fter the final exchange of blows, won by Shed, the two stared at each other for a long time. Both showed signs of exhaustion, especially Shed.

Zier, however, seemed different than before. The hit he'd just received appeared to have inflicted more psychological than physical damage. His confidence and arrogance seemed to have cracked, leaving a poisonous uncertainty in their place.

Up until that moment, none of Zier's strikes had even managed to injure Shed, while a single counterattack from him had been enough to damage Zier.

And that was why Zier stood still, staring at Shed, trying to collect his thoughts and regain his confidence.

Shed, on the other hand, took this moment to rest as much as possible. After all, only three minutes had passed, and Shed had already used his power too many times.

Nonetheless, even Shed had undergone a change over the course of the match. The initial tension had completely disappeared, and as the fight went on, he felt an increasing sense of isolation from the rest of the world, his thoughts and feelings solely focused on the clash.

When the clock struck three minutes and thirty seconds, Zier closed the distance with Shed again.

However, Zier's fighting style seemed to have shifted compared to before. Instead of attacking immediately upon approaching Shed, this time he stayed in a guarded stance about two meters away.

He was using a more conservative style!

'Is that good or bad news?'

Shed also raised his guard, neither closing nor widening the gap with his opponent, observing and waiting for the next move.

Suddenly, Zier lunged forward, throwing a jab at incredible speed, his blade extending from his knuckles toward Shed's shoulder. Shed, unfortunately, had to use his power once more, dodging the strike by leaping back.

Zier's blade had shortened and looked more blunt.

According to his and Ri's plan, this was the moment when Shed should have counterattacked; however, how could he do it? He had already used his power too many times.

'Should I go all in?' Shed thought.

He had to. Or at least he felt he had to if he wanted even the smallest chance of victory.

Shed lunged forward toward Zier, catching him slightly off guard. Zier prepared to counterattack rather than merely defend.

As he drew close, Zier bent forward, swinging a hook with his blade aimed at the left side of Shed's neck, something Shed saw a second earlier thanks to his predictive gaze… however… HOWEVER… to win, he couldn't dodge. Shed couldn't!

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Shed decided not to evade but to "only" sacrifice his left arm, raising it to block the incoming hook.

'I CAN'T FAIL!'

Though he had used his power for the tenth time, Shed felt surprisingly clear-headed, perhaps more so than ever before. His focus was locked solely on his goal; everything else faded away, and the world around him and Zier seemed to lose color.

He wanted to win, at all costs.

Zier's blade pierced Shed's forearm, but Shed didn't even feel the pain, focused solely on delivering a right hook to Zier's chin.

HE WANTED TO WIN.

SHED WANTED.

That desire ignited a fire within him, spreading unchecked through his body, a singular yet not entirely foreign sensation enveloping him.

His predictive gaze activated.

Shed foresaw his hook being blocked by his opponent and instinctively altered his strike, leaning slightly forward and bending his knees just a bit, launching a deadly uppercut toward Zier's chin.

Receiving the blow, Zier staggered back, and the blade embedded in Shed's forearm retracted, causing blood to gush from the wound.

Shed's head was growing foggy.

His heavy body swayed.

"NOT YET!"

Shed shouted at the top of his lungs, taking a decisive step toward Zier and, with his last strength, launching a hook with his only uninjured arm at Zier's exposed temple.

The last thing Shed saw was Zier collapsing to the ground, followed by a deafening roar from the crowd.

§-§-§

'How did he…?'

A girl in the stands wondered, doubtful. She knew she'd just witnessed something incredible, not only because she'd seen a rookie defeat a gladiator in his tenth match, but especially because of the way that rookie had won.

The rookie had used a strange power, as if he could foresee his opponent's moves, dodging every blow except for the last one, which seemed to have been taken on purpose.

When Vaus had assigned her to observe the gladiators in the Magnolia rank some time ago, she hadn't taken it well, thinking there was no point in watching fighters so unskilled. And, indeed, the matches she'd watched before this one had proved her right. Until now, no one had pleasantly surprised her.

However, that gladiator… Shed… There was something special about him.

Recalling the fight she'd just seen, Alice tried to come up with some theories regarding the rookie's soul mirror.

Did he possess an ability that amplified his senses? Could he then anticipate his opponent's strikes by observing even the slightest preparatory movements?

But this gladiator was just a rookie, how could he already use such a power so effectively? There were other gladiators with similar abilities, and usually, those who had them needed time to fully master them, learning through experience against other fighters.

So, Alice dismissed that theory.

Did he have a power that allowed him to speed up his reaction times? Could he reduce the time it took to think about what to do and how to act?

However, this still didn't fully explain the unsettling feeling Alice experienced while watching Shed fight. The way he dodged made it seem like he was aware of his opponent's moves in advance. Still, she didn't rule out this possibility, though she remained doubtful.

Was he somehow aware of his opponent's actions beforehand, able to predict them… could he foresee the future?

As soon as she thought of it, Alice chided herself. A power like that couldn't possibly exist, it would be far too… broken.

Unless, of course, it had limitations.

What if, instead of seeing the entire future, he could only glimpse a small part of it, just a few moments ahead… maybe only in specific circumstances…?

If that were truly the case, then such a power could actually exist. This final hypothesis, absurd as it seemed, struck her as the most likely.

'After all, I've had plenty of encounters with gladiators wielding unbelievably unfair powers,' she thought, finally deciding, though reluctantly, to go talk to him as soon as possible.

It would be foolish not to try recruiting someone like that.