The Greatest Sinner

Evan struggled to his feet and looked at Freya, puzzled. At that moment, the spectators in the stands were shouting something, and the girl was saying something to him, but he couldn't make out the words. Suddenly all the noise faded into the background, and all he could see was Freya.

The girl sighed, and her legs tensed. She lunged toward Evan with such force that there were many cracks in the ground. She was moving fast, unusually fast, this attack was going to end their fight. Evan watched intently as Freya ran toward him. Unlike last time, now he could see her movements quite clearly.

Whoosh.

The girl swung her iron fist, but when her punch almost reached its target, Evan took exactly half a step back. It was enough for Freya's fist to pass within an inch of him.

In one precise movement, Evan knocked Freya off balance. Next, Evan's fist was covered in a layer of ice and he punched her in the stomach with all his might. Freya vomited blood, but she quickly was okay. She instantly regained her balance and hit Evan again, but Evan's palm was on her face by then.

Bam.

Evan pushed Freya and knocked her to the ground. The girl was seriously wounded, but she wasn't going to give up.  The wounds like that couldn't stop her.

The young man didn't have time to remove his hand from Freya's face and attack her again. Suddenly the girl caught his wrist and used a leglock. Evan saw her movements, but there was nothing he could do about them. Freya had a vicelike grip.

Crack.

The girl checked Evan's arm and instantly broke it. There was a loud crack, and Evan's face contorted in pain, he wanted to free his arm, but suddenly Freya herself loosened her grip.

Bam.

She kicked Evan in the chest, and the young man flew aside like a missile.

Freya got up from the ground and smirked, and said: "What was that? I'm amazed, but you're a long way from me..."

Before Freya could finish speaking, a purple beam was already flying towards her. Freya didn't have time to dodge, so she put her arms out in front of her. Since they were covered in a layer of metal, this block looked like an actual shield.

Boom.

The beam reached its target, and there was a deafening explosion. The "One-Eyed Raven Beam" was a very powerful spell, but Freya could withstand it. She was badly burned, and the skin on her hands burned, but the rest of her body was unharmed. She was quite capable of continuing to fight.

At the same time, Evan slowly rose from the ground. He was already out of the strange state he had been in recently and now Freya was like a lightning to him again.

"So, lad, shall we move on to the next round?" Freya spoke cheerfully, going to attack Evan, but to her surprise, the young man raised his hand and calmly said:

"I give up."

At the same moment, the arena subsided. Evan was serious, he wasn't joking, and everyone present understood that.

Freya said nothing and just nodded satisfactorily. She was older and stronger than Evan, so there was no surprise in his defeat. Freya was sure that if they fought in six months, she would have almost no chance of winning.

<I seriously need to train... otherwise, I'll never be as strong as the head of my family...>. Freya thought to herself as she watched Evan leave the arena.

He took his reward of 5,000 "Moon Coins." In their fight with Olivia, it had been bet a total of 50,000 "Moon Coins" on the girl's victory, and Evan got ten percent of that money as the winner.

Evan left the arena under the close gaze of the crowd. At that moment, Freya thought, <Why the hell was that guy smiling? He's wholly beaten, and he walks out of the arena happy?>

Evan walked slowly toward the infirmary. His arm was broken, his mana was nil, and Freya's blows had left many bruises on his body. Evan's condition was horrible.

He wouldn't continue the fight, as he had been losing to Freya back when they both hadn't yet received any wounds. Because of the way the battle events unfolded in the aftermath, there was no question of any victory. But, that wasn't the only reason why Evan decided to surrender.

"Damn, I'm really screwed, but it seems dangerous battles like this help you progress very quickly..." Mumbled Evan as he watched the third chain around his "Basis" shake violently.

It was actually strange that Evan was progressing so quickly, but the whole point was that he had found himself in deadly situations several times over the past few days.

Evan's second "Barrier" had broken right through during the test for the inner apprentices, and the third chain began to shake after the fight with Freya. But, that fight wasn't the main reason Evan came close to breaking the third "Barrier." It was all about his recent battle with Reinier, then Evan almost died, and only thanks to the power of demons and the help of Reykar was he able to survive.

It doesn't matter who, whether human, monster, or beast, but when someone finds himself in a particularly dangerous situation, he finds the strength he didn't have before. Of course, this cannot always help to get out of this situation, and it's more like a last-ditch effort to survive. But that goes a long way towards moving forward.

Fighting Reinier had been Evan's first step towards breaking through the third "Barrier," and tonight's battle with Freya was the final step.

Evan won one fight and lost the other, but his strength increased either way.

Evan originally intended to go to the library after he had turned in his task, but now he had another unscheduled task. He needed to heal from all his wounds and rent one of the best rooms for "Creation." Evan had 9,500 "Moon Coins" at the moment. He was sure that it would be enough money to rent a suitable place for a long time. What's more, Olivia owed Evan another 5,000 "Moon Coins," so he wasn't short of money at the moment.

As Evan walked toward the infirmary, he suddenly heard the voice of a raven in his "Nirvana."

Caw. Caw. Caw.

Reykar sensed Evan's condition. The young man smiled and mentally said, <Don't worry, I'll be back on my feet in no time. Freya's blows were hard, but I'd got hurt worse in that forest."

Step. Step. Step.

He turned, and suddenly he was facing a girl in a blue mantle.

"Evan? What's happened to you?!" Sana exclaimed, surprised, looking at Evan's shabby appearance.

The young man only smiled weakly in response.