The bald man advanced while Viktor simultaneously moved towards him, drawing his sword. With a quick spin, he countered his opponent's advance. The clash of blades echoed, but both weapons were pushed back, causing Alma to furrow her brow in thought.

'Is he stronger than Viktor? No...' Looking back, she still saw Elioth maintaining a smile on his face. 'It's this overwhelming pressure, they're not affected by it at all while our energy is being drained.'

Another clash of swords ensued. Despite wielding a larger sword, Viktor began to tire from the spins. He grimaced as he saw his opponent recover and strike again.

Viktor blocked, turning his sword's blunt side toward his face, and another clash ensued. The bald man's strength forced Viktor downward. Quickly raising his machete, the man struck against Viktor's defense, gradually applying pressure.

However, a shadow swiftly appeared behind the bald man. Two feet met his head, forcing it backward and propelling him towards the instrumentalist, stopping abruptly.

Both Viktor and Alma watched Alma land beside Viktor, her brow furrowed and her eyes shining brightly.

"At least the reinforcement effects lessen this infernal pressure," Alma sighed, the gleam in her eyes fading. "But the cost is high in this situation, it truly affects us."

"Yeah, I figured. I don't have as much energy as you. I'll have to use this wisely." Viktor glanced back and said, "Nina, don't use reinforcement, at least not now... keep supporting us from afar. You're the only one with a weapon that rarely kills."

Upon hearing this, Nina nodded, though uncomfortable, her vision slowly distorting. The bald man, hearing this, wore a broad smile and said, 'If they're going to make it easier for me, perfect.' He tossed the machete into the air, and then spoke again.

"Conrad, do it."

"'You're even harsh with some runts, how unpleasant,' the instrumentalist spoke and quickly brought one of his fingers to the instrument.

Both Viktor and Alma prepared for what was to come. As soon as the string was played, the sound echoed throughout the area. The bald man raised his head, maintaining the same smile, but this time, his eyes glowed a vivid red.

Viktor furrowed his brow and focused the Diyo in his eyes. Gradually, he could see the bald man's aura becoming chaotic and increasingly larger, but there seemed to be a connection between him and the instrumentalist, with the main focus being the instrument emitting a constant, red aura. Viktor sighed. However, in an instant, the bald man appeared in front of them with his machete raised and struck.

In an instant, the clash occurred, and sparks flew, revealing Viktor with his bright yellow eyes, using his sword to block the strike that would have hit them. Gradually, the machete became heavier, and the glow in Viktor's eyes dimmed, feeling more and more pushed down against the ground.

The bald man wore an even wider smile, and Viktor furrowed his brow, but something flew towards the bald man and hit the middle of his eyes, sinking into his nose, forcing him to recoil with a grunt.

"DAMN!" a considerable-sized stone fell from his face, revealing his broken nose.

He looked behind them and saw Nina, who, despite being out of breath and dripping with sweat, still twirled her sling in her hands, facing the bald man, who wiped away his smile, revealing an irritated expression.

Seeing the bald man retreat, Viktor kept his eyes alert, but this time turned them to Elioth, who remained seated on the tree, still smiling. However, Viktor noticed something and turned to Alma, saying, 'Alma, can you deal with this one for a moment?'

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Viktor spoke, sheathing his sword back on his shoulder, while the archer looked in his direction. 'I'm going to run; use the chance.'

Alma looked on, still not understanding, but nodded and said, 'All right.' He positioned the arrow on his bow and looked at the bald man, who, still irritated, grunted and advanced.

This time, Viktor also surged forward, surprising the bald man, who still didn't stop and pressed forward with a strike aimed at the swordsman.

However, just before the blow came, Viktor's eyes glowed yellow, and he leaped to the side, evading the machete. After the leap, Viktor quickly turned toward the instrumentalist, who widened his eyes upon seeing the swordsman rushing toward him.

