Training

Kael was led back to the field, with a light spar already taking place.

Master Tidea took over from Princess Aretha, leading him to the centre.

"Alright, everyone. This young man here wants a good warm-up before his duel. Anyone able to defeat him will be free from tonight's patrol duty."

The warriors were fired up hearing this. Many pleaded for a chance to spar with him, and finally, a young white-haired warrior was chosen.

Kael took his battle stance as she charged at him. "I'll wipe that smirk off your face," he thought, staring at Princess Aretha.

The warrior thrust her spear forward, which kael easily blocked before jumping back. "Let's see how I'll cope without using my abilities." He decided to test his physical strength to judge the strength of the warriors.

The warrior once again charged in taking kael retreat as fear. She did a sweeping swing, which kael dodged easily leaping to the air and then struck down.

"Ughh," the warrior groaned, feeling her hand go numb just from the strike with her feet sinking into the sandy ground. "Strong!" She muttered but was too late to be cautious now. Kael's form moved with grace as he released a flurry of strikes, clearly dominating her.

The warrior overwhelmed by the attack lost her balance, causing her to crash to the ground with the tip of Kael's sword resting on her neck.

The area was silent as they took in what they just saw. Kael had easily defeated one of them without much stress.

"I thought I held back?" Kael scratched the back of his head, staring at the warrior before him. Judging by the spar going on, the warriors on bronze armour are at a lower level than those with a mixture of red in their armour.

He wasn't able to fully gauge the warrior strength after the fight and decided to advance. "Next!" His voice echoed loudly, bringing them back from their dazed expression.

Now everyone was quite wary after seeing his display. The surrounding spars had ended while they stared at the young man in the centre of the field.

"I don't think I'll catch them off guard like before," he muttered as he awaited his next opponent. A warrior finally stepped up after some seconds with a serious expression on her face.

Kael prepared himself as the warrior charged forward with her sword gleaming dangerously. Easily evading the strike, he struck with the flat side of the sword, sending the warrior hurtling back with a pained expression.

Giving her an opportunity to rise, he charged forward this time around swinging his sword in a diagonal slash. The warrior blocked it but was pushed back by the force. Kael took a step forward, swinging his sword from below.

She had blocked the attack, but her weapon flew from her hand, leaving her defenceless and causing her to admit defeat.

"You didn't tell me he was this strong," Master Tidea muttered quite amazed from the fights.

Princess Aretha was speechless as she stared at him with a confused expression.

Ding!

[You've defeated two amazon warriors]

[+600 exp]

[EXP: 2000/8000]

"This…" Kael muttered with shining eyes. His eyes lit up as he took the fight more seriously. This was an opportunity to increase his strength after all. The battle continued with Kael easily defeating the warriors that challenged him. Instead of getting tired, he felt his movements and combat skills increasing with each battle.

After the tenth clash, none was willing to step forward again. "It appears their strengths are in the low E rank," he thought while glancing at the system screen before him.

[You've defeated eight amazon warriors: +2400 exp]

[EXP: 4400/8000]

"Alright, I think I've been able to judge your strength. I guess you can take on the elite warriors." Master Tidia said with a thoughtful expression.

Kael didn't say anything as he awaited the next warrior. If it was going to grant him more exp, then he didn't mind.

This time around, a red-haired lady by the name of Jenny stepped forward. Her bronze armour mixed with red shinef brightly as she took a stance with a serious expression.

"I'll bring back honour for my warriors!" She exclaimed, swinging her sword. Everyone watched with focused eyes as they didn't want to mix anything that occurred. After all, the person about to face Kael was one of their best warriors.

Both charged forward as their swords clashed, causing a bright spark. After a series of moves, both jumped back before circling around. From the first clash, Kael found out the lady before him was quite strong, causing him to let out a smile.

Both clashed at the centre once more, displaying their skills. The lady's attack was swift and sharp, causing kael to be on the defence.

"Yes! Teach him a lesson!" The other female warriors at the sidelines screamed in excitement.

Princess Aretha couldn't help but frown seeing this. "What's he doing?" She muttered loudly.

"He's clearly letting her dominate the fight. She's going to lose the fight," Master Tidea said after some time.

