The Veilwalker

She lunged forward with her right hand clanged into a fist. The fist moved rapidly, pushing the air around it, resulting in a small boom that was approaching. Caught off guard, Alex braced for impact.

As the fist made contact with his face, he could feel the force of the punch moulding into his face and the crunching sound of his cheekbones cracking.

\'Fuck…\' He cussed, berating himself for his momentary lapse in judgement. A rookie mistake!

BOOM!

Like a cannonball, Alex flew through the air before making a deep impression on the ground a few hundred metres away, leaving Alex buried in dirt and in pain, groaning. Even with his new and improved physique due to awakening, and pain level set at 85%, he took massive damage.

\'Yep, looking down on her is going to get me killed!\' His mistake was thinking because this was a spar, he wouldn\'t have to give his all, and while he knew she was trained in martial arts, he still saw her as a girl.

\'I need a change of mindset.\' He could feel the sting of the blow on his face, forgetting once again, that he was in a fight.

"Don\'t get distracted, eyes on me!" Before he could even get his bearings straight, Julia was already on him with her right leg raised high for a stomp.

Alex took advantage of his superior speed and response to roll to her right and out of the way just in time before the foot landed.

BOOM!

The dirt generated from the stump created a small opening for Alex who wasted no time in taking advantage of the cover to retaliate. He jumped back up and threw a right jab, his forming perfect, bringing out a large portion of his physical strength.

But Julia already saw that coming the moment Alex moved out of the way. Expecting his attack, she quickly adjusted herself to face Alex before sidestepping to the right of Alex and closing the small gap.

WHOOSH!

However, the power of his punch generated a violent gust of wind that past Julia by. Not disturbed by his failed attack, Julia followed with a punch to his gut. But she deliberately lowered the power to prevent Alex from flying, keeping him in her grasp.

\'Shit!... I\'m getting my ass handed to me!\' Alex\'s mind was a turmoil of thoughts and regrets. Even with his speed, he couldn\'t bring out all of it as he risks creating too many openings. But the problem still persisted, he was too easy to read!

With Alex\'s bend over from the blow to his stomach, Julia added a hand chump to the back of his neck, burying him in the dirt.

\'That was brutal! Have mercy woman!\' He screamed in his head, not knowing whether to shed tears.

"Get up," Julia commanded and created a distance from him. She decided to give Alex a breather. When he got out of the dirt, Alex felt as he looked, miserable.

"What have you learnt so far?" She questioned with her signature cold smile.

Sighing to himself, he responded, "Never underestimate your opponent, no matter who they are."

"And…"

"And strength and speed aren\'t everything if you can\'t make proper use of them." He finished.

"Good. We\'re going again.

I still haven\'t seen what you\'re capable of. So, I am going to be matching your pace and exchange blows."

Nodding his head like a kid being lectured by their parent, Alex readied himself for the second round. Julia appreciated how he wasn\'t feeling down by his loss.

\'Mm, definitely a keeper.\' She caught herself getting distracted by her train of thought, silently smiling. Of course, the blush that attempted to appear was quickly suppressed.

Alex and Julia locked eyes once again as the tension built up. This time, there was no timer as they would follow their instincts.

...…..

Ross observed the bout and was impressed by Julia\'s combat skills.

"She\'s clearly well trained, and her near-perfect application of force makes her a dangerous opponent." He analyzed it, looking at it from all angles. Being able to control the amount of force you generate at any moment is not something just anyone could do.

Such an opponent can generate more power from their body depending on the situation, eliminating wasteful moves that drain their stamina, and focusing on finishing moves.

When the duo began the second round, he saw how Alex\'s moves were all over the place with Julia still matching his pace. Their exchange was fast-paced, generating gusts of winds and small booms, barely a blur to a normal human\'s eyes, but to Ross, it was as clear as day.

At first, Alex was having difficulty controlling his speed and strength, and while he wasn\'t winning, the amount of damage he was receiving from Julia was reducing.

"Hmm? He\'s adapting very quickly."

Indeed, Alex was quickly adjusting to his strength and speed, trying to minimize his wasteful movements and conserve power for when he gets an opening to deliver a powerful blow. But that was a tall order at the amount.

Against an opponent like Julia, Alex was simply out-skilled and outmatched. His attempts at feints were seen through with him paying the price instead. Opting to focus on just fighting and learning, he discarded his mock actions.

\'His learning curve wasn\'t this fast before. Is it because we are awakened now? No, I would have experienced the same thing.\' he wondered as the more he observed, the more impressed he was. He had practised fighting several times at home and he hadn\'t made much improvement.

A small grin spread across his face.

"Maybe it wouldn\'t take too long to catch up, buddy." Ross was genuinely happy about the progress Alex was making.