“Are you sure I can’t go for a challenge straight away?”

Ragnar said with tangible excitement leaking from his eyes. The man poured water on his budding emotions as he brought out a somewhat apologetic smile.

“Unfortunately, no. You need a spot in the rankings before you can challenge someone or accept other’s challenges.”

Ragnar gave him a deadpan gaze as his smile vanished. Before he just accepted it, since, he could use this duel to test himself. He had a sinking suspicion that he might be overly reliant on his ability. Well, it was an amazing ability, but he had so much room for improvement in his fighting style that he could fit an ocean in there.

He remembered how Aura had blocked his first attack with just her skills. Of course, her tainted perk also played a big role in it, but not every Arcane would have been able to save themselves in that same situation.

The man instructed them to wait for a bit as they were led to some seats on the side. They were waiting for his opponent. Ragnar observed the man who still had his head buried into the screen. He was quite tall, around 6”3’. With well combed black hair and a handsome face. His uniform was without blemishes as it fit him to a ‘t’.

The man was feeling uncomfortable being stared at so intently by another guy, when he heard him speak.

“What’s your name?”

The man took his head out from the Screen and said with a polite smile.

“I’m Kalix. You can call me whatever you like.”

Ragnar’s gaze grew even more intense as he peered straight into his eyes. Before he moved his gaze slightly upward to check out his hair. Kalix felt a shiver run down his spine. He was about to say something before he noticed Ragnar finally look away. He sighed in relief as he planned to go back to his screen. But he heard Ragnar speak up again in a casual tone.

“What if I kill him?”

He almost choked as he stared back at Ragnar. He was still looking in the distance, probably overseeing the arena. He spoke with a serious look as a dangerous undertone lingered in his voice.

“Kill, who?”

Ragnar looked back into his eyes with a calm smile.

“My opponent, of course. Who did you think?”

Kalix’s serious look disappeared as soon as it had come. He switched back to his professional smile and spoke.

“That will be quite hard to achieve. We have Mystic Experts as referees for each duel that takes place in our Establishment. But in case you manage to somehow kill your opponents, there are two possible outcomes. “

He took a moment to build up the tension, but spoke up after noticing Ragnar’s glare.

“The referee, along with judges that observe every duel will decide whether the kill was on purpose or it was an accident. If it is decided that it was accidental, then no legal action will be taken against you by the Government. You will simply be banned from the Mystic Arena, and hence, the rankings for the rest of your life.”

After taking another pause to catch his breath, he continued.

“Whereas, if it turns out that the kill was intentional, then we will take the subsequent legal actions. It can result in a few years of imprisonment. That is if your opponent was a nobody. But most people in the rankings aren’t nobodies. So, it will be upon us to satisfy their backers, so the sentence could be much worse.”

Ragnar nodded in understanding as he moved his gaze back towards the arena. He realised only now that the person standing like a statue beside the platform should be a Mystic. Ragnar couldn’t feel any aura leaking from that man. He could almost confuse him for a mundane human. It seemed like his eyes were closed as well, was he sleeping on duty?

At this moment, another person walked into the room.
He had his brows furrowed in annoyance. Since he will have to show a newbie his rightful place. Kalix moved his gaze away from his screen as he looked at the gates of the room. Subsequently, he informed Ragnar with a smile.

“Your opponent is here. Come.”

Then he led them towards the Arena. As they walked, Aura spoke to Ragnar in a soft voice.

“He is one of the Nexarions. His ability will be related to Fire.”

She took the initiative to speak since she was sure Ragnar wouldn’t know. He gave her a sidelong glance as he asked casually.

“Is that another Faction?”

Aura nodded lightly.

Kalix gave them a strange look after listening to their conversation. How can a person not know who Nexarions were? But he thought better than to question them as he led them to the platform. He asked them to wait while he went to discuss the details with the Mystic referee. He hadn’t moved ever since the last time Ragnar saw him. He also didn’t open his eyes while Kalix just mumbled on. After he finished, he just walked back without getting any reply. But it didn’t seem to be a problem.

“You can head up”

He spoke to Ragnar. The previous battle had already ended by now and the stage was empty. Ragnar nodded as he climbed up the stairs. At the same time, he saw another person walking up the stairs on the other side of the platform.

He was quite young. With crimson hair that came down to his shoulders and similarly crimson eyes, he looked quite fierce.

He was also observing Ragnar with furrowed brows. His opponent was wearing casual clothes, compared to him who wore a proper armour. Despite that, he didn’t think he could take this one lightly.

However, the words that came out from his mouth were completely contradictory to what he felt.

“Let’s end this quickly. I don’t have all day.”

Ragnar didn’t say anything as he just took out his dagger from the scabbard that he had tied to his waist. He channelled his waves into the dagger and looked at the Referee. He was not sure how the duel will start. Has it started already?

He was right to look at the Referee since the man spoke up with his eyes still closed. His voice sounded calm and serene. As if a judgement had passed that cannot be denied.

“Start!”

Ragnar turned to look at his opponent. He was still standing in his place despite his wish to finish it quickly. But a hammer had appeared in his hands. The hammer was almost bigger than himself. It had a wide head that slimmed towards the tail. It looked dark and gothic styled with a slightly curved handle that was coiled with cloth.

The red-haired guy lifted the hammer with one hand and pointed it at Ragnar. In the next moment, the backside of the handle of the hammer opened up as a stream of fire shot out… at its wielder? The stream of fire completely engulfed the guy as his expression turned even more fierce. In the next moment, he brought the hammer back, and shot forward with a sudden burst.

Ragnar was observing his antics calmly since he was not in a hurry. But the speed with which he shot forward with was somewhat unexpected, even for him. The guy had swung his hammer horizontally, so it was heading directly towards Ragnar’s ribs.

He furrowed his brows as his body flashed to another side of the platform with a boom. The hammer swung at thin air as the guy came to a stop and looked at Ragnar with wariness visible in his red eyes.

This was bad. Ragnar had planned not to rely on his ability too much but he was already forced to use it in this way.

Before he had chance to think any further, the guy again shot forward, this time he did not leave any openings for Ragnar to dodge. Ragnar sighed in his mind as his body shot forward as well. He won’t be able to test anything against this guy. His fighting style just wouldn’t allow Ragnar to manoeuvre around or to exchange moves. 

The hammer was coming for Ragnar’s chest again but it was again meant to meet thin air. Ragnar whizzed past the Red-haired guy as his dagger went through his arm, completely severing it. He was told not to kill; they didn’t mention heavy injuries. He appeared with his back facing the guy who had also come to a stop as the hammer fell from his hands with a plop.

This was followed by a pin drop silence in the Arena.

Aura let out a breath that she had been holding in ever since the fight began. She was not sure why she was so worried since the outcome should have been obvious. But she was not sure what Ragnar was trying to achieve when the fight started.

Kalix had expected Ragnar to be quite strong but he was still slightly surprised, yet he was staring at the platform without any hint of moving his gaze, as if waiting for something.

A small crowd had formed to watch the fight, considering Ragnar’s performance during the test. The Red-haired guy also seemed to be quite well known which had also contributed to the crowd. But the crowd also didn’t show any hint of dispersing as they stared intently at the stage. The referee didn’t announce the end of the fight.