Kael was on the back foot, barely blocking her strikes, yet his face was covered in a wide smile. He could feel his body adapting with his reflexes getting better. 'It seems there's more to this body that I've yet to unlock,' he thought, finally deciding to end the fight.

Evading her next set of attacks, Kael began his counter, slowly gaining control of the fight. Within minutes, the fight was over with Jenny brought to the ground and her weapon a few metres away from her.

"Alright, I think that's enough," Kael said, deciding to create time to hone his other abilities. The spar had taken most of the time with his duel drawing closer.

"Fight me!" A voice echoed in the arena, causing everyone to go quiet.

"Fight you?" Kael muttered with a smile. "Nope, I'm exhausted."

"Oh, really? Or you're just scared." Princess Aretha retorted, calmly walking to the circle and bodly standing before him.

A frown appeared on Kael's face. "Alright, let's see what you've got."

Princess Aretha let out a smile as she took a weapon before taking her battle stance. "Don't hold back, else you might regret it." She said as she charged forward.

Kael awaited her and, at the right time, swung his sword, blocking her strike. "This…" Kael muttered, quite surprised. She had clearly won in a battle of strength. He had been pushed five steps backwards just from their first clash.

Staring at each other while circling round, they finally charged forward each clash of their sword accompanied by a bright spark. Kael could tell she was clearly stronger as he was being pushed back. Even using his full strength, he was unable to find an opening.

Princess Aretha's sword display was dazzling, highlighting her skills, which she had honed right from her tender age.

"I'm not going to use my powers," he thought, gritting his teeth. A kick landed on his stomach, sending him back and causing the warriors to erupt in cheers. Wiping the corner of his mouth, Kael charged forward once more but soon was sent tumbling back.

Tsk.

Princess Aretha didn't stop there this time around. She dashed forward, sliding underneath his opened legs, and then kicking the back of his legs, she caused him to become unbalanced.

Kael, trying to somewhat balance his body felt a force strike his hand, which held his weapon. "Damn!" The pain was like electricity jolting him and causing him to let go of his weapon. His hand was oddly bent as he clenched it in pain.

"You aren't that tough as you assume, huh?" Princess Aretha said with a smug expression, her sword pressing against his neck.

Tsk.

"You've got what you want, right?" Kael said to her with a low voice. "Now I can leave." He didn't wait for her as he rose from the ground, breaking through the circle, heading towards the weapon vault. Quickly pulling off the armour, he released a soft sigh.

[It appears you're angry because of your defeat]

"What? Angry? Hell no. It was really… eye-opening, like you said, just... I don't know. I have this strange feeling all of a sudden." Kael slowly moved his hand, which had healed during his walk to the room.

[Hmmm, I guess maybe it's your body way of reacting to your defeat]

The system said, but kael could sense she was clearly hiding something. "I wonder what secret they are hiding," he thought with a frown. Rising from the seat, he decided to access the system notifications blinking at the corner of his eye.

[You've defeated an elite amazon warrior: +400 exp]

[EXP: 4800/8000]

Sigh~

[Cheer up, one defeat isn't the end of the world]

"That's not it. That attack, she did it purposely. She intentionally tried to hurt me to be at a disadvantage in my fight. If it wasn't for my healing, I would have had to fight the duel with a broken hand."

"I better get going," Kael muttered, staring at the distant horizon through the window. He could tell the time of his duel drawing near. "I better rest before the duel." Kael finally walked towards the entrance just in time to catch the warriors celebrating, lifting Princess Aretha in jubilation.

Tsk.

Clenching his fist tightly, he proceeded forward, walking toward the exit of the grand arena.

"Are you going now?" He heard a voice behind, causing him to turn around. "Yeah, haven't you guys done enough damage?" Kael muttered, staring at Master Tidea before continuing off.

"Let me inform the princess you're leaving now." Master Tidea said, signalling one of her guards to alert the Princess.

"I don't need help, I know the way back." With that, he continued forward. Passing through the gates, he appeared outside the building. His form disappeared from his spot appearing metres away. Deciding to test his powers on his way back, he used the blink consecutively before getting to his room.

"Huh? He's gone already," Princess Aretha muttered, searching for Kael. "I guess he's angry about his defeat." She muttered with a smile before heading back inside.