Death Frost | Deathsworn #2

Chapter 37 ❆ Black Flame vs. Lionheart

Maun's fight with Mushroom Soup took a while, and I zoned out unwittingly midway. Perhaps it was my anxiety about my upcoming fight interfering with my thought process, but things generally went the way I initially expected at the very least.

Only...of course, there were some surprises. I could see why Mushroom Soup managed to come this far. However, Maun was tenaciously adaptable. Though he was innocent and adorable in front of us, he unexpectedly turned bloodthirsty during his fights. I had yet to get used to this side of him.

At some point, I decided to keep my notebook away and spend the next few minutes sorting out my thoughts—meditating, more like it. I could tell the fight would be ending very soon, and then it would be my butt's turn to mop the floor.

"Suppressed until the very end! Mushroom Soup could not even get a head taller of an advantage against Silent Dragon! How domineering!"

As expected, when I opened my eyes, I saw Mushroom Soup lying on the floor calling for surrender. He trembled under Maun's intimidation and kicked his legs, trying to put a distance between himself and his opponent.

The medical team rushed forward for inspection of the candidates, and the monk called for the end of the match.

Mushroom's fear was natural. From start to finish, Maun had maintained the absolute advantage in the fight. He defended with ease and attacked with vigor. Mushroom Soup's mentality was incessantly corroded down during the fight. By the end of it all, he was convinced he had lost the fight even before it ended.

I sighed. "How monstrous," I muttered.

Half of Maun's talent! Half of Maun's skills! Even a measly tenth of his strength would be fine too! Then I would be able to wile away my hours carving and zoning out like he usually did!

I leaned on my chin and watched as the announcer declared Maun's win. I stretched my limbs, trying to ease the tension in my joints as well as straighten out the anxiety gnawing at my stomach.

I threw a gaze over my shoulder to look at my opponent.

Black Flame.

According to my estimates, my chances of winning against the guy should be at least thirty-five percent. That was already very high considering who I was up against, but I gave it a plus or minus five percent difference for accuracy since I had only seen him fight once—and that fight against Eren didn't last long enough, nor did it bring out a lot of what he could do.

Against a challenging opponent like Maun, he would be forced to reveal a lot of cards. When he fought Eren, he did not show his true capabilities. In fact, I suspected he only used a portion of his strength.

I researched the Gayden family during my free time and learned a lot about their exclusive technique through some information channels. I took the information with a grain of salt as I doubted their accuracy, but after cross-referencing facts, I came upon some consistent details that matched as well as supplemented my observations.

The Gaydens took pride in their legwork, as I had already previously observed. Their style was very much like Taekwondo. As for its name, it also was very uncreative—il Huell Gayden. Roughly, it was translated to Gayden Moves, or Gayden Style.

Like I said, uninspired.

Anyhow, this particular system of martial arts was deadly and had a very straightforward offense. Its pitfall would perhaps lie in its defense, which I could take advantage of later if the chance could present itself.

As Maun's victory was finalized, the crazed cheers of the audience reverberated once more. I could already imagine what sort of impression this guy had left on everyone already. With Maun's win, he had already clinched a spot in the Top Five. He had already consolidated his position as disciple.