The man with the scar on his face spoke loudly and clearly as he called out,
"Rain Brightwell, come forward."
Rain followed the instruction without any hesitation. He stepped forward.
Not a hint of excitement crossed his face.
'Well… I go first.'
His thoughts were calm, almost detached. How could he even be excited when he already knew the outcome?
The man with the scar seemed to be the examiner. He scanned the crowd briefly before calling another name.
And that name…
Was far too familiar.
Another person stepped forward, facing Rain directly.
It was none other than the red-haired punk—Shion.
"Hm… well," Rain murmured.
He had nothing to say. He didn't care who his opponent was from the beginning. To him, this could only be described as mild curiosity at best.
After all, he had already accepted one thing—
He was the weakest among them here.
Shion smirked, eyes sharp with confidence.
"Looks like today is your unlucky day!"
His tone was fierce, as if he had already decided how he would beat Rain to a pulp.
Rain tilted his head slightly, a mocking shrug forming on his shoulders.
"Big talk for a guy with a dudblade."
Shion's expression twisted instantly. His teeth gritted hard, veins faintly twitching on his face.
"Shut up! You f—"
While Clytie was completely lost in her thoughts watching them, confused and tilting her head slightly—
'Does Shion have a blade that's… dud? Or something like that…? Why have I never seen it?'
She had no idea at all. Not even a hint. Too innocent, too pure to understand what was actually being implied.
Her finger rested on her chin as she continued thinking quietly.
Meanwhile, the argument between Rain and Shion was cut off by the examiner.
"If you guys really have that much energy, then settle it in the duel."
He tossed a wooden sword in front of both of them.
Shion picked it up immediately, his face still sharp, a twisted smile forming on his lips.
"Don't blame me if you end up half dead. Blame yourself!"
Each word carried pure arrogance.
Rain simply stared at him, casually bending down to pick up his own wooden sword.
'Why do all NPCs talk so much…'
A faint sense of pity lingered in his thoughts.
But who could blame him?
It was an eternal truth—one not just in OG, but in many games and stories alike.
NPCs, non-playable characters, mob characters… they existed only to highlight the main protagonist.
It was in their nature to be arrogant. Especially a third-rate NPC like Shion.
The examiner spoke clearly,
"The rules are simple. Make your opponent forfeit—either willingly or by force. Magic and special abilities are strictly prohibited. If you use them, you will be disqualified."
Rain thought calmly,
'Simple and plain. Just how I like it. No unnecessary babbling.'
It worked in his favor.
After all, he had no magic or special powers to rely on anyway.
[Hubby, you are the future Lord! A lord must demonstrate their power! Beat him to pulp!] The screen flashed with an excited, energetic smile-like expression.
A grin slowly appeared on Rain's face.
'Can't hurt to try.'
He couldn't disagree with that sentiment.
But almost immediately, his expression shifted.
'Even though I'm going to get beaten to a pulp anyway… no point not trying, right?'
Once, someone had said, you won't know until you try.
But in his case—
He could already tell the result beforehand, his chances were slim, way too slim.
Rain swung the wooden sword a few times, testing its weight and balance, each motion cutting cleanly through the air as his gaze sharpened with quiet focus.
"Not good," he muttered.
He didn't like it at all.
The examiner noticed the displeasure on his face.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Rain sighed lightly.
"Can't I have something else?" he said, looking at the wooden sword with clear dissatisfaction.
He really didn't want to fight with this thin stick.
It just wasn't his style.
The examiner said, "Yes there is but—" hesitation flickering across his face as his eyes darted behind him, toward the rack of weapons stored along the wall, dozens of wooden swords lined in rough order, and among them—
The examiner's voice lowered slightly as his expression tightened.
Rain's eyes immediately fell on something interesting.
At first glance alone, it caught his attention.
It was an—
A greatsword, far too massive to be used by a normal person and far too old to be considered a practical weapon.
Dark wood, almost black, carved with unnatural precision, patterns running along its body like engraved shadows, heavy ornamentation that didn't belong on a training weapon, its presence alone making the surrounding air feel slightly heavier.
Rain said with a hint of excitement, clearly amused by the massive greatsword that looked far heavier and bigger than him.
"That will work!"
He walked toward the weapon.
Without hesitation, he grabbed it with one hand and pulled it out of its stand like it weighed nothing.
'Hmm… this is actually pretty good.'
As he held the handle, it felt strangely comfortable—almost like it was made for him.
But the reality was different, it was far heavier than it looked.
THUD!
The sword dropped onto the ground.
Rain silently walked back, dragging the massive blade with him.
