Novel's Extra: I Awakened The Strongest Physique From The Start

Leon was defeated with one slap—everyone knew that from Alex's last match.

Many thought that maybe it was some trick or a palm-related skill.

Alex might have been using some mana-laced attack skill to have that result. Varacius was among those people.

Now, however, as he stood in front of Alex, facing the attack Leon had faced, Varacius realized how wrong he was.

The slap moving toward his cheeks wasn't a skill or trick. It was raw physical strength, but that wasn't all Varacius realized.

'He's too strong.' This thought appeared in his head.

Varacius, a guy known as a genius who was one of the strongest among his peers, felt the gap between him and Alex.

As he saw the palm heading toward him, Varacius had another thought. 'Should I let it go? Is there a need to struggle against someone as powerful as him?'

That idea, however, was fleeting. Varacius shook it off the moment it came.

The image of his master flashed in front of his eyes.

"You can die fighting but never surrender. That's what the true nature of a berserker is."

Those were his master's words. He could remember them clearly.

His master had told him not to bring shame to his name and technique.

'I won't go down easily,' Varacius growled inwardly, his crimson eyes fixed on the slap, which had yet to make an impact.

With a sharp exhale, his mana flared. In less than an instant, nine stars started swirling on his chest as his body got coated with glaring red energy.

To others, it seemed like a normal attack of Alex slapping Varacius as he had done to Leon. But for Varacius, many things changed.

And then, the impact finally happened.

Slap!

A crisp sound echoed throughout the Colosseum, but unlike what everyone would expect, no one was sent flying.

"Oh?" Alex was surprised as well.

Varacius, who was supposed to be sent flying from the slap, was still standing, his teeth clenched and his body tensed, covered with dangerous red energy.

It wasn't that Alex's slap didn't have any effect.

No, Varacius was trembling. His jaw creaked, his feet digging into the ground.

It was clear that Varacius was barely holding his ground, and due to his pride, he wasn't attacking Alex. He was enduring the slap as if showing that he was different and he wasn't someone Alex could swat away.

By now, even the audience could see what was happening.

The fight was too fast for them to follow, but they could see it now that it was at a standstill.

"So... it's not going to be a one-hit match?" Your next chapter is on My Virtual Library Empire

"Well, you can't expect a club president to go down that easily."

"Yeah. Alex is strong, but it would be strange if he easily won against a club president as well."

"Hah! Varacius survived one attack. But that's all! Don't underestimate lord Alex!"

One after another, comments rained down again, and Varacius, who had been focusing on public opinion for a while, finally felt some relief.

But as if sensing something amiss in his own thoughts, he frowned inwardly.

'Am I feeling relieved and proud about stopping one attack from someone the same age as me—?'

His thoughts, however, were cut short as Alex's voice echoed again, silencing the crowd as they fell.

"Wow! You stopped that?" His expression was a genuine surprise as he stared at Varacius, his slap still connected.

The moment his words fell, the crowd and Varacius grew tense. They didn't know why, but they could feel that something would happen.

The spectators, who had started coming to new terms about Alex's strength, couldn't be sure of anything now.

The way Alex smiled while looking at Varacius made them feel a second-hand chill.

One would wonder what Varacius, who was facing Alex, must be feeling.

The guy could feel a creeping sensation crawling up his spine—an instinctive warning, primal and absolute. His body, trained to react before his mind, screamed at him: Danger!

The crowd could afford to wonder and speculate, but he didn't have that luxury. He knew that he wasn't in a situation where he could comfortably think about the problem.

His fingers twitched. His mana surged again. His mind raced to break away from the position he was trapped in.

Just then—

"But, tell me..." Alex's lips curled into an easy smile, his piercing blue eyes gleaming with curiosity as he continued. "What happens if I use just a bit more strength?"

The moment Alex said that Varacius felt something shift. The very atmosphere around them changed.

The guy could feel his fingers growing cold as Alex's words kept repeating in his ears, and then, without warning—

BOOM!

A sudden burst of mana erupted from Alex's body, a pressure so immense it made the air quiver.

The ground beneath them cracked, spiderweb fractures expanding outward. And amidst the explosion of power, something else became clear—

Nine stars shimmered and swirled upon Alex's chest.

It was the exact same level of power as Varacius.

Nine-Star, Star-Formation realm.

It was the same! Yet the difference was suffocating.

Varacius's eyes widened in horror as he couldn't even move.

He had assumed Alex's strength came from some other mysterious force, perhaps a trick or an unknown technique. But this—this was raw power, cultivated and refined just like his own.

The last time he heard, Alex was an eight star; how did he turn nine star so soon?

And even if he did someone grow this much, how was the difference in their power so high?!

'No... No, this isn't the time to be thinking! I need to move—' Varacius's mind raced, thinking of rushing away from Alex.

He had defended against the attack; he just needed to get away, but it was already too late.

Alex's palm—still pressed firmly against his cheek—shifted slightly.

And pressed harder.

A sickening crack echoed through the Colosseum.

Varacius's pupils contracted as pain erupted from his cheek, a sharp, agonizing sensation that sent waves of fire through his skull.

For the first time in his life, he felt his bones—his face—fracture under the sheer force of his peer. His footing, which he had struggled so hard to maintain, finally gave way.

BOOM!

Like a cannonball fired from a siege weapon, Varacius's body was launched into the air.

The world around him blurred into streaks of color as his form twisted uncontrollably. His ears rang, his mind reeled, and his pride shattered alongside the bones in his face.

A beat of silence followed.

And then—

CRASH!

Varacius's body slammed into the far wall of the Colosseum, a thunderous impact that sent dust and debris flying in every direction. The entire arena trembled, and cracks spread through the reinforced stone, evidence of the sheer force behind Alex's attack.

For several long moments, no one spoke. The audience, the referees, and even the commentators were at a complete loss for words.

It was only after the dust began to settle that the silence finally broke.

A single voice, quivering with disbelief, echoed through the arena.

"H-He really did defeat a club president... with just a... slap..."

That was all it took for the crowd to erupt into chaos.