Andrew called out to ask permission for a duel. "Oi! Me and this kid want to have a duel! We both already agreed, we just need permission!"
A young man who looked half dead inside and seemed overworked walked over. He had white hair and goatee with green eyes that had bags to the extent it would be believable if he said someone used paint around his eyes. The young man wasn't a medical staff though, he had three gold stripes on his sleeve and a different uniform than the medical facility people that was green and had partial plate armor.
He was the commander. Despite seeming like a retail worker coming back from his shift, he was still energetic. One could say that 'he was one with the tiredness'. The commander would naturally be intrigued by an old beast person who was Stage Two asking to duel another person. Duels were commonplace above ground, but this was not the case in the soul stone mine. Most of the people in the mine were Stage Zero. A few were Stage One but an even smaller amount were Stage Two, excluding the guards of course.
He walked over to the room to get a better view and so he could see who the participant would be. "Hm? You want to duel someone?"
Andrew, upon seeing who was asking, immediately became more respectful. "Yes, sir! I was hoping to get permission, I am teaching him how to fight for when he faces beasts." While this was only half the truth, it was believable because beast attacks were a common occurrence while working. The commander could tell Andrew was still hiding some stuff, but knew it wasn't anything that important. If it was important and it was found out Andrew would be punished severely, so the commander didn't worry about it and knew from reasoning it didn't matter.
Cage had never seen Andrew be so respectful to any one. He was curious as to whom this man was. He was either powerful, an important figure, or both. He didn't know this man and as such didn't know his personality. Cage didn't want to anger someone who he shouldn't have so he decided to stay quiet.
Cage couldn't help but get an ominous feeling from the commander. He gave off an aura of might and power, but Cage was 100% sure that he was suppressing it. He was definitely someone who he shouldn't provoke.
Cage walked to Andrew and latched onto his shirt to hide behind. Andrew's heart softened a little. Cage didn't act his age often so Andrew forgot he was just a kid. Any kid would be unnerved around someone they didn't know that well, even more so if they were armed. Andrew found it quite cute.
The commander just smiled after taking a glance at Cage. He then turned back to Andrew, "So, who are you going to be fighting?"
Andrew just smiled wryly and gestured to Cage who was still behind him.
The commander was momentarily stunned, "Wait, really? You're fighting a kid? Isn't that bullying or something?"
"Believe me when I say this that he is not to be underestimated. He could be considered a monster in the form of a kid."
Cage's eyebrow's twitched internally, 'Did they forget I was here?'
The commander quickly hid his stunned expression. "Sounds interesting, request approved. I'm curious as to how a child can even threaten a Stage Two."
Cage and Andrew were led to an open area beneath the facility by the commander. Not even Andrew knew about the new area, and he had been in the facility for years. It was primarily made out of stone bricks and was a 50 meter cube in any direction. It had a simple dirt floor as well. The bricks the room was made up of were little strange though, Cage could sense mana emanating from the bricks.
The commander took out a medallion that seemed to be a communication device and spoke into it to give an order. "Send down two people to the testing grounds, I will need a healer and an observer for a duel."
The medallion pulsed slightly and a slightly distorted voice cam through. "--Understood, Sir. The two requested personnel will be down shortly.--"
The commander nodded in satisfaction. Cage was now certain that he was someone important, only an important person could order around other people.
"I'm going to give you a rundown on the rules. Number one, no killing. Feel free to injure the opposition though, just no fatal wounds." The commander let out another slight smile. After a small pause, he continued and said, "Other than that, there are no rules. Oh by the way, don't worry about breaking anything. The bricks are enchanted so nothing under Stage Four could break them."
Shortly after the commander's small rundown, two other people arrived. There was a woman who brought a bag that seemed to have medical supplies in it, Cage presumed she was the healer. Surprisingly, Cage recognized the other person. It was the assistant who ran his rehab.
'Huh, what a coincidence. I guess she is the observer. She was always taking notes and writing stuff down now that I think about it...'
With the healer and observer being present, the fight could commence without any worry to their lives. They could fight to their hearts content.