The examiner looked slightly surprised, 'This boy has some… wild taste, I'll admit that,' there was a clear amusement in his eyes as he watched Rain.
Rain rested his hand and chin casually on the hilt of the greatsword and asked,
"I can use this, right?"
The examiner replied, "You can. It's within the rules."
Shion looked far more shocked than anyone else.
"Are you kidding me?" he said, pointing at the giant dark wooden sword.
Clytie watched Rain with worry, murmuring softly,
"Will he be alright…?"
[Hubby is the best!] with a pleased, smiling expression.
Rain thought proudly,
'I know that already.'
His eyes shifted toward Shion, who was still staring in disbelief at his choice.
Rain tilted his head slightly and said with a teasing, mocking smile,
"Why? Are you scared?"
A grin formed on Shion's face.
'Idiot like you can't even dodge my attacks… and now you're using a weapon like that? It's way too heavy. No way he can even use it properly.'
And he wasn't wrong.
With Rain's current strength and physique, it should have been nearly impossible to even swing it properly, let alone control its weight with any sense of precision, yet there he stood as if the absurd mass of the weapon meant nothing at all, the greatsword resting in his grip like it had always belonged there.
But—
Who said there was only one way to use a sword?
There were endless possibilities.
Shion's anger flickered across his face, sharp and unrestrained.
"I will beat that face of yours to pul—"
But before he could finish, he was cut off mid-sentence.
Clytie stepped forward.
"If you even lay a finger on his adorable face, I will never talk to you again."
Her tone was firm, almost like a warning meant to freeze him in place.
Yet her expression didn't match the severity of her words.
A soft, dreamy smile lingered on her face, eyes slightly unfocused as if stars were scattering within them.
'After all… how could I let that cute face get even a scratch… so cute…'
Her gaze stayed locked on Rain, completely unconcerned with the rising tension.
Rain noticed it and instinctively shifted his eyes away.
A faint unease crawled up his spine.
'What's her deal… whatever.'
He dismissed it almost immediately, as if it wasn't worth storing in his mind.
Shion, however, looked like something inside him had snapped.
"C-Clytie… you're really taking his side?"
His voice cracked with disbelief, then twisted into anger.
His grip tightened around the sword until his knuckles went pale.
"You'll pay!"
[You will be the one to pay!] With a angry expression cursing.
Rain gave a small, almost absent nod in response.
'I appreciate that.'
The atmosphere tightened instantly.
Even the air felt like it had turned heavier.
Then the examiner's voice sliced through it all, cold and decisive.
"START THE DUEL!"
Shion dashed in an instant, the ground snapping under his burst of speed as he closed the distance in a blur, his sword already cutting through the air.
"I won't hit your face… but I can't say the same for your other parts… hehe!"
A crooked grin stretched across his face as he drove the strike forward.
Rain didn't move, not even a flicker, his expression flat and unreadable, eyes half-lidded like the attack itself was beneath notice.
His grip on the massive sword tightened slightly.
'So much talk… really a third-grade NPC.'
A slow exhale slipped out of him, calm and almost dismissive, as if the entire situation was just noise.
Shion's blade was already right there, close enough to feel the kill intent—
Rain still stood still, unmoving, unbothered, watching it come as if time itself had slowed just for him.
At the very last moment, Rain moved.
His massive sword swung out in a rough arc, the motion uneven—almost unbalanced, like a drunk trying to control something far heavier than himself, barely dragging the blade through space.
Yet it was enough.
The air itself split with a low, tearing pressure.
SHHHH—!
"Damn!!"
Shion's face twisted instantly, surprise flashing into alarm as he forced his body to twist away at the edge of danger, barely avoiding the sweeping strike.
The wind pressure still grazed him, pushing his hair and sleeve violently aside as he stumbled a half-step back.
Rain's blade completed its heavy arc and sank slightly into stillness.
He held it there for a moment, feeling the weight settle through his arms, the imbalance still obvious—but controllable.
'It's really hard to control… but not bad.'
A small, satisfied grin slowly formed on his face, subtle but sharp, like something finally clicking into place.
After all, how could he properly control a sword far bigger and heavier than himself? He couldn't, not in any refined way, but he didn't need full control, just a few precise moments of force at the right timing were enough to turn its raw weight into something dangerous, a single swing wasn't technique, it was momentum, and that was all he was relying on.
Rain said as his grin slowly turned into a scarier one, sharper at the edges, like something behind his calm had finally cracked through—
"Now… time for the payback!"
A cold shiver ran down Shion's body.
Fear hit him before he even understood why.
'W-what's this feeling…'
Rain slowly started moving, dragging his massive sword along the ground with a heavy scrape.
"Here I come."