Ackster’s—to the others—seemingly well-founded confidence and the anticipation for the answer he would give to the martial artist’s question retained the adventurers who were still deliberating whether to sit this one out or not.
“Hugo.”
The leaves on the ground and branches on the trees caught the gust of wind that decided to swing by right then and added a much-needed dramatic effect to Ackster’s name, which not everyone had heard when he said it the first time.
However, even with the leaves blowing across the ground in the silent stillness between the two sides, no one was awed by Ackster’s fake name since no one had heard of him before this.
The martial artist chuckled awkwardly.
“Is that short for something?”
“No.”
“Are you maybe not from around here, then?”
“I guess. But will my answering these questions help you gain courage, something any martial artist worth their salt should have, regardless of the circumstances? Or are you seeking justification to add another scar to your back as you flee while burying your shame?”
Ackster’s judgemental words damned the martial artist.
Not all martial artists were honorable and full of justice. But many believed in straightforward attitudes when fighting and interacting with others—that they should let their fists talk if honesty doesn’t do the trick.
“...I guess you got me there. Ah, my name’s Tenrick, by the way.”
Tenrick slumped his head in a mix of shame and general awkwardness before introducing himself.
“I’m Willow. Nice to meet you, Hugo, Tenrick.”
The knight took the opportunity to introduce herself with a nod of her helmeted head. Ackster saw a couple of eyes gleam through the horizontal slit on the upper half of the helmet, but he couldn’t even tell what the color of her eyes was, much less the color of her skin or hair. She was entirely hidden by a polished suit of armor the color of silver without any adornments or details.
Ackster didn’t answer with more than a nod before looking at the Crimson Edge and the adventurers on their side. If what Tenrick had said was true, and all four members were strong and skilled enough to fight against people with a majority of their skills and stats at A-rank, despite not being the same, he might be in a little trouble. As someone who had just reached C-rank and could fight against what he was sure was B-rank beasts and monsters, or at least close to it, Ackster didn’t feel very confident fighting the Crimson Edge upfront.
Things had also turned into a clear distinction between two sides instead of the chaotic one-for-all that he had tried to set up. He reflected on his choice of words and realized they had been too polarized. Ackster had framed it as either fighting against the Crimson Edge or with them. He had also taken a leading position by stepping forth and standing out.
‘It is what it is.’
Ackster couldn’t do anything about it now, and as long as he was careful when the fighting began, the end result wouldn’t matter. No matter what, as soon as he had stood up to Hansel, he had guaranteed their duel. Now, it remained to be seen if it would be a fair duel between two men or if either side would get help from their surroundings.
“Let’s get this over with then. Tenrick, Willow, do you want to help me fight those four?”
“No.”
“I would prefer not to, Hugo.”
“Good. I’ll deal with Hansel. Tenrick, you can juggle the axe guy and that sword twink, right?”
“No.”
“Tough shit. Do it.”
“And I’ll deal with Moira, then?”
“If that’s her name, yes. And help Tenrick as soon as you’re done.”
Tenrick sighed at Ackster, who didn’t even think about letting them pick their own fights. He gave them their orders as naturally as breathing.
“You seem awfully confident in us despite meeting us for the first time.”
Ackster shrugged.
“More like you give those crimson clowns more credit than they’re due.”
Although Ackster could sense that the Crimson Edge guys were pretty strong, noticeably so when compared to Tenrick and Willow, there was no reason to tell the two who could potentially help him turn the tables that they were doomed before even fighting. As long as they believed they could do it, they would try their best.
Even if they didn't succeed, they would hopefully give Ackster enough time to defeat Hansel, who should be the strongest of the four.
Ackster glanced from side to side across the stretch of no man’s land that had opened up between the two sides like a road he was going to cross. Crimson Edge and the adventurers on their side blocked his access to Karandiel, and if they wouldn’t let him pass, he would have to make them.
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He also looked behind to see all the adventurers, who agreed with him that they should settle this before the dome disappeared and that the strongest and most worthy should get their hands on the treasure—all of it—as they readied their weapons or magic. Since they seemed intent to fight for themselves and were confident enough to fight the Crimson Edge and the other adventures for a chance at the heavenly treasure, it was more than likely that their individual strength was greater than those who threw themselves at a chance to get money for fighting on Crimson Edge’s side.
Despite the Crimson Edge’s rumored superior strength, there was still hope that Ackster’s side could emerge victorious. Or, at least, not get squashed like bugs.
Ackster nodded at Tenrick and Willow before starting to walk forward while staring down Hansel.
“Since you seem content with sitting around on your ass and licking each others’ toes, I guess we’ll make the first move. Hansel, was it? You and me, buddy. I’ll show you what the strength of a real A-rank is like, not some phony you bought to inflate your ego.”
Some lies and insults were enough to get Hansel’s nostrils flaring.
“You, an A-rank? Spare me this bullshit. The only thing you could possibly be better than me is at eating shit.”
Ackster held a hand to his mouth in disgust.
“I’m sorry. I have no intentions to compete with you at that, you disgusting freak.”
