My Special Ability is Growing Muscles

The coliseum terrain shifted into its default stone-floor arena.

The 10 different arenas piled on top of each other, stacking up to be displayed at the same time. The seat a spectator got in the coliseum would determine which of the arenas they would watch.

As for the nobles and guild scouts in the floating platforms though, they got the privilege of watching the topmost arena.

That was where the best-rated applicants would fight.

"Let the battles begin!"

As soon as Major Pain gave the order, the referee, a C-Ranked Instructor climbed on each of the 10 combat arenas, taking the officiating duty for the first batch of matches.

The referees gave the order, and then…

DONG!

The bell sounded.

With that, brutality erupted immediately.

In all 10 arenas, the brutal 1 on 1 duel started immediately as every applicant used their special abilities in a bid to kill their opponent.

Yes, their intention was to kill right off the bat.

Even now, the applicants were still exhausted and hollow-eyed. They were tired, and neither of them wanted to fight a prolonged battle. This was also part of Major Pain's planning as prolonged battle would make the combat phase boring.

And after the events of yesterday and the night, the survivors were in a constant state of alert and bloodlust.

Conceding? Stopping? None of that registered in their minds as they entered the arena, all that rang in their head was… kill!

Besides, out of the 10,000 applicants that initially applied for the 10-slot scholarship spot in Nexus Academy, these 500+ were the best of the best. They were the most talented, ruthless, and most skilled.

Some matches ended in seconds. In arena 1, the topmost combat arena, an applicant that was as heavily built as an adult bodybuilder attacked his opponent and directly smashed his skull against the arena floor, killing him in seconds.

For a few seconds, the spectators couldn't react, but then…

BOOM!

Cheers erupted as they roared. Even the civilians cheered; direct showcase of brutal power like this was what they loved.

In another arena, after a 3 move exchange, a lean applicant slit his opponent's throat with brutal precision, ending the duel in less than 10 seconds.

Another applicant obliterated his opponent with a devastating elemental blast. The poor guy didn't even get the luxury to concede.

Watching these brutal deaths, Kairo felt his own bloodlust rising.

This was a baptism of blood.

The other batch 1 fights were more dragged out but it was just as exciting, as the applicants went all out, showcasing flashy abilities like lightning blasts, shadow daggers, and even a summoned beast.

One of the applicants was a beast tamer. He eventually won his duel.

As it transpired in the arenas, the excited crowd roared. The civilians cheered while nobles assessed, even as guild scouts also scribbled notes.

If some of these guys didn't end up making it into Nexus Academy, they were prime targets to be recruited into their guilds. Even the nobles acted as scouts at this moment. Afterall, noble Households also accept outside talent.

After the first batch, the second batch followed without any rest in between.

If the spectators were tired, they could go have their break without interruption. But the combat phase would still continue.

The holographic screen constantly updated.

[Applicant 453 eliminated…]

[Applicant 232 progresses…]

[Applicant 12 progresses…]

[Applicant 58 eliminated…]

Blood splattered across the runes in the combat arenas, but the arena automatically cleaned the battlefield between duels with mechanical efficiency.

Some applicants conceded but others who forgot to say the words even after kneeling were mercilessly butchered.

Showing mercy was dangerous, after all, in an earlier fight, an opponent tricked his opponent into thinking he was about to surrender only to slit his throat at the last moment.

After that, the applicants became even more merciless.

Everything happened without Major Pain intervening once. Seated in the highest of the floating platforms, he watched the duels with an unreadable expression on his face.

Kairo wondered if the man felt any emotion other than rage.

Alongside Mira, they watched tensely from their corner. This was also an opportunity to observe the combat style of their future opponents if they managed to progress.

Kairo especially noticed how the strong conserved energy, finishing opponents fast, while the reckless burned out too quickly.

Time moved fast, in just a few dozen minutes, batches 1 to 3 concluded their fights in the arena.

Batch 4 took longer, but eventually less than 2 hours after the combat phase started, it was finally batch 5's turn to enter the arena.

[Arena 3: Mira Alexander vs Donald Quentin]

Seeing her name displayed up by the A.I, Mira stood up, patted her dagger that was at her waist and silently walked toward the arena.

Kairo hesitated slightly, then he said. "Goodluck".

"Thanks". Mira replied without looking back.

Her opponent was a tall boy wielding a spear infused with fire. Even before the duel started, he was already revealing his ability. He was overconfident.

Despite his arrogant demeanor, he didn't taunt his opponent with words. He was too exhausted for it.

DONG!

As soon as the bell rang, both of them exploded into battle.

Mira jogged forward. The boy?

Shua!

Taking a stance, he grabbed his spear with both hands and stabbed forward, unleashing a spear-shaped fire slash towards her.

Without breaking stride, Mira narrowed her eyes, calculating the trajectory of the fire slash and its speed, then she jumped.

With precision footwork and perfect timing, she jumped and flipped over the fiery slash, landing on a roll as she continued her charge without losing speed.

With that little clash, they learned each other's limits, and then…

With a burst of speed, wind circled around Mira as she rapidly closed the distance to the boy, using her first special ability. The boy countered by slashing with his spear as fire engulfed around him.

Taking advantage of her precision footwork, Mira dodged and attacked from his blind spot but he blocked.

They exchanged a dozen moves in a few seconds as they countered each other. And then, Mira took a risk, leaving herself open to an attack.

She took a wound on her shoulder but it was a necessary sacrifice, as she used this exact moment to reveal her Earth manipulation ability. She slammed her shoulder against the boy, knocking the breath out of him before disarming him and slamming him down.

Kira quickly pinned him down, pointing her dagger at his throat but she didn't kill him. "Concede," she growled.

The boy finally realized what happened. His eyes alternated between emotions of anger, frustration, and unwillingness but in the end he conceded.

Mira walked out of the arena with her shoulder bleeding.

Kairo heaved a sigh of relief but also, more pressure was now on him. About an hour of more fighting later, it finally came to his turn.

[Arena 2: Eric Williams vs Kairo Vale]

Kairo took a deep breath, then he stepped out.