"Fight me."

Jelo looked at her in confusion, his eyes still carefully avoiding direct focus on her outfit. He hadn't expected anyone to approach him, let alone challenge him immediately after his matches. His expression showed his uncertainty, the surprise clear on his face even in his avatar form.

Hawkgirl didn't wait long for a response. She repeated herself, her tone more insistent this time, making it clear she wasn't asking casually or making conversation.

"I want to fight you."

The words were direct and unambiguous. This wasn't a request for training or friendly sparring. This was a challenge, delivered with the confidence of someone who expected to be taken seriously.

Jelo found his voice, though confusion still colored it.

"Who are you?"

Hawkgirl dismissed the question with a slight tilt of her head, her hawk mask catching the neutral light of the arena. Her response was matter-of-fact, carrying no hostility but no accommodation either.

"My identity is none of your concern. The arena exists for sparring. That's all that matters here."

She stepped slightly closer, her posture relaxed but ready. There was something in her stance that spoke of experience, of countless fights in this virtual space. She pressed him to decide, her voice carrying an edge of impatience now.

"So what's it going to be? Yes or no?"

Jelo exhaled slowly, processing the situation. He'd come here to practice, to test his new skills and build up his essence. He hadn't planned on fighting someone who'd specifically sought him out, someone who'd apparently been watching him. But refusing felt awkward, and she was right—the Arena Nexus existed for exactly this purpose.

He gave in and agreed, nodding his acceptance.

"Fine. Let's do it."

The moment he spoke the words, the virtual world began to shift around them. The transition was immediate and disorienting—the flat stone field they'd been standing on rippled and reformed, the system generating new terrain for their match. The ground buckled and reshaped itself, creating subtle elevation changes and scattered rock formations. The sky darkened slightly, and the neutral gray took on hints of deeper color.

Their match was initializing, the Arena Nexus locking the terrain into place and establishing the combat parameters. Jelofelt the familiar sensation of the system registering both combatants, setting health values, enabling damage calculations, and preparing to monitor the fight.

The terrain finished loading, settling into its final configuration. They stood roughly twenty meters apart now, repositioned by the system to opposite sides of the designated combat zone. The scattered rocks provided potential cover, and the uneven ground would affect movement and positioning.

Both of them took fighting stances almost simultaneously. Jelo'sstance was practical and grounded, his weight distributed evenly, his hands ready to form fire at a moment's notice. Hawkgirl's stance was lower and more aggressive, her body coiled like a spring, clearly preparing to move explosively.

Jelo activated his Assess skill, focusing his attention on her. The ability was one of the basic tools available to all Arena Nexus fighters, allowing them to view public information about their opponents. Data materialized in his vision, overlaying his view of Hawkgirl with translucent text.

[Name: Hawkgirl]

[Level: Rank D3]

As the information faded from his vision, Jelo found himself briefly wondering why he'd been running into so many D-rank opponents lately. First the three consecutive matches, all against D2 and D3 fighters, and now this. The matchmaking system usually tried to pair fighters of similar skill levels, but his own rank was still unestablished since he was relatively new to the Arena Nexus.

He didn't have time to consider it further.

The match started instantly, the system's announcement echoing across the arena: "Begin."

Hawkgirl moved first, and she moved fast. Her legs drove her forward with explosive power, her boots finding purchase on the uneven stone as she kicked off the ground and closed the distance at high speed. She covered the twenty meters between them in what felt like seconds, her lightweight outfit offering no resistance to her movement.

Her right arm came up, and ice formed along her forearm in a rapid crystallization process. The ice shaped itself into a blade, hardened and sharp, extending from her elbow to well past her hand. The formation was smooth and practiced, happening mid-sprint without breaking her stride.

She swung the ice blade in a horizontal arc aimed at Jelo's torso, the attack coming in fast and committed. There was no hesitation, no testing strike—she'd opened with genuine intent.

Jelo reacted on instinct, his fire responding to his will. He shaped it into a sword, the flames coalescing and solidifying in his hand just in time to bring it up in a blocking position. The ice blade crashed against his fire sword with a sharp crack, the opposing elements meeting in a burst of steam and energy.

The clash forced both of them back, their feet sliding across the stone from the mutual impact. Jelo's arms absorbed the shock, and he immediately reset his stance, but Hawkgirl was already moving into her next attack.

She dropped low and swept her leg out in a wide arc. As her foot moved, ice spread across the floor in a expanding pattern, following the path of her strike. The surface froze rapidly, creating a slick, unstable field directly beneath Jelo's feet. It was a tactical move designed to rob him of his footing and leave him vulnerable to follow-up attacks.

Jelo jumped, pushing off the ground before the ice could fully spread beneath him. While airborne, he angled his body downward and fired a fireball directly at the frozen surface. The compressed flame struck the ice and exploded, the heat shattering and melting the frozen field in an instant. Steam billowed upward, obscuring vision momentarily.

Hawkgirl rolled away from the impact zone, her movements fluid and controlled. She came up on one knee, already scanning for Jelo's position through the steam.

She found him and immediately countered. Her palm slammed into the ground with significant force, and ice responded to the impact.

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