Lukas leapt back, but Morgana didn’t let him have the space he wanted, leaping after him.

She slashed, and he brought his sword up to block the attack.

The impact slammed into his sword, sending reverberations through his arms.

Her strength sent him stumbling backward, and before he could recover, she pulled her arm back, slashing at him again.

This time, he didn’t bother blocking it. He’d already felt her strength and knew to keep blocking her attacks was basically setting himself up for failure.

He twisted his blade as he stepped to the side, parrying her attack.

As her sword slid off his own, he turned the motion into a slash, his sword flashing towards her ribs.

She saw the attack, shifted her body clear of the blade.

In that same instant, her leg snapped forward into a kick, targeting the back of his knee.

He tried to move, but he was not fast enough.

The kick slammed into his knee, the force sending him down to one knee.

He gritted his teeth, swiftly bringing his sword up as Morgana attacked again, this time bringing her sword blade down from above in a heavy, two-handed swing.

Clang!

The swords met and sparks scattered from the contact.

The stone beneath his planted knee shattered around him from the force of the attack.

Morgana pressed against his sword with her strength, the force working against him. He could feel his arms slowly beginning to give.

Their eyes met and he could see the frown on her face.

"Why are you hiding your strength?" she asked, her voice quiet. "This wasn’t what I expected from you."

He said nothing, his jaw clenched as he focused on resisting her pressure.

She studied him for a moment from above the crossed blades, then she exhaled.

"Fine." She pulled back, creating a half-step of space between them.

Something changed about her as her eyes darkened. She now radiated a very dangerous aura.

"I won’t hold back anymore."

Vines erupted from the stone floor in a wide ring around him, trying to ensnare him.

Lukas immediately leapt into the air before they could close around him, but Morgana had predicted his action.

She swung towards him, and as he blocked it, the force of the attack sent him flying backwards through the air.

As he twisted in the air, he activated [Smite].

The pillar of light descended immediately.

Morgana’s vines surged upwards around her, absorbing the attack, and she dove out from the protection, dashing towards him.

As he flipped through the air, Lukas called up his status screen. His eyes immediately found the remaining toggles on his stats and he mentally switched them off.

Ding!

[Stats:]

[Strength: 4953]

[Agility: 4285]

[Constitution: 4739]

[Mana: 5994]

Immediately, strength flooded back into his muscles.

He could feel his bones grow denser as his stats were unlocked.

Before, it had felt like he was moving through water, but now, everything was operating at full capacity.

The world around him slowed down as his perception sped up, and it felt comfortable. Like he was returning home after a long journey.

He immediately flipped right before he landed, slamming into the ground feet first.

As he skidded backwards, he dug his heels into the stone floor, cracking it before slowing to a stop.

He straightened just as Morgana arrived before him.

Her sword raced forward and he lifted his own, blocking the attack with ease.

Clang!

This time, the attack didn’t even rattle him. Rather, the vibration from the impact raced up Morgana’s arms as their swords locked together.

He felt her surprise in the slight change of pressure on their crossed blades.

He grinned, and shoved.

She stumbled back, digging her heels in to stop the movement.

Now, he was the stronger one.

He closed the distance and swung with his full strength behind it.

Their swords met, and both blades shattered at the same time.

The ordinary steel was no longer able to absorb the combined force of both fighters no longer holding anything back.

The cracks that had been widening from their earlier clash fragmented, scattering across the arena.

Even with the broken swords, the impact carried enough force to send Morgana flying.

She flew through the air, bouncing twice before she twisted, slamming her feet on the ground, then sliding to a stop.

She looked down at her hand, unable to believe her eyes. The force had even knocked the sword hilt out of her hands.

She looked up to see Lukas staring at the broken sword in his hand, tilting his head before tossing it over his shoulder.

The moment he looked up at Morgana, she pointed directly at him, and activated her second skill. "Descend!"

Immediately, a bolt of lightning dropped from above with no warning.

There was no visible change in the sky above, just a flash, then the lightning slammed into Lukas.

The impact drove him down to his knees, the electricity tearing through his body and locking his muscles in pain.

A strangled yell emerged from his throat as the pain filled him, his teeth clenched hard enough for it to ache.

A few seconds later, the bolt dissipated, electricity flickering erratically on his body.

The crowd held their breath as smoke rose from his arms and shoulders.

The stone under him had been scorched black by the attack, and everyone expected this was the end for him.

But beneath the gaze of everyone, Lukas exhaled, then smoothly rose to his feet. He didn’t even stagger, and apart from his scorched clothes and frizzled hair, one wouldn’t be able to tell that he’d just been struck by lightning.

What others didn’t know was that Lukas’ constitution was strong enough for him to tank this attack from an Awakener.

Even as he was being burnt by the lightning, his constitution was constantly working to keep his body from being affected more than it already was.

He raised his head to look at Morgana, then a small smile appeared on his face.

Across the arena, Morgana stared at him in shock.

She’d activated her strongest offensive skill, and it had resulted in a direct hit.

So how was he still standing?

Why did he even seem stronger than before?

She raised her guard as before her very eyes, Lukas took a step forward.

Then blurred.