Enrico had achieved a clear victory, securing six points for the fight and one additional point for his intelligence at the end of the confrontation. In total, he finished the first round with seven points.
'Damn it! I wanted to win without taking any damage, but that magic that blinded me got in the way of everything.'
[It seems your plan to get more points didn't work out very well. I'm quite sad about that.]
'I hate that last phrase of yours.'
As Enrico had already acknowledged before, not all his plans would work perfectly. Therefore, he needed to be prepared to resort to alternatives whenever something went wrong. If the main plan failed, he would use the backup plan, and if that one didn't work either, he would still have a third option available.
'That doesn't matter. Even if it failed, I still have other plans. And if the third one doesn't work either, I'll adapt and find a way to solve the problem.'
After Franchesco lost consciousness, Enrico's vision returned to normal. With the fight over, he headed to the stands above the arenas, where he could watch the broadcasts of the Group F matches and carefully analyze the strengths and weaknesses of his future opponents.
"From the looks of it, Franchesco and Sakura will be the easiest opponents to face."
One of the broadcasts showed Sakura Himari fighting against Nicholas. Despite the difficulties he faced, Nicholas was managing to dominate the confrontation. However, Sakura possessed quite surprising strength magic, especially considering that she came from Tsuyokuni, a territory where that type of magic didn't exist.
[She's half-orc and half-human. She only has that appearance because she inherited human features.]
'Now that makes sense.'
"Come on, daughter! You can do it!"
Enrico turned his head slightly when he heard a particularly loud shout coming from the nearby stands.
The voices belonged to an orc man and an orc woman. Judging by the enthusiasm with which they were cheering Sakura on, it was obvious that they were her parents. However, their shouts were so loud that some of the spectators around them were already showing signs of annoyance.
'How noisy. Their daughter doesn't seem to have the same personality as those two.'
[Maybe she grew up with her grandparents?]
"This is incredible! What a turnaround!"
Before Enrico could respond to the System, the excited voice of one of the commentators drew his attention back to the broadcast.
The situation had changed considerably. Sakura, who had been under pressure from Nicholas until then, began advancing with a series of powerful punches. Her fists glowed red with each strike, and the force of the impacts forced her opponent to retreat to avoid being hit directly.
She wasn't merely resisting. For the first time in the fight, she was managing to put consistent pressure on Nicholas.
"She's stronger than I thought... Even so, it's still not enough."
Despite his momentary disadvantage, Nicholas remained calm and continued observing his opponent's movements. When Sakura advanced again, he noticed an opening and took the opportunity to create an earth sword.
With a swift movement, he slashed toward her abdomen. Sakura couldn't completely avoid the attack, and the blade opened a wound in her stomach.
Nicholas didn't stop there. Keeping his eyes fixed on his opponent, he swung the sword again, this time aiming for her arm to hinder her subsequent attacks.
"Strength Magic: Muscular Strength!"
Sakura reinforced the muscles in her arm at the moment the sword struck her. The blade hit her skin but failed to cut it.
Enrico watched the scene attentively. Even from a distance, he could perceive the change in the girl's musculature, which had become as hard as metal thanks to her magic.
"I think I was wrong about this fight."
From that moment on, the two began exchanging attacks without giving their opponent time to breathe.
Sakura continued advancing with her reinforced fists, trying to use her physical strength to overcome Nicholas's sword. Every blow she landed made his body tremble, but the young man didn't retreat completely. Instead, he adjusted his position and used his sword to create openings, looking for opportunities to strike his opponent's vulnerable points.
Despite her injuries, Sakura maintained the pressure. Her reinforced muscles allowed her to withstand blows that would normally have incapacitated her, while Nicholas relied on precision and speed to prevent her from overwhelming him.
The fight had turned into a battle of endurance. Sakura needed to land enough blows to bring her opponent down, while Nicholas searched for an opportunity to end the confrontation with a decisive attack.
"Earth Sword: Magical Concentration!"
Nicholas concentrated his mana into the blade, making the sword more powerful. At the same time, Sakura gathered her strength to prepare one final attack.
"Charged Fist!"
The two advanced at practically the same time.
Nicholas's sword pierced Sakura's abdomen, while her fist struck him directly in the face. The impact made Nicholas's head snap backward, and his body staggered after receiving the blow.
For a few moments, both tried to remain standing. Sakura gritted her teeth, while Nicholas struggled to maintain his balance. However, both had consumed practically all their mana and pushed their bodies to the limit.
