Kristoffer looked at the mirror.

Fully equipped for battle was what he could see.

Helmet that protects the whole head except the eyes.

Metal armor for the torso.

Chainmail on the arms and thighs.

Last but not the least, the insignia of the Silver Mavericks embedded proudly in silver on a medium-sized circular shield.

The battle uniform of the Silver Mavericks.

Proud warriors of Lime the Hero. Never to be trifled with. Never to be taken lightly.

By his side, was his personal weapon, the Legendary Sword, Grail. The one that the Hero Lime used on countless battles and the one Kristoffer used to slay the vampire the night before.

Kristoffer unsheathed the sword as he examined it. The glint was nothing special. It looked like any other regular sword. The only thing from outside that made it different was the tiny House Insignia of Lime, Hero of Rouen and Duchess of Arkbay, defiantly presenting itself to all its enemies from the pommel.

Today, that enemy is an aspiring immigrant. As Mute's face flashed into his mind, Kristoffer gripped the sword's handle tightly, so tight he felt like his knuckles would turn white. His body felt so hot with murderous passion. His blood was burning as he continuously thought of different approaches to defeat the enemy.

As Kristoffer moved out to face his opponent, he openly embraced those feelings to fuel him towards victory.

 

When Kristoffer arrived in the middle of the arena, he was already greeted by Mute and the two referees, Quill and Fiona.

A shiver ran down Kristoffer's spine as he caught the two referees smiling sadistically. Quill and Fiona seemed to be looking forward to this. And if they're looking forward to a fight, it was mostly a battle filled with pain.

That's not a good sign.

Was Mute that strong?

If Kristoffer could check his arms, he'd bet he was getting goosebumps.

Fear slowly crept inside Kristoffer. However, he quelled that fear before it extinguished the fire inside him. For someone like Kristoffer, his fire was his anger or irritation. It was anger that fueled him in countless challenges. It was essential, it made him focus more, it ironically brought him a clearer mind, and it was basically one of his motivations against a stronger foe.

Kristoffer would not let fear take over. Not in a battle. Not in front of an audience. Not when he was still a captain of the Silver Mavericks of Arkbay.

Kristoffer took a deep breath. He needed to look his opponent, his enemy, eye to eye.

Looking at Mute, it was obvious at first glance that he was a swordsman.

That was one worry removed. Swordsmen typically wouldn't know how to cast spells.

Wait a minute... This was supposed to be a hard fight. Then does that mean...

Kristoffer sought Quill, her lips mouthing, "Good luck," before raising her arm and bringing it down to signal the start of battle.

Wait, does he know Body Enhancement? Or is he basically an offensive mage with a sword? What is he capable of?! All of these ran through Kristoffer's mind in less than a tenth of a second until he saw Mute's body glow slightly. Body Enhancement!

It was chantless too. Kristoffer could also cast a few spells without a chant but it was a rare thing even among the court mages.

This was bad. Who would have thought Mute was such a rare find.

Expecting to be attacked, Kristoffer also tried casting [Body Enhancement] on himself. However, before Kristoffer could even start the spell, he noticed foreign mana flow creeping from below him.

"Not good!"

In a hurry, Kristoffer prioritized only two places to cast the spell: his legs.

Kristoffer jumped in time to see countless spears shoot out from the earth. If he hadn't, he would have surely died.

That would have been embarrassing in front of all these people!

Nevertheless, their training to enhance certain body parts paid off. If he had not even used it on his legs, he would not be able to jump so high and the spears would have caught him.

However, despite preventing such a tragic end, it was a fact that Kristoffer had not been able to enhance his whole body.

Such worries were put aside when more spears made of earth appeared at the place where he would land.

Should I teleport? Using such an expensive scroll would have been a waste, thus, he decided against it.

Kristoffer instead used Grail, the legendary sword, which could cancel almost any type of skill or spell.

The spears crumbled into dirt and Kristoffer landed safely.

Not until a sharp, piercing pain introduced itself on his left foot.

It took Kristoffer a lot of effort not to shout as loud as he could.

When Kristoffer looked, a tiny spear was peeking from his boot.

"... SHI-"

Before he could even curse at himself, Mute was already at his face.

 

***

 

"This is bad."

"This sucks."

"Fuck me."

These were basically some of what was running through Kristoffer's mind as he desperately tried to keep himself alive.

The opponent had [Body Enhancement].

Kristoffer did not.

Mute was still fresh, while Kristoffer had a bloody splinter on his foot and he couldn't move away.

Shit.

Shield on the left and sword on the right. The shield blocked two strikes from the top and side, the sword deflected three slashes from different directions. Two cuts were received on the torso and thigh.

