Ethan faced Drake with a determined expression.
The air was charged with tension as the crowd of clan members watched closely, eager to see the outcome of this unexpected duel.
"Ready?" The instructor's voice cut through the silence.
Ethan nodded, his focus unwavering. Drake smirked, clearly confident in his abilities.
"Begin!"
Drake moved first. To Ethan surprise, Drake completely vanished from his view. Ethan seemed confused as looked around to find his trace. But, it was futile.
"Uh!"
Exactly at that time, his passive skill [Predator's Instinct(E)] kicked in, and dodged in the nick of time where a fist landed with metal gloves worn on.
"Phew!" Ethan felt a cold sweat forming on his forehead. It was really a close call. If he had been a little late, his face would have been directly hit by Drake's fist. The metal gloves in his hand looked very sharp. It will definitely leave scars if he gets hit by it.
"Hm..You dodged it?"
Drake looked surprised, not expecting him to dodge his signature move. He had used his Inherent Assassination Skill [Shadow Void Step(E)], expecting to defeat Ethan with one swift move, but the other party dodged it somehow. It should have been impossible to do it, unless Ethan had a more counter effective skill in his arsenal.
Ethan looked at the Instructor and said, "Instructor, you said no weapons are allowed. Then, what about his metal gloves?"
The Instructor stared at him and answered coldly, "It is allowed." He said nothing else. No explanation. It was obvious, he was playing favourites.
"At least, explain the rules at first, man." Ethan grumbled.
He moved back his attention to the duel, where Drake looked a little more serious than before.
"I never thought you could dodge that. But no matter, I am just getting started," Drake said gathering his confidence.
"Okay, come at me." Ethan replied interested to witness his skills more.
.....
While they were prepared to start their real battle, a beautiful woman in long violet dress appeared in the training field from the corridor.
She leaned on the wall to watch the duel with interest. A few seconds later, Astrid Silvermoon, Aria's uncle also appeared by the woman's side.
"Dear, what are you watching?" he asked the woman in violet dress.
"Our Son." she smiled, her eyes charming.
"See, he is dueling that commoner boy from earlier," she replied with a beautiful smile.
"Oh." Aria's uncle's interest piqued and began watch the duel alongside his wife.
"Who do you think will win?" The woman asked curiously.
"My Son, of course." Aria's uncle replied confidently. He was confident about Drake's victory.
"It's our son, dear. Not only yours." She revealed proud smile.
Aria's uncle gazed lovingly at his beautiful wife and said, "Yes."
....
Ethan knew that he couldn't confront Drake face to face as his base stats were higher compared to him. So, he decided to strike fast before Drake could get the chance to attack once again.
He activated [Muscle Enhancement(E)], [Enraged(E)] buffing his stats as much as possible, then he cast [Inferno Leap(D)] targeting where Drake stood.
With a thunderous fire energy he landed on the ground, however Drake disappeared in the air once again before his attack could even touch him.
The hard stone ground remained intack, as if some kind of magical enchantment engraved on it. However fiery ashes spread nearby turning the spectators back away from the platform a little.
"Mmhm..That's a good destructive skill alright. Don't you think dear?" Aria's Aunt asked, impressed by strange skill Ethan displayed.
"Yeah, That skill is a little strange indeed. I have never seen this kind of skill in our city. Where did this boy get it from? It's really a mystery."
They were not worried about their son at all, because they knew he will be alright. They had confidence in their son's ability.
"Haha..." Drake emerged from the void, looking unharmed, a playful smirk on his face...
He appeared right behind where Ethan was, to counterattack Ethan by surprise.
As Drake was about to attack using his [Shadow Strike] skill targeting Ethan's weak points. If it hits surely Ethan have to be bed ridden for a while.
However, once again his [Predator's Instinct] kicked in, saving him by a hair's breath once again. It was acting as nemesis for Drake's [ Shadow Void Skill ].
Moreover, Drakes Shadow Void Step skill was at low level, so it was rather easy for Ethan to detect them. Otherwise, Ethan would've been great danger. It was a very formidable skill of the Silvermoon Clan after all.
"Again..!" Drake seemed to be angered by Ethan's defensive skill.
"Fine.. I will show you what true Power is." He said fiercely while looking at Ethan with hate.
Ethan prepared himself after hearing his threat. From his tone, Drake was going to fight Ethan head on now. So, he had to be extra careful.
Ethan activated his buff once again, ready face what's coming ahead.
"Rock Giant's Fortification(D)!"
"Assassin Fury (E)!"
Drake activated a skill, and his body became tough as a hard rock. His body glistened with soft glow of power. Then, the second skill made him look more deadly, increasing his power significantly.
At level 26, Drake should have 3 active skills, however his inherent skill, Shadow Void Step added another, making it 4. From this, it could be said he was undeniably talented.
His transformation was a little startling to Ethan, he found it hard to deal with. He wasn't sure if he could evade this time.
He had only two skill to counterattack. One: Inferno Leap (D), another: Paralyzing Breath (E).
He was unsure of Paralyzing Breath's effect on this enraged monster in front of him.
"Looks like it was finally time to create another D-Rank skill," he thought, finding it the only option.
He commanded to synthesis (Enraged(E) + Muscle Enhancement(E) in his mind.
"Ding!"
[ Congratulations! Your skill synthesis was succesful ]
[ Your skill evolved to: Berserker's Might (D) ]
[ Berserker's Might: Unleashes the user's latent power, drastically improving their strength and defense by 500% while in a frenzied state. Use 50 Mana /Second ]
[ Drawback: After usage, User will fell in a state of weakness for 15 minutes ]
"Nice!" Ethan found the skill very useful, leaving aside the small drawback. However, it could be critical in other times on the dungeon, but not this time.
It was perfect skill what he need right now—to fight head on with a D-Rank powerhouse.