BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

It wasn't only a matter of physical prowess here but also of environmental awareness, reflexes, and critical thinking. How insanely strong was Anderson to pull a feat like this?

The swarm prevented the young man from directly going at him. Still, several close calls during the fight made Mikey have shivers down his spine. Anderson was a monster; there was no say in the matter.

While Mikey thought about this, Anderson thought about his friend's power. The mana bugs had been an annoyance as they'd forced him into strenuous, evasive maneuvers, which would have left any other person with sore muscles afterward.

He was far from being tired, but he was annoyed by the bugs. He knew that Mikey wasn't someone to be underestimated or taken lightly, and now he realized how much so. Though, he believed that with the mana optimization coming from new neural links, Mikey could create a swarm so big as to kill entire Thaid's nests alone.

After almost twenty minutes of content use of his power, Mikey was running low on mana. And after a lot of time running away from Anderson, his legs felt heavy and sluggish.

It was clear how things were going to end for the young man. The crowd cheered at Anderson; he wasn't the most popular guy at school for nothing. They saw what he could do: he was one hell of a fighter, had amazing looks, and was insanely clever.

"ANDERSON!"

"ANDERSON!"

"ANDERSON!"

The crowd shouted. Many female students were screaming for him, trying to get his attention, but Anderson didn't care. The only thing that he wanted to do at that moment was getting Mikey.

He kept dodging those pesky little insects as best as he could until finally, Mikey slipped up, making the swarm attack Anderson but badly missing. The insect's body slammed against the ground, causing the swarm to disperse.

Though, Mikey began slowing down a couple of minutes earlier as fatigue overtook him. His breathing became labored and rasping while sweat poured off him like waterfalls.

Anderson took the opportunity to finally get close to him, who was just standing still, panting heavily. Anderson grabbed the young man by his shirt collar, throwing him into the air and slamming him down hard on the ground.

As Anderson did this, Mikey temporarily lost control of his power, and the swarm ceased to exist. For a few moments, everything went silent around them except for the sounds of their breath and heartbeats. Then the crowd started encouraging Anderson by cheering loudly for the young man.

Mikey looked at the crowd before turning back toward Anderson. "I can't win against you," said the boy, but he tried to get up, using an advanced move to free himself from Anderson's constraint.

He was successful, but at that moment, Anderson said, "Sorry, Mikey," and then proceeded to kick him hard in the stomach.

His opponent gasped for air, feeling nauseous. He got up again, looking at Anderson, who had a slightly concerned look on his face. But even though Mikey knew he would lose the fight, he was determined not to do so without putting up a fight.

Though, facing Anderson for real was like a bucket of cold water, as their fighting prowess was vast. Mikey assumed that this huge disparity would shrink by using his brain crystal power. Still, he was mistaken and couldn't help but feel weak compared to his friend.

Mikey deeply admired Anderson; he could win against all his opponents without even using his power; it was incredible.

But despite these feelings of weakness and defeat, Mikey stood tall and straightened his posture, ready to take another swing at his foe. As soon as he recovered enough, he rushed forward, punching his adversary with fast attacks.

But Anderson's prowess was incredible; he effortlessly dodged his friend's attacks and made it look as easy as breathing, sending the crowds into raptures.

The fight continued. The two friends fought like warriors, neither wanting to give way. Neither willing to yield. However, Anderson's situation was much better than Mikey's, who was breathing heavily and having difficulty standing. Finally, Anderson gave a small smile. "You are doing great, Mikey."

Mikey was already aware he couldn't fight for much longer and decided to try one last thing. If it worked, since Anderson was bound to become big inside the nation, he would be able to at least say that he was able to land a hit on the mighty warrior during his young days.

Otherwise, he would have known he did whatever he could to win the fight. So, the young man summoned his swarm of mana insects again and tried to attack Anderson from his blind spot, but the latter evaded the move easily, as if he had eyes behind his head, making Mikey realize there was nothing he could do more.

After a few more seconds, Mikey stopped attacking altogether since he figured whatever he tried wouldn't work and shouted, "I surrender."

Cheers erupted, and people screamed. The crowd started chanting Anderson's name while Aaron felt sad about Mikey's defeat. He knew how hard it was to fight Anderson as the two sparred countless times before the tournament.

Anderson went toward his friend and placed his arm on Mikey's shoulders, and with a brotherly voice, he said, "Don't worry about having lost the match. I know how tough my friend is. You are a good fighter, Mikey. Don't let this loss make you bitter."

"It won't, Anderson, don't worry..." he said with a smile on his face. The duo quickly went down the ring, and Aaron reached the two fighters. He congratulated Anderson and cheered Mikey up.

Amber, Floyd, and Gwen were looking at the three friends, Floyd was slightly annoyed, but Amber and Gwen were satisfied with the fight. They knew that Mikey did everything he could to defeat his opponent and had a great fight against someone like Anderson. They also knew what kind of fighter he was, so losing to him wasn't something terrible or shameful.

Amber knew there was no humiliation in losing against such a powerful individual. Besides, this was an expected outcome. So, everyone was happy and contented after seeing the fight's result.

"The winner is Anderson Worthington!" The referee shouted, and then the healer went toward the two fighters and started healing them both.

Despite Anderson never being hit, he received the healer's help. Mikey was, instead, slightly injured, with a few minor bruises and cuts all over his body. The wounds didn't seem too serious, but the healer had a job to do, so he healed him regardless.

"Let's go see where Erik is," Floyd said. Gwen and Amber nodded and left the area while heading toward the infirmary. When they arrived, they saw Erik sitting by himself.

"How are you?" Floyd asked Erik.

"I'm fine now... I've calmed down..." Erik replied.

Floyd wanted to ask Erik why did he assault Euan while he was unconscious but refrained from doing so. After all, he didn't say anything to Amber and didn't want to sound rude to his friend. However, he was unaware that Erik reflected on his actions and understood that he had a problem. The urge he felt was something he had to learn to control.

"Will you come to see my match?" Amber asked Erik, who immediately nodded. The young woman was the last one to fight today, and many people were waiting for her turn in earnest.

Though, most of the students remained to see the matches only because of Anderson. When they returned to the ring, Gwen noticed that there weren't many spectators around, probably because the other matches seemed far less interesting than the previous one.

In fact, only a handful of people came near the arena to watch the upcoming battles between the students. Only family and friends were there, basically. However, it wasn't like people had left the school. They simply weren't interested in other fights, despite being fought by the top students. The only good one was going to be Amber's.