CHAPTER 117: 117 - ALEC VERSUS RAVEN! [3]

After Raven’s fist hit Alec’s face.

T A P-

Raven took a steady step forward with his left foot.

Then he swiftly rotated his entire body clockwise, lifting his right foot to head level.

S W I S H—

In a flash, he launched a spinning hook kick aimed directly at Alec’s head again!

But Alec, anticipating the move, managed to block it with his left hand.

BAM-!

"Grghh!"

And bot only did Alec defend, but he immediately countered back, launching a body blow with his right fist that struck Raven hard in the ribs!

C R A C K!

"GAH?!"

The force behind Alec’s punch broke several of Raven’s ribs with a sickening sound.

But knowing the injury had already been dealt—

Bam-

Raven quickly put some distance between himself and Alec, keeping his guard up as he assessed the damage.

His gaze shifted downward to his ribs.

His frown deepened.

’It would’ve been worse if I didn’t move back immediately.’

Raven thought, feeling the sharp pain as he moved just a bit too much.

He clenched his teeth but refocused, his eyes darting back to Alec.

"Ugh... That hurt."

Alec muttered, clutching his reddened nose as a small trickle of blood dripped down from the blow he had taken from Raven just now.

’He did more damage to me than I did to him.’

Raven thought, his face hardening into a serious expression.

’At this rate, I’m gonna lose sooner or later...’

He could feel it— Alec’s attacks were precise and stronger than he had anticipated. Probably even more than Alec in his novel at this time!

Raven’s gaze turned to the side, then he talked in his head—

’Request to the system shop to fix my broken ribs.’

And at that, Sariel appeared in the air as a bluish system window.

[What the... You’re going to cheat?]

Raven frowned at the voice in his head. He can hear the disbelief in Sariel’s voice.

’Me and you being able to communicate telepathically and the system shop are part of my skills.’

Raven responded in his thoughts.

’And we’re allowed to use skills during a match. It’s not cheating.’

Raven smirked discreetly as he stated that to Sariel. He had no shame in using everything available to him. But technically, his words are not wrong.

Raven’s special skill: sophistry.

’So just do it.’

He ordered Sariel again.

[Fine... What a bastard.]

And Sariel grumbled in reply.

Then just a few milliseconds later—

[Your request was granted.]

He said that.

Fwish~

Raven immediately felt the broken ribs heal, the sharp pain disappearing as if it was never there.

’Whoa, I didn’t expect it to be this effective... I need to use this feature more often.’

He thought.

Then at that moment—

"Umm, are you ready now?"

Alec’s voice broke through Raven’s thoughts, his tone casual but with a hint of impatience.

He sounds so polite asking that.

Raven’s gaze narrowed slightly at the sound of Alec’s voice. He knew Alec didn’t mean anything by it, but the question still irritated him.

So, with a devilish smile—

"Yeah, thanks for the wait. Though, this is still a fight, you could’ve rushed at me while I was distracted."

He replied with that.

"Oh, okay."

And after hearing his words—

B A M-

Without hesitation, Alec suddenly propelled himself toward Raven with lightning speed!

FWISH-

In the blink of an eye, Alec was right in front of him— too fast to react to immediately!

"...!"

Raven’s eyes slightly widened.

W H O O S H—!!

Alec threw three consecutive punches, his right fist hammering toward Raven in rapid succession!

THOMP-

THAMP-

THUMP-

But Raven, without missing a beat, raised his left hand and effortlessly blocked each of the three punches!

The way Alec threw them formed a sideways triangular pattern (" "), but Raven’s quick reactions let him follow along, easily deflecting them all with perfect timing.

Also, he used Thought Acceleration for a split second.

SWOOSH-

But Alec wasn’t done just yet. He casually followed up with a left hook punch.

BAM-!

"..."

Raven raised his right forearm, blocking the attack at the last moment, his face showing no signs of fatigue.

SWISH!

Alec then followed up a right straight punch, aiming for Raven’s nose!

FWISH—

But Raven, quick as ever, moved his head to the side, dodging the punch by a hair’s breadth!

Fwip-

In a flash, Raven grabbed Alec’s right arm with his right hand.

FWAP—

Then he gripped the collar of Alec’s shirt with his left hand!

"...?!"

