Ace looked and saw the spiky ball of a mace slamming down straight towards his head. Full of adrenaline, he spun around and shoved off the ground, catching air before landing on his feet.

There was a large crater in the ground where his head used to be. The girl who made it was looking at him with eyes full of murderous intent.

'That would have killed me! This bitch is crazy!'

Giving her a glare of his own, Ace circled the girl. While she yanked her mace from the floor, she wrapped the loose chain around her forearm, slowly drawing it taut. He would have attacked her while she did so, but his lung was rapidly filling with blood, making it difficult to both move and breath.

In truth he should have already resigned, but something was holding him back. He didn't know if it was the fact that the people watching were cheering against him or if it was because his opponent took immense pleasure in his pain. He didn't care, he just couldn't accept losing.

As the chain grew taut was once more, Ace prepared himself for his opponent to yank on his weapon.

However, she dashed in first, only pulling on the chain once she was in range to swing her mace. Still, Ace's plan remained the same.

Drawing out gasps from the crowd, he released his sword in the same instant that his opponent pulled on it, causing her to spin around wildly. While she was off balance, Ace dashed in and swept her leg out from under her. As she fell, he slammed a hammer fist into her chest, feeling numerous bones crack.

At the same time as his fist connected, his opponent had somehow twisted her lower body, swinging a heavy boot into his face.

While she was slammed into the ground with enough force to crack it, Ace was knocked airborne. He landed on his injured side, bringing on a nauseating wave of pain. Through the haze, he could hear hear the screams from the crowd as they yelled for his opponent to get up. Although it was faint, he could have sworn he heard some people cheer for him too.

Looking across the floor, Ace could see her struggling to get up. She rose to her knees only to cough up a large amount of blood and fall back down. Unfortunately, he wasn't fairing much better himself.

The kick to his head had left a deep gash that allowed blood to seep into his eyes, blurring his vision. Rolling over to his front, he couldn't even find the strength to rise to his knees. With his weapon on the floor only a few feet in front of him, he used his arm to pull himself towards it.

Inch by inch, he got closer. Some time during his crawl, the crowd's already loud cries grew even wilder, only to suddenly go silent. When he arrived at his weapon, his blurry vision revealed a pair of boots standing in front of it.

'Ah, looks like I los-'

Suddenly, he felt two strong hands grasp him by the shoulder and pull him to his feet.

An unfamiliar and feminine voice called out to him.

"You won... look."

Through the cloudiness of his vision, he could see a faint blue glow on the arm of the person who helped him up. It was his opponent.

Without hesitation, Ace circulated energy throughout his body, stepping away from the girl as he healed. When his vision returned, the girl was already walking away, her red hair blowing in the wind. The supervisor approached him soon after, confirming his victory.

*** Later that night ***

Ace was lying in his bed in silence, staring at the ceiling. While he did so, he was spinning a rock on one of his fingers.

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He had exceeded everyone's expectations... even his own. The Steel recruit was definitely the strongest person he'd fought, but it wasn't just her physical abilities. She was one of the only people to think on her feet.

Just like him, she adapted to the situation as it changed instead of lingering on how it used to be. In a way, she was scarier than almost every creature he had the displeasure of facing. Everything ranging from her initial battle plan to her ability to react to his sword toss was pure elegance.

'A sharp mind... that's what separates the strong from the weak. That's what separates those who live and those who don't.'

Replaying the battle in his head, Ace fell asleep while thinking about ways in which he could have performed better.

*** Somewhere else in the Testing Grounds ***

"Gawain, I'm telling you, this kid is a prodigy! I'm not sure if you know this, but earlier today, he beat one of our recruits! I know you don't normally watch duels from the first phase but I think you should at least watch the finals tomorrow! It might even be a good idea to take this one under your wing."

Gawain looked at the man appealing to him from across the table. Of the ten supervisors there, he was by far the most vocal. Supporting his words, a few of the others at the table were nodding their head in agreement.

This was unusual. He hadn't seen them express so much interest in a trainee before. To recommend he take a trainee under his wing this early? That was incredibly unusual, only having been done for the matriarch's children who were all freaks in one way or another.

Looking down at the trainee's file he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"This strength score is... interesting, to say the least."

He continued to look through the boy's file.

"You know what gentlemen? You've piqued my interest..."

*** The Next Day ***

Ace was sitting at his usual table in the corner of the dining hall. While there was a fresh mound of steaming meat and vegetables on his plate, he couldn't eat them. The reason was obvious. Someone else was sitting with him.

Staring across the table, he watched the girl he fought the previous day tear into her meal, ruthlessly devouring every morsel of food.

Finishing in a flash, she got up to grab another plate and returned only a minute later.

Finally meeting Ace's eyes, she paused.

"What? Is this seat taken or something?"

"No... It's not taken" Ace said after a sigh. "But... how can you sit there all comfortable like that after we just fought yesterday? Hell, you were even smiling as you stabbed me with your dagger and almost caved in my skull. Not exactly a great first impression..."

Speaking between mouthfuls of food, she responded slowly.

"Ah, my bad... I get carried away sometimes! I knew you'd dodge anyway... you seemed like the slippery type!"

Concealing his growing frustration, Ace sat in silence and started his own meal. He was hardly able to eat a spoonful before the girl across from him finished her plate and started asking him questions.

"What's your name? Mine is Isobel but everyone just calls me Bell! Oh, you can too!"

Finishing a bite, he responded succinctly. "It's Ace."

"Ooohhh that's an interesting name!" Bell said. "What's the meaning?"

Surprised by her curiosity, he decided to entertain her.

"Well, my older sister gave it to me. You know what a deck of cards is?"

Bell nodded her head with a raised eyebrow. It was clear she didn't know how he would continue.

"One day, when I was really young, my sister found a deck of cards. She tried to used them as a way to teach me basic math since writing material was sparse. It just so happens that the Ace has a value of one."

He paused to point to his missing arm before continuing.

"Since I have one arm, she thought it would be cool to call me Ace... As in the Ace of Arms."

Bell's eyes widened as he finished his explanation.

"That's really cool... and thoughtful! Here I am stuck with some name like Isobel!"

Unable to contain himself, Ace laughed out loud for the first time in weeks.

Bell continued.

"Well Ace, the reason I came to sit here is because I also normally sit alone! When you beat me, I was in a bad mood so I stormed off! Sorry! This is me trying to make amends! I was always taught to break bead with people after fighting them... and you seem nice!"

Standing up in her chair, she stuck out her left hand for a handshake.

Ace scoffed internally.

'Me? The nice one? She doesn't know the half of it.'

Ace rose to his seat before shaking her hand and sitting back down. They continued to talk, with Bell firing off question after question about slum life.

After answering her 20th question, Ace couldn't help but say something that had been on his mind.

"You know... You're really talkative."

Bell winced.

"Oh, I'm so-"

He cut her off, realizing how he sounded.

"Oh, no no. I meant that in a good way. You remind of someone... my brother."

Bell had trouble containing her excitement.

"Really? I would love to meet him when this is all over then!"

Ace gave a weak smile as he responded.

"I don-"

He was cut off by the sound of a supervisor's voice echoing through the dining hall.

"Trainees! To the dueling platforms! Move!"