Cadell

Under the scorching hot sun, Kiernan felt his skin start to burn as he ran laps around the beach.

It was already his fifteenth lap, but he could feel his feet starting to blister from the hot sand, and the intense heat didn't help.

It was difficult to run in the sand because it was constantly shifting beneath his feet, making each step a challenge.

However, Kiernan didn't complain. It reminded him of his days back on Earth. Those days felt like a lifetime ago.

As he was about to start his sixteenth lap, he felt something approach him from his right and quickly placed his hand in the way. A ball slammed into his hand.

"Huh?" Kiernan looked over to the person with locks of gray hair. "What the hell was that for?"

"Not too bad of reflexes." Cadell said as he walked with his hands inside his shorts' pockets. "I have a question for you."

Kiernan frowned and hurled the ball straight back at him. This time, it was flying at much higher speeds. Still, Cadell caught it with a smirk on his face.

"Did you talk to Muriel, by any chance?" Cadell asked while tossing the ball in his hand.

"Muriel? I don't know anyone by that name." Kiernan replied with a puzzled expression.

"An elf." Cadell squeezed the ball hard as if it were a stress ball. "Black hair, silver eyes, pointy ears."

"Hmm, that does ring a bell." Kiernan said. "Shortly, a few sentences, why?"

"It was you~" Cadell chuckled, and at that moment, he hurled the ball towards Kiernan.

The ball moved at the speed of a high-speed bullet.

Kiernan snatched the ball from the air before it smashed into his face. The ball was even smoking from the friction of the air.

If it had hit him, it could've been very bad.

"So, you are not here to have a friendly conversation." Kiernan dropped the ball into the sand.

"Muriel, well, you see, is someone very close to us." Cadell said while scratching his chin. "She came to us and talked about some weird human trying to get too close to her. She felt really scared."

"What?" Kiernan's eyes shook in surprise. "Ah, I had no such intentions. It was my first time seeing an elf, and I only asked a question, nothing else."

"Haha." Cadell laughed coldly. "Are you calling her a liar?"

"No, I just think there was a misunderstanding." Kiernan said with a frown. 'Weird, she acted completely different.'

"Misunderstanding, hah, that's what they all say." Cadell approached him with a menacing glare. "Leave her alone, a last warning."

"Fine." Kiernan put his arms up in surrender. "I'll avoid her; is that fine?"

"Yes, but I'll need to give you a reminder of what will happen if you go to her."

Cadell suddenly lunged forward and threw a casual, straight punch. It was still powerful enough to push all the sand away from him.

"Iron Style, Rendering Edge!" Kiernan smacked his backhand at Cadell's fist, attempting to redirect it away. In that instant, he realized his mistake.

Cadell's fist didn't move an inch and instead slammed straight into Kiernan's chest. The impact sent him flying across the beach, crashing into a nearby tree.

Crack—the tree split in half and fell to the sand in two pieces.

"Cough…" Kiernan coughed out blood and saliva. It felt like a truck had run him over.

This was the strongest punch he had ever felt—both on Earth and here—the punch's strength was near prime Kiernan's from Earth!

'I-Impossible…' Kiernan grinded his teeth in pain. 'I-I can't breathe… All the air left my lungs…'

"This country sure is weak." Cadell sighed and towered over him. "There's only one decent talent in this backwater country, and that's Johan. The rest of you are pure trash."

"Cough!" Kiernan struggled to breathe, feeling the weight of Cadell's words crushing down on him.

"Tch." Cadell crouched in front of him and shook his head. "A beautiful soul, what a joke. So weak…"

"Cadell, I wondered where you went."

Cadell groaned and rolled his eyes. As he turned around, he saw a black-haired young man head in his direction while licking an ice cream cone.

"Johan, what the hell do you want?" Cadell asked with a frown.

'Johan?' Kiernan turned to the black-haired young man. 'That's the great genius?'

Johan had a very pale face, as if he didn't see a lot of sunlight, with black eyes and black hair. He was a lanky figure with a perpetual scowl.

"Godfred is taking us to Tiamut to check out the stadium that was recently built for nationals." Johan said and glanced at Kiernan briefly. "He told me to go ask you if you want to come, but it looks like you're busy."

"No, I am done here." Cadell turned his back on Kiernan and patted the sand off his shorts. "I'm just taking care of some trash."

"Iron Style, Iron Smash!" Kiernan jumped up and smashed his fist at Cadell's broad, muscular back.

"Huh?" Cadell turned around with a frown. "That tickled, the hell you tried?"

'W-what, tickled?' Kiernan's eyes shrank in shock. 'He is not even that old, maybe in his early twenties, and he is already near my Earth's strength, which took me over forty years to achieve.'

The hand, which Kiernan used to throw his Iron Smash, once again broke. It had barely healed, with some bruises left, but it was back in even worse condition.

Cadell backhanded Kiernan's face and sent him tumbling down the beach. The difference in strength was too great for anyone to overcome.

"Cadell, that's enough." Johan said, stepping in to stop the fight. "You proved yourself, congratulations—now can we leave?"

"Fine." 

Cadell said lazily and then looked at Johan's dark eyes. 

"Also, you didn't see anything that happened here; do you understand?

"Godfred and Muriel are here to check out whether you are good enough to join Martial Academia, but I also have the power to reject you if I see fit."

"I understand." Johan said slowly, but inside he was feeling annoyance.

"Wait…" A voice suddenly came.

"Huh?" Cadell turned around to see Kiernan stand back to his feet, blood trickling down his face.

'What the hell is that idiot doing?' Johan thought in annoyance. 'If he angers Cadell too much, he'll get himself killed.'

"I haven't lost yet!" Kiernan screamed.

"What?" Cadell asked coldly.

"Iron Style, Ghost Spring!" Kiernan took a single step and suddenly vanished.

"Huh?" Cadell looked around the beach.

'A nice technique.' Johan thought. 'It reminds me of those tricks magicians used to do.'

At that moment, dozens of Kiernan's afterimages appeared in the air around Cadell.

However, there was something strange about them. Each one had a look of pain in their faces, and their legs were broken.

"Iron Smash!" Every afterimage rushed towards Cadell and threw identical-looking Iron Smashes.

Cadell crossed his arms in front of his body and tanked the illusionary attacks—however, when most of the afterimages attacked, their attacks simply tickled.

Except for one that punched on his back.

'There you are…' Cadell shot his hand behind him and grabbed the throat of one of the figures. Instantly, all the afterimages disappeared, and there was only one Kiernan left.

"In the end, that's worthless since there can only be one real body." Cadell said with a scoff.

At that moment, a figure appeared behind his back and put him under a chokehold.

"Iron Style, Trap of the Tiger!" Kiernan squeezed hard enough to break any bones.

'What?!' Cadell's eyes widened, and the person he was holding disappeared like a faint mist in the wind. 'That's not possible! That fake felt like a real person; how is that possible?!'

"What an incredible fake…" Johan whistled in amazement. "How did he do that?"

It was perhaps the greatest fake attack in the history. After all, that fake even managed to fool a primordial being, Death.

"I am impressed." Cadell said and without any difficulty, he broke off Kiernan's chokehold. "However, you have no physical strength. You are weak!"