“So, you’ll be having a duel, eh?” Idia strode between the two of us and rubbed his chin. “I remember that I was in a fair amount of duels in my youth. It’s an exciting time—”

“I honestly couldn’t give a single shit,” Ezra said.

“Sir Idia, please don’t waste our time.”

Idia raised his hands. “Yeah, yeah. I get it. Fine, on the count of 3, you’ll fight. Understood?”

Ezra whispered under his breath, “[Polymorphism].”

His needle expanded in size to that of a small dagger, it would do the trick for now. Charles drew his straight razor against his thumb and a thin red line appeared. He looked at Ezra’s weapon.

“You’ve been picking up all sorts of little skills,” Charles said.

“You haven’t?”

Charles clenched his fist around his straight razor. “What can I say? Not all of us can be so lucky.”

Ezra stopped the needle-twirling and shifted his grip to allow him to fight. This would be an easy fight, extra stats or not.

Idia glanced over between the two of them. “Well, I’ll begin the count now. Best of luck to both of you.”

His eyes lingered on Ezra and his needle for a bit too long.

Ezra glared back.

Idia smiled.

“One,” he said.

Charles shifted his feet.

“Two.”

Synica crossed her arms.

“Three.”

Ezra dashed forward, his feet gliding over the ground and his needle pointed directly at Charles’s face.

Charles cursed and threw up a rapid parry, redirecting Ezra’s blow. Ezra jumped back and pointed out his weapon.

“You bastard! You could’ve cut my eye out!” Charles said

Ezra laughed like a possessed man, high and shrill.

“I’m sure that Yuki has an ability that can heal those kinds of wounds!” he said. “It’ll just take a few months to get there.!”

Charles leaned his head forward, leaped back, and readied his weapon.

“[Ranged Cut]!”

His straight razor glowed blue, and he slashed out with it.

Ezra’s instincts screamed at him and he threw up a block, even though Charles was too far away to reach him. There was a shimmer of blue, and Ezra felt metal strike metal. He held up his needle and the pressure disappeared after a few seconds. He jumped back into a ready stance and his eyes scanned over Charles’s form.

Charles dashed forward and slashed out, his razor unusually fast and precise.

Ezra stepped back and dodged the strike, then the next, then the next. He was on the defensive, he had to turn things around.

“[Restrain]!” Ezra said.

Yellow glowing threads burst out of the ground and wrapped around Charles. His eyes flashed.

“[Cut]!” Charles said.

His straight razor sliced through Ezra’s threads as if they were non-existent. Ezra’s eyes widened.

Charles leaped forward and stabbed out with his razor. It glanced off of Ezra’s needle, and then Charles swung out his other hand and bashed Ezra’s jaw with a haymaker punch.

170/210

Ezra leapt away. He held his hand up to his jaw and pressed against his injury. It would bruise, certainly.

“Lucky shot,” he said.

Charles looked down at his hand, then gripped it. He looked back at Ezra.

“I’m gonna make you hurt,” Charles said. “I’ve had it up to here with all your superiority complex bullshit. You’re not better, you’re not smarter. You got lucky, and that’s it.”

Ezra’s hand twitched, and he dashed forward, his needle pointed toward Charles’s neck.

Charles’s eyes widened, and he blocked, sliding the needle off his razor—

Ezra reached forward and punched Charles in the nose.

240/260

Charles held his nose and glared at Ezra.

“That did almost no damage, you—“

Ezra stabbed forward with his needle and it sank into Charles’s chest. After a moment, Ezra pulled out the needle and kicked Charles away.

Charles rolled along the ground, then pushed himself up. He gripped his side and snarled at Ezra.

180/260

“You think it was still luck?” Ezra said.

Charles coughed, then adjusted his grip on his weapon.

“Fine, maybe you were a little bit tougher than I thought,” Charles said.

Ezra circled Charles. Charles circled him in turn. His eyes were weary, cautious. Every time he stepped, there was a small wince where pressure was applied to his wound. Ezra smirked. If that was all it took, then this would be easy. He tensed his legs, then ducked low and swung up.

