BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

He was a powerful user, very high inside the Red Palace ranking, and with a brain crystal power that allowed him to conjure a spear, exactly like Allan.

He was not only strong but also a demon with such a weapon in his hands. The young man believed that he would become an unstoppable fighter under his guidance, and he was hell-bent on being trained by him. That, of course, if he managed to reach at least third place.

As Erik, Gwen, Floyd, and Amber reached the ring, so did the other people. Compared to the previous fights, there were much more people than usual. The reason was that Allan was not a top student, so the others who were not part of this small elite all came to cheer the young man.

They wanted the young man to win because that would be, in a sense, like they themselves could surpass the wall that the top students represented. There was a lot of anticipation for this match.

"What do you think is going to happen?" Erik asked Gwen. However, contrary to the other times, the young woman couldn't predict the match outcome.

It wasn't that she didn't know the strength disparity between the two, but that she did hope that Allan would win. The truth was that, in her opinion, her young crush would probably lose since Stefan had a phasing ability and was immune to physical attacks. He wasn't immune to energy-based attacks, so this meant that there was a possibility that Allan's attack would work against him, but no one really knew since the two never fought.

"I don't know..." Gwen replied.

"What? Really?" Erik said.

"Really..."

Amber observed the look in her friend's eyes; she was worried about Allan's well-being. Stefan wasn't an easy fight. In fact, he was one of the most challenging opponents out of those joining the tournament.

Amber grabbed Gwen's hand and tightened the grip, hoping Gwen would calm down a little bit. Amber leaned to Gwen's ear, whispered, "Let's just cross fingers..." and smiled widely.

Gwen replied in the same way, and a little bit of her uneasiness subsided. However, that wasn't nearly enough to calm her down completely.

Erik actually saw the two women's interaction and was left a little bit puzzled. However, he didn't say anything. He didn't know what the two told each other; it was none of his business.

Allan and Stefan walked toward the ring and waited for the referee to call their names. It didn't take much for him to do so.

"THESE MATCH OPPONENTS WILL BE ALLAN GRIMES AND STEFAN STRICKLAND. SHOW THEM YOUR SUPPORT!" the referee said to the microphone.

The people waiting for the fight to match started cheering loudly, while the ones who were still far from the ring rushed there to see the match. This caused quite a commotion around.

A few seconds later, both fighters stepped into the ring. They faced each other, and after a moment of silence, Stefan started trash-talking Allan.

"Don't think that just because you made it this far, you are one of us..." He said. The young man was clearly proud of being a top student. He was angry that he would join the Red Palace, while Adam, his best friend, didn't.

Even if Stefan couldn't make his friend join the Red Palace, at least he could make the one who took his place pay. Actually, Floyd eliminated Adam, but his friend was angry at Allan for some weird reason.

"I don't need to be part of your small group!" Allan replied, only angering Stefan more.

"3...2...1...FIGHT!" the referee shouted.

At that moment, Allan materialized his electric spear, and with it in his hands, he dashed toward his opponent.

Allan ran straight through the middle of the arena. Still, before he could hit Stefan, the latter activated his brain crystal power, becoming ethereal.

Allan hit the empty air but immediately channeled electricity through his weapon. Stefan sensed this move's danger and immediately ran back to avoid the attack.

The spear started being surrounded by sparks of electricity. They looked like snakes dancing around the weapon as they moved.

Stefan was still ethereal, but judging from his reaction, the electricity could actually hurt him. Gwen grinned. It looked like Allan really did have an opportunity against his opponent.

"If you think that will be enough to win, you are gravely mistaken," Stefan said as he avoided another attack. His voice sounded imposing, almost demonic.

From there, the fight began. Allan used his spear to attack Stefan, but the latter avoided every move and used his phasing power to tank all those attacks he could take advantage of to hit his opponent, obviously, if they weren't electrified.

Actually, Stefan's power significantly boosted the young man's speed. Since nothing created resistance on his body, he also phased below the ground and reappeared behind Allan. Often managing to land hits on him or make him fall to the ground.

Despite the great start, the fight quickly turned in Stefan's favor.

As Gwen watched the fight, her worry increased, as Allan would probably lose. She hoped the young man could at least make it past this round, but in the end, Stefan represented a wall too high for him to surpass.

Allan swung his spear countless times, but Stefan avoided each attack. The only time the spear user could injure his opponent was when the latter materialized to attack him.

The young man managed to create a wound on his opponent's chest. However, that wasn't enough; Stefan kept fighting as if nothing had happened, and Allan quickly accumulated wound after wound.

After twenty more minutes, the young man received a heavy blow on the head and fell to the ground. Stefan then sat on top of Allan and started ferociously beating him. The young man quickly lost control over his neural links, the mana inside his body stopped circulating, and the electric spear disappeared. Soon after, he lost consciousness, and the healers rushed inside the ring to fix the young man.

"THE WINNER IS STEFAN STRICKLAND!" the referee shouted.

Amber turned to look at Gwen, who had a dejected look on her face. Stefan quickly jumped off the ring and went to Adam, who was spectating the fight. He gave a high-five to the young student and then went away from the ring.

Since he didn't have other fights to make, he decided to go take a shower. Despite having won, the fight had not been so simple. Allan showed great prowess and forced the young man to fight seriously, lest losing the fight and ridicule himself.

Amber couldn't say much to Gwen since the latter didn't want Erik and Floyd to find out she liked Allan. Erik did notice something, but Floyd was totally unaware of this. However, Gwen, Floyd, and Amber quickly turned to look at their friend. It was his turn to fight, and he would meet Nathaniel in the ring.

"Erik, are you ready?" Amber asked.

"I would be lying if I said I am.... the young man replied.

"Remember, Erik, your goal is not to win but to avoid being humiliated!" Floyd said.

"All right..."