Chapter 52
Lucas had never cared much for big Events, like New Year's parties and celebrations.
To him, they always seemed like boring gatherings where people tried to hide their disappointments about the past year and made empty promises for the next one.
The truth was, Lucas believed in focusing on the present moment more than anything else.
After all, the present is the only time a person can truly change.
The past is already gone, and the future is always unknown.
But today—this very day—is something you can shape with your own hands.
Because of this, he did not care about the recent Festival Event at all.
Instead, he loved simply spending quiet time with Mia, Tracy, Nora, and Nora's parents.
Those peaceful moments meant a lot to him, especially since he often spent months with little sleep, his mind restless, before finally finding calm.
Now, however, it was time to focus. Lucas needed to grow stronger.
His first big goal was to understand and copy the fighting style of the future strongest Close Combat fighter—someone who would be stronger than Elea-nor, who currently held the rank of third most powerful in all the Hidden Cities.
Lucas himself was close to reaching the Peak Mid stage of his Third Pathway, though he was still stuck in the minor stage between Initial and High.
He needed one strong push to break through.
He knew that a serious fight using only physical strength would lift his skills to another level.
By copying his opponent's movements, he could learn and improve.
So, inside his own Territory, Lucas invited this fighter to meet him.
Lucas stood ready, dressed in a plain black tight shirt and loose pants that allowed him to move freely.
Across from him was a young man of nineteen years, a 6-Star Elite who was technically still nineteen since his birthday had not passed.
This teenager had bright red hair and sharp red eyes that matched his fiery spirit.
He wore different clothes than Lucas—a white and red outfit—and his muscular body was covered with small scars, making him look tough and experienced.
He stared ahead, his mind clear and focused.
"You called me here to fight, and I've been wondering why," the young man said, his voice confused.
"If you don't want to fight, you can leave," Lucas answered while stretching his arms.
"But if you stay, make sure you give it your all. I don't want to accidentally hurt you… or worse, kill you."
The man frowned, then let out a short chuckle. "Fine, let's fight. You can explain yourself later. And do you really think you can defeat me? I may look like I'm at 6-Star, but my true strength goes far beyond that."
"Same here," Lucas replied calmly.
"Well then, are we going to fight, Ezra?" As he spoke, Lucas shifted into a fighting stance.
Ezra simply smirked. "Don't die on me, boy."
In one quick, blurring step, Ezra closed the distance between them instantly, appearing right in front of Lucas as if he had teleported.
He was moving at a terrifying speed of seventy meters per second, yet he made it look easy, as casual as a normal person taking a stroll.
He was testing Lucas, probing to see if his opponent had the reflexes and power to keep up with such raw velocity.
To his genuine surprise, Lucas didn't flinch or retreat.
Instead, a confident smile spread across Lucas's face, and he threw a powerful, straight punch of his own, meeting force with force.
Their fists collided in midair with a sound that was not just a hit, but the beginning of an avalanche.
Boooom!
The impact was immense.
The solid ground beneath their feet shattered like thin ice, cracking apart in a web of deep, jagged lines.
A wide, bowl-shaped crater was blasted into the earth where they stood, kicking up chunks of dirt and rock.
A visible shockwave of force exploded outwards from their locked fists, stirring up a brutal gust of wind that rushed out in every direction, whipping up dust and tearing at the grass.
Ezra's smile grew wider, more excited.
This was fun.
He began to increase his strength bit by bit, muscle tightening, pushing harder against Lucas's fist.
Lucas grunted, then responded by throwing more punches of his own, one after another.
Soon, they were trading blows in a furious exchange, their arms moving in streaks of motion.
Each punch they threw carried enough power to instantly kill a normal person or to reduce a huge, solid boulder to gravel.
The peaceful area around them suffered greatly with every impact—nearby stones fractured into pieces, the earth trembled and shook, and thick clouds of dust filled the air, making it hard to see.
Their punches and kicks came faster and harder, a storm of attacks and blocks, and with each passing second, the strength behind their movements kept rising, the pressure between them growing.
It became clear that Ezra was more skilled and experienced in hand-to-hand combat.
Seeing an opening, he smoothly slipped his arm to the side, deflecting one of Lucas's heavy punches, and in the same motion, twisted his body to land a solid, crushing hit of his own right into Lucas's chest.
The blow sent Lucas flying backward, skidding through the dirt for several meters before he could catch his balance.
Ezra stood still at the crater's center, a proud smirk on his face.
The first round was his.
[Keno secret Art: Keno First Gate—Open!]
Suddenly, the air itself grew heavy.
A wild, explosive, and nearly uncontrollable amount of mana surged from within Ezra, surrounding him in a swirling vortex of energy.
It felt chaotic and dangerous, as if this raw power wanted to break free of his control and tear him apart from the inside.
A bright, fierce red aura erupted from his skin, wrapping around his body like dancing flames of pure energy.
His muscles corded visibly, and his strength instantly increased by twenty percent, making the very air around him vibrate.
Then, in the blink of an eye, he vanished from his spot, leaving nothing but crumbling earth behind.
He reappeared right in front of Lucas, now moving at an even more impossible speed—eighty-four meters per second, a blur of red light and motion.
[Keno Spell: Blazing Fist]
Without hesitation, Ezra unleashed his attack.
Dozens of fiery, fist-shaped streaks of brilliant red energy shot forward from his hands, racing toward Lucas like a volley of meteors.
They lit up the dusty air, leaving trails of heat and light.
For a brief, urgent moment, Lucas realized he had underestimated Ezra.
He had thought he could match this opponent with physical strength alone, but now he understood the truth—he would have to use his own newly-learned mana spells, the ones designed to enhance and protect the body, if he wanted to survive this.
BOOOOM!
The very atmosphere shook with another tremendous explosion as the two forces collided once more.
Lucas's own mana flared to life in a defensive burst just in time, meeting the blazing fists in a spectacular clash of light, sound, and devastating force.
The ground cratered even deeper, and the shockwave tore through the landscape, marking the true, thunderous beginning of their battle.