Thud
Elliot sighed in relief but the next second he fumed in anger realising that he was being ignored. He's an S ranker with two elemental affinities for fucks sake. Don't ignore him.
Anyway, Ryan on the other hand moved forward lazily but his face had a slight smile. How can he not be aware when a person was pointing such intense killing intent at him. He had another "bad" habit, he really enjoyed when people were getting pissed off because they were jealous of him.
Human beings are always jealous of each other. A student who ranks top is always hated by his peers because he scored better than them. Office colleagues get jealous of you if you get promoted or praised by your seniors. A sibling hates his brother/sister because she/he gets more "Love" from their parents.
But don't you think people like these are fun to tease? It's nice to smear salt in their wounds.
Ryan said in a loud tone "I assume this guy is a new S ranked guardian."
Unlike the representatives who were running like idiots who thought they could score points with the mysterious man who seemed to have multiple affinities. An old man was sitting in his place watching everything that was happening like a hawk.
"Yes, he is an official S ranker now." He said in a calm tone.
"Then I will also be an S ranker if I defeat him?" Ryan asked with a wicked smile.
"You can, but he is drained now. You'll have to wait to fight him." The wise looking old man said while leaning back on his seat.
Ryan turned his head toward Elliott who still looked like a tomato which has been in high-pressure and can burst any moment.
Ryan teased "I see that you are furious because people are not paying attention to you. What are you? An infant?"
Elliot didn't say anything but his eyes were locked with him. His expression said that he wanted to kill Ryan.
"That man says you are tired. I feel sorry for your partner." Ryan said with a smirk.
A green circle appeared behind Ryan and an aura of healing was released from it. Elliot and the old man felt their bodies feeling elevated from any stress or tiredness.
"Good sir, I don't think he's tired anymore. Unless he got trauma from fighting that bear." Ryan kept poking him until he couldn't take it anymore.
"I'll fight you right now. I'll kill you right now. That girl you came here with will cry. Mark my words." Elliot said with a mocking smile.
"We'll see." Ryan said with a smile as a few wisps of blue fire escaped his mouth.
"He's ready, you guys can start what you want." He said as he removed the blockage from the cameras and microphones.
He did that because he didn't want his provoking attitude to leave a bad impression on people because that would slightly ruin his plan in the future.
The old man already knew what Ryan did but didn't say anything because it was not worth the hassle and it was fun for him to watch.
A man with a clean shaved face entered the arena which looked like a baby compared to the one Ryan practised when he was in the pocket dimension.
"Both of the competitors take your place. As per your request the match won't be concluded unless one of you wants to give up." The man said in an annoyed tone. He was so salty that he was called out when he was eating his food.
The man straightened his back after getting a death glare from the old man overseeing the fight. He looked at Ryan and gave him a look of disapproval. He then announced the start of the fight after explaining the rules which were fairly short and it was: Do not kill.
The man blew a whistle to mark the start.
Elliot immediately rushed towards Ryan who was giving him weird provoking signs, which were obviously working really well. He chanted some words and his sword was covered by fire again. He closed the distance between them with a rapid dash and pushed his flaming sword forward, aiming for Ryan's neck.
Elliot felt that his victory was assured because to him Ryan wasn't able to react to his fast attack. Suddenly, Eliiot saw a wide smile appearing on Ryan's face.
Elliot's attack was blocked by the shaft of the spear only to be stabbed by it a moment later. The spear Pierced through his solar plexus.
Elliot quickly moved back gripping his sword tightly. He moved fiercely as he used one of his most fearsome abilities.
[Shadow Clone]
Two black shadows spread out for his body. The clones were faster than him for some reason. The clones slowly started to gain physical features similar to him as they surrounded Ryan from both sides. Elliot's wound was bleeding and he knew very well that he wouldn't be able to hold on for long.
"Shadows of mine show him what I am made of." Elliot said as the eyes of the shadows started glowing red.
Hands of shadows started to turn into scythes as they relentlessly attacked Ryan. He attacked them but as they were shadows they could not be harmed.
This attack of Elliot's was dangerous because they didn't have a physical body and because of that they had a very free movement. One of the shadows extended its body to wrap around Ryan and shadowy spikes protruded from its body.
Ryan was smiling as these spikes can never scratch his skin, let alone make him bleed.
"You know, a long time ago I fought someone with a similar attack like you. He thought that hiding in my shadow would take me off guard." Ryan stabbed his shadow reminiscing about the first day he started training.
Ryan pinned his shadow and pulled out Elliot who changed places with his shadow only to come closer and hide in Ryan's shadow.
His ability was useful, very useful but at the same time it was crude and easily detectable. If he manages to master his ability, then he would be the perfect person for assassinations.
