Silence, utter silence, that is what ruled on the training grounds of the Loki Familia. Finn, Riveria, and the rest of the audience was speechless at the display. Tiona was a genuine level 4, and an amazoness at that. Her race is known as born hunters, some most of them have that insane battle instinct. So, seeing Tiona lose quickly, and one-sidedly at that, is a very big surprise for them.

Tiona, on the other hand, was in utter disbelief. She knew that Ren was strong, but not to the point that she would lose head-on. She looked at Ren by her side, seeing his serious, devoid of the chill attitude he showed earlier. She was captivated by his face. If before, he looked like a typical, amicable neighbor, now, he looked like someone who fought countless battles and wars.

She couldn’t help but beam a smile, she let go of her weapon and wrapped her hands on Ren

“Onii-san! Wanna have babies?” she said, making everyone dumbfounded.

Ren, meanwhile, took a few seconds to register everything. He was shocked on how effective his skill is, and alternatively, on Tiona’s display of ‘affection’. Actually, before the fight started, Ren hurriedly browsed some sword skills to be able to match Tiona's. He just looked for some seemingly powerful sword skill and found these skills.

[Water God Style Swordsmanship

Rank: Rare

Type: Skill

Description: a style of swordsmanship that specializes in defensive techniques emphasizing parrying and counter-attacking oncoming attacks. Since there are only a few ways to attack, there is also the art of provocation to make the opponent take the initiative.]

[North God Style

Rank: Rare

Type: Skill

Description: The main focus of this style is not on techniques or developing specialties, but rather a method on how to stay alive and approach a battle with the highest chance of winning. It relies heavily on the practitioner's adaptability and usage of one's surroundings. As a result, this style involves using a lot of tricks instead of refined techniques.]

[Sword God Style

Rank: Rare

Type: Skill

Description: a style of swordsmanship that emphasizes speed and aggression, where the main focus is to strike down the opponent first. As a result, many of the practitioners develop to be short-tempered and belligerent. In order to be able to react swiftly, there is discouragement for practitioners to wear heavy armor and instead opt for light clothing for maximum mobility.]

After buying these three skills. They fused into a single skill that provided all the advantages of the three

[Eight Thousand Style Swordsmanship

Rank: Epic

Type: Skill

Description: A fusion of eight thousand sword techniques and discipline. Able to adapt at any circumstance and is known to be the most difficult technique to practice, as it fundamentally requires both high amounts of talent and effort]

While he was thinking, he did not forget to relish the amazoness' body. But before things go beyond, he was awakened by a loud shout.

“L-let go of the leader!”

Tiona felt a pull and was yanked away from Ren. Kuroneko, the one who shouted, now replaced Tiona. She was hugging Ren as if she was afraid, he was going to disappear. Everyone looked at her, making the girl blush, but she did not let go. Ren, also astounded with Kuroneko, couldn’t help but put his hands on her shoulders. Kuroneko’s blush became a shade deeper, but he ignored it and faced Tiona.

“Sorry, Tiona. As you can see, I’m already in an appointment with someone” he said with a smile.

The group looked at them with a knowing grin, except Hancock. She was lamenting that she was too slow and was overtaken by Kuroneko. Tione just looked at this while shaking her head, the same as Finn. Kisuke, on the other hand, noticed Hancock’s expression. He was wondering about the future, of how amusing would it be if he made Hancock join the farce, but ultimately refrained so.

After a handful amount of teasing, the group settled down and waited for the next fight. This time, it was Ais who stepped up on the field. She looked at Ren, as if beckoning him to her. Ren looked at Loki, seemingly asking for permission, before going to the grounds. He went to the weapon rack, looking at the different types of weapons.

His eyes then stopped at a thin-bladed weapon, the katana. He took it and looked at for a while, as if inspecting it. He did a couple swings and thrusts, as if confirming something. He then nodded, and moved towards Ais.

Now facing her, he looked at Loki, indicating that he was ready. Loki looked at the two fighters and shouted “fight” signaling the start of the battle.

Ais moved and strike Ren with her saber. Ren blocked it, and countered with a thrust. Ais backed away and crouched, she looked at Ren, inviting him to attack. Ren obliged as he dashed with a fast thrust. Ais knew that she can’t take the attack head-on, so she tilted her body and avoided it. As if expecting, Ren abruptly stopped and swung his katana at Ais. She blocked it but was not able to completely killing the momentum, making her slid backwards. Meanwhile, the peanut gallery

“Captain, Ren-san doesn’t have a Falna, right?” asked Tiona

“As far as Loki said, no. He did say he travelled a lot so… maybe it comes with experience?” replied Finn

“But that doesn’t explain how he was able to push back Ais, she’s a level 5, you know?” said Tione, gaining a nod from Riveria.

As the two clashed, the sounds of metal colliding have reached the inside on the manor. This attracted the attention many of the Familia members inside, especially the fighters. Bete Loga, a werewolf, Lefiya Virdis, a half-elf, and Gareth Landrock, a dwarf, made their way the field and was shocked of the fighting. They noticed their goddess and the other members of the Familia on the side.  

“Oi, Loki, what the hell’s going on” asked Bete, seemingly pissed off

“Hoho! Is this a competition?” said Gareth.

Meanwhile, Lefiya is just staring at the fight, Looking Mesmerized. Loki looked at the three and just shrugged.

“Tiona wanted to fight the leader, and then here we are” answered Loki while pointing to the amazoness.

Bete just grunted while the dwarf had a wide grin. Loki looked at Lefiya with a complicated gaze. She sees the glistening eyes of the girl, but not sure where she is looking at. Even Riveria was entranced by Ren, much less Lefiya who is in the peak of puberty.

Amidst the growing crowd, the fight between Ren and Ais didn’t seem to slow down, but is rather becoming more intense. Ren noticed the gathering crowd and looked at Ais.

“Wallenstein-san, it seems that we’ve been here for far too long. So, how about we end this with one last exchange?” he asked

Ais nodded and both of them stepped back from each other. The audience was baffled on what is happening. They thought that the two were going to stop, but suddenly, the pair took up stances and their expressions hardened.

Ren suddenly remembered a popular moves from one of the animes he watched. He tried to emulate it on his mind and seeing that he has high enough stats, he wanted to imitate it. He lowered his stance and pulled his katana if loading a bow with an arrow. He then looked at Ais, who was getting more vigilant.

‘Tsujikaze’ he said on his mind as he dashed with sonic speed. He utilized every point of agility he has, coupled with his Eight Thousand Style Swordsmanship, to imitate this sword skill. It is one of the sword skills from one of the best fantasy novels of his past life. The skill itself is known for its speed, hence the name. 

Ais was not able to catch Ren’s speed so she just braced for impact and crossed her arms to block. She was expecting to get blown out but the impact never arrived. She opened her eyes only to see Ren’s sword a few inches to her neck. Ren relaxed and said to Ais with a carefree smile,

“Well, this is my victory, right? Wallenstein-san”