Little by little, their legs lost their strength. Sakura fell first, and Nicholas collapsed shortly afterward, unable to remain conscious.
"This fight ends in a draw!"
As a result, both received only two points. Even so, they remained ahead of Franchesco, who had lost his match against Enrico, and Liang Xuanwu, who had been defeated by Lira.
"Decisive victory for Lira!"
Another broadcast caught Enrico's attention. In that arena, Liang was unconscious, while Lira remained standing without any visible injuries.
Enrico sighed as he observed the result.
Without a doubt, she would be the biggest problem in the group.
"The matches in Groups A, D, E, F, and H have concluded. The matches in the other five groups will be broadcast during the afternoon. Those who wish to wait may remain in one of the halls. Anyone who decides to leave must bring their identification to return to their designated seats in the afternoon session."
With that announcement, the morning matches came to an end.
Enrico decided to check the results of Group A first, where Victoria and Elaris were competing. As expected, Victoria had won her match with a perfect score of ten points. Elaris had also managed to secure a victory, finishing her fight with eight points.
'They're doing well. Now all that's left is for Roberto to win his fight so that all of us will have a victory in the first round. Let's see how my group turned out.'
Enrico turned his attention back to the Group F standings.
Group F Standings
Lira Xuefeng — 9 points. Enrico Solcren Ferreira — 7 points. Nicholas — 2 points. Sakura Himari — 2 points. Franchesco Giovanni — 0 points. Liang Xuanwu — 0 points.
'Liang must be feeling terrible right now. I'll try to cheer him up later.'
[But isn't the identity he knows you by Kael?]
'... You're right. Forget it.'
Enrico stood up and decided to return to his room. Since the second round would take place the following day, he still needed to train to perfect the new magic he had learned thanks to Virelle's guidance.
'Let's go back first. I already told them yesterday that I'd be staying in my room, so no one should be worried.'
As he walked, he decided to check his statistics. To his surprise, he noticed that his percentage had increased by another point since the last time he checked, two days earlier.
Thanks to the intense training of the past few weeks, his progress had been considerable. Since the day he sacrificed one of his circles, he had managed to reach thirty-five percent development in a relatively short period.
However, that percentage didn't represent all his power.
'If I take into account the power of my ring and the advantage I gained from sacrificing that circle, in practice, I'd be at the seventy-five percent level.'
The difference was significant. The fire ring and the sacrifice of the circle provided advantages that couldn't be ignored, allowing Enrico to fight above the level indicated by his current statistics.
'If I could use the fire ring and the water necklace at the same time, my power would increase even more.'
The problem was that the two items possessed extremely opposing properties. Using them simultaneously would require a delicate balance, and Enrico still wasn't sure how to control both forces without causing problems.
Furthermore, there was another issue he needed to consider: the personal pact he had made with the System.
According to the updated agreement between them, whenever Enrico wanted to store an object through her, he would need to offer something of equivalent value in exchange. It was a rule she had added to make things even more difficult.
'It's funny. When I give her food, from what I've seen, I never get anything in return.'
[Are you complaining about me? If you want, we can go outside and settle our problems.]
'If I could, I'd love to do that. But I have more important things to do.'
Upon reaching his room, Enrico closed the door and went straight to the bathroom. He didn't want to risk causing a disaster in the room during training, so he decided to test the magic on a smaller scale, using the bathtub filled with water as his practice environment.
'Tomorrow I'll be fighting Nicholas. Since he's also reincarnated, I need to be careful.'
Elsewhere, Nicholas was sitting in meditation, surrounded by a brown energy that enveloped his entire body.
'Fighting with my fists would be difficult against that young woman. Actually, things have been difficult ever since I arrived here.'
[It doesn't matter if it's difficult. I'm sure you can win, Nicholas.]
'I hope so.'
The earth mana circulated slowly around him, growing denser and denser. As time passed, his skin took on a brown hue, as if it were gradually merging with the earth itself.
'I'm close to evolving this earth magic.'
Nicholas continued concentrating his energy, trying to guide the mana through his body without losing control. His goal was getting closer, and he knew he needed to seize that opportunity to complete his evolution.
When he finally opened his eyes, a dark brown glow appeared in his pupils.
He raised his hands and observed the transformation of his skin with satisfaction. Then, he clenched his fists, feeling the strength beginning to accumulate in his body.
Nicholas closed his eyes again, resuming his meditation as his skin returned to its normal color.
"Today, I'll do it."