“I would like to request a duel between you and I.”

Standing before me was an elderly human male around the age of 50. Despite his greying brown hair, the veritable bear of a man looked as healthy as he could be. His musculature was still quite toned based on the glimpses I could make out under his gambeson and chainmail. But what perturbed me the most was his face. In spite of the gruff and somewhat violent appearance, I was unable to discern any notably hostile intentions from him. 

Although he clearly wanted to fight me, I didn’t believe that it was for revenge or hate. At least that’s the conclusion I arrived at with my limited information. 

“Excuse me sir knight, but I believe you should introduce yourself first,” I told the man in a calm tone. “Well you know me, but I don’t know who you are.”

“We have met before though,” he informed, causing me to raise my eyebrows. “I am Sir Gregorius, a former knight serving the house of Atreus.”

Scratching my chin for a bit to boost my memory, I gave him my answer. 

“Yeah, I don’t remember. Did we fight at some point? And how are you still alive? Did you get pardoned or ransomed?”

“I deserted,” he answered to my surprise. “And because I was one of the senior most knights in the Stygia, Alexios personally pardoned me.”

“Shit I remember you now,” I declared. “You look really different with your beard grown out and head shaved.”

“I’m honored,” he said jokingly. 

“So why do you want to duel me exactly?” I asked him. “And is this a duel to the death, first blood, or until the first person submits?”

“I’m open to any rules,” he answered rather ominously. “However, I came to this city to challenge you to test my skill.”

“That’s it?” I asked, quite unconvinced. 

“That’s it,” he replied

A test of skill, now that’s something that seems exciting to me. Despite training nearly everyday, I don’t even know if I’ve made significant gains in my abilities, particularly in regards to my technique. Essentially, I want to fight this man. But accepting his offer immediately might be wasting my leverage. 

“What’s in it for me then?” I asked him. 

Sighing, Gregorius seemed a bit disappointed by the course of things. 

“Well I’m not anywhere near wealthy now so I can’t offer you monetary compensation. And I have no intention of parting with my equipment.”

“It’s fine,” I replied with an amiable smile. “All I ask is that you wager your life.”

Upon hearing my answer, the whole crowd around me began to look at me with both fear and curiosity. 

“Do you mean that you’ll kill me or do you want me to serve you?” the knight queried. 

“The latter of course,” I answered with a snap of my fingers. “I don’t see any reason that I would want to end your life. But I see plenty of reasons to employ someone like you.”

“Then I shall take your offer,” Gregorius declared triumphantly. “I’ll give you four days to prepare. Though I won’t go easy on you once we battle.”

“Likewise,” I responded. “And let’s make it a duel until one of us admits defeat. Though the audience can deem someone unfit to battle if they force themself to fight near death.”

Nodding, the knight waved farewell to me before going his separate way. As for myself, I returned to the citadel to continue my work for the day. Once I was finished, I came back home to make dinner and tell everyone about the events that had transpired. 

“Azel, have you considered that he might be hiding any intentions to kill you?” Sekh asked me once I finished relaying what had happened. 

“I considered that,” I told her. “But based on my experience, he doesn’t show any sign of wanting to cave my skull in. Besides, I’ll have people at the ready in case my life is put in danger.”

“I’ll be there,” Sekh asserted, Minerva bobbing her head in agreement. “Do you really think it’s worth fighting to obtain this man’s service?”

Before I could answer, Zeph suddenly chimed in, her voice filled with excitement. 

“Absolutely! A renowned knight in your employ is an excellent opportunity. The people will see that the government upholds good virtues, we’ll have an experienced warrior to help us, and he’ll be a shining example of chivalry for the soldiers. And Azel, do you think I might be able to serve as a squire for him?”

“I have no fucking clue,” I answered flatly. “Just calm down for a bit and ask him when you feel that you’re ready.”

“Ah right,” Zeph said in response. “In that case, can you help me with some training? I’d really appreciate it if you could teach me about using the lance and horse riding.”

“Zeph, he’s busy with his own work,” Minerva chided. “Please be more considerate.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Zeph replied with a downcast look. “I got way too excited there.”

