Alex leaned against the wall of the small preparation room, listening to the muffled chatter on the other side of the door. The tournament had been interesting, if not challenging.

Watching the world continue shifting around him in the weeks since he’d returned from the Rift felt surreal. People’s builds were becoming more creative, and it was fascinating to see how the System worked with their intent to make combinations work. He’d faced a guy who used a bow enhanced by a wind skill, a girl who could turn her skin to steel, and even a kickboxer who used fire to propel his attacks mid-strike.

But none of them had the raw stats or training to pose a real threat. Alex knew that compared to the masters from the Celestial Sect, he was still seen as a novice, but in his world, there were very few people familiar with how to use such weapons. After working with Master Li and the other sect leaders, Alex was operating on a different level.

Even by holding back Valtherion and limiting his use of magic to a few of his favorite rituals, the matches had been mostly one-sided affairs.

Rylan was different, though, and Alex had known from the start that they’d likely meet in the finals. All the Awakened might be relatively new, but based on his own experience, he knew that Rylan had to have access to a higher Rarity Rift of some kind.

But what has he been doing with that power? Just bullying people. The only upside, I guess is that he’s been spreading solid information through the AG app.

He pushed off from the wall and adjusted the leather scabbard across his shoulders. He turned and opened the door to the large open warehouse that had been built at the Voss Estate. The warehouse had been under construction while they were at the mansion for Elana’s Christmas party. Still, Alex was impressed they managed to finish everything in time for the New Year’s tournament.

Walking to the edge of the raised platform, he used his increased Strength and Agility to lightly hop onto it, his robes fluttering quietly as he landed.

Rylan was already waiting for him, covered from head to toe in armor. His heart began to pick up its pace, feeling the thrill of competition for the fight to come.

Alex wanted to use his Heavenly Eye to scan the larger man, but with his mask and the mana-blocking cover, he couldn’t. He looked over to the area where his friends stood, watching him. Mark had his hands in the air and was smiling while giving him a big thumbs-up. Sam watched on, holding Val in his arms with wide eyes.

A Peacekeeper that he wasn’t familiar with stepped onto the stage and asked if they were each ready. Alex nodded and saw Rylan do the same as he slowly hefted his large sword to his armored shoulder.

Alex had watched some of his earlier matches; almost all were won with raw power and strength. There was little to no finesse in the way he fought. From what he’d seen in those previous fights, he could guess that Rylan was more than likely going to open with a [Charge] skill. Alex drew his jian and gripped it tightly, already planning to sidestep the initial rush and counter while Rylan's momentum left him exposed.

Despite knowing what was coming, the speed that Rylan had approached as soon as the match began, almost caught him off guard. Even as he watched, it was still unnatural to see a movement skill allow someone to barely bend their legs and still burst forward across the open space.

Fuck.

Alex dodged backward while shifting his weight to the side. His heart hammered in his chest as the greatsword slammed into the ground where he’d been standing.

How the hell did I think this wouldn’t be a problem?

He wanted to kick himself for not seriously considering Rylan’s use of a heavy weapon. After watching it from afar, he thought it would be something easy to avoid, but as he felt the vibrations in the floor from the first powerful blow, he questioned his sanity. Alex had barely trained against heavy weapons with Eura, as both of the sects used light straight swords and occasionally a spear.

The weight and length of Rylan’s enchanted greatsword were intimidating, even if it didn’t make Alex worry too much. At first, the gear difference had worried him; even showing up in his gifts from the Celestial Lotus Sect Head and his teachers, he was exceptionally under geared compared to the wealthy warrior. Rylan had an entire suit of enchanted armor and, despite its size, he moved in with a fluid grace that Alex could only attribute to stats.

Alex could faintly hear Rylan call out something in frustration, though he didn’t truly hear it. His brain was working in overdrive on how to close the gap and deal a solid blow. The sounds of the onlookers had turned into a dull roar, and after Rylan’s initial verbal jabs fell flat, they’d both focused on the fight.

Going into the match, Alex challenged himself to try to beat the warrior at his own game. Rylan was taller than Alex, and his huge form gave away his primary stat allocation, even if Alex hadn’t scanned him. But after training with the sect masters, even if for a short time, Alex was feeling on top of the world.

After all, who else had been able to be trained in such medieval weapons- surely not this self-important bull of a man…

Stupid Alex. Really stupid.

Rylan’s lips curled into a smirk as if he could read Alex’s thoughts. He pulled his blade back, scraping against the cement stage, and hefted it with practiced ease. Its tip lazily drew arcs in the air as Rylan watched Alex.

I really didn’t give him enough credit. He’s clearly trained and is a lot smarter than I thought.

