Dragoon vs. Dragon

I stared at Arlo. The two skills I took were Haste and Precision. They were the basics but one granted me a speed boost and the other allowed me to consistently strike deadly blows. Unfortunately, it took half of my mana to take those two. I needed to get my magic up.

"AAANNDD FIGHT!" The announcer shouted.

The two of us charged at each other. Arlo struck with such speed that I was barely able to keep up even with Haste. After exchanging blows, I jumped back to get some distance. I barely landed when he charged again!

"I won't let you get away!" Arlo shouted.

He was slowly pushing me to the edge of the arena. I didn't want to show too many of my cards since this was only the first match, but he had such an advantage. He didn't even use any of his skills yet! 

I saw my opening when he made a wide swing. I charged forward.

"Aaahhh!!... Oof!"

It wasn't an opening. It was bait. Arlo kneed me in the stomach and tossed me to the side.

"Is that it? I thought you would have been much stronger…" Arlo sighed in disappointment.

This battle freak. Not everyone is gonna be freakishly strong at our age, but he wasn't entirely in the wrong. I lacked battle sense. Fighting monsters and fighting humans were two very different battlefields. I forced myself to stand up.

"I… I was just testing the waters," I grinned.

"Yeah… sure," Arlo spun his swords around.

It looked like he was just playing with his swords, but I knew better. Dragoon was a special class. Only people who are said to be descendants of dragons had a chance to obtain this class. One of its perks was the skill Build Up. The more Arlo moved, the more kinetic energy he built up, and the stronger he became.

"I guess this tournament will just be a bore… unless!" Arlo turned to scan the crowd.

"D-Did Arlo just looked away from his opponent!?" The announcer shouted. "He must have decided that this battle was already over!"

The crowd went nuts. Everyone was cheering for Arlo. Part of me wanted to yell in anger, but I needed to stay composed. This was actually to my advantage. I smiled as my plan began to form.

"Ha! There you are!" Arlo pointed his sword to a specific person in the audience. "Hero! You better make it to the finals! Our battle will be amazing!" He laughed.

Ace was sitting with his arms crossed. He wasn't fazed by being singled out, but instead, he stood up. He glared at Arlo.

"There's a reason behind my decision to make Smarus my rival," Ace proclaimed.

The crowd went silent. Everyone stared at Ace.

"But Smarus is losing!" Someone declared.

"Yeah, he's getting his ass kicked!"

"He's just a pathetic loser!"

The crowd became very upset. They began protesting Ace, but he only laughed at them. A collection of confused faces spread across the coliseum.

"Arlo! You lost the moment you looked away!" Ace sat back down, laughing.

"Oh, really?" Arlo chuckled. "We'll see about that."

Arlo turned his attention back to me. I just finished kicking up dirt and dust all around me. I pointed my sword at him.

"I hate long-winded fights, so let's make this quick," I challenged him.

I was still recovering from our previous exchange of blows, but for the most part, I was fine. Arlo wasn't even sweating. He was swinging his sword during his conversation with Ace, so I was sure he was powered up. Perfect. A twisted smile spread across my face.

"Ew. What's with the creepy face?" Arlo was disturbed.

"I'm just waiting to see your arrogant face slowly twist into fear and despair."

I don't know where that came from, but I prepared for another attack.

"Fine, have it your way," Arlo shrugged. "Winged Dash!"

Arlo sprinted forward. He was at least ten times faster than last time, but that only made my smile widen. I threw my sword at him, but he easily deflected it.

"Did Smarus give up all hope!? What is he thinking?" The announcer screamed.

"It was nice meeting you, Smarus," Arlo was quickly closing the distance between us.

"Yeah. This is where we part ways."

I pulled my left hand back, revealing fish wire tied to my fingers. The sword that I threw was now flying back at high speeds!

"Huh!"

"Smarus was thinking a few steps ahead!!" The announcer commentated.