“No it’s fine,” I answered. “I can teach you, but only early in the morning. I already spend that time training so it’s no big deal.  However, if you’re unable to make those times then I won’t be able to help.”

To my surprise, Zeph suddenly bowed down in appreciation, something I’d never expect to see from her. 

“Thank you. I’ll absolutely be there on time. And I want to thank everyone here as well for allowing me this opportunity.”

“We have nothing to do with this,” Irene pointed out. “If anything, you’re limiting the amount of time that Azel can spend those two for their nightly activities.”

“Not true,” Sekh argued. “He always wakes up ridiculously early so it’s a matter of convenience.”

“Good luck getting enough sleep,” I told Zeph. “We’ll be starting tomorrow since I have four days to prepare for my match.”

“Thank you, thank you so much,” Zeph replied happily. 

Later that night, I continued with my regular routine of sleeping with Sekh. Perhaps she was unnerved by my impending battle with the Stygian knight because the energetic ball of fur was clinging onto me with particular vigor. 

With one hand running through her golden hair and another rubbing her tail, I began to console the worried leopard. 

“How are you feeling, Sekh?” I cooed to her in the darkness of our room. 

“Concerned, scared, and embarrassed that I’m probably overreacting,” she replied. 

“It’ll be alright,” I reassured her. “I can take care of myself and I don’t intend to do something stupid. Well, I have to admit that my decision to fight someone might be a bit rash, but I genuinely want to see where my skill is truly at. And what better way than to fight a highly experienced veteran.”

“I see,” Sekh said while nuzzling against my chest. “By the way Azel, do you have a particular reason for wanting to improve your fighting skills?”

“Pride,” I answered. “My prowess was what set me apart from other people. Without it, I’d just be a nobody. And so I want to perfect my skill as much as I can. Even the pursuit of perfection brings its own satisfaction, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Fair enough,” Sekh said, her voice returning to its normal cheery tone. “Though I wish you would say that you would become stronger to protect the people you love.”

“That’s another benefit,” I replied. “But that’s something I only recently realized. For nearly my whole life, martial skill was my key to succeeding. It could get me wealth, fame, women, whatever I desired. And simply becoming better was something I wanted, just for the sake of it.”

In the darkness, I could make out Sekh’s two eyes glowing in amusement. 

“I’m going to be honest with you, Azel. I can’t relate to how you feel on this matter. For me, I had to fight to defend my home and my loved ones as well. But that’s just my perspective.”

“That’s probably how the majority of people view it,” I remarked. “Though that doesn’t make it any less valid.”

“Actually, it makes it more valid,” Sekh asserted. “But back on topic, I want you to promise me that you won’t die.”

“Sekh, that only raises my chances of passing away according to the books I’ve read,” I complained. “Still, you should know that I have no intention of dying. Even if I have to fight with tooth and nail, I won’t give up on living so easily.”

“I’m glad,” Sekh responded warmly. “Just the thought of losing you pulls on my heart. But I know that I can’t ask you to just stay out of danger. That’s just not who you are and it’s certainly not the person I fell in love with.”

“Is that a proposal?” I teased. “If so, my answer is yes.”

“I’ll be retrieving that yes at a later date,” Sekh joked back. “And Azel, no matter what, you will be a hero in my eyes. Just remember that.”

“Being around you isn’t good for my health,” I commented. “All this sweet talk keeps making my heart skip a beat. And I’m scared that it just might skip a few too many beats in the future.”

“That’s not possible,” Sekh replied. “Though if that were the case, I’d die before you.”

The following day, I woke up before dawn as I usually did. And like usual, I kissed Sekh on the forehead prior to leaving the room. 

Arriving outside, I went over to Zeph’s room to wake her up. Upon entering the room, I was surprised to see that she was already awake, just patiently waiting on her bed.

“Did you get any sleep?” I asked her.

“A little,” she answered to my dismay. “It’s hard to sleep when you’re excited. But I feel fine.”

“I hope so,” I replied. “Let me guess, you didn’t wake me up so I could get enough rest?”

