As they mounted the battle arena, the scene around both Nero and Avollo changed, becoming saturated by a dense mist, it seemed that neither of them wanted their battle to be witnessed by anyone. Elly, along with the curious onlookers, watched this with disappointed expressions as some clicked their teeth in silence.
"Hmph! I suppose it doesn't matter; I didn't want to see him get beat up anyway..." Elly said in a self-convincing manner as if she was trying to talk herself into it.
However, while she was lost in thought, a bright ray of light beamed from a distance arriving by her side, reforming into the bulky Raynas. The moment the crowd saw him, a few with more knowledge couldn't help but start a minor commotion.
"That... isn't that Iron Wall Raynas!" One of the novices said in alarm.
"Y-your right, it's him, I didn't know he was her Guider. It looks like the little miss is certainly well pampered," Another person said with envious eyes.
Crazy Blade and Thunder's Daughter looked at each other before they focused their eyes ack onto the ring, they were anticipating the results of this fight against Avollo and the unknown Silver Boy.
Elly looked at Raynas in joy as she spoke, "Brother, what took you so long? I thought you said you'd arrived back before my match was over."
Raynas shook his head and replied, "It's not easy to get down here, you know, plus I had a minor affair to deal with..."
When Raynas said this, his eyes flickered as his face turned a bit complex, Elly seeing his look frowned, she wanted to ask him something, but Raynas changed the topic.
"So, you're finished here, right? Now that you are on the ranking list, we can continue focusing on leveling you up to do your Inheritance Quest. Come, let us..." Rayna was about to say something, but he was soon cut off.
"B-Brother wait, I want to stay here for a while longer," Elly said a bit embarrassedly.
Raynas looked at her in surprise as he spoke, "Hmm? What's wrong?"
Elly fidgeted for a while before she spoke, "I-I want to see the results of this match; after that, we can continue on training."
Raynas glanced at the hazy arena with a frown, he thought for a bit before he spoke, "Alright fine, I don't know what's so special, but I'll wait for a while longer."
"Yay," Elly said with a victorious look on her face, Raynas glanced at her with a smile before his face once more showed a complicated look, as if he recalled a troublesome thing.
Not privy to the details outside the ring, Nero and Avollo stared at each other from a few meters distance across as the sounds of the ring resounded in their minds, followed by a notification.
[Friendly Duel between Digitizer Nero and Digitizer Avollo shall commence in 20 seconds! 20, 19, 18....]
The two remained silent as if they didn't even hear the countdown before Avollo smirked and spoke with flashing eyes, "Huhu, I want you to come at me with all you have, Nero, this battle is meant solely to wake you up."
Nero snorted at those words as he spoke, "Hmph! I won't lose so easily!"
Avollo said nothing in reply and only stretched his arm to the side, causing a simple sword to appear, he didn't even adopt a sword posture and just stood calmly like a leaf that could flow through the wind.
Nero felt a tinge of danger looking at Avollo; he didn't know why, but each of his senses was warning him of a danger. He frowned while thinking, 'Is he really that dangerous? I want to see just what makes him so special - Inspect Status!'
Following Nero's command, a notification popped up with Avollo's details, appearing directly before his eyes.
[Name: Avollo]
[Title - Hidden]
[Tier - Novice Rank Digitizer]
[Level 8 | Class: None]
[Influence: None | Prestige: ???]
[Health 240/240]
[Magic Power 240/240]
[Combat Power: ???)]
[Body Tenacity: ???]
[Spiritual Awareness: ???]
[Speed: ???]
....
Nero's mouth went wide as he saw those details, especially Avollo's level, cursed in his mind, 'What the hell? Level 8, are you kidding me?'
Avollo seeing his look, couldn't help but show a sly smirk as he spoke, "Haha, what's wrong Nero? Did you finally inspect my stats? It's a pity; it's already too late to withdraw from this match of ours."
"You... you darn bastard! Why would you challenge me when theirs such a difference in power between us?" Nero cursed in anger, but as he knew he couldn't change anything and that the timer was almost finished, he gritted his teeth and held onto the sword by his waist.
