Chapter 013:
Clive’s smile froze as he felt an inhuman amount of strength being transmitted through the young knight’s blade.
“So you were holding bac-” He wanted to continue mocking but he was shut up instantly by being blown back. The young hero roared savagely before following through with a ruthless slash of his sword.
Clive barely dodged the attack, but just as his footing was off balance, he felt a blow to his side which lifted him off the ground. Still refusing to relent, the hero then headbutted Clive who hollered in pain, once more being flung back.
After barely coming to a stop a step away from the ring’s boundaries, Clive grimaced before spitting out a mouthful of blood. His eyes were a mixture of anger and disbelief.
In response to the deadly look being given to him, the hero roared again before charging over.
Meanwhile, outside the ring things weren’t less hectic. Erika held her hands together before her chest with a worried expression on her face, in contrast, Eleanor held both of hers clenched on either side with anticipation gleaming in her eyes. Still, she failed to completely mask her elation at the sight of Clive’s sorry state.
Iron-wall’s king was interested in the fight but not overly so while his counterpart, Clive’s father, was as calm as one could possibly be; almost as if he held no interest in the fight whatsoever.
In contrast to the foreign king’s nonchalance, the knight standing by his side was keenly interested in the scuffle.
Alexander was uniquely the most confused despite knowing the most. He was still conflicted over how to treat this hero but he did have to admit that the use of berserker rage had improved his opinion of the runt.
What concerned him more however was how odd everyone was being. Usually, the valiant hero would immediately dispatch his foe after breaking through and shock the crowd into silence.
‘But that isn’t the case here’ Alexander pondered, studying the young prince.
Clive was still holding on and despite the initial shock, he was even still calm overall, leading one to believe that he still held the upper hand.
‘What if he isn’t meant to be the kid’s stepping stone…’ Alexander thought to himself before a figure drenched in darkness appeared from his memories of old. ‘What if he’s…’
“I will admit,” Clive said as he once again regained some distance. He was in worse shape than before as scrapes and bruises covered every exposed part of his body. “You are indeed strong. Out of respect, I will also stop holding back,” He announced as his posture grew firmer and he stood taller.
‘He’s the kid’s rival!’ Alexander concluded as ethereal green winds converged atop the young prince’s head, condensing into the shape of a green, glowing sphere.
“He’s actually going to use his Wisker!” Erika exclaimed in shock while Eleanor was plunged into despair.
“My turn!” Clive ignored all of this before disappearing from his spot. He suddenly appeared before the young hero with his blade mid-swing.
Alexander was also surprised but, not by the fight.
{New skill unlocked!}
His busy-body system announced all of a sudden.
{Assessing current skill level…}
{Assessment complete!}
{- Innate Skills: None.
- System skills: Communication (Common-Below average), Charismatic Leadership (Uncommon-Below Average)
- Skill List: Evasion (Common-Advanced), Hand-to-Hand Combat (Common-Novice), Eyes of Discernment (Uncommon-Advanced)}
Curious, Alexander focused on his newest skill, prompting an explanation.
{Eyes of Discernment: With the User’s vast amounts of experience as a basis, User can now peer into another’s skillset}
A flash of realization dawned on Alexander’s face, ‘Woah to get this skill so early on is really lucky!’
Hurriedly using his new skill, he looked toward the ring.
{Grace of Sylph: Speed increased by 25%. Duration: 600 seconds. Cooldown: 3600 seconds.}
‘Well that is certainly broken,’ Alexander thought to himself as his gaze focused on Clive’s rapidly moving figure. ‘Even more so considering the fact that it is a percentage buff so it’ll scale nicely. Must be a bitch to advance though especially if what I’m thinking is true…’
Shifting his gaze over to the young hero who was being mercilessly beaten into a pulp, he read:
{Berserker's Rage: Strength increased by 20 points. Duration: 60 seconds. Cooldown:43200 seconds. Side effects: Loss of one’s rationality during activation, Fatigue during cooldown }
‘Meh,’ Alexander thought after he finished reading. It was clearly a step up from having the title: {Berserker} but it wasn’t as good as the title: {Demonic Berserker} which would be far more useful later on into the apocalypse.
That being said, the fact that it was a skill and not a title was a good thing as if the kid did ever get a Berserker title, the two would stack.
‘But sixty seconds is a bit short,’
Just as he thought of that, the young hero’s savage expression faded as he began to faint.
‘It’s over,’ Alexander admitted with some relief.
Clive smiled victoriously as he lifted his sword up high. Erika clapped awkwardly while Eleanor gnashed her teeth.
‘This is still fine,’ While Alexander was still conflicted over how to handle the hero, he still felt that his having a rival would be good to keep the runt motivated should that ever be something Alexander wanted.
Yet amid the cheery atmosphere, Clive’s smile suddenly froze as he looked over to his father. A second later he nodded his head gravely.
