Lucas was pretty shocked by what he was seeing. He had naturally expected a big power spike from Axis after his third boost, but that force field had survived multiple attacks from almost thirty people at the start of the showdown. Could Axis really be that strong?

It didn’t take long for Lucas to realize that this absurd increase in power probably wouldn’t last long. However, in the few seconds Axis crazily attempted to attack him, the cracks on his shield dangerously multiplied. Upon realizing that, Lucas quickly dismissed the shield and started running again—he wasn’t ready to let go of it just yet.

Unfortunately for him, Axis had no intention of starting their little game of hide and seek again. The prince blasted a powerful wind slice with his saber toward Lucas’ back, forcing him to stop running and dodge to the side.

It took a mere split second for Axis to close the distance after that—such was his boost in speed. Realizing there was no point in trying to outrun him anymore, Lucas did the unexpected and jumped toward Axis with a punch.

Despite any boost his opponent might have, Lucas was still pretty fast in his own right. Even though Axis managed to twist his body away from the blow, he was still caught on the left side of his abdomen.

Feeling a stinging pain, Axis briefly looked down and witnessed for the first time Lucas' mysterious skill as a shard of glass was sticking out of his flesh. He didn’t have time to think it over, however, as Lucas was already punching at his leg.

Lucas’ second punch hit nothing but air, as Axis jumped to avoid his blade. Not wasting another second, Lucas pointed with his finger toward the falling figure and fired multiple times.

Despite Lucas' quick thinking, Axis was able to deflect several of his shots with his saber, and only two managed to hit, even if only slightly. Lucas hated to admit it, but his Magic stat had really fallen behind compared to his other abilities. The mild bruises his fire shots produced on his opponent made that obvious.

Seeing Axis return safely to the ground, Lucas couldn’t help but curse his bad luck. If he had managed to injure Axis’ leg as intended, the prince’s speed would have been greatly reduced, making things more manageable.

Having lost his initial advantage, Lucas could only watch as the boisterous prince started talking again after reaching the floor and putting some distance between them.

“You’re actually not bad when you’re not running away,” Axis acknowledged with a smile, apparently having calmed down after the initial fury. “But those magic spells were pitiful. You’ll need to do way better than that to—”

Looking at the man in front of him, Lucas was conflicted. On one hand, Axis was wasting his own precious boost talking to him like that. But on the other hand, was the price of his boost running out really worth the amount of crap Lucas was being forced to listen to? Unable to take it any longer, Lucas turned his back mid-speech and started running again.

“Rude!” Axis cried out behind him.

In the next moment, Lucas was swept off his feet by a blast of wind. When he managed to get up, Axis was already swinging his saber toward his head. After a couple of rolls to dodge the follow-up attacks, it became clear to Lucas that the only way to last longer in this fight was to fight back. He couldn’t fully exploit his speed now that his opponent was also pretty fast, so he needed to keep Axis from getting too comfortable.

This strategy worked fine for the first few minutes. Axis was clearly still adapting to Lucas’ fighting style, which was different from most he had encountered—relying mostly on basic pugilist moves occasionally mixed with a few odd slashes.

Axis’ multiple injuries also played a huge role in his subpar performance. He had taken a pretty big hit from the building collapsing on top of him earlier, and his boosting skill couldn’t ignore all of it. Lucas’ first attack had also injured his internal organs somewhat, hindering his mobility. But despite all that, his boost had been enormous, and the only reason he hadn’t taken the upper hand yet was that he wanted to see what Lucas could do.

How could someone so capable have gone under my radar for so long? Axis wondered in puzzlement. Not only had Lucas gone under his radar, but the Empire’s intel also didn’t have much to say about him. In their eyes, Lucas wasn’t even worth mentioning, someone the prince could kill easily if he so desired.

So even though they had done their job of gathering information for him around all the participants, Axis never bothered to look at anyone other than Halyk, who he deemed his only true opponent.

However, up until this point, he had finished his battles in a matter of seconds. And now, after a few minutes of chasing Lucas, he was already bleeding and pretty injured. Although Lucas’ methods had been more than a little dubious, Axis couldn’t contest their results. Could Lucas really have killed Halyk? Did he manage to trick the trickster? Axis wondered as he dodged another row of Lucas’ attacks.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

…

His speed and perception must be higher than mine, Lucas thought in the heat of the battle. So far, especially in the beginning, the man’s battle ability hadn’t overly impressed him, but after some time and a few scratches, Axis’ speed and reaction seemed to increase incredibly. This led Lucas to believe Axis had been holding back before.

After realizing he couldn’t touch him anymore even at top speed, Lucas decided to change tactics. He wouldn’t get anywhere if Axis only reacted to his moves—he was simply faster, and his perception was high enough to avoid and keep track of Lucas’ attacks. What Lucas needed to do was bait Axis into attacking him, creating an opening for his unseen blades.