Alex could feel a tug of concern through his bond with Val, who was currently restricted to the sidelines with Sam. In hindsight, Alex realized how foolish that had been as well. He was supposed to be a pair with the mana wyrm, but he'd accepted Rylan's request to meet each other one-on-one.

If anyone asks for such a stupid thing again, I’ll laugh in their face. Valtherion is just as much a strength in my kit as my Mana Threads.

He winced as he thought about how his own ego had him putting a restriction on his tools in the match. Sighing, Alex accepted that he should stop messing around and face the fact that Rylan was more than just a spoiled, lazy asshole.

He’s still a spoiled asshole- just clearly not that lazy.

Alex refocused on the fight as Rylan stepped forward, his lead boot slamming into the ground as he thrust forward with the greatsword. Alex used the Willow Branch Sways to avoid the thrust and couldn’t help but marvel at the effect of stats in combat. The greatsword must weigh at least three or four times the weight of his own sword, and Rylan was able to move it with such ease.

Seeing that the slash missed, Rylan stepped further into the lunge and rotated his body to let the blade drag across the ground. As he spun, the flat of the greatsword came up to rest on his shoulder, and he used his forward momentum to throw his upper body forward and catapult the greatsword in a downward arc with increased force.

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Alex activated [Feather Step] and lightly danced to the side. The power of the slam cracked the cement, and even through his focused state, he could hear the crowd release a collective gasp and then cheer with approval.

I doubt that my physical threads alone would be able to stop him. His Strength is so high that he’d probably just walk right through it.

He thought about his own weapon’s nature. The jian was sleek and nimble, and the style he’d been taught was used to analyze opponents’ fighting styles and then capitalize on openings when found. So far, Alex hadn’t seen many openings in Rylan’s form.

Even if his form was practiced, Alex realized that the weapon itself had flaws. It was slower and, despite being powerful, required Rylan to commit to his attacks wholly.

Alex smiled wide enough for it to show through his mask as he accepted the man as an opponent and pulled on his mana. He used [Mana Thread] to create several strands from his left hand.

Even though he’d only leveled the skill once since Christmas, that still put the skill at (Novice - Level 18). Alex knew that he was getting close to the skill’s next advancement and had specifically been attempting to put it forward in a way that would enable easier multi-thread use cases.

He allowed three threads to form. Two went forward to begin laying a ritual and another behind him in case he decided to set a trap to draw Rylan into.

He placed a half-sized ritual with his modified structure on the ground between the two of them, even though he knew that laying the catalysts would be the most challenging part of the fight. He finished laying it in a few seconds and began a careful walk forward using the Flowing Water stance he’d learned from Master Li.

Rylan saw Alex’s first offensive move since the fight started and eagerly moved forward to meet the advance. Splitting his focus, Alex paid some attention to Rylan’s predictable left-to-right slash as he worked on an opposing ritual with the thread he’d placed behind himself.

Alex dodged another slash, and the two exchanged positions after moving in a tight circle. Alex moved backward over his half-sized ritual circle and dropped a metal ball onto the ground along with a feather. He did his best to turn to the side, hiding his movement of reaching into the spatial pouch at his side, though several in the crowd undoubtedly saw what Rylan could not.

The two clashed again; this time, Alex was forced to use his sword to deflect the heavy blade, putting his wrapped hand behind his blade to stabilize it as he angled the larger steel away and toward the ground.

Back on their original sides and in position, Alex held out his left hand and sent a pulse through the threads extending from his index finger and thumb, causing the ritual circle under Rylan to activate. The heavy man froze in place, and Alex was surprised to note that he didn’t crumple to the ground.

Damn, that’s some crazy strength. He’s still standing even with the Weight-Increasing ritual active and his heavy armor on.

Is Strength better than Willpower? … Nah.

Alex smiled and assumed a more normal stance before walking up to Rylan and extending his blade. The magically modified tip and edges were dulled for the tournament match, but the symbolism of Alex placing the tip under Rylan’s chin was not lost on the crowd.

“Do you give up?” Alex asked, returning the same smile he’d seen from Rylan during the fight.

“God, you’re so fucking smug. No, I don’t give up.” Rylan almost spat the last sentence.

If Alex had kept his Heavenly Eye uncovered, he might have seen the gathering of mana around Rylan’s legs as he activated a Skill with the telltale signs of movement ability. From a complete standstill, and without moving his legs, Rylan dashed forward and crashed into Alex. Even though his heavy blade had been weighed down and was out of position, the taller, heavier man in full metal armor won the contest for the occupied standing space.

Alex fell backward and groaned. He rolled twice and came close to the edge of the small arena. His ears were ringing, and when he looked back up, he saw Rylan charging at him with the greatsword raised.

At that moment, Alex realized that if the sword fell on him, even if it was dulled through magic, it would break bones or cripple him outright.

Fuck.