Charles’s eyes widened. He parried the shot, then kicked to sweep Ezra’s legs.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Ezra grinned and jumped up into the air. His weapon was pointed down. He’d strike like a meteor. Charles stepped to the side, then cut upward. Ezra landed directly into the cut. The wound sliced through his flesh, almost reaching the bone. He hit the ground with a thump.

100/210

Ezra rolled clear, then stumbled to his feet. Pain spiked up and down his arm.

[Calm] washed over him. Had to keep his mind clear.

Charles heaved a few deep breaths.

“You gonna give up, now?” he said.

“[Entangle].”

A handful of thick threads launched up and tried to wrap around Charles. Charles snorted and was already moving his hands to—

“[Web Trap].”

Webs blossomed behind Charles’s arms, linking his wrists to his shoulders and preventing him from moving his razor. Ezra dashed forward and pushed his needle into Charles’s shoulder. Charles screamed at the top of his lungs. Off to the side, Yuki shut her eyes and winced.

This was it. There was nothing he could do! Charles had lost—!

There was a flash of crimson light, and Charles had broken free from his bonds. He lashed out with his fist. This time, the strike was stronger than before. Much stronger.

30/210

“That’s enough,” Synica said.

She stepped forward.

Ezra had to resist the urge to fall asleep.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Idia giving him a little smirk. His hands were glowing the same shade of red as that flash from earlier.

He’d been sabotaged.

Ezra let his consciousness slip away.

----------------------------------------

Charles slashed out his razor.

[Razor Mastery] has leveled up!

Charles was in the castle courtyard. The flowers surrounded him in full bloom while a training dummy sat in front of him. After Ezra had collapsed, they’d been rushed back so that they could receive healing magic. Ezra hadn’t woken up. Every time Charles shut his eyes, he could see those glowing red orbs staring back at him in the distance. The Grimwolf was massive, so huge, so dangerous. Charles wasn’t a coward. After all, he beat Ezra. Didn’t that mean he was the strongest?

Yeah, he took that weird drink, and things definitely got a bit… strange… at the end.

But he still won, and that was all that mattered.

“What’s up with that nasty look on your face?”

Charles resisted the urge to slash out at the voice.

“Dorian,” he said.

“Charles.”

Dorian smirked, her rapier hanging loosely at her side. “Should I point out the obvious?”

“What?” he said.

“Oh, just the fact that Idia helped you.”

Charles’s head snapped toward Dorian. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Dorian reached up and played with a loose strand of her hair. She looked at a random piece of shrubbery.

“Do I?” she said. “Come now, Charles. You’re not an idiot, no matter what Ezra says. You can relate basic cause and effect just as well as anyone else.”

Charles sucked in a deep breath.

Dorian continued speaking. “Ezra… haven’t you seen the way he moves? The way he acts? He’s not scared at all. It’s terrifying. He’s truly unique, I had no idea that he was so interesting.”

Charles clenched his fists together.

“I’m not scared,” he said.

“I never said you were.”

Charles opened his mouth, then shut it.

“You want to talk about interesting people?” he said. “Dorian, you think we haven’t noticed that stupid grin you have on your face?”

Dorian’s smile disappeared.

“You like being here,” Charles said. “You love killing monsters and fighting. You don’t miss your family. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Dorian’s rapier blurred as it flashed out of her sheath. She stopped it right next to his neck.

“You don’t know a damn thing that’s going on inside my mind,” she said.

“But am I wrong?”

Before either of them could come to blows, there was a loud boom to the right.

Charles blinked and looked over.

“What was that?”

----------------------------------------

As Ezra’s mind began to wake up, the thoughts swirled in his mind. His loss. Stip Idia. Synica’s warning. The conclusion settled in his brain. He needed to make a run for it. The thought had been in the back of his head for a while, but Idia’s interference had made it clear that this wasn’t a safe place. What were they providing that Ezra couldn’t get on his own? Well, food and water… and shelter… but Ezra was pretty sure he’d be able to find that stuff! It would be fine. Totally.

He opened his eyes and looked to the left and right.

He was in the hospital wing.

So then, escaping. Well, how did he go about doing that?

The queen did seem to imply that he would be able to walk away… but he didn’t believe that for a moment. He especially doubted that he and his needle would get away together, and his weapon, as odd as it was, would still be useful for his ascent. In the long run, he might throw it away and get something more practical, but for now it would serve his purposes well.

