"You dare dodge my dagger? Pretty impressive agility for a magician. Or maybe it was luck?"
Alu thought that Jin was a magician; probably because Jin showed off 5-star magic when he impersonated Beradin Zipfel.
Clang!
Alu quickly closed the gap between them and swung his sword.
His eyes widened, however, as Jin deflected it.
"So you weren't a magician?"
Bradamante glowed with an overflowing aura.
All Jin did was deflect Alu's attack, but it felt as if his bones rattled. Jin quickly backed off.
As soon as he widened the gap, Alu closed the distance once more. He could read all of Jin's movements.
"This is getting pretty annoying."
Slash!
The following slashes ripped Jin's coat. Droplets of blood scattered into the air, but it wasn't a serious injury.
'He's fast. It probably isn't even his full power, but I'm already getting tired.'
The fight was proceeding as Alu planned.
It was unbelievable that Alu was this strong. Jin barely had time to react to each attack, constantly being pushed back.
At this point, Alu thought that the child was a knight.
'The spell he showed at the underground auction house was probably fake. Dammit, how could I fall for such a trick?!'
He was pretty pissed at himself.
Even though he knew his opponent was not Beradin Zipfel, he controlled himself and attacked with composure. His enemy's rank was about 5-stars, but still, he couldn't assume anything.
And yet, despite that knowledge, Alu was not concerned about Jin. He was more worried about Murakan, who was flashing a smile while watching them.
'I thought that guy was a minion. Why isn't he fighting?'
After destroying dozens of Alu's men, Murakan just proceeded to stop fighting altogether. Alu didn't know the guy's intentions, but he wanted to think about it after killing Jin.
Murakan, on the other hand, enjoyed watching the young Runcandel struggle.
'I know you're pretty talented, but enough to challenge a 7-star? Yeah, right. I hope you learn something today, you audacious brat. Hehe.'
Murakan smirked.
Clang, clang!
The clashing of Jin's and Alu's swords was music to his ears.
"Lord Murakan, are you not going to help? I understand that it was Young Master's orders, but he doesn't stand a chance against a 7-star."
As Gilly said, Jin was barely staying alive. His dodges were on point, but his movements were definitely getting slower.
"It's alright, Strawberry Pie. That kid needs to know the value of life."
"That's true."
"And, my little Strawberry Pie, you think that kid will lose?"
"What?"
Murakan smirked.
It was fun watching Jin get constantly attacked, but Murakan already knew the outcome of the fight.
"For the magic swordsmen of the Runcandel Clan…"
Speak of the devil. As soon as Murakan began his sentence, Alu quickly backed off from Jin.
Fwoooosh!
From Jin's hand came a pillar of flame. It was the 5-star fire spell 'Flame Pillar'. More fiery pillars blasted out from the ground.
"…A 7-star knight is nothing."
It was the first time Alu had backed off in a fight. His eyes widened.
"A m-magic swordsman?"
Alu tried his best to dodge or deflect the incoming flames—they were very difficult to extinguish.
'There's no chance to react. Shit…'
Normal magicians needed some preparation time in order to fully cast a spell. One must gather up mana and then convert it into usable magic.
However, it was different for those who were more talented. Jin could gather and convert mana simultaneously at a ridiculous speed.
Additionally, because Jin was a 'Dual Caster', he could secretly prepare a spell without Alu's knowledge.
'My spells will be effective in this fight.'
Jin felt pretty confident. A high-level spell out of nowhere would scare anyone—even a 7-star like Alu.
"You two-faced bitch!"
Alu shouted as he barely extinguished the fire off his clothes.
Jin already prepared the same spell, but he knew that the same attack wouldn't work twice.
'I'll use this spell again to make him piss his pants, and then I'll finish him off shortly afterwards.'
It didn't matter how strong the opponent was.
As long as he held a few tricks up his sleeve, the outcome of the battle would always be a fifty-fifty.
Win or lose.
That was how Jin maintained a 50% win rate throughout his battles against opponents who were stronger than him. Or at least before the world finds out he was a magic swordsman.
It was because he had mana and spirit energy. With only one spell using mana, Jin was able to scare the living daylights out of a 7-star knight. But if he also used his spirit energy…
However, Jin did not intend to use it.
Bzzzzzzt!
Next came a lightning spell. Jin conjured the spell he used on the Moonlight Fountain, and a bolt of lightning struck the location he selected, illuminating the night sky.
