Sin and Dreli joined each other on stage. They were looking at each other with serious gazes. Dreli's look was more aggressive, his eyes hinting at hatred. Sin's was more calm. He was calculating how to go about this battle. That was the number one thing on his mind.
Dreli, on the other hand, had different thoughts: 'Even if his physical ability is high... he has no concept of a Spirit in his body. A 2 out of ten is trash. Bums in the street have those types of Spirits. With my Praying Mantis Spirit, I should easily have the far superior edge.'
Although Dreli did not like Sin whatsoever and wanted to punish the annoying bastard, he was still forced to think more logically than normal in this situation.
Despite what others might have thought, he wasn't a fool. After all, he had gotten to where he was through what he deemed to be his own hard work and smart thinking. He knew that Sin's slightly higher-than-normal physical prowess was something he was going to have to look out for.
"Begin!" Bao didn't waste any time, starting the match mere seconds after the two opponents entered the fighting platform.
The crowd of examinees looked on with intrigue as the two faced off against each other. The tension in the air was higher than that of the other contestants.
After all, these two had gone at it with each other before.
Many in the crowd—knowing they had failed the exam—were devastated and weren't paying attention. But the rest looked on with eyes peeled.
Sin didn't move at the start of the match. He wanted to lure out Dreli's bug since he knew that was the only power the young noble had.
'My best chance to win is to quickly take care of that mantis. If I do so, the rest of the fight will be a cakewalk. I just hope Dreli doesn't see that as well though.'
To taunt Dreli, Sin made a snarky remark: "Come on, pull out your bug already!"
Dreli furrowed his brows, 'Is he stupid? Does he not know that me fighting without my bug is his best opportunity to win? Yet, he wants me to use my strongest card outright. He'd probably call it bravery... I'd call it stupidity!' He thought to himself, blurting out:
"You want to lose that quickly? Come on then!" He clapped his hands together, summoning the Praying Mantis Spirit in front of him.
'What a fool...'
Both Dreli and Sin had this thought at the same time.
There was a clear miscommunication between the two, but both seemed to be happy with where they stood.
Sin took a second to quickly survey the giant bug in front of him. It was scarier up close in person than what he had previously imagined.
But this was to be expected. After all, who wouldn't be terrified of a massive insect with beady red eyes, a slimy snout of a mouth, and serrated blades attached to its hands?
Still, Sin wasn't actually that freaked out by its appearance. He was used to stuff like this, living in a forest for so long.
'The only problem is those blades. If they gash me, even Healing Bug won't do shit. I'll be killed on the spot. It's against the rules, but I doubt this idiot cares about that right now.' Sin thought to himself.
The mantis suddenly lunged forward—its hind legs propelling like two giant springs.
'It's fast.' Sin thought as the mantis appeared in front of his face.
The bug swiped from the side at Sin's face, aiming to slash straight through it. Sin leaned back 180 degrees, holding himself up on his hamstrings.
He jumped back, 'Not bad. It's not as fast as I thought it would be.' He began to sprint around the stage toward where Dreli was.
"Wanting to close distance huh?" Dreli said, jumping to the middle of the stage. His praying mantis moved in front of him, guarding all around him as Sin continued to circle the two.
"You won't find an opening. And you sure as hell aren't beating my Praying Mantis Spirit." Dreli grinned, his confidence now soaring due to that last encounter.
'He actually isn't even trying to fight my mantis. It seems he got scared because he was almost hit. If he can't beat my mantis, then this is my win!'
"You might as well give up now!" Dreli chuckled with wide, almost crazed-looking eyes.
Sin scoffed through his nose, not taking the bloke seriously. 'He thinks he's my target?' Sin thought, but then he had a sudden idea: 'If that's the case, I'll use him as my bait.'
He sprinted at Dreli out of nowhere, balling his fist as tight as possible and throwing a punch at the noble's face.
"Nope!" Dreli yelled, controlling his mantis to block his front. The mantis made an X shape with its claws, creating a temporary shield.
'Nice...' Sin mused as his punch landed right on top of the mantis' claws with a hefty impact.
"Hahaha! You have to try harder than that if you want to hit me!" Dreli said, amused at his dominating performance.
"You fool." Sin said in a low tone at that moment.
A loud cracking noise sounded as the mantis' exoskeleton around its arms suddenly shattered into pieces—revealing the white flesh underneath.
"Who said you were my target?"
Dreli immediately stopped smiling, "W-what?"
He was flustered, 'He used that opportunity to attack my mantis? And even in its defensive stance, its armor was broken through with ease. This guy's strength... it's actually on another level. I can't afford to take this lightly any longer.' He realized.
"Tsk... screw this shit! Just die!" He pushed his hand forward.
As soon as he did this, his mantis jumped at Sin with a flurry of slashes.
Sin moved backward as fast as he could while side-stepping these strikes. A few loose attacks slightly scratched his arms and shoulders, but nothing Healing Bug couldn't handle.
'It looks like he's decided to go all out now and not give me a chance. At least I got a free hit in before this...' Sin thought to himself as he tried his best to block and dodge the mantis' attacks.
'This mantis is overall weaker than me. However, due to its high Spirit Energy, it's able to release bursts of strength that rival mine. And since its body is made of literal blades, I can't do much to defend.'
He continued to dodge, 'But... in these bursts of attacks, there are a few openings.'
As soon as he said this to himself, he noticed the mantis' hand retract slightly slower than the other times.
It exposed its chest, giving Sin a cue to punch with full force.
Sin didn't hesitate for even a second at this cue, throwing an overhand right into the chest of the mantis.