Primordial Expanse: I have the Strongest Talent!

Alex could tell right off the bat that Nikolas was weaker than the Count in terms of overall strength.

But Nikolas's talent made for quite a unique situation for Alex, where even though he was technically able to beat him in terms of strength, he was actually on the losing end instead because he simply didn't have a counter for Nikolas's incredible speed.

'I need to think of something quickly, or I'll end up losing this battle!'

This was the first time Alex was all out of ideas while in a fight. Every other time, he had something to rely on in case the worst case scenario happens, but he had already used up his trump cards, and any other ideas he had would just be thwarted out by Nikolas's speed anyway.

'Fuck, this is so frustrating!'

Alex struggled to his feet, grasping for breath as he glared at Nikolas. His body ached from the impact, and frustration gnawed at him.

'His speed is just overwhelming.'

Alex clenched his fist, flames licking up his arms.

'Damn it, I can't even see him coming! How am I supposed to fight back?'

Nikolas smirked, seeing the frustration in Alex's eyes. He enjoyed the upper hand, relishing the chance to demonstrate his superiority to the general student body spectating their battle.

'He's good, but he's not good enough. My speed is his Achilles' heel.'

Nikolas moved again, disappearing into a blur.

Alex braced himself, trying to predict where the next attack would come from. He spun around, swinging his flaming sword wildly, but struck only air.

Nikolas reappeared behind him, delivering a powerful kick to Alex's side.

Alex grunted in pain, stumbling but refusing to fall.

'I need to think of something, anything!'

Nikolas observed Alex with a mix of interest and annoyance. Despite being a rank lower than himself, Alex's aura was far superior to his own.

As a D rank, Nikolas's own aura was just scraping the edge of C- rank, barely qualifying to be classed at that level in his energy assessment.

But he could feel clearly that Alex's aura was nearly two levels ahead of his own.

'He's got raw power, and he has a pretty decent talent too, no doubt about it. If it weren't for my speed and S+ rank talent, he'd have the upper hand right now…'

Internally, Nikolas knew that speaking in relative terms, Alex was stronger than himself, which just seemed impossible.

Thinking of this realisation only made him even more frustrated, and he increased the intensity of his attacks a notch further, wanting to finish this fight even quicker.

Nikolas launched another flurry of attacks, each one faster and more precise than the last. He was pushing himself at these speeds, but he wasn't in the mood to fight Alex any longer.

'He's pushing me harder than anyone else has before. This is ridiculous. How can someone from the slums be this strong?'

He was born with a diamond spoon, his grandfather and father were some of the strongest people in the whole federation, and he had them to support him from the moment he was born.

Yet when comparing himself to Alex, a complete nobody from the slums with no backer or support to his name, he was inferior.

Even when he took his S+ rank talent into account, he was still inferior, even though he was currently beating him in a fight.

Nikolas knew this, but his pride was too high to admit it to himself.

Alex barely managed to block and dodge, his movements growing more desperate with each passing second. He tried to focus, to find a rhythm, but Nikolas was relentless.

Alex's thoughts raced as he fought to keep up. 'I've fought so hard after becoming an awakened to reach this point, but it feels like nothing I do matters against him. There has to be a way…'

Nikolas circled him, the air practically crackling with the sheer amount of energy concentrated within this small arena.

He could see the determination in Alex's eyes, the refusal to give up. It only made him even more eager to win and trample on that pride of Alex's.

'I have to crush him, I can't show a struggle against him. That's what grandfather would expect of me.'

Alex lunged forward, swinging his sword with all his might. Nikolas easily sidestepped, delivering a swift punch to Alex's gut. The impact knocked the wind out of him, and he dropped to one knee, gasping to air.

'This is pathetic! I'm better than this rat!'

Nikolas watched him struggle, a smirk playing on his lips. "You're strong, for a slumrat. It's time to end this."

With a burst of speed, Nikolas closed the distance, aiming a powerful kick at Alex's head.

Alex barely managed to raise his arms in time, deflecting the blow but still feeling the kinetic force of it.

He staggered back, his vision blurring from the impact.

'Killing isn't allowed in these fights, but there's no rule that says you can't cripple someone! This guy's trying to cripple me, aiming for my head! He's trying to turn me into a vegetable!'

Alex scowled and felt anger burning through his veins when he noticed Nikolas's sinister intentions, but he was powerless to fight back.

This place was cruel, there was no option of surrender given to the students. They were simply forced to fight until one victor was chosen by the AI.

Alex's frustration and anger boiled over, and he roared, flames erupting around him. He charged at Nikolas, swinging wildly, but Nikolas was just too fast.

He dodged every attack, countering with precise strikes that left Alex battered, bruised and scarred.

The reality was settling in for Alex. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't keep up with Nikolas's speed, and that was his downfall. It was infuriating, and it was exhausting.

Nikolas landed a final blow, a powerful strike to Alex's chest with his sword that pierced through him and sticking out of his back.

Alex fell down to the ground, blood dripping out of the wound, gasping for breath.

'It's over… I've lost.'

Nikolas stood over him, looking down at him with a mix of triumph and annoyance.

The sword still lay in Alex's chest, blocking the blood from pouring out like a fountain.

Nikolas wasn't an idiot, he wasn't planning on killing Alex and getting himself expelled from Capital Prime.