To Samuel’s surprise, a faint layer of green coalesced around Zack’s hand. Rubbing his eyes, Samuel confirmed the scene before him wasn’t an illusion.

‘M-magic?! So what I sensed earlier wasn’t a mistake after all? But… how? And is that even allowed?’ Samuel thought, stunned.

The next moment, he snapped out of it, realising he had to take action. But, with Zack being close enough to make dodging virtually impossible, it forced him into gritting his teeth as he braced for impact.

“Gale Palm!” Zack shouted at the end of his incantation as a wave of pressure slammed into Samuel.

A wave of air washed out, sweeping along everything along it. Brushing past Samuel, the wave pushed against him, flinging him back. In response, Samuel curled his body midair, reducing the effect to a minimum, barely landing a few metres from the boundary.

‘That was close…’ His heart chilled as he looked back.

When he looked back at his front, he saw Zack holding a crystal in his hands, the crustal emitting a flickering dull glow tinged with occasional faint shades of green and red.

‘Beast core! That’s a beast core! But… But why would he have one? And where…’

“Where did you get that from?” Samuel voiced out his query. A moment after, a recent incident flashed past his head, turning his eyes wide once more as he shouted, “Wait—! Is that from—”

“Yes, what you’re thinking is probably right.” Zack cut him off before he could complete. “It’s from that direwolf we fought — got beaten to half death by. Maybe the person who defeated that direwolf forgot to take it. I don’t know. I just found it while walking outside the next day. And since then, I have had a plan to get me the victory.”

“But isn’t the use of magic forbidden? And you know that the beast core can be considered a weapon, right?”

“About that…” Zack scratched his cheek awkwardly while looking away. “You know the rules said that only you can’t use Ki Arts and Magic. And it doesn’t say anything about what I can and can’t do. As for weapons, there’s no mention whatsoever.”

Samuel blinked, falling into silence.

Opposite to him, Zack watched him, not letting his guard down even once as he tried to calm his breath and fight back his exhaustion.

“That old coot! Damn him!” Samuel bellowed, annoyance flooding his expression. He looked up to see Zack making full use of the opportunity to prepare himself for the struggle to victory. He raised his fist to go give the boy a trashing.

However, in the next instant, he lowered his hand, looking at him silently.

“W-what happened? Why’re you hesitating?”

Samuel’s expression flickered as he said, “I just don’t want to stop you from going due to me.”

“Heh,” Zack chuckled. “Do you really think your old man is so dumb? Just think about it, if he didn’t want to send from the start, he could’ve flatly rejected and save a lot of trouble. Besides, at this point, you can not stop me.”

“Hahaha! You sure? Don’t you think you’re getting ahead of yourself? What if I get there and show you a thing or two?” Samuel’s heart lightened after the realisation struck as a laugh leaked out of his mouth. He took in a deep breath to calm himself down before continuing, “Seriously, you’re too smart for your own good. And then, why are you still so hellbent on fighting if you knew you’ll be going as well?”

Zack shrugged before explaining, “First off, the final decision isn’t Uncle’s as far as I have speculated. Second, if I can’t even defeat you, I can’t do what I aim to. Putting all the small talk aside, come at me.”

“You asked for it.” Samuel said before charging.

As a punch descended down towards his shoulder, Zack sidestepped as he said, “You’re open.”

His left hand struck out, aiming for Samuel’s elbow. However, Samuel moved his hand downwards before using his elbow to clasp Zack’s hand. Next, he pulled Zack inward while using his leg to throw the black-haired boy off-balance, rendering him incapable of resistance as Samuel flung the boy out towards the boundary, like a sack of vegetables being thrown to the cart after a farmer’s hard day’s work.

“Tch!” Zack clicked his tongue as he twisted in midair, landing feet first. With his feet digging into the ground, he barely stopped before he crossed the boundary.

Samuel smirked as he replied to the boy’s earlier words, “Immature.”

“Huh?” Zack blinked, confused.

Samuel rolled his eyes as he charged at Zack, “That was for what you did earlier. And…” He fiercely punched at Zack’s chest, almost forcing him outside the boundary. He spoke, “This is for earlier as well. Hope you like it!”

He unleashed a flurry of punches, giving Zack no room to breathe. Zack rolled to the side as he evaded the incoming fists. Regaining his footing, he swiftly countered.

Blocking his blow, Samuel grabbed his wrist, pinning Zack down to the ground.

Zack’s brow furrowed as his expression dimmed. With a wry smile, he asked, “Did you even try your best in the last few days? Answer me truthfully.”

“Only once, when I got a little too careless to fight properly and was about to lose.” Samuel spoke solemnly.

“I see,” Zack spoke as he sucked in a deep breath. He pushed Samuel off before pinning him down and reversing the situation.

Gritting his teeth, he muttered under his breath while his other hand went into his pocket, gripping a faintly glowing stone. Following a muffled cracking sound from his pocket, a yellow hue formed around Zack’s hands.

“The men fight above and the ground trembles beneath. It shivers and cries, hiding a tempest underneath. Through the cracking rocks, it unleashes its roar. Wrath it unleashes pulls down even the birds that soar. All the men above can do is gawk.”

Zack’s fist headed straight at Samuel’s chest, with no hesitation whatsoever.

“SEISMIC SHOCK!”