“So this is what you are hiding?”

Zero smirked.

Zero appeared as if he didn’t care that his opponent had just released a Rank-B mana aura. He still emanates a confident aura.

( Rank-B -, huh! This should be her real rank! )

Zero looked at Ruelle, trying to determine whether she was hiding something more. But it seems unlikely as what could be more dangerous than Rank-B strength?

If there was something more powerful than Rank-B power, then Zero would indeed need to start worrying about himself.

“Stop Pretending! You should know the difference between us. I will give you a chance to surrender to me!”

Ruelle said.

Now that she had displayed her rank, she believed that Zero would eventually submit to her. Who would dare to go against Rank-B power?

“Yeah, yeah, I would like to see the difference!”

Zero mocking said. Zero didn’t care at all that she was Rank-B. He already expected that when he felt a greater threat than Omar from her. If he cared about her Rank-B strength, he would not have shown his face.

Giving a chance? It was he, who gave her a chance by not beating her directly.

“….”

( How come that I am being underestimated here? )

Not only did he force her to show her real power, but now he seemed not to think it was a big deal. Her biggest trump card was being mocked here.

Ruelle didn’t expect this kind of response.

( Shouldn’t he apologize and beg with tears in his eyes! )

She knew that something was wrong with this situation.

( Was I too kind or does he have a powerful trump card? )

She shook her head. Despite thinking hard, she didn’t know what exactly went wrong for Zero to continue acting arrogant in front of her.

“Humph! Let’s see for how long you can pretend!”

She didn’t know what Zero was hiding to be so confident but she still believed that she was the strongest.

[ “Putrefaction Blast” ]

Ruelle for the first time used her skill. She didn’t care about being accused of seriously injuring Zero. After demonstrating her strength, she had already given him the opportunity to surrender. She thought that it would only be Zero’s fault if he died from her attack.

[ “Dual Art: Glacier Shadow Slash” ]

Zero also used one of his strongest attacks.

With Rank-B taking action, it would be fatal if he held back any longer. As long as he didn’t use Dark energy, he knew that he would be fine with using any other skill.

Even though the participants were far away from the attack, they were pushed away by the wind generated by the attack. The spectator could only imagine how powerful the actual attack was.

-BOOM!

Without delay, the two attacks collided, causing a huge explosion. The earth shook, and wind and dust were blowing in every direction.

The students near the fighting area had a hard time watching the fight due to the wind and dust getting in their eyes.

The dust gradually settled, and both Zero and Ruelle were standing without a scratch on their body. The two attacks seemed to have similar power due to which the two attacks canceled each other.

-GULP!

At that moment, everyone knew how powerful the two fighters were. They already knew that Zero was powerful when she released her mana aura but now they realized that even her opponent was equally formidable.

It was clear that even if they combined their power, two of them could defeat most of them present there.

The realization sent shivers down their spines, but even so, they decided to stay and watch the rare battle. The winner of this battle would be crowned the strongest in the tournament. Omar Noel already lost that title.

“…”

Ruelle was truly dumbfounded now.

No matter how serious she was and even when she used her strongest skill, Zero was able to fight with her as an equal.

“Oh My! Don’t tell me this was your full power? If so, you might need to try some more if you want to go past me!”

When Zero saw Ruelle’s dumbfounded look, he provoked her.

Ruelle gritted her teeth. She severely underestimated her opponent. Zero attacks were almost on par with her. She didn’t think that such an unremarkable-looking boy would force her hand.

“I really want you dead!”

Ruelle shouted.

She could not hold her emotions when Zero was blatantly mocking her in front of everyone. How can a genius like her accept being insulted by others?

Even when she knows that staying calm is the right answer, she could not help but get angry at Zero’s provocation.

Ruelle instantly charged at Zero.

If the skill doesn’t work, then she would exhaust Zero to death. No matter how powerful his attacks were, Zero was not a Rank-B. With her stat of Rank-B, she thought that her mana and stamina would be higher.

In order to defeat Zero, she wants to take advantage of that. She was so consumed with winning right now that she forgot that her goal was to save Omar Noel, not to prolong the battle.

She thought of Zero’s previous attack as his strongest attack and his trump card. She thought that Zero mana would probably be exhausted if she kept fighting for a few more minutes.

[ “Cryomany Art: Ice Shard” ]

However, she was stopped in her tracks by the incoming Ice attack. Zero didn’t give her the chance to close the distance.

-CLANK! -CLANK!

She destroyed every Ice shard that was coming in her direction. Just when she thought that the attack had stopped,

[ “Ice Ground” ]

Zero used Ice Ground to try and freeze Ruelle. The ground began to freeze and it was heading in Ruelle’s direction.

-WHOOSH!

She instantly backed off. She looked at the ground. An area of around 20 meters has been frozen in ice.

Zero skill didn’t hit Ruelle but he was still able to accomplish his objective. Now the area surrounding him is all Ice. With environmental advantage, Zero knew that Ruelle would have to be more careful when attacking him.

[ “Ice Shard” ]

Zero, having created distance between Ruelle and himself, took advantage of that and used his long ranged attack.

Ruelle switched on full defense mode as she continued to only defend herself. She was happy that Zero was wasting so much mana. She thought that Zero would not be able to keep this up for too long.

However, Zero was having different thoughts than her. He was thinking that his plan was working. Zero was also using the same plan as Ruelle, which is exhausting your opponent to death.

The Ruelle plan was doomed to failure from the start!

Zero’s mana stat has always been significantly higher than other people, not to mention the intense training that he puts himself through has increased his stamina so much that it is practically impossible for him to get exhausted unless he is always under great stress.

Additionally, Omar Noel is on the verge of collapsing. Though Omar Noel was not as crucial as Ruelle, he was still significant in ensuring the tournament win.

( This is my victory! )