Dreambreaker

Chapter 26: Nola Reinheart VS Noah Grey![2]

Third person's POV:

Noah was unaware, but those who had known him in his life were aware of one absolute truth— Noah was anything, but weak.

For twenty-three years of his life, Noah fought against death. Despite his condition, he never succumbed to despair. His willpower was indomitable, an unyielding force that refused to be broken. A will power so crushing, that it refused death.

As Nola saw the battered and bruised figure of the young man rise from the ground, a bead of sweat trickled down her temple.

A nagging intuition gripped her, and in that very moment, a troubling thought crossed her mind: 'Something is not right.'

***

Nola's POV(point of view):

With my curiosity sparked, I gazed deeply into his eyes that once held nervousness and fear.

They were now replaced with an intense determination.

As I stared longer, his once ordinary black orbs now appeared eerie and unsettling.

A feeling crept up on me that this was not just my imagination playing tricks on me.

Suddenly a realization hit me.

'I had seen eyes like these before, but where?'

Although the memory was out of reach, the intensity in his gaze was uncannily similar to someone.

I watched him. Sweat clinging to his form, my eyes couldn't help but absorb the sight of his curves.

His white shirt, now semi-transparent, stuck to his skin, highlighting the contours of his body in all the right places.

For a brief moment, I found myself admiring him...

'What the heck! This isn't the right time or place to be thinking such things!'

I bit my lip, feeling a flush spread across my cheeks.

My heart raced as I tried to focus on the task at hand.

Without thinking, I steadied my focus on the man before me, assuming a serious stance.

My breathing was labored and uneven.

"Huff-pha!" I exhaled a sharp puff of air.

The match had taken its toll, enduring far longer than anticipated and exhaustion weighed heavily upon me.

As if in response, he also assumed a peculiar stance unlike any I have seen before.

***

Noah's POV(Point of View):

I caught sight of Nola's figure, as she was ready for another round.

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With a deep breath, I eased my tensed muscles, feeling a slight pain as I exhaled, "Snnnhhh."

I gradually lowered myself onto my left knee, adopting a squatting position.

I then leaned forward with my head, followed by the rest of my body until assuming a runner's stance.

Firmly planting my left hand on the ground, I slowly raised my right hand.

With the reverse grip, the machete's razor-sharp edge found its place beside the outer curve of my elbow, while the blunt edge nested snugly against my forearm, held tightly in place by my grip.

Finally, I lifted my right hand ready to strike.

There was a reason why I refrained from using [Momentum Transfer] until now.

Mimicking the [Momentum Transfer] skill without actually using it was all intentional.

Recently, I discovered that Nano had the access to my Status Window.

Normally one can only utilize one skill at a time, and using multiple skills simultaneously not only posed a challenge but also produces incomplete results.

However, with Nano's assistance, I discovered that it is possible for me to use multiple skills at the same time.

Giving Nano a signal in a low tone, which was scarcely audible, I whispered

"Nano."

Sensing my intent, he answered in his usual mechanical and monotonous tone, [Affirmative].

──────────────────────

Momentum transfer→

Skill Rank: F

Description: A skill which allows the

user to transfer their momentum and inertia from their initial position to their final position. By imbuing mana into their weapon, the user can deliver powerful strikes with each strike.

──────────────────────

***

──────────────────────

Perception→

Skill Rank: G

???: ??? ?[]

Description: Allows the user to perceive the emotions of others.

──────────────────────

[All skills activated]

...

Imagine yourself in a fight, rubber bullets flying at you with alarming frequency.

As the fight goes on, you'd expect nothing more than benign rubber bullets. But what if your enemy suddenly switched to deadly metal bullets without any indication?

This despicable tactic is commonly referred to as the "Surprise Effect" or the "Shock Effect" in the world of psychology.

Not only does this approach inflict physical harm, but it can also cause severe psychological and emotional distress, disrupting the victim's focus and performance in battle, intensifying emotions by four-hundred percent.

Noah may not have been aware of the psychological term, but he had undoubtedly planned this very strategy for his clash with Nola.

Nola who had only experienced the mimicked version of the [Momentum Transfer] skill before, so she had no idea of what was coming her way.

As a result, her guard was down and she was completely unprepared for what Noah was about to unleash.

With his body imbued with mana, Noah launched himself forward, expending fifty percent of his mana reserves in the process.

