R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 13

R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 13 (Over the next week, I'll be releasing chapters to catch up the active tiers to their proper chapter amounts, and then we'll resume a regular release schedule for all tiers!)

‘Hmm… this is going to take a while.’ Gregor thought as he watched the Council.

The revelations Micheal brought to the various Tribe Leaders spawned a multitude of discussions and arguments. The proud warriors went back and forth as they each brought their own Tribe’s perspective forward, debating on the course they wanted to take.

It was a rather exhausting sight that the Lord Justiciar was more than used to seeing. When the Council got like this, it typically took several hours before any sort of agreement could be reached. Intervening directly would merely slow it even more.

The Lord Justiciar’s gaze drifted over towards the human that had set the Council off.

Abruptly, a curious gleam appeared in his eyes as he studied the warrior. After a few moments, Gregor began to smile as an idea popped into his mind.

.. .. .. .. .. ..

Micheal took a deep breath.

The tang of morning dew danced across his taste buds, carried in the air by a fresh breeze. The rustle of leaves echoed softly from the forest around him, merging the chirps of early-rising birds.

A quiet thud resounded in his ears, a thumping that was deep in timber. It was his heartbeat, slow and methodical, echoing quietly as he entered a state of focused calm.

Micheal adjusted his grip on the long, wooden sword he was holding, securing it tightly in his hands.

“You ready?” The Lord Justiciar grinned at Micheal as he waved an identical wooden sword back and forth.

Micheal smiled back.

“I am.” A few drops of sweat dripped down his forehead as he stared at his Farian opponent.

To Micheal’s surprise, right after he finished talking to the Council, the Lord Justiciar had asked Micheal for a spar.

Micheal hadn’t seen any reason to decline and had accepted the offer. He needed a way to test his recent progress, and a sparring match against the legendary Lord Justiciar himself was a perfect chance.

The duo had left the Council behind and moved across camp to a small, wooded clearing. The ground here was relatively flat, interspersed with chunks of grey rock about the size of a basketball that were sunk into the ground.

It wasn’t a perfect sparring arena, but Micheal liked it. In a real fight, only rarely did Micheal find himself battling in ideal conditions. With that in mind, Micheal declined Gregor’s offer to move to a better location after the Lord Justiciar asked. Gregor seemed rather amused by Micheal’s reasoning.

‘I can’t believe I actually get to spar with him.’ Micheal stared down at the Farian as he raised his sword, his arms tensing.

Gregor was a figure that gained a nigh myth-like aura in later years, a fabled warrior whose name sent shivers down the spines of his enemies.

This fight wouldn’t be like any other fight he’d had before in his second life.

It would be a fight between Masters, an incredibly important distinction.

Before one reached the Master level, a difference in equipment or preparation was often the biggest factor in a fight.

After the Master level, however, skill became a far more important consideration.

Before Micheal reached the Master level, there was a hard limit to the number of enemies he could take down in one go. With careful planning and focus, that number stood between one and two hundred opponents, depending on what Abilities and Artifacts they were using.

Taking down that many enemies would be exhausting and liable to cause him to lose multiple Life Orbs, given the breadth of Abilities he might face…

But he could still do it, if just barely.

Now that he had reached the Master level, however… when facing that same number of foes…

He wouldn’t even break a sweat.

Micheal and Gregor locked gazes. The world around them seemed to fade away slightly as both warriors zeroed in on the other, taking in every potential movement the other made.

For one long moment, the two seemed almost frozen in time while the world around them marched forward, neither warrior making any motions.

That moment seemed to stretch into infinity… and then…

A leaf from a nearby tree fluttered through the air in-between Micheal and Gregor, slightly obscuring their view of the other.

That silent moment ended…

And the ground exploded.

Bits of rock, dirt, and grass scattered into the air as both Micheal and Gregor rocketed forward, launching themselves with such force that they left meter wide holes in the ground beneath them.

Micheal swung his sword at an angle to the side, taking advantage of the fact that Gregor stood around a hand taller than him. Gregor, in return, swung at Micheal’s chest, matching his attack. Golden Master Tier Sword Energy covered both wooden blades, enhancing their durability and sharpness.

The abrupt transition from standing still to leaping forward happened so quickly that, by the time the warriors reached the other, the falling leaf was still stuck mid-air between them, barely a centimeter from where it had been.

The two swords met.

And… the ground exploded yet again.

As Micheal’s sword slammed into Gregor’s, an enormous impact blasted straight into Micheal, sending his feet sinking backwards into the earth, creating a river of cracks and sending up shards of rock and dirt. For a split second, Micheal’s body wavered between going into shock and not before he managed to spin off to the right and side-step Gregor’s attack.

The Lord Justiciar, in the meantime, simply bulldozed straight through Micheal’s strike and continued to swing at him.

Micheal jumped backwards out of range, dodging Gregor’s followup swing in one smooth motion.