Alec was surprised, of course. But before he could even do something—

S W O O S H—

Raven spun with incredible speed, and in one smooth motion, he executed a shoulder throw against Alec!

Alec barely had time to react.

B A M-!

"GRAAH...!"

And the next thing he knew, he was lying flat on the ground! He was slammed down!

But instead of worrying about that—

"GRRGH...!"

FWISH-

Alec immediately went into a defensive position by crossing his arms in front of his face, bracing himself for the next series of strikes!

’Huh...?’

But the seconds ticked by, and Raven made no move.

Alec waited, his muscles tensed, but no attack came.

After a moment, he cautiously looked up and saw Raven standing still, gazing down at him with an unreadable expression.

Sensing Alec’s eyes on him, Raven broke the silence—

"Hey, are you ready?"

He asked, his voice casual, as though they weren’t in the middle of a sparring match.

He was just being petty as usual.

*****

(Alec’s POV)

"Hey, are you ready?"

Raven asked me while I’m lying on the floor.

His voice was innocent when he said that, and his eyes were kind.

So Raven definitely asked me that out of kindness.

(Bruh... No.)

But despite his kind tone... the words struck a nerve.

I couldn’t help but feel a little irritated.

The question itself...

’It’s annoying.’

I gritted my teeth but quickly stood up, shaking off the irritation.

"Yeah."

I answered simply.

"Oh, then let’s go at it again."

Raven said, a grin forming on his face as he took his fighting stance once more.

’This is a practice spar.’

I told myself inwardly.

’Our goal is to practice, after all...’

Then I reminded myself.

’I’m still mastering this technique, and it’s time to test it out against someone.’

With that thought, my mind was made up.

’And if it’s Raven... based on everything I’ve seen from him until now...’

"Then he’s a good opponent to practice it with."

I muttered under my breath.

"Huh? You saying something?"

Raven asked, his attention now fully on me.

I simply shook my head in response.

"I said I’m ready."

Then, with determination, I took a fighting stance as well—

FWISH-

Then without wasting another second, I activated my skill Teleportation to appear directly beside Raven!

SWOOSH-

I immediately launched a punch, aiming for his side!

BAM-!

But as expected, Raven blocked it effortlessly.

SWISH-

So I quickly teleported behind him after that!

BAM-

This time, I kicked him hard in the back!

"ARGH...?! FUCK!"

I knew I’d caught him off guard, Raven didn’t manage to block the attack!

But I wasn’t finished yet.

Next...

WHISH-

I teleported to the front, facing Raven again.

BAM!

BOM!

THUMP!

I threw a flurry of three rapid punches at him, trying to overwhelm him with speed!

"GURGH?!!"

Two of my punches landed on his body, but the final one aimed at his face was expertly blocked.

And that’s when I noticed it— Raven’s glare.

FWISH-

But I wasn’t going to back down. I ignored the intensity in his eyes and teleported to his left side!

BAM-!

"GUH?!"

I threw a sharp punch at his abdomen, my body twisting with the force of the strike!

This was my technique, one I had invented myself!

I call it [Spatial Barrage].

The plan was simple— teleport randomly around my opponent, constantly changing my position, and strike each time!

Then, right after an attack, teleport to a new side and hit again.

It was a continuous barrage of blows that would be hard to avoid or block.

But there was a downside— I couldn’t keep using Teleportation too much, or I’d burn through my mana fast.

That’s why I only practiced it sparingly. This was the first time I had tried it on a real opponent!

WHISH-

Once more, I teleported behind Raven and launched a straight punch aimed at his spine!

’GOT YOU!’

I exclaimed in my head.

BAM!

"KEUK...?!"

But just before my punch could land, I felt a sudden, crushing blow to my nose!

And when I took a quick glance at Raven while I was in the air—

"..."

He was already facing me!

’But I’m sure I teleported behind him!’

I thought, confusion flooding my mind.

THUD-

Before I could react, the punch sent me crashing to the ground again.

For the second time, I found myself lying flat on my back.

THUMP-

"GURGH!"

Then I felt something heavy on my chest— Raven’s right foot was planted firmly there.

I looked up, seeing Raven’s smirk as he gazed down at me.

"I caught you."

He said with a grin, completely relaxed as he towered over me.