"Cleo is about to fight with that Jock guy."

Della said, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, and then she looked back at Lumian, who was drinking water.

"Aren't you interested?"

"I am sure Cleo will make it through the first round."

Lumian said.

"…Even with that weakling Jock? They are going against Oritori and Noa. I think Cleo will have to fight both of them."

Della said.

"Don't be so harsh on Jock. I can tell that he is awakened. Maybe he will surprise us all, as he has the most to prove."

Lumian said.

"Unlikely. He sits right in front of me, and during breaks, all I see him do is play some mobile games. That guy isn't a martial artist."

Della said.

"Shall we go watch then?"

Lumian stood up, put the cork back on the water bottle, and tapped Della at the back as they made their way back to their bench.

At the ring, Oritori and Noa glanced at their opponents briefly before taking the red corner. Cleo and Jock took their place at the blue corner.

"I will start the fight. I will make them waste all their changes quick."

Cleo said.

"Good luck."

Jock said and watched as Cleo climbed into the ring with ease. She slipped through the ropes and took her place at the corner.

From the red corner, Oritori took the ring first. Noa was cheering him on.

"Fight!"

The physical education teacher shouted and whipped his arm down.

Oritori slid his feet forward, but then Cleo brought her kick down on his shin. A resound of flesh echoed through the gym.

"Tch!"

Oritori gritted his teeth with a hideous look of pain flashing across his face, and then he swung his fists fiercely at Cleo's face.

The air whistled whenever he swung his fists, and Cleo caught his wrist and then twisted it with all her might, causing Oritori to cry out in agony.

Cleo brought her knee up, whacking it across Oritori's jaw. His head snapped back. The elbow came down on his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

"Uff! Uff! Uff!"

"Let's change!"

Noa shouted.

With a pained grunt, Oritori turned around and leaped out of the ring. Noa jumped straight back in and hurled her fist at Cleo.

Cleo swiped her hand at her fist, pushing it away, and then backhanded her across the face. Noa fell to the ground, blood trickling from her nose.

In that moment, Noa lunged at Cleo's legs. She grabbed onto them and pulled with all her might, knocking Cleo to the ground.

"Oh!"

Cleo let out a surprised "oh," and as Noa mounted her, Cleo quickly trapped Noa's legs, squeezing them tight with her own legs, and shifted her weight to try to flip Noa over.

It failed as Noa immediately pushed down and regained control.

Noa and Cleo tangled each other's limbs—smacking and waving their arms—both of them tried to trap the other in a hold.

With her being part of the Ok Family dojo, Cleo had also trained in the grappling arts, but she didn't specialize in them.

She had her own fair share of sparring matches against Lumian and other skilled grapplers.

While she often lost those sparring matches, as she wasn't that interested in learning grappling, she was still rather skillful.

However, so was Noa.

Otherwise, she wouldn't dare to go down to the ground fighting, knowing that Cleo was also quite a skilled grappler.

Noa had a simple goal. Exhaust Cleo. The grappling was, after all, very exhausting.

"Ahh… Huff!"

Cleo breathed heavily as Noa pressed herself hard against her, using all her strength to keep Cleo pinned to the ground.

'I need to… Escape!'

Cleo thought to herself with a sweaty expression.

'…This isn't looking good.'

Jock thought to himself, felt his heart become livelier, and knew he would most likely have to fight soon.

"Argh!"

Cleo smacked Noa's arms away, grabbed her by the shoulders, and tossed her off. In that one second of freedom, she immediately jumped back to her feet and backed off.

"Huff! Huff! Huff!"

Noa stood back up as well—exhausted—but she was also smiling, seeing that Cleo was quite tired.

In that moment, Noa hopped off the ring as she did her job, and then, Oritori jumped back to the ring.

"Cleo, should we change?"

Jock asked with a shake in his voice.

"…Do your best!"

Cleo nodded, slipped through the ring ropes, and landed outside, and then Jock grabbed the ropes as he pulled himself up.

The rest of the students looked over. They believed that Oritori's team had an immense advantage now.

It would be quite a big disappointment for Cleo to lose in the first round, as she was basically the second strongest fighter in their class.

"Whoo!"

Jock rooted his stance, raised his hands, and slid his front foot slightly forward. He immediately took the stance.

Iron Style's defensive stance!

"No hard feelings!"

Oritori lunged forward with a grin and brought his fist forward. It looked threatening, and when Jock saw that fist heading his way, his mind turned blank.

He forgot what he should do.

Dodge? Parry? Block?

What was he supposed to do in this situation again?

He spent all day yesterday sparring with Kiernan, and he told him what to do in every situation, but he completely forgot those things.

He did the first thing that came to his mind—he raised his guard—the fist landed against his arms.

Smack!

"Argh!"

Jock staggered back, his back crashing against the ropes, and the sound of groans of the crowd resounded in his ear.

It was obvious that he was just so weak!

'Don't block. I told you that. The strength difference is just so drastic that they will shatter you like glass!'

Kiernan thought to himself with a grim expression.

Oritori pushed forward, swinging his fists at him, and Jock just ran away at full speed, circling past him and backing off to another end.

He took the stance again, his face looking nervous, and his arms trembling like leaves in the wind.

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