—Bang!

A deafening sound resonated as their weapons collided.

Retrieving their respective weapons, they swung them once again.

—Bang!

With a loud bang, they engaged in a fierce exchange of blows for several minutes.

—Bang! —Bang! —Bang!

Learning from his previous experience, Adrian thought that initiating an attack was not the wisest choice.

This time, he opted to patiently wait for an opportunity to strike.

Felicia thrust her bow at Adrian's head, but he parried it away and swept his leg towards her abdomen.

With quick reflexes, Felicia spun to the side and maneuvered behind Adrian's back then promptly wrapped her arms around his neck once more.

Not wanting to fall into the same pit, Adrian drove his sword into the ground and encircled Felicia's head with his arms.

Bending his body forward, Adrian propelled Felicia upward to pass above him then forcefully slammed her down to the floor with all his might.

"Ugh!"

Blood spurted from her mouth upon impact with the ground.

Without hesitation, Adrian swiftly bent his elbow and dropped himself on top of her.

However, just in the nick of time, Felicia skillfully rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding it.

Ceasing her rolling, Felicia drew three bolts from her quiver and fired them toward Adrian who had just risen to his feet.

Adrian freed his sword from the floor and deftly thwarted them.

—Boom! —Boom! —Boom!

The ground erupted, billowing a fog of dirt and rubble into the air.

As the wind blades abruptly emerged from the clouds of dust and flew in her direction, Felicia fired another volley of arrows to block them.

—Boom! —Boom! —Boom!

A deafening roar of explosions occurred as the two forces clashed in the air, dispersing white smoke to the surroundings.

Sensing something rushing in her way, Felicia stopped firing and immediately swung his bow.

—Bang!

Her bow collided with Adrian's sword which suddenly appeared behind the mist.

Retrieving her weapon, Felicia thrust her bow but Adrian tilted his head and caught it before she could pull it back.

Seizing the opportunity, Adrian brandished his sword, yet Felicia skillfully caught his wrist.

Lifting her left leg, she launched a kick toward the boy's abdomen.

—Whack!

Felicia's eyes widened in surprise as Adrian's kick landed faster on her right leg instead of her kick, causing her to lose balance and fall on her back.

"Agh!"

A groan escaped her lips as intense pain shot through her back—it seemed that a few of her ribs had been broken.

Wasting no more time, Adrian jabbed the weapons in his hands, but Felicia who was lying on the ground raised both of her legs and struck Adrian's head, sending him stumbling to the rear.

Taking the advantage, Felicia stood upright and jumped toward the boy with a fist poised to attack.

Quickly stabilizing himself, Adrian lifted the bow and placed it in front of him.

As it was too late to cease her attack, her fist connected with the bow.

—Crack!

It broke in half and Adrian tilted his head sideways to avoid the bulldozing punch.

Grasping the moment, Adrian slashed his blade horizontally, yet Felicia effortlessly grabbed his wrist and twisted it, resulting in his sword falling.

Ignoring the pain, Adrian waved the broken bow but Felicia thwarted it downward.

She swiftly swung his body to the side and delivered a kick at Adrian's right flank, making him staggering backward.

Felicia picked up the sword and threw it outside the arena.

Since Adrian excelled in martial arts like her, it would be best to fight barehanded instead of fighting him with a sword that she only knew the basics.

Couldn't afford to lose any more time, Felicia dashed and jumped toward him with her fist poised to attack.

Adrian balled his fists and parried her strike with his arm.

—Whack!

Another punch charged toward his other side and Adrian pushed it away.

—Whack!

Sensing a force coming from the bottom aiming for his chin, Adrian bent his back backward, avoiding the blow at hairbreadth.

Quickly reacting, Felicia swept her leg horizontally, forcing Adrian to do a backflip backward.

Landing perfectly on the ground, Adrian immediately assumed a guard stance.

Unexpectedly, Felicia who stood not too far away from him let out a chuckle.

"I don't know if you're skilled in martial arts as well."

