It had been 8 days since the incident.

One golden rank adventurer accompanied by three silver ranks came to rescue him and his party...

“I still don’t understand what happened though”, a muscular, blue-eyed man asked Alaric while they walked around what seemed to be a castle.

“I don’t know either”, Alaric replied following with a question. “And I’m still confused though... why did that blonde girl bring me here? ”.

“I think she did because you have to report what happened and since you’re not experienced you come as a witness”, the light brown-haired man replied.

“Ohhhh”, he said. “But if I wanted to leave I could leave, right?”.

“Uhhh... no sir. Look, I’m Nicholas de Hattes” he said. “My duty is to assist you...”.

Alaric suddenly interrupted him.

“Woah that’s interesting. I’ve never seen a noble act as a bodyguard before. It’s an honor”. He said, sarcastically.

Nicholas stayed in silence while they kept walking.

They arrived in a big room with high walls, the colors on it were a vivid red.

Straight ahead there was the blond girl, kneeled to someone sitting on the throne.

Nicholas and Alaric started walking towards the girl.

When they were close enough Nicholas started talking.

“Your highness”, he said. “Pardon my interruption but I have a couple of questions”.

“Go ahead”, she said.

“Our guest here is asking when he will be able to leave”, he asked.

“Oh is he that guy?”, she asked.

“Yes your highness”.

“Ohhh. Then he must consider himself one of a lucky guy, there are not too many copper rank adventurers that have had a duel with an apostle and lived to tell the tale”.

“It wasn’t much of a duel”, Alaric said. “After the first couple hits I awakened my card and unleashed my sword and after two more hits they left....”.

“Wait...”, the princess stopped him. “Card...? And what do you mean they left? They just... left?”.

The blonde girl, kneeled, was listening to the conversation and she started talking too.

“Yeah it seemed weird your highness”, she said. “I’ve never seen a copper rank do something like that”.

“Right?”, the princess added.

“Nor Yamato or Ritsu knew what was that. Shinji was unconscious and I was petrified. I’m a golden rank and I never saw something like that before”.

Alaric was trying to explain the situation but the conversation between them seemed private and since she was the princess he couldn’t just interrupt her.

After the princess was done talking with the blonde girl and looked at him, he tried to explain them.

“Let’s see”, Alaric said. “The card is something I learned while I was in the dimensional prison a year ago and I used it one time”.

Alaric since he was a kid has always been a smart one. One day while he was accompanying one high-ranking mercenary he saw her do something he never saw in his life. She manifested a powerful spell from a card which at least must have been level 8 magic even though not any normal human had surpassed level 5 magic —which would be the maximum for a human to be able to use without lethal consequences—.

He didn’t know much of it because when he asked they just told what that kind of power could be, they didn’t tell him how to get it.

After a month he had a contract in another country so he decided he would pay a visit to the oldest library on the continent to research it.

After countless hours of research, he found everything that could be found regarding that topic, it wasn’t enough but at least it was something.

When he was captured and put in the dimensional prison for two years he realized he had time to practice everything he had learned in the past and to master it.

Time passed, and Alaric tried the boldest move he could’ve tried, he made a blood contract that almost cost his life, he even passed out a couple of times during the time he was doing it but, judging by the reward it was completely worth it.

The princess spoke.

“You’re a copper rank right?”, she asked Alaric.

“Yes”.

“Then it can’t be an original spell, only the elite of the elite are users of original spells”.

“Original spell?”, Alaric asked.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Yeah”, she replied. “Those are spells that can only be used by the user and are exceptionally powerful”.

“Ohhh”, Alaric said.

“But I don’t think you should be able to have one”, she said.

Suddenly, another person entered the room, she seemed hurried and mad so everyone looked at her and followed with their eyes.

Alaric noticed the golden, cylinder-like, thin, and long necklace hanging around her neck moving violently.

She stopped when she was close enough for her voice to be heard, she didn’t notice Alaric so she kneeled before the princess, then spoke.

