'So, two guys are duking it out, due to their own shenanigans. And here I thought I would have a day where I could finally take a break.' Soren thought to himself as he was shaking his head with disappointment.
"Say, how are they going to do this Quickdraw Duel? I doubt that they are going to use actual arrows, right?" Soren asked casually as he stared at the duo of archers that were staring at each other.
"First time watching one?" The man asked curiously without turning his head away from the duo.
"Yeah."
"They use special arrows called QD arrows. The thing about them, for starters, is that those come in a pair of two, they have flat leathery ends and that the arrow that hits a person first, sticks to them like a starving leech. From there, it's all about drawing first and hitting the enemy first."
Once the man finished his explanation, Soren silently nodded before asking again:
"What about the situation when the arrows hit each other simultaneously?"
"That is just impossible. It doesn't matter if it's a fraction of a second, a millisecond or even a nanosecond, only one of those arrows is going to stick, the other will just fall on the ground."
'Might as well watch the duel before I leave.' Soren thought to himself after the man finished his explanation. As he was waiting for the trade to happen, he noticed that both archers were actually female, even though they were covering their heads and faces with a helmet. The reason he could tell, was due to their body builds, or rather their slim waists, paired with their slightly larger chests.
As he was slowly anticipating the draw, someone suddenly touched him from behind and commented:
"Say, are you still going to keep ignoring me, Soren?"
The moment Soren that familiar voice, he suddenly turned his back around and the moment he saw the person in front of them, Soren couldn't help but shout out their name happily:
"Matt!"
"Long time no see Soren." Matt answered Soren's greeting with his own before continuing:
"How come you are still here? I thought you would have left by now."
"I was slightly caught up with a few distractions, nothing to worry about." Soren answered nonchalantly as he put his hands on his waist. He wasn't surprised from seeing Matt around, since it's been almost two months ever since he returned from his mission. Although Soren didn't have any information for Matt's mission, aside from being a mission he didn't want to do, he wasn't feeling curious enough to ask about it.
"Anyways, has Rohan returned yet?"
"Nothing has come up for now. I was told that he was going to come today, at the latest, but he hasn't come home yet and the Guild hasn't said anything about it as well." Matt sighed with a worried expression as he rubbed his forehead slightly.
"Anyways, let me see your progress. I want to see how much you have improved." Matt asked with a happy expression as he put his arm over Soren's shoulders.
"Can we not? It's a bit embarrassing. Besides, I don't know if I've made as much progress as you are expecting." Soren answered back with hesitation as he turned his head away.
"I'm not taking a no for an answer, this time Soren." Matt answered back with a resolute and smug expression on his face.
"Fine, but don't laugh." At that point, Soren decided to check on his status and explain to Matt about his progress.
[Name: Soren
Race: Merman (Leviathan)
LV: 14
HP: 342 -> 420 (+78)
MP: 108 -> 132 (+24)
STR: 64 -> 86 (+18)
VIT: 57 -> 70 (+13)
AGL: 77 -> 98 (+21)
INT: 54 -> 66 (+12)
WIS: 51 -> 62 (+11)
RFL: 55 -> 73 (+18)
LCK: 47 -> 57 (+10)
Skills (A): Merman transformations (Human, Merfork, Beast), Sword Aura (Incomplete/ 3%), Third Eye, Water Ball, Water Shield, Water Cutter, Mana Wall, Mana Dome, Mana Cutter, Mana Armor, Silent Dome W, Sword Arts: Hilt Break, Swift Slashes, Quick Strike, Enduring Stance, Disarming Strikes (Formless Version: Seal Cutter), Reckless Charge (FV: Double-Edge)
Skills (P): Swimming (+1 AGL), Universal Translation, Blessing of the Seas (Major), Guardian, Water Magic LV.3, Mana Manipulation LV.4, Water Booster, Sword Mastery LV.6 (Military Sword Style), Aura Body, Dismantling Mastery LV.1
Titles: Life-Bound Companions(Lavenza), Undead Hunter (Apprentice), %&6$@(;?, Survivor, Swordmaster (Intermediate/ +10 STR/AGL/RFL), Hunter (Apprentice), Private Soren]
"So, do you think still think I've made a lot of process?" Soren asked with a slightly depressed expression.
"Surprisingly, this was accurate with my predictions. I was pretty much expecting great progress with your combat abilities and less with your base stats and numbers." Matt answered with a thoughtful expression before continuing:
"To be honest, that is pretty much how Rohan trains the new adventurers, so this isn't anything new for me, but seeing you reach at the late stages of intermediate Swordmaster title is a bit of a surprise for me."
"Wait, really?" Soren asked with a surprised expression.
"Yup. That's just his way of doing things. Anyways, have you managed to increase your Adventurer's Rank?"
"Just one mission away. After that, it's the Rank Up mission, once again. Can't say I'm looking forward to it." Soren complained as his mood turned sour at the mention of his Rank Up quest.
"I wouldn't worry that much, if I were you. Knowing how much you and Lavenza, probably, have grown, you should be good, even against stronger opponents." Matt reassured with a calm and carefree expression as he waved his hand.
As the two of them were talking, loud cheers and cries were suddenly heard from the crowd, which forced them out of their conversation.
"What happened?" Soren asked slightly worried at the sight of the crowd going crazy.
"The Lamb Guardian won this Quickdraw Duel." The man from before answered with a happy expression, before continuing on his cheers.
"Oh, are those two at it again?" Matt couldn't help but comment, once he heard the results of the duel.
"You know them?" Soren asked curiously once again.
"Rank B adventurers. Leaders of the Silver Strikers and the Dark Hunters, respectively. Also pretty infamous for their rivalry, even during their joining and training periods." Matt answered with a serious expression, before adding:
"Anyways, I think we have wasted enough time right now. How about we get Lavenza and take care of things from there?"
"Let's get going." Soren answered before muttering to himself: "There's no way they'll be able to close the door in front of my face now."
For a moment, Matt felt like he could see a sinister smile on Soren's face, but he quickly dispelled those thoughts, since he thought that he had imagined things. After that, the duo made their way towards the Temple, after calling for a nearby carriage and waiting for the crowd to disperse.