"Is that so?" a voice suddenly broke through the chatter. It was neither too loud nor too small. Kleid frowned as he turned to face the people of Wandleaf. They all cursed as they quickly opened the way, allowing Amarok to appear.
They were not happy with the youth's words, but he was a noble they wouldn't dare to go against. "That same noble family you're cursing saved the ass of your King more than once," Amarok said as he stepped forward. For an unknown reason, he felt like being insulted by their words. He felt like his family was being insulted.
"Insolent, how dare you?" Kleid cursed as his brow tilted in a frown. It wasn't a secret that the Amarok family had saved the King, but it was a taboo topic no one was to abort in public because it was the same King that was behind their destruction. Was this youth courting death? The onlookers were shocked; some even recognized him. "It's the lazy kid always with Neo at the Golden Garden," one commented.
"A farmer dares to be impolite with Senior Kleid. Do you have a death wish?" one of Kleid's friends pulled out his sword. "You were the one who started insulting others," Amarok refused to back down. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he felt he had to, even though he did not yet understand why.
"Make this peasant pay. Break his two legs so he wouldn't be able to walk here in the future," Kleid waved his hand. The crowd cried in shock, pity flashing on their faces. Kleid's three friends approached Amarok menacingly. "I thought you could easily crush me. Too afraid to come yourself?" Amarok smiled as he stared at the enemy circling him.
"You're not worthy to be Senior Kleid's opponent," one glared as he dashed towards Amarok. His sword flashed down, cutting through the void. Amarok mimicked the exact same movement of his master, stepping and spinning in a flash appeared behind his opponent.
The boy was shocked; he hadn't seen at what time Amarok evaded his blow.
"Boo," Amarok touched his back. The boy's face flashed with horror; he felt like the devil had appeared behind him. As if he turned, he would be met with certain death.
Shivers ran down his spine; he slashed in a flurry behind him. But to his dismay, Amarok had already used the power gathered in his legs to propel himself away. "Cowards, you don't dare to face me head-on," he said in a slightly trembling voice.
"I wonder who of us is not qualified to be the other's opponent," Amarok smiled. Amarok was spitting back the exact same word. The boy was turning ugly. With his previous arrogant words, he felt the urge to run and hide. Amarok backflipped, a sharp sword arc dissecting his previous spot. Amarok landed with both hands on the boy's shoulders, his legs hung high in the air.
"Now you're making sneak attacks, and you call me a coward." Amarok was speechless. Three against one was already considered bullying; now, a sneak attack was too much.
One person from Wandleaf laughed, quickly hiding behind, but he was nonetheless heard. The boy was fuming in rage; he felt even more embarrassed. He tried to pull his sword upward; he was baffled he could not budge a muscle. It felt like a mountain weighing down on him. The other two cursed, "You will pay for it." They rushed forward in a flash; their swords cut through the void at the same time, but Amarok was already high in the sky. His black hair flowing as he fell. He unsheathed his sword.
"Eat back your words," he said, swinging his sword down. An ear-piercing sound cascaded through the Platz, a white sparkle burning their vision. Amarok was standing unscathed with all his opponents now crawling on the ground. He looked majestic and unparalleled.
"I hear people once said many offers of school from Alden were forwarded to Mr. Neo, but he all rejected, saying he wanted to grow flowers." Many had thought it was just a rumor. Why would he reject such an offer? Alden was one of the biggest cities in the region.
Many people from all over came there just to study under its teachers. The teachers there were given high honor and authority; a teacher from there would be respected wherever he went. But he all rejected that just to grow flowers. It didn't make any sense.
Now observing Amarok so skilled, they were tempted to believe it might not just be rumors. The ease with which the three were defeated was simply too disturbing.
"Huh... Not bad; you've got some skills. Use your Rune weapons and show this peasant what you're capable of," Kleid said, maintaining his facade. Now that they had been defeated so pitifully, he couldn't back down anymore, and neither could he step in himself. He felt Amarok was not worthy for him to draw his sword.
The trio stared at him with slight hesitation. Staring at the elder who stood slightly aside, he just nodded. It was their elder from the Alden Rune Academy; they were sent here to broaden their horizon. Each time students of a lower level went out, a Senior was always there in case a rival school tried something. The Senior's eyes fell on Amarok. He was perplexed; he could not see anything special or unique in him, but his movements earlier seemed out of the ordinary.
"You have called the students of the Alden Academy cowards. You have defeated them, sure, but I guess you will not mind a friendly fight utilizing all your powers?" he asked.
"Prestige," as expected, it's the Alden Akademie," someone from the crowd murmured. "They came this year again to cause havoc." Each time a Golden Seasons exam was organized, they would come and beat the first rank to show their superiority. This annoyed a lot of people, but there was little that could be done. They were indeed skilled Rune sorcerers and Rune warriors.
"I don't have a Rune weapon, but I don't mind trying my luck," Amarok said honestly. He was eager to test his sword.
The Senior's eyes widened; was he for real, fighting without a Rune weapon? He shook his head; he seemed to have overestimated the boy's capacities.
Even Kleid, who was eager to see the fight, instantly lost interest. The crowd was even more speechless. In a world dominated by magic runes and magic weapons, he wanted to use a normal sword against a Rune weapon.