My SSS-Rank Innate skill: Infinite Adaptation core

Many experts among the audience openly praised both young men — especially Nova. Nova turned toward Slickmouth without expression, waiting for the official result.

[Nova Valencrest wins the match and advances to the next round. Kael Aster will proceed to the losers’ bracket of Round Three.]

Slickmouth looked toward Nova and said,

[You may now take your seat with the other contestants.]

Nova nodded and walked toward the designated area where Asia, Rieka, and the remaining fighters were seated. The moment he arrived, both Asia and Rieka offered him quiet congratulations.

Nova hadn’t needed to use much of his strength in the first match. Even so, he had to admit that in pure technique, Kael had been more skilled than expected.

The young man wasn’t like the usual empty noble sons one often saw — he had earned his place here for a reason.

With that in mind, Nova expected to see more geniuses of Kael’s level appear on the arena in the coming matches.

[Celine Varkhess and Mira Vance, please come down to the arena.]

A moment later, two young women stepped onto the platform.

Celine looked completely confident as she held a sword in her hand. Not even the slightest trace of nervousness showed on her beautiful face, as if she already knew the outcome of the fight.

Standing opposite her was Mira Vance. She had green hair and an above-average appearance. She also held a sword. Mira was a noble as well — the daughter of a Marquess from the Aureth Kingdom.

She was twenty-seven years old and possessed a Wind affinity, while Celine held an Earth affinity. The audience cheered loudly for both young women.

Ever since the third round began, many people had already started placing bets on the contestants.

In the previous match, almost everyone had known Nova would win, making the betting simple. This time, however, it was different. Celine was level 1536, while Mira was level 1537 — a rather coincidental difference.

Still, most people believed Celine was the more talented of the two, especially since she was only twenty-five. As a result, the majority of the bets were placed on her victory.

[Are you both ready?]

Both women nodded.

[Alright... you already know the rules. You may begin.]

The moment Slickmouth gave the signal, Mira moved first.

A sharp gust of wind exploded beneath her feet as her figure blurred forward, sword flashing in a series of rapid thrusts.

Her movements were light and unpredictable, carried by the wind, making her approach difficult to read.

Celine’s eyes sharpened. She stepped back twice, her sword rising just in time to deflect the first two strikes. The third scraped across her shoulder, leaving a shallow cut. A faint line of blood appeared.

Mira did not give her time to recover. Another burst of wind propelled her to the side, and her blade came slicing in from a difficult angle.

Celine was forced to twist her body and block again, the impact pushing her half a step back.

The audience leaned forward. Many had expected Celine to dominate from the start, yet Mira’s speed and sharp attacks were proving more troublesome than anticipated.

Celine’s expression grew more serious.

She lowered her stance. The stone platform beneath her feet suddenly grew denser and more solid, as if the ground itself had become heavier.

When Mira came in for another rapid assault, Celine no longer retreated. She met the attack head-on, her sword moving with steady, powerful arcs. Each clash sent a dull, heavy vibration through the platform.

Mira’s wind-assisted speed still allowed her to slip past several of Celine’s strikes, leaving two more light cuts on Celine’s arm and waist.

For a short while, the fight remained evenly matched — Mira relying on agility and sudden bursts of wind, while Celine answered with firm defense and heavy, grounded counterattacks.

Then Celine began to adapt.

She stopped chasing Mira’s movements and started predicting them instead. When Mira next used the wind to accelerate from the side, Celine was already turning.

At the same time, a low ridge of stone suddenly rose from the platform beneath Mira’s foot, slightly disrupting her footing.

Celine’s sword came down in a heavy diagonal slash. Mira was forced to block with both hands. The impact made her arms tremble under the added weight behind the strike.

Celine pressed forward.

Her steps remained steady and unshakable, as if rooted to the earth. Each of her sword swings carried a dull, crushing force that felt heavier than normal.

Mira tried to create distance with another strong gust of wind, but the air around Celine seemed denser, slowing the wind’s effect just enough for Celine to step through it without losing balance.

Mira’s breathing grew heavier. She attempted one final desperate combination a spinning slash enhanced by a sudden spiral of wind.

The attack was fast and sharp enough that Celine had to lean back, the blade passing close to her throat.

In that same moment, Celine pressed her free hand lightly toward the platform.

A sharp spike of stone shot upward near Mira’s ankle, forcing her to shift her weight at the last second. That brief disruption was enough.

Celine’s sword flashed forward and struck Mira’s weapon hard near the hilt. The impact, reinforced by the heavy force of the earth, tore the sword from Mira’s grasp and sent it spinning across the platform.

Before Mira could retreat, the cold edge of Celine’s blade stopped just short of her neck.

Silence hung over the arena for a brief moment.

Mira stared at the sword in front of her, chest rising and falling. After a few seconds, she slowly raised both hands.

”...I concede.”

Celine held the position a moment longer, then lowered her sword and stepped back. Her breathing was slightly uneven, and several light cuts marked her body, but her expression remained calm and composed.

She had won — though not without real effort.

The audience inside the Colosseum erupted into loud cheers, and the same excitement spread through the cities across the continent where people were watching the broadcast.

Many ordinary warriors watching the fight clearly felt the gap between themselves and the geniuses currently competing on the stage.

”She is quite good,” Lyra remarked. She had taken a liking to Celine. Even though Mira had overpowered her at the beginning, Celine had not panicked and had calmly seized control of the fight.

”Yes. It would be interesting to see how far she goes,” Vaorak said. ”I can already tell Asia would defeat her, but I want to see who would win between her and Rieka.”

”That would indeed be an interesting match,” Draeven agreed.

In another section of the Colosseum, King Gareth was surrounded by nobles and even the other kings offering their congratulations.

Outwardly they smiled and praised him, but inwardly many of them felt envy. If only they had a daughter or son as outstanding as Celine.

In the contestants’ seating area, Nova turned toward Rieka.

”You need to be careful if you encounter Celine in the later rounds. She will be a tough opponent for you. Though I doubt the organizers will match the stronger fighters against each other too early. They will probably eliminate the weaker ones first.”

Rieka nodded with a serious expression.

”I know, darling. And I’m confident I can defeat her.”

Nova smiled and gently patted her head. He wasn’t doubting her strength — he simply wanted her to remain cautious.

With that, Celine was declared the winner, while Mira was sent to the losers’ bracket of Round Three.

The tournament continued without delay.

The third match began between two young men of similar levels. Despite the small gap in strength, one of them managed to secure a clean victory.

The reason was simple — his opponent had been overconfident and was caught off guard at a critical moment.

From that match onward, the remaining contestants clearly understood one thing: even the slightest mistake could lead to defeat.

Soon, it was time for the fourth match.

Although the original schedule had been adjusted, Rieka was now set to face a young man named Orion Ashford.

**

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