This was a room that allowed for use of smiters, but none of the spiritknight had expected to fight so soon. Darius had a skill that allowed him to get his hammer anywhere, so it didn't matter where he left it.

"Bring me my smiter."

Ricardo was looking at Darius but he was clearly ordering someone else. One of the guides then spoke, "But Sir Ricardo-"

"Bring it to me now harlot! Otherwise I will exterminate your entire family. The guide frowned but she shouted out some instructions through her communicator. A few minutes later, a black case was brought into the room and handed over to Ricardo. Inside was a knife attached to a string. According to Darius' knowledge, this was the weapon of prefference for all core members of the family.

"Where is yours?" Asked Ricardo. It would be dishonorable to fight with Darius disarmed.

Darius spoke what had been arranged, "It's already on me. Let's do this."

"Very well. Ricardo Maldini. Long Range Type Boom."

Darius focused and said, "Darius Omen. Short Range type Echo."

This was the tradition between spiritknights in a duel. Announcing your name, battle type and role.

Ricardo's middle finger was attached to a string. The finger went ablaze and the flame reached the curved knife. The entire smiter was aflame. With practiced motions, the fiery knife was flung at Darius. The latter dodged with relative ease. His objective was not to win this fight, but to once again stall for time. His opponent was merely a courage step spiritknight. There was no suspense as to who was stronger in Darius' mind.

The others were all like Ricardo, they had assumed that Darius was a courage step spiritknight as well. A spiritknight joining the Rangers at the honour step? This was an incredibly rare sight.

The chasm in ability between the two steps was massive. It was like the difference between an average human and a world class sprinter. The notion of a courage step spiritknight beating an honour step spiritknight sounded ludicrous to almost everyone. If Darius was an honour step knight, he would have mentioned it in his application, because the treatment he would receive would be very different.

"As expected of the Maldini Purgatory Flames. I can feel the heat all the way from here."

"Indeed, there would be no shame in admitting defeat under such circumstances."

"Not to mention the fact that Ricardo is a long range boom. He doesn't even need to leave his original spot to finish this."

The nobles discussed among themselves, each curious as to how Ricardo would dispatch his opponent. Things from Darius' perspective were different. There was only one thought in his mind.

"Weak, incredibly weak!"

Darius had been thrust into the murky waters of the inheritance ceremonies. Only the true inheritors would attend those ceremonies in the big noble families. Most of the people in the clan had no right to make a claim for power. Ricardo was one of those.

He was much stronger than the other nobles Darius had taken the test with, with the exception of Lara, but he still wasn't qualified to take the test. He was two years younger than Darius, but his potential had already been measured, his end was already determined.

Yet this didn't change the fact that he was a powerhouse among his generation. Even inheritors of minor clans were nothing to him. Nevertheless, he was fighting Darius Omen.

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The string was flinging the knife about, cutting into metal like a hot knife through butter. Despite this, Darius had not a scratch on him!

He had covered his entire body in spiritual essence according to the method inscribed in Thunder In A Clear Sky. The energy he gained from using this method was called Clear Sky Essence. It was a high quality type of essence that had many prerequisites. Darius happened to fit them. This technique of releasing spiritual essence was simple. Everyone watching the battle could do this, even the guides.

But to repel attacks from a Maldini spriritknight using their smiter wit this method, what the heck?

Darius didn't really need to do much. This was the gap between Honour and Courage.

All the others could see was a whirlwind of flames attacking Darius, but he stood there, unmoved, like it was beneath him to even gaze at the sky.

After 5 minutes, Ricardo stopped and looked at Darius, gasping for breath. Darius was the same. Standing in the same spot. The ground around him seemed untouched and there was even a scratch or a tear on his clothes.

The Maldini smiter, The Stringed Knife, was difficult to master, and could cause injury to oneself. Maldini's multiple cuts and minor wounds were evidence of this. He had injured himself with his own knife! But his tehcnique was superb considering his age.

This didn't change the fact that he looked like a battered loser. The observers were starting to doubt what they were seeing. Surely, even if there was a disparity, it shouldn't be this big right?

Darius stood there with his arms crossed and said nothing. All he had to do was stand there. He didn't want to complicate things by taking unnecessary actions. Luckily his patience was rewarded.

…

Jena thanked Wodin that she arrived in time. She saw what Darius and Ricardo were up to. Ricardo was stubborn and refused to give up so he kept on attacking. Jena walked up to the guides and told them the issue at hand.

The guides looked at each other and shouted, "Please stop fighting!"

Ricardo assumed they were pitying him and shouted back, "I refuse! I won't rest until I make him crawl on his knees and beg for mercy."

"How original." Darius thought. He had seen 'nobles' in TV dramas say such things, so he was actually kind of embarrassed. Moments were Darius Omen felt shame, truly rare indeed.

"Darius Omen is an Honour step spiritknight!" shouted Jena. Ricardo stopped his barrage and slowed down, as if he was a robot that was malfunctioning.

"Now it makes sense, now it makes sense!"

Ricardo started laughing uproariously like a madman. It wasn't because he was weak! It was because he was fighting an honour step powerhouse. He, Ricardo Maldini, was not weak!

"Hold on, if you are an Honour step knight what are you doing here.?" Said Ricardo while pointing his knife at Darius. The latter simply shrugged as if this had nothing to do with him.

…

It seemed as if an error had occurred in their system and placed Darius with the wrong group. His step level had already been measured many minutes ago with machines. But he was sent to the wrong group. These mistakes, although rare, did happen from time to time. Man was imperfect, so nothing man made could ever be perfect. This was a simple truth.

Ricardo was still unhappy. His smiter had been put away and a healer had already dealt with his minor injuries. He already had a new set of clothes on. But by the time he had changed, Darius and Jena had left.

"That piece of shit coward. He could obviously see our difference in strength yet he hid it!" Ricardo felt humiliated. As far as he was concerned he had lost a lot of face to this prank. The others all agreed, but what could they do? Offend a Maldini? Offend an Honour step powerhouse who still looked like a teenager?

With his youth and potential Darius could become a Valour step spiritknight in the future. Such a talent would definitely have backers. The waters of this empire were murky and ran deep. Every decision nobles made would have serious ramifications. Unions, marriage alliances, businesses and other interests for these families were all tangled together. None of them would antagonize either one of them.

Ricardo was different. He had a backing, and he planned to use it. He used his communicator to call a certain person. A deep but calm male voice answered, "What is it this time? You are old enough to clean up after yourself."

"Brother, someone just humiliated our family's honour. Please listen to what I have to say."

…

"Many apologies Sir Darius, This was a horrendous mistake by our staff. We beg your forgiveness." said Jena with a fawning expression. Darius smiled and said, "Don't worry about it. So what's happening now?"

Jena had apologized multiple times but she had to make sure. Darius seemed like he wasn't of noble birth, this much was obvious. If he wasn't a noble and that powerful, there was no doubt that there were powerful backers behind him. Only super powers could create such a young powerhouse according to her understanding.