Alu felt the imminent strike and quickly moved away, throwing his body to the side and releasing a volley of daggers after.
Zoom!
When a dagger brushed past Jin's shoulder, Alu thought that it was a chance to kill him.
However, Jin already expected more attacks after the flying daggers. He knew that dagger-users used that technique before landing a lethal blow.
The moment Jin lowered his body to dodge the rest, Alu planned to close the distance and strike his throat.
It was the perfect opportunity.
'It's over.'
For a split second, Alu's legs overflowed with energy. There was an explosion as he pushed off the ground, leaving a crater in his wake.
His sword was aimed at Jin's neck. Whether it was by stabbing, or beheading, Alu was sure that Jin would be dead.
He never would have guessed that this entire situation was formulated by Jin.
'I'm sure he didn't notice that I became vulnerable too easily.'
On a normal occasion, Alu would've noticed this trick. He was a 7-star for a reason.
However, he was desperate.
Since it was his first time fighting a magic swordsman, he decided to end the fight as soon as possible. After all, the longer the fight, the more chances a magic swordsman had to attack their opponent with more spells.
Alu's sword was about to slash Jin's throat.
Gilly gulped.
Murakan knew it was Jin's victory.
'Summon Helm.'
Clang!
The sword was supposed to smoothly slide through, but it was halted by something instead. It was because Jin activated his newly acquired artifact, Myulta's Rune, to conjure a black helm.
This was why every knight dreamt of owning Myulta's Rune. It was the only helm that could completely nullify a 7-star knight's strike—the only one in the world.
The helm deflected Alu's blade, causing the man to lose his balance. Jin took this opportunity.
Slash!
Bradamante cut through Alu's shoulder.
"I guess it's over."
Murakan shrugged. Gilly couldn't believe her eyes.
"Kuuuuuh…"
He could've stabbed his heart, but Jin stopped his sword. Barely breathing, Alu fell to the ground, and he was able to postpone his death a little longer.
Gurgle, gurgle.
Jin stared at Alu, who had a mouth bubbling with blood.
"Let me ask one more thing before I leave. I heard you had ties with the Runcandels."
"Kukuku."
Alu smirked and glared at Jin, as if he were saying 'You're a Runcandel?'
"Tell me. Name any Runcandel."
"Hey, hey. Kiddo. You got it all wrong. You should've pinned him down and then asked him. How is a dying guy gonna answer all your questions?"
Murakan walked towards Jin, shaking his head in disapproval. He was right, but Jin couldn't do anything about it.
It was probably impossible for him to pin down a 7-star knight.
"I… see. I get it. Jin… you bastard. Jin… Runcandel…"
"I mean, the name 'Jin Grey' is pretty common nowadays. I guess it doesn't matter for a guy who's about to die."
"Ptoo!"
Alu coughed as he spat out blood. And yet, he was smirking. For a while, Alu breathed coarsely while smiling creepily.
Then, he spoke.
"It doesn't matter… You—You can't stop him…"
"What?"
"Even though he failed back then…"
Those were his last words. His eyelids lowered, and he no longer breathed.
"The fuck did he mean?"
"Young Master, are you alright?"
Murakan and Gilly spoke at the same time.
Jin lightly nodded, still confused about Alu's final words.
'He failed back then, and I can't stop him…?'
Of course, those were some words from a scummy thug. His words definitely implied some connection with a Runcandel, but they're not necessarily trustworthy words.
But if this man had ties with a Runcandel, the 'failure' he uttered would refer to 'Bladed Illusion', and the 'unstoppable entity' would be…
'No way.'
One name popped up in his head.
Runecandel's successor, Joshua Runcandel.
'Alu means that I can't stop him. The only person who I can't stop is the man who would lead the clan.'
The entire world knew that Joshua would be the next Runcandel patriarch.
All of these realizations were still an assumption, but it was still unsettling.
"Spiderhand Alu. It probably isn't his real name."
It was something he never thought of.
"Young Master, why do you bring that up?"
"I should find out. Because this guy seems to have ties with a Runcandel. It's also weird that a 7-star is running some sketchy side business."
"Kiddo, there are 9-stars who run a bar their entire lives. I've seen many like this corpse. One of your ancestors was like that."
"It's the clan I will soon lead. It'd be nice to clean up some old history. Well, let's go. We should look for more informative people like Jet."
The three then left the capital city of Akin.
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