Kid

Walking through the pile of dead bodies Larians had some time to think.

About the vampires, about the coliseum and about Adam. Adam, who had a great wealth of information and had chosen this place to get stronger.

'There is definitely a secret here I have to uncover. The familiar madness that plagues the combatants must be the reason.'

When he was out of sight of the audience he wrapped a few pieces of talisman over his blade. He controlled the paper and gave his blade an edge which overlapped the dull parts of the blade.

This was a makeshift blade. Satisfied with his improvement, Larian entered the second arena. 

The crowd was already cheering wildly. 

Staring at the scene before him Larian could see clearer than earlier. This was because of a luminous blade that was stuck half way through a gigantic Oni. A small human figure stood atop the big figure.

'A kid?'

A child that looked no older than 14 tore the blade off the beast and faced Larian. He had white hair and ocean blue eyes. He wore a white cloth shirt that had been stained by multiple blood clots.

'Civilian clothes? It looks like something a farmer kid would wear.'

"More Blood! Send in more!"

Hearing cheers of blood crazed crowd, Larian shivered at the thought of adding more blood to the puddle which flowed on the floor. 

The kid in white hair gave Larian a side glance. His expression seemed to say: "Don't get in my way."

Larian was at a loss for words.

'What's with this sassy… lost child?'

From within Adam spoke up again.

"Larian. Watch out, this kid…he is quite special."

Larian answered quite uninterestedly.

"Yea yea. I've been looked down for too long. This is nothing new."

"No not that. I mean his traits. If I'm not wrong he possesses numerous traits, he might content as a target I would parasitise if I didn't have you."

Larian grew serious, because he understood Adam's standard of hosts he would accept. 

'People who would turn into legends or something around that level.'

"Can you see people's traits?"

Larian asked Adam.

"I can't see the specifics of traits but I can sense the amount of traits they possess. And this kid has 6 of them."

"6? How does that content with the amount a hero has?"

Adam thought for a moment before answering.

"Heroes are special. They are usually bestowed some overpowered traits chosen by their goddess. But I've seen a case where someone could choose their trait. The only person to get this privilege was Selarian himself."

Larian swallowed his saliva.

"What are you getting nervous about? Don't you have someone who can choose their traits right next to you? I am a world ending entity on par with Selarian. Don't worry if that man comes, I know how to take care of him."

Larian didn't have time to get comforted by Adam's words when multiple gates rattled and burst open.

Swarming in on 4 sides, Larian saw these Hobbe that were half the size of a man, bald and pale skinned. These creatures were stout and resembled plump goblins.

"Kapapaa Krapaapa!"

The Hobbes shouted in an unrecognisable language. 

The Hobbe Tribe live in the Ashlands. They are pests that have been captured from the hollows of the Fire Tar's Volcanic mountains and make up in numbers what they lack in strength.

From the corner of his vision Larian saw a beam of light flash before his eyes. The kid holding the luminous blade had burst straight towards the horde and was tearing the Hobbes apart like paper.

Hearing the Hobbes swarming in from the gate behind him, Larian turned to face them. Their small bodies wore children's clothes stained with urine and faeces could be smelt throughout the arena.

But Larian was not one to wait around. He immediately got to work by initiating his quick draw. Although he didn't have any blade sheathe to draw out his blade from, Shinki style still worked when the blade was out of his enemies sight.

In one slash, he slain 8 Hobbes. His sharp blade radiated numerous symbols of the talisman made each kill clear as they stabbed into the soft Hobbes flesh. There was Magic or Energy supporting Larian, just pure swordsmanship.

'After all the battles I've fought, dealing with multiple weak enemies is starting to become one of my core strengths.'

The Hoppes were holding blunted weapons and sticks. Their attacks were wild and chaotic, but with Larians mastery over Shinki Style he could control the flow of the Hobbes.

Larian kept twisting his blade and this blade flowed like water as it danced through the neck of the child like monsters.

From afar the Luminous swordsman had already dealt with the horde on one of the gates and was blitzing towards the next.

'How does that kid clear one wave soo quickly? I've adapted the Shinki Style for clearing waves and already mastered the art to the peak of a human limit.'

Turning to deal with the flank, Larian stopped his aggression and acted more defensively. In the corner of his eye he could see how the kid handled his weapon.

By the furthest gate, the kid swung his blade wildly while maintaining a full sprint. 

His moves were brutishly agile and it looked like he was killing his enemies by just holding his blade out as he ran

Coupled with his occasional swing, he was massacring the horde at an incredible pace.

The luminous blade which moved erratic or graceful at times was hard for Larian to grasp any techniques from.

'It's like a mash of numerous techniques.'

"That's what a swordsman trait gives. Looking at the magic on his blade it looks like he has a trait which gives natural Lightning proficiency as well."

Adam gave his input to Larian.

But Larian was in deep contemplation.

Throughout his whole time in this new world, he had only used one technique. It was the style which Master Shiro had taught him.

