The first ten opponents were like an open book. Figuratively, not literally, it wasn't much of a contest, so he put his effort into conserving energy instead.

The 8th, 9th, and 10th opponents were quantitative increases in difficulty, but not much. The 11th was a qualitative leap, a significant jump in difficulty.

His opponent rushed at him and threw a lightning-fast kick after closing the gap. He dodged into a spin on the safe side when his opponent suddenly flipped the stance. Another lightning kick was already in front of him. Amused, he opened his senses to the max. The kick slowed down as he analyzed it. As he stepped out of range of the kick, a glimmer of light reflected in his eyes.

He formulated an experiment as his opponent prepared for another round. He 'floated' forward 'with the wind' like a ghost while his opponent inhaled. He threw out several punches before floating into a kneeling position behind his opponent. He closed his eyes as if meditating and continued to keep them close as the sound of an impact was followed by someone leaning on him. He reached for an arm and found one, slamming his opponent onto the ground before floating to the opposite side, facing his opponent as they exhaled. Painful grunts followed a moment of silence.

The crowd below was looking on with disbelief.

"What just happened? It should be impossible for him to get used to it so fast."

"Your not paying any attention. That was pure physical ability. Only the increase in strength is strange."

There was an even longer period of silence.

"Terrifying assessment and terrifying strength control? That's f**king scary dude."

Shelton and his buddies suffered repeated blows watching the battle while listening to the crowd.

"He definitely picked that up during battle. Although his dodges earlier would look impressive to a kid, it wasn't amazing. The fluidity of that scene just now was on another level. He took a technique and reinterpreted it into an evasive travel," Sam spoke up.

"He took the concepts and fused them into his own style. That's the mark of a high-level veteran," Shelton commented, to which Sam nodded.

"Whoa. That's crazy, right? These things are unique to the individual. It's a result of understanding our bodies carefully. He just casually reconstructed it?" Sophia said in wonder.

"Not entirely. The properties unique to an individual can't be replicated, but the general idea behind how it works can be simulated. The tricky part is really making it your own. That takes months and years of practice, not multiple attempts. Even creating a move from scratch that slightly accommodates you takes weeks," Dekadel replied.

"So he's a monster or prodigy, right?" Sophia laughed.

"He's unusual," Shelton replied.

There was a long silence before the 12th soldier stepped up and gave an introduction. She was in a different leagued compared to her peers. Her speed, power, reaction, and awareness were all off the charts. She pulled out a submachine gun, causing him to don the battle-suit for the first time.

She was very excited. This newcomer was appropriate for her to spar with but also strong enough to keep her vigilant. Her status wasn't high enough to fight her seniors, so her only choice was to spar with the juniors. Unfortunately, the gap was so wide that she gained nothing from it. She could only grind out more demanding missions.

Watching the previous fights, there needed to be more to take him seriously. However, anyone with a sharp eye could tell that the last fight was more complicated than it looked. That's what sparked her interest. Replicating a move wasn't hard, but doing it in the heat of battle after seeing it for the first time, was completely different! He had no military background or fighting experience, yet within the span of a day, he was already so monstrous. How did he do it? That wasn't important, actually. It was going to be an intense duel. That was the crucial part! It was exciting to fight against a true blue monster!

"Cadet Sikhail GodFiend, I'm a Rogue, the first Tier 1 Special Soldier you'll face. Let's do our best!"

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

He nodded in response. She aimed her SMG at him and held down the trigger. There was a flash of green light as a barrage of bullets blazed toward her opponent.

The defining characteristics of a Rogue that he knew about were sharp eyesight, stealth, and seemingly inhuman speed. He could see the last trait reflected in the extreme velocity of each bullet. It clearly exceeded his natural limit. He merely closed his eyes in response. In the earliest MMORPGs, when magicians were introduced as playable characters, Great Wizards could teleport people individually. Teleporting a large group was beyond their physical limit, exhausting them to death if they toiled away all day. To solve this, the smartest magicians studied their natural surroundings. These insights led to the creation of a wormhole connecting two places in space together. Later, they made alterations so the wormholes were no longer set in stone, enabling free-range selection to nearby wormholes. All of this was lore to make them seem profound, but the actual narrative helped form a counterattack.