After deciding on this plan, Lucas didn’t hesitate—he couldn’t afford to. With a powerful punch, Lucas threw his arm a little too wide, losing a bit of balance. The shocked expression on his face betrayed his “mistake,” and he noticed the glow in Axis’ eyes.

Axis probably intended to watch Lucas a little longer, but some opportunities are simply too hard to pass up. It was like when a ball rolls toward your feet, and you just have to kick it. That’s what Axis did—the moment he realized Lucas had made a mistake, he moved in with his saber.

Suddenly, Lucas’ body twisted abnormally, avoiding the mighty blade that was coming to take his life. In one fluid movement, he elbowed Axis right in the chest.

Axis’ kick that came immediately afterward sent Lucas tumbling back, breaking two of his ribs in the process. But by the time Lucas managed to stand up again, they were already fully healed. He couldn’t help but smile, seeing how quickly he had recovered and how little it had cost him compared to his enormous stamina pool.

Unfortunately, he had missed his opponent’s heart, and Axis was showing a nonchalant smile on his face despite the injury on the right side of his chest—at least until he realized Lucas’ blade had been poisoned.

Well, it wasn’t really poison, but the necrotic effect from Lucas’ death aura. He figured that since this was his best chance to hit the guy, he might as well make it count.

And even though the blade hadn’t struck the heart, it seemed to have come very close. Lucas, who had dealt with a poisoned wound near his own heart not too long ago, surely wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

The shocked expression on the prince’s face was priceless, but it only lasted a couple of seconds before a wave of power suddenly exploded from his body, leaving him pale as he coughed up blood.

Not wanting to miss the opportunity to kick the dog while it was down, Lucas rushed to attack again. But a wave from Axis’ saber kept him at bay, and the prince quickly downed the contents of a health potion right before Lucas’ eyes.

So close, Lucas sighed in frustration.

…

Indeed, it had been a very close call. Once again, Axis had underestimated his opponent and fallen for his feint. Not only that, but he had also allowed himself to be infected with that wretched dark magic that was slowly corroding his lungs.

He had never seen anything like it—there was no poison in the entire Khorint Empire that could replicate what that “dark magic,” as he chose to call it, did. Completely caught off guard, Axis had assumed it was just a regular—if slightly dangerous—attack until he realized there was something definitely wrong with his body.

His tutors from the Empire had taught him a skill to detect and expel foreign substances from his body, no matter what they were. They had thoroughly tested him with a variety of poisons for that purpose, to the point that eliminating them was almost second nature to him.

But despite the similar effects, whatever was in Lucas’ blades wasn’t a poison. Thinking quickly, Axis employed the method that worked for most fluids, and he was relieved when he saw the corroding effect stop. If not for this special skill, he would probably be dead by now, even after drinking a health potion.

The ever-present smile completely left Axis' face as he recovered from his injury, and he regarded his opponent with a new seriousness. Even after forming a good opinion of Lucas, he had still underestimated him. Deep down, he had believed Halyk was his only true opponent, but now...

“I’ll take you seriously from now on—be warned,” Axis said, and before Lucas could reply, the prince was already moving at blinding speed toward him.

Lucas did everything he could to get out of Axis’ way, but it was all for nothing. He managed to shift only a few inches to the side before he saw half his arm flying through the air, detached from his body and splattering blood everywhere.

Despite all the warnings and fully knowing that his life was on the line when facing a much stronger opponent such as Axis, nothing could have prepared Lucas for the pain and the sheer desperation that followed as his arm was severed.

Not daring to scream at such a perilous moment, even with all the agony he was in, Lucas instinctively remembered his shield and quickly raised his remaining arm in a defensive stance, just before the saber could reach his chest.

The blade stopped mere inches away from his torso, but the cracks in the shield increased at an even more alarming rate than before. Lucas’ mind frantically searched for a way out of his predicament, but no solution came. All he could do was watch as his defenses were slowly torn apart before his eyes.

Gone was the smiling, boastful prick from earlier. In his place stood the savage who had relentlessly battered Thorik’s defenses with simple strikes—only this time, his target was Lucas, and his defenses were nowhere near as good as the other man’s.

A few seconds was all it took—his force-field shattered out of existence under the wild man’s latest attack, and everything that had been separating Lucas from death vanished.

Even if it were still an option, the redo choice the Tower had given him was far from his mind. The tension of the battle didn’t allow any distractions. All he could think of was that if he had to die, he wouldn’t go down without a fight.

His right arm hadn’t fully grown back yet, so he steeled himself to give it everything he had with his left, when a whistling sound reached his ears, followed by an explosion just a couple of feet away that sent his body flying backward.

Coughing on the ground, Lucas did his best to lift his torso and locate Axis through the thick smoke that had erupted between them. The first thing he saw were chunks of meat scattered across the pavement, and then, following the trail of blood, he spotted the figure of a man stumbling to his feet. Axis clutched a bloody stump close to his chest—his hand was missing.