“That’s right,” she informed me. 

“Well thanks for being considerate,” I told her. “Now let’s get to training right away.”

The two of us departed the Bureau, heading to the stables to grab our horses. Afterwards, we led our horses outside of the city in search of flat ground for training. Once we found an area of land that was both dry and relatively flat, we could finally begin our training.

“I know that you’re already fairly capable when it comes to riding, but I think it’s in our best interest to go over the basics,” I told Zeph when we were getting ready to start. “Since we only have four days to prepare, it’s better to strengthen your foundation than try to learn something advanced.”

“Got it,” Zeph agreed. 

From there, we went over the basics of mounting, both as the rider and the assistant. More importantly, I let Zeph borrow my chainmail to better simulate what a knight would have to go through. Once I had deemed that Zeph was ready, I continued with some regular riding exercises to ensure that she could both control her horse and maintain her seating. If she could ride well, then she at least had a chance of using a lance. Though I wonder if the knights in Stygia would accept archer applicants. Compared to the Aswar from my homeland, who are expected to be able to fight on horseback with bow or lance, the Stygian seem to be predominantly shock cavalry. 

During the time that Zeph was training, I occupied myself with my typical routine of practicing form and maneuvers. Although it would be better to have an opponent to spar with, I was still able to make the best out of the situation. 

“Are we just riding today?” Zeph asked me after finishing a lap on horseback. 

“Yeah,” I answered. “We can start on lance work tomorrow, but I want to make sure that you know what you’re doing. Although it would be better if we could train for more than just four days.”

“Four days is really tight,” she remarked. “But wouldn’t that mean that you’re wasting time that you could use to better prepare yourself for the match.”

“It’s fine,” I waved her off. “There’s no way that I should lose to him. Even if he’s more skilled than I am, which shouldn’t be by a large margin if I am even inferior, I can still win using brute force.”

“You seem awfully confident,” Zeph commented.

“I’ll win, it just depends on how close the fight is,” I told her. “Well, there’s still the possibility that I can lose, but that can only happen if I do something particularly stupid.”

“I’m going to quote you on that if you lose,” Zeph snickered.

“Go ahead,” I replied with an easy grin. “I’d deserve it at that point.”

“Ok then,” Zeph teased. “But don’t go crying to Sekh if things don’t turn out as you expected.”

“Pretty sure you’re the one that goes crying to Sekh,” I pointed out, provoking an annoyed look from Zeph.

The rest of the day continued as usual, everyone went to do some form of work. However, it was later that night when things deviated from normalcy. 

“Hey Azel, do you have some free time right now?” Minerva asked me after dinner, a slight blush coloring her face. 

“Sure, what’s the matter?” I responded. 

“Can we do the thing that we talked about back in Tyros?” she requested, the redness spreading to the tip of her ears. 

Standing still for a moment, I tried to remember what exactly she was talking about.

“You mean the lewd things in your dream?”

“It’s not lewd,” Minerva asserted in embarrassment. “I just want to spend some time relaxing with you.”

“I know,” I laughed before grabbing Minerva’s hand. “So shall we start right now?”

Bobbing her head in agreement, Minerva followed me into her room where I instructed her to lay down on the bead facing downwards. 

“Ok, I’m going to take off my pants now,” I said nonchalantly after she had laid down. 

Falling for my trick, Minerva turned around with wide eyes only to be met with the sight of me simply preparing for a massage.

“I was joking, you know?” I chided her with a sly smile. “Now just ease up your muscles and I’ll get started.”

“Do you mind if I rant to you about work today?” Minerva asked as I began to squeeze her shoulders

“Sure,” I replied. “You want me to just facilitate your venting or do you want me to think of actual solutions for your problems?”

“Just let me vent,” she answered. “I can think of how to fix the problem, it just takes a while and drains my mental state.”

“Got it,” I said warmly. 

As I proceeded to remove as many aches from her back as possible, Minerva ranted about her troubles at the Bureau. In reality, her complaints were really negligible. Just clerks and clients doing stupid things that took time to be fixed. Then there was also the time honored tradition of people not reading their contracts or instructions leading to remarkably idiotic disputes.

