Ding!

After waiting two minutes, the lift finally arrived and the doors slid open. I stepped inside and pressed the button for the ground floor. The descent from the 40th floor to the lobby would take another minute or two. I caught my reflection in the mirror lining the lift walls. Crimson eyes, a smooth, delicate face, and my long, unkempt black hair stared back at me. I was wearing a grey T-shirt and grey shorts. My trainers were... Ehm, also grey. I'm a bit lazy with combinations.

Ding! The doors opened slowly. As usual, I was greeted by the sight of constant activity and buzzing energy. Stark Tower - the tallest building in the city. So many people have worked here or have done business with our family company. I vaguely remember my father mentioning it once. Apparently, over 6,000 people were working for us, and over 100,000 transactions a day. As for what exactly the company did, well, I couldn't really tell you. I don't care enough to know.

As an adopted child, I don't have a say in the company's affairs anyway. My sister, on the other hand, spends her time studying for school and learning how to run a business. I've always been in awe of how my father runs the company and how my sister works so hard to follow in his footsteps.

As for me, I'm just plain lazy.

I quickly weaved through the crowd and stepped out the front door. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I checked the time. 24th April, Sunday, 12:37 pm. It was the middle of spring, but the heat was unbearable. Or maybe it was just that I felt like I was burning up because everyone else in the building around me was wearing shirts, trousers, suits - how could they manage in this heat? I never could.

Lost in my thoughts, I made my way to the barber. It was just 200 meters from my building. The shop belonged to a friend of my father's. My dad always got his hair cut by this guy. To be fair, he's good at it, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember his name. Once I reached the shop, I didn't have to try.

A fancy sign greeted me: "David's Barber Shop". Ah, right. I hadn't been here for a year, so I'd forgotten what it looked like. I walked in and called out, "Hey, David. How's business?"

Without taking his eyes off the client whose hair he was cutting, David replied cheerfully, "Oh! Welcome, sir, welcome! I was beginning to think you'd forgotten me and started going to other barbers. I've been losing sleep over it!" He made a mock crying sound, but it was clear he was joking. I just laughed and sat down in one of the empty chairs.

"So when will you be done?"

"Won't take more than five minutes, sir."

'Good' I thought to myself as I pulled out my phone. Two missed calls and ten messages greeted me.

"Damn, I left it on silent."

Two of the messages were from Xion. "Have you left yet? When are you coming?" I'd seen the first one at home, but he'd sent another while I was on my way. I replied, "Calm down. I'm getting a haircut, then I'll be there."

As if he was waiting for my reply, he immediately texted back: "Wow, you're slow as a turtle.

Why is everyone teasing me today?

I ignored the comment and read the rest of the messages. They were from the one person I was most afraid of - my girlfriend, Jessica. The last time I heard, her phone had broken. How did they fix it so quickly? The two missed calls were also from her. Instead of calling her back, I read her texts first.

"Baaabyyyy! They fixed my phone! Let's talk! Baby? Damian. Pick up your phone. Why aren't you answering? Oh, so you're ignoring me, huh?"

I was screwed. Completely screwed.

I quickly texted back, "Sorry babe, my phone was on silent. My bad, my bad." She read the message but didn't reply. Great, now I wouldn't have time to call her back as I was about to get my hair cut.

I sighed. Now I had to prepare myself for the cold shower I'd get at school tomorrow.

Sitting in the chair, lost in my thoughts with my phone in my hand, I snapped back to reality when I heard the barber's voice.

"Sir, if you're ready, we can start."

"Oh, of course. Go ahead."

Barbers usually tend to be chatty, but David was different. When he was working, he was completely focused and didn't say a word - like now. Maybe that's why he was so good at cutting hair.

About 25 minutes later the haircut was done, a really good haircut, and I thanked him before I left. David never charged my dad or me. He treated us like VIPs. Eh, it wasn't surprising. After all, we had bought him the shop and all his equipment.

First, I called my girlfriend, Jessica, but she didn’t answer. I tried again—but still no response. I tried once more, but after getting the same result, I gave up. She was definitely going to rip into me tomorrow. With a bitter smile, I called Xion. He picked up on the second ring.

“Where are you?”

“Aren’t you supposed to say hi first, man?”

“I’ve been waiting here for half an hour. What are you talking about?"

His impatience always drained me.

“Alright, alright, where are you?”

“At the usual spot.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

I hung up and pocketed my phone before starting to run toward the school. Normally, the school was a few kilometers away, but long distances weren’t much of a problem for me since I could run fast.

A few minutes later, I arrived at the front gate of the school—a large, private institution with multiple buildings. Stark Academy. My grandfather had built it. It’s known as the best and most equipped school on the continent. The top students, both academically and physically, come here from all over.

I showed my student ID to the guard at the entrance and walked in. Normally, the campus is closed on weekends, but students are allowed inside. I headed toward the courtyard and entered the massive training facility on the far right side of the area.

