There was an ominous feeling rising in Aiden's chest, one that he didn't understand. Even after exhausting training sessions, life-and-death fights, and hours of physical conditioning every day, he still had the urge to do more. He wanted to subject his body to even more cruel, bitter training. It seemed as if a stern obsession had overtaken his mind, filling it with a compulsive, insatiable thirst for power. He exuded a blazing aura of dread as if he were standing atop a mountain, proud like the apex predator he had fought against, craving blood.
After Aiden became aware of his insane growth, a sudden smirk appeared on his face, which soon turned into a wild, almost maniacal smile. He then began to laugh like a deranged madman, his voice so shrill that iron spikes seemed lodged in his throat. After half a minute of laughing like that, he abruptly stopped and had a look so cold in his eyes that it would have frozen anyone to death with a single glare. He demanded in a low voice, "Select the level-1 dummy, with boxing and karate martial arts, start right away."
The dummy appeared almost instantly; the system didn't even waste time announcing it. And almost as quickly, the dummy's face met the ground. It had tried to land a spinning-back kick, but Aiden caught its leg and swept the other so fast that the impact on the opponent's face was more like being struck by a truck driving at full speed than merely hitting the ground. Aiden did that effortlessly.
He didn't do anything more; he simply waited for the dummy to stand up. The dummy was still limping from the crushing leg sweep. Aiden had targeted a vital point, almost rendering the dummy disabled in one leg. It walked worriedly towards Aiden with the intent to battle, but Aiden's eyes instilled such deep fear in the dummy's heart that it halted its march for a moment.
Noticing this, Aiden slowly advanced towards the dummy instead of waiting, as he had been doing previously. And before the dummy could even attack, Aiden threw a direct punch into its nose, followed by an underhand blow to its solar plexus, which also hit a vital point. He finished the dummy with a perfect right hook to its chin, making it drop dead on the scorched floor.
He had won the fight in four blows without forcing himself.
"Now that you're only this strong, things aren't the same anymore," Aiden mocked the unconscious, now blurry dummy.
"With only a battle power of 48, you truly are nothing to me anymore," he added before the dummy disappeared.
Aiden's mental state was concerning, and his arrogant behavior stemmed from mental fatigue. While his muscles had healed, his mind had not. In his weariness, he couldn't control his hubris and allowed his primal nature to take over, abandoning all rationality.
Fortunately, before he could fall into irrevocable insanity and deprivation, his hunger awakened him. Having fought to the brink of death, sparing no effort to win the fight—even to the point of injuring himself and fainting—Aiden was now ravenous. The intense training session he had endured beforehand, coupled with his body being healed and transformed, only heightened his starvation. In his current state, he was akin to a man who hadn't eaten for seven days.
'How could I allow myself to lose control like that? I'm such a disappointment,' he thought to himself.
'I'd better hurry up and get food from Eliotte, or else I will really die of hunger,' he reflected.
Aiden left the training ground building and sought Eliotte; he sent him a message and had gotten no answers in 5 minutes, which worried him. He feared he might have been in a reunion. If he was, then he couldn't eat because Aiden could only eat Eliotte's food.
Upon arriving at the main court of the main castle, Aiden was greeted by Kal.
''What a great timing, Aiden; there's urgent news.'' Informed Kal.
''Important news? Tell me about it.'' Asked Aiden.
''It's Wilson; he's requesting to have a duel with you,'' Kal answered.
''Hum.. huh.. a duel, you say, for what reasons?'' Aiden demanded, genuinely surprised by the information.
"To show everyone who's the strongest king, it seems he..." Kal began explaining, but Aiden cut him off. "wants to get back at me for what I did to him, and also try to reclaim his top spot in popularity and assert his dominance by beating me. It seems he hasn't been humiliated enough, huh?" finished Aiden with a smirk.
''Well, pretty much, yeah,'' confirmed Kal, laughing at Aiden's bold and comedic response.
''How foolish, well, when does he want to fight? I accept his duel, I'm full of strength right now.'' Aiden inquired.
''In 15 minutes...'' responded Kal.
"Hahaha, what a coincidence! I don't even have to wait long before I get to kick his ass," Aiden mocked, laughing.
"WAIT, SHIT, FIFTEEN MINUTES?!! I'm hungry as hell; I need to eat first,'' exclaimed Aiden, in shock.
''We can just postpone the match to after you've eaten, bro; no need to panic! How long has it been since you haven't eaten anyway?'' Declared Kal just before asking his question.