And although Minerva was clearly frustrated by the bullshit that she had to deal with, I found it more entertaining than irritating. Well, I wasn’t the one dealing with it so that was probably contributing to my attitude. 

Somehow, Minerva managed to continue ranting after I had finished my massage, so I had to go make tea for the both of us. It was only when we completed our tea session that Minerva had finally stopped.

“Sorry for taking up so much time,” Minerva apologized as we were putting the tea set away.

“I wasn’t doing anything else anyways,” I said with a light laugh. “Are you feeling better at least?”

“A lot,” she answered. “Next time won’t take nearly as long so don’t worry about that. But I’m really happy that you’re doing this for me.”

“It’s not that big of a deal,” I told her. “All I’m doing is sitting here, nodding and grunting while you complain.”

“Well it’s a big deal to me,” Minerva said before suddenly planting a light kiss on my cheek.

“I assume that was payment in advance for our next session,” I said jokingly. 

“No, I just wanted to show you that I love you,” she replied warmly. “And if it’s possible, then let’s do this again.”

“So it was an advance payment,” I asserted, causing Minerva to pout slightly.

The next three days followed the precedent set by today. Early in the morning, I would take Zeph out to ride. However, we would return to the citadel where I would train with the garrison soldiers and Zeph could practice her lance skills with the available equipment. And while Zeph was certainly a competent rider, her ability with the lance was non-existent. At the very least, I hoped to teach her enough that she wouldn’t be clueless when she met Gregorius. As for Minerva, the two of us continued with our new nightly routine, something that I found myself enjoying quite a bit. 

Finally, the day of my match arrived. A few hours after breakfast, I met Gregorius at the citadel’s sparring yard. Standing opposite to me was the knight, a volunteer from the garrison helping him don his armor. Compared to me, Gregorius had a nearly identical set of equipment. A mail hauberk rested atop a gambeson, though he didn’t don his thinner lamellar cuirass because he was fighting on foot. His helmet and grieves were also similar to my own, the main difference being the weapons we were holding. 

In contrast to the winged spear that I held with both hands, the knight bore a shorter spear in conjunction with a kite shield. The two of us also had our swords at our hips, though I doubt that we would bring them out in such a situation. 

“Stay safe,” Sekh told me as I was donning my own armor. “I know that you’re both using blunted weapons, but be on the lookout in case of anything odd.”

“It’ll be fine,” I reassured her. “Nothing bad is going to happen.”

“That’s what we’re hoping for,” Minerva commented. 

After consoling those two once again, I finally entered the sparring ground where Gregorius was waiting for me.

“Saying goodbye to your lovers?” he asked me curiously when I entered. 

“Something like that,” I sighed. “I really hope you’re not trying to kill me in that case. As you can see, I have quite a few things to look forward to.”

“I swear on my honor that I will not try to kill you,” he told me. “But you have to cooperate with me as well.”

“Right, I’ll try not to trip and fall on my sword then,” I joked. “Shall we begin then?”

Taking up his spear, Gregorius gestured for me to initiate the battle. Following his example, I clasped my spear in my own hands and approached him

Not knowing his skill, I began with a series of lightning fast thrusts in order to probe at his defences. Despite the speed of my attacks, Gregorius, easily blocked and dodged, his shield and body working in perfect tandem to maximize efficiency. 

“Looks like I have to resort to wearing him down then,” I reasoned mentally. 

Dancing around the knight, I swung and stabbed at him to no avail. Each of my blows was met with either solid wood or fluid air, though I had expected as much.

But despite his seeming unwillingness to counterattack, I knew that he was trying to bait me into a state of complacency.

Right on cue, one of my failed blows was swiftly followed by a piercing thrust aimed at my abdomen. Fortunately, I was on guard and easily jerked my body aside to avoid the strike. 

Taking advantage of the small opening in Gregorius’ defense, I swung my foot upwards, knocking the air out of his stomach. However, I was unable to make any significant gains as the knight quickly propped up his shield, preventing me from pressing my advantage. 

