“Really, Cole?” He looks at me with amused eyes and his whistling gradually became louder and louder seemingly enticing the request of Isabel who was looking at the sky.
“Prince, Its time for my entrance.” He says with a faint smile. He positions his wings for his second grand entrance and as he takes a step he disappears in front of me. I feel a strong gust of wind coming from the hole which was near me and I hear Isabel’s awe filled voice praising Cole.
“Shrike is amazing!”
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“Uriel, I have a mission for you.” The atmosphere inside the throne room suddenly became serious with father’s words. He glances at everyone in the room and continues to speak.
“I cannot tell the details here, head to the Merits Department and talk to Blaire. She’ll brief you about your mission.” He says with a wary expression. I nod in agreement and head out of the throne room with Cole following behind me. The Merits department is a separate building fairly far from the palace. It’s located up north almost at the very edge of the kingdom, it has its reasons for being placed there.
“Let’s head to my room first, so I could change into proper gear.”
"Understood."
We walk through the corridors and greet the passing maids with a warm smile.
"They seem to be more cheery today, have you noticed it Cole?"
"Prince, I apologize. This is my first time in the palace."
"Oh, right" I chuckle awkwardly. As we turn left the door to my living quarters comes into view. As I was about to open the door to my room a sudden shout assaulted my ears.
“LET’S SPAR URIEL! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL.” He shouted with vigor. A tall owl with black feathers wearing a white cape and leather armor appeared behind me. He unsheathes a training sword and points it at me. Wait a minute isn’t that mine?!
“Chris isn’t that my armor and cape you’re wearing? How the hell did you get that?” Chris flinched when I noticed that he was wearing my gear. Unlike his sister, Chlea, Chris was her polar opposite. Chris is boisterous unlike Chlea who was always contained.
“FIGHT ME FOR IT URIEL! ILL ANSWER YOU IF YOU WIN.”
“Aren’t you tired of losing to me Chris? I can even fight you without a sword, think of it as a handicap” I wink at him and crack my knuckles to taunt him.
“FOOLISH! A MAN MUST FIGHT ON EQUAL TERMS.” He removed my leather armour and cape and threw his training sword away and raises his fists.
“What’s our current score in our duels?”
“I HAVE WON A TOTAL OF 83 TIMES AND LOST 84 TIMES I’M PLANNING TO MAKE IT EVEN HERE URIEL!” He shouts with pride. He was grinning ear to ear, this guy really loves fighting doesn’t he?
“Looks like you came here to give me another win huh? Declare a proper duel and let’s start.” I go into a fighting stance and fix my breathing. I look at Chris with anticipation.
“URIEL PLUME, I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL” A soft glow emanates from Chris as he sets up the conditions of the fight.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
You have been challenged to a duel by Chris Ozul
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[Accept] [Decline]
Duel Conditions
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Participant that drops below 60% Health loses.
The match lasts for 3 minutes, If no participant reaches the health threshold by then the duel will be considered a tie.
As the duel’s countdown ring in our heads, the bell is struck and this signals the start of the duel.
Ding!
Chris dashed instantly towards me. His fists tries to reach my face but my reaction is faster. As his fists collide with the air I counterattack and kick him from below, he blocks it by crossing his arms to cover his torso. The blow from my kick broke his guard and I connect it with another kick, this time he tries to grab my leg as it travels to his flank and succeeds. He smiles at me as he successfully grabs my leg.
“Gotcha!” Chris then proceeds to spin around while holding my leg and slams me into a wall.
[You have lost 12% of your health]
I cough as the hard wall collides with my back. Chris was still holding onto my leg attempting to do the same maneuver, but I don’t let him. As he tries to spin again I jump and lift my other leg high up into the air. Chris notices the counterattack and desperately tries to gain spin momentum, but it was too late. The heel of my foot crashes down into his head stunning him for a second and loosening his grip from my leg. I escape his grip and distance myself to fix my stance as he snaps out of a stunned state.
[You have dealt massive damage]
“Did that hurt?” I taunt him as I rush back into melee range. I lift my right fist and aim it at his cheeks. He raises his right fist to intercept me as I rush to him, I duck to avoid the blow and his left fist came from below. His right was used as a feint. As his fist lands on my cheek, so does my fist land on his. Both of our heads shook with the amount of force in our punches.
[You have lost 8% of your health]
[You have dealt damage]
Both of us at the same time jumped back to distance ourselves at each other, and we exchanged glances. We both rushed to towards one another and exchanged fierce blows.
[You have lost 2% of your health]
[You have dealt damage]
[You have lost 5% of your health]
[You have dealt damage]
…
Punches were hit left and right, our bodies were moving constantly to soften the blows. Chris and I had done considerable damage to each other and it’s about time one of us loses. We rushed at each other again, but this time we were more cautious. Fierce blows were sent but none connected. Chris tried to do another feint but it didn’t work this time, I dodged his fists coming from the flank and counterattack with a kick. The kick barely missed as he moved back to dodge it. I spun and ready another kick and Chris does the same. Our kicks collide midair and both sides didn’t want to falter. As we both release our legs from the collision Chris ran towards me trying to grapple me down. This was a desperate move from him, both of us were on the verge of losing. As his grapple connected, it wasn’t enough to push me down. The force of the collision dealt damage to me but it wasn’t enough to drop me below 60%. I push him off of me and grapple him too. I grabbed him by the waist, he tried to struggle but it was only in vain. I lifted him up and I fell backwards slamming Chris to the cold hard floor.
[You have dealt massive damage.]
You have won the duel against Chris Orzul!
Unarmed Combat has levelled up!
Proficiency increased!
As the duel announcement was heard in our minds. I stood up fixing my clothing and extend a hand to help Chris stand up. Chris was lying on the floor with an expression of disbelief staring at the ceiling. He was muttering something I couldn’t understand. He took my hand and I pulled him up. He returned my belongings back to me, and said.
“A 2 win lead, this is the first time this ever happened” Chris said with a dejected tone, his face suddenly looked like he realized something and his smile returned. He shouted
“I’LL DO BETTER AND GET A THREE WIN LEAD, WATCH ME URIEL!” He picked up his training sword on the ground and started running towards, what I believe to be his training spot.
“That grapple should’ve put you below the threshold right?” Cole looks at me with a curious gaze.
“The grapple from Chris almost made me lose it was a close call but I still managed to win” I chuckle.
“So how much health did you have left?”
“60%”