An Easy Win
Makayla held Henry's hand as she heard the man calling him "Crippled Henry", and stared at the man menacingly.
-"Marcos... Can you at least be a little educated?" Ketlyn face stiffened as Marcos's appearance made things uncomfortable.
– "Is there anything wrong with calling someone who is disabled a cripple? It would be preferable if he could eventually admit to being useless." The young man called Marcos had a sarcastic smirk on his face as he stared at Henry.
-" Cripple? But how can a crippled person use a magic sword?" Isabella was perplexed; Henry's mana deficiency was a well-known story at Maverick Academy, but she had never heard of his being crippled.
-" Use what? How can Crippled Henry use a magic sword? HAHAHAHAHA, quite the good joke, This loser couldn't even become a first circle mage apprentice, I bet he can't even utilize a normal sword properly, let alone a magic one." As Isabella mentioned the magic blade, Marcos's laughter became even louder.
-"SHUT UP! MY BROTHER ISN'T A CRIPPLE!" Makayla had enough and began yelling at Marcos, but even she was taken aback when she realized something was seriously wrong. When Henry showed the girls the sword, they were so taken aback that Makayla forgot about her brother's cultivation level.
-" Oh, is this the cripple's sister? It's a good thing she's not one as well." Marcos's never-ending ridicule made everyone around him uneasy. "Not only is he a cripple, but he also goes around deceiving small girls, what a useless piece of garbage."
- "My brother did not trick me, he gave me a fifth-level sword!" Makayla's face was flushed with rage.
-" Marcos, you should really leave." Ketlyn, who was watching from the sidelines, eventually spoke up, while she was curious to see if Henry was telling the truth, Marcos's presence wasn't something that she was appreciative of.
"Does the Elpest family own this plaza?" Marcos's voice was full of venom as he gave Elizabeth a fleeting glance. " I didn't expect you to defend a con artist, Ketlyn."
Marcos's statements made Ketlyn grimace, she had a sneaking suspicion that Henry had deceived the girls as well, but she couldn't be sure if he was lying because she knew Isabella wasn't the kind to be tricked so easily.
- "Henry, let's go home; we don't have to put up with him." Makayla grabbed her brother's hands and tried to drag him away, but Henry remained still.
-"Why should we return home? I simply have to prove it to him, right?" Henry shook Makayla's hands and looked at Marcos as he extended his hands.
To Marcos and Ketlyn's surprise, an old and rusted sword materialized in his grasp.
When the two gazed at the sword, they could feel the energy inside it, but they weren't convinced that it was a fifth level sword.
-"So, what now? Why don't you demonstrate that this is the fifth ————-" Before Marco could finish his sentence, the blade began to glow light blue and a large aura began to emerge from it. This time, Henry had demonstrated even more of the sword's power, causing passersby to glance at the blade with glittering eyes.
Ketlyn was taken aback; this was a fifth-level blade, and she could tell from the aura that it was of exceptional quality.
Small falling stars could be seen above the sword's aura, making everyone around Henry fall in awe of the sword's power.
Marcos's eyes shined as he saw the sword; he couldn't believe Henry genuinely possessed such a treasure, and it appeared that he could truly control it. - "What a shame that such a valuable item is in the hands of a cripple." Marcos approached Henry and attempted to grab the blade, but before he could even touch it, the weapon vanished from Henry's fingers, rousing Marcos from his stupor.
-"What do you think that you are doing?" After putting his sword away, Henry confronted Marcos, he couldn't believe how shameless the man was to openly try to steal something.
-" What do you think? You don't deserve to wield such a powerful weapon, and I bet that you can't even use it to its full potential." Marcos appeared agitated as he gripped Henry's collar.
-" MARCOS! What are you doing?" Ketlyn felt shocked at how brazen Marcos was acting.
-" Why not? How could I let such a good sword be wasted on a cripple?" Marcos tightened his grip on Henry's collar even further. "You can't even make use of it!"
-" And how do you know you could?" Henry grabbed Marcos's hands and shook them off.
- "Would you like to place a wager?" Marcos appeared to be confident in his control of the sword, after all, since Henry had such strong control of it, Marcos was certain that the blade had something on it that made controlling it so easy.
"Why would I place a bet with you? Do you even have anything similar in value?" Henry was acting composed but deep down he was truly terrified of Marcos's ability to control the sword, so he decided to check with his system after some thought about the bet.
'System, how strong must a person be to wield this sword's full power?' Henry thought that his system would be able to provide him with a definitive answer.
-'To have complete control of the Star Tainted Sword - High Grade Variant, you must be at the peak of the eighth circle.' The system response made Henry sigh in relief; he didn't know what realm Marco was in, but he knew he wasn't in the eighth circle.
'The cultivation analysis of an individual named Marcos is going to commence.'
In the heat of the moment, he completely forgot that the system could also examine the cultivation of other people. Henry waited patiently for the system to finish the analysis. -' Marcos's cultivation level is currently at the Fifth Circle of the Mage Apprentice Realm, and Fourth Level of the Body Tempering Realm.'
