Chapter 12 - The Hunt

After the duo acquired the bow, they didn't find anything of interest in the trade fair, so they left and headed for the arena. 

Two hours later. 

"Wow! Who knew watching battles could be so entertaining?" Dean cheered while watching both fighters beat the hell out of each other. 

He had always been a fan of fight scenes, especially in anime, with those amazing special effects, of course. But surprisingly, physical battles are still just as amazing, it had a different kind of vibe. Not the type he watched back on earth, but different since these people had what humans would call superhuman strength and speed. 

'What would battling feel like?' He thought to himself. 

But just as the thought came to his head, he quickly dismissed it. Who wanted to get beat up by others? 

'I'll only start fighting after growing stronger. But... how will I be proficient in my techniques if I don't fight?'

He was caught in a dilemma, he didn't want to fight since there was a high possibility of him getting beaten up, but he also didn't want to stay weak. 

'I'll fight then.' He knew what was best for him, so this wasn't a hard decision to make. 

Unlike Dean who was watching the battles for entertainment purposes, Leon was learning from them. Previously, he would also watch it for entertainment purposes, but now that he had taken training seriously, he knew other than fighting frequently, one of the other ways to increase fighting experience is by watching others battle. 

"We'll start sparring tomorrow." He turned to Dean. 

"Just what I had in mind.'' Dean nodded with a smile.

"Wait, tomorrow?" He couldn't resist asking.

Although he wanted to spar, he didn't think he was ready for it yet. The only technique he had started learning was a movement technique, what did Leon expect him to do during the sparring session, run away?

"Yes, the sooner the better." Leon nodded while still watching the ongoing battle. 

"I haven't even learned any fighting techniques." Dean tried to explain. 

"For now, battling doesn't only involve techniques. Take both fighters for example, do they use techniques for every attack?" Leon pointed at the two men fighting on the platform in the arena. 

Dean looked at the battle once again before shaking his head. 

The men fighting on the platform were both Seventh layered Body Tempering stage Warriors. 

The force of each blow could break the bones of a normal human, and each fighter had received some critical hits. Except for a few broken ribs, they seemed fine, according to Dean's perspective, that is. 

Both fighters were mostly using fists techniques, so they rely heavily on timing. If not timed properly, they might leave an opening for their opponents to attack since their bodies will be left defenseless when attacking. 

This resulted in one of the fighters almost receiving a fatal blow on his ribs, but luckily, he was able to quickly retreat. Although he retreated quickly, it was not without getting hit. 

Dean didn't even know how the guy was still fighting with the internal injury he might have suffered from the blows. Had he been in that position, he would have already given up by now! 

"So, uhmm, can't I at least learn one fighting technique?" Dean tried begging. 

"Have you perfected the movement technique you started learning today?" asked Leon.

"No." Dean shook his head. 

"Then you should work on that. You can learn a fighting technique if you want though, it's totally up to you anyway." Leon said nonchalantly. 

He would naturally give Dean some advice, but in the end, it all had to do with Dean's choice. He could either choose to master the movement technique or try to learn a fighting technique. All in all, it wasn't really much of Leon's concern. 

While the two were conversing about their sparring session, they didn't notice the pair of eyes staring at them icily from another viewing platform. 

Leon and Dean were currently seated in one of the eight special viewing platforms in the arena. 

The arena is owned by the City Lord, and he built eight viewing platforms for the eight big families, and the prominent members of each family were also exempted from paying the fees required when entering the arena.

Sitting on the viewing platform of the Dale family was Richard who was currently staring at the duo with fiery eyes. 

When he first brought the news of their death to his father, his father praised him greatly. Since he was the third son of the family head, it meant unlike Leon and Dean, he had to fight for the position of the family head. 

This was one of the reasons he hated them more, he felt they didn't have to do anything, yet they would be able to sit at the top of the city when their fathers handed over the position to them. But he, on the other hand, had to struggle against two others, and his chances weren't that good. 

Bringing an opportunity for his family to finally suppress the O'Brien and Dawson family would have been a great contribution to the family. 

His father had already started planning out their next move when the news of the duo being alive started circulating. His father never expected his son would lie to him, so the news infuriated him.

Now he realized how foolish it was for him to tell his father something he wasn't a hundred percent sure of. 

Richard gritted his teeth when he remembered how severe his punishment was. 

"I'll make those two pay." He said, with killing intent slightly radiating from his body. 

Richard wasn't the only one present on this viewing platform, a youth with an unusually thick eyebrow was sitting close to him, Franklin Claude. He was the eighth son of the clan head of the Claude family, and his chances of becoming the next clan head were basically zero. 

Although the Dale and Claude family can't be said to be the best of friends, they weren't enemies either. 

This was why the Claude family didn't bother with the friendship between both youths. 

"You don't need to bother about this too much, another opportunity is on its way for us to end them." said Franklin with an evil grin. 

"You mean..." Richard raised his head to look at Franklin. 

"Yes, the hunt. It will take place a month from now." Franklin said with a sinister smile. 

"They're too cowardly, they wouldn't dare to participate in it." Richard shook his head after recalling the personalities of Leon and Dean. 

"I don't think so, I believe they will surely participate in it." Franklin on the other hand didn't agree with him. 

"Why did you say that?" Richard asked. 

"Call it a hunch." Franklin said with a shrug. 

"Let's hope they do." Richard stared at Leon and Dean as he spoke. 

No one wanted both Leon and Dean dead more than Richard did. 

Some days later. 

O'Brien family training ground.

Bang! 

The sound of something hitting the ground resounded in the training ground. 

"Can't you hit a little lighter? You almost broke my shoulder!" An angry voice yelled out. 

"I'm sorry, I'm still not proficient with the skill yet." Another voice quickly apologized. 

"Then why did you use it?!"

"I already said I'm sorry,"

"Sorry isn't going to stop the pain I'm feeling right now!"

The two youths bickering were of course Leon and Dean. 

After coming to an agreement at the arena, they started sparring the next day with Dean getting the short end of the stick. 

Compared to Dean who had zero fighting experience, Leon had spared on some occasions with his father, so he couldn't be said to be a newbie.

Dean was getting the timing of his punches wrong, he still couldn't properly use the movement technique he learned correctly, and the fighting technique he started learning was still a work in progress, all in all, he was getting pretty beaten up at every sparring session. 

It's not like he wasn't improving, it's just that Leon was improving at an even faster rate in terms of techniques. 

They have been training for one week now, and there has been a noticeable increase in their strength. They had both made a breakthrough in their levels with Leon becoming a Fifth layered Body Tempering stage Warrior and Dean being a Fourth layered Body Tempering stage Warrior. 

Not just that, but there also seems to be some progress in their relationship. At least, Leon wasn't as cold and unwelcoming toward Dean as he previously was and even enjoys his company sometimes. 

"Did you hear about the hunt?" Dean asked after grumbling about his hurt shoulder. 

"Yes." Leon nodded. 

"Will you participate?" asked Dean

"Yeah. It's something that happens once every ten years, so I'll definitely participate in this one." Leon nodded gently. 

"Okay, so will I." Dean said after confirming Leon was taking part in it. 

He initially wanted to participate, so when he heard Leon was also going to participate, he was happy since they'll watch each other's back. 

Leon already had this thought at the back of his mind the moment he started training.

'The hunt will be a good place for me to test out my strength, but it's still some time away. I'll continue increasing my strength before then.' Leon thought. 

"Would Richard participate in it?" Dean suddenly asked. 

The training ground suddenly went quiet when Dean asked this question. 

A cold light flashed through Leon's eyes when he heard this question, "I hope he does."