Did the armor and chainmail hold? ...They did. Good.

It's Lime's training all over again. No biggie.

Raise your focus to the max. Use every nerve in your body to bring out its strength. Defeat the enemy before you!

Every minute that passed, Kristoffer would receive a wound. It hurt every single time. Especially when his body trained for years, footwork would be as natural as breathing. In other words, Kristoffer always forgot that moving his foot was a big no-no.

But despite this nightmare, he could feel his body still being able to fight.

An opportunity would surely come.

Just wait for it.

Any time now...

 

And it came. The opponent suddenly halted its barrage and retreated.

"Chance!"

Kristoffer pulled his foot from the damned stick and retreated with a limp.

That hurt like shit! Kristoffer bit down on his lower lip.

As Kristoffer created some distance between them, Kristoffer chewed on the hidden capsule in between his teeth.

It was one of the best healing potions one could buy in Arkbay. Despite being as small as a tooth, it equaled an advanced healing potion in a standard-sized vial. Truly expensive, this thing.

In a matter of seconds, all of Kristoffer's injuries were healed.

"Heh."

At that moment, Kristoffer finally managed to cast [Body Enhancement] on his whole body.

Unfortunately, the enemy was not willing to wait for him to recover too much.

Two spears shot themselves from the earth and pierced his left side, damaging his lung and probably also the esophagus.

Next, he was vomiting blood. Since the helmet obstructed his mouth, the blood splattered on his face and trickled down his neck and shirt.

Heh, when was the last time I vomited something red? Not good, my mind is trailing off. I'm also feeling sleepy.

Ironically, it was the smell of blood that kept Kristoffer awake.

Kristoffer did not sense the spears coming from his side. Was it because it happened at the same time he cast magic himself?

Kristoffer confessed that he was not the best at sensing others' mana flow when he was busy with his own.

How unlucky.

 

I guess this is it. I lost.

When Kristoffer dragged his eyes to look at the people watching his pathetic display, those eyes coincidentally landed on Quill.

Quill looked like a normal referee waiting for the match's end... However, her eyes were looking down on Kristoffer in disappointment, her smile telling him, "Too bad."

Anger welled up within Kristoffer. It was not directed at Quill.

It was pointed at the worm before him.

"You're just new here at Arkbay, boy!" Kristoffer mumbled inside his helmet. For a split second, he found it funny that he said that since he probably wasn't that much older than Mute.

Mute sprinted into action and brought down his sword from above.

Kristoffer complimented himself as he managed to block it somehow amid the fatal injury.

That said, what should Kristoffer do?

The second swing came from the side this time. The pain was too unbearable and Kristoffer was not able to hold on to his shield any longer.

Yet, as the shield disappeared, Kristoffer noticed the shiny item on his left hand.

Kristoffer could tell from Mute's smile that he knew this was the end.

Unfortunately, Kristoffer wouldn't let him finish this. If it had to end, it would be Kristoffer left standing.

What a waste... [Ring of Time Stop]!

A ring on Kristoffer's middle finger shone brightly and engulfed his sight.

When Kristoffer opened his eyes, Mute's purple blade stopped midair, mere centimetres from his neck.

[Ring of Time Stop]

The function should be self-explanatory. It was a legendary item that Lime created herself. It was given to him on his 18th birthday. Oh, the memories.

Well, get a load of this shit. Kristoffer's mind was wandering around again. He really needed to move fast.

After all, the [Ring of Time Stop]'s effects would not last longer than 5 seconds for the user!

Kristoffer wished he could just stab Mute right now. But it didn't work that way. The user could not harm anyone while it was in effect, or so he was told.

Kristoffer needed to wait for the 5 seconds to drop.

But first, Kristoffer had to unbarbecue himself. Otherwise, when time flowed again, Kristoffer would just be beheaded from his current placement.

3 seconds left.

Forking sheeeeeeeeeet!

Kristoffer was successful in pulling himself out. The gushing blood and the gut-wrenching, mind-blanking, death-wishing pain did not make him feel any better, though.

2 seconds.

Kristoffer quickly chewed on another healing potion stashed in his mouth as he limped around Mute, positioning himself behind the unknowing guy.

"What? You thought I only had one healing potion?" Kristoffer talked to no one in particular--a serious side effect of being at death's door.

1 second.

Kristoffer raised his sword shakily. Thankfully, Kristoffer's [Body Enhancement] spell would just be enough to cut this worm.

"Git gud, scrub."

The Legendary Sword Grail cut through Mute's neck like butter and the fountain of blood brought shivering pleasure to all the Silver Mavericks who witnessed it.

Mute's head magnificently flew in the air and Kristoffer could only whisper in relief, "Today's another great day."