Lost Origins: SS Ranked Awakening-Chapter 85: Trouble Maker

The loud beep gotten when the countdown hit zero was the spark needed to light the thick air of gunpowder in the arena.

All the recruits lunged towards their respective opponents.

Ethan and Gilkard were the same, rushing towards each other the moment the beep reached their ears, the roar of the crowd who were happy to finally see the action unfold accompanying them.

Midway to their collision at the center of the stage, Gillard flashed open his coat and performed a quick draw, revealing a long sword.

Ethan’s eyes flashed with a mysterious glint though, the smile on his face spreading further, but then Gillard, as if having sensed something, paused his attack mid way, and took a sudden side step making his attack look pointless.

Ethan, who had executed the counter he had in mind, felt his fist hitting nothing but air as Gillard had sidestepped even before he had made that maneuver.

Noting the silvery gloss over his eyes, Ethan frowned slightly.

"This is going to be tough!"

He muttered, suddenly dropping to the floor and performing a sweep, hoping to catch Gillard off guard.

Unfortunately, Gillard had seen through that too, jumping at the precise moment and using his landing momentum to send a heavy slap towards Ethan who had no choice but to block with his forearm, a solid piece of ice encasing it just when the crowd had hoped to see blood get spilled.

’There it is!’

A solemn expression was plastered on Kieran’s face as he watched carefully the movements of Gillard.

If one paid enough attention. It was easy to note how he changed the direction of his blade mid attack only to reposition in a more favorable position, landing a clear hit on Ethan who had been saved till now by his fast reflexes — a block of ice appearing at the last moment to block the attack.

’It seems similar to what August does, noting muscle movements. He’s pretty crafty’

Kieran observed how Gillard mademoves beforehand in the same manner as August.

So far, Ethan had tried several things: fients, self damage, taunts and so on, but it was as if Gillard couldn’t see all this, the silver shine in his eyes only grew brighter and the difference in the fight became larger.

It was starting to look like a repetition of most of the fights that had happened till now, ending in a sad fashion that only served to show the gap between ranks.

Kieran was so absorbed he didn’t notice the few glances Sabrina had thrown him while staring at the hologram images.

The note that leora had given him was a very detailed one, it even contained the powers of each person present there.

When Kieran had read through the description of Gillardd ability, he was beyond genuinely shocked, unable to close his mouth for a few moments.

It was surprising how someone with a broken ability like his wasn’t in the top 30 at least.

Another surprising thing he had discovered was how little Gillard used his ability. It was noted that Gillard rarely used his ability, mostly depending on his sword skills, tactics and his body which had been enhanced by being awakened.

The reason behind this was still unknown, but it was definitely one of the biggest reasons why he had been unable to rank up so far.

To see him use his ability so furiously against Ethan was something unexpected.

What was even more unexpected though, was Ethan’s attitude towards this flurry of attacks that he was slowly being burrowed under.

"Ah! So this is precognition?! It’s rather troublesome, but it’s useless for someone like you. Wasted!"

Ethan whispered into the ear of Gilkard who flinched, hearing his words, giving him the opportunity to get close and land his first solid punch of the match.

Gillard snapped back to reality after receiving the gut wrenching punch.

Despite being able go see a few seconds into the future. There were somethings that he just couldn’t dodge or counter no matter how much he tried.

That was how he felt as he faced Ethan. It was an odd and rather unsettling feeling. He could see what was going to happen a few seconds later, but he was barely able to avoid that future and counter attack.

It only became harder the longer his ability was in use and just now. He had been caught by Ethan who had just planted his fist solidly into his stomach.

Getting up from the ground, a somewhat tired sigh escaped his mouth as he dusted his clothes and rubbed several parts of his body while ignoring Ethan who was silently observing the show with his classic mischievous smile.

Looking at the silver coated eyes which stared back into his eyes with the same intensity. Gillard let out a small chuckle.

"I see, so that’s your ability? No wonder you were so confident"

"But then. Just that isn’t enough to defeat me!"

