Chapter 192: Imitation of Mastery

All eyes on Moon's stride.

"Is he tired?"

"What's he doing now?"

"He's not as energetic."

"I think so as well."

Countless voices exclaimed as Moon slowed, approaching carefully this time and abandoning the fierce dash that had made the entire audience scream with excitement.

Most were skeptical one way or another, expecting his stamina to have run out after everything he'd done. Taking on Talia's superior stamina, strength, and even agility was bound to be draining for anyone. Moon was no exception.

"He's changing his approach," Lucen said. "You see, Edmond, that's the one thing I truly like about that," he added. "He might seem wild and crazy, but his mind is resilient; he's abandoning the method and anger altogether."

Ed tilted his head. "He gets quite a lot of weird ideas that wouldn't normally make sense."

"It's both entertaining and frustrating for someone as old as me to witness." Lucen chuckled softly. "It conflicts strictly with everything I try to teach the children I pick," he added.

Ed pursed his lips but didn't talk again; for some reason, he had an idea of where the conversation would lead, so he decided to end it here.

Moon was also a few steps away from Talia, who stood like an impregnable fortress before him.

"This is gonna turn into a damn long-ass grind," he whispered before throwing a punch aimed at Talia's face.

Talia parried and threw one at him.

Moon knew too well at this point that blocking was a very bad idea, lest he fancied snapping his arm. As for parrying, it was a waste of energy in most cases.

Thus, Moon, with controlled precision, took a step before aiming a punch lower at her central abdomen.

In his mind, Moon abandoned the idea of picturing himself fighting a single target. At this point, Moon was trying to recall the sensation and pressure he went through on the first trial.

The sensation the Memory Fragment brought him.

To conquer an impossible obstacle, to be prepared for a fight that may never see an end.

Moon was sure that in his place, facing the same trial as he did, she would have died all the same. Her stats and advantages meant nothing.

Against overwhelming numbers and sure death, there were no advantages.

He was also confident that Talia could never defeat the current him, even if she used her Echo. Not after everything he went through with Ed for the past few days.

Yet, her not being able to defeat him, and him not being able to defeat her... This wasn't an outcome Moon would settle for.

It was not acceptable.

Thus, to everyone watching, Moon was going for a slow, standard combat that looked both formal and orthodox for someone who had never received any combat educational training growing up.

One punch after another, Talia blocked or parried; meanwhile, Moon dodged in a very collected and precise manoeuvre.

Moon didn't rush this time or aim to land a hit that was basically meaningless and inefficient.

His heated body, heavily drenched in sweat, and his messy, wet hair began to slowly cool off, along with his facial expression, which was by far calmer and more focused.

Talia, on the other hand, had a permanent frown.

Anger was still there, but there was also evident confusion on her face with every exchange.

She had only seen Moon's footwork during the first few minutes of the first skirmish round; it was against the entire group fighting him.

Yet now, experiencing it firsthand herself, Talia couldn't help feeling confused about many things.

Not only the footwork.

She couldn't help hopping back, making distance between herself and Moon, allowing the audience to catch their breath again.

"Why are you fighting like this only now?" she asked in genuine curiosity.

"Like what?" Moon didn't give her an answer. "You don't like how this is going?" he asked back.

She shook her head. "Your footwork is breathtaking," Talia exclaimed. "Why didn't you move like this from the beginning?"

"Old habits." Moon shrugged. "On the first floor, stats didn't exist; people would just die right away."

Moon was lying to everyone who could hear him outright without batting an eye. "On the first floor, footwork is just a fancy term, a waste of time when all that's needed is a stab."

It wasn't a matter of disrespecting Talia as an opponent; it was a matter of his identity that he steeled his heart to protect against all odds.

Thanks to Ed's warnings and caution, Moon learned that there were always those who watched others for fun. There were countless abilities that allowed others to spy, if not just for the heightened senses of the stronger ascenders.

There were countless weaker ascenders who had weird abilities that allowed them to gather intel and spy on others.

Something that drove even Samuel to build a place that was impossible to spy on to live.

It was the new reality that Moon found himself in, and he was willing to play the game.

Talia's gaze sharpened. She remembered what Moon said about his role as a mercenary. Going behind enemy lines.

"Even if that's the case, you said you were never taught fighting in the first place; how can you fight like this?" Her tone sharpened along with her gaze.

"Ah, you think I lied?" Moon exclaimed before smiling widely. "I thought you'd be faster to catch on than this; it's a little disappointing," he commented.

Talia's face was overtaken by confusion for a moment before her eyes suddenly shook. "What are you—"

"Your movements are too clean and almost educational; it was hard to resist trying them out myself." Moon shrugged. "Your mastery is astonishing; I wanted to follow them and see if I had the talent for this."

Silence took over the arena, and every other arena. Moon's words sounded so clear all of a sudden that everyone could perfectly catch them effortlessly, even through the screens.

After a beat, murmurs rose in the audience.

At the top row of the audience—

Buzzzzzzt~

The spot where Ed, Samuel, and Lucen were seated was suddenly hidden from everyone's eyes and ears. "Care to explain?" Samuel asked before Ed had a moment to inquire.

The matrix of seals was completely deployed, and around him, around Lucen, from every direction, a shockwave buzzed with an eerie sound; disturbing was the kindest word to describe it.

They clearly saw it: Lucen playing the last trick.

Out of many abilities the ascenders are gifted with, simple manipulation of sound and vision for either recording items or even individuals was but a simple and effortless task.

Lucen's smile didn't waver; he shrugged. "Shouldn't you give the kid credit for his talents?"

He turned his gaze from the ring and looked at Samuel, who was threatening him with his usual blank face. "Are you aware of what you're doing now?" His smile faded.

Samuel didn't seem to be concerned in the slightest; the ear-rupturing noises that had yet to touch anything rose, more intensely, more threateningly.

His lips slowly parted. "Are you aware of what you're doing now?" he repeated the exact same question Lucen had asked, word for word, in his very own monotonous tone.