“Your highness, I don’t think you should give much attention to that copper rank adventurer”.

“Ohh, why’s that Cornelia?”.

“That adventurer was just lucky and there’s nothing special on him so don’t waste your precious time with him”.

“Are you sure?”.

“Yeah, it could even be an elaborate ruse...”.

“I agree with her”, Alaric said from behind. “So I’m just gonna go...”.

Alaric turned his back on the princess and started walking towards the big doors, he would finally be able to leave that boring and annoying place.

“Oh so you’re the guy”, Cornelia said before standing up and walking towards him.

The closer she got the easier was for Alaric to notice the little details about her.

She was wearing a long-sleeve white shirt with a brown semi armor on top of it which the only part of her body that it didn’t protect was the area of her breast until her neck. She had long, slightly messy white hair. She seemed at least, displeased with the fact that Alaric was even standing in the same room as her and her expression let that clear for everyone around.

When she was close enough, her light green eyes and Alaric’s purple eyes were in the middle of a staring battle, and she just stopped and looked at him right in the eyes hoping it would intimidate him.

“What is your name?”, she asked.

“It’s common courtesy of the person asking to say their name first and then follow with a question, don’t you think?”.

At that moment she was getting angrier and angrier, the fact that a copper adventurer was standing in the same room as her displeased her and on top of that, he was testing her patience because only higher ranks than her would talk down to her and treat her like a kid.

“Cornelia Stanford”, she said.

“Alaric Darkfeather”.’

“What are you don’t here?”.

“That girl brought me here to report what happened 8 days ago, and since I was traveling with her party I had no other option than come”.

“I can’t stand you, I don’t know why I just can’t stand you but since it’s the princess’s wish you’ll stay until further notice”.

“Nope, I won’t”.

Everyone in the room looked at Alaric, surprised, and then looked at Cornelia, they were curious about what would happen next since she is a short-tempered person.

“What did you just say?!”.

A negative affirmation was taken as an insult to nobles, and it was even worse if it was done in front of a member of the throne.

“I said I will not stay here any longer, I need money to survive and I earn money with quests and since I’m here I can’t do any quests”.

Cornelia started to take off one of her dark, cotton gloves.

She threw it to Alaric’s face and it hit him, then it fell to the ground.

When a person took one of their gloves and threw it to someone it meant that she was challenging the other person to a duel. The method was used among nobles and knights or any people related to the royal family in any way. Picking the glove meant that the challenge was accepted.

Alaric looked at the glove in the ground, then looked at Cornelia.

“Are you gonna pick it or not? I wouldn’t be surprised if you chickened out as you did with the apostles, coward”.

“Those are bold things to say, Cornelia”, He said, then he slowly bent over to pick the glove.

“So what are the conditions? The challenged person decides the conditions of the duel if you want to use something that gives you an advantage you can”.

“No conditions”.

“Ohhh yes indeed, you just signed your death sentence”, she said. “If I win you’ll do anything that I tell you to do”.

“And if I win... I’d say I want to leave but I came up with a better idea....”, Alaric said, while smiling. “I want you to pay me from your own money every day that I stay here as if I was doing quests of my rank”.

“There’s no chance you can win but I accept, I’ll wait for you at dawn in arena number 7, if you don’t show it’d count as an automatic victory for me”.

“Haha alright”.

Time passed, and the time came.

The sun was setting and the wind was bringing leaves from afar as Alaric walked into the arena.

“I’m surprised you showed up!”, Cornelia exclaimed from afar.

Alaric remained silent.

A third person walked into the arena, it was Nicholas who was going to be the person who dictates the winner.

“The first one of you to leave the arena, pass out or admit defeat will lose, leaving the opponent in a critical situation is allowed, killing is not. You both understand the rules that have been dictated?”, Nicholas said.

“Yes”, Alaric and Cornelia said at unison.

“Then, begin the fight at any moment”, Nicholas said and then stepped out of the arena.

