Chapter 96 Mako Vs Leon (Part 2)

"AHHHH!!!!" Leon's scream erupted from within the pillar of flames as it was clear that the fire was doing damage to him.

A couple of seconds later, the time duration for the skill had elapsed and the fire stopped erupting from the ground. The ten-meter circle was completely blackened from the intense flames and in its center, Leon could be seen collapsed on one knee and breathing in and out heavily.

Steam could be seen rising from his skin and there were minor burn marks on his body, but it didn't seem to do the same amount of damage as before.

"You won't get me with the same move twice!" Leon shouted as he tried to stand up on his legs once again.

Mako was amazed that Leon was able to still stand after that move. This was the move that Mako had used to finish Leon and at that time it was only a level 1. With further training, Mako was able to elevate the flame pillar to level 3.

Yet, Leon seemed to still have some fight in him. It still did some serious damage and Leon had to take a couple of minutes to recover. Mako used this opportunity as well to recover and devise a strategy against this stronger Leon.

'It has been a while since I analyzed you, let me see how far you have come,' Mako said in his thoughts as he activated his most versatile and important skill.

[Analyze]

[Profile: Leon Czolgosz] (Unconscious)

[Ability: Speed (Level 4), Hardening (Level 2), Earth (Level 3)] ⓘ

[Health: 99/170] ⓘ

[Energy: 438/780] ⓘ

[Strength: 15] ⓘ

[Agility: 45] ⓘ

[Perception: 22] ⓘ

[Intelligence: 8] ⓘ

[Mentality: 30] ⓘ

[Stamina: 18] ⓘ

[Charisma: 5] ⓘ

[Fortitude: 30] ⓘ

Mako was shocked to see how different Leon's character sheet looked compared to when he analyzed him during the tournament. It seemed like Paul had given him everything that he could learn to prepare for the recruitment test.

Leon's agility and fortitude were massively improved compared to the last time while he had improved decently in perception and strength.

Leon's obvious jump in abilities was most likely the result of his new abilities. Hardening gave him increased defense which he used to absorb Mako's attacks and keep the damage received to a minimum. Even the flame pillar couldn't completely defeat him and it was likely because of a skill related to hardening which gave him elemental or specifically fire resistance.

What Mako didn't understand was why hadn't Leon used his earth ability at all during this fight. It could have come in handy in many of their previous encounters, but Leon choose not to reveal his ability.

As the last of the steam finally seeped off Leon's body, Mako was still trying to come up with a plan when suddenly, Leon dashed forward at top speed with his fist out ready to squash Mako's face.

"Huh!?" Mako exclaimed as he was confused. 'How could he have recovered so quickly?' He thought.

Nonetheless, the first approached Mako quickly and was mere centimeters away from connecting when Mako, disappeared right in front of him.

'Damn it! he tricked me again!' Leon said in his thoughts as he fell prey to the phantom shift one more time, saving Mako just in the nick of time.

[Dash has been activated]

Mako used his top speed to quickly create some distance between himself and Leon, but Leon was quick to react as he used his speed ability to keep on Mako's trail. The fight soon began a speed battle with both fighters racing across the cave, while also exchanging punches at random intervals.

The high-intensity speed battle was Leon's home turf but it was proving difficult for Mako to keep up. He had to reactivate the dash skill every ten seconds in order to barely compete with Leon. It was true that Mako was the stronger one in terms of brute force, but Leon's hardening gave him the edge as he could withstand the constant barrage of punches and kicks.

Both boys showed a great level of skill as they continue to clash head-on using everything they got.

'This isn't good! I am spending way more energy than him and if this keeps up, my bigger energy pool advantage would be gone!' Mako strategized whilst countering Leon's punches.

'I have to break free, somehow!' Mako said in his thoughts as he settled on a plan.

[Phantom Punch has been activated]

Mako's arm phased just a bit as Mako used his very first skill. However, Leon didn't fall for the afterimage and instead raised his left arm to block the incoming punch. The punch was successfully blocked and Leon grabbed a hold of Mako's fist.

