Before Atticus had been unfortunately killed in his home after a devastating heartbreak, the current highest speed of athletes on Earth had been 27.8 mph.
The owner of this record had been crowned the fastest man in the world on Earth.
This just goes to show how much of a milestone this man had broken and also how hard it was to reach this speed.
On Earth, only one man had been able to achieve this feat. And he was worshipped for it.
But I'm Eldoralth, about 99% of the human population had mana coursing through their veins, and of that 99%, 70% of them were blessed enough to enter the intermediate rank.
When you compare the speed of the fastest man on Earth with the speed intermediate rank individuals on Eldoralth, it was like comparing the said fastest man and an infant who had just come out of the womb.
It was completely different. And about 70% of the human population in Eldoralth could achieve this speed. This just goes to show how much of an effect mana had on the world.
This was why with all this information, it wasn't shocking to the onlookers when as soon as the chime reverberated throughout the hall, in just under a second, both Atticus and Jared's figure each crossed a distance of 20 meters and instantaneously materialized in the middle of the stage.
Atticus's form materialized in the middle of the stage like a phantom.
Tension coiled in his arm, his shoulder drew back as though harnessing the force of a gathering storm.
In one swift and abrupt motion, Atticus unleashed his fist, cutting through the air with a speed that defied the blink of an eye.
The air parted as his fist manifested inches in front of Jared's head.
Jared's head snapped to the side with an abruptness that would snap the neck of a normal human back on Earth, his head narrowly evading the devastating punch that whizzed past the side of his head.
Jared's counter was immediate.
With his feet planted firmly, his weight evenly distributed, his hips turned with purpose, simultaneously gathering a devastating momentum with his hand drawn back.
And then, with a swift twist of his torso, Jared's fist shot upward in a powerful uppercut, the brutal punch appearing inches away from Atticus's chin.
But Atticus's eyes didn't even flicker. It was like he didn't even register the punch.
With an instantaneous twist of his left side torso, Atticus's form spun anticlockwise, his head shifting away from Jared's devastating uppercut.
Atticus, with the front of his form now facing upwards, instantaneously transferred the gathered momentum from the spin into his right leg, his left leg twisting as he unleashed a spinning kick that appeared on the left side of Jared's face.
Jared's left hand shot upward towards the side of his head.
It was plenty obvious that if the kick landed on the side of Jared's hand, it will carry a force that would have sent an ordinary Intermediate rank individual flying off into the distance.
But Jared was no normal individual.
The academy only goes after the best of the best to become their instructors.
And the fact that Jared was the combat instructor for the first years spoke volumes about his prowess.
With his left hand inches away from making contact with Atticus's kick, Jared bent his raised left hand forward, his elbow shooting upwards instantly striking Atticus's incoming kick from below.
The force of the blow redirected the kick, making it miss its original mark and whizzed above Jared's head.
Just as Jared was about to counter with a brutal kick to Atticus's left leg on the floor that was offering him balance, Atticus's left leg suddenly tensed as he forcefully stopped the momentum of the rotating kick.
With the momentum that seemed never-ending, he changed the direction in a heartbeat, his right leg descending towards Jared's head like a meteor.
Both of Jared's toes on the ground coiled at remarkable speeds, their release propelling his figure backward for a few meters successfully evading the devastating blow.
Now standing a few meters away from each other, Atticus's cold eyes locked onto Jared's similarly icy gaze.
At that moment, neither of them saw anything else.
They both scrutinized each other with an intensely penetrating gaze, both of them attempting to find out any weaknesses of their opponents.
The student surprised murmurs and gasps because of what they just witnessed were all a muted symphony in the ears of Atticus and Jared.
Both of them slowly circled around each other, their cold gazes locked with each other.
And then, without warning, their figures disappeared from their initial positions appearing once again in the middle of the stage.
Attacks were thrown, kicks evaded, a tsunami of blows exchanged, but neither one of them was able to land a significant blow on the other.
The average strength of the students currently in the hall was Intermediate+, with some being intermediate.
Only a very select few were in the advanced rank.
To the individuals with the Intermediate and Intermediate+ ranks, Atticus and Jared's movements appeared like a blur.
Even though Atticus and Jared were each currently on the same rank as the students, neither of them seemed to be able to completely capture their movements.
Many might wonder the reason why, but to those well-informed, the answer was simple: perception.
Jared was currently a Master+ rank. Regardless of his powers currently being limited, he was still able to freely use his perception. And the same could be said about Atticus.
Atticus and Jared's current perception of time was something none of the students currently in the hall, even the tier ones, could fathom.
There was not a single hesitation in their movements, not a single second or movement wasted.
Their brain worked at a speed none of the students could even imagine, coming up with a multitude of possible moves before eventually choosing the best option to take.
And this was all done in under a second!