Chapter 22

*** Author's Note ***

Busy week again for me.

Again I would like to apologize for the infrequent release of chapters. I will try to complete at least three this week, then work up from there.

Anyway, here's today's chapter!

Enjoy!

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Instead of sparring inside the Guild House's sparring area, the Guild Master Paul Bret Anderson personally led them in an arena on the outskirts of town. The arena is still under construction, but the center stage is already done. It is a 20m by 20m area, wide enough for fighters to maneuver, but not too wide that they could run around. You could call it, intimate.

"Is this safe? We're here to spar, not to play. The bystanders might get caught and get injured." Asked Drogo.

"Don't worry about the damage. This arena is leagues better than the sparring area which you destroyed in the last sparring session. The stage has been reinforced with magic and barriers are placed around it to protect the audience." Artreus could hear the guild master tell Drogo.

Drogo visibly winces at the mention of the guild's sparring area being destroyed. What did he do to get it destroyed? "Sorry about that Paul. Don't worry, I will reimburse you for the damage."

"No need. Consider it as an investment. I have an event planned a few months from now and this will be a great advertisement for it." Paul declared with a smile on his face.

As the two continued discussing with each other, Artreus walked towards the racks of training weapons, he finally decided to use a sword and shield. Matching a monster like Drogo in strength is a practice in futility, thus Artreus opted to focus on defense while trying to exploit openings. Looking at Esteban who took the same wooden saber he used when they fought against each other, the usually indecisive look on his face is nowhere to be found, in its place was a look of eagerness. Don't know why he is like that, but at least he seems reliable today, no mumbling to himself whatsoever. 

Then there was Mikaela, who holstered a bunch of wooden daggers. Judging from their brief skirmish when they first met, he would need to keep an eye on her deadly accurate knife throws and her quick feet, giving her the ability to get in and out of combat at will.

"You boys ready for a beat down?" Drogo asked with a wide grin on his face. His stance is slack, with his wooden great sword leaning against his shoulder.

Irked by his lackadaisical attitude, Artreus answered. "Yeah. Your beat down."

 "Oho! Some spunk eh? I like that." Raising his sword in ready, Drogo added, "Come! Let's see what you got!"

As soon as he said that, both Artreus and Esteban charged at him, but before they could even get within range, two wooden daggers flew towards them, aiming at their faces. Artreus blocked it with his shield while Esteban's windshield deflected it. The slight delay from reacting to a sudden attack from Mikaela was just what Drogo needs. Without skipping a beat, the great sword scythed through the air. Artreus readied himself to receive the attack as he buckles down behind his shield and reinforcing it with his Aura unless it gets destroyed by the monstrous power behind Drogo's attack. With a loud bang, a sound which no one would believe came from wood hitting wood could be heard as the wooden great sword landed against his shield, forcing Artreus to take a few steps back.

Damn it. Such strength. Artreus cursed as he felt his shield-arm get numb from a single hit.

Suddenly, he sensed danger. He looked down and just from under his shield, he could see a dagger snaking towards him. It was Mikaela. She must've used the opening that Drogo created and snuck upon him. A normal fighter would've surely get stabbed with an attack like this. 

But he is no ordinary fighter.

Enveloping his body with Aura, he summoned more strength in his left arm and used the side of the shield to deflect her attack, making her hyperextend and open to a counter-attack, and counter he did. He swung his sword down at Mikaela who dodged it by rolling away but not before trying to slice at his ankle as she does so. Thankfully, Artreus raised his foot just in time to avoid getting hit. 

They might be using wooden weapons but that doesn't mean that he shouldn't treat this like a real fight. After all, that is why they are sparring. That is also the reason why he is going to kick her before she could regain her footing from rolling.

As his foot travel towards the back of her head, he then felt pain in his left arm. It was Drogo, he hit him as he was attacking Mikaela. With only one foot to anchor him, the force of the attack hitting his shield sent him flying and rolling in the ground. Quickly getting up, he instinctively raised his shield and blocked a dagger flying at him, followed by a kick to his shield, which means.

An attack from above!

Rolling away, another dagger was planted in the ground where he was kneeling before. Swinging upward, his sword hit nothing but air as Mikaela quickly jumped out of his range. Suddenly, he felt a surge of Mana traveling towards him and jumped back just in time to avoid a large wind blade scything through the air, cutting the ground apart before crashing against the barrier outside the stage and disappearing.

What the hell! It almost hit me! Artreus thought as he shouts at Esteban. "Just what are you---" He couldn't even finish his sentence before a rain of wind blades rush past him and he was forced to dodge the attacks. 

What is that idiot Esteban doing? He is just throwing magic attacks after magic attacks at Drogo. What is worse, is that none of them is connecting and is putting me in danger instead. Looking at the idiot's face, it dawned on Artreus. Esteban is nervous. That is why he keeps attacking wildly. 

As impressive as the continuous barrage of spells is, what is more, impressive was Drogo. From the first time they fought, Artreus knew that Drogo was strong. But after a few days in their company, it became clearer to him that considering him strong is still an understatement. Not considering his fighting style, which is a straightforward way of fighting that barbarians often use, his Aura is solid and strong, depicting that he honed it for years and years in the heat of battle, and that strength is on display right now as he sliced through the enormous wind blades with just his Aura enhanced wooden great sword.