Arlo turned around to block the attack, but he slipped. He looked down and saw that a thin sheet of ice was underneath him! The sword missed him, but I caught it and leaped forward. I tried to strike him as he fell, but he threw a sword at me, causing me to back off. Unfortunately for him, I planned that.

Slice!

Arlo landed on a few knives that I had planted in the predicted area of his fall. I smiled as I saw my plan come to fruition.

"What a cheap trick!" Arlo soon got up and took out the knives.

They stabbed his right forearm, but they weren't too deep. He threw the knives to the side.

"It won't happen twice," His face twisted with anger.

"It doesn't have to"

I moved my right hand, and a single knife returned to me. Those knives were also attacked to fish wire. I licked the blood off the blade and almost puked. I somehow managed to keep it down.

"Creep," Arlo made a disgusted face.

"Any last words?" I said as I sheathed my sword.

"Big talk for someone who was barely standing a moment ago," Arlo was getting angry. "Don't you need your sword?"

 "No. This match is over," I cocked my head back.

"You snotty brat!"

Arlo changed forward, but it was useless. I raised my right palm to prepare for my last attack. 

I was only able to win because Arlo was overconfident. When he turned to challenge Ace, I was able to conjure up and initiate a plan. I cast a water ball spell on the ground and then froze it by enchanting my sword with ice. I pulled a few knives from my inventory and tied each one to my right hand with a fishing wire. I did the same thing with my sword to my left hand. The wire cut my fingers since it was so thin, but my plan had favorable results. All of the conditions were met for me to cast my final spell.

"Satisfied Glutton: Incomplete Void."

Time seemed to freeze. My hand glowed a deep, dark purple as I pointed it at Arlo. A thin, purple hand crept from the palm of your hand and grabbed Arlo. It pulled something out of him. For some reason, it seemed like no one noticed this but me. He was already in the motion of swing when suddenly, he dropped to the floor. I checked his stats to make sure the spell worked.

Name: Arlo Malik

Age: 17

Strength: 1 (Temporary)

Inteligence: 1 (Tempory)

Agility: 1 (Temporary)

Charisma: 1 (Temporary)

Magic: 1 (Temporary)

Class: Dragoon (Temporarily locked)

Mana: 3000/3000

I smiled when I saw that I had completed this spell. My mana was also replenished as well.

"H-how? I can't move!" Arlo's ace was filled with panic as the shock hit him. "What did you do!?" He tried to look up at me.

"Just carrying out a promise. No hard feelings," I smiled as I stepped on his back.

I couldn't help but feel like I was on top of the world. I laughed as the crowd gasped in shock. In just a moment, the tides of our battle switched in my favor. A screen popped up for me.

Congratulations! You won using Incomplete Glutton's Void. 

Reward: Build Up

I smiled. Build Up could only be used by people with the Dragoon class, but since Hermit Wiseman allowed me to master everything, I could use it. I was sure that my body would adapt to use this skill efficiently over time.

"A-And that settles it folk! The winner of the first round is Smarus Dragonborne!" The announcer was just as shocked as everyone else.

The crowd was still silent. No one knew whether they should cheer or jeer at me. My skill did seem unethical.

"WAY TO GO SMARUS!!" Lily, Luna, and the Mystia sisters all yelled.

Well, the sisters said "Lord Smarus", but that was a minor detail. Once they cheered, the crowd soon followed. I was sure they wanted me to celebrate or something, but I never expected to lose, to begin with. I put my hands in my pockets and turned around. Vida and Gricelda ran to the stage to help Arlo.

"He'll be fine in an hour or so. Maybe longer. See ya," I yawned as walked away. 

They sighed in relief, but they were still a bit nervous. Understandably so. After all, their husband just experienced an overwhelming defeat by none other, than the Hero's Rival. I still had much to learn, but this was only the first step. I walked back to my room and sat down. I suddenly felt drained.

I guess this skill only gave a momentary high feeling. Once it wore off, I felt like I had just run a marathon. Since this spell was OP, it could only be used once a day. I prayed that none of my other opponents were gonna be as strong as Arlo today.