Chapter 207: First Match’s Winner!

"Damn it."

They looked at each other. Vesper’s sense of smell was far more acute than theirs. It wasn’t entirely a secret, but Vesper had never openly shown that passive ability of his.

"They knew," Kane said, rushing toward the barrier. "Fuck, they knew about his nose, how the hell did they..." He slammed his hand against the transparent wall. "Vesper! Cover your nose and mouth! Hey! Can you hear me?!"

Sabel joined him, shouting as loudly as she could, but Vesper couldn’t hear them.

Inside the arena, the smoke had already swallowed him.

Vesper’s eyes burned, and tears gathered and rolled down his cheeks as he fought to keep his stomach under control. Every breath made the smell worse. His instincts screamed at him to get as far from the smoke as possible, but his opponent had trapped him inside a tornado of green vapor that turned the entire area into a choking prison.

Through the smoke, Luther’s laughter showed only in the shape of his mouth. Vesper couldn’t hear him, but he could guess what the bastard was saying.

"What’s wrong? Like the smell? Want me to give you more?"

Vesper’s hands curled into fists. The muscles along his thighs tensed and bulged beneath his uniform, and then he jumped.

His body shot upward with explosive force, tearing through the upper edge of the swirling vapor until he cleared it entirely. The audience gasped, and Luther’s expression changed.

Vesper didn’t stop. The Fumeclaw had risen above the battlefield, wings spread as it kept producing smoke, and Vesper slammed straight into its body, but his fist passed through it. The spiritual beast wasn’t physical. It was only a manifestation of spiritual energy. The Fumeclaw gave a strange squeak as Vesper emerged from the other side, and then he dropped.

He landed directly in front of Luther.

Luther’s eyes widened. "You... how did you get out of there? That’s not possi— You shouldn’t have been able to..."

For the first time since the match began, fear showed on his face. Vesper looked terrible, with red eyes, tear-streaked cheeks, and rough, ragged breathing, but he was standing, and he was furious. Luther instinctively stepped back.

That was when Vesper’s fist struck.

Bang!

The side of Luther’s face snapped violently to the side, and his body spun from the impact before crashing onto the arena floor.

The crowd erupted at once.

Luther tried to push himself up, but Vesper reached him first, and his fist came down again, then again, and again. Each punch landed with enough force to send a heavy crack through the arena. Luther tried to defend himself, but his arms had already gone numb from blocking earlier, and now that Vesper had closed the distance, he couldn’t withstand the blows.

Vesper grabbed him by the collar, pulled him upward, and drove a knee into his stomach. Luther folded, and Vesper followed with another punch, then another.

The fight had turned completely one-sided.

There was no strategy left, no defense, only Vesper’s fists crashing into Luther until his body finally went limp and collapsed onto the arena floor.

The referee hurried forward to check him. "Luther Daren is unconscious!"

A moment later, the announcement rang across the entire arena.

"Winner of the first match: Vesper of Class 7-D!"

Cheers thundered through the enormous arena. Students who had bet against him jumped from their seats in disbelief, while those who had backed him shouted in excitement. Vesper straightened, raised his fist high above his head, and roared at the top of his lungs, the sound reaching every corner of the arena.

Aisha’s expression softened as she watched him celebrate. She had expected Vesper to win, but seeing him overcome an opponent who had deliberately targeted his weakness was satisfying. Beside her, Kane at last released the breath he had been holding and sank back into his seat, while Sabel laughed.

"That’s Vesper for you."

Kane rubbed his forehead. "He nearly gave me a heart attack."

On the stage, Vesper turned toward their waiting area and pointed at Aisha, reminding her of the promise she had made before the match. Even from a distance, she understood what he wanted and couldn’t help but smile.

The professors were just as surprised.

One instructor leaned forward, eyes wide. "An A-rank in the lowest class? Why on earth was someone like that put in 7-D?"

Another professor couldn’t stop praising the match. "That spiritual beast’s ability was extremely difficult to escape from. The smell alone would be enough to disorient most people. Even a veteran Sentinel could have trouble fighting properly after being trapped in that smoke." He pointed toward the battlefield. "Vesper’s method was correct. He didn’t try to break through the smoke directly. He used his physical strength to jump over it and reached the spiritual beast first. What’s more impressive is that he defeated his opponent without even using his Sentinel ability."

A third professor nodded. "That’s true. He relied entirely on his physical strength."

The first instructor sat back thoughtfully. "If he wins the next round, we should reconsider his placement. Someone like that could go to the elite class. Wouldn’t you agree?"

He turned toward the dean.

Another dean laughed lightly. "Let’s wait until he wins the second round. If he does, we can arrange it."

The professors nodded, satisfied, but the dean who had backed Corwin remained silent. His expression stayed calm as he listened to them praise Vesper, while inside, his anger burned hotter with every word.

He had already given Corwin enough information.

Worse, he had promised Corwin’s parents that their son and his companions would win this duel, and they had promised him a huge amount of money in return, along with a bag of energy stones. If Vesper won again, those rewards would disappear, and if Corwin’s team lost, his own position could become troublesome.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, his terminal vibrated. The dean discreetly lowered his gaze to a message from Corwin, which he read without changing his expression. Then his fingers moved across the terminal, and he sent a single reply.

"Use it."