What happened next takes time to describe, but in truth, it took seconds to occur.
Clive disappeared from where he stood and the king of Iron-wall realised what would happen next and started to speak.
But before the king had even uttered a word, Nox was already rushing over with impressive speed. Opposite to him was the Graveclaws knight who had stood by his king; he was now also heading toward the ring.
‘Vicious old fuck!’ But the fastest of them all was Alexander, who conveniently stood closest to the ring. Before he could think of anything else, he had already pulled his system up: ‘{Status}!’
{User Status-Main Attributes:-Vitality: 6; -Strength: 10; -Durability: 3; -Agility: 6; -Stamina: 3;
Bonus Stat Points: 50}
{Bonus Stat Point usage registered: User Status-Main Attribute: -Agility: 6 + 10 = 16}
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{Remaining Bonus Stat points: 40}
He knew that adding more would be risking his body’s safety, so he made do with just adding ten into agility.
His bones creaked and his muscles whined with newfound vigor as he dashed toward the ring.
Thankfully, the hero collapsed at the ring’s boundary closest to Alexander, so he made it there in less than a second.
But even that was cutting it close as Clive had already reappeared above the hero with his sword mid-swing.
‘Is he slowing down?’Alexander thought in surprise before seeing the look of reluctance on the young prince’s face.
To add to the madness, Nox and his opposing knight arrived as well and the two clashed beside Alexander and Clive.
The shockwave which emanated from them trading blows was enough to knock Clive slightly to the side which allowed Alexander to sneakily wrap his hand around the young hero’s collar, pulling him to the side.
The matter ended with the king of Iron-wall calmly finishing his word.
“Enough,”
The lone word, though not loud in volume, reverberated throughout everyone’s mind.
Nox and his foe parted quickly before they returned to their station, as if nothing went wrong. The king of Graveclaw’s expression was still calm but when the king of Iron-wall gave him a deep look, he revealed an apologetic smile.
In the middle of the ring, Clive looked toward the hero with a complicated expression on his face.
Yet the most conflicted of all was none other than Alexander who held the young hero’s almost unconscious body.
“Hey kid,” Alexander said softly.
The hero did not answer but the fact that he opened his eyes slightly was enough.
“What’s your name?”
“R-rus,” he said with great difficulty, “But some people call me rusty,”
Looking at the kid’s unkempt auburn hair, Alexander let loose a hollow laugh.
“Aight, watch this,” He said before standing.
Memories of the past flashed through his mind; memories of when he was beaten, mocked, and spat on; memories of when the world seemed to hate him and Nammu. He had only wanted one thing then.
He knew that what he going to do now was irrational, he knew that it would put him at great risk. After this, he might not be able to live his life as leisurely as he had been.
But fucking hell was he pissed!
“Sorry to interrupt, Clive,” Timothy’s voice was frighteningly calm. “But it seemed like such fun. Mind if I join?”
Clive was taken aback as he gave Timothy a look up and down, assessing him. Afterward, however, he shrugged as a mocking smile spread across his face. “Sure, pick a weapon,”
Clive was still in good shape overall and even Alexander knew that he still had more than five minutes left to freely use his skill.
Alexander nodded as he cooled his head. Approaching a nearby table, he studied the various types of dull weapons. He moved to pick up a random sword but as his hand passed over a spear, he quivered.
{New skill unlocked!}
{Assessing current skill level…}
{Assessment complete!}
{- Innate Skills: None.
- System skills: Communication (Common-Below average), Charismatic Leadership (Uncommon-Below Average)
- Skill List: Evasion (Common-Advanced), Hand-to-Hand Combat (Common-Novice), Eyes of Discernment (Uncommon-Advanced), Spear-Play (Common-Master)}
Alexander scoffed at the low rating before turning away from the table.
Clive frowned before asking, “What’s your deal?”
“Nothing, I just remembered. I don’t know how to use any weapons,”
This sudden confession prompted mean-spirited laughter from both Clive and, surprisingly, Eleanor who immediately covered her mouth and donned a wronged expression.
‘Oi, your mask is slipping!’ Alexander rebuked her mentally.
Elsewhere, the worry in Erika’s face intensified, and even Count Schuyler was frowning; by his side, the king of Iron-wall was also frowning while the king of Graveclaws sported a disinterested expression. Nox seemed to be considering something.
However, this all failed to register with Alexander who entered the ring casually.
“Alright, then I guess I’ll go easy on you,” Clive said as he sheathed his sword.
Now standing face to face with the kid, Alexander was genuinely surprised for the second time this day.
Though Clive was sneering, his eyes were seriously scanning through Timmy’s body, looking for threats.
‘He’s unexpectedly diligent, huh,’ Alexander thought while he said out loud, “K,”
Slightly peeved by Timothy’s casual tone, Clive smiled mischievously before disappearing from his spot.
