"Take your stances." The supervisor instructed.
Nel took his usual bizarre stance. Crouching and letting his arms dangle lazily, it was a stance that would have oozed lethargy if anybody else had taken it.
No one would have called him lethargic.
Not with the savage beastly aura he radiated. The sheer pressure he exerted on everyone with just a flash of focus was immense, it was as though one was staring into the eyes of a tiger face-to-face.
Yet when one turned to glance at Hever, one could only see an unmoving mountain. He had a sturdy aura that gave one the impression that he was unmovable. He simply gazed abck at Nel, ignoring his strange antic as he took his stance.
It was a modest stance.
Distributed feats, and open hands ready for interception.
The stance was modest.
But the danger that Primordial Instinct felt going near it was not.
"This is going to be one hell of a fight." Rui grinned.
"Begin!" The supervisor commenced the match.
Nel dashed, reaching Hever in an instant. He swung a wild haymaker at his face with immense speed and force.
A heavy impact resounded through the air and the earth of the sparring facility. The outcome of the clash shook not just the ground, but also the minds of those who were watching.
Nel had been the one to attack first.
Yet, the very next moment, he was flat on the ground.
A milestone had been crossed.
For the first time since the commencement of the preliminary contest... Nel had been downed.
"This..." Rui's eyes flew wide open. What had occurred had unfolded so fast that it was a blur even to Rui's eyes. From the looks of it, even Nel was unable to combat it in time!
However, what had happened was clear. Hever had intercepted Nel's attack and swung him across his shoulder using not just the energy gathered from across his body, but also the energy of Nel's own attack.
The resulting outcome was a throwing maneuver with such absurd power, that even Nel was unable to mitigate the damage!
"Unbelievably fast intercepts, remarkably smooth and fluid transition and an incredible impact fueled by his opponent and himself." Rui muttered.
Rui realized that out of all the former twelve top rankers, Hever Mendelieve was a cut above the lower half. No wonder he had managed to go undefeated even at the top ranker began being pit against each other. He was a powerhouse and a contender for the position of representative of the Martial Academy in the Martial Contest.
Yet Rui knew the match was far from over.
Nel got up to his feet, grinning as he patted his uniform. He wasn't bothered that his attack completely failed and was used against him overwhelmingly slam him into the ground.
He simply grinned like a boy who had been gifted the toys he wanted for christmas.
He turned to Hever, stancelessly.
"Heber Menleave." Nel addressed.
"You-" "-It's Hever Mendelieve." Hever cut him off calmly, correcting him.
"Ah.." Nel scratched his head awkwardly. "I'm not good with names. But I'll remember yours." He promised.
Suddenly, there was a change.
The air grew heavier.
The expressions of the onlookers tightened.
A maelstrom of pressure pushed down on all of them as Nel's grin grew wider.
"You're strong." His focus and concentration skyrocketed.
His eyes burrowed into Hever. "Stronger than I could have hoped for."
He took his signature stance.
Yet, it was completely different.
"The strongest I've faced so far."
Only sincerity could be heard in his tone.
"Try not to lose too quickly."
Hever simply gazed at him.
His words cut through the heavy atmosphere.
There was nothing left to be said.
('...Fast!') Rui's eyes widened ('Only Kane is faster!')
p Yet, what occurred was even faster.
Nel slammed the floor. Yet before Rui could even marvel at Hever's technique, he was already up!
Nel blurred as he appeared in front of Hever. His fist was merely inches away from the latter's face.
He was already on the ground, skidding away.
The Martial Apprentices gaped. Hever Mendelieve threw him over and over!
Nel's speed was immense. Only Kane would overwhelm it, almost everyone else would simply lose. The few that didn't would need to be extremely careful.
Yet Hever Mendelieve was intercepting these speedy attacks and throwing Nel to thr ground before the latter could even do anything about it?
"He's incredibly fast." Dalen murmured.
"No." Kane shook his head. "The speed of his motion isn't special, he's not bad, but he's not particularly good either."
"Then how is he accomplishing such speed?" Fae asked.
"Not sure." Kane admitted, scratching his head. "It's like there's no delay in his motions or something. It's hard to explain."
"It's a result of an unbelievable amount of muscle memory. It has to be." Rui realized, observing Hever with his keen eyes.
"I thought memory resided in the head not in the muscles." Milliana tapped her temple.
"Muscle memory is the subconscious memory of movements and coordination." Rui explained. "It resides in a special part of the brain that is responsible for motion, coordination, balance and equilibrium."
"What does that have to do with Hever?" Dalen asked curiously.
"Normally, all movements require conscious processing and guidance from the conscious mind." Rui explained. "Even as we move, our conscious minds are perceiving, thinking, making a decision and executing the decision regarding what movement we should make next."
Everyone nodded. This made sense.
"But." Rui added. "This takes time. Not too much time, of course, but enough time to slow down the execution of movements, especially complicated movements, especially complicated movements like Martial Art techniques."
"Hever is skipping all of that through sheer muscle memory." Rui explained. "Rather than consciously perceiving, processing and thinking, and finally making a decision. He simply skips all of that because he subconsciously remembers what movements to make in any given circumstance."
This was the secret to Hever's strength!