In a typical school, there would only be gyms, but because of the System's existence and the weapons it provides, our academy has specialized training facilities. The building I walked into was reserved exclusively for seniors. I swiftly moved through the corridors and entered the dueling arena.

At the far corner of the arena stood a young man about my age. He had short, bright yellow hair and brown eyes, but because he didn't like their color, he wore blue lenses. His pale skin and slim, elegant body made him look fragile. He was a little shorter than me, and almost every girl in the school chased after him. They always talked about how good-looking he was. Sure, he's handsome, but not as much as me, obviously. Heh.

"You finally made it," he said in a mocking tone.

I had to answer somehow. "I'm surprised you waited so long to lose."

"Who said anything about losing?"

Damn it. That backfired. Now he's more determined. Well, the result won't change anyway.

"So, what's the duel today? Swords, or should I fight without one?"

"We're doing both."

"Alright, you asked for it, Bumblebee."

As soon as I said that, his expression changed from serious to annoyed. I tell him that all the time and he always gets angry. No rule says you always have to mess with me.

I called him Bumblebee because of his expertise with a rapier-like sword and his incredible speed. He thrust his blade like a bee's sting. I wasn't as good as him, but I was still one of the best on the continent. Who knows, maybe one day I'll beat him in a sword fight.

I had about 15 weapons in my inventory, but the best one for situations like this was a special katana - the Katana of Anguish. It was my best chance of keeping up with his speed. You couldn't kill anyone with that sword, but every cut hurt a hundred times worse. It might seem cruel, but none of my other weapons could match his speed.

"So you chose that cursed sword again. Do you really want to make me suffer that much?"

"You know why I chose it. Stop talking nonsense and let's get to the duel."

"Calm down, I'm just joking. You're really serious today."

"I've been dealing with people like you all day. Bumblebee."

Yes, I knew he was joking, but that didn't stop everyone from messing with me today. Sorry, Xion, but I'm taking it out on you.

Damian and Xion disappeared from view at the exact same moment. Then, in an instant, they reappeared in the middle of the arena, their swords swinging with all their might, clashing violently. It was a move they always made at the beginning of their sword duels. It could be said that the duel began with this strike. Both of their faces were expressionless, their eyes locked in serious concentration.

With a swift movement, Damian twisted Xion's sword, freeing his blade to strike at his opponent. Xion reacted quickly, taking a sharp step back. He crouched and spun around to launch a swift counter, but Damian leaped over him effortlessly. Without wasting any time, Xion twisted his hand and aligned his sword in a diagonal upward thrust, aiming a sudden stab at Damian's head. Still in mid-air, Damian pulled his head back, avoiding the sharp edge by a hair's breadth. As he landed, small strands of his close-cropped hair fluttered gently down. To escape the disadvantageous position, Damian quickly jumped backward and caught his breath.

Seeing him retreat, Xion, eager to provoke, waved his hand in a gesture for Damian to come at him. Damian responded with a wicked grin. Though it seemed the taunt hadn't worked, it had.

They moved closer in slow, calculated steps until Damian made a sudden diagonal slash, initiating his attack. Xion blocked it but was immediately met with a second, horizontal strike. Then came another diagonal slash, followed by a relentless barrage from all directions - up, down, side to side. Damian attacked savagely, like a barbarian, but each strike was precise, swift, and overwhelmingly powerful.

Xion had no room for a counterattack; he could only block each incoming blow, his body trembling under the weight of Damian's attacks. Although Xion was faster, his strength was nowhere near Damian's. But gradually Xion began to adapt to the force of the strikes. Eventually, he found an opening, deflected Damian's sword, and aimed a quick slash at Damian's leg. Damian quickly pulled his leg back, jumped, and performed a mid-air somersault, launching a flying kick at Xion. Xion managed to block with his arm, but the sheer force of the kick sent him flying to the other end of the arena.

"Come on, man. We both know you could've dodged that kick. You're disappointing me here. A little seriousness, please."

Xion grinned as he stood up. Damian was right; he could've dodged that kick, and honestly, he could've escaped that barrage of attacks much sooner. But there was something he was curious about: Damian's true strength. Even though they were best friends, Xion had never seen Damian at full strength. The strongest of their generation, they called him. He wondered why they called him like that. He wanted to know how fast and strong Damian truly was.

If only you were serious,' he thought to himself.

"I am dead serious," Xion replied.

"What?"

Just then Damian felt a warm liquid trickling down his leg.

"When did you do that?"

I was confused.

"Just grazed you when you put your leg down. Nothing to make a fuss about."

Hmm, that made sense. It was an unnecessary risk, but he won this round. Still, there is a second round coming. He'd won the first round a few times before, but I'd never lost a second round.

"I sincerely congratulate you."

I sounded sarcastic.

"So, are you ready for the second round?"

"I was ready from the start. This time I'll win."