I Can Make Everything Level UP

Billy assumed the stance like he was going to use Palm Cannon, but his left arm was raised vertically in front of him. It was clear that Billy was going to use some sort of rotating movement by using his whole body to increase the power of his next punch. His body was getting redder due to Rage and also began to emit some steam due to Stamina Manipulation.

At the same time, both fighters dashed toward each other. In the end, Svan was planning to hit him with a body slam while trying to protect the most important parts of his body with his arm and trying to hit him with his shoulder while using his strength and the weight of his build. Billy didn't run away from the challenge… and he punched the shoulder that Svan attempted to hit him.

A massive blast of wind spread across the area when both attacks collided. The energy accumulated by both attacks was that high, after all, to the point where even the blast of wind made several more cracks appear on the ring. However, in the next moment, Svan's body was pushed back and began to spin while he flew in the opposite direction.

Svan only stopped when his body hit the wall that separated the area and the seats of the audience. Due to the power of the attack, Svan's body smashed and broke a good part of the wall, and when he fell, he spat a good mouthful of blood. So, when his blood cooled down, Billy wondered if he had gone too far, but he knew that he would be in that position if he hadn't given a punch like that. Even so, Billy's punch was hurting like hell…

The audience grew silent while imagining the worst. Still, eventually, Svan got up while holding his sides… and then he laughed a little. Billy approached to check his wounds, but that probably would be a bit condescending, so Billy used Check-Up without letting him realize it. Aside from some broken bones, his internal organs were completely fine.

"That was one heck of a punch," Svan said. "To think that I would lose in a contest of brute strength."

"Well, you forced me to go all out…" Billy said while looking at his right hand, which had a lot of peeled skin and broken fingers. "This was quite the fun fight… all of your punches gave me shivers."

Even though they were talking normally, the audience still was speechless. They never saw anything like that happening on the ring… and one of their heroes just lost. They knew that some foreigners were participating, but they never imagined that they could win. Still, the barbarians were a group of people that liked fights, so they didn't emit any dangerous feelings to those who had won fair and square their matches.

Over the day, the fights got even crazier than the previous day, and the ring was getting pretty beaten down. Punches and kicks that could crack the thing were commonplace now, and the fighters were acting like their hands and feet didn't hurt at all when delivering those… Despite that, Alexander and Natalie won as well, and Billy was going to face his best friend in the quarter-finals. Things were going to get even more complicated from now on, and in more senses than one.

Once the day was over, Billy and the others returned to their inn to rest. Even though the number of fights was decreasing, things still were getting more intense than before. The audience was truly looking forward to the next fights since they were longer and their numbers were decreasing as well.

"I am surprised that people that can throw that kind of punch still exists," Aura said. "I have read some books where people in the past could destroy entire houses with a single punch or kick, but I thought that it was an exaggeration… I even had a feeling that the fighters that we saw today have some room for growth. It is kind of amazing and scary."

"I also thought that… until I saw the dragon that Billy's party defeated," Jean said. "The people of this era are getting a lot stronger and they might reach the level of those forgotten legends. It is a complicated feeling, but it is exciting to see people reaching higher peaks doing the things they were good at."

While they were talking about that, Rosalie recalled that she had heard somewhere that most of the time, when that kind of figure arises, it is because troubling times are about to come. At first, she imagined that those wars of the last years were troubling times, but then she wondered if it was completely true. The people around those states had already seen too much and since she was a pacifist who liked the progress that was done during those periods of time, she was afraid of seeing even more blood being spilled.

Regardless, that day of the tournament ended in a very unexpected way for the whole audience, and they headed home thinking about many things regarding things that would play out in the future. Until now, the barbarians thought of themselves to be at the top when it came to physical might alone, but it was hard to say if that was true any longer. Not to mention, they were also thinking about the repercussions of those changes for the future of their state as a whole… It wasn't a bad thing per se, it only would make their people to try harder and not rely solely on their natural talent when it comes to physical strength. Still, it might make some people think that they aren't that special and will pick fights with them more often than before. That was also something that the barbarians would welcome. After all, they liked a few things more than a good fight. They were quite the weird bunch in that sense...