Once more, the two of us distanced ourselves from one another to better assess the situation. And once more, I was the one who engaged, this time trying to lure him out of his defensive stance with my longer reach. 

Knowing that his situation would only worsen at this rate, the knight decided to gamble with a frontal charge. Barreling at me in full force, Gregorius rushed forward with his shield like a ram intent on getting laid. 

Because I simply reacted faster than a normal person, I was able to easily step aside. But in my hubris, I was late in noticing the spear aimed right at my face. Trying to avoid the blow, I stumbled backwards, almost falling in the process. 

Pressing his advantage, Gregorius followed up with a rapid series of thrusts. Desperately, I ducked, dodged, and parried, barely escaping on the skin of my teeth. At this point, I really wished I had spent more time preparing for the fight. I had expected that a notable knight would be capable, but I didn’t anticipate for him to be this skilled. 

After regaining my footing, I cautiously continued my assault, which was as futile as ever. But I couldn’t let my frustration take hold. That was how he would win. As long as I didn’t make more mistakes, I could just wear him down. 

I couldn't recall how long it was, but the two of us continued our dance for what felt like an hour. I would thrust, he would block, he would counterattack, and I would evade. Despite the supposed monotony, not a moment felt dull. Both Gregorius and I were standing on a razor’s edge, every misstep would be punished no matter how minor. I’m sure the crowd reached a similar conclusion, but I was far too focused to pay any attention to them.

Trying to shift the tide of battle, Gregorius suddenly moved out of his defensive stance and unleashed a flurry of thrusts at me. But such a maneuver left him open, allowing me to shove his spear aside. Yet before I could turn my spear back towards my opponent, I was unable to avoid the shield that slammed into my side.

Staggering, I tried to take a defensive stance. But like a snake, the knight’s spear slid past my defense and slammed me hard in the abdomen. Unrelenting, Gregorius continued his advantage, his spear darting back and forth. And despite being able to avoid the vast majority of his attacks, I was still grazed and struck in our exchange. It was nothing substantial, particularly due to my armor, but the shift in the tide of battle wore on my mind. 

Despite huffing and wheezing at this point, Gregorius mustered up his strength and tried to make a final decisive blow. The sound of steel colliding rang as his spear slammed into my right shoulder. At the very least, the original blow was aimed towards my chest, which I managed to deflect off course. 

Seeing that my opponent was now at the brink of exhaustion, I relentlessly attacked, not giving him a moment to breathe. In spite of this, most of my blows found no success, only a few grazing the knight. 

But this battle was one of attrition. Having to endure the unending onslaught of my offensive, Gregorius soon found himself completely out of energy. His movements had become sluggish and my spear came ever closer to striking him down. But that never happened. Instead, the knight simply stepped back and tossed his arms aside to gesture his surrender.

It was finally over. Yet in spite of my relief from victory, I couldn’t help but long for another match. Despite the supposed monotony, I found every moment exhilarating. The constant back and forth, as well as the possibility that the battle could turn tides at any moment. It was the type of battle that I truly yearned for, not the fights that could best be described as butcher’s work.

“You fought well, really well,” I congratulated the knight as servants ran to get him water. “And I’m incredibly glad that someone of your capacity will enter my service.”

“W-well done as well,” Gregorius wheezed as he tried to catch his breath. “It’s truly gratifying to meet someone who could finally defeat me.”
As happy as I was, I felt a gnawing feeling in the back of my head. I knew that if I didn’t possess the powers of a hero, I would have stood no chance against this man. In fact, I had barely won in spite of my gifts. Had I grown weak, given into complacency, or was this man truly that skilled?

Regardless, I felt a renewed desire within myself. Having seen how far I could still climb, I realized that my journey was nowhere near the end. And perhaps with the help of this incredible knight, I could reach a summit barely touched throughout history. 

longer

This is irrelevant to my writing pace, but I've reached platinum in league of legends, quite unfortunately. Expect for me to continue selling my soul in pursuit of lp.