Chapter 22: Results
The roars of the crowd almost made the quad shake, startling Ike mildly. He looked around. Everything seemed to be a blur as the crowd wore mixed emotions. Overall, it was a sight Ike was already used to seeing.
The crowd cheers, roars of approval, whistles, and hands in the air. Oh, how familiar this was yet, his heart still thudded against his chest. Their enthusiasm somehow reached a part of his heart that he thought had died a long time ago.
Ike gazed down at Desmond. The latter was lying on his tummy, unconscious.
"You're not bad," he murmured. "There's always room for improvement. The only time learning stops is when your ability and strength get into your head."
For someone who defeated a person in the district rank, Ike didn't carry arrogance or any sense of achievement. Defeating Desmond wasn't the prize that was even worthy to brag about, but rather, the painful sensation of the punches Ike inflicted.
Ike stared at Desmond's back for a moment before he slowly turned on his heel. He picked up his bag on the side and then marched toward the referee.
The referee was akin to a display throughout the battle as he was slumped on the floor. When he saw Ike approaching, his eyes raised until Ike was standing before him. His lips quivered nervously, assuming Ike would hurt him for not stopping Desmond when the latter was beating him up.
"Hand it over." Ike laid his hand on the referee, making the latter raise his brows. "That tablet. Hand it over."
The crowd's cheers subsided, watching Ike stand in front of the referee. Only then did the crowd remember this was an official duel, and since Desmond lost, the referee should call the duel over and register the winner's name. However, they doubt the referee of this battle would even do anything. If anything, they were certain Desmond bribed the referee to manipulate the outcome.
Their faces turned sour at the thought.
Most of Desmond's fights were manipulated. Either he would pick on those weaker than him or play with underhanded means. It was no secret how Desmond crawled his way into the district rank. It was good if Ike checked the outcome himself while Desmond was unconscious.
"Uh…" the referee reluctantly handed the tablet, which Ike snatched almost immediately.
"You shouldn't let them do this to you, else you'll be in trouble, young man." As Ike went through the screen, he didn't forget to give friendly advice to the referee. "In a war, it doesn't matter if you're reluctant to take part in it or a willing volunteer. As long as you wear your armor, your opponents will tear you apart, limb to limb. No mercy."
Ike nonchalantly handed back the table to the referee, jerking his chin on it as a signal for the latter to get it.
"Remember what I said," he remarked the second the referee took the tablet. Ike didn't idle around, strutting away with his bag over his shoulder.
Everyone stared at Ike's figure. The referee had his eyes wide open, staring at Ike's retreating back. When he looked back at the table, his pupils dilated even more.
"What…?" he gasped, turning his head in Ike's direction on instinct.
"I concede." Ike waved dismissively without looking back. "Don't ask why."
The referee's mouth parted, eyes blank. Not just him, but confusion also resurfaced in the crowd's faces.
Concede?
Those who had access to their school website, particularly to the special page for duels, checked the recent fight. Much to their dismay, the battle between Ike Lobo and Desmond Larza showed just now.
Desmond won.
His battle points didn't change, or rather, there was only an additional [ .01 ] in this win. Still, if Ike won, he would get way more because Desmond was part of the top ten in their district.
Was Ike crazy? What was he thinking?
Myriads of questions hovered in the students' heads, but they didn't get a proper answer to them. This result only left a gigantic question mark on their heads.
********
Meanwhile, Ashley's lips stretched from ear to ear, revealing her cute little canines. She was holding her phone over the window, arms propped against the windowsill.
"Isn't he interesting, Bernis?" she mused, showing Bernis the screen of her phone. "He conceded as if to mock his opponent."
Bernis gazed at the result on the screen. It showed the battle result where Desmond won while Ike conceded. To add to it, the battle points earned and lost were also included. Desmond earned almost nothing while Ike lost nothing.
That only meant one thing: Ike had no battle points to give or lose anymore. Most people took combat points seriously, but it seemed Ike doesn't. And for everyone, that was rare and interesting in its own way, especially when that person was capable enough to take down someone like Desmond.
"He is, indeed, one interesting lad," said Bernis, peeling his eyes from the phone to the window where he could still see Ike's departing figure. "You were right, Ley. He's a good choice."
"I told you!" Ashley grinned, facing the quad once again. "My gut feeling never failed me. A guy with no battle points but had the strength and skills… interesting. On top of that, he has a twisted humor — ah… I feel that this year would be eventful for everyone."
"With this, he would surely catch the attention of many people," Bernis commented, and he was right.
Among the crowd, two people watched the fight unfold. While everyone else was gasping or cheering or simply expressing their emotions at every turn of events, the two students didn't budge. Instead, they kept their attention on Ike from the beginning until now.
When one of them shifted their eyes to Desmond's figure, a crafty grin appeared on his face.
Meanwhile, some spectators immediately fled the scene when Ike sauntered off. Those students reported what had happened to people who might want to know the details that involved a 'new' student and a person in the rankings.
Ike Lobo.
A name that no one knew or heard about soon spread among the students, earning admiration from others while interest from some. And surely, this unofficial victory marked the beginning of Ike's eventful school life.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone