Part-82

  The whistle shrieked, shattering the tense silence. James, fueled by Crisis Mode, erupted into a. Auto bat whirred to life, analyzing Ryan's stand predig his movements. It eled James' amplified strength into a flurry of karate strikes. A roundhouse kick whipped towards Ryan's head, but Auto bat's predi faltered. Years of muscle memory kicked in for Ryan, allowing him to duck just in time. The force of the missed kick sent James spinning slightly, momentarily off-bance.

  However, before James could dwell on his situation, a window suddenly popped up, announg, "gratutions. Mission 13 was a success. WIS +1."

  James thought to himself that the dition was to challenge for a duel, not necessarily to win it; that's why the success window popped up.

  Oher hand, Ryan, capitalizing on the opening, lunged forward. This was his element – close quarters, grappling, throws. He attempted a powerful Harai Goshi, a sweeping hip throw, but Auto bat, lightning-fast, adjusted. It stiffened James' core and shifted his weight, allowing him to absorb the impad remain rooted to the mat. The croed, surprised to see the newer defy Ryan's initial dominance.

  Kashem told Mili, "Oh, that d's rea speed is impressive. I didn't think he could move like that."

  Mili didn't reply to her father. It was only the sed time she had ever seen James fight, so she didn't know the full extent of his capabilities. However, she knew for certain that James was strong.

  The dance tinued. James, a whirlwind of raw, System-enhanced power, unched a barrage of punches and kicks. Auto bat, despite its limitations against Judo's grappling teiques, guided his strikes with surprising efficy. Ryan, oher hand, fought a more measured fight. He weaved through James' blows, searg for an opportunity to exploit an opening. His experience shohrough in his calcuted movements, his calm demeanor a stark trast to James' freiergy.

  Despite his system advantage, James was at a clear disadvantage. Judo was built on leverage and teique, something James, with his karate background, sorely cked. Ryan, reizing this, started employing throws that relied less on brute strength and more on exploiting James' ck of grounding. A well-timed De Ashi Barai, a foot sweep, sent James sprawling to the mat. He nded hard, the breath momentarily knocked out of him.

  Ryan told James, "Not gonna lie. Yood. I more or less uimated you before you fought Sourov. You're a hidden tiger of our school, aren't you?"

  However, James remained silent. He couldn't speak if this crazy mode was on.

  A collective groan rippled through the crowd. James, however, was fueled by a stubborermination. Adrenaline surged through him, erasing the pain (Point of view of onlookers). He scrambled back to his feet, a fierce glint in his eyes. Auto bat, stantly learning and adapting, started incorporating throws and takedowns it had observed Ryae. James mimicked the movements with surprising accuracy, though they cked the finesse of Ryan's years of training.