Felicia remarked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

The fact that Adrian was an Elementalist, surprised her more.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

The boy replied with a monotone tone.

"It is a compliment."

After a brief silence, she continued.

"Shall we end this, then?"I think you should take a look at

"Yeah."

Adrian nodded in agreement.

With that, both of them lunged toward each other and Felicia shot her fist toward Adrian's head but he quickly ducked and immediately took a step back as Felicia's kick came in.

However, Felicia's kick did not stop.

Right after her foot touched the ground, Felicia spun before launching another kick, and Adrian immediately blocked it with his arm.

—Whack!

Putting her leg down, she delivered a punch, but Adrian caught it.

Underrated, Felicia shot her other hand which ended the same fate.

As they were strained against each other, in a swift motion, Adrian let one of the grips and twirled Felicia toward him.

The moment her back landed on his chest, Adrian quickly wrapped his other hand around her neck.

But before he could tighten it, Felicia used her free hand to push his arm upward, enabling her to slip away from his grasp.

Veering around to make them face-to-face, Felicia pulled the hand that was still clutching her arm and once Adrian was a few centimeters away, she lifted her knee and launched several kicks at his abdomen.

—Whack! —Whack! —Whack!

"Urg!"

Saliva jumped out of his mouth and a tingling sensation began to spread.

Dismissing the agony, Adrian hugged Felicia's waist tightly and pushed her backward, forcing Felicia to stop her kicking and use her elbows to strike Adrian's back as Adrian bulldozed her backward.

—Whack! —Whack! —Whack!

Putting more strength into his grasp, Adrian then lifted her upward, propelling her past above before slamming her down to the floor.

—Crack!

Felicia could hear a cracking sound within her; her ribs doubtlessly broke once again.

"Urk!"

Blood sprayed from her mouth into the air upon forcefully landing on the ground.

Intense pain surged through her body, leaving Felicia momentarily dazed.

Taking advantage of it, Adrian mounted her and balls his fist.

Wasting no more time, Adrian lunged a punch, however before it could connect to Felicia's cheeks, he opened his mouth.

"I'm sorry."historical

With that, Adrian resumed his strike.

—Whack! —Whack! —Whack!

'Who cares if she's a woman?'

This was a duel and he simply did what he must do.

—Whack! —Whack! —Whack!

Blood streamed from Felicia's battered face as each punch landed with brutal force.

—Whack! —Whack! —Whack!

Regaining her consciousness and summoning every ounce of her strength, Felicia caught Adrian's fists one after another.

Abruptly raising her upper body upward, Felicia struck Adrian's head with hers.

—Whack!

The moment his body was flung backward, Felicia immediately grabbed Adrian's collar, making her body lift as he fell to the ground.

And as their position was now switched, Felicia clutched her fist and hurtled it toward Adrian's face, however before it could connect—

—Piii.

The whistle sound resounded through the arena, marking the end of the duel session.

Unclutching her hand, Felicia let her body fall onto Adrian's body.

Soon, a chuckle was heard followed by Felicia's voice.

"You are the first one to punch me in the face."

"I'm sorry?"

Moving to the side to get off from his body, Felicia soon shook her head.

"No, you don't have to. I'm glad, someone treats me equally."

Despite her face full of bruises, Felicia offered him a warm smile.

Adrian aroused and extended his hand.

Felicia smiled and received it.

"Thank you."

Adrian nodded in acknowledgment.

Soon, the domes around the area slid down and they descended from the arena, which was immediately guided by staff toward the nearest medical tent.

As Adrian only received a minor injury, he bid Felicia farewell and made his way toward the arena exit.

However, Adrian was taken aback when he noticed an unexpected creature with lilac hair standing near the arena exit.

She had a foolishly cheerful smile on her face and held a white towel in her hands.

This sight caused Adrian to abruptly stop in his tracks.

"Tsk."

Adrian couldn't help but click his tongue in annoyance.

'What the hell is that little girl doing here?'