A phantom bathed in a stone-blue aura appeared just as he opened his eyes. Extending an arm out, he stretched his palm. The bullets began curving as they disappeared.

"What happened? Where are the bullets?"

"I'm not sure. This is something only a Magician can do, right?"

"How do you know it's him? Why couldn't she be trying something new?"

"Her specialty is rapid-fire AOE. What we see at the moment is a concentrated cone. Ask if that makes sense. This is a serious assessment. None of us are goofing around."

While the crowd discussed theories on what had happened, the soldier was very confused. It felt like her shots were being controlled, entering some sort of void. She eventually released the trigger, at least until she figured out what had happened.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"This move uses a very simple concept. I wonder if you can handle your own R-I-C-O-C-H-E-T-S?" Sikhail asked in a calm and relaxing manner.

'Ricochets?' she wondered to herself.

She knew what a ricochet was, but what did he mean by "handle your own ricochets"? Was the newcomer implying that she would hurt herself with her own bullets? That was quite a ridiculous thought. She focused on the hand he raised, intent on making her next move based on what he did. He pulled out his handgun with his raised hand, pointing it at her. The next second, he held the trigger as phantom interlocked its fingers. She widened her eyes, getting ready for whatever was about to happen, but nothing happened.

The critical moment she was expecting didn't show up, confusing her. After waiting several more seconds, she breathed a sigh of relief. She got scared by a newcomer; how embarrassing. The very next moment, an extreme sense of danger washed over her.

Her eyes widened as she lunged forward, diving toward the ground as a bullet grazed her shoulder. She didn't have time to think, rolling to her left as her other shoulder and one of her legs were each grazed by a bullet. 2 bullets became 3 in the next round, which became 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, all the way to 15 rounds with 15 bullets hitting different vital points. She swayed uncontrollably, expecting another round, but nothing, just silence. Breathing a sigh of joy, she fell, completely exhausted.

At the spot where she fell, she gasped. There was a bullet with a mark on it, a signature. Each person would engrave something symbolic to them. Two SMGs shaking hands. That was what she saw. That was her engraving. Thinking back on the newcomer's words, he said, *I wonder if you can handle your own ricochets?*.

She smiled bitterly. This is what he meant? He used her own bullets against her. How did he collect them though? How did he use them in his own technique? He was definitely a Warrior-Rogue. If this was an ability related to those innate traits, she didn't recognize it.

The crowd widened their eyes in shock and horror. None of them were able to speak for a long time.

"What the f**k. Can someone tell me what happened."

"I don't know either. Her bullets disappeared, his gun jammed, and then she was assaulted by random bullets from out of nowhere."

"Seniors, do you know anything?"

In the crowd, Shelton and his buddies were visibly shaken by what they had seen. In the past, before the Golden Era, it was said that speed was absolute. As an experienced veteran, he was aware of two exceptions to this.

If two opponents were equally matched, then experience or technique would reign absolute. On the other hand, if you were pulled into the opponent's flow, technique reigned absolute.

The newcomer effectively *stole* his opponents' confidence, deploying it against them.

Seeing how the seniors didn't respond, everyone shuddered. Still, the newcomer was nice enough to break the tension by walking over to his opponent and extending a hand. She took it.

"Cadet Sikhail GodFiend. You're really impressive. I can't think of any way to beat you. Instead, I want to ask you for tips. How did you do that?" she asked with a smile.

"The most important thing is to be confident in yourself. Instead of seeing yourself as inferior when faced with a tough opponent, consider it a goal. Replicate and learn. You can only win. A loss is when you give up completely," Sikhail nodded.

The soldier was stunned. She gave another salute before stepping off the stage, a twinkle in her eyes.

Unexpectedly, his 13th opponent stepped up immediately, not fazed by how easily his friend was defeated. The two exchanged greetings and then there was a bright red light. His opponent became a series of afterimages in the corner of his eyes. His opponent was surprised to see that he was barely tracking him. His opponent smiled, only to vanish the next moment.

Somewhere in the crowd, Sophia was smiling playfully.

"That fellow could be considered to be a real Elite. He's a Warrior-Rogue with an unconventional method. His style is different yet refined. He's a true threat on the battlefield. I wonder how the newcomer will handle this," Sophia pondered thoughtfully.