There was a brief pause in the spar as the two warriors faced off again, gauging each other’s reaction.

‘What the… I knew he was strong but this is just ridiculous. He’s a monster.’ Micheal’s arms trembled for a few moments as he recovered from the clash, finding himself shocked at the sheer raw power behind the Lord Justiciar’s attacks.

Micheal had poured all of his focus into his Strength and Endurance and had gone through the body enhancement that came with achieving Master tier. He was by no means weak and, in fact, ranked among the very strongest humans on the Second Layer.

He wasn’t weak… but, rather, the Lord Justiciar was absurdly strong.

Gregor Mantorel was the strongest Farian through the entire history of the Farian race, a literal walking legend.

‘Alright, then… let’s adapt.’

Micheal rolled his shoulders and then changed his stance, letting go of his sword with his left hand, holding the wooden blade with only his right. He raised his left hand out in front of him while bending his knees and leaning slightly backwards. He kept his right hand low, the wooden sword aimed downward to the point that it almost touched the earth.

Gregor’s grin widened as he saw Micheal change his stance. In response, a blood-red Aura began to cover the Farian as he drew upon his Bloodline.

The air around the Lord Justiciar trembled as his body began to give off an enormous, crushing wave of pressure. The ground beneath the Farian cracked and trembled, spreading out in a visible shockwave.

Gregor’s Bloodline was a unique one among the Farian Tribes. It was a Bloodline that only he possessed, a rare evolution of the Bloodline he was born with.

The Primordial Giant Bloodline.

The spar resumed.

Gregor dashed forward, his body moving so quickly that, even in Micheal’s eyes, it transformed into a red blur. Every step Gregor took broke the ground beneath him, the mini explosions echoing loudly in the morning air.

Micheal, in turn, didn’t move an inch and stayed still as Gregor charged him. He maintained his stance, but appeared almost defenseless in the face of the Lord Justiciar’s almighty blitz.

A hint of confusion appeared in Gregor’s eyes when he saw this, though it didn’t make him slow down or adjust his attack.

In the split second before Gregor reached Micheal…

A bubble of slow, distorted time appeared right in front of him, completely catching the Lord Justiciar off-guard.

‘What?!’ Gregor noticed the anomaly immediately but was flabbergasted, experiencing something he had never even imagined.

The Time Bubble Micheal spawned only slowed time down by roughly 30% within its confines, but that was enough to completely throw off the Lord Justiciar’s focus for a few short moments.

Micheal took advantage of that as he kicked down with his left leg, smashing apart one of the large rocks that were scattered all over the clearing. Stone shrapnel from the impact blasted upward, including several pieces that flew up right in front of Micheal.

With his free left hand, Micheal grabbed one of the flying stone shards and imbued it with Master Tier Sword Energy. The jagged edges of the palm sized rock took on a golden hue, flashing brightly as Micheal went all out.

Micheal then hurled the stone directly at Gregor’s face, the blinding Sword Energy he had imbued within it obscuring the Lord Justiciar’s vision. In the same motion, he also cut inward with his sword, aiming at Gregor’s chest.

All of this took place in a fraction of a second, within the small gap of time between Gregor entering the Time Bubble and subsequently processing what it was.

A third explosion shook the air as the Lord Justiciar came to a halt, his feet crashing into the ground and forming a two-meters wide crater. The subsequent shockwave was enough to disrupt Micheal’s hastily contracted Time Bubble, but by that point, Micheal’s attack had already landed.

Gregor was forced to lurch off balance to avoid the energized stone Micheal threw, leaving his sides open. Before Micheal’s followup attack could land, however, the Lord Justiciar drew on his absurd strength to forcibly redirect his own sword to his side, blocking Micheal’s strike.

The impact knocked the Lord Justiciar backwards, but the experienced warrior took advantage of that to leap back with the blow to regain his footing. It was a movement that would have been impossible for Micheal to pull off, especially after being caught by surprise and forced off balance… but Gregor managed it with ease.

‘Incredible.’ Micheal stared at the Farian warrior, his blood boiling with excitement.

The ability to instantaneously react to unexpected scenarios, unmatched physical prowess, decades of combat experience and dedicated training…

The Lord Justiciar was a genius in a tier of his own.

“Hahahaha! Interesting!” Gregor laughed out loud as stared at Micheal.

“How unique… you humans and your Abilities are so very interesting.” An almost predatory gleam appeared in the Lord Justiciar’s eyes as he studied his human opponent.

Micheal simply grinned and gestured at the Farian with his free hand, motioning for him to come at him.

Gregor grinned back.

The earth exploded anew as their spar resumed.

.. .. .. .. .. ..

Meanwhile…

Several thousand meters to the East of the dueling duo, in the middle of a large, forested area…

A series of low, rumbling growls echoed in the air, growing ominously closer to Micheal’s location.

“Kkktthh…”

“Kkktthh… Kkktthh…”

.