Considering his reputation in the academy, finding someone willing to teach him anything was futile. So he never learnt anything outside of what Shiro had taught.

Facing the sword art in the Forgotten Isle, Larian could understand one core aspect of Shinki Style.

A sword which is as heavy as a mountain while maintaining its grace like flowing water

It was unlike the style he was taught. A concealed blade is most effective for someone who was always underestimated like Larian, so that was how Shiro had adjusted the style and passed the Shinki Style to him.

And Larian had always done as he was taught, he always prioritised the initial strike to gain the upper hand.

It might have worked on the students at the academy, but against stronger and more experienced foes, it is exceedingly obvious that most enemies won't be killed in one strike.

Larian banked on his Dragon Form coupled with his released state and mastery on multistrike to hopefully become a killing machine.

But this power was never truly his.

In one day he lost his goal and also risked his body being hijacked.

Sure he had the Ritual which enhanced his one attack. But it took too much time to prepare and without the assistance of Adam, replicating the slash from the Orkan festival was a pipe dream.

And expecting help from Adam was even more nonsensical.

Become a demon king? How was that possible if he could only remain at the level of a slave in a faraway colosseum in the middle of nowhere. And Larian could not depend on the pity or benevolence of Adam, who knows if Adam would give up early and simply change host.

'If there is one thing I agree with him, it's that I can only depend on myself.'

Larian gripped the handle of his blade tightly.

'The future of my swordsmanship is looking bleak. WIth no one to guide me and no talent in this field, how can I get stronger?'

When he pulled the blade back and thrust the tip forward, the strength behind the blade tore the entire head off the Hobbe's body.

'Am I only this shallow? Am I to be tied to this level because the world decided for me to be talentless?'

Larian was not preserving his energy and the anger in his heart was rising.

When one Hobbe jumped over the corpse of its brethren and rushed forward, Larian grabbed the monster by its throat.

Staring into its pale eyes Larian let go of his sword.

The same way it charged straight towards its problem reminded him of his failure of revenge. 

His hands shot out and pummeled the Hobbes face. Its face became swollen, then its teeth fell out when Larian kept punching. Then it started to bleed from its nose, its mouth and its eyes.

By the time Larian was done. His knuckles had turned red from the blood of the Hobbe and… his own blood.

Surrounding him, every monster stopped dead in their tracks. Larian was towering over the broken and crushed body. Unlike the cleans cuts from before his current kill was brutal.

This rage was not influenced by the red energy, not Adam.

This rage was his.

Dropping the corpse onto the floor with a plop, Larian picked up his blade.

Everyone stepped back when Larian walked. 

Larian let go of the only style he knew, he simply slashed with all his strength.

It was a complete opposite style compared to the stealthy and elegant blade of Shinki Style. Explosive and savage.

The pent up rage of failures had been released. Even if he had to give up the only style he treasured he would give it up to achieve his dream.

"Kapaa! Kapra-"

Larian's blade struck like a ram held by ten men and the Hobbes panicked when guts and organs flew in the air like a party popper.

The torn flesh of your brethren falling from the sky made the Hobbes throw their weapons and run. They cried and wailed, but Larian chased all of them down.

By the time the last was smashed into the floor like a fruit, Larian turned to the next place still screaming of Hobbes. The last gate.

The kid was done with his gate as well. His eyes met Larian, for a moment he was surprised that Larian had survived then his eyes widened at the mess of the corpses.

But the kid quickly turned his attention back onto the last gate and charged straight towards it like a bolt. Larian followed suit.

The Hobbes were barely coping with the two monsters and they shivered in their dirty boots.

They had witnessed a child cleanly killing twice of their numbers and another man who broke down another group like mashed tomatoes.

Larian lashed out on the small hobbes while the Kid blitzed through the back lines of the horde. 

By the time they were cutted down, Larian was covered entirely in blood while the Kid's neat clothes had been stained by the splatter of guts from Larian's kills.

"W-what a stunning display of a massacre! Another fresh contestant has kept up with the Luminous swordsman. This is truly a blessed week!"

The announcer kept going on pleasing the crowd but Larian didn't stop to pay attention. He looked at his bloodied hands while trying to remember the sensation as he fought.

'This anger… Could I implement it in Shinki Style? Ruthless while Elegant, Stealthy while explosive. My sword art has to change and this is the start of it. My own sword style.'

Looking towards the kid, he realised that he had been inspired by the mix and match style which he had shown. There was something about the improvisation he implemented that made sense to Larian.

'Staying by this kid will definitely help in developing my own swordsmanship.'

Larian extended his hand to the kid. If he had never been one to initiate a conversation, now was the time he had to brush up on his conversation skills.

"My name is Larian. From Trier, nice to meet you."

The kid remained quiet. Maybe it was something about a man covered entirely in blood and guts that seemed unsettling to the lad but he never answered Larian's introduction.

The gates from afar closed down, and only the one closest to them remained open. It was time to leave

The kid maintained a distance and eyed Larian cautiously while the duo slowly exited the arena.