Everyone remained motionless for a few minutes as our gazes met, each one daring the other to make the first move. As the bout drew closer, I felt a weight of nervousness in my stomach, and my heart drummed in my chest like a marching band. To my right, Zelke's eyes blazed with a ferocity that resembled a lion about to pounce. The thing is, Volken had a powerful aura of strength that made it clear he was no easy opponent. If I had to compare him to an animal, it would be like trying to capture the wind in a bottle - impossible and an injustice. He is akin to a small mountain that can not only withstand punishment by all manners of natural disasters, but dish it out too.

Taking a step forward, I felt the rough texture of the street beneath my heels. Immediately upon my taking the first step, the battle commenced. In that moment, Zelkes and Volken’s swords collided in a flurry of sparks. Volken wore a composed but sure expression, whereas Zelke was grinning maniacally. Now wasn’t the time to watch their battle, though.

I turned my body to face Airon as he slowly walked toward me.

“In the end, you cho-“

I cut off his sentence as I tried to stab him in his heart, but he managed to sidestep away from the fatal blow.

“That was rude, wasn’t it?”

“Don’t care.”

Not wanting to hear his annoying voice ramble on again, I continued with my attacks of thrusts and cuts. I spent a great deal of time reflecting on how he was able to evade all my strikes, although I was much faster than him. I paid close attention to his actions and discovered something unusual. Just before I could get into place to thrust, he would move before I began the pre-action. Finding it odd, running a test was obvious, so I went for a quick feint at his right shoulder. The Apithien made no effort to block. He had his eyes set on the ground.

“...So that’s what it is,” I mumbled. After the feint, I was going to dig my foot underground and kick dirt into his eyes. I did stick my foot into the ground but didn’t commit to the action.

“What you said before... About every Apithien having magic unique to each individual. I know what yours could be.”

“Oh?”

“You’re able to catch a small glimpse of the future, aren’t you? Maybe about one second, tops? Or is it half a second?”

A sudden jolt of astonishment showed in his eyes. The man paused right before he was going for a slash at my abdomen. He sighed in exasperation while ruffling his hair.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t be able to get it straight away. So, you know what my unique magic is. What about it? You can’t do anything about it.”

“Hmph. Are you sure about that?”

I raised my left arm towards the sky, with my palms facing up. Ten weapons materialized in a few seconds.

“Let’s see how proficient you are with that future sight of yours.”

I lowered my arm, and the mana blades flew toward Airon in a frenzy. His forehead was slick with sweat at the sight of so many weapons. The Apithien bobbed and weaved through the blades, but instead of coming out unscathed like before, he was now bleeding from superficial cuts. I increased the speed of the mana blades with my mental capacity as I drew nearer. Because I made the weapons with my mana, I can control them in my mental plane. Essentially, I’m able to fight while controlling them, though it can be taxing if I’m not careful. As mana sustains them, the time I can control them is inversely proportional to the energy consumed.

Airon was getting pushed back severely by the constructs. He had to lower his body to evade one of my weapons that was aimed at his head. That small sliver of an opening was all I needed. Increasing my speed to the maximum, I exploded with renewed vigor and bolted straight for the man. He sensed my presence and attempted to strike, though I effortlessly avoided the attack by maneuvering to his blind side. With his future vision, he turned around quickly, but I was faster. With an outstretched arm, I lunged my rapier at the man’s heart. The tip poked through the Airon’s skin, and he winced. I thought that I got through to him, but then it happened.

Unexpectedly, Airon managed to kick my weapon away from me, and it came to a rest against a lamp post. I quickly retreated away from the sudden disarm.

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“Man, you almost got me there!” Airon chuckled, straightening his posture.

“Your eyes...”

Instead of the usual lavender color, it was now a dark shade of blue. Are those eyes the reason he could kick my weapon away? How would that be possi-

“You used a mastery, didn’t you?” I said through gritted teeth.

“A mastery?” He responded, perplexed.

He doesn’t know what a mastery is? It’s hard to miss it when using the System... Unless they don’t possess it?

“What’s your Status like in the System?”

“System...?” Airon murmured. His confusion grew with each passing moment from the way his eyebrows were drawn together. Airon’s facial expressions all but answered my curiosity. The residents in this world didn’t have access to the System. I’ll have to confirm this later when I get out of here.

“Hiyaa!”

A sharp yell from Zelke made me flinch and glance in his direction. He was engaged in a fierce struggle with Volken, but was being overwhelmed by his tremendous strength.