Blood started falling in large amounts from his mouth, deciding the outcome of this match.
And for Ryan this was not a loss because this would be his start to form an army. An army so formidable that even the so-called pantheons will shake in fear from their mention and Elliot will be the first member of this said army.
Ryan pulled out the spearhead from Elliott's chest and let him fall down on the floor.
He crouched down near Elliot and touched the wound on his chest. He sent a wave of healing magic which started healing him slowly.
"First thing first, the wound on your chest was for talking about my sister crying when her brother is still alive." He pushed his hand inside his wound which was slowly healing.
"Argh!" Elliot groaned in pain.
"Ryan Miller wins." The referee didn't expect Ryan to beat an S ranker as he did not know if he was really someone powerful enough to beat someone known to be the powerhouse capable of clearing S rank Labyrinths.
The Healers rushed Inside to heal Elliot, only to be stopped by Ryan with a glare. The Healers felt that their bodies were glued in a place.
"Let's talk about your mistakes." Ryan pulled out his hand from the S ranker's bleeding chest.
"First mistake was not keeping watch of my weapon which should be paid attention to in every fight. Do you avoid lower rank monsters when you fight a boss?" Ryan asked in an enraged tone.
Elliot didn't reply and just stared angrily at Ryan.
"Answer me!" Ryan pushed through the same place which had stopped bleeding.
"Ugh….No I don't." Elliot reluctantly said while banging his hand on the pool of blood beneath him.
"Then why weapons which can be more dangerous than the bearer himself?" Ryan said in a calm tone.
"Your weapon was a basic spear." He said while trying to sit up.
"And that basic spear fucked you up." Ryan laughed out loud, mocking him or should I say making him more furious.
"Never neglect a weapon. Even the most basic weapon can prove to be dangerous in the right hands." Ryan said as he finally healed Elliot's injuries as he got a weird look from the old man.
"Is this guy crazy? He healed him only to reopen it and then healed him again." A young man with sharp brown eyes entered the room. His aura was similar to an S rank.
"No, he's smart. He's developing the image he wants to show to the world and at the same time improving his opponent or as I like to say, his future subordinate." The old man was really impressed by Ryan.
"Have you seen his other tests?" The old man asked the man standing beside him.
"No, I just came in when the fight started." He pulled his hair backward which was blocking his view.
"So you don't know huh." The old man stood up from his comfortable seat and started to walk towards the exit of the spectators area.
"Grandpa, what do you mean?" The man with the long black hair said in an irritated voice.
"Jay, things are about to turn chaotic and this is high time we fasten our seatbelts and stop acting like we are some kind of gods after gaining a bit of power." The old man left the room after finishing his words leaving the man puzzled.
Inside the examination hall Ryan created a magic circle and tapped near Elliot's heart where the newly formed black core was situated.
The magic circle was quickly absorbed by the core and after a few moments Elliot felt a chance in his body. He quickly gazed at his core which started to change colours. The deep black colour of the core started to lighten and turn red.
Elliot felt the mana Inside his body strengthening as his muscles felt like they were full of power. He stared at Ryan with wide eyes like he had seen a god giving him a new life.
"Welcome to the world, Ex ranked guardian." Ryan walked off after finishing his job.
It was funny that a deep red core was the pinnacle of strength on Earth while he was beaten up by monsters which would chew down entities with a pure white core like they were snacking on Pringles.
He left the examination hall while yawning. Rebecca was standing there in a daze clearly not noticing Ryan who came close to her and licked her ear.
Rebecca freaked out after feeling something warm touching her ear. She only calmed down after realising it was Ryan.
Ryan was laughing after witnessing her cute reaction. He patted her head and said "I am glad that my sister can still make cute reactions."
Rebecca turned her head away to avoid eye contact when she was blushing. Ryan then looked at the bunch of people standing there like idiots.
"So, what do you guys want?" Ryan narrowed his eyes in disgust.
"Please form an alliance with our guild." Ten people who were standing at the front said with a bow.
Ryan realised that his face didn't look really friendly at this moment so he quickly changed it by putting up a friendly smile. The representatives smiled after looking at his smile.
"No, go fuck yourself." Ryan said with an innocent expression.
"Pfft" Rebecca started laughing as she covered her mouth.
He looked towards the door after sensing the arrival of someone familiar to him. An old man with a thick moustache entered the room. His expression was solemn as he seemed to gather the attention of every representative in the room.
He walked towards Ryan with a stoic expression as he glanced at the representatives and gave them an ugly smirk.
The old man stopped before him and immediately bowed.
"Welcome back, Master Ryan."
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Thanks for reading.
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I would be really grateful if you leave a review, it would help me improve my writing style.
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[A/N: Oh and a power stone will give me power to keep writing.]
I am quite shameless, aren't I?