Cornelia unleashed her sword which looked like a basic sword. She charged her attack and In the split of a second, she was in front of Alaric going for an upper slash.

Alaric back-stepped—which was a common move for people that were so confident about their skill that they didn’t want to create space in between with the opponent, instead they dodge the attack by a couple of inches risking their head—.

It was a surprise for Cornelia to see that not only he dodged her attack, but he was bold enough to not create space in between them so she charged another slash this time a diagonal one coming from the bottom up.

Alaric barely dodged that one, and then he charged a punch to the left side of her body.

Cornelia reacted and blocked the incoming blow, it made her step back involuntarily.

She was angry, so she yelled at him from the other side of the arena.

“You won’t use spells or a weapon?! Who the hell do you think you are!?”.

It wasn’t just a matter of pride, Cornelia was part of the order that personally protected the royal family so she was supposed to be one of the strongest people at least in the citadel, and on top of that he was a copper rank and she was a golden rank, it was humiliating that the fight even lasted. The princess, the blonde-haired girl, and some other of her colleagues were watching the fight because they were curious about the copper rank that lived after encountering three apostles.

“Fine,” she said to herself. “I’m gonna show you the power of the number 24th servant: The Hybrid”.

Cornelia jumped in the air abnormally high, then her voice was heard from above.

“Goblins and lightning, Shock!”.

A bolt of really powerful lightning was coming to Alaric’s position from above at an incredible speed.

Alaric quickly back-stepped again and he heard Cornelia at his right side as if she predicted his movement.

“Fire Ball!”.

A giant ball made of fire approached him quickly and when he thought of jumping over it he heard Cornelia again with her hands placed on the ground.

“Snow bite!”.

Alaric’s feet were grabbed by hands made of water that as soon as they grabbed them, froze, immobilizing him.

The huge fireball was coming at him and he had no more than three seconds to think a way out, otherwise, that would dictate the end of the duel.

He thought about something.

“Goblins, shock bolt!”, he conjured.

A flash of powerful lightning went out of his hand and went through the giant fireball destroying it, then its direction changed to going up and Cornelia knew what was coming so she dodged to her right and the lightning landed where she was a second ago.

“Alright, I think it’s time to end this quickly”, Alaric said.

“I agree”.

Grabbed a card from his pocket with his left hand, and started talking with a soft voice.

“Destroy it all...”.

He, with his hand, started to do the motion of unleashing a sword in front of him.

Cornelia looked confused, there wasn’t anything in front of him but he seemed to be unleashing a sword based on the motion of his arms.

Her expression changed when she saw a concentration of dark energy in front of Alaric, where he put his hand inside and slowly pulled out what seemed to be a completely black sword.

“Venuzdonoa”, he finished.

Everyone that was watching the fight was surprised, no one ever saw a sword with that color, or a sword being pulled off from nothing.

Alaric got into a fighting stance, a stance typical of a pure swordmaster, and charged his attack.

Cornelia was afraid of what was coming next so she conjured another giant fireball so she could have time to conjure a defense spell.

“Fireball!”.

Alaric started running towards the giant fireball, and he cut it in half with a single slash.

Cornelia was not ready at all for a direct attack so she reacted the way she could.

She conjured a wall made of rock in between her and Alaric but he jumped on top of it then jumped in the air and disappeared.

She was anxious that she couldn’t see her enemy so she started looking everywhere and screaming.

Then, she looked up. A shadow was coming down in her direction but she couldn’t see what it was doing because it was using the brightness of the sun to cover its movements.

When she realized what was about to happen she tried to block the incoming attack but it was too late.

Everyone watching the fight was speechless, even Nicholas who started approaching Cornelia. He couldn’t believe it.

She started feeling dizzy, she looked at her right side and there was an arm on the ground holding a sword and after she saw Alaric behind her without his black sword, she passed out.

“Th-The winner is Alaric Darkfeather”.