"Clank Clank Clank..." Our attacks met each other hundreds of times our weapon clashed but we can’t seem to decide the winner. Seeing this Bert’s expression is ugly then it suddenly turned crafty for second before returning back to his ugly expression. ’Swish’ when Bert’s staff is in midair attacking me it’s speed suddenly increased, and at the moment it appeared in front of me without giving me chance to defend, I hastily put my sword front of me to block the staff. "Clank thud thud thud...." The staff hit me so hard that I have to more than ten steps backward to diffuse it’s a force and stopped myself from vomiting the blood. This move is really crafty and well time, he had suddenly increased the power of staff when it’s in mid-air and attacked me. Using the time of my retreating, I started to circulate advance moves of the Exercise and I got surprised that I able to reach the 24th circulation but I did not get to celebrate because Bert’s bloodhound-like staff speedily closing on me. "Clang!" both of weapon’s collided and intense shock appeared on his face because this is the first time I have the upper hand in the fight against Bert. Stabilizing myself, I initiated the attack against him, "Clank clank clang." swing of after swing I attacked Bert. He countered my moves easily with his staff, I just had a fraction of upper hand in this but is not enough to bring big change into a fight. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢 ’’You are very good!" Said Bert said with a smile but his smile looked quite weird. "Thank you," I replied to his compliment. After talking to me his moves became more aggressive but I am easily able to fend them off. In this fight, I don’t have to worry about the Mana, Supreme Combat Exercise used very little mana and I still have about fifty sixty percent Mana in my central storage and I can always refine new Mana clouds which surrounding my Refinement Engine. ’’Bert is looking really angry, this is the first time I’ve seen him in this condition especially against Private Grade Evolver. Usually, he finished his fights against Private Grade within an hour." Said, one boy. Really they were little startled, Bert fighting against evolver who is lower level and this and having a hard time against winning him. ’’Don’t forget Bert hadn’t used his all yet, he had yet to use his power and skills yet, when he will use power or skill, the fight will be over in minutes." Said another boy watching this fight. The crowd watching the battle has increased a lot, there are nearly three hundred people are watching. Ever since the battle had started, someone had anonymously left the message on the building feed that ’Rookie crusher being crushed by rookie’ lots of new people had come to watch the battle. If it normal battle, not the battle between rookie crusher and rookie’ and not being a lot of people being discontent by Bert, not many people would have come to watch this battle. "Clank Clank Clank." we fought on, I an feeling little down, whatever fractions of superiority that I had gained against Bert had vanished as Bert changed his fighting style, he moves to become more smooth and refined. "ssss..." I let out a sharp breath as Bert’s staff grazed pat my soldier, I many times I barely dodge his attack and many times his staff grazed me bringing stinging pain. This stinging pain is nothing compared to the soul stinging pain I am feeling due to circulating the twenty-fourth cycle of Supreme Combat Exercise. I’ve tried many times to broke past the 24th move of the exercise, I find there is a giant wall blocking my way, that is not letting me pass. Seeing my Mana storage lessening, I stopped the mama re refinement (purifying) process and started to absorb the Mana cloud into my Refinement Engine. It will not take long, within fifteen forty-five minutes my central storage will again fill up 75% to 80%. The battle raged on for again half an hour but there no change in the situation, I had a feeling that Bert hadn’t given in all, he is still holding back something. I am vigilantly keeping eye on his every move, I don’t be startled like before when he powers up his attack when he was midair attacking me. From the Berts aggressive attacks, I can tell that he is seriously trying to hurt me, it is not just friendly spar anymore but become a full-fledged fight, that I intend to win and for that every minute I am trying to breaking past 24th move of the Exercise. But no matter how much I try, I can’t seem to break that wall, whenever I try to break it, it won’t break, just leave some ripples on it. "I’ve played enough Micheal, now I will fight for real!" Bert said big smiled blossomed on his face and Cherry red colored fire enveloped his staff, he attacks me with fiery staff. I also lighten my sword with silver fire and swing my sword to counter it, "Clank whoosh..." as our sword touched, the fire on our weapons blasted apart by shock wave on both of our bodies. Deadly hot waves of heat wash all over my body but didn’t affect me in any way, I didn’t even flinch seeing that. A shocked expression appeared on the bar’s face seeing this, he probably counting on fire to injure me or distract me but seeing there even no change in my expression, he becomes completely shocked seeing that. There are two reasons for his fire didn’t affect me a bit, first is Ashlyn silver, as fire user my self I have some fire immunity but despite this little immunity. My skin definitely would have scorched by his fire if not for me circulating Supreme combat Exercise which makes a defense of my body stronger. As we fight Bert’s face becoming more and more ugly and his blazing fire’s heat having no effect on me, as long as his fire didn’t touch me directly I will not get injured, even if it did touch me, my skin will have some scorching marks that’s all. as long as I kept circulating Exercise, my offense and defense always be good. I called back my silver fire from my sword as it is waste of mana and is no use against Bert as he also had fire immunity, but my choice seemed to irk Bert, his expression became so ugly seeing me calling back my fire. "You fucking cockroach, you won’t just take a beating," he said as maniac expression comes across his face, totally different from his soft smile earlier. I started to get a bad feeling about this and attack him with wild abandon, but his defense is to tight, I can’t get close him because of his fucking staff. I started attack wall to break past 24th move of the exercise but it is no use, that wall wouldn’t budge. "Your very lucky Michael, you will get to experience my half skill not people get to experience," he said and vine made of fire started to form on his staff and soon Hydrangea flower started to grow out of vines, and quickly fist size hydrangea formed on the vines. "Take this!" Bert shouted as whirled his staff toward me and Nine hydrangea flower’s made of concentrated fire whirled toward me, it all happened so fast that it left me no chance to dodge. Time had slowed down as hundreds of thoughts came in my mind to how to defend against those flowers but one is useful. I can see each and every movement of those flower’s as they whirled toward me. I know, even one of the flower to touch me, I will be heavily injured and likely spend a week in the hospital and this Bert is smart that he didn’t aim any of my vital spot or building Grade 2 weapon would have tranquilized him. Seeing there is no option but take this attack head-on, gritting my teeth I circulated my mana violently, in big to break that wall and violently raged my mana against that wall. "Boom!" sounded inside me as wall broke and immense pain drowned on me but I gritted my teeth and endured as I have to survive these flaming hydrangea flowers. In this immense pain, I didn’t notice that my mana rapidly draining away to form mysteries seal on the center of my temple, which is also center of magic veins inside human bodies. "Swish swish swish.." I cut all the nine Hydrangea flower’s and speedily move toward Bert who is standing on the ring with a shocked expression like a dumb chicken. I move behind him and hit his head with the hilt of my sword. "Thud.." he unconsciously fell on the floor with a thud but my sword also fell from my hand as me feeling very weak, I somehow sat on the floor and closed my eyes to look for a reason for weakness. When I looked inside me, I got startled by seeing my mana getting speedily but then I laughed out loudly understanding the reason. This is happening because I have truly completed the one set of Supreme Combat Exercise and the seal forming on the temple is proof of it. From now on all the power I got when I an circulating 24th move of the Exercise, it will completely merge with my body and will belong to me and became mine. Now every move of mine will be infused with the power of the first set of Exercise, every time I circulate the Supreme Combat Exercise in my body will be the second set of supreme combat exercise when I complete second set, I will form a second seal. if I able to for 10 seals on my temple, they will merge and bring qualitative change in my body. The higher the circulation of move would be, the more immense pain I will have to endure, this is also the reason why very very few people practiced the Supreme Combat Exercise.