Kevin observed his opponent.
Using the newly learned technique, Gyo, he examined the other party closely.
"An ordinary person." That was the judgment he came to.
Although the opponent appeared cautious, he hadn't adopted any kind of combat stance, even with the fight about to begin.
Apparently not a skilled martial artist either.
In that case, there was no need to waste time—end it in one strike.
"Begin!"
At the referee's call, Kait charged forward.
He thrust out his palm with incredible speed and power—enough to knock out even an elite martial artist, and easily win by KO.
Bang!
At the moment of contact, Kait jumped backward, returning to his original spot.
He looked at Kevin in surprise, touching his own stomach.
A whistle blew from the side: "Valid hit."
Kevin was awarded one point.
"This guy only knows how to use brute force? Well, his strength is impressive," Kevin couldn't help but think. Despite the opponent's slim appearance, the power and explosiveness of his body far surpassed what Kevin could muster without using Nen.
After all, he'd only been training for three months. Before that, he was just a physically weak lab assistant.
But this wasn't the kind of battle he wanted.
He wanted a fight that involved skill, one that used martial techniques—not just raw power.
"Anyone can throw a straight punch with brute force," Kevin muttered. What he sought in these battles was much more than that.
"Hey, how long are you going to just stand there?" Kevin reminded him.
As soon as he spoke, Kait charged again. This time, he wasn't as overconfident as before.
He dashed to Kevin with extreme speed, and as he initiated an attack, suddenly darted to the side.
A hook came in from the left.
It landed. Yet, Kait didn't follow up with another attack—instead, he leapt back to create distance.
Though he scored a hit, Kevin didn't move an inch.
"Yes, that's how it should be."
Despite getting hit, Kevin smiled in satisfaction.
This was the kind of battle he wanted. Other than using Nen for basic defense, he didn't apply any techniques.
He wanted to entrust the fight to his body—to let it learn and respond through instinct.
Through repeated battles, even a slow-learning body would develop conditioned reflexes.
Only in a place like Heaven's Arena—where you could fight against highly skilled martial artists at any time—could Kevin meet this goal.
This was also Jin Freecss's intention.
In these fights, Kevin's body would be thoroughly trained and developed, compensating for his lack of physical conditioning.
Nen-based defense didn't cause serious injury, but the pain was still real. And it didn't interfere with his other Nen studies and training.
All gains, no loss!
With the score at 1–1, Kait didn't attack recklessly again. He resumed observing his opponent.
He was absolutely certain he had landed a solid hit just now—and it had been a powerful one.
Even if the opponent wasn't using Nen, they shouldn't be completely unscathed.
There was only one explanation for this.
He activated Gyo once again.
Aura concentrated around his eyes. With focused attention, he saw the natural aura dispersing from Kevin's body, especially around the head, drifting upward like smoke.
"An illusion. The opponent's Nen control far surpasses my own. He's using aura manipulation to create a false impression."
This was the first time Kait had encountered such a situation.
This wasn't a life-or-death battle—just an ordinary match.
But the opponent had maintained this deceptive Nen state from beginning to end. That meant it wasn't aimed at anyone in particular—it reflected the opponent's inherently cautious personality.
Since learning basic techniques from Jin Freecss and unlocking Nen, this was Kait's first encounter like this.
He was currently undergoing Jin's trial. Only by using his own strength to find Jin would the trial end—and Jin would accept him as a disciple.
Originally, he planned to get a Hunter License first. After becoming a Hunter, he could then use its privileges to search for Jin.
But in the Hunter Exam half a year ago, he had run into a Nen user—and failed.
He realized how unfamiliar he was with fights between Nen users.
Jin had once mentioned Heaven's Arena, so Kait came here, intending to climb to the 200th floor and battle more Nen users.
Clearly, this was the right choice. His very first fight was against a Nen user—and a skilled one at that.
Kevin had no idea Kait had already labeled him as a Nen master.
Kevin's Nen control truly was deceptive. Anyone unfamiliar with his background would easily be put on alert by the illusions he created.
Though he didn't understand why, Kait noticed Kevin's whole demeanor had changed—fully focused on the fight now.
Perfect.
Kait attacked again, and after dodging and countering with skill, scored another point.
After several exchanges, the score reached 5–2.
Kait pulled back once more.
His score was 5, but he wasn't satisfied.
He frowned, staring seriously at Kevin.
His expression shifted from frustration, to discontent, to unwillingness.
Finally, he let out a breath, expression softening.
"Looks like I'm still not qualified. I'll keep working hard—next time, I hope you'll take the fight seriously."
With that, and to Kevin's confusion, Kait raised his hand: "I concede."
Interestingly, the referee nodded in agreement, not seeing anything wrong with Kait's decision, and immediately announced Kevin's victory.
The referee approached Kevin and handed him a slip: "You've advanced. You can go straight to the 50th floor."
"Why?" Kevin asked, puzzled.
Now it was the referee's turn to look confused. He'd seen cases like Kevin's many times.
Someone with outstanding ability would shine in their first match and rapidly rise through the ranks—slowing down only after reaching a floor that matched their actual level.
As a first-floor referee, his eye for combat levels wasn't bad. He could immediately tell when someone didn't belong on the lower floors.
"You don't want to?"
"Of course not," Kevin shook his head.
"Alright then."
The referee gave him a new slip—floor 20—and marked his profile for a standard promotion.
He'd seen this behavior too. Many martial artists deliberately advanced more slowly to train themselves.
That was Kevin's plan all along.
If he just wanted to climb fast, he could use Nen to KO opponents in one hit—no need for all this effort.
Meanwhile, Kait, who had just lost, was promoted to start from floor 30.
Without much rest, Kevin fought his next match. Since the opponent lacked skill, Kevin didn't bother playing around—he won with a single punch.
He continued to climb at a normal pace.
And Kait, his first opponent, started watching every one of Kevin's matches seriously.
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