Everyone, including the instructor, was flabbergasted by what they witnessed. Alex and Ross shared knowing smiles as they took in the shocked expressions on everyone's faces.
This class was supposed to be the class of geniuses, no, monsters. The best of the best.
Each and every one of them had physical stats at the extremes when they awakened. While not as impressive as Alex and Ross's stats, it was still, without a doubt, impressive.
But what they were currently seeing overturned everything they knew about strength and levels. Although they were all at the same level, they were, in fact, not on the same level.
How could someone from an unknown family beat a prodigy from a powerful family like the Knights?! It was simply a fool's dream.
The kind of resources that went into raising a prodigy like her were not something a few weeks of learning combat could overcome.
The instructor swiftly emerged from his reverie. His experience and strength enabled him to perceive precisely what occurred, and although it wasn't particularly extravagant, it was a flawless demonstration of speed and power.
'She isn't from the Knight family for no reason.' The thought alone made him smile slightly, but it quickly disappeared.
When the signal for the fight to start was given, Julia had swiftly closed the distance.
By gathering sufficient strength in her legs as they prepared for the countdown to end, Julia gained enough momentum to close the distance in a burst of speed that took Zephra by surprise.
Without allowing the girl time to process what had happened, Julia delivered a powerful palm strike straight to her chest. The force cracked a few bones and sent her crashing violently into the walls.
As there was essentially no time difference between the strike and Zephra crashing into the walls, the impact left her unconscious from the combined damage she sustained.
The Knight princess didn't even activate her ice ability.
"Winner, Julia Knight!" The instructor declared, drawing the students out of their reverie.
The look on their faces showed how shaken they were by her prowess.
Meanwhile, Julia made her way back to her friends as if nothing had happened. When she sat down with her friends, her demeanour changed to the warm and friendly one Alex and Ross were already used to.
"You did well, Julia," Alex commented, smiling brightly at her.
"You hold back when we spar together, don't you?" Ross, on the other hand, noticed the difference, but it wasn't by much.
"If I go all out, would you stand a chance?" She questioned back, shutting down Ross.
Having no response to that, Ross turned back to the instructor, awaiting the next set of instructions and matches. Alex, on the other hand, shook his head, observing their actions.
He had come a long way in combat, and while not perfect, he was skilled enough to go toe-to-toe with Julia. Of course, the purpose was not to win, but to apply all the concepts he had learned.
But he also knew Ross was exaggerating a bit. Julia did not hold back that much when they had their sparring sessions.
After all, their statistics were largely the same, and with the lessons in force applications, they understood how and when not to use excessive power.
"The next person should step out." The instructor called out, but the shocked look in the students' eyes had not dissipated.
Someone stood up from the seated students, drawing the attention of everyone. Alex glanced at the student and noticed the boy's gaze on him. He also identified him as one of Zen Henjok's friends.
Already seeing where this was going, Alex prepared himself.
A minute before the instructor called for the next group, Zen had already talked with his friends about how to deal with Alexander. "Do you want to challenge him again? This time he can't refuse."
Upon hearing the question posed by his friend, Zen pondered seriously, his gaze fixed on where Alex was seated.
'Not yet.' Zen thought. 'Challenging him without knowing his full strength would be stupid of me. I don't have any data on his fighting strength, and while he is the same, his stats are still troublesome.'
His gaze shifted to the person who posed the question, and an idea sprang to mind, leading to the current situation.
"Who do you choose?"
The question lingered for some time as the boy's gaze shifted to the area where Alex was seated.
"Alexander Gray." He stated with a sly grin, the response eliciting murmurs all around.
They all knew of Zen's desire to fight Alex, but sending one of his friends to challenge him made it clear that Zen was being cautious not to underestimate Alex and had opted to send his friend instead.
Without waiting for the instructor to call him, Alex stood up and made his way to the stage. His challenger, Amon Kai—a One-Horned human—also approached the stage.
"Weapons?"
The two boys exchanged a look before shaking their heads. Affirming their choice, the instructor set the countdown, prompting Alex and Amon to ready themselves.
'I can finish this as quickly as Julia, but where's the fun in that?' Alex thought smugly.
He decided to relish this fight a bit. As this would be his first bout against someone who wasn't Julia or Ross, he was eager to see just how good their fighting styles were.
'Let's hold off the use of my light ability for now. Pure physicals should be more than enough.' He took several deep breaths to calm his nerves.
He was confident in his win, but this was still a fight all his classmates were witnessing.
After months of anticipation about his abilities since he became known as the sole survivor with the highest physical stats, they were finally ready to see him in action.
Amon himself was confident in his strength, and unlike Zephra's miserable performance, he actually had the capability to back up his confidence.
Yes, they were all in Class A, but they were not the same. Talents brought them here, but only their abilities would retain them.
'Let's see just how good you really are, Alexander…'
[Fight!]
At the signal, the two combatants vanished from their positions.