''Not long, but it feels like days since I ate nothing, I must get to eat my fill. I need to find Eliotte; he's the one that makes my food.'' Answered Aiden.
''Ah, no problem; Eliotte is in the midst of a reunion as of now, but it is nearing its end.'' Said Kal.
''Alright, I'll wait till he's done. For now, I need to tell Wilson that we will have to duel after I'm done eating.'' Mentioned Aiden.
''He is at the main gate entrance, waiting with some of his men. We can go meet him directly if you want.'' Inquired Kal.
''Of course, that's better if I go see him face-to-face beforehand; let's go now.'' Replied Aiden in a joyful expression that didn't quite fit his usual personality.
And so Aiden and Kal were headed to the main gate entrance, on their way to meet Wilson. Upon reaching his destination, Aiden immediately told Wilson that he was all in for the fight but asked for it to take place after he was done eating. Wilson easily agreed. Aiden was surprised because he had been sure that Wilson would try to slander him somehow, but he didn't.
30 minutes later...
"Alright Aiden, have you eaten your fill?'' Asked Wilson.
''I have; we can now fight.'' Pressed Aiden, excited to trample Wilson.
''Alright, alright, that's good; let's go to the main castle's training ground since it's the biggest one. Also, I've heard from others that you usually train in a different training ground, which is another reason why I didn't pick this one. Be grateful.'' Wilson affirmed, with pride.
''I would have chosen to fight in the main castle's one no matter the circumstances; nothing to be grateful for, dear Wilson; this is my home, not yours.'' Rebuked Aiden.
''Of course, Aiden, I didn't mean for it to sound like that; forgive me.'' Wilson quickly apologized.
After the two finished their short conversation about how the duel would take place and what kind of rules would be set up, they directly went to the training ground.
Since both of them were considered to be the two strongest rulers of their respective regions, they had to sign an agreement, which is the following:
Rule Number 1: No deadly weapons authorized, no armor authorized, no tiny-bladed weapons.
Rule Number 2: No poking eyes or throat attacks.
Rule Number 3: Show respect to each other.
Rule Number 4: Do not kill your adversary.
Both Aiden's and Wilson's most trusted men would serve as the two referees for this duel. It would be Kal for Aiden and a man named Urus on Wilson's side.
''Remember, we all want a fair fight; no cheating or excuses are to be made during and after the fight. There will be three rounds, 3 minutes each. May the strongest win.'' Declared Urus.
''Understood.'' said Wilson.
''Obviously.'' Smirked Aiden.
The both of them were asked if they wanted to reveal their battle power, but they refused. It seemed like neither of the two wanted the people to know of their skills and powers.
The two fighters took place in the dueling circle, an enormous 20-cubic-meter circle specifically made for combat training. Aiden and Wilson were 3 meters apart, and the referee was about to announce the start of their duel.
''Alright..3..2..1...0, The fight begins!'
Wilson wore a mocking expression on his face, his eyes sneering at Aiden before sprinting towards him. As he closed in on Aiden, who hadn't moved an inch since the start of the fight, he began attacking with a flurry of leg kicks. His Taekwondo skills were evident in his flexibility and speed. Aiden blocked and dodged all of them with an almost effortless ease, making it hard to believe. Wilson was enraged that all his high-level kicks were either deflected or blocked. This went on for about 2 minutes.
The craziest thing was that Aiden had not even attacked back and didn't look tired at all, whereas Wilson was already sweating.
''You crazy man, only defending yourself won't help in beating me; you'll soon be at the end of your rope if you keep putting on the act.'' Proclaimed Wilson.
''Why would I need to attack you when you haven't even been able to touch me a single time?'' Mocked Aiden.
Wilson was filled with anger and animosity toward Aiden, but he was forced to hold it in; otherwise, he would leave a bad impression of himself to the other people observing the duel. Hence, instead of cursing out loud at Aiden, he clenched harder his arms and burst at full speed towards him.
When he got very close to him, Aiden realized that Wilson's right leg was off-balance, so he executed a leg sweep on him. Wilson was seeing stars for a split second, and that second was enough for Aiden to place his heavy right foot on Wilson's throat. He didn't attack him though; he simply and gently placed his foot on Wilson's most fragile body part and instilled him with a deep fear.
''HEY! We said no attack to the throa..'' Yelled Urus.