Alexander looked at the fist hurtling toward him with passive interest.
‘Boring,’ He thought mildly as he shifted his head slightly to the side, dodging the attack before using his shoulder to charge forward. ‘Boy that increased agility sure does a lot,’
Clive’s eyes widened but he was unable to fully stop his momentum, his abdomen clashed against Timothy’s shoulder and he fell to the side.
A gasp of amazement came from the crowd, but Alexander himself was more surprised by the fact that Timmy’s body was still standing despite being hit at such speed.
“T-that…” Clive heaved between breaths “That was just luck,”
Alexander nodded in agreement, “Yes, you are indeed lucky to still be conscious,”
This time both Erika and Eleanor laughed loudly. Even the two kings and the count seemed amused.
“You dare mock me?!” Clive said with a red face as he unsheathed his dull sword.
“Careful now, you might hurt yourself,” Alexander replied.
“Die!” Once again Clive rushed forward recklessly.
However, Alexander saw through his ruse.
He had already noticed how Clive wanted to alter his trajectory slightly mid-charge so as to catch his side by surprise.
Still, this disproved one of Alexander’s theories: At first, he thought that the young prince was still unaccustomed to his powers and thus all he could do was rush forward in a straight line. He had assumed as such given experience from his previous life where most speed-related skills came with the inherent disadvantage of tunnel-vision, wherein the extreme boost to speed caused one’s sight to be limited to what’s in front of them.
But this was clearly not the case for Clive which meant one of two things.
Either Clive had trained to a higher than expected level of mastery using the skill or he was just naturally talented in using the skill.
Both options surprised him, but neither discouraged him.
‘You’re still a hundred years too young to try that shit on me, kid,’ He thought as he turned toward the side and tilted slightly while sticking one foot out.
As predicted, Clive came from the side with his sword swinging down. The sword passed harmlessly through where Alexander’s body had been and dug into the ground, while Alexander’s outstretched foot caught Clive’s, causing the latter to tumble awkwardly down. This time, he did not intend to go soft on the young prince as while he fell, Alexander reeled his other foot back and prepared to deliver a devastating kick toward the kid’s noggin.
Clive was too busy falling to dodge, and with all ten points of strength backing Alexander’s kick, this was bound to do some damage.
Erika screamed while Eleanor cheered.
Unfortunately, Alexander could not afford to pay them any mind as above him, a looming shadow suddenly appeared. It was precisely the knight accompanying the king of Graveclaws.
‘Now!’ He thought to himself as he pulled up his system:
{Equipped title’s effect has been activated!}
{User Status-Sub Attributes: -Fire resistance: Unquantifiable, -Fire affinity: Unquantifiable}
{Conversion under process!}
{Conversion complete!}
{User Status-Sub Attributes: -Fire resistance: Unquantifiable, -Wind affinity: Unquantifiable}
With that out of the way, Alexander instantly began to sense the particles of Clive’s wind Wisker more clearly. With great difficulty, he exerted his control over them.
He forced the unruly winds to coat his body, making him lighter and faster.
'It worked!' Instantly, his speed shot up violently, but he still wasn’t done!
{Bonus Stat Point usage registered: User Status-Main Attribute: -Agility: 16 + 10 = 26}
{Remaining Bonus Stat points: 30}
Had he done this before coating himself in Clive’s powers, his body would have broken in two, but with the winds of Sylph supporting him, he somehow pulled through.
“Haaaarrggghhhhhh!” But even still the pain was immense. With unprecedented speed, Alexander ducked fiercely, narrowly dodging below the menacing knight’s fist.
The knight was sporting a heavy helmet that obscured his face, but even still, Alexander could feel his surprise radiating outward.
“You should have used your sword!” Alexander spat along with some blood as turned and smashed his shoulder heavily into the knight’s body.
He heard his shoulder shatter but he did not care, continuing to drive his body into the knight's.
As expected the big lug of a knight was strong, as despite Alexander’s enhanced speed, he still could not move the fucker far.
Worse yet, the bastard was recovering balance fast.
‘Oh no you don’t!’
{Bonus Stat Point usage registered: User Status-Main Attribute: -Strength: 10 + 10 = 20}
{Remaining Stat points: 20}
His muscles churned and snapped but power was still being unleashed. Bloody gashes tore throughout his body as his muscles rippled in exertion; he was truly giving everything he currently had to fully knock the knight off balance.
Perhaps frozen by utter shock, the knight was actually being pushed back.
After a couple of steps back Alexander finally stopped advancing.
“There ya go!!!” He exclaimed as he concentrated the very last of Sylph’s grace around his arm, increasing its momentum greatly.
“Eat this!!!” He screamed as he smashed his fist against the Knight’s helmet.