His voice echoed lightly, carried across by blowing as the wind as his eyes took on an intense shade. Now appearing gold, a small trail of blood appeared from the edge of his eyes.

"That’s more like it!"

Ethan said like a very fraud, the silver tint in his eyes also blazing up.

All of a sudden, their fight took a whole new turn.

A complicated dance that involved abrupt change of moves, countless moves and counters were made in a single step as they both tried to plan several steps ahead.

The battle had gone past who could see further in time, it was now a battle of skills. Gillard with his sword mastery honed over several losses and Ethan who had a rather ice mastery.

’He isn’t half bad either’

Kierans eyes flashed lightly and his grip on his scythe tightened, carefully watching the fight.

Not only were the two opponents very skilled, he had also gotten a rough idea of what Ethan’s ability could be.

’A copy? Wouldn’t have thought that of him’

Even after he had successfully copied Gilkards ability, he was still on the losing side.

Gillard was pushing his ability to the extreme, the gold shine in his eyes and the blood tears a sign of the strain he had to bear so he could see further.

"Sigh!"

Kieran’s eyes snapped to the side of the room where a small sigh had broken the silence, and he could spot Sabrina who had taken her eyes away from the fight, looking uninterested.

Liam’s eyes bore a faint look of disappointment, but it wasn’t towards Ethan’s figure, he was looking at Gillard who was currently panting, one of his eyes closed as he wondered how Ethan was still keeping up.

’How the hell is he still standing’

Gillard let out some deep huffs. He looked with his one open eye, at Ethan, who stood tall and confident, his smile still plastered on his bloodied face.

"Ugh!"

Another pained groan escaped Gillard’s mouth as he struggled to get into position, placing his shaky sword in front of him.

"Aren’t you tired? I understand why you don’t use this ability much, I don’t like it either"

Ethan swiped his fingers across his eyes.

Contrary to all the other reasons that had been formulated upon the rare use of his ability, Gillard didn’t use the ability because of its side effects.

Ethan knew that because he could feel it too.

The burns in his eyes, the faint cloud in his vision. They all became worse the more he used the ability, and the advanced effects could be seen on Gillard — the blood trailing from the edge of his eyes, he had even shut one of them completely.

Ethan had a feeling that eye had been blinded.

"Just because you copied my ability doesn’t mean you know anything about it!"

His words were voiced with anger and contempt, his unwillingness to accept Ethan’s character was evident as his already weak body shook more, his sword pointed at Ethan.

"Oh, that? I got the hang of that a while back!"

Ethan waved his hands slightly and his eyes suddenly glowed gold, seeing the disbelief on Gillard’s face.

Gillada’s eyes constricted and his sword fell through his loose hands, his body following behind as he came to his knees, unable to process what he had just seen.

"H-h-ho–"

Mumbles and broken fragments of words struggled to piece themselves together from Gillard’s mouth, but his mouth was just as incapable as his brain.

The deep silence in the waiting room was a huge contrast to the cheering sounds in the arena above.

Kieran was experiencing something different from what Gillard was going through. His hairs stood on end, goosebumps gracing his pale skin and a small tingle began to rush within him.

’He’s still as cocky as ever. I would have liked to have a conversation with whoever dishes out talent to people’

Sabrina pondered, glancing at the figure on stage who had several blood marks on his face, coupled with his smile and look in his eyes, making him look like someone with evil intentions.

And he was. An extremely talented trouble maker.

Liam on the other hand had furrowed brows, a small frown on his forehead as he thought to himself.

’When did he touch me?’

Sabrina, long having seen that the fight was in Ethan’s favour, was now observing the fight of the other notable recruit who had left along with Ethan.

Kieran observed as Ethan made his way off the stage, having won this match. It was evident that while Gillard could still maybe go for a few rounds, he had been crushed mentally, as he knelt there staring into space, the blood tears from his reddened eyes and slumped shoulder, completing the picture of defeat.