Dawn crept gently over the horizon, brushing the sky with hues of peach and gold. The forest air was crisp, cool, and faintly tinged with the earthy scent of morning dew. Rikuya walked slowly down the slope, his shirt untucked, muscles sore, and strands of hair clinging to his sweat-lined forehead. Each step was heavy—not from pain, but from... exertion of a different kind.
At the edge of the clearing, Tsuki sat on a rock, tail flicking.
He barked once.
Rikuya didn't stop walking, only gave a tired exhale as he ran a hand through his messy hair.
"Yeah... they did it again, didn't they?" Tsuki's eyes seemed to say, staring with judgment only a dog could deliver.
Rikuya gave him a side glance. "Don't give me that look, partner."
Tsuki snorted, turned his back, and began trotting down the path toward the inn.
Rikuya followed, mumbling under his breath, "It's still training if I come back stronger, right?"
The wooden door creaked open.
Rikuya stepped in, muscles sore, eyes shadowed with fatigue, shirt unbuttoned halfway down his chest and clinging to him like it had lost a battle. His hair was wild, and twigs clung to it like little trophies of a forest struggle.
He froze as four pairs of eyes turned to him.
Mara, sitting with a cup of tea, blinked once.
Myra dropped the tray she was holding—thankfully it was empty.
Lena gawked, eyes trailing down his body and then blinking in confusion.
Selina, who had been sipping calmly, choked mid-sip.
"…What the hell happened to you?" Myra finally asked.
"I was training," Rikuya said flatly, walking past them like it was nothing.
"Training?!" Lena echoed, pointing at the twigs and the slight red marks barely hidden by his collar. "Did the forest attack you or something?"
Selina tilted her head, one eye narrowing with suspicion. "You smell like sweat, bark, and… something else."
Mara squinted. "Wait, wait. Wasn't that the same scent from—?"
Rikuya raised a hand, cutting her off. "Don't."
Selina leaned closer, resting her elbows on the table, smirking. "This 'training'—was it the silent sparring kind, or the tree-shaking thunder crash kind?"
Tsuki barked from the corner.
Lena clapped her hands over her face, already crimson. "Oh gods, the tree! We heard it!"
Mara slumped in her chair, groaning. "No wonder birds were fleeing at dawn!"
Rikuya walked calmly to the table, sat down, and started drinking water like he had conquered a mountain.
"Still counts as strength training," he muttered.
The scent of fresh eggs, grilled fish, and warm rice wafted through the cozy inn as the group gathered around the low wooden table. Light filtered through the windows, casting a golden hue over everyone. Plates clinked, cups steamed, and the quiet hum of a peaceful morning buzzed gently—though the air still carried a hint of post-shock tension from Rikuya's dramatic entrance.
He sat down with a relaxed sigh, shirt finally buttoned up (half-heartedly), his hair slightly combed with his fingers. Tsuki curled up near his feet, ever-watchful, tail thumping lightly.
Lena passed him a bowl of rice, clearly trying not to stare at the bruises on his neck.
"Eat. You look like the forest chewed you up and spit you back out," she grumbled.
"Twice," Myra muttered under her breath.
Rikuya raised a brow, smirking just a bit. "Thanks for the concern. Where's Solamar?"
Mara sipped her tea and answered, "He left earlier this morning. Said he was headed to the city to deliver some goods. Should be back before nightfall."
"Ah…" Rikuya nodded thoughtfully. "Good. I need to talk to him before I head out again."
Selina leaned over, chin in her palm, voice teasing. "Going out for another training session?"
Myra nearly choked on her tea.
Tsuki barked softly. The canine stared up at Rikuya with squinting, judging eyes.
"…Don't look at me like that," Rikuya muttered, spooning rice into his mouth.
The girls laughed, the warmth of the moment finally washing over the room like sunlight after rain. For a little while, the shadows of the past and the tournament looming ahead were forgotten—just good food, gentle teasing, and the quiet bond of a strange, close-knit group.
A few minutes later...Steam curled gently from the bathhouse windows as Rikuya stepped out, freshly washed and drying his hair with a towel slung over his shoulders. The morning sun had barely risen fully over the sea when it happened.
