Chapter 139: Elric vs. Claudio

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"...wait! You sensed it?"

Chrissy exclaimed in surprise after learning about Cedric's comments during her match.

It had been known that aside from hanging out and having a good time, Chrissy and Erica don't really involve him in their training, much less talk about it. This meant that Cedric learned that much just from sheer observation because they didn't tell him anything about their prowess.

Sure, Cedric could've done some research about them. After all, they have public profiles that give out certain, but not all, information about them. However, with the time they've spent with him, they know that Cedric isn't like that.

He's focused on his personal growth and would only do that towards an opponent, the girls aren't one so he wouldn't do something like that.

Which essentially meant that Cedric really did discern all of this just by observing the match.

"I could've sworn that the concoction was invisible to the senses. Even I have to be careful of handling it. Turns out that it wasn't..." Chrissy pouted.

"It actually was, you know?" Francis interjected. "Hell, if he didn't point it out, we would never know. And that's saying a lot since our Tier level's fairly even and he's just Tier 3...no offense, by the way."

His last words were for Cedric who just waved his hand. Cedric then turned to Chirssy and said:

"He's right. It's barely noticeable."

"But you still sensed it, though?"

"More like smelled it, actually." Cedric replied sheepishly.

"Smelled it?" Chrissy was gobsmacked. "From all the way here?"

"Mn. I told you my senses are sharper than most." Cedric shrugged.

"You sure have..." Chrissy hummed, "That's fairly obvious from how you performed during the Entrance Exam. I just wasn't expecting it to be that sharp. I thought you were saying that on the basis of your Tier...like your senses are sharper than most Tier 3s out there, that's how I understood it. I didn't expect that you were actually referring to people in general, regardless of Tiers."

Cedric just smiled and refused to comment. Inwardly, he thought that this wasn't really a place to discuss this because he wanted to keep low-profiled. That's why he isn't saying anything.

Chrissy may or may not have sensed this, but she did change the subject: "What did it smell like then? My concoction, I mean."

"Sharp mint." He said, scrunching his nose a bit. "Like, really sharp mint, the kind that hurts your nose."

"You see, Claudio's socially inept. He was raised by extreme traditionalists from what I heard, you know, the toxic patriarchy shit? That one. I heard fought his way to adulthood and had no time to develop social skills. It's only when he's about to get enrolled here that he learned some, even during our freshmen year, he had to take a course that teaches him how to act like a human."

Cedric blinked upon hearing that. He knows that Chrissy is trapping him in this gossip but makes no effort to resist it. It's not that harmful, anyway.

"Since fighting is all he knows, Claudio uses it to convey his feelings to Captain. Like a unique way of courting, if you catch my drift. Unfortunately for him, Captain was raised normally so he doesn't get it. In his mind, Captain Elric thinks that this dude was just nuts, and if it weren't for the resources, he wouldn't get close, much less talk, to Claudio." Chrissy giggled after saying this.

"And you didn't bother informing your captain of this...assumption of yours?" Cedric asked her.

"Why would I?" Chrissy laughed crisply at his question. "If I did, I would lose some source of gossip and entertainment. How do you expect me to live without that?"

"..."

"I actually think it's cute, you know?" She said softly, "It's like I'm witnessing a budding romance. Like a live-action 'enemies-to-lovers' trope. Seriously, it's so good."

Cedric shook his head in exasperation and placed his attention back on the arena. He decided to leave Chrissy to her imagination since it had nothing to do with him plus it's harmless.

At the stage, Elric and Claudio glared at each other. Their competitive spirits rousing from slumber.

Elric was clad in his heavy armor. He held a hammer on his right hand and a shield on the left. Meanwhile, Claudio was wearing animal leather as his armor, his headgear was the skinned remains of a bear that looked alive. His massive club rested on his shoulders as he matched Elric's energy.

As the countdown came close to ending, their fighting spirit rose.

Elric's aura was like a mountain; tall, intimidating, and extremely heavy. Even as he merely stood there, he could feel the sheer momentum he had and his immovable stance.

Claudio's on the other hand felt uncontrolled and wild. Like an awakened beast from the very depths of the forest leaving its nest to hunt some prey. Claudio's entire body was doused with killing intent that was almost manifesting in reality. It smelled like blood and death.

'3...2...1! Fight!'

BOOOM!

Both of them disappeared from Cedric's view with how fast they moved. He only saw their weapons making contact briefly before a shockwave caused the arena to cave in. They clashed numerous times within a second and Cedric's senses couldn't keep up at all.

He could, however, feel the aftermath of their clash because even with the many formations protecting the audience, the aftershocks of their clash still seep out.

Cedric's eyes widened and his heart lurched. He knew that if he were to receive at least one of those blows, he'd be dead. Yet even with that in mind, he could feel excitement and thrill watching the fight, even though he couldn't keep up for the most part.

'Huh, so this is what a Tier 9 fight looks like.'