They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System

Chapter 536: He Had Never Looked at Her Like That Stephanie's eyes did not leave it.

"You better hope we don't cross paths." Beside her, Nicholas sat quietly, rehydrating. She leaned in and whispered without looking at him.

"If you draw Nnenna next, don't hold back," she said.

Nicholas gave a subtle nod.

"No mercy," she added flatly.

And he understood.

The six finalists stood tall on the arena floor, their names glowing across the giant scoreboard above.

They had all secured solid A's.

Now, the only task left... was to keep it.

They didn't need to win these final rounds, only to hold their ground and avoid slipping up. But pressure hung thick in the air, because holding ground against people this skilled wasn't easy.

Stephanie and Nicholas weren't the only ones rattled by Nnenna's surprising climb.

Adam, Chang, and Keanu had all quietly adjusted their stance on her. The tiny girl they had barely noticed at the start of the day had beca threat they could no longer ignore.

She had earned her place here.

Now they had to take her seriously... or lose to her.

The referee raised a box.

"Draw lots for your next match," he announced.

One by one, they stepped forward and picked their folded slips.

Nnenna unfolded hers.

Adam.

She blinked once, then lowered the paper, already flipping through her mental archive. His footwork, stance, the speed of his first two takedowns... she had watched everything carefully. She had already made notes. Already adjusted.

A calm breath left her lips.

Alright. Let's go.

As her nand Adam's were announced, she stepped forward toward the center stage.

From the judges' table, Arthur narrowed his eyes.

This match would not be easy.

Adam was a technical powerhouse, precise, muscular, and fast. If Nnenna wasn't sharp from the start, he could overwhelm her quickly. But Arthur had watched her the entire day. He knew how she read people, adjusted mid fight, and struck with purpose.

She will win.

He believed she would.

Stephanie, whose eyes were either on Nnenna or Arthur, noticed the flicker of intensity on Arthur's face.

The way he was watching Nnenna.

The slight lean forward. The shift of his fingers near his chin.

She bit the inside of her cheek, heart suddenly tight.

That expression.

That attention.

He had never once looked at her like that.

The moment they bowed to each other, the tension shifted. The crowd, once chatty and buzzing, fell quiet again, something about the air said this one wouldn't be over quickly.

The arena lights above intensified. Every movement would be seen. Every mistake magnified.

Adam struck first.

A clean forward lunge with a sweeping low kick meant to break Nnenna's balance, but she was already gone, pivoting just in time, landing soft on her toes like a feather, then firing back with a fast elbow toward his side.

He blocked it, but not without effort.

From the crowd, someone gasped.

"She's fast! No wasted motion at all!" "Are we sure she hasn't been practicing martial art for her entire life?" "Yo, this is wild. She's really holding her ground!" Adam narrowed his eyes, adjusting his stance. He wasn't smiling anymore.

He had expected this to go differently.

Nnenna, calm and precise, read his shifting posture. She didn't rush, she waited for him to strike again.

He did. And again.

A jab, then a spinning kick that cracked the air near her face.

This time, she blocked. But the impact shook her arm.

She slid back two steps, breathing steady.

"Still standing," murmured Master Tayo, watching with folded arms. "Not bad at all." Beside him, Commander Olivia tilted her head. "She's not fighting to win every move. She's fighting to learn every second." "She's reading him like a book," said Madam Wolke. "This one... this one is extraordinary." Elder Onyedika smiled faintly and scribbled something on his score sheet. "Sharp. And stubborn." The fight stretched into ten minutes... then twelve... fifteen. Neither side backing down.

Adam's moves were more powerful, but Nnenna's were more adaptive. He would pin her, she would escape. He would counter, she would re counter. It wasn't brute force, it was chess.

And then She saw it.

A brief shift in his left leg. His weight slightly off. The smistake he made in his earlier match.

Now.

She surged forward, feinting a punch, then dropping low and sweeping his legs from under him with a twist. The O moment he fell, she was already on him, elbow locked around his neck in a finishing hold. The arena erupted.

Gasps. Shouts. Thunderous applause.

MATCH TIME: 22 minutes Student Adam: Score: 15 13 16 - 12 - 14 = 70% - A Student Nnenna: Score: 16 - 17 - 18 - 15 - 17 = 83% - A Arthur nodded sharply.

He just knew she would win.

Master Tayo glanced at Arthur from the corner of his eye.

"She's got your attention, doesn't she?" he said casually from his seating position.

Arthur didn't bother answering.

Stephanie, from her seat, saw the entire thing. She didn't move either.

But her jaw tightened.

Her fingers curled slowly into fists on her lap.

She defeated the person in third position?! Why does it feel like everyone in my year had a meeting before this fight and decided to be incompetent?! Not to mention that Arthur never looks away from Nnenna every tshe steps on the stage! He had never looked at her like that.

How infruitating! Now the students were down to three.

Stephanie still reigned at the top, her score untouched. Nicholas was close behind, his powerfuly disciplined Wins securing him the second spot. And then there was Nnenna, quiet, underestimated, and now undeniably in third place.

Nnenna exhaled slowly. Her heart pounded like a drum, not from fear, ve but from the looming wall ahead. Nicholas He was no pushover, and unlike Adam, he didn't leave much room for counterplay. His fighting style was sharp, strong, and clean.

Can I beat him? she wondered.

Her fingers curled unconsciously, and then her mind recalled a memory...