Content with his explanation the female warrior thought a little more highly of the man.
A few days after with quite a bit of luck they succeeded in making it out of the mines. Raphael turned out to be quite the life saver. They soon parted ways, and Qiana expected to never see the man again. But she was quite mistaken.
A few weeks later another raid was to take place and once again the fire mage was there. And then the next one… and the next one… and the next one…Each time the man resumed his antics in trying to court her.
Qiana had had enough of seeing this man who went from savior to annoying pain in her ass. "What do you want?"
"A chance" he simply said.
"A chance? A chance for what?"
"You".
Qiana face palmed and sighed. "Ok ya know what fine, you did help me so I will give you a chance. Up for a simple wager?"
"Of course!" The somber look of Raphael changed to a gleaming joyous expression.
"Defeat my elder in combat. You beat him and I'll think about giving you a chance. Lose and I never want to hear you or see you again. Clear?."
"Crystal."
Qiana knew there's no way in hell this mage of all people could beat her father in combat. She though it was the simplest yet most effective solution.
"What are the rules?" Raphael asked.
"No magic, no weapons. Bare hands brawl to submission or knock out. Prove your "feelings" to me and I'll marry you on the spot. Hell, I'll even warm the bed for you that night."
While traveling back to the village Raphael did not speak once. He simply had a demeanor that contrasted from his usual goofy and giddy charades. It left the female warrior feeling a little odd.l and a bit worried.
…
Upon arrival to the village the odd man out was definitely the fire mage. In his current clothes nobody would really see this man as having an eye for the elders daughter or even a remote chance of being successful in his attempts to woo her.
It made the Chief furious listening to his daughter explain what happened while she was away. "This little rat bastard of a man thinks he can have your hand in marriage?!? Is he strong at least?"
"Yes he is but not in combat. He is a simple fire mage yet he agreed to not use magic. I feel he meant well but to be quite honest he hasn't caught my eye yet. He would really have to beat you for me to even consider him."
"Well my princess you will not need to worry. I will show him what true strength is without relying on magic."
"I know that's why I'm sorting it out this way so as to not totally ruin his pride by fighting him myself. He hasn't shown any aptitude for fighting without magic. But he did save me so I also didn't want to destroy his pride by doing it myself."
…
The the night the challenge was to occur, Qiana tried to convince the mage to give up so at least he wouldn't get pummeled.
He was quite stubborn though. "I don't think I will. I have a fair chance."
"A chance you'll leave here with your tail tucked between your legs. Don't make me regret giving you a chance in the first place."
"Don't forget about your promise, "princess"" Raphael walked towards the ring to begin his challenge against the elder.
The female warrior could only sit back and think. "This man is prideful and a pervert, what have I done to get his attention?"
Soon the two men were in a ring. 25ft in diameter, a made of dirt and dust. Meant for the simple spars normally held in the village.
The elder came out first with a stoic figure at 6'8 and weighting in at nearly 300lbs. He was not a human to be messed with.
"To enter the ceremonial ring first is out one and only Chief Odinson! To defend his precious daughter from the clutches of the odd challenger and apparently stalker of or local princess!"
Neither man moved.
Raising his large arm and pointing Odinson spoke,
"Give up, leave. I don't need a weakling like you who uses magic to protect my daughter, let alone give her weak children."
Qiana buried her head in her hands . The normal hard ass and tomboy princesses was still victim to parental embarrassment.
"Ah, I see. Guess I just need to prove myself then."
The man began to strip off his shirt and shoes simply leaving his trousers on revealing quite the built figure underneath that surprised almost everyone. Mages were typically very mana dependent and even though they traveled a lot they were still not known to be physically adept in almost any case.
But this man was built differently. "Impressive for a mage. But muscle means nothing if you don't know how to use it." Odin cheered the man as he settled into a weird stance.
The second the elder got his hands on the young man he was seeing the sky. The man he was charging was no longer in view. It wasn't until a loud thud was heard that everybody registered what they just saw.
This small mage had actually slammed the elder into the ground. And he made it look easy.
"Is that it or do I need to prove myself more?" The man looked over the elders face and smiled with a warm grin.
The face of the man woke Odin out of his daze as he got up. He simply smiled and looked at the small statures mage.
"We'll maybe you are not that bad, but you still have not won!" Odin, instead of charging, slowly circled the man, now being slightly wary of his odd techniques and strength despite the weight and height difference. Odin attacked!
An exchange of blows occurred as if the fight between two monsters was occurring. For every punch the Chief threw the mage countered it and snuck in a blow.
A bloody lip and eyebrow could be seen on the Chief. Wiping his face the Chief could only show a look of confusion as he yanked and pulled out a lose tooth.
A few of the spectators were in awe at what the mage had been able to do despite his size.
"The Chief is just letting him get some hits in right?"
"Of course he is idiot. There's no way he would let somebody take his daughter this way. It's just him having a little fun before sending him home packing and alone."
The Chief seeing his opponents strength felt like there was more to this mage than he was letting on as he furrowed his brow.
After regaining his composure the Chief walked forward again. He threw a combination of blows and punches and started smiling as he was rather enjoying himself in the fight despite his odd feelings.
Each of his attacks was expertly blocked or dodged like the man was some sort of martial master which was unprecedented.
Finally in one swift move the man swept out the Chiefs legs after an over extended right hook and knocked the Chief to the ground again.
Odin was exhausted . His chest heaving up and down while he lay sprawled on the dirt. The young man walked over and extended a hand.
"Do you submit?"
Odin simply looked at the man and smiled. "Ha ha ha ha ha, finally!"
Raphael looked at him with a bit of confusion.
"Qiana! You better not let this one get away! He's definitely strong!" He took the young mans hand and proceeded to wrap his burly arms around Raphael as the Chief stood up.
"You have quite the techniques, I've never seen that combat style. Where do you hail from my boy?"
Raphael seemed to be a bit reserved in answering but he said in a rather lonely and sad tone, "I just learned it as a part of my travels, I don't really have a home. Not anymore at least…"
A few people felt bad for the guy.
"We'll consider you are going to be my new son-in-law you should stay here! We may not have much in Gripa, but many do call it home. You are welcome too as well!"