"Kid, Fight me!"
Those words echoed in the air, making everybody shake their heads in surprise.
"Huh?" I said in disbelief as I turned to face the man holding my head.
It was a large muscular man, with several scars on his arms and even face. He was HUGE at about 6.4 ft tall. He was wearing what seemed to be high-level adventurer clothes with some gold plating here and there. And on his back was a large curved golden sword. He was staring at me with determination while giving an honest smile, quite a sight to be fair. However, I was still in disbelief regarding what he said before, so...
"Wait, what?!" I inquired so as to see if I, had perhaps, misheard.
"Fight me!" he enthusiastically replied without hesitating.
"Why?!" I could only be stupefied by this man's carefree attitude while challenging ME! a GIRL!, although, I'm actually a guy on the inside, TO FIGHT!? Furthermore, HE WAS MASSIVE and looked extremely strong. Quite intimidated, I used [Master Appraisal] on him and what I found left me with my mouth agape.
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Name: Callum Raikiri
Gender: Male
Age: 34
Race: Human
Adventurer Level: S
Class: Advanced Magic Swordsman
Lvl: 483
HP: 614,852/614,852
MP: 467,953/467,953
STR: 329,376
DEF: 132,145
SPD: 280,473
MRES: 427,438
Skills: [Lightning Javelin], [Voltage Field], [Lightning Wrath], [Lightning God's Fury], [Hell Lightning], [Thunderbolt], [Paralysis], [Seeking Bolts], [Electric Blade], [Greater Appraisal]
Affinities: [Lightning]
Titles: [Litherm's Guild Master], [Roaring Thunder], [Lightning King], [S-Rank adventurer], [Blessed by the Lightning God]
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Strong...
I mean, I am quite definitely stronger in terms of sheer power, but this is nothing to scoff at. The dude is well over level 400 and near the 500 range. Furthermore, what's with these skills and titles?! They're over the expected range for any human being! Terrified at who was holding my head I nervously said:
"I don't want to fight?" I said while making the best-saddened eyes that I could possibly make. And they were quite effective from the reactions I could see on the other adventurer's faces... BUT NOT ON HIM!
"Don't worry, it'll be fun!" He said unfazed by my pitiful look.
"No! I don't want to fight!"
"Oh don't be like that, I know you want to fight too!"
"No."
"Oh come on, just a bit"
Don't want to!"
"Come on! Let's train a little, it can't be too bad?" He said while letting out a small laugh.
'This dude has to be a battle maniac...' This was getting seriously annoying to deal with so I simply moved on and tried to at least figure out why he wanted to fight.
"Why would you challenge me?"
"Well, first of all, I love to fight!"
'So he is a battle maniac...'
"But also, I had never seen any affinity detecting crystal react like THAT!" He said as he pointed towards the shattered crystal.
"So, I want to test you, besides... that appraisal crystal seems to have misread your status..." He said teasingly.
'He knows?!' How could he know?! Does he even know?! Just who is this guy? How can he know all of this!!!
"Fine... I'll fight you, but please go easy on me... I'm really weak you know?"
"Yeah sure... That's fine I'll go easy on you." He said in a sarcastic tone. 'Does he know my strength?'
He then signaled all of the adventurers in the room to make way for us as he leads me down a hallway. At the very end, there was an immense room, with rocks, trees, and other natural features. It was completely impressive considering the level of technology this world seems to have. As both Callum and I entered the training room all other adventurers and receptionists, including Kira sat on the sidelines. 'Is this a common occurrence?' I thought to myself witnessing the organization of the people, getting ready to watch us fight. As I was still distracted by observing the audience, Callum tapped my shoulder and then started explaining how we would fight:
"Alright, so it'll be a classic duel... We're going to fight until one of us forfeits or receives an injury which could be fatal. BUT DON'T WORRY! We'll have magicians who can use healing magic on standby" he said enthusiastically as he pointed to some robed weirdos staring at me like animals in heat. 'This appearance is seriously starting to get annoying.
"Don't worry sweetheart i'll heal you thoroughly if you get hurt..." -Perverted healer 1
"Indeed, we'll heal every inch of you body and soul..." -Perverted healer 2
"Mhhh, I hope I can heal all of your being..." -Perverted healer 3
'Disgusting' was my one and only thought as I wore a wry smile on my face. To my surprise, Callum was also smiling with disgust at the healers and immediately apologized to me.
"Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you, my name is Callum and I'm the guild master here at Litherm... but I guess you already knew that, didn't you?" He said seriously while giving me an honest laugh.
'SERIOUSLY! Is this guy just bluffing or is he serious!? HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW?!?!' I was seriously starting to make me anxious and he clearly noticed this, as he then proceeded to explain one more rule in order to dissipate my stress:
"So, you may use any and all magic as well as gear. However you can grab anything that you wish to use from that pile of weapons over there" he said as he pointed to a huge pile of armor, lances, and swords just laying at one of the corners of the room.
"But looking at your sword I bet you won't even n... e...?"
Without even me even allowing him to finish his sentence I had already started to make my way to the overwhelmingly large pile of weapons.
"HAH!?" everybody shouted in surprise.
"Why would you use those? They are chipped and leftover equipment you know?" said Callum surprised by my choice of equipment.
"That sword on your belt looks really powerful, why aren't you using it?" He asked intrigued.
"Don't wanna" I said calmly without even turning to face him. I was rummaging through the pile of weapons when something finally caught my eye.
"Aha!"
Out of the pile I took a fancy looking claymore, it seemed to be quite cheap however, it still seemed powerful enough for our fight. As I began to swing it around in some form of practice, I caught a glimpse of Callum's surprised face. It was hilarious. It was so contrasting to his previous facial expressions.
"Are you sure you'll use that weapon?" He said as he snapped out of his surprise and started leisurely walking to a white mark on the floor while pointing me to another one near me.
"Yeah..." I said as I arrived at the mark he had signaled.
"Alright then!"
...
We were now facing each other. We were about 50 ft away from each other. At that moment the room dropped dead silent and tension began to grow out of nowhere. He then nodded to one of the adventurers who had raised his hand out of nowhere.
The adventurer then walked towards us with his hand in the air. 'I guess he will signal us, huh?' I could only let out a sigh.
When the adventurer finally arrived in between both of us, Callum unsheathed his sword. It was a beautiful golden color. It was curved and had different edges which seemed to be in allusion to lightning. Finally, the grip of the sword was completely white. The sword in its entirety absolutely stunning. But one thing about this amazing adventurer still remained in my mind...
"Why is this brute even battling with me..." I muttered silently
'He probably knows I don't even have any magic, yet he only wants to fight with me purely out of what could possibly be a malfunction in the crystal!' Shifting my attention from Callum, I look at Kira. She has huge eyes of expectation and gives me a small nod when she realized I was looking her way. It made me a little uncomfortable seeing her do that, but I shake my head brushing it off.
Focusing once more on what was before me, the adventurer then told both of us:
"Ready?"
'OH GOD, IT'S HAPPENING!' I was freaking out... obviously.
We both immediately took fighting stances, Callum's was clearly much more polished than mine, brandishing his golden lightning sword over his head ready to impale me if I were to get any closer. I on the other hand, had taken a stance which was utter garbage. Of course, I don't know any martial arts, so I can't do any better.
I could only see Callum holding in a chuckle after seeing my stance, yet keeping his serious face on, for the most part, it made me a little frustrated. 'This guy... Is he even serious?'
The Adventurer acting as a referee then yelled:
"Fight!"
3rd Person P.O.V.:
The moment the adventurer's signaled the start of the fight, Callum took the first move. Aiming his right arm at Reika he chanted [Lightning Javelin].
"[LIGHTNING JAVELIN]!"
A ray of electricity suddenly emerged from Callum's hand and moved at unfathomable speeds towards the beautiful maiden who had yet to move.
In a split second the ray of electricity arrived at its destination creating an immense explosion and raising a cloud of smoke all around where Reika had been standing. Everyone except Kira was utterly mortified:
"How could he do that!?" -Adventurer 1
"She was so pretty too!" -Adventurer 2
"He was too merciless against that beginner!" -Adventurer 3
"GET HER HELP!" -Adventurer 4
However, two people in the arena remained vigilant of the cloud of smoke, Callum, and Kira. And unexpectedly to everyone else present a beautiful feminine voice called out from within the cloud of smoke:
"That was a close one!" it said in a sarcastic tone.
Everyone was shocked, seeing the beautiful girl come out of such a powerful attack unscathed...
"Okay, guess it's my turn!" She happily said as she gave Callum a big sweet smile.
Reika turned to her sword and activated: [Oblivion Blessing].
