"Come on, Hyakinthos!"
Roy said coldly. His figure moved rapidly, rushing toward Hyakinthos. He savagely slashed with his Murasame, and the fierce sword light streaked across the void, gleaming brilliantly.
Clang!
Hyakinthos raised his sharp sword, the blade striking sparks wildly. With a ferocious look, he growled, "Don't get cocky just because you've gained the same status values as me!"
Although he didn't know how Roy had boosted his stats, as a Level 3, the battles, achievements, and experience he had gained far surpassed any Level 2 adventurer. Therefore, he had absolute confidence!
And he was right!
Hyakinthos's blade left afterimages as he attacked from various tricky angles, forcing Roy to retreat continuously.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every clash of the blades was accompanied by a clear, metallic ringing sound, and sparks flew. Roy was constantly forced backward, a sight that made the audience nervous.
"Don't worry, little Roy doesn't look panicked at all," Hermes said, his eyes burning with intensity.
The calmer the person, the more likely they are to win in the end.
Roy's footwork showed no sign of disorder. In terms of actual combat experience, he was slightly inferior, but not as much as one might imagine. After all, he trained daily with the Level 4 Ryuu. By comparison, the speed of Level 3 Hyakinthos was actually nothing to him.
Within the web of swords Hyakinthos constructed, Roy acutely spotted tiny gaps.
Whoosh!
Roy's Murasame darted out, like a venomous snake striking from its hole, piercing through the tightly woven sword web and heading straight for Hyakinthos's head. The cold killing intent felt like a materialized viper wrapping around the latter's neck.
In the nick of time, Hyakinthos whipped his head aside, narrowly dodging the blow, which left him sweating profusely in alarm.
A warm liquid flowed down. Hyakinthos reached up, felt a sharp sting, and saw a patch of crimson—the sword's edge had still grazed his cheek.
"You bastard!"
Hyakinthos immediately erupted in fury. Since that strange illness, he had become extremely concerned about his appearance.
"Hah!!"
Hyakinthos seemed to transform into a berserker, wildly swinging his long sword and hacking down at Roy.
Roy, like an elite assassin, failed to kill with one strike, quickly settled down, and switched back to defense.
He waited for the right moment to arrive.
The faint, icy killing intent that subtly surrounded them made Hyakinthos feel like something was stuck in his throat.
Crack!
Facing Hyakinthos's continuous hacking, the Murasame in Roy's hand was covered in nicks. A crack grew increasingly obvious, and finally, the slender blade snapped into two pieces.
"Hahahaha, you truly are a poor Familia that owes sixty million Valis! You don't even have a decent weapon!" Hyakinthos gloated even more. The Solar Flamberge in his hand was an advanced armament belonging to the Apollo Familia, a weapon only used by successive captains!
With that, Hyakinthos pressed his advantage, swinging the cold blade and slashing down at Roy's head.
Roy raised his Steel Gauntlet to block. The Solar Flamberge slid across the surface, leaving not a single mark.
"What is that gauntlet?"
Hyakinthos felt the shock recoil transmitted back, making his palm a little numb. He frowned.
The Steel Gauntlet was an authentic Epic-grade item, superior in quality to the Solar Flamberge!
Roy stared icily at Hyakinthos.
In truth, he had several opportunities to counterattack, but he suppressed the urge to act. He wasn't interested in petty skirmishes; he wanted a single, decisive blow!
"My name is Love, the Sun's Favored. This body I offer to my Sun! My name is Sin, the Wind's Jealousy. A strong west wind I call upon this body!!"
At this moment, Hyakinthos did not continue his attack. Instead, he retreated, running towards the edge of the arena while chanting.
"Oh no, it's magic!"
Everyone's expressions changed. Magic was always used as a trump card, and once deployed, it often determined the winner!
Hyakinthos wasn't Ryuu; he couldn't simultaneously handle five actions: high-speed attack, movement, evasion, defense, and chanting. At best, he could manage running and chanting simultaneously.
Against a stronger opponent, this half-baked concurrent chanting would be suicide.
But his enemy was Level 2 Roy. Hyakinthos, running at full speed, was absolutely confident that Roy wouldn't be able to catch him quickly.
Roy would only be able to watch him cast his magic.
Roy knew this, too, and had no intention of chasing, choosing instead to stand his ground and prepare to block.
"—Throw the Fire Ring! Come, West Wind! Crimson Flower! Foreign Spell: Zephyros!"
Hyakinthos finished his chant. A ring of light appeared in his hand, spinning and unleashing flames, which he then hurled away. It flew toward Roy, cutting a trajectory through the air.
The ring of light arrived in an instant, right in front of Roy.
Guardian!
Roy silently activated the special effect of the Steel Gauntlet. Invisible ripples spread out, forming a magical shield.
Boom!!
A violent explosion erupted, shaking the ground. Flames roared like a giant dragon, engulfing the surrounding tens of meters.
The spectators felt a knot in their stomachs. This is too much! No one is going to get killed, are they?
When the roar subsided, a figure appeared deep within the dust. As the dust gradually thinned, the figure became clearer, standing in the center of a sunken crater.
It was Roy, completely unharmed!
Hiss!
A collective gasp echoed through the arena. He took a Level 3 adventurer's magic head-on?
Only the gods and high-level adventurers focused on Roy's gauntlet, a thoughtful look in their eyes.
Hyakinthos, unaware of all this, felt his confidence beginning to crumble. He roared in frustration, "Why are you not dead yet?!"
Roy didn't answer. Instead, just like Hyakinthos, he retreated and began to chant, "Charge forth, Lightning Spear! I, as the Vicar..."
"You think I'll give you a chance to chant and cast magic? How naive!"
Seeing Roy try to imitate him, Hyakinthos couldn't help but mock. He thought his opponent had some hidden trump card; this was simply ridiculous!
Before his words faded, Hyakinthos unleashed his full speed, charging towards Roy like a raging bull.
Seeing this, everyone felt their hearts jump for Roy. Having been an adventurer for less than a month, it was impossible for Roy to know advanced techniques like concurrent chanting.
Only Ryuu's eyes were calm. It's over. Roy had set a trap for Hyakinthos back in the Dungeon.
Facing the aggressively charging Hyakinthos.
Suddenly, Roy did the opposite of retreat; he moved forward.
Activating the special effect of his Wind-Chasing Boots, his Agility speed broke its limit, reaching SSS-rank.
The two seemed to be rushing toward each other, instantly closing the distance.
Hyakinthos was caught completely off guard.
A wicked smile curled on Roy's lips. The chant was not finished, yet golden lightning surged from his palm, crackling and forming a sphere.
Hyakinthos's eyes widened. The magic is finished?
The lightning sphere in Roy's hand expanded further, reaching a meter in diameter. The raging lightning emitted a dangerous aura as it unceremoniously slammed into Hyakinthos's face.
Boom!
The lightning engulfed Hyakinthos's figure. The resulting explosion was no less powerful than the magic cast earlier.
"A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-H—"
A gut-wrenching scream echoed into the sky!