NOVEL NEXT Chapter 136: Tracia vs Jane
With that, Master Olmo didn't waste much time. So up next would be Tracia, one of the girls from class 1. She was an E-rank, and she would be facing off with Jane, who was a class 2 student. She was a D-rank.
Tracia smiled cunningly. "All right, without further ado, you know the rules. Let the fight begin," Olmo said before walking towards Master Steil. They started discussing something as they were observing the fight.
Whilst the fight was ongoing, the students each were having their little conversations, some curious about what was going to win. "Obviously, Jane is going to win. Not only is she D-rank, she's from class 2, which means she has more experience and has been here for a whole year. I don't see any winning chances for Tracia," two dudes were conversing at one end.
"What do you think, Jelo?" Mira asked.
"Well, I'm not sure of Tracia's abilities, but we know one thing. She's E-rank, and Jane is D-rank. Although sometimes you don't judge solely on ranks, ideas and creativity matter too. The person who has the best battle IQ should come out victorious," he continued. "But then, who says Jane doesn't have a better battle IQ? I mean, she has been here for a year. She would have understood and gained some experience, one or two things."
"I think that's true," Mira said.
Ken, who was beside Jelo, just stood there, smiling, as if he had been waiting for this fight for a long time.
"You guys talk too much," Ken interrupted. "Just try and enjoy the fight. There's no need for you to determine who wins. The outcome will be determined at the end of the match. Why don't you just enjoy and gain as much knowledge as you can from the fight?"
The air crackled with tension as Tracia and Jane faced each other.
Jane moved first—a blur of motion as electricity arced around her body. She closed the distance in a heartbeat, fist pulled back and wreathed in sparking blue light. Tracia's eyes widened, but her body responded with practiced ease. She twisted impossibly to the side, her spine bending at an unnatural angle as the punch whistled past her ribs, so close she could feel the heat of the electrical discharge.
Wind exploded from Tracia's palms, a concentrated blast that should have sent Jane tumbling backward. The force was tremendous, kicking up dust and debris in its wake. But Jane was already gone, her lightning-enhanced speed carrying her in a wide circle around Tracia's position. The electrical energy surrounding her body left a faint trail of ionized air in her wake.
She appeared at Tracia's flank in the blink of an eye, lightning crackling between her fingers as she unleashed a bolt of raw electrical energy. The bolt shot forward like a spear of pure voltage, illuminating the entire training area with brilliant white-blue light.
Tracia dropped into a backbend that defied physics, her flexibility allowing her to fold nearly in half. The lightning seared through the air where her torso had been a split second before, the heat intense enough that Tracia could feel it even from her impossible position. She used the momentum to kick up and back, her legs whipping through the air as she summoned a whirlwind. The concentrated burst of wind caught Jane mid-stride, the powerful gust forcing the speedster to dig her heels in.
For a moment, the speedster stumbled, fighting against the buffeting winds that threatened to throw her off balance. Her lightning flickered and sparked as she struggled to maintain her footing.
But only for a moment.
Jane gritted her teeth and pushed through, channeling more electricity through her body. Her muscles surged with enhanced power as her body became a living lightning bolt. She shot forward faster than Tracia could track, moving at speeds that made her previous burst look sluggish by comparison. The ground beneath her feet cracked from the force of her acceleration. She finally landed a solid hit—an electrified palm strike to Tracia's shoulder that sent crackling energy through her nervous system.
Tracia cried out, her muscles seizing involuntarily as the electrical current disrupted her neural pathways. The pain was intense, like thousands of needles jabbing into her simultaneously. She desperately summoned a powerful gust to push herself away, creating distance as she rolled to absorb the landing with fluid grace despite her compromised state. Her shoulder smoked slightly where Jane had made contact, the fabric of her uniform singed black.
"Getting tired?" Jane called out, electricity dancing across her skin like living serpents. Her confidence was growing with each successful strike.
Tracia's response was immediate and fierce. She thrust both hands forward, creating a miniature tornado that pulled dust and debris into a swirling vortex. The wind howled as it gained strength, forming a rotating barrier between her and her opponent. Small rocks and dirt particles became projectiles within the churning winds.
Jane darted around it, her enhanced speed allowing her to probe for openings. She moved in quick bursts, testing different angles, but Tracia kept repositioning with inhuman flexibility. The E-rank fighter contorted and twisted her body in ways that seemed to defy skeletal structure, using wind currents to enhance her already impressive acrobatics. She would bend backward one moment, then flow forward like water the next, always keeping the tornado positioned between herself and Jane's lightning-fast strikes.
But Jane was patient, watching and learning. She saw her opportunity when Tracia committed fully to maintaining the tornado, both hands extended and concentration focused on sustaining the powerful winds. While Tracia was anchored in place, Jane accelerated to her top speed—moving so fast she left afterimages in her wake. The electrical discharge around her body intensified to blinding levels.
She came at Tracia from three different angles in rapid succession, each strike crackling with deadly voltage. The first came from the left, a lightning-wreathed fist aimed at Tracia's head. Tessa managed to avoid it by bending her neck at an extreme angle, the punch passing so close it singed her hair. The second attack came from the right, a sweeping kick charged with electricity. Tracia twisted her torso impossibly, letting the leg pass through empty air where her midsection had been.
But the third strike was perfectly calculated. While Tracia was still recovering from the second dodge, her body extended and vulnerable, Jane appeared directly in front of her. There was no time to bend, no time to dodge. The electrified palm strike caught her square in the ribs with devastating force.
The electrical discharge lit up the space around them as if someone had detonated a lightning strike at ground level. Tracia's body went rigid as massive voltage coursed through her, every muscle locking up in agony. She was launched backward by the combined force of the strike and her own involuntary muscle contractions, her body tumbling through the air before hitting the ground hard with a sickening thud.
She slumped down, gasping for air that wouldn't come easily. Her lungs felt paralyzed, her diaphragm struggling to remember how to function. She tried to summon another wind blast, raising her trembling arms with sheer willpower, but her muscles spasmed from the electrical current still coursing through her nervous system. The winds she managed to conjure were weak, barely more than a strong breeze.
Jane approached with measured steps, lightning flickering around her in a display of controlled power. The electricity crackled and popped, casting dancing shadows across her determined face.
"You fought well," Jane said, breathing hard herself. Sweat dripped down her face, evidence that the fight had pushed her too. "But speed beats flexibility when you can't see the hit coming."
Tracia looked up at her victorious opponent and, after a moment, nodded with a rueful smile.
"Wow," Ken said aloud, almost shouting. "Jane is really strong! Using lightning to increase her speed—who would have thought of that? My God." He was smiling as if he had just won something.
Jelo glanced at him. "You look so excited. Don't tell me you have anything against Tracia."
Ken looked at him and smiled even more. "I don't even know her. Never seen her before. It's just watching them fight has made me realize that we are still far behind when it comes to battle IQ."
"We can't let the class 2 students dominate all of us," Jelo said. "At least we have to win some of the battles, some of the fights."
"Don't worry, my time is coming," Ken said, smiling.