Viktor's eyes stopped glowing, causing the swordsman to furrow his brow but still advance. However, a huge shadow with red eyes appeared on his side and shouted, 'You won't escape!' It was the bald man, already bringing the machete down violently toward Viktor.

In an instant, the swordsman's eyes glowed again, focusing all his strength into one leg, bending his body forward.

However, the machete continued its descent, but before it struck its target, a stone flew quickly, hitting the bald man's hand. He widened his eyes as he felt his fingers twist from the force of the stone, giving Viktor enough time to step forward, making a quick advance that took him out of the bald man's reach.

Viktor advanced toward the violinist, and the bald man roared, turning to the side, where he saw Alma, bathed in sweat, but with her eyes still gleaming in a throwing position.

The bald man quickly turned back with hate written all over his face, but before he could advance, he felt his legs being pierced. He saw Alma in a lower position, driving his arrows into the back of his knees. Surprised, the bald man tried to counterattack, but his strength faltered, and his eyes stopped glowing. He turned back to the instrumentalist, whose instrument was now held by Viktor, his eyes glowing yellow.

In an instant, Viktor struck the instrumentalist with his own guitar, tossing him aside, causing him to fall to the ground, still trembling and then passing out.

Viktor threw the guitar on the ground, which had broken upon hitting the instrumentalist's face. He clicked his tongue and turned to Alma, who knocked out the bald man with a kick to his chin.

"Did you finally get annoyed in a fight?" Alma said, turning his face to Viktor, who shrugged and continued, "Yeah, a bit."

Viktor threw the guitar near Alma's foot, who looked curiously, walking up to the instrument. However, as he approached, Alma took a step forward. Alma widened his eyes and felt a strange chill. He looked back, seeing Elioth still sitting on the tree with a faint smile on his face, making Alma click his tongue and say, 'I see.'

Alma took another step toward the guitar and focused his eyes on Elioth, noticing that his aura reached where the bald man was previously standing, causing him to furrow his brow as he said.

'The extent of this warmth reached where the bald man was, and it limited when he got closer, so only we suffered the effects.'

"Thanks to that, they had the advantage, but as soon as I stepped out, knocking this one down was a piece of cake." Viktor walked over to Alma, crossing his arms, and said, "What was the intention behind that?"

Elioth continued to smile and gradually drew his aura back into his body. Nina slowly felt the warmth decreasing and sighed, placing her hands on her knees.

"I just wanted to test how you would fare in a dangerous situation. If it were the three of you against those two in normal conditions, they wouldn't have had a chance. But you managed to overcome that; you were smart," Elioth said, leaning against the tree. "Adverse situations are common in war, but as I said, they also serve to strengthen the Diyo. That's why warriors during wars become stronger even without time to train. It's like an energetic survival instinct."

"And for that, you put the three of us in this situation? Even if we were stronger, they were adults and were striking to kill. What if any of us had been hit?" Alma asked seriously.

"You said you wanted to get stronger. We have two weeks; I don't have time to teach about auras and other abilities. But I will teach you something that can become powerful if used correctly," Elioth leaned on his staff. "The time to reach the capital is two weeks; I'll guide you to the next mission, and after that, we'll proceed."

Alma continued with a furrowed brow and crossed arms, but soon Viktor approached, saying,

"So we'll continue on the path to the capital until the next mission, and only after completing it, will we move on? But if we take more than a day on a mission, we'll lose the enlistment time." Viktor maintained a calm expression, crossing his arms. "I guess we don't have much choice but to face this training, right?"

"Well, you can, but you seem to be short on time. I'll train you, but that's all I can do," Elioth said again, maintaining the smile that made Alma click his tongue.

"Can we at least know what the next mission will be?" Nina asked, pushing her hair back.

"Of course, don't worry. It's a bit easier than Wolverine; we're just going to hunt down some goblins."

"Just a few goblins?"

"Yeah, truthfully, we're going to retrieve something they have."