SSS-RANKED Awakening: Supreme Fate-breaker System

The metal tip whirred like a drill, never heavy, always precise. He forced Ethan backward, step by step.

Blood pounded in David's ears. He tasted the past—his arrogance, his mistakes—then let it go.

He was here to fight the man across from him, not a ghost of his former self. He wanted to prove to Ethan that he's an Equal, a rival!

He was now carrying the flow of the battle, the tempo was on his side. He could win!

But could he really

Ethan recovered the next second, eyes bright with excitement.

He shifted seamlessly into Ember Slice, the first form of Crimson Edge technique, a single smooth arc that felt both fluid and lethal. David braced, planting his spear diagonally, letting the blow slide off. The tip of the spear rattled in his hands—but he stood firm.

A beat passed. Then David whispered, almost to himself than to Ethan, "You still surprise me, Drakethorne."

In fact, this was meant to be a thought to himself as usual, but due to the heat of the fight, which he himself seems to be enjoying, He slipped up, speaking what he had in mind...

In response, Ethan's lips curved in the faintest half-smile. No words.

David lunged into his final gambit—an upward spiraling thrust, channeling everything he had learned.

Air pulsed around the spear as though the earth itself lent its strength. He aimed not to kill, but to test Ethan's limits.

Ethan met the thrust head-on, parrying with Burning Spiral.

The arena shook again, sand flying from their clash. Ethan countered with a quick Inferno Sweep, forcing David's spear to spin free.

Now came the moment David had prepared for: as the spear fell, he used its momentum to vault forward, rolling beneath Ethan's guard, and kicked off the sand to seize the spear by the middle shaft. He twisted, yanking it free, and extended it across Ethan's throat.

— or was just about to...

Silence.

Feeling the cold blade at his neck, David's chest rose and fell. He stared into Ethan's eyes—not with hatred, but with fierce, honest pride—and conceded in that moment.

He was able to push Ethan, this far...

He was glad that he could do it...

While it might not seem like it, Ethan's actions had indirectly raised his battle strength, because without Ethan, he would still have his pride, he'd still be the foolish him of the past.

And this fight with Ethan, he benefited greatly from it, during this fight, he was able to understand something he had been questioning himself this whole time, learning it's secrets in the fight during enlightenment, he achieved [Mana Absorption]

His mana absorption skill had appeared in his system panel...

*****

A/N:

For those who still don't know...

In this world, every Awakened has a System. But of course their system can't compare to Ethan's system...

Theirs is just a display of their strength and skills, and some other basic stuffs, theirs isn't sentient and can't give missions, please take note of this.

****

Ethan stepped back, his breath was even. He had won.

David lowered the spear, heart hammering. He hadn't won—but he'd earned respect. He'd shown himself he could face his own weaknesses, temper his strength, and still stand tall.

Ethan sheathed his sword, amber gaze lifting to glance at David.

In that look, David felt a silent admission

There was a saying;

> "Know your weakness, know your strength, know your enemy, and you shall never be defeated."

David was doing good in this aspect, he had re-evaluated and identified his weaknesses, acknowledged them and strived to make up for them, if not for this, he wouldn't have pushed Ethan this far...

The two of them suddenly felt like they were both rivals of each other, David striving to surpass, Ethan striving not to get overwhelmed.

'This feeling' Ethan was surprised beyond words, he watched as David silently walked down the arena...

Even with his 30+ years of experience on Earth, he had an idea but still couldn't completely understand this feeling, it was extremely strange...

As for David, walking down the arena, he realised something, Ethan never utilised mana but was able to subdue him..

'Sigh, I shouldn't wallow in this, Ethan's just too strong, I need to just accept that and strive to be stronger, I should be satisfied with my gains after all they're immense'

Meanwhile, The audience had been silent throughout the match, the students learned a lot from this simple match, for some reason, these intense exchange of moves felt so profound.

This match, which was just the end of the quarter-finals, felt more like a Grand Finale.

While the students found it profound in its intensity, Gareth and the other experienced Awakened in the audience could easily see deeper—it wasn't just an exchange of moves.

Ethan and David were conversing, having a complicated conversation through pure movement alone, without a single spoken word.

Sighing inwardly as he looked at Ethan, Gareth thought to himself, 'Ethan has reached such a stage so quickly… he's already surpassed my expectations…'

Meanwhile, As Ethan walked off the arena, even he felt a shift inside—a surprise at how much David had changed in just a few hours.

Not the hot-blooded youth of three hours past, but someone else completely, someone he was forced to acknowledge.

Subtly giving his seated father a quick glance as he passed by, for some reason, he felt that his father's face wasn't so cold anymore, it was as if his father's evaluation of him had shifted—changed, and by a huge deal at that.

This marked the End of the Quarter finals

With Ryker Bladewind,

Selene Evernight,

Kaelen Stryn,

And finally Ethan Drakethorne, making it through to the Semi finals

With his strength, David Fangblade could easily mop the floor with Ryker, Selene and Kaelen Stryn. It was just his bad luck that he had to encounter Ethan at the Quarter Finals..

Luck was one of the huge deciding factors of this competition, but that was only if one's strength was average. With overwhelming strength, all schemes and fortunes were worthless.