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Despite El’s endless attempts to keep his daughter at bay, Ariana couldn’t hold back her excitement.

Could you even blame her? The city was buzzing with life!

On both sides of the main stony road, you had these rows of shops, selling everything from fresh veggies to exotic spices, meats and other sorts of products. The vendors were loud and proud, shouting their deals to anyone who'd listen.

And boy, did they know how to pull a crowd! countless people were piling up in front of their stands.

From what I understood from asking Ada, the system here was the same as back in Silvermill, 100 coppers for 1 silver coin, 100 silver for 1 gold coin.

“2 coppers for one stone of lamb!”

“Fresh apples ! come on “

“Pineapple for the men! Buy one today and make her sway! “

Wait.. what?

Anyways..

It wasn't just one road, though. Nope, the city had this whole network of streets, each with its own vibe. Take a turn to the right, and you'd find yourself surrounded by weapon and armor stands, as well as blacksmith shops with a nauseating rusty scent oozing out of them. On the left, There was a line of fancy jewelry stores.

With the clouds covering the sun, I tilted my head back. It was my chance since the sun was blinding !

The buildings were high, higher than those in Silvermill. With ropes extending from the left building to the right, hanging from each were small triangular flags with the dragon crest painted on them. I guessed they were Inns or apartments as there were multiple open windows with people talking to each other through them.

“Are you coming today?” said a lady on the left side

“Well OB-VI-OUS-LY ! I can't wait to see sir Julian! aaaaaa”

“AAAAAA I wish my husband was like Julian!”

Poor husband..

Moments later, the carriage stopped in front of an inn.

We've reached the travelers' inn, Gav" said the man riding the carriage.

“Alright then, let’s hop off" said Gav as he handed the man a silver coin.

After we emptied the bags from the carriage, we entered through a large wooden door.

The aroma of tasty meals and aged wood filled the air. The interior had a cozy feeling to it, with the light rays coming from the windows crisscrossing the ceiling, and a fireplace at the end of the room warming the atmosphere.

A black bearded innkeeper with a huge figure greeted us with a smile, his apron had stains all over it.

“Ai! Welcome, travelers! Come to rest after a tiring journey, have you?"

“Yeah, one room of three and another for two” said Gav

“Alrighty then, first floor, second and third room to the right. two rooms next to each other, a service on the house”

“Mind telling me where the nearest barn is?”

“Ai! just in front of the inn, you can’t miss it”

“A couple pints to ease the heads, Ai?

“Spot on” replied Gav as both of them bursted laughing.

As we started moving our belongings to the rooms, the old man said “You lot here for the exam, aI?”

“Yeh, it’s my son’s first time”

“That tiny lad? He old enough?”

“Six years old” replied Gav with a wink as he waved his hands at us to move.

The old man stood there, frozen in time with an open mouth and wide eyes, as he was trying to grasp the situation.

Since the exam wasn’t till the next morning, we each took the time to rest. Then, Gav and El went to the bar, while the rest of us took the chance to explore the city more. Honestly, it was one way for me to take my head off the test and all.

The next day, we marched to the entrance of the arena.

It was giant. the outer walls towered over us, it was like a fortress with its aged stone.

It kind of makes you feel overwhelmed.

As we got closer, a distant sound of the crowd echoed through the air.

“Alright, Lu let’s go to the participants entrance” said Gav

“No no I’ll go alone, it’s okey”

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Well, I can’t let them see me accompanied by my dad can I?

As I separated from my family, I got quite nervous. Well, more like excited !

“Good luck, Lu!!!” I heard Ariana as she was waving her hands with her little jumps.

I waved back at her with a smile and went to the entrance.

“Name, age and current rank” said a grumpy man at the door.

“uuh.. Luka Glynn, six years old, this is my first test”

“si..six??”

“yes sir”

“Alright go ahead!, Here put this emblem on”

As I entered through the entrance, in a large courtyard, filled with participants of all ages, sizes and ranks. Some were chatting nervously with their companions, while others were stretching and practicing their combat moves.

The crowd stretched all around, filled to the very last seat.

Suddenly, the courtyard went quiet. The air felt thick as the tension rose.

Then, a loud trumpet blast signaled the start of the exam, and the participants began to make their way towards the entrance of the arena.

The one thing they didn’t tell us was when our fights would begin, or at the very least how long do fights generally last.

“I wonder when…”

“Ladies and gentlemen, warriors and knights, for the very first spar of the exam we have a surprise for you ! A one in a thousand! A prodigy ! Please welcome the little neophyte three. THE SIX YEAR OLD LUKAAAAAAAA GLYYYYYYYYYYYNNN-euuuuuu”

Come again? right off the bat?

I quickly reentered the courtyard. The cheers were loud.

“He’s young..” “Holy guardians…” “Am I drunk?..” The screaming of the spectators was all over the arena.

“Lukaaa, good luck lu!!” I lifted my head up to see Ariana and Ada waving at me!

Ahah it sure felt good to have people supporting me.

“And on the other side, the fierce, the monster, The neophyte two, BaRRRRRRRage Molderrrrrrr!”

I swear this announcer is really good at making anything seem dramatic. A neophyte can't be a mo…

Suddenly, a shirtless giant bursted from the gate and stood in front of me. From the look of it, his palm was larger than my entire head.

A neophyte with muscles as big as his? a brainless meat loaf I assumed.

Then, he turned to the left, and bowed!

..huh?

I turned to the announcer and he was doing the same.

“Bow to the king kid!”

I turned around, and there he was. up on the colosseum. a middle aged man, with a brownish beard and long hair. He was wearing a golden crown with a reddish cape. Two other distinguished men were sitting next to him. On the right, the hand of the king and the first general of the madanian army. On the left, a similar looking man to the king but with more of a grumpy face, his name was Randolph Vermont, his brother.

