The intensity of the fight caught the attention of more recruiters than the first time, who only saw their interest grow as they watched Jake and Mckade exchange one blow after the other.
Not only had Jake been able to match Mckade’s speed, who was two steps higher than him, but he had also been able to cancel out Mckade’s overruling. Right now, they were evenly matched.
“Who is that kid?”
“A two-step jump at such a young age? Impressive.”
“That other kid is even above average for a step 5 integration stage esper.”
“I don’t think he’s gonna be able to make a comeback from that 4-0 though.”
“Is that kid pulling off a pseudo-state?”
“That other kid's fighting style has almost no errors.”
“Write their names down.”
“We still gotta see for how much time he’s gonna be able to keep up.”
Discussions broke between the recruiters as they watched the match.
BOOOOM!
A fire pillar separated Jake and Mcakde.
‘His output time improved by a lot too. It might be on par with mine. No… It might be even faster,’ Mckade thought, tightening his grip on his rapier out of frustration.
He was quickly taken out of his thoughts as he sensed an incoming attack. He looked up and saw Jake coming out of the fire pillar, covered in flames.
‘He used his own fire as an armor to get through mine,’ his eyes widened in disbelief.
He had underestimated Jake, he thought that because he had such an aggressive and unrefined fighting style, he was incapable of fighting using his head.
Yes, Jake’s fighting style could sometimes come up as reckless and messy, but that wasn’t because he didn’t know any other way to fight. It was just a manifestation of his straightforward personality.
If he were back in the first phase fighting thirios, he would have just gone through the flames without protecting himself, not caring if he got hurt. But since in this match every hit or damage he took would count as a point against him, he had instinctively protected himself.
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Mckade quickly raised his rapier to protect himself.
CLAAANG!!
He barely blocked Jake’s attack. However, still in mid-air, Jake spun his body and threw a kick covered in flames.
Mckade raised his guard and covered his left arm in flames as well.
BAAAANG!
Mckade blocked the attack, but the strength of the strike still sent him flying a couple of meters back. He spun mid-air and swiftly regained his footing, immediately extending his arm and launching what looked like a big fire snake half his size in diameter toward Jake.
Almost simultaneously, Jake also extended his arm and launched another fire snake toward Mckade. The fire attacks’ roar filled the hall as they got closer.
The attacks collided mid-distance between Mckade and Jake. Both snakes entwined with one another as they rose high above the ring before finally exploding in a big ball of fire and sending a big shockwave to the surroundings.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
‘Impossible…’ Mckade thought in disbelief as he saw how Jake had been able to match his technique.
All the recruiters behind the two-way mirror were looking at the fight between Jake and Mckade, completely impressed by such a display of talent.
‘I’m reaching my limit,’ Jake thought as he felt his body getting heavier.
He channeled the remaining energy and dashed at full speed toward Mckade.
CLAAANG!
They clashed weapons once again and Jake swiftly took the initiative, trying to force Mckade to back down and corner him. However, Mckade blocked and dodged every single one of Jake’s attacks.
Running out of options and time, Jake started infusing his ability into every single one of his attacks. To Mckade’s surprise and frustration, even after infusing his own attacks with his ability, the speed of Jake’s fire-infused attacks started to overwhelm him as Jake’s dual-wielding style gained the upper hand.
After weakening Mckade’s guard enough, Jake pulled his arm back and channeled even more energy before striking again.
CLANG!
Mckade’s rapier flew away as Jake was finally able to disarm him.
Luckily for Mckade, Jake’s energy reserve was critically low and the next strike wasn’t infused with fire or as fast as before. He swiftly dodged Jake’s punch and applying a hold, he disarmed his right arm. He intended to take advantage of Jake’s weak defense and follow up with an attack, but Jake was able to dodge it. He swiftly counterattacked with a left punch, but Mckade dodged it and disarmed his left arm. Mckade pulled back his arm, ready to strike.
‘I’m going to punch you in the face one way or the other!’ Jake screamed internally.
He channeled all his remaining energy as he also pulled back his arm instead of trying to defend.
BAANG!
The sound of two simultaneous hits resonated through the hall as Jake and Mckade were both sent flying a couple of meters back due to the strength of each other’s punch.
“Halt! Double point!” The referee exclaimed as he appeared in the center of the ring.
Above him, the score in the holographic projection changed.
[WEYER VS. MCKADE
1 - 5
Next Match: Pryde vs. Tilden]
A smile appeared on Jake’s face as he looked at the score before it changed for the next match. Jake and Mckade got up and walked out of the ring. Their match had left a lasting impression on both the recruiters and the participants.
Because he used his pseudo-state, and due to the short time between matches, Jake had to fight the rest of his matches with a low energy reserve. Four out of the five remaining participants he had to fight, were steps below him so he didn’t have much problem winning even with low energy.
Luckily for him, he was going to fight the only other participant with a higher step at last. So, not only did he not have any problem dealing with the other four participants, but he actually took advantage of that and focused on regenerating his energy reserve during those matches, trying to use as little as possible.
In the end, by the time he fought the second Crimson Academy participant, he had just the right amount of energy to endure the match, and after a tight fight, he was barely able to win 5 - 4.
Four victories and one defeat ensured him a good spot in the ranking for the Direct Elimination Phase.