The fight against Fable was completely different from Astos. Where Astos excelled in strength, Fable excelled in dexterity.
"Ayo?" [Solace]
It somewhat felt like I was fighting against my master. Everytime I threw punches or kicks, Fable would either block, parry, deflect, or evade.
"Damn, can you let me get a hit in?!" [Solace]
"Nah." [Fable]
He ducked under my high kick and struck my chest with some kind of double palm thrust.
"Oof!" [Solace]
It pushed me back a bit, but it didn't hurt. Maybe |Temperance| was working properly.
"You don't hit as hard as Astos." [Solace]
"Uh-huh. Okay, let's change that." [Fable]
I then felt energy shift around him. He suddenly was able to move faster and hit harder. How did I know? 'Cause he punched a hole into the ground when I dodged.
"Did you really have to punch the ground?!" [Solace]
"Am I hitting harder than Astos now?" [Fable]
"Have you considered landing a hit? Then maybe I'll be able to tell." [Solace]
"Bet." [Fable]
He zoomed at me. It was as if he had cut space apart and just appeared right in front of me.
"|Ripple|." [Fable]
It suddenly felt like time had slowed down. Felix was moving forward with his fist already in motion. As I watched it coming, I could've sworn I saw space itself shift.
("Yeah, that seems bad.") [Solace]
"|Rotating Shell Arts|." [Solace]
My hands moved slower than expected. Thankfully, I barely managed to deflect the punch into another direction.
"Parried it." [Solace]
"Nuh-uh." [Fable]
Just then, I felt as if I got hit by a truck. Trust me, I have experience.
"Urgh!" [Solace]
An invisible force blew me away. Good thing my reflexes were fast since I was able to ground myself enough to only slide a few feet.
"Okay. What the hell was that?!" [Solace]
"A little trick. I rippled space so that my punch took a bit longer to hit. I also added the effect that anything within that space would receive the blow." [Fable]
"That's gotta be cheating." [Solace]
Fable waved a finger back and forth.
"You just don't get it. It's only cheating when you're losing." [Fable]
"Ah, so the victor writes history type of stuff. Got it." [Solace]
Fable put his hands on his hips with a smug expression.
"Do you have any more tricks up your sleeve?" [Fable]
"Plenty." [Solace]
I buffed myself with |Enchant Flame|, |Enchant Lightning|, and |Reinforce| before rushing at him.
"Woah! That's cool!" [Fable]
"I've got something cooler!" [Solace]
I didn't run at him without thinking. Of course, I had a plan in mind. The plan? Simple really. It was to use |Explosion Arts| right up in his overconfident face.
"Parry this you filthy casual!" [Solace]
I thrust my hand at his face, in which he did in fact try to parry.
"|Explosion Arts|!" [Solace]
As an explosion erupted from my arm, I saw Fable with a shocked face before I heard a certain voice.
"Time limit exceeded. User Alt Account will now be logged out." [???]
That instant, my surroundings vanished and I found myself standing next to Leyhna and Fina.
"Huh?" [Solace]
"Oh, you're finally out." [Leyhna]
"How was it?" [Fina]
I blinked a few times and glanced around. It took me a moment to realize that I was no longer in that… I don't know how to put it. Simulation? Yeah, we'll go with that.
"That… This guy is the weakest hero?" [Solace]
"That's what people say." [Leyhna]
It was hard to believe someone capable of taking my hits like it was nothing was considered the weakest of the heroes.
"Huh. What level is Astos anyway?" [Solace]
"Level 1." [Leyhna]
My eyes widened with disbelief.
"What?! Impossible!" [Solace]
Never had I thought I would spout a line like that, but you see… I was level 62. How the hell did I get tossed around by a level 1.
"It's true. It was actually believed that he was around level 300 or 400 until he confirmed his status after he defeated a supreme demon lord." [Fina]
"Hold on. What's a supreme demon lord?" [Solace]
Now this was getting a bit more fantasy-like.
"Oh, I forgot you didn't have any common sense." [Leyhna]
"Demon lords are beings that are the opposite of heroes. They are cold ruthless monsters that can summon other monsters and control regions. They also have strength classifications similar to heroes like supreme heroes and supreme demon lords." [Fina]
Well that was a lot to take in.
"...So they're sentient?" [Solace]
Fina nodded.
"They do indeed possess intelligence on par or greater than the average person." [Fina]
"Wow." [Solace]
As someone who had played video games, I kind of felt like fighting one. Although, I would probably get my ass handed to me if I tried.
"You've had your fun, yeah? Time to return to class." [Leyhna]
That was a quick reality check.
"Man… I hate school. What class is next anyway?" [Solace]
Leyhna and Fina gave me weird looks.
"Don't you have your own schedule?" [Leyhna]
I knew that my schedule mirrored Fina's in order to protect her, but I had forgotten that they didn't know that.
"Ah… You're right." [Solace]
I then decided to do the good 'ol "Hey, turns out we're going the same way!" trick with Fina.
"Alright, I've gotta get to my class. What classes do you guys have next?" [Solace]
"I have magic theory next." [Leyhna]
She let out a sigh.
"I have basic combat class next." [Fina]
I then put my act into play.
"Woah! I also have that class next! Why don't we go together?" [Solace]
"Really? Okay, sure." [Fina]
I think my acting was pretty natural, but the look on Leyhna's face said otherwise.
("Don't judge me. If it works, it works.") [Solace]