But what intrigued me the most were the two royal guards behind them. One was quite larger than the other, fully covered in silver armor while the other had his helmet off, his long straight yellow hair cascading on his back. As I kept gazing at them, the yellow haired guard tilted his head toward a little. The subtle movement of his neck sent chills down my spine.

“Hey..”

His aura was intimidating…

“Hey.. kid!” said the announcer

“Remember, the first to surrender is the loser. You rank will depend on your performance and the winner will continue to fight”

Oh yeah, I completely forgot about this. I have to focus now!

“Both ready? now FIGHT!”

As I stood guard, my opponent started walking towards me.

“This ain’t no place for a kid, go home and suck on mama’s tiddies”

An intimidation attempt, the oldest trick in the book.

“Let’s have fun!” I replied, trying to lighten the mood. “This is just a test after all”

“You are mistaken, this will just be a one sided slaughter!”

Suddenly, he clenched his legs, tensed his muscles and raised his fist up ready to attack.

“I warned you kid!”

He launched his big punch at me with full force. But I could see it coming… it was slow, more like in slow motion. He was wide open, I could think of a million counter attack patterns.

This is nothing compared to sparring with Gav.

In the blink of a moment, I turned my upper half just a bit dodging the punch.

I could see his surprised face. Then, I followed by a full blown uppercut right into his chin rendering him unconscious.

The crowd went silent. “YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY” I heard Ada and Ariana yelling, then the whole colosseum bursted with screams and cheers. “AMAZING !!” “ONE PUNCH??”

“LUKA! LUKA! LUKA!...” They cheered my name continuously.

At that moment, I felt proud. It was my first win after all! I took a glimpse at Gav, and I noticed his little smile.

“THE WINNER ISSSSSSSSSS LUUUUKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-ughughu”

My guy, just stop already, you even bit your tongue.

The day continued, fight after fight. I sparred three times and won each one, well, even though I struggled a tiny bit in the last one but it was fairly easy.

And now I have reached Neophyte one, just like that !

From what I comprehended, each time you win you gain points, and of course depending on the rank of your opponent. When the points surpass a certain threshold, you rank up.

Anyways..Whenever I wasn’t fighting, I had to stay in the underground waiting room. I could hear everything was happening though. One participant in particular got me interested. He was the son of the king! His name was Leonard Vermont. But that wasn’t the reason I was intrigued by him. In Fact, he was a level three apprentice at just ten years old who had also won every single fight in a matter of seconds.

From the general perspective, he was considered a prodigy too.

And just as I guessed, my next opponent was him. They must have decided that I needed to defeat an apprentice at level three to move up to the next rank.

When the time came, I walked into the courtyard. As I saw him enter the area, a guard pulled him aside and whispered something to him. He looked afraid for a moment but quickly regained his composure.

He then stood in front of me, and before the referee could announce the start of the fight, he taunted, "You call yourself a prodigy, huh?"

What was he on about?

"How about we make things a little more interesting" he proposed.

He signaled to the guard, who brought in two swords, and threw one in my direction.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Well, you see, from the apprentice level, all kinds of weapons are allowed. And I’m sure a prodigy won’t have a problem with one, right?"

I gave him a steady look, then picked up the sword. As I examined it, something bothered me. It was a carbon steel sword, popular for sword-making in my previous world. In fact, creating such a sword isn’t simple, though this quality wasn't as pure. Despite all the similarities between the two worlds, I hadn’t expected this world to have the same knowledge in sword making.

Nevertheless, I quickly refocused on the fight. I pointed the sword at him. "Bring it on."

Leonard struck first, launching at me with a flash step and swinging his sword. I parried quickly, glided my sword along his blade, and with a swift turn, I swung back, but he quickly stepped back.

"Not bad" he said. "You s—"

Without giving him a chance to finish, I rushed in to attack him. "Fucker" he muttered.

Our swords clashed continuously. It was intense. The voices of the crowd grew quieter as the sound of our swords slashing echoed through the arena. There was barely enough time to breathe.

As the fight progressed, and we hopped from place to place, I overwhelmed him. With sheer force, I pushed him to his knees, our swords crossed.

A stressed look appeared on his face. "I can’t lose, my uncle told me to win… Loss is not an option" he said.

"What is he saying?" I murmured to myself.

Suddenly, he grabbed a handful of sand and threw it at me. I reacted quickly, but it was enough for him to seize the chance and counterattack.

And with sand in my face, he overwhelmed me.

I could barely fight back...

I could barely see...

What should I do?

That’s when I remembered what El had taught me. "When you seem like you’re losing in a fight, you have two choices. One is to give up and die, the other is to give up and win." I also remembered I had brain fog listening to him say that too…

But wait... maybe...

As Leonard kept attacking, I loosened up my guard, opening a way for his sword to my torso. His eyes widened as he clenched his hand for a hard right swing, and that's when I took the chance. With a steady grip with both hands, I planted the sword into the ground, rendering it immovable. When his sword hit my blade, the shock from the impact threw him off, and his sword flew out of his hand. I quickly grabbed my blade and followed with an upward attack, reflecting the sun into his eyes.

"My eyes!" he screamed.

As I was about to strike him, a guard interfered in a blink of an eye and stopped my attack with his hand.

"That’s enough" he said.

The crowd burst into screams and shouts. I backed off, the sword fell from my hand, and I just stood there, barely able to hold myself up from the fatigue.

Suddenly, Leonard picked up the sword and launched at me with a surprising attack. “DIE”

The guard immediately grabbed his arm and lifted him up in the air “I won't repeat myself”

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