Getting spoiled in a woman dominating world-Chapter 26: Friendly combat

'If they let us pick the spare partners ourselves, I would have cheesed my way with the help of Eira... but the partners are chosen by the teacher.'

Turning his head, he saw a woman standing a few feet away with a smile on her lips.

She had short, layered dark blue hair that barely reached her shoulders and a lean, athletic build.

Her uniform was slightly unbuttoned at the top and she opened her blazer to give her more mobility.

Eira who was standing on the sidelines, let out a short whistle. "You're in for a tough one, Brandon."

Instructor Isabelle's voice cut through the murmuring students "Get in position. Standard rules... no lethal force, but fight as if your life depends on it. Because one day, it will."

The woman, Elena, stepped onto the mat, rolling her wrists "Let's see if the academy's first male awakener is worth the hype."

Brandon walked onto the mat opposite her, lowering into a stance.

Isabelle lifted her hand, then dropped it. "Begin!"

The moment her hand came down, Elena exploded forward, closing the distance between them in an instant.

Brandon barely had time to register her movement as a straight punch came to his face.

His body reacted before his mind could catch up and turned his head to the side, just enough for her knuckles to graze past his cheek.

Before he could plant his feet properly, Elena followed up as her elbow shot up toward his jaw.

He managed to raise his forearm, blocking the blow, but the impact sent a dull shock through his bones.

'She's strong.'

Brandon twisted, and his muscles coiled as he deflected the strike with his own leg.

The moment he regained his footing, he struck back.

His right fist shot forward in a quick jab, aimed for her sternum, and as expected, Elena was fast.

She tilted her body just enough to let the punch slide past, and in the same motion, she stepped in, closing the gap between them.

Her palm lashed out toward his face and Brandon barely had time to block.

*thud*

He swayed backward as the strike missed him by a hair's breadth.

He immediately stepped in, launching an uppercut toward her chin.

Elena moved as his fist brushed past her cheek before she grabbed his wrist, twisting her body and yanking him forward in an attempt to throw him off balance.

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Brandon went with the pull.

Instead of resisting, he stepped in even closer and raised his free hand to jab at her throat.

'What?' Elena's eyes widened slightly.

At the last second, she released his wrist and twisted her body, slipping past his attack and using the opening to drive her knee toward his stomach.

Brandon had expected it.

He turned sharply, letting the knee slide past his ribs before he hooked his arm around her leg, trapping it against his side.

For a split second, they were locked together.

Elena's balance wavered, but before Brandon could capitalize on it, she used her free leg to push off the ground, twisting her entire body mid-air and pulling herself free.

The second her feet touched the ground again, she jumped, throwing a relentless barrage of punches.

*thud* *thud* Brandon blocked the first and deflected the second, but the third broke through.

Her fist slammed into his shoulder, sending a sharp pain through his arm.

'Damn, that hurts.'

But he had no time to register the pain as Elena was already spinning, using the impact to transition into a powerful roundhouse kick aimed at his ribs.

Brandon planted his feet and brought up both arms, blocking the kick, but the force behind it sent him sliding back a few feet.

Elena raised an eyebrow in surprise "Not bad, junior."

Brandon exhaled, rolling his shoulder "I am keeping up, I guess..."

And in the next instant, he closed the distance between them.

With a faint jab to her face, he dipped low and raised his leg to land a kick toward her calf.

Elena jumped back to avoid the strike, but Brandon had already anticipated her reaction.

The moment she retreated, he followed up as his fist shot forward, aimed directly at her face.

"Woah..." Elena twisted her body and dodged that, but that was exactly what he wanted.

The moment she dodged, Brandon dropped his stance and raised his knee toward her midsection.

'Shit...' Elena had no time to dodge.

Instead, she did something unexpected.

Rather than retreating, she stepped into the attack, slamming her forearm down against his knee to intercept the strike while simultaneously twisting her body to drive her own elbow toward his jaw.

Brandon turned his head just enough to avoid the full brunt of the impact, but her elbow still clipped his cheek, sending a sharp sting through his skin.

They broke apart again and both of them were breathing slightly heavier now.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then, Elena grinned with a big smile on her face "You're actually keeping up."

Brandon exhaled, wiping a small trickle of sweat from his brow "You're not making it easy."

Instructor Isabelle's voice cut through the tension. "That's enough."

Both fighters lowered their stances, stepping back from each other.

The surrounding students, who had been completely silent during the fight, finally exhaled and murmured among themselves.

Brandon rolled his shoulder again, feeling the dull ache where Elena's strikes had landed.

'She's strong. Fast. But more than that... she's experienced.'

Elena stepped forward to him and extended her hand "My name is Elena..."

Brandon returned her smile and shook her hand "Brandon."

Keeping her smile, she spoke "Sparring with you was fun... Let's do this again sometime, junior."

With a chuckle, he nodded his head "Sure."

A bit later, he returned back to Eira's side and she patted his shoulder "You did well, Brandon. Good thing she didn't use ether to strengthen her physique."

Calistra, who was beside Eira spoke in a calm tone "I expected it somehow. On that day in rupture.. he was amazing."

"Even though he has no experience, he had great movements, and he is not scared of Abberants like a certain someone."

Eira instantly caught the implication and pouted, crossing her arms with a slight huff "Oi, are you talking about me?"

Calistra just turned her head away with a soft giggle.

Eira's eyes twitched in frustration "H-Hey! Just because I got startled that one time doesn't mean I'm scared of them!"

Calista shrugged "If you say so."

Brandon let out a soft chuckle seeing this and Eira turned back to him, still pouting "See, one day I will overcome this fear and kill the Abberants."

A bit later, it was Eira's turn to fight.

As Brandon watched Eira fighting in the center, suddenly, someone tapped on his back, catching him off guard.

E-Eh?

He turned his head to see Elena, who had a big grin on his face "Brand..."

He blinked his eyes "Elena?"

She giggled, tilting her head slightly. "What, surprised to see me?"

"A bit..."

She moved to stand beside him "I just came here to check on my opponent."

Before he could respond, she suddenly poked his shoulder... not hard, but enough to make him roll it instinctively. "How do you feel? Even though only one blow landed... it must hurt a bit, right?"

Noticing the concern in her voice, Brandon shook his head with a smile. "It's okay, it bearable."

Elena looked at his face for a moment as if gauging whether or not he was just putting on a brave front.

Then, satisfied with his answer, she let out a soft chuckle and placed her hands on her hips.

"Well... I just wanted to check how good the first male awakener is. And I have to say, for a rookie, you're really great."

Matching her cheerful smile, he replied "I will take that as a compliment."

As they stood there, watching the fight continue, Brandon found himself relaxing a little.

It was strange... he had only met Elena today, yet there was already a certain ease in the way they talked.

She is competitive and straightforward but not arrogant.

A bit later, she nudged his arm "You want to go to the cafeteria and grab something to eat?"

Brandon glimpsed at Calistra, who was standing beside him silently "You wanna come with us?"

Calistra shook her head and Brandon glimpsed at Elena "Let's go..."