A black-haired cat person stood ten meters away from an elderly silver-haired wolf person. They both stared at each other.
The commander put a little mana in his voice, "Begin the fight when I say 'fight'..."
"3!"
Cage got in a runners stance.
"2!"
Andrew raised his fists.
"1!"
They both began to smile.
"Fight!
As if a war horn had been sound, Cage kicked off the ground and shot off like a surface to air missile. He ran at Andrew at full speed and activated his skill.
[Burst!]
He arrived in front of Andrew in an instant, catching Andrew off guard. He sent out several jabs hoping to get some damage in and lower Andrew's fighting ability. Andrew immediately recognized the intention and leaned back, narrowly avoiding the jabs, he then responded with a punch of his own.
[Gale Fist!]
His punch suddenly had wind currents gathering around it. Cage could feel a large amount of mana surging from it, one could tell at a glance that it possessed a frightening level of destructive power.
Cage couldn't help but curse internally. He was not only at a combat skill disadvantage, but also a strength one as well. 'Fuck, Is this the difference between stages? It's on a whole other level!'
He quickly dodged to avoid the hit. A shock wave of wind pressure came off his fist. It was truly a strong skill. Unfortunately, Cage failed to notice a kick that was following the punch.
"What!?!"
Boom!
Cage got sent flying into a wall by the strength of the kick and dust got shot up. He could feel the taste of blood in his mouth.
Cage realized that Andrew had used a simple, but effective trick. He had used his punch to block Cage's vision and create a blind spot to set up an opportunity.
Cage spat out blood in his mouth. He was starting to enjoy the fight more and more. It had only just begun and he was already learning leaps and bounds. He sat up and emerged from the dust cloud. "It seems a long fight isn't to my favor... Let's ramp things up a bit, shall we?"
[Burst!]
Cage once again shot forward at high speeds.
[Wind Blade!] [Wind Blade!]
[Wind Blade!] [Wind Blade!]
Near invisible slashes of air moved towards Cage. Andrew didn't want to give Cage the opportunity to change the flow of the fight and rushed in behind the wind blades.
Cage used his skill in succession to change direction suddenly and doge the wind blades. A moment before Andrew and Cage were about to begin their second exchange, Cage used his skill to throw up a smokescreen of dust.
A gleam flashed in Cage's eyes before he disappeared in the dust in a similar manner to how a demon would in the mist.
[Burst!]
Andrew was a little concerned, he didn't know what Cage was planning. Regardless, he wouldn't let Cage proceed with his plan.
[Zephyr's Breath!]
Andrew took a deep breath and then blew out a large endless stream of air around him. Contrary to the skill's name, it was not a gentle breeze. It could be comparable to hurricane level winds.
The dust cloud abruptly cleared. Andrew looked around and to his utter confusion, he couldn't find Cage.
'Where did he go? Underground? No, he couldn't have... Is he invisible? No, I would hear him if he was...'
Andrew used his senses to their fullest. He heard a faint rustling noise, it sounded as if someone was falling from high up. It gradually got louder.
'Wait... from above!!!'
Like a cat pouncing on his prey, Cage was right on top of Andrew. He swung his leg while activating his skill.
[Burst!]
The attack was on the same level as Andrew's [Gale Fist]. The combination of downward force and the momentum from [Burst] combined to create a devastating attack.
Andrew's eyes were wide open in surprise. Cage's attack was like a scythe coming for his heart. Andrew couldn't dodge it, it was too fast!
He raised his arm to block it.
Kaboom!
With a sickening crack and explosion, the two forces collided. The ground caved in a little and shock waves were sent through out the entire room.
Andrew's arm was thoroughly broken and it could only lay limp at his side. He was no stranger to pain, so it wouldn't inhibit his movements too much.
Andrew immediately jumped back to get some distance. He didn't think that Cage would have that kind of attack up his sleeve.
The commander was speechless after witnessing that last attack. "This...This kid... he has the skills to transcend Stages! That man didn't lie, he is a monster in the form of a kid!"