"You got to put a little more into it if you want to hit me, lad." Drogo teased Esteban.

Falling for the obvious taunt, Esteban charged at him, the wind howling around him as he did.

Idiot. Don't rush at an obvious trap. Artreus also charged at Drogo to assist the knuckle brain. With his Aura clad body, he crossed at least ten meters in a single bound, and with an overhead slash, he struck at Drogo. The beast of a man that he is, he parried the attack with a one-hand grip and punched Artreus with his free hand which Artreus caught with his shield. A cracking sound could be heard as the shield is about to break even after being reinforced by Aura, and as he was flung mid-air Mikaela suddenly appeared to take advantage of the situation. Mikaela lunged at Artreus with the intent of driving her wooden dagger to his neck. To avoid this, Artreus twisted his body mid-air and delivered a spinning kick, thwarting her attempt. He then turned around to see Drogo, just in time to dodge another attack from the hulking man. 

What happened to Esteban? He is no longer attacking. Artreus' eyes wandered around and saw Esteban lying on the ground, unconscious. Shit. The idiot couldn't last even 5 minutes. He thought as he continued to block and parry the attacks of Drogo, and once Mikaela recovered, the match was set as a flurry of blows landed in his body.

+++

"Great match! Exhilarating from start to finish."

"The youngsters are splendid, especially the disciple of Mayor Adam. Those Wind Blades could cut anything that they touch."

"Anything but the leader of the famous White Wolves! By the way Mr. Drogo. That Artreus boy, is he your disciple? The way he fought fiercely even when outnumbered reminds me of you."

Praises were thrown left and right after the sparring match has ended. The old man's monstrous strength and fighting prowess. Esteban's seemingly inexhaustible well of mana as he flung spells after spells. Even the pervert was praised as he put up a decent fight against the old man. 

But as usual, none noticed her.

 Who would? She only ran around the stage, flinging dagger after dagger. Even when she took advantage of openings that the old man created, she still wasn't able to land even a single blow to the perverted Artreus. Even attacking him in his blind side or mid-air was useless against his battle instinct. Like he knew what exactly to do in those situations. 

If he did lose his memory, he should act like one.

Grinning from ear to ear, the old man walked beside her. "That was a fun fight. You were great out there little Mimi."

Frowning at his praise, she replied. "What are you saying? You defeated them both. I didn't do a damn thing."

"What a bunch of rubbish." A voice said. Walking beside them was Claus. "The old man may have been the one to deal the final blow, but you controlled the field as usual. Without you, the old man would've been in a pinch."

"Yea. Don't be too hard on yourself lass. You are plenty talented." Drogo chimed in. As they walk, an officer approached the old man. After a few minutes, he walked towards them. "I've got business to attend to for the moment."

"We heard it. They finally got the bandit stash." Mikaela responded. "So how much are we getting?"

"Don't know yet. From their estimation, it should be at least 60,000 gold coins in both money and goods."

"Wow. That much? Twelve percent of that is seven thousand gold!" half a year's worth of bounty in one haul. Imagine all the equipment she could buy with that. 

"Yeah. They said they found a secret stash in Gen's room filled with precious gems. Who would've known that someone so ugly is so fascinated with gems." Drogo let out a laugh. "Oh well. That is why I am going with these lovely gentlemen, to barter with Adam and see if we could get a couple of gold more. Both of you are free to spend your time until noon, where we will meet at the inn and split the bounty."

"How about Artreus?" Claus asked.

"Hmmm? Did you find something about him?" Drogo turned to face Claus with a curious look on his face.

With a nonchalant expression, Claus answered. "No. Nothing that wasn't mentioned in my report yesterday. Although I found rats last night."

"You mean the ones who are staking the inn last night? If so, there is nothing to be concerned about." Spies who get discovered that easy means their employer is nothing of note. Stupid people hire stupid employees.

"This town just doesn't stop giving eh?" The old man smiled. For a man who is a figure of strength, he finds it amusing to find someone brave enough to face him.

Since Claus and she joined their group, there are only a handful of times their group has been spied upon. Mostly by the old man's enemies who tried to find his weakness. It is not an understatement that they regret accepting the money for their mission, for the price they paid was something they can't afford. Unfortunately, his expectations won't surely be met with the level of the man who is behind the spies.

"So, who is it this time?" The old man asked with an excited look on his face.

"I only have hunches for now. Mikaela and I will investigate further." Claus answered, although he tries to look interested, the look of annoyance still slips from time to time. Perhaps because this just means he has less time to spend with his pets.

"I trust both of you. Now. I'm off to claim our pay. Let's meet up at noon!" With that, the enthusiastic old man marches off towards the mayor's house.

What a pain. If her hunch is correct, the one who employed the spies to watch over them should be the nobles. The underworld in this town is not influential enough, or have any reason to cross them. The guard that she cut the handoff doesn't look like someone who has the means to do so, but if he does and did, his stupidity is beyond saving.

Mikaela sighs as her workload is getting larger by the day. If this continues, she wouldn't have time to train, and while it is true that she could hone her skills on the job, lately there is little to no chance for her to do so.

And if what she heard from what the old man and the guild master had discussed earlier, she must get in her top form soon. For even if the recognition that she seeks is still out of her grasp, it will be soon.

In a month, the chance to prove her strength will come.

Now, she just had to figure out how to harness either of the energies.