If you were to ask who was the strongest Awaken in the city, then most people would say the Federation Branch Commander who went by the nickname, Red Lightning.

If people were to ask who was the second strongest, then the answers would be split right in the middle. One was more publicly known than the other, but most had made a name for themselves as strong Awaken. Slipstream would be strong contestant for second place on the listing, while his contender went by the handle of Railgun.

Railgun avoided the spotlight as much as possible as his abilities made him a capable sniper. On the other hand, Slipstream ran back and forth through the town. If you saw a silver blur in town, then more likely than not it was Slipstream running about for some reason.

While people publicly debated over who was the second most powerful awaken in the city, Slipstream and Railgun never contested who was the better Awaken. If they did, it was never in public.

Interestingly enough was that the most powerful three Awaken in the city were an official Federation team. While rarely together, each one was suitably talented enough to handle most missions on their own. When bought together, the three of them could bring down any monster.

Slipstream was more vocal of his abilities than his teammates. His awaken ability was enhanced speed. He was fast enough to run 10 circles around the city within 2 hours. It was said that he once ran one end of the continent to the other end of the continent for a emergency run, all within a day.

And now the so-called fastest person was standing in front of Seth.

It looked like Slipstream wanted to get this over with. He was currently cracking his neck and doing a few arm stretches. He said “If you don’t know it already, then let me introduce myself. My name is Slipstream. I’m your tester for the day. Who are you?”

“My name is-”

Slipstream stopped him from continuing. “Yeah, you know what? Forget it. Your name doesn’t matter to me if you don’t pass my test. It’s a really simple test. You just have to land a hit on me. Easy right? Any questions?” Seth was about to speak but was cut off once again.

“I’ll take it as a no. You have 5 minutes. Sheila over there would be the judge. She has a timer and would watching as a second set of eyes.” Slipstream said and motion to Shelia still standing on the balcony. He continued “On your mark Sheila?”

Sheila nodded. “Are the both of you ready?”

Seth held his wooden sword in front of him. He stared at Slipstream who just stood there with his arm on the side. Slipstream raise one arm and gave a thumbs up. As each move would be fatal, Seth didn’t take his eyes off the well known Awaken. He held no illusion that he could be faster than the famous Awaken known for their speed. He just gave a small nod of confirmation which was seen by Sheila.

“Alright. On the count of three. 1...2...3. Start!”

Seth stood there, trying to observe Slipstream movement. It would be foolish to rush in front of a speedster. He would lose sight of him and then the match would be over before he knew it. Slipstream seem content to give Seth the first move as he just stood there.

Soon a minute passed. Then another.

Both fighters stood there facing each other. Seth gripped his sword while watching Slipstream. Slipstream stood there while looking extremely bored according to his body movement. He must have grown tired of waiting for Seth as he said “You know you’re not going to pass if you just stand there waiting. If you won't make a move then I will.” The next instant Slipstream body disappeared and-

BAM!

Seth felt a heavy blow of his right shoulder, sending him flying backwards a few feet. While he tried to adjust his stance, he was once again sent flying. Even though he had anticipated the hit, the sudden sensation of pain disoriented him which opened him for more blows.

And the blows kept coming. Some to the head. Some went to the sides and others went for his limbs. Seth was completely helpless against the onslaught of blows. He had tried to swing his sword, but he was interrupted by a punch before completing the swing. As if mocking him, the blow would always come in the opposite direction.

Against the rush of hits, there wasn’t much Seth could do. He performed what limited actions he could

He kept his eyes open.

He began to count between each hit.

And he endured.

1...2...Bam!

1...Bam!

1...2...Bam!

The pain was negligible. While each hit hurts, it was nothing compared to some of the training he had gone through. Dying multiple times in the mindscape had taught Seth the limits his body could endure, and this was not it. He was waiting for that one chance.

Seth just had to wait for a Slipstream to slip and that would be his chance for him to make the hit. Thankfully, the moment came sooner then he thought.

“Give up yet? I been going easy on you so far, but I'm gonna start hitting harder if you still want to go on,” Slipstream suddenly stopped and said. He appeared a good ten feet from Seth’s position. “You probably have another... two minutes to go?” Slipstream had looked at Sheila and got a nod of confirmation. “If you want another round of punishment, I'll be happy to give it to you. It just an awful waste of time though.”

Seth adjusted his body back to the same position he had started at the beginning of the test. His body was aching from all the hits, but that wasn’t enough to stop him. He gritted his teeth and said “Bring it.”

Slipstream could only sigh and said “Suit yourself. I won’t be responsible for any permanent damage.” After finishing his sentence, he once again disappeared.

Only this time Seth was ready for him. He swung his sword quickly downwards and met with only empty air. He felt movement to his side and quickly sung the sword to his left, only once again to be met with empty air. Before Seth had time to register his missed blows, Slipstream rewarded his efforts with a punch to the right of his stomach.

Seth could only grit his teeth and stand firm. He hadn’t been idle when Slipstream used him as a punching bag earlier. He was doing so to allow himself to adjust his eyes to Slipstream’s speed. It was all to analyze Slipstream’s moves and patterns.

Now Seth was beginning to catch a glimpse of it. HIs swing downwards was to maneuver Slipstream into dodging and putting him at a disadvantage. The second blow was a test. While Seth had predicted wrongly on which side Slipstream would hit next, he had been right that Slipstream would aim for his stomach. Now the third blow would be aiming for Seth’s head. With his sword in position, Seth instantly circulated his chi to his sword and used one of the few techniques he knew.

“Revolving Wheel.”