The four friends then left the cafeteria as it was almost time for the fights to resume. The next match was going to be fought between An and Stefan. Only the second was a top student, but An showed remarkable fighting prowess and reached this point. He was going to join the Red Pce.


    An was delighted with his results. Bing part of the vast organization that the Red Pce represented would undoubtedly give him many growth opportunities. It was wishful thinking, but the young man hoped to get into the first three positions so that he could choose his teacher. He already knew who he wanted to train with, the famous Martin Coven.


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


    He was not only strong but also a demon with such a weapon in his hands. The young man believed that he would be 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 ce.


    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 An 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 oue.


    It wasn''t that she didn''t know the strength disparity between the two, but that she did hope that An 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 An''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 An''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 downpletely.


    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.


    An 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 amotion around.


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


    "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 Pce, while Adam, his best friend, didn''t.


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


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


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


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


    An ran straight through the middle of the arena. Still, before he could hit Stefan, thetter activated his brain crystal power, bing ethereal.


    An 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 An 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. An used his spear to attack Stefan, but thetter 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 An. Often managing tond 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 An 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.


    An swung his spear countless times, but Stefan avoided each attack. The only time the spear user could injure his opponent was when thetter 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 An quickly umted 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 An and started ferociously beating him. The young man quickly lost control over his neural links, the mana inside his body stopped circting, 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. An 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 thetter didn''t want Erik and Floyd to find out she liked An. 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..."