"Are you insane? One of our household champions? I can see the boy has talent but compared to the age of most of our champions it would make it a very unfair fight!" Inor Biraxia the dwarven leader of clan Biraxia quickly grunted. He did not seem pleased by the suggestion.
"Then what do you suggest dwarf?" Zaeo sneered at him. Samuel saw how Inor's retainers instantly tensed up and took a step forward.
"Let him face the second strongest champion of one at the very least! Elf!" Inor replied with a scoff, "And it should be from one of the youngest among them!" The dwarf nodded towards Samuel in respect.
Zaeo grew quiet for a moment before a devilish grin spread across his face, "Perfect. I just so happend to have the youngest most inexperienced out of all secondary champions among us I believe!"
Some people had seemed to already realize, but Inor realized that Zaeo had lured him into a trap by insulting him. He grumbled to himself but it was loud enough to be heard, although people seemed to ignore him at that point while Zaeo stood up and snapped two fingers.
One of the people behind him stepped forward, a dark elven woman that looked to be around the same age as Samuel. "Does anyone have any objections?" Zaeo asked and looked at all of the leaders that sat in their seats.
No one spoke anything but Alsian was tensing up in his seat. He quickly looked over at Samuel but was surprised to see that there was only a smile and determination plastered on Samuels face.
"I accept the conditions, If I cannot defeat your second strongest then I will leave and not interfere!" With those words most of the leaders looked on with further interests piqued.
For someone so young to stand with such determination was either foolishness or it was something that could be backed up with strength. "So you yourself will fight I take it?" Lady Osira asked.
"Wasn't that what I was asked to do?" Samuel answered with a question back to which Osira smiled and nodded. "Are there any rules to this duel?" Samuel asked aloud.
"Yes!" Lady Osira instantly spoke and walked to the middle. "You may use anything that is connected to your very being? Magical or Spiritual, you may use any magic or weaponry! You are not allowed to kill your opponent but you win by knocking them senseless!"
There was something about that wording that made Samuel look at her questioningly, but he quickly looked back at his opponent that had the typical ash white hair that dark elves usually had combined with those red eyes. But this woman had more sharper and intent eyes thatn Zaeo.
More of a killing intent rather than villainy. Lady Osira looked between the two combatants before tapping her staff four times.
Suddenly the lower floor expanded as all the chairs of the leaders started sliding backwards as space expanded. A magical opaque barrier appeared around the center of the floor, only Samuel and his opponent were stuck inside. "I see, an Arena floor!" Samuel spoke with admiration.
But his opponent cleared her throat as if to get his attention. "You are awfully chipper for someone who is about to be defeated."
Samuel turned his attention back to her, "Ah yes sorry! You are?" He asked as courtesy of a duel. "Clariet Melephandris! That is all you need to know!"
"Are both combatants ready?" Lady Osira's voice carried through the air as everyone seemed to look on. Vazmarx seemed like he had wanted to fight in Samuel's stead but he didn't say a word after seeing Samuel's determination.
Clariet twirled two coins in between her fingers and tossed them up in the air, and as they came down they were two very big curved and jagged daggers. She also pulled up a hood over her head as the shadows seemed to come alive.
"Zaeo you scum! Your second strongest champion my arse! She is your shadow assassin isn't she?!?!" Inor Yelled at him from his chair. "Be careful lad she is just as good as a champion."
"BEGIN!" Lady Osira yelled out at the same time and in an instant Clariet was gone, Samuel felt her presence behind him and quickly casted a shield behind and in front of himself.
A magical clang was heard as two pairs of daggers hit the front and back shield. The shadows disappeared and Clariet had jumped back a few meters from him. She seemed a bit surprised at the fact that Samuel had read through her double strike.
Samuel could see it with his eyes, a living shadow... Clariet probably had a magical item that allowed there to be a shadow clone.
What followed was a bout of Clariet attacking him from all sides, and to most it looked like Samuel was struggling to keep up with her, left, right, front, he continued to cast defensive shields while moving whenever he could.
"Enough CLARIET! Get serious and finish him off already!" Zaeo yelled his command and suddenly Clariet seemed to get even faster and suddenly Samuel's barriers were getting destroyed from her daggers.
Everyone thought Samuel was going to lose except for a few people. The champions and leaders of each house that were skilled warriors saw something else.
Clariet appeared behind him to deliver the finishing blow but she was shockpulted away by a sudden shockwave. She just barely managed to slide and land on the floor without losing her footing.