Ackster was pretty sure he could hear Hansel grit his teeth at the implication he ate shit on the regular.
Before Hansel could try and say something to convince the other adventurers that he wasn’t a shit-eating freak, Ackster stopped wasting time. He wanted to get rid of all the adventures—if possible—before the dome fell and revealed Karandiel’s existence to the world. The fewer witnesses there were, the fewer he would have to silence. He also had the element of surprise on his side if he attacked when Hansel was still flustered.
Unfortunately, Ackster underestimated Hansel a little too much. Although he didn’t emit enough pressure with his sheer existence to threaten Ackster, Hansel was still an experienced veteran. And the reputation that alone was enough to sway people to his side, despite his clear untrustworthiness, wasn’t for nothing.
Hansel reacted as soon as Ackster took a step forward and lowered his spear, pointing the tip at Ackster and preparing for his charge.
Ackster’s pupils narrowed and focused on the spear, its gleaming red diamond-shaped blade reflected in his eyes.
Battlesight didn’t activate, but it felt like the world slowed down as he sidestepped Hansel’s thrust. Keen Senses and Strong Body’s general amplification of his overall physique helped him deal with Hansel’s first attack with relative ease. He also caught the sideways sweep out of the corner of his eye before it could reach him, and he ducked below the spear, running with his body parallel to the ground.
He bumped the spear shaft with the butt of his palm, but he wasn’t in an optimal position to unleash his full strength. However, it was still enough to get him one more step closer to Hansel.
It was Ackster’s first time fighting against other humans armed with weapons. But he knew enough to know that a spear’s most obvious disadvantage was when the opponent closed the distance. If he could get inside the spear tip’s range, Hansel would have a harder time attacking him.
So, he averted Hansel’s vertical strike and attempt to deter him from getting closer with the wrist protection on his gauntlets. His arm trembled under the blow, and if he had taken it head-on instead of deflecting it by angling his forearm, he would have been unable to block it, despite the short acceleration distance Hansel used.
He couldn’t confirm if Hansel and the Crimson Edge had earned their reputations. But he could tell that Hansel was stronger than him. And, if the smooth and direct movements of his spear and the way he reacted to Ackster’s movements were any indications, Hansel was also more technically skilled than him.
Ackster was managing by using his skills that increased his body’s strength, agility, reflexes, and sturdiness to close the distance. But so far, Hansel hadn’t really tried to put up much of a defense. He had just waved his pointy stick around to keep Ackster from narrowing the distance while stepping back twice to keep Ackster at bay with the tip of his spear.
However, since he was running forward, as opposed to Hansel, who was stepping back, Ackster moved faster. Since he was running, Sprint increased his speed enough to close the gap between him and Hansel while avoiding the latter’s spear.
After Ackster deflected his blow, Hansel swung back with a horizontal strike that would have been quite dangerous if the spear tip had hit Ackster instead of the shaft. Even when the shaft, relatively close to where Hansel was holding onto the spear so there wasn’t much leverage behind the strike, hit him, Ackster staggered.
He quickly regained his balance, but only after taking a step to the side to prevent himself from falling over.
Unfortunately, that was all the opening Hansel needed, and he sent Ackster flying back with a kick to his chest.
“Is this all you’ve got? You’re no better than a wild beast.”
Hansel scorned Ackster before the latter could even get back on his feet, which he did as soon as he stopped rolling backward. Ackster stood up and dusted off his armor with an unbothered expression.
“I could say the same. I was just testing the waters, but I didn’t even get my toe-hair wet.”
Hansel didn’t answer with words. He lunged forward and thrust his spear toward Ackster’s chest. This time it wasn’t just the natural shine of the metal that glistened in the light from the late afternoon sun and the golden yellow dome.
‘Mana?’
Ackster realized what it was as the mana formed a slightly translucent red layer on the speartip. If it hit, he wouldn’t walk away, able to dust off the damage as he had done with the kick. His training equipment most likely wouldn’t be able to withstand it, either.
If he just took the spear head-on, he would take a little more damage than preferable. And, considering how willing Ackster was to get hurt in the middle of a fight, that meant a lot.
Yet, Ackster couldn’t help the grin twitching into place on his lips.
The spear and the fact that Hansel could use mana were dangerous. No doubt about it, especially since he couldn’t, and Hansel was physically superior to him, even if only slightly and mostly in terms of technical skills.
But he could still see the spear’s movements. Keen Senses was running on double-time, and the spear was still blurry around the edges. But he could see it.
And if he could see it, he could react to it as long as his body was fast enough to keep up with his eyes. Even if his body couldn’t keep up, he could react in advance as long as Battlesight activated.
Battlesigth didn’t activate for Hansel’s thrust. Fortunately, it seemed like he wasn’t going all out with such an extending move since it would leave him open to a counterattack if it failed or someone else interfered.
Ackster had just barely enough time to lean back and let the spear pass over him and then fall down on his back and roll around before pushing himself off the ground to avoid the ensuing downward slash and any other follow-up.
Ackster met Hansel’s glare with a provocative grin.