The ground shook.
A distant tremor ran through the cobbled streets, followed by another—heavier, closer. Then came the sound. A deep, guttural thunder of dozens of bestial roars and pounding feet.
From beyond the northern road—not the forest where Rikuya trained—came chaos.
People screamed. Shopkeepers abandoned their stalls. Children were pulled into homes as the earth continued to tremble. From the city's higher paths, green silhouettes emerged. Hulking, furious, armed.
Green-skinned orcs, snarling and foaming, rushed toward the outer parts of Ardenwave in a frenzied stampede. Axes, cleavers, and bones as armor—it was a horde.
"C-CALL THE KNIGHTS!!" a man shouted in terror, tripping as he tried to flee. "THEY'RE NOT COMING FROM THE FOREST—IT'S THE CLIFFSIDE PATH!"
Bell towers rang. Guards scrambled.
Back at the inn, Selina and the girls were frozen at the windows, eyes wide.
But Rikuya…
He just stepped out into the street, barefoot, water still dripping from his hair.
He rolled his neck.
Crack.
He raised both hands and slowly flexed his fingers into fists. His eyes narrowed as the orcs roared louder.
Crack.
"Yeah," he muttered, the corner of his mouth lifting. "A good warm-up will do just fine."
As the first green-skinned orc charged at Rikuya, its war axe raised high, the ground beneath it shook with the force of its heavy footsteps. Its guttural roar echoed through the streets, but Rikuya's focus never wavered.
His eyes locked on the oncoming beast. A deadly calm filled him as time seemed to slow.
The orc lunged.
Without a moment's hesitation, Rikuya's body reacted with an inhuman reflex. He sideflipped, almost effortlessly, his feet hitting the ground and pushing off in the same fluid motion. His legs twisted as he landed, the entire movement an explosion of grace and force.
As he landed, his right hand shot out, palm forward, meeting the orc's chest. The orc's massive body staggered back, thrown off balance by the speed and power of the palm strike, the air rushing out of its lungs with a sharp whoosh.
Rikuya didn't give it a chance to recover.
In a heartbeat, he spun back around, his body already in motion. His foot twisted, a fluid motion that saw his body shift into a brutal vertical knife-hand chop—faster than the eye could track. The chop was precise, a weapon in its own right, and it struck the orc's neck, right below the ear, at the carotid artery.
The snap of bone was faint, but it echoed in Rikuya's mind as the orc dropped to the ground, paralyzed. Its eyes glazed over, a shallow breath escaping from its broken body.
Rikuya's voice cut through the air, calm yet merciless:
"Lesson one—never underestimate your target."
The orc's body fell lifeless, its arm twitching in the dirt.
But no sooner had Rikuya dispatched one threat, another was already charging from the corner of his vision—a second orc, wielding a massive spiked club.
It roared in fury, and Rikuya felt the heat of its bloodlust before the orc even stepped forward. He smirked.
This was the true test.
The orc swung its club with terrifying force, but Rikuya was already in motion. He twisted, stepping into the strike, his palm feinting upward in a high arc that forced the orc to raise its guard. The motion was so fluid, it looked like a dance—a trap already set.
As the orc's arms lifted, anticipating a counter to its own attack, Rikuya dropped low. His body dipped, and from his position, he unleashed a savage, hooking elbow straight into the ribs, the sharp bone grinding against the vulnerable space of the orc's floating rib.
A sickening crack echoed through the alley, but Rikuya didn't stop.
His opposite hand followed through in a fast backhand to the orc's throat, landing with precise force, just beneath the throat. The orc's head jerked backward, and a strangled gasp filled the air, but it folded—unable to even scream.
Rikuya spoke, almost as if speaking to himself.
"Lesson two—create the trap, then dismantle it in one move."
The orc crumpled to the ground, choking and struggling for breath. It gurgled once and then was silent.
Rikuya stepped back, eyes scanning the surroundings, assessing the other orcs that had now begun to slow their charge. His expression remained unchanged, but his presence felt like a storm, just waiting to unleash.