He stayed in a crouch and allowed his stat-enhanced mind to formulate a plan.

Risky plan… Well, at least this is more fun than working for Henderson.

Despite the real danger in the situation, Alex found himself having the same kind of irrational fun he’d felt during certain points of his escape from the Epic Rarity Rift.

He reached into his pouch and willed a single feather into his hand. At the last moment, just before Rylan reached him and just after he fully committed to his attack, Alex used [Mirage] and [Feather Step] simultaneously. To Rylan, it would look like he stood straight up, but Alex took a step back and couched lower, hiding behind the illusion. As soon as the sword came through the illusion, Alex activated his movement skill and slid past Rylan.

He stood on the other side, with two yards of space, as Rylan spun in frustration to face him. Clear from immediate danger, Alex activated the Weight-Reducing ritual under the larger man’s feet. Having dropped the feather before his gliding movement, the ritual activated, and Alex could see the shoulder guards that Rylan wore rise from his shoulders as if weightless.

Alex almost laughed out loud as Rylan called out in surprise, clearly caught more off guard by the reduction in weight than he’d been by the increase in weight. Alex knew that the increase in weight was something that could be fought through, especially with Strength, whereas the ritual that reduced weight was much more abnormal and wasn’t something that people were used to.

Not bothering with a movement skill, Alex used his title-boosted Agility to rush forward and jump feet first into Rylan’s chest. When his boots connected with the metal plate, Rylan was sent sailing from the arena. As he exited the boundary of the ritual, his armor regained its weight, and he crashed to the ground in a heap.

Standing, Alex looked at the larger man’s form, taking several heavy breaths. He looked down at the jian that Eura had given him and sheathed it in the black leather scabbard across his back.

That was close. Way more close than it should have been.

His hearing slowly returned, and he became aware of the large number of onlookers cheering his name. As he surveyed the crowd, he noted that quite a few seemed displeased with the results of the fight. Most surprisingly was the noted silence from several Peacekeepers on the other side of the stage. Suddenly uncomfortable at the continued praise and phone cameras pointed in his direction, Alex waved nervously before he felt a small skull collide with his own.

Hey buddy.

“Prick. Sit down.”

Alex let out a laugh as he let the small mana wyrm nuzzle into his open palm. Ever since Alex told Valtherion that Rylan was a ‘prick’ rather than a ‘friend,’ the bond had taken the difference in terms seriously.

Sam and Mark also joined Alex on the small stage, and several others began to approach him to offer congratulations.

Faces and words were exchanged in a blur, and Alex shook several strangers' hands before the small crowd began to part and grew quiet. Alex saw Rylan approaching and wondered if the host of the tournament was about to make a scene about losing.

The blond-haired man surprised Alex once again as he silently extended a hand for Alex to shake.

“Congratulations on the win,” Rylan said. As Alex accepted the handshake, he expected a crushing grip or subtle show of strength, but none came. The only outward appearance of anger or frustration was the totally deadpan look on Rylan’s face. His eyes were hard, and Alex felt that there would be another match between the two of them in the future.

Well, who knows? He’s surprised me twice already… Maybe he’ll let this drop.

Without saying anything else, Rylan released his hand and turned to walk off of the stage and out of the room, followed by a small stream of people. As he saw the big man's shoulders disappear around a corner of the house, he turned to see Olivia standing a short distance away from the crowd, smiling at him.

He returned the smile and pulled his head backward while raising an eyebrow. She simply shook her head and scanned the group of people gathered. Alex knew she was working the tournament hosted at the Voss Estate in her role as a Peacekeeper. She’d snuck away a few minutes before the fight to give him a kiss and a pep talk.

“Man, that was AWESOME!” Mark said. He was standing just behind Alex, and it caused the smaller man to jump in surprise.

No subtlety at all.

“Haha, thanks, man.”

“Oh dude, it’s going to feel so good when we pick something from the Auction House and know that jerk has to pay for it himself.” Mark rubbed his hands together.

Alex shook his head. “What do you mean, we?”

“Aww, come on!”

Alex laughed and saw Sam smiling at their exchange. He saw a small mana tendril extending from the teenager, so he sent a thread of mana to connect to it.

“I told you you were stronger.”

Hey, I didn’t dispute the fact! I did almost lose, though. I guess that’s a good lesson for me. I should have taken him more seriously.

“It wasn’t that close…”

Alex raised an eyebrow. He knew Sam seemed to view him through some sort of hero lens at times.

Were you watching that fight? I should have just smacked him in the head when he was restrained instead of trying to sound cool.

“Yeah, but you didn’t use your eye or Valtherion at all.”

Alex didn’t respond, but he did smile along with Sam as the boy laughed at the fact that Alex really did sound silly by offering to let Rylan surrender.

Next time, I’ll just hit him right away.