"[Oblivion Blessing]"
The moment Reika finished chanting, blue flames suddenly started enveloping the sword she was holding. Everyone was staring in awe, even Callum, and Kira. But what happened that was truly unexpected was that, in the blink of an eye, Reika's previously normal claymore was now a jet black, sinister claymore with blue linings running along the edge of the sword and a platinum handle.
"Pretty neat isn't it?" She said enthusiastically forcing everyone out of their trance after witnessing such transformation. Regaining his composure Callum then regained his characteristic smile and said:
"Guess I'll have to go all out to go against that!"
He then adopted a fighting stance again and started creating a certain tension in the air. At that moment, Callum's sword began glowing and emanating sparks from its blade.
After being a bit impressed Reika, took the initiative this time around. She rushed in and attempted to slash Callum horizontally (AN: Of course, she's only using about 40% of her speed). Callum was taken by surprise but dodged by backing away while keeping his sword ready for any followed attack.
Just like Callum had predicted, Reika ran towards Callum once more and attempted to slash his knees. Noticing this, Callum attempted to parry. However, at the last second, Reika jumped over Callum and sent a strike aimed at Callum's head in mid-air. Completely taken aback by this strike, Callum barely escaped the sword's grasp.
Regaining his footing, Callum chanted [Voltage Field] while plunging his sword deep into the ground.
"[Voltage Field]!"
All of a sudden the ground started to emit strong shocks, while storm clouds began forming on the ceiling of the arena. All of the audience was enticed by such a strong battle, but Reika could only think 'Well, this has finally gotten interesting...'
Callum reclaimed his sword and charged at Reika with incredible speed, thrusting his sword directly at her stomach. Reika parried with incredible force sending shockwaves throughout the arena. She swiftly jumped to create some distance between them, but predicting this, Callum prepared [Lightning Wrath] and what came out of his sword was a beam of lightning heading at an unperceivable speed towards Reika. She was completely taken aback, she wasn't predicting Callum could use such a powerful spell, in such a short amount of time.
By twisting her body in mid-air Reika managed to dodge a fatal shot. But the lightning beam managed to catch her right arm, wounding her to a point, a normal adventurer would surely be dead. However, her HP had only diminished by 10,000 out of 750,000 points she had.
Without wasting this opportunity, Callum had closed in and slashed downwards aiming at Reika's head. Reika swiftly blocked, but Callum had only performed a feint to create an opening in which he succeeded. Surprised once again, Reika used all of her speed to block the incoming slash. However, for some reason, her full speed created such tremendous force when connecting with Callum's sword that the blast sent both fighters flying in opposite directions.
The audience at this point was simply questioning if what was before them was even real...
After both fighters had regained their footing, Callum panting, began:
"Hah〜 Didn't you mention you weren't very strong?" As he breathed heavily and gave Reika a warm smile.
"Well, I didn't think someone would make me put some actual effort" Reika replied while returning the smile.
"Well, how about we both wrap this up?" He said while adopting a fighting stance raising his sword "Let's end this battle with everything we've got, how about that?"
"I wouldn't have it any other way" Reika answered while throwing away the Claymore, catching everyone's attention. "This time I won't be holding back, you know?" When those words left her mouth, she slowly reached for the handle resting at her belt. She took a large breath and then...
Reika released 'Boukyaku' from its scabbard...
Everyone had their breath taken away, the moment Reika unsheathed the sinister-looking sword the effect of [Master Hide Presence] dissipated activating [Oblivion Presence]. This left everyone in a trembling in fear. Everyone in the arena fell into terrified state due to her aura. Furthermore, when Reika held the sword, the strange particles and small bolts that emanated from the blade obliterated anything that came into contact with them. As a final chilling factor, Reika's eyes were glowing as she held her sword. It was truly a blood-curdling sight. The beautiful girl everyone had been trying to protect at first, now had an empty look in her eyes while emitting an aura that basically told them she wouldn't hesitate to kill them on the spot.
In the midst of all this, Callum managed to overcome the pressure generated from Reika and sarcastically said:
"No power huh〜?" letting out a small chuckle.
"You're by far the strongest I've yet to see..." He then held his sword high in the air like a hero while having a battle cry. His sword seemed to begin shining even brighter than before, in a blinding golden light. He then plunged his sword into the ground once more with both of his hands resting on the handle while looking at Reika dead in the eye...
"Let's finish this, shall we?".