"Lesson three," he muttered, cracking his knuckles. "Is survival of the quickest."
As the next wave of orcs approached, Rikuya smiled coldly, knowing full well that these monsters—these fools—had no idea what true speed was.
The next orc charged like a freight train, snarling as its massive frame tore across the battlefield. Rikuya didn't flinch.
He sidestepped with lethal grace, his body already moving before the orc's strike even landed.
Thud!
A vertical jab slammed into the orc's ribs with thunderous force—so fast it looked like a blur. The impact drove the air out of the orc's lungs, and before it could even react—
Crack!
A swift palm-up strike followed straight into its jaw, snapping its head back with a loud jolt.
Then, whoosh!—Rikuya's leg arced into the air. A hook kick caught the orc clean across the throat. The beast's body crumpled mid-step, collapsing to its knees before falling forward with a hollow grunt.
"Lesson four—never step in blind." Rikuya muttered coolly.
But there was no time to rest. Three more orcs were already bounding toward him, weapons raised and roars echoing.
Rikuya dashed forward, his body coiled like a whip. His kicks lashed out like pistons—
Bam! Left foot to one orc's hand—bones cracked.
Whack! Right foot snapped toward another's grip—sending its club spinning away.
Now weaponless, the orcs faltered. Rikuya's eyes sharpened.
He spun, fast and precise.
Snap! Snap!
Both hands shot out like daggers—one jabbing toward an orc's eye, forcing it to flinch, the other slamming into its throat like a piston. The orc gurgled, choking.
Then, he pivoted on his heel—
WHACK!
A devastating backfist slammed into the side of the orc's temple, the sheer force spinning its head violently to the side.
Without pause, he flowed into the final strike—
BOOM!
A double palm strike to the chest, like a battering ram.
The orc flew back through the air, crashing into a stone wall with a sickening crunch. Dust exploded from the impact. It didn't get back up.
Rikuya exhaled through his nose, focused, calm, deadly.
"Bladed storm," he said under his breath. "No wasted motion. No second chances."
The people watching stood frozen—eyes wide, mouths open—as one man, with no sword, no armor, dismantled monsters with nothing but his body... and terrifying mastery.
Without missing a beat, Rikuya lunged forward—his movements fluid and precise, like a predator who had already won.
The orc he had just poked in the eye was stumbling blindly, roaring in pain, one hand covering its socket. It never saw him coming.
Thud!
Rikuya leapt—his body flipping mid-air like a coiled spring unleashed. His legs snapped out and clamped around the orc's head, locking it between his thighs with terrifying strength.
The momentum of the jump carried him backward.
FWASH!
A perfectly timed backflip—and with it, he dragged the orc's entire body off its feet.
Then—
BOOM!
The orc's skull smashed into the ground, the sheer impact making the earth tremble. Dust kicked up in a violent gust as the orc's arms went limp, body twitching once before going still.
Rikuya landed cleanly on his feet, eyes cold.
"Lesson five," he said, voice low. "Never take your eyes off your enemy... even if one's missing."
The crowd was dead silent.
Then a whisper spread.
"Is he even human...?"
A chorus of snarls echoed through the trembling ground as more orcs stormed in—a dozen or more, larger and meaner, eyes burning red with rage at the carnage Rikuya had just unleashed.
Their muscles flexed, tusks bared, weapons raised. They surrounded him like wolves preparing to tear a lion apart.
But Rikuya just cracked his neck slowly… and then his knuckles.
His shirt fluttered with the rising wind. His body, gleaming with sweat, cast a sharp silhouette under the morning sun. The air pulsed with stillness… then his voice cut through.
"Lesson six…"
He raised his eyes—calm, deadly.
"When monsters bare their teeth—grin wider."
He took one step forward, planting his foot with thunderous finality.
"Because fear?" He smirked. "That's not mine to feel. It's theirs."
The orcs growled louder, stomping forward—until—
"Come." Rikuya's arms lifted into a stance—loose, deadly, waiting.
"Let me teach you how extinction begins."