''Shut it; does it look like I've attacked him? I'm simply threatening him, and as of now, I have already won this fight because if it had been a real fight then he would have been dead.'' Snapped Aiden.
''Wh-what.'' Stuttered Urus in disbelief.
''You know exactly what it means; I won.'' Declared Aiden.
''However, I feel like this duel was too easy, so I'll give Wilson another shot; let's resume our fight right away.'' Added Aiden arrogantly.
Everyone in the public was in favor of Aiden's demand, so despite Urus's confusion and Wilson's rage, the fight continued just as fast as it had initially ended.
''The battle starts again!'' Announced Kal.
This time, though, it was Aiden who rushed at a confused Wilson, who had no time to react. Aiden landed a near-master-level spinning back-kick on Wilson's chin, making him waver. With Wilson's legs wobbling and his eyes rolling, it was clear he had lost his balance. Hence, Aiden followed up with a right hook to his chin and a body shot to his solar plexus. Wilson's confusion vanished as his body landed on the floor for the second time. He did not get up again.
''The winner is, AIDENNNN!'' Shouted Kal in a way that made him look like a professional MMA commentator.
Urus tried to conceal his puzzled expression, but his eyes couldn't lie. He, along with a couple of other people, went to aid Wilson, who seemed to be unconscious. They carried him by each leg and arm in order not to hurt him and placed him on a chair. I'd usually be mad at seeing such a rash and dangerous action, but I quickly gave it a second thought when I looked at Wilson. He was not severely injured in the slightest but simply knocked out, which meant their action was simply risky but not dangerous.
After a brief check-up on Wilson's condition, Urus approached me with a baffled expression. "How can you be so strong? Wilson's battle power, although I won't disclose the exact figure, was well above 50 just two weeks ago. Yet, I've heard you were never good at sports at school. How is that possible?"
I paused for a moment, considering the information. 'If Wilson's power was well above 50 two weeks ago, it must be at least 59 or even 60 by now. Considering the fact that his power is well above mine, how come he seemed so weak to me?"
Then I replied, "I simply didn't train much before, but I do now. A. WHOLE. LOT. MORE." I deliberately added in an icy tone that froze even my own bones.
"I-I see. Th-that makes sense then, of course..." Urus falteringly said.
"Well, then, if there's nothing more that you wish to ask, I'll have to say goodbye." Aiden spoke.
"You're leaving already? Not that I want to impose myself on you or anything; I simply wonder if this is okay.'' Inquired the concerned Urus.
"You worry about my reputation, don't you? Rest assured, my people are well acquainted with my unique methods and idiosyncrasies. They trust and understand me completely, just as I understand myself. So, there's no need for concern." Said Aiden, wrapping up the conversation.
"Well... that's right," Urus chortled softly, impressed by Aiden's cleverness.
Aiden smiled at Urus and walked away, but before leaving the training ground, he said, "I'm going to train, so don't think for a second that I'm lazy or not contributing to my faction. I have my own way of doing things, and it works well."
"Strength is a contribution..?" Urus asked jokingly, not expecting any answer.
"No, strength is authority, authority is power, and power contributes to the faction," Aiden concluded before opening the training ground door and leaving.
'Such wisdom, such word-play, such strength—you are such an uncommon seventeen-year-old, Aiden.' thought Urus, in admiration.
After Aiden left, Urus and his people carried back their leader to the main gate and prepared to leave. But before doing so, Urus talked for a long moment with Kal and a few high executives of the ''Heavenly-Pandemonium'' faction.
"You do realize it has not even been one month since this whole thing started; we need more time to adjust ourselves. And our warriors need more training as well.'' Spoke Kal.
''Yes, I understand, but we are all in the same boat, so do not fear a trap or anything. This competition will be important in building a strong reputation abroad,'' Said Urus.
"I will have a talk about this ''competition'' issue with my leader later; I will inform you of his thoughts on it after discussing it with him. Also, why couldn't you just ask him directly?''
''Well... about that.. your leader seemed to have something to do and didn't want to talk much with me, so I didn't dare to start a conversation of such length and importance with him on the spot.''
''Ah, alright, that makes sense. You made the right choice, to be honest, eh! Well, okay, I will tell Aiden about your plans and give you our final answer shortly after.''
''Thank you; I shall bid you farewell now.''
"Goodbye, Urus."
After bidding goodbye to Urus, Kal went to meet Aiden, assured that he would agree with him regarding the ''competition'' issue. But things never go according to plan...