"Not so fast! I can read your moves, so there is no use in trying!" Leon taunted as he held Mako's fist.

'His perception is just barely high enough to see my phantom moves. However, they do still work sometimes. It seems that if he isn't concentrating to his fullest, he can't read them!' Mako theorized.

"What's wrong!? All tuckered out?" Leon taunted while panting. The long fight was taking a toll on his body. His stamina was starting to fail him.

*HIYAAHH!*

[Phantom Punch has been activated]

[Phantom Punch has been activated]

[Phantom Kick has been activated]

[...]

Mako switched up his tactic completely as he began his assault by only using phantom moves one after another. Mako's entire body began to phase slightly as multiple phantom moves were activated all at once.

Leon was able to keep up in the beginning, dodging the incoming attacks and countering them effectively; however, his accuracy began to drop quickly as he started getting hit more and more.

Punch after punch after kick. Soon Leon had become completely overwhelmed by Mako's barrage of phantom moves. The phantom moves were one of the least costly skills as they didn't really didn't have a huge effect on the energy pool even after continuous spamming.

Both Mako and Leon were reaching their limits. Leon was starting to run low on energy and stamina while Mako had suffered more of a beating and was hurt more.

After exchanging one last punch, both boys threw out another punch which connected with the other's face simultaneously, launching them both back a few feet.

"Alright, that's enough!" Bill shouted from atop the boulder. "You two have worn yourselves out too much already. At this rate, you won't recover till morning. Call it off now and recover!"

There was a slight pause between the two of them as they stared at each other; huffing and panting like crazy.

"No way! We both have come so far, I can't let it end like this. We need to decide on a winner. Are you with me!?" Leon shouted as he refused Bill's advice and then turned to Mako to ask whether he wanted to continue or not.

'He's right! He has come so far and worked so hard to finally defeat me. I can't let it end on an unsatisfactory finish!' Mako said in his thoughts as he also came to a decision.

"I am not backing out now! Trust me, I will win this duel for sure!" Mako replied.

"Heh! Keep dreaming!" Leon taunted as he took on his earlier stance.

Mako's hands erupted in flames as he took on his own stance, however, it was different from before as he only had one hand forward while the other was behind his back.

'Is he trying to mock me!? I will show him!!' Leon thought as he became angered by the new stance and charged in at top speed.

Leon was moving so fast that afterimages were forming behind him creating a streak. His fist began to glow the same way his feet glowed when he was condensing his energy into it for a big boost.

Mako stayed in his position as he only widened his stance by separating his feet further apart.

[Motion Sense has been activated]

Leon approached Mako with super speed as his final attack was sure to cause some damage.

'Add all remaining Attribute points to Agility' Mako commanded the system.

[20 attribute Points have been added to Agility]

[Agility has been elevated to 40]

'I hope this is enough!' Mako said as Leon was only a couple of feet away.

Time slowed down, all sounds came to a stop. Mako could hear his own breathing... he could hear his heartbeat... he could feel the blood pumping through his veins at high speeds.

Suddenly a glowing fist appeared in front of his vision. It was moving toward him with great intensity and fury.

*WHOOSH!*

Leon's punch blasted forward creating such a powerful force that a jet of wind erupted from his fist that carried the shockwave forward.

However, there was no sign of Mako. Mako was not hit by the punch as it blasted the cave wall behind creating a giant crater; several meters deep.

Leon was so confused as to what had happened. Where did Mako go? How was he able to dodge his most powerful attack?

"Down here!" Mako shouted.

"Huh?" Leon looked down and could see Mako had performed a near-perfect split and avoided the punch that just grazed his air. His hands were not covered in flames anymore; instead, they were crackling with lightning.

Leon had fallen victim to tunnel vision as he could barely observe his surroundings. He was so focused on his final attack that he could notice Mako ducking down just in the nick of time to dodge the incoming attack.

"That was a good attempt! But now, it's over!" Mako shouted as he released all the built-up lightning from his hands.

[Lightning Strike has been activated]