Samuel had jumped back a few meters with a smile. "Lets get serious huh?" He clenched his fists with a smile. "I have become strong enough now!"
"Lets do this Night!" Clariet had begun her charge and was about to attack him again as he suddenly shot up in the air as another shockwave was released and Clariet had to defend herself from being shot away.
Samuel had activated his flight spell and was hovering up in the air.
Suddenly the shadows seemed to flow out in a smoke behind him as a large shadow spectral dragon manifsted itself in the air behind him, the shadows seemed to come out of his body as the shadow grinned.
Samuel also pulled out both his swords from the shadow pocket, "Let the fire winds howl!" He shouted loudly and the Phoenix Sword let out a torrent of fire as the swords magic came alive.
Night decided to come out fully and detatched the smoke and came out as a huge spectral dragon. "Want to surrender?" Samuel asked loudly, but Clariet only readied her blades.
"Very well!" Samuel sighed and started blasting himself forward with his flight and gravity spell. "Some time needs to be the first!" Samuel whispered to himself as he casted accelerate on himself by visualizing the flow of time as practiced.
Suddenly he was a blur to everyones eyes as he moved faster than lightning around Clariet, she opened her mouth in shock horror as she could only see the blur flying around her.
She was however a child of mana like him which meant she also had tricks up her sleeve, just as Samuel struck at her the shadow copy took her place and she appeared further away by swapping places.
She activated her shadow strike magic and her blades were coated in deadly energy. She dashed forward to strike at Samuel, he was too fast for her to attack directly which meant she had to figure out where he was going to be next.
She became a shadowy blur that struck at Samuel, but all she hit was an afterimage and she saw Samuel standing further away with a smile. She prepared to throw one of her daggers but in the middle of her motion to throw it she was suddenly hit.
During Samuels flashy display of speed Night had sunk her dragon form into the shadows of the ground and melded with them, waiting for a time to strike. Clariet was an assassin used to killing or dealing with a singular target from the looks of things.
So when she activated her magic she forgot to watch out for the dragon that quickly reappeared as smoke and slammed an open claw directly into Clariets side.
She was sent tumbling and rolling on the hard stone floor, but she quickly got back on her feet with one of her arms broken and bleeding from the head she was still holding onto one dagger with her working arm.
Samuel saw that she was still holding on, she wasn't going to give up that easily. "Don't worry Night I will take care of the rest!" Samuel and Shakkai had decided upon calling her Night when introducing her to others just to be on the safe side.
Shakkai nodded and her shadow jumped back into Samuels as he prepared both blades. Clariet with newfound fury charged forward in an instant, this time Samuel used his eyes ability to perceive time to counter her.
Even with one dagger she was a dangerous opponent, no doubt if they had fought with blades only he would have lost, but he parried every attack she made with ease. She made an overhead slice that he parried as a loud clang was heard.
She quickly let go of the dagger and crouched down grabbing her other dagger that she had at some point tossed into the air so it would come down at this moment.
As soon as she grabbed it she aimed her strike right at Samuels gut, a very quick and fast surprise attack. But Samuel never let his guard down, he just his wind magic to somersault over her head just barely avoiding the slash.
However he used gravity magic to turn himself in the middle of the air and Clariet turned her head upward just in time to see Samuel's kick hitting her over the top of her head.
The simplest of wind and gravity magic that Bregane had him train over and over into a martial strengthened magical kick right on her head. Clariets eyes rolled up into her head as she was knocked down on the ground, the stone floor slightly cracking from the exterior force from Samuel's kick. If he hadn't dispelled some of the strength into a shockwave he would have accidentally killed Clariet instead of knocking her out.
A smashed in head would not have been a pretty sight. But Samuel found it weird nonetheless that he had beaten this assassin, had he overestimated the strength.
Even though he followed Alsian's warnings he had expected to be on the losing end until he went completely serious. But instead he had easily been able to take control of the direction that this fight had taken.
He gave Zaeo a look of indifference as if he was expecting more. "It's funny, I know that there certainly are those more powerful, but if I had to be honest... The other mortal races aren't that far behind, I have met plenty of special people that have strength enough to take this one out easily!"
The other leaders remained quiet, but he didn't know if it was because of his words or because of his one sided smackdown. But the first one to start clapping was the dwarf Inor, he looked extremely happy and seemed to be gloating towards Zaeo.