“Is this all a warrior from Bellagros amounts to?” Volken mocked wit ha devilish grin. “Even the children from my homeland can beat you with their eyes closed!”

“Ridiculous,” Zelke grunted as he gave Volken a swift kick to gain some distance.

Unexpectedly, Zelke readjusted his posture and sheathed his sword. The warrior spread his legs far apart, his right leg stretched above the left. A concentration of mana was detected, and its source was the end of the sheath.

“Try to dodge, if you dare.”

Volken smirked at the taunt. “Heh. There’s no need to run away from your Aura Blade. Bring it on.”

Volken stood firm in front of Zelke, intent on not backing down from the challenge. Volken's provocation caused Zelke to seethe inwardly. In a swift motion, the man pulled his sword out of its sheath before my eyes could register it. The mana that was built up inside was now residing inside of Zelkes’ blade. After brandishing his sword through the air, a blast of magical energy flew towards Volken, who opened his arms widely. The attack made contact with his chest, but not a cut or gash was apparent. He simply laughed at Zelke’s futile efforts.

“As I thought, you are no match for me.”

In a flash, Volken disappeared from our sight. A few seconds later, he reappeared behind Zelke. Startled by the unexpected presence behind him, Zelke cut with a broad stroke. Volken gripped Zelke’s sword arm and clenched it firmly in his grip.

“What’s your pain tolerance like?”

A loud crack echoed as Volken snapped Zelkes’ arm like it was a twig. The warrior, instead of giving way to cries of agony, let go of his sword and seized it with his other hand, attacking Volken. The Apithien backed away, grinning at the sight of Volkens arm bending at a weird angle.

“A broken bone is far from enough to break a warrior’s spirit,” said Zelke. He spoke in a manner that did not suggest he was at all hindered by any injuries. It’s like a broken arm is the same as the arm not being broken at all. It was kind of jarring to hear.

“Zelke!” I yelled out. “Hold on, I’m coming to help!”

Ignoring Airon, I ran toward Zelke, but he yelled out in protest.

“Stay right there! Do not come between our battle.”

I scowled at the man’s stubbornness. “Screw that! You can yell or punch me later. Now isn’t the time to act like that.”

I summoned five more blades and hurled them at Volken, who was now staring me down.

“It’s your turn now, eh?”

Volken bent down and gently placed his palm on the street. A small army of golems made from the surrounding rubble clanged in the silence. Under his command, he ushered them to attack me all at once. Making a slicing motion with my arm, the blades whizzed through the golems like a world-class chef chopping ingredients with precision. As the golems disintegrated, a cloud of fine dust rose in the air, and all that remained was the debris they left behind. Through my peripheral vision, I noticed Volken seemed to be on the brink of creating more of them, yet I obstructed his progress by throwing a mana sword in front of him.

“I’ve said it once before, and I’ll say it again. You humans progress your magic at monstrous rates. I’m starting to believe you may even be stronger than an Apithien. It’s a shame, really. Not accepting my offer. If you were to train under my wing, you’ll be one of the strongest in Athiens!”

“I already have a master, and her name is Solgen,” I snapped.

At the sound of her name, a dark face fell onto Volken’s face. “Are you sure? Haven’t you heard of what transpired at Igni Town?”

What? How does he know about Igni Town?

My nostrils flared at a thought I hoped wouldn’t be true. “You... What did you do to Solgen and the others?”

Volken tapped his chin and said, “Let’s just say... you won’t be seeing them.”

...I won’t be seeing them? There’s no way he would’ve killed her. Especially since she had Morgac and Venny by her side. I can’t see how they would’ve lost to him unless he’s that much stronger than they are. If I want to get more answers out of him...

“You’ll tell me everything if you know what’s good for you,” I snarled.

“And what if I refuse?”

In answer to that question, I assumed a stance with the Damastril rapier.

“Zelke! Leave him to me!”

Zelke squinted at me and frowned. “As if-“

I glared at the man with such ferocity that even Zelke flinched at my intense stare.

“Well, there’s the aura of a warrior,” he said to himself. Zelke turned his body to face Airon. “Fine, I’ll leave him to you. I’ll settle with this one over here.”

“Thanks!” I called back, not taking my eyes off Volken. I don’t know why, but I feel like I can beat him on my own. Is it confidence? Or am I just looking for a death wish? Either way, I need to find out if Solgen and the others are alive or not. If I don’t do this myself, I know Solgen wouldn’t be happy.

Volken grinned from ear to ear and stabbed his sword into the ground. “Now, come! I’ll enjoy breaking you bit by bit.”