Avollo chuckled as he looked at Nero with flashing eyes and spoke with a cool tone, "Nero, father always said that the best way to cement one's new friendship is through actual combat and harsh exchange. In our case, I am merely killing two birds with one stone, both by training you and establishing our friendly bond. Don't worry, I'll limit my strength to the exact amount used by a normal Level 4 Novice and fight you only with my current level of combat skills and refinement arts. Now then, it appears that our time is up, be careful..."
Following Avollo's words, Nero's face sunk as the timer for the battle hand finally ended.
Ding!
[The countdown has concluded, let the duel commence!]
The moment the system spoke, a toweringly sharp power rose around Avollo; it was a sharp power that covered everything within his surroundings. Even the gravel on the battle arena started to behave strangely.
Nero looked at his face with a deep look as he firmly gripped the handle of his sword and bit his lips, his eyes had a hesitant look as he questioned his older self, 'Can I beat him?'
"...." Adult Nero remained silent, not giving him any reply; he decided to let Nero learn from his own experiences.
Nero not hearing any reply knew his situation wasn't too good, but that didn't mean he was about to give up, he commanded with his mind, "Check status!"
[Name: Nero Valstine]
[Title - Silver Boy]
[Tier - Novice Rank Digitizer]
[Level 4 | Class: None]
[Next Level EXP: 880]
[Current EXP: 275]
[Influence: None | Prestige: 200 - Good Villager]
[Health 160/160]
[Magic Power 160/160]
[Combat Power: 106 | 70 + (40+15)]
[Body Tenacity: 38 | 19 + (20+10)]
[Spiritual Awareness 25]
[Speed 59(+1) km/h]:
[Genetic Trait:]
[Grade??? Inheritance Bit (Mazello(Level 10)) - A powerful Spiritual Being of an ancient era, as you've earned his recognition, you have awakened a small portion of his strength. Your awareness of spirits has risen, you will naturally attract the love and care of goodwill spirits, but those of a dark nature shall view you in a manner no different from their mortal enemy.]
---
[Reaper's Eye - A talent that allows one to see the origin of nature. It enables the living to see those that exist between both realms of reality.]
…
[Skills:]
[Passive Techniques:]
High-Grade Skill:
[Core Body Refinement: Stage 4 (2/400) | 9 Stages]
[Effects: Technique is limited to 9 Stages, and current stage can increase Combat Power and Body Tenacity by +20]
---
[All Weapons Mastery Skill- Stage 4 (1/400) | 9 Stages]
[Effects:]
[Technique is limited to 9 Stages, and current stage can increase the skill and Combat Power used by +20]
---
[Combat Techniques:]
High-Grade Skill:
[Four Point Unity Steps - Stage 4 (3/400) | 9 Stages]
[Description: This is a speed-boosting art that can increase speed allowing graceful movement and superior reaction capabilities. The current stage can grant the user and increase of 10km/h.]
[Effects: MP Consumption: 30]
[User can increase speed by 25km/h]
[Requirement: User must at least have Stage 3 fitness.]
....
Low-Grade Skill:
[Flash Cut: Stage 3 (50/100) | 3 Stages]
[Description - This is a sword style that allows the wielder to rely on the momentum of the sword, leaving its sheath and furthering it with Magic Power, allowing it to cut apart its foe in merely a flash.]
[Effects: MP Consumption: 25]
…
[Items:]
[???Special Gift - Item locked (Level10)]
[Furry Ape Martial Robe: Body Tenacity: 10 / Durability: 4/4]
[Simple Wooden Sandals: +1 km/h, Indestructible]
[Common Iron Sword: Combat Force: 6 / Durability: 5/5]
...
Nero viewing his stats felt a little better about his circumstances, though he knew he would be hard-pressed to win since Avollo stated that he would not be using his advantages in level and equipment; it meant that he might somehow hold a fighting chance.
Nero's eyes flickered in a bright ray as he leaned his body forward and pushed every ounce of his Magic Power into his sword handle. The sheathed sword then began to glow in bright silver lights, as Nero's body became shrouded by the dazzling radiance.
Follow his manner was now stern looked at Nero with a sharp look, his sword calmly held in one hand at his side as he quietly stared at him and spoke with a tease as he gestured with his finger, 'Come on now, show me what ya got!'