“This is a free battle,” the guard said to Alnea and the Purplebird heir. “But it is still a battle in the end. Although the Arena will try to ensure your life, anything can happen in a battle. If you feel that you are going to be injured gravely, or might die, then do not hesitate to give up. Do you understand?”
“…Yes,” Alnea said, gripping gripped the hilt of his sword hanging by his waist, before releasing it again, only to grip it again, and repeat the process. Not as a form of exercise, but more as a form of relaxing his nerves. Although his Heart itself was calm, his body was reacting to the pressure released by the purple robed man standing in front of him, on its own. No wonder Vestia had kept warning him time and time again. The man was indeed strong. Stronger than even the Heterodox Wanderers he had met more than a month ago.
“Once the Arena decides that a battle has been settled, you cannot make any more moves, or you will be disqualified…”
“…A black robed kid, with a strange sword… I have heard of you,” the purple robed man said, ignoring the guard, while smiling nonchalantly at Alnea, as if what was going to happen next had nothing to do with him. “How long has it been since you came to the city… Three weeks? Or is it four?”
“…Five,” Alnea said, wondering what the man was about to say next. “It has been five weeks since I came to the city.”
“Five weeks… And you have already accumulated enough Points for us to meet in the Arena… How many times did you fight every day?”
“Not much… Just two or three times.”
“…No wonder you have earned the nick name of Crazy Challenger and Arena Madman. Some even call you as the Arena Executioner.”
“…Those names do not sound very pleasant.”
“No way, who made you kill five people in the Arena… Just be happy that the names are not more hideous.”
“…I also know about you… the perfect heir of the Purplebird clan.”
“Am I so famous?”
“…Remaining undefeated even in the face of Peak Stage False Wanderers, while being an Advanced Stage Wanderer yourself… You are indeed quite famous.”
“Those are just some empty claims… And even if they were not, those are nothing compared to the feats that you have accomplished, right?”
“…Stop being so hypocritical, Ryan Purplebird. I can feel it in your eyes, in the way you move, and in the way you smile… You just want to begin the battle as soon as possible, and prove yourself to be my better, right?”
“…I think we have a misunderstanding—
“Do not make me look down on you, Ryan Purplebird.”
“…Being with the Serpia girl has made you more and more like those from her clan,” Ryan said, shaking his head, with disappointment written all over his face. “This is not how Wanderers should behave… Have you learned nothing from the Weina girl?”
“Oh, she has taught me many things, including recognising hypocritical people like you.”
“…Let me ask you again,” the guard said, repeating his question. “Are you two ready?”
“…I am.”
“I have always been ready.”
“…Do you need me to remind you of the rules?”
“…No need.”
“…I know that it is probably useless for me to say this, but take it as an advice from a senior Wanderer to a junior Wanderer. Try not to kill any more Wanderers than you already have. It will only make things more difficult for you down the line.”
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…Killing other Wanderers would make things more difficult for him? Was the guard talking about the revenge from other Orthodoxies? Or was he hinting at something else entirely? It could not be problems related to his Heart, right? And it was not as if he had intentionally killed those Wanderers.
After he had killed the Whitebud heir, he had forbidden himself from using such a suicidal move. The girls had also warned him not to do anything so dangerous anymore. But without taking advantage of his robe, or revealing some of his stronger moves, as his opponents grew stronger, he was finding it harder and harder to win all the battles. In the end, as the battles grew fiercer, Alnea was forced to reveal some of his hidden moves. Even then, there were times when he almost lost his battles. Facing such fierce battles, how could he care about his enemies?
Every time he fought, he had to fight as if it was his last battle. He had to fight with the intention to kill. That was the only way he could ensure his wins. At best, he could only keep himself from not using any suicidal moves. And if the Arena still failed to stop his attacks in time, how was he to blame for their deaths? Then again, the guard was just trying to help him. There was no need for him to be rude. So, for the moment, Alnea kept his thoughts to himself.
“…I know.”
“…Are you assuming that I would lose before we even begin the battle?” Ryan said, sneering at the guard. The guard had no intentions of reacting to Ryan’s disrespectful behaviour though. He just let out a sigh, and shook his head, before backing away from the stage.
“You can start.”
Not caring about what his enemy was doing, Alnea reached out to the Blood Crystals flowing in his blood, fifty in total, all of the Perfect Grade, and urged them make his blood flow faster, all the while urging his Aspects to flow along his veins, and his muscles, relaxing them, preparing them for ‘Streaming in the Sky’.
Sky Streaming Style, a Martial Style that he had not used in over a month. And had no intentions of using it anytime soon either. At least not until the Star Seekers ventured into the desert. But when he saw the wings of lightning unfurling behind the Purplebird heir’s back, he knew that he could not hold back anymore. And as he had expected, with a smile streaking across his face, Ryan bent his knees, and lowered his back, before vanishing from the stage.
Right in the next moment, the man was already behind Alnea, reaching out towards his neck with lightning flickering over the purple claw extending from his hands. Fortunately, his blood, flowing like a river, forcefully stretching out his blood vessels to two to three times their usual size, boosted his reflexes enough for him to react in time. Stepping over the ‘Skies’ of the stage, he ‘Streamed’ away from the flash of lightning just before the claws of lightning could reach him. But he did not dare to relax.
Stepping back onto the ground, he changed his direction, and Streamed through the Sky once again, dodging another… gust of empty air. The attack that he had been expecting, did not come. Because the man with the wings of lightning behind his back, just stood there, looking at him with a mocking smile.
“…I have to say, I am impressed. I did not think that you would be able to dodge my attack. Was that another Martial Style? How many does this makes? Thirty? Fifty?”
“…I also did not think that you would just stand there, instead of chasing after me,” Alnea said, observing his opponent in detail. The purple robe with the crest of a bird covered in lightnings, the lighting wings, the lightning claws… Purplebird clan indeed. As a clan standing at the apex of all the Grand clans in the Fifth Sector, it was no wonder that just one of its many heirs was so strong. Much better than the heirs of the Lotus clan. But that was to be expected.
Unlike the declining Lotus clan, the Purplebird clan had both, strength, and an incomparable status. At least within the Fifth Sector, it could be considered as the Lightning clan’s representative. Meeting one of its heirs so early in the Arena, it could only be said that Goddess Ilea was not too happy with him. Had he not made some breakthroughs in the Blood Crystal Martial Styles recently, he might even have given up the battle at the beginning.
Fortunately, dedicating more than two hours a day just to Forge his body with the Blood Crystals was finally beginning to show its results. The increase in his physical strength aside, the greatest improvement he had made in the past month was the increase in his body’s capacity to handle the energy of the Blood Crystals. And greater energy of his Blood Crystals meant greater control of his blood.
With the energy of fifty Perfect Grade Blood Crystals, all coursing through his vein, he was able to increase his blood flow, and in turn, drastically improve his reflexes. At least enough for him to use the Sky Streaming Style. The only reason he had not used the Martial Style before was because he did not wish to reveal it to the Lotus clan, or any other potential enemies that might be watching him. Facing the Purplebird clan’s heir though, Alnea decided to finally stop holding himself back.
“Chase after you?” Ryan said, with his smile turning into a smirk. “Why? Just because you dodged my attack?”
“Is that not obvious?”
“…Then do you think I should continue pressing my advantage, and take you down in fell swoop?”
“That is how Wanderers usually fight.”
“…But would that not be too boring?”
“…Being underestimated so much makes me feel a little irritated.”
“What are you going to do about it then?”
“…Give you a fight so exciting, that you will regret missing your first, and only chance.”