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Part Thirty-Eight

During the Matches Nick paid close attention to Alex Brown, as that was his mission. There was no telling what he would do or when he would strike, or if he would at all.

Nick kept his distance from him but just monitored him from afar. Making sure nothing out of the ordinary happened.

If something did happen, Nick would stop him. Nick wasn’t the only one capable of stopping Alex from doing anything, as teachers and the vice principal were both present. Nick believed that they would swoop in and save the day. Therefore, Nick was pretty laid back with his job.

What was the worst that could happen?

“If you keep glancing that much at him i’ll start thinking you swing the other way.”

Matthew commented as he noticed Nick turn his attention to Alex multiple times. He didn’t know why, but it started to worry him a little. He really hoped that Nick wouldn’t swing that way.

Not that he had against people like that, it would just be a bit weird then.

“No way!”

Nick quickly replied to Matthew.

Matthew let out a sigh of relief. He was glad, so why was Nick looking at Alex so much?

“What’s up with him?”

Matthew asked.

“Just curious is all. He has this certain air about him is all.”

“A potential competitor? I’m looking forward to it then.”

Matthew thought that was what Nick meant so he was excited about it. If Alex put up a good fight then it would be worth it.

“Next match, Nick versus Richard.”

The third round of matches started as Nick was the first one to go up. So far he’s beaten all his opponents within a few moves.

No one in his class was surprised, Nick showed amazing skill. Far more talented than the rest of them. Although no one suspected Nick to be one of the four freshman royals.

Nick took his place on the stage as he did a small bow to his opponent. It was a youth that was a head taller than Nick. His arms were huge, almost wanting to pop out of his uniform.

His short brown spiky hair and the tattoo on his forehead that looked like a serpent eating its own tail made him looked like a delinquent. In his hands were two one-handed axes. Both dark in color, as it gave off an ominous air.

“Beat him up Richard!”

“Show em why you’re the strongest!”

The cheers came roaring in as Richards classmates gave him a ton of support. Even some of the people from the other classes supported Richard, it seemed like this man had a lot of fans.

Richard swung his two one-handed axes in a circular motion before taking a stance.

“Can’t let them down now, can I?”

Richard grinned as he spoke, each word spoken with confidence. Since his arrival, he’s only lost three matches. How can he not be confident in his own skill?

Nick just smiled at his words.

‘Hopefully, you’ll give me a challenge.’ Nick thought to himself as he placed his hand on the hilt of his katana.

Seeing that both competitors were ready, the announcement came that they could begin.

Richard watched Nick fight, but he couldn’t quite grasp what his EXO ability was. So he was a little cautious as he edged closer and closer towards Nick.

‘Playing it safe huh?’ Nick laughed to himself as he watched as Richard moved slowly towards him.

As much as Nick would like to fight Richard, he was moving too slow. If he let Richard set the pace they’d be here all day long. Therefore, Nick darted towards Richard like a bullet.

Richard was slightly surprised, but he was prepared. He stomped the ground as it rumbled and a pillar of earth emerged. The pillar blocked Nick’s original path but Nick simply went around.

Seeing Nick’s nimble movements sparked a flame inside Richard. Forget worrying about Nick’s EXO ability, he’ll learn it during their battle.

Richard used his ability to control the earth to propel himself forward.

Who could stop him when the earth was his playground?

Twisting his body to create a small cyclone, he swung his axes.

Nick moved out of the way of Richard, but only for a moment. He caught up to Richard when he stopped moving. Richard was dumbfounded, who’d be stupid enough to follow a cyclone?

Nick used this chance to close the distance, and swung his katana quickly. Creating a flash of light, Nick’s katana hit an earth wall.

The earthen wall was thick and sturdy, Nick’s Katana left a dent on the wall but it didn’t break through.

With one smooth motion Nick sheathed his katana as he knelt down.

Nick jumped into the air and did a twist in the air as he landed behind Richard. With a quick sword cut, Richard fell to the ground.

The earthen wall only covered the front part of Richard as he did not expect Nick to jump over the wall. The wall was five feet high, and thick as a log. He imagined Nick on the other end hacking away, but he was wrong.

With his opponent down and Nick’s katana to Richards' throat, the winner could be seen clear as day.

The matches following Nick’s ended quickly, most of which took three minutes.

Freya somehow managed to pass her round. She was lucky as her opponent used a bow. The fire rate was faster than a sniper rifle and allowed the user to be more mobile. However, they were out skilled by Freya.

The last match of the third round was just about to start. Alex still did not make a move yet, which Nick found strange. He started wondering if he should continue, so far he seemed like a normal freshman. Nothing screamed, member of secret organization.

“Isabel versus Alex!”

The announcement came as Isabel glanced at Alex before she took her place on stage.

Alex saw her look in his direction and he gave her a sinister smile before he took his place on stage.