Kiernan and Ariadne high-fived. Both of them were still sweating from the exhausting match of Punch Ball.
"Thanks for the pass~"
She said with a smile.
The crowd then started dispersing. Most of them headed for a swim or went to shade under the trees to cool off. A few went to train despite the immense heat.
After exchanging high fives with the rest of the team, Kiernan returned to the cottage and saw the rest of Karuza High waiting for him.
"You're alright? I saw you get kicked in the leg."
Coach Jin said with a serious look.
He was afraid that because of the heated match of Punch Ball, Kiernan might actually get injured like Kenneth did, which made him want to pull Kiernan out of the match, but in the end, Sabbath convinced him not to.
He was only feeling slightly light-headed because of the intense heat and dehydration from the match.
"I saw that you were barely using Iron Style. Hiding techniques, aye?"
He could tell that Kiernan was hiding a lot, like every other ace did. No one was showing their true strength.
"It would've been foolish to show anything against my closest rivals."
Kiernan said, accepted a water bottle from Sabbath and then took a seat by the porch. He was nicely sitting under a cold shade, enjoying the cool breeze that passed through every now and then.
Dietmar limped back to Kurogami High's cottage, and as soon as he arrived there, his coach tossed him an ice bag, and after catching it from the air, he applied it to his cramped muscles.
"What do you think about other aces?"
The coach asked while sitting under the shade of a large oak tree.
"It will be competitive, that's for sure."
Dietmar sat down on the steps of the cottage and pressed the ice bag against his cramped muscles. The refreshing coolness felt greatly relieving after the Punch Ball match.
"Who do you think is the most dangerous one?"
"Kiernan, easily. He has a killer instinct, no doubt about it. It will be hard to defeat him alone."
The coach nodded and put a grass blade in his mouth, contemplating the upcoming nationals tournament.
It was hard for them to win as the level of competition was incredibly high. Among the highest in the history of their country.
Ariadne jumped into the pool at the back of Tiamut High's cottage, and she floated on her back, staring up at the beautiful blue sky above.
"What did you think about Kiernan?"
Marquise, the long-lasting coach of Tiamut High, asked.
He was more familiar with Kiernan than most because he was right at the ringside when Johan fought Kiernan last year.
He was coach last year and was coach this year as well.
Therefore, he already knew months in advance that Kiernan would be among the top contenders in the tournament.
Ariadne said while moving across the pool, her eyes locked with the clouds that were beginning to form in the sky.
Marquise rubbed his chin in deep thought.
Zachary stood alone in his dark room, gazing out of the window towards the field where the game of Punch Ball happened.
The door to his room then opened, and Alabaster entered, smoking a cigarette. The smoke curled around his head like a ghostly halo.
Zachary turned around, his eyes had turned red, and his voice was shaking like an earthquake.
"I-I don't think I am strong enough yet. I must destroy Kiernan, and I can't do it without greater strength."
Alabaster looked at him, rummaged through his pockets, and brought out a few more pills. They didn't look that tasty, but when Zachary saw them, he started drooling like a hungry dog.
"These are the last ones. Anymore and you might suffer… some damages, and we wouldn't want that. You must participate in the nationals still, right?"
"O-okay, just give me!"
Zachary reached out his hands to him, accepted the pills, and then swallowed them without a second thought.
'This should be enough for Zachary to win the nationals, but when the effects run out, he will have to deal with the consequences.'
Alabaster let out a puff of smoke, opened the window, and tossed the cigarette out. The cigarette fell into a flowerbed below, smoldering among the petals.
Thorsten lifted his entire body up at the pull-up bar, feeling the burn in his muscles as he pushed himself to the limit.
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"Are you sure that you should be exercising after just playing Punch Ball in that heat?"
The coach asked while fanning himself with his clipboard. He was sweating so much that it looked like water was pouring down his face.
He had put on much lighter clothing, but he was still struggling to stay cool in the intense heat and humidity.
The AC of their cottage wasn't working properly. They had already called for it to be fixed, but no one had come yet to repair it.
"I can't waste time. I am not quite strong enough just yet!"
Thorsten said while breathing heavily.
'Thorsten only acts when he has encountered someone stronger than him. It must be that Kiernan fellow. To think that he was forced to train even more.'
The coach was genuinely surprised.
Thorsten was the ace of Kanyon High, and it wasn't far-fetched to say that he was the greatest talent to come from their school in over a decade.
He had reached the High Stage Martial Fighter and was only one leap away from reaching Martial Champion.
In any other year, it could be enough to win the nationals, but this year, he would have to fight tooth and nail to even reach the semifinals.
'The Junior Martial Arts Championships is forcing the great talents of every nation to show their faces. It's unlucky that Thorsten had to be born a few years too late. If he had participated a few years before Johan, he would surely have become national champion.'