For a moment, it seemed like his needle had pulsed with a yellow glow.

Ezra ignored it.

So then, now that he was firm in his decision, the next move was to figure out how he’d escape.

He got the feeling that simply walking out wouldn’t exactly go over well. Perhaps he could set up some sort of distraction? Like what? For a brief moment, he considered setting up some kind of homemade bomb using household chemicals until he realized he was trapped in the medieval ages and that such a thing would be impossible under those circumstances. Ezra glanced over at one of the torches on the wall. Perhaps he was overthinking things. Of course, if he was caught, it wouldn’t be pretty. But then again, when did things ever go well for Ezra? He might as well shoot for the moon.

Ezra pushed himself out of his bed and pulled the torch out of its metal holder.

He glanced around briefly, then reared his arm back, torch in hand.

He chucked it at one of the beds. Ezra walked off and behind him, he could feel the heat of the rapidly spreading flames. On his way out, he ripped off one of the sheets and wrapped it around himself.

His makeshift cloak dragged against the ground as he slogged forward. His eyes flickered from left to right, and he found himself biting his lips together. The sound of metal clacking against stone entered his ears. Ezra drew the cloak around himself.

As the guard passed him, she didn’t even bother to look at him.

Ezra let out a quiet sigh of relief. That would’ve been an uncomfortable conversation.

He continued walking forward. Shouts of alarm echoed through the halls and a bell started ringing in the distance. Ezra tried his best to keep his gaze down. He didn’t want to look suspicious, obviously. A handful of guards rushed past him, Ezra didn’t look in their direction. Eventually, he reached the front gates. Two guards were looking back and forth. One of them tapped his metal foot against the ground.

Aaron - Guardsman - Lv. 13

Shit, did Ezra think this out properly? Maybe they would think he was suspicious and hold him.

Well, there was only one way to know for sure.

Ezra marched forward, keeping his posture slumped.

He could feel their gazes watching him as he walked. Their angry stares seemed to be penetrating right past his cloak. Yet, they weren’t saying a thing.

Ezra felt the tension drain out of him. He’d be safe—

“Halt, stranger,” the guard said.

Ezra paused.

“Yes?” he said.

“Identify yourself.”

“I’m a traveler from the east. I came here and was allowed in by my nephew.”

The guard gripped his weapon tighter.

“Try that on someone else,” he said. “You’re staying right here—“

“[Restrain]! [Entangle]!”

Both of the skills activated and the guards slammed into the stony floor, dragged down by Ezra’s threads.

Ezra broke off into the direction of the town square, his makeshift cloak fluttering behind him.He didn’t have long. He didn’t remember off-hand how long his abilities lasted, but he’d bet good money that they had a way to bypass his powers anyway.

The world around Ezra seemed to blur as he ran. A handful of shopkeepers and travelers looked at him in shock.

Ezra didn’t care. He ducked into the nearest alley. Behind him, he could hear the footsteps of guards if he strained his ears.

He glanced behind himself and cursed.

One of them was right on his tail.

“Right then. [Polymorphism]!”

His needle increased to something a tad bit bigger. Ezra looked around and spotted a wagon containing small chicken-like animals.

Except the chickens were half his size. And they had vicious, sword-like talons and demonic eyes.

“[Restrain]!”

Two bars of the wooden cage stopping these animals from running through were linked together, then cracked and destroyed under [Restrain]. The chicken-monsters squawked and ran after the nearest moving thing. Namely, the guard chasing Ezra.

“Agh! Damn you, whoever you are!” the guard said.

Ezra didn’t look back to see what was happening, he had a pretty good idea of what was going on based on the screaming and the squawks. After a few more minutes of running, he paused and rested his back against a wall. He breathed deep gulps of air, panting. His sweat dropped to the ground, and he resisted the urge to fall over.

Despite his tiredness, he grinned. He’d made it. He’d escaped.

That was when, of course, he was slammed through a wall and into someone’s house.

100/210

Ezra groaned and tried to push himself up.

“Well, Ezra,” a voice said. “I’d say that I was disappointed, but I was honestly expecting this from the start.”

Idia stepped forward, blowing away the dust and rubble with a single step.