Fixing his focus, he swung his machete with all his might, his leap suddenly doubling in speed as he perceived Nola's expression and behaviour, which made it glaringly obvious to him where she was directing her attention...ahem.

Like an open book, Noah was able to read her with ease.

Nola, who saw Noah charging towards her and her only thought was 'fast!'

She tried to dodge, but it was too late.

The speed with which he moved caught her off guard, and her attempt to defend herself with her sword proved futile.

The force of Noah's attack was too much for Nola's worn-out, unprepared body to handle.

Her grip on the sword loosened, and it flew out of the stadium while Noah's blunt machete struck her in the stomach

"FUCK!" Nola exhaled.

As Noah's machete struck her stomach, Nola's body was jolted backward and she let out a sharp cry of pain.

Her eyes rolled back in agony as she slid across the ground, eventually coming to a stop at a distance.

***

Noah's POV:

I knew that Nola held a higher rank and my own limited experience in combat made chance of victory slim.

Thus, I chose to adopt a strategic approach.

I introduced Nola to a mimicry of the [Momentum Transfer] skill during the match to instill false confidence within her.

This also allowed me to conserve my limited mana reserve, which was fixed at just 100, with no capacity for restoration.

As she grew more accustomed to the imitation, she began to believe that I posed no real threat.

But, my true intentions remained hidden.

I waited patiently for the opportune moment to strike, and when it arrived, I unleashed.

To my amazement, my trick worked flawlessly!

***

"Ugh...it hurts..." Nola groaned, her body weakened from the prolonged period of time she had spent trying to 'humiliate' Noah.

In contrast, Noah had a slightly better stamina than Nola.

Still his physical condition was worse than that of Nola.

The crowd fell into a deafening silence as they witnessed the scene unfolding before them.

It made no sense to see someone ranked in the thousands overpowering someone ranked in hundreds.

"How is this possible?" some

students murmured in disbelief.

Others simply gasped or muttered in shock.

But amidst the tension, a voice rose above the silence.

"You can do it Noah! Go for it! Finish her!" James cheered, drawing everyone's attention.

Noah repositioned himself, his mind set on finishing the battle.

"One more should do the trick," he thought to himself.

With the last of his mana reserves, Noah propelled himself forward with [Momentum Transfer].

Nola saw the pale boy coming at her with incredible speed, and could only sweat profusely as she covered herself in mana.

"Ha!" Noah let out a forceful cry as his machete collided with her, causing her to bounce off the ground and come to a stop near the edge of the arena.

She was still conscious, but on the brink of giving up.

Most students couldn't believe their eyes as they watched a seemingly weakling like Noah beating Nola.

"How is this even possible?" They whispered to each other in disbelief.

But there was one person who was even more puzzled than the rest: Luke Armstone.

Luke had been beaten to a pulp by Noah previously and had never suspected that the boy could be capable of such a feat.

At first, he thought Noah was simply hiding his true power during the fight.

But after watching Noah struggle against Nola time after time, getting beaten down only to rise back up, Luke couldn't make sense of his strange behaviour.

In the end, Luke concluded that Noah must be a masochist who enjoys getting beaten by girls with no other reason to explain his weird behaviour.

????????!—????????!—????????!

Noah moved in slowly for the final blow.

His body was beaten and his mana reserves were completely depleted, but at this moment, none of that mattered.

Nola, who saw Noah strolling towards her, attempted to get up.

"Ankh!", she exhaled, her body twitched with pain, and she was too exhausted to continue.

????????!—????????!—????????!

Noah stopped right before Nola.

????????! —Noah's body fell to the ground.

"Heh?" A questioning sigh escaped Nola's mouth watching what happened.

"Halt!" Professor Riya shouted out an order to halt the match.

Rushing to Noah's side, she checked his pulse and discovered that he had completely depleted his mana reserves.

"Since Noah cannot fight anymore, the victory goes to Nola Reinheart!"

Professor Riya declared.

A strange expression crossed Nola's face as she watched medical staff take Noah away.

Tears filled her eyes as she contemplated the outcome of the match. 'Did I really win? This victory feels anything but fulfilling. How could this pathetic victory even be called a 'victory'?' she wondered, questioning the legitimacy of her win.

Her expression was vexed with a frown on her pretty face.

On the other hand, Professor Riya, who watched the entire thing, was confused.

She looked at the boy who was currently being taken away by the medical staff.

With a stern face Professor Riya let out, "I should probably check his file once."