of a bed—something he hadn’t experienced in a long time. His mind wanted to relax, but his Gauntlet still demanded his attention.

| Status Page

| User: Oliver [Nameless]

| Level: 2 [Pawn]

| Experience: [210/200] [Click to Evolve]

|

| Stats

| Strength: 6 [Pawn]

| Agility: 14 [Knight]

| Constitution: 5 [Pawn]

| Energy: 14 [Knight]

|

| Boons

| Insight [Pawn][Growth]

| [Use 200 Experience Points to Upgrade]

|

| Observation [Pawn][Growth]

| [Use 200 Experience Points to Upgrade]

‘After all this time,’ Oliver thought.

It felt like an eternity since he had reached his second level. The boy debated whether it was the right time to evolve, especially given how injured he was.

After a few moments of internal debate, he made his decision.

‘Ah! Fuck it!’

Without hesitation, he clicked ‘Evolve.’