Appearing simultaneously before each other, Alex and Amon exchanged their first blow, with Alex attempting to match Amon's power.
BOOM!
Their fists made contact, with Alex's fist being pushed slightly back due to his inability to match Amon's power. However, the attack did nothing to move him back. His stance was firm, as it was perfect.
To the untrained eye, it was Amon's victory; however, instructor Horvey understood what Alex was attempting.
'Interesting…'
Meanwhile, Amon grinned, feeling proud of his feat. To him, Alex failed to draw out most of his power, resulting in him getting pushed back.
His smile told Alex what he was thinking, but Alex cared little for his thoughts.
He adjusted his output after the initial clash and turned to defence to observe how Amon would capitalise on his small victory, and he did not disappoint.
Amon swiftly capitalised on his advantage by pressing Alex with a series of powerful kicks and moves, forcing Alex back gradually.
Of course, Alex was able to keep up with Amon's speed with no problem.
He blocked all the attacks he could and evaded the others by ducking, sidestepping, backstepping, and all the evasive moves he knew.
The speed at which they moved around the stage impressed their colleagues. They could keep up, of course, and as the seconds passed, the observant ones began to notice how Amon's attacks weren't hitting Alex in the slightest.
"He's holding back, isn't he?"
"Yep, he's toying with Amon."
The comments reached Zen as well, and he had to agree with them.
'Amon never stood a chance.' Zen realised bitterly. 'And this is him going all out against Alexander. He won't be able to bring out his full strength.'
The sight of his friend's attacks doing basically nothing against Alex, even though Alex was the one constantly backing away, saddened him.
'If this is the best he can do, then he'd have to try harder. ' Alex thought, deciding to push things a bit further.
As Amon launched another roundhouse kick toward Alexander's head, Alex evaded it by arching his back away from the blow. He quickly spun around, harnessing the momentum to get behind Amon, taking him off guard.
The technique was flawless, showcasing Alexander's control over his body and power.
Amon had realised that his strikes were failing to land. With every attempt he made, Alex expertly dodged or deflected with precise, minimal movements.
This frustrated him to no end, but he also refused to use his abilities.
Now confronted with an incoming attack, he swiftly decided to set aside his pride, allowing him to counter whatever Alex was planning to do.
Alex swiftly removed the last leg Amon had planted from his roundhouse kick, throwing off his balance.
'Not a chance!' Amon inwardly exclaimed, channelling his mana through his entire body and activating his ability.
As Alexander attempted to follow up with another kick, he felt a breeze created by Amon, instantly realising what the boy intended to do.
'Tsk…' he snorted, crossing his arms as it was too late to move out of the way.
WHOOSH!
Fortunately, Amon's ability created a powerful gust of wind that propelled Alex across the stage, his feet firmly planted and his arms crossed defensively against his face.
Before Alex could regain his footing, Amon was already on him from above, his right hand conjuring a wind blade with the intent to cut Alex in half. Moreover, the look on Amon's face spoke volumes about his state of mind.
'I guess it's time to increase my output a bit.' There was no need to keep holding back.
As he had resolved to rely solely on his physical attributes to compensate for the gap created by Amon using his abilities, he needed to increase his speed and power.
When the wind blade came close enough to slice through Alex, he vanished from the sight of Amon and practically everyone else closely observing their fight.
Only their instructor witnessed what Alex did.
'He's finally decided to take the fight a bit seriously.' The instructor thought silently, his gaze following Alex. 'But I doubt he would still use his light abilities.'
Amon was visibly confused when he lost sight of his target. His right hand sliced through the empty air. He quickly turned around, searching for where his target had vanished.
The One-Horned sensed a shadow over him and glanced up, discovering Alex coming down with his right hand outstretched toward his face.
Before he could react, a hand seized his face and, with a force akin to that of a moving train, Alexander slammed him violently into the ground.
BOOM...!
Amon nearly lost consciousness. His vision blurred, and the pain from the force of the palm strike spread throughout his body. With his body awkwardly lodged into the stage, Amon was out for the count.
Once again, the crowd was mesmerised by the display of power and skill. Julia and Ross were equally impressed. They barely followed his movements in the last moments!
'This is bad… I couldn't even follow his movement.' Zen looked around, observing the expressions of everyone.
Some had admiration in their eyes while others had fire lit within. The sight did him some damage. 'Tsk. There's still time and a bigger stage.'
With the forthcoming competition to evaluate the progress of all first-years, Zen had the ideal opportunity to put Alex in his place.
Right now, however, he understood that the current him was no match for Alex. Besides, individual strength wasn't everything. He began devising multiple plans based on that notion.
Meanwhile, Alex stood up and stepped back from Amon, who had been unable to move after a few seconds.
'I didn't even use that much strength.' The condition of his opponent surprised him as well.
He half expected him to get up and continue the fight, but his wish was not coming true anytime soon. If he had to estimate how much power he used, he would say about 60% of his full strength.
None of his classmates had yet made it past the [600 units] of strength that a low-tier Class E hunter possessed - the level gap was not that simple.
"Winner, Alexander Gray!"