Mike vs Kris

It didn't take long for Mike and Kris to move into the arena. They didn't bother going to the center as that was pointless, and it would waste too much time.

Instead, they still kept an okay distance between themselves and the entrance, which was still pretty sizable.

"Theresa, are you sure you don't want to join in? A 3-way fight would be fun." Mike said as he stretched, and Theresa immediately shook her head.

"No way! I don't know what you're on, but I'd rather not fight him." Theresa scoffed and pointed at Kris who was kinda just standing there.

"Huh. Well, suit yourself," Mike shrugged. "But you can be our referee at least." He asked, and Theresa huffed.

"Sure. Whatever. Are you two ready?" She asked, and the two of them nodded.

"Alright. Begin!" As soon as she said this, Mike focused his attention on Kris.

He saw the older boy take a breath, and all of a sudden, his entire demeanor seemed to change.

The nervousness and anxiety he carried around him faded to reveal something akin to a sharp edge, and Mike felt goosebumps rise on his skin.

'Holy... I knew he was dangerous, but...' He managed to smile as he felt himself already sweating. 'I feel like I'm staring at a monster.' He thought. His instincts were actively warning him now.

Despite this, though, Mike didn't lose his cool. Instead, he simply watched as Kris stood there while waiting for him to make a move.

'He isn't taking a stance, and I can't see any visible guards. That said...' Mike narrowed his eyes. 'The notion of moving forward doesn't sit right with me.'

However, it was clear that Kris had no intention of moving from his spot, and Mike wasn't interested in turning the match into a staring contest.

Steeling himself, he inched forward, taking small steps as he slowly got closer. As he did, he felt the wariness from his instincts grow. Moreover, his keen senses let him know that the energy in the air was charged.

He wasn't sure when, but at some point, he had already stepped within Kris's attack range.

'Scary.' He thought, and yet, he was more excited than anything else.

He watched intently and waited. Kris was going to make a move, he knew it. He just needed to find out when–

BANG

Something swung through the air at absurd speeds and smashed into Mike. The force was so extreme that his entire body was thrown across the arena like a cannonball.

Theresa watched with horror as Mike's body sailed through the air. However, just as he was about to hit the ground, he spun and landed on his feet.

"Ha... Haha..." Mike, who somehow managed to raise his arms right before he got struck, let out an incredulous chuckle. A nasty bruise was rapidly growing on both arms which were trembling, but he had blocked.

"Holy... you almost took my face off!" Mike exclaimed as he felt his regeneration kick in, and the bruise started to fade at a speed visible to the naked eye.

'What the... how is he healing so fast? No, how did he even block in time??? I almost wasn't able to notice that attack...' She thought as she looked at Kris, and she finally saw it.

Soft clinking sounds could be heard as a single silver chain about a dozen meters long floated around him like a snake.

'When had he manifested it?' She wondered, as the chain had hit Mike faster than she could register its creation.

'Okay, it's safe to say that not using my aura here will not end well for me. So.' Mike cracked his knuckles as a faint blue glow surrounded him briefly before his aura surged.

His clothes fluttered along with his hair, and immediately, his stats spiked.

"Whoa," Theresa exclaimed softly.

She hadn't trained with Mike that much since they started having classes, but they did still do some things here and there, but his aura...

'When did it grow this much?' She thought as she had an odd feeling. As she looked at him, she could feel herself getting suppressed.

No, it was more than that.

It was almost like she was staring at some sort of... predator...

BANG

A loud sound snapped her out of her thoughts as her attention snapped forward.

Mike had kicked off the ground with impressive force and was now shooting towards Kris faster than when he'd been blasted away.

As soon as he did, the chain lashed out once more, but this time, Mike could see and react to it properly, as he leaned back to avoid it smashing into his face before continuing his charge.

However, as soon as he got close, several more chains appeared and shot down at him. Mike had to jump back as the chains struck the ground with shocking power, but Mike had no time to dwell on that as another chain came from the side, and he jumped to avoid it before twisting his body to avoid two more that came from obscure angles.

He landed before rolling out of the way to avoid several more chains.

'They're fast, but like this, it's doable.' Mike thought as he continued to dodge.

'The problem is getting close.' He looked towards Kris through the mass of chains. There were over a dozen swirling around him like a protective barrier, and Mike didn't need his instincts to tell him that he couldn't just run through them.

'Still, he has to be expending more energy than I. He'll tire himself out at this rate...' Mike's thoughts trailed off as his eyes widened.

His instincts immediately yelled at him, and Mike realized that Kris's placement of the chains hadn't been random.

He hadn't seen it before, but now he could.

A large net had been set around him with nowhere for Mike to run.

Alas, he noticed a moment too late, as the chains constricted and started to rapidly close in around him.

Subconsciously, Mike knew that if he got caught by those many chains, he'd be done, so he acted purely on instinct.

His fingers made a claw, and without hesitation, he swung it just as his aura condensed into 4 claw-like shapes.

Primal Rend.

The horrid sound of metal ripping could be heard as several chains were sliced through by Mike's Aura, leaving a gap big enough for him to fit through.

He didn't hesitate and jumped through it before diving away as several more chains tried to strike him. This time, though, they didn't simply hit where he was, but the curved and started to chase after him.

'Aw come on!' Mike gritted his teeth as he started to dodge relentlessly. Chains came from different directions and angles.

So far, the only reason he was able to dodge so much was due to his senses and instincts warning him, but the speed of the chains was starting to speed up beyond his ability to dodge.

Mike's mind spun as he searched for a solution. He knew that Kris had been holding back, but this was too much!

He managed to spare a glance at Kris who hadn't moved a single step since the fight started, and he couldn't help but feel a pang of annoyance.

Here he was, dancing around like a monkey while his opponent was just standing there comfortably.

'Okay, this won't do.' Mike frowned.

Whether it was the pressure he was under or the irritation he felt at being forced to dance around like this by someone who should be his peer, Mike forced himself to persevere.

His instincts almost seemed to respond to his irritation, and the next thing he knew, Mike had allowed his senses to spread across the surroundings.

It wasn't just him allowing his senses to focus on his surroundings. Instead, but was like he was attuning them to everything in the vicinity, and instantly, a sort of mental image formed inside Mike's mind.

It was a bit vague, but it was enough for Mike to 'see' the position of every chain that was around him as well as ascertain their speed and distance, and as soon as this happened, it was like a light bulb went off in his head.

He vaguely heard a ding in the back of his mind, but he didn't pay it any attention as he focused on the matter at hand.

'A pattern.' He realized.

Kris hadn't been swinging his chains randomly.

Perhaps he had tried to before, but he wasn't doing it now, and that meant there was a pattern, one for Mike to exploit.

Without thinking, he analyzed a path, and he took it.

His aura surged as he shot forward.

Theresa watched as Mike, who had previously been struggling just to dodge, suddenly shot forward. And in a show of pure excellence, he managed to anticipate the path of every chain in his way.

It was like he had chartered a map in his mind, and it took only a moment before he was right in front of Kris, his arm already pulled back to unleash another Primal Rend.

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