The old man turned to see Cole's blazing eyes, but this time, he kept to himself, directly proceeding.
Soon after, they arrived in what appeared to be an indoor arena. The indoor arena was just a sand pit with some equipment in the corner.
"Even the Arena in the slums seems much better than this," Cole couldn't help but wonder.
He couldn't say his thoughts out loud, though, due to the fear of retaliation from the old man.
The old man standing not too far from him sneered, as if he could hear his thoughts.
"The student you are to fight will be here very soon." The old man said before walking.
Cole was left alone in the arena with nothing else to do but wait.
About 10 minutes later, a student dressed in an exquisite uniform walked in with a face that displayed intense disgust and annoyance.
"Why do I have to fight a lowly one star?" The students grumbled.
He set his eyes on Cole,sneering, his gaze showing unhidden cruelty.
"Get in the ring." The student anxiously said to Cole.
All of this while Cole kept staring straight at the students, trying to glean as much information from them as possible.
Being called out snapped Cole back to reality as he headed straight to the ring with heavy steps.
"This will be fun." The student said.
The old man walked back into the arena gently before finding a corner to rest.
"Begin already," the old man said while closing his eyes.
Not wanting to underestimate Cole, the student across from him activated his innate spirit.
It was a piece of rock with no special indications or features.
The appearance of his innate spirit made the air feel a little heavy.
"This wouldn't be easy," Cole thought while staring at the opponent standing across.
Life energy was stirred as chunks of rocks began appearing all across the student's body.
The chunks slowly fused together to form a complete rock armor.
"Let's see a one-star novice getting through this." The student mocked before rushing straight.
Though still inexperienced in battle, his previous experiences taught Cole some level of composure.
Seeing the enemy charging straight at him, Cole chose not to panic but instead steady himself and activate the Eyes of Scrutiny.
The typical golden glow accompanied by the familiar dizziness hit Cole heavily, though not enough to deter his actions.
The charging student noticed the change in Cole's eyes, which increased his vigilance, but still kept on his charge.
In an instant, he arrived in front of Cole, and using his heavily armored body, he instantly launched a punch at Cole's face.
As a result of his slight preparation, Cole was able to dodge the attack by a close shave.
Seeing his almost successful attack, the student sent another punch straight at Cole from the other side.
Cole noticed the punch but realized there wasn't enough space to block, so he could only attempt to block.
Bam!
The punch landed heavily on Cole's crossed arms. The force of the punch was so heavy, it left Cole's arm bruised at the region of contact.
Cole was sent skidding backward under the same force, but this time his opponent didn't follow up; instead, he stood in place, staring at Cole.
Rumble! Rumble!
Cole clearly heard from beneath his legs; he immediately shot his eyes downwards to check.
Through the Eyes of scrutiny, Cole noticed movements in the ground below. Without even thinking, Cole attempted to jump to another location to avoid the attack.
A rock pillar suddenly shot out of the location he was while he was still trying to get away.
His early anticipation saved him quite a bit, as the rock pillar wasn't able to cause too much damage, only affecting his balance and stance.
The student utilized this opportunity and rushed towards him again, but this time while targeting his legs.
Cole couldn't find his balance in time before the student arrived in front of him. The student sent a kick, planning to completely incapacitate Cole and end the fight.
A seasoned fighter would have been able to avoid the kick, but Cole wasn't one.
The kick landed cleanly, not on a block but directly on Coles' thighs.
Crackkk!
A cracking sound resounded through the arena, which seemed to have attracted the old man's attention.
The old man opened his eyes to look at the fight for a split second before closing them again.
The successful attack left the student with a lot of confidence, as instead of completely ending the fight, he stood in his place, planning to let Cole suffer and feel despair.
"This is the difference between one-star and two-star kids; you will always lose," He said maniacally while completely ignoring the old man's presence.
Cole lay on the ground, wincing, holding onto his legs; the look of fear or despair the senior expected wasn't there; instead, a slight smile was plastered on Cole's face.
Due to his experience using the record ability of his innate spirit, Cole knows how much life energy abilities drain, and seeing the student constantly use his abilities made Cole forge a plan.
Slowly, Cole rose to his feet while trying to shift his weight onto his fine leg.
The student patiently watched all of this unfold while sneering.
"Ready for more" He said.
Cole remained quiet, though, as life energy began to stir around his hands, sparks of flames igniting and finally completely shrouding his hands in golden-tinted flames.
He suddenly felt the familiar rumble, this time from multiple locations around him.
He didn't panic this time; instead, he waited, and using the Eyes of Scrutiny, he found the right time to leap away.
Cole leaped far away and without wasting any time, sprung back up, rushing at his opponent, his flaming fist ready to strike.
He arrived in front of the still armored body of his opponent and without a care in the world.
Cole sent a barrage of punches straight at the chest; the punches didn't seem to be dealing much damage, though they stopped any form of counterattack.
Punch after punch landed on the target, increasing Cole's confidence.
"Hahahaha" The senior suddenly laughed out loud.
"You don't think those punches will actually hurt me, right?" He said before sending a punch of his own towards Cole.
This time, the punch was much slower, and Cole noticed it; he was able to dodge efficiently, which left him stunned.
Then he noticed something: the heat from the punches seemed capable of penetrating the armor directly, inflicting damage to the body inside.
He came to this conclusion after seeing the beads of sweat on the senior's head.
Riled up, Cole rushed forward again, ready to attack. The opponent sent a punch to block him, which Cole dodged again while landing a punch.
This repeated itself for quite a while, with Cole gaining the upper hand slowly by utilizing the Eyes of Scrutiny better and also efficiently using the flaming fist causing cracks to finally appear on the rock armor.
"Enough" They both heard from not far away.
"I have seen what I need to see," the old man said as he looked straight at Cole.
The student, irritated, looked towards the old man, unwilling to stop the battle.
"You failed; you may leave." The man said curtly.
Cole's eyes widened, his mouth quivering at the edges as he was ready to lash out, he knew his fate depended on this fight and couldn't afford to lose.
"I refuse." Cole finally responded.