Henry smiled as he confirmed his suspicions about Marcos's current level. -" So? If we bet what you will put in line?" Everyone was surprised when Henry appeared to accept the bet.
Marcos was stunned that Henry had even considered betting against him, so he paused for a few seconds and retrieved a red bracelet from his spatial ring. -" I will use this on our bet. My Red-Tailed Viper Leather Bracelet."
-'" Oh, what level is this artifact?" Henry smiled as he observed the treasure in Marcos's hands.
-" This is a fire element third level -------" Henry cut Marcos off before he could finish detailing his treasure.
-" Not enough, are you trying to scam me? My sword is worth at least five bracelets like this. If you don't have money to bet just say." Henry was delighted since the tides of conversation had shifted and he was now the one mocking Marcos.
Marcos clenched his teeth and pulled out two more treasures. -" This a Scarlet Fang Dagger, and this a Hellhound Fur Boots, they are both at the second ----------" And just like before, Henry interrupted him again, making Marcos even more enraged.
-" Not enough, Are you poor or something? Don't you have a fourth level treasure? I think that you will have to sell your whole family just to participate in this bet."
Marcos felt his face burn in shame as Henry continued to taunt him; he was a proud man, and being mocked by someone he regarded as a useless being enraged him. Marco gathered all of the valuables he had on him and placed them on the ground.
-" This is all I have, one treasure from the third level, three treasures in the second level, four treasures in the first level, and 15 gold coins" Marco was looking at Henry's face attentively, knowing that if he didn't accept the wagger now, there was nothing Marco could do. He even put his spatial ring in there, as well as all of the money he had saved over the years.
-"Not even a level four? Tsk, I didn't expect you to be so poor. I can see now why you're so obsessed with a mere fifth level sword." Henry's words made Marco, as well as the crowd that had gathered around them, frown. Just a fifth-level sword? Even the nobles' families considered a fifth-level sword to be a high-level item.
Henry smiled as he looked at the small pile of treasures, and showed his sword again. -" So the one with better control over the sword will win?"
-" Why not? It's not like I'm losing anyway." Marcos was confident, as there was no way someone several realms lower than him could have better control of such a high-level artifact.
Ketlyn looked at Henry, puzzled as to why he was so certain Marcos would lose the bet; Marco could be dumb and rude, but he was skilled. -"Perhaps I should have entered the bet as well?" Ketlyn was envious of Marcos, who had just begun to infuse his mana into the sword.
Ketlyn let out a heavy sigh and shook her head; it looked like Marcos would obtain quite the treasure today. With a troubled expression, she looked towards Henry, who was rummaging through the pile of goods that Marco had retrieved.
-" Hey Makayla, you have fire affinity right? This bracelet and boots suit you well, do you want them?" Ketlyn was enraged by Henry's casual attitude; how could he keep up his act?
-" Tsk, do you really believe you have a chance to win this bet? Your acting is —————————————————————————-" Marcos was in the middle of reprimanding Henry when he felt the energy of the sword, which had previously been quiet and tranquil, begin to act up. Marcos tightened his grasp on the sword and focused, the veins in his arms bulging as he wrestled with the weapon.
Ketlyn noted the changes in the sword and how Marcos's complexion began to worsen. "Is he losing control already? How is this possible? Why is this energy so disturbed?" Ketlyn couldn't make sense of what was happening to Marcos since she recalled how much power Henry could muster from the sword.
-" Makayla, pay attention, you need always be careful while using this sword, you can only control it totally in the peak of the eighth circle, so anytime you use it, don't ever go over your limits." With terror in his eyes, Henry watched as Marcos was dominated by the blade, the even considered taking Makayla's sword away as he feared that she would be hampered by it.
-" Yes! I understand, brother!" Makayla took Henry's words to heart since she, too, was terrified of the sword's power.
-"Great, it's good to know your limits; I don't want you to end up like this loser." Henry's constant ridicule caused Marcos, who was already unstable, to lose all focus.
Marcos's grip on the blade faltered and he dropped the sword. The veins in his arms were swollen to the point of popping, and blood was dripping from his nose, lips, and eyes.
Marco's pitiful situation made the crowd gathered around him scared; they all stared at the levitating sword, which emitted a terrifying aura.
-"This sword is going berserk, we have to stop it or the blade's energy will soon cause disaster in the square." Ketlyn's eyes trembled as she sensed the frenetic energy shaking the surroundings.
-" Oh? Do Marcos wants to end his attempt? I don't want to interfere just so he can use it as an excuse for losing." Henry smirked at Marcos, who was writhing in pain on the ground.
-" Excuse for losing? This isn't the place for such a petty thing, if this sword genuinely goes into a frenzy, people will die!" Ketlyn couldn't believe Henry's words.
"Don't be worried, Didn't Marco say it would be simple? I'm sure he's only acting; as soon as I make a move, he'll get up and take hold of the sword." Henry's mockery rendered Ketlyn helpless; she knew he wouldn't move, and she could only rely on herself to stop the out-of-control sword.