Chapter 48 Sword Duel 2

In the first place, a duel is a sacred way of expressing competitiveness for the knights. It is a matter of honor.

However, no matter what, there will be those who would abandon their honor just for the satisfaction of their ego.

We call those cheaters. No matter what, there will be those who will try to twist the rules of duel or just basically ignore the rules.

And, of course, to counter those types of situations, a referee is a must.

"Yes. However, let me set the conditions. If he wins the duel, I shall forgive him for his deeds; however, if I win, I shall remove both his arms with the Seal of Grafted. Do you accept, Knight Heschel?"

"Yes, I accept."

The moment I stated the conditions of the duel and the other side have accepted it in the presence of everyone, the duel was already appointed, and there was no returning back anymore.

"Then we shall commence with the duel on the sparring arena."

Saying that I walked to the arena for sparring. Albeit it can also be a training ring, how it looks doesn't matter.

"Understood… Then, I shall be your referee. Is that okay for you, young Lord?"

Following me, George asked.

"It is fine. I know you won't show any type of favor. You are an honorable knight."

Slowly waving my hand, I reached the arena.

Entering the circle, I took the position on the edge.

/HOWL/ /HOWL/

Since the outside was stormy, from time to time, the sound of wind brushing the windows could be heard.

Following me, Heschel also entered the arena.

You might be wondering why he did such a thing at the entrance.

The reason is that this guy was actually a side character in the game. He had a crush on Alicia the moment he saw her for the first time, and he tried so hard to get into her eyes. Albeit, he was nothing but a piece of entertainment for the people who liked watching characters getting NTR'd. He had no role other than that since he lost his will to fight after seeing Arthur's power at a certain point, gave up his love, and became a normal background character.

How pathetic he was.

Just for that stupid reason called 'love,' he hated Callius and was jealous of him in the past, always trying to ridicule him from his back….

Although I can't understand how that little brain of his works, that still seems to be the case.

/SCHLINK/

Slowly drawing my partner from its scabbard with a smooth sound, I turned myself to the arena.

Since I was already planning to duel with knights today, my clothes were already prepared.

Looking around, I saw Heschel was also ready. Since he is still young, he is not an official member of the knights but a knight apprentice.

Therefore, the armor and sword he had himself were also a little different from the normal ones. However, since this is a sword duel, there is no need to use heavy armor since every person's magic and aura will be limited to the 1-star.

Coming closer to my side, George asked.

"Young Lord, since you have decided on a sword duel, please let me commence with the formalities."

"You are permitted."

Extending my hand, I let him put the bracelets on my wrist.

<Ding! A limiter is detected. The host's aura, physical parameters, and mana are limited to the 1-star.>

And the moment bracelets connected my hand, I heard the system notification.

Although everyone knows Callius have no talent, just to not embarrass me in front of all those people, George decided to keep up with formalities.

'It is such a pity that you are on the wrong side of people. Such an honorable warrior.'

"Completed, young lord. I shall go to my place."

I thought while looking at the back of a man leaving.

After putting the bracelet on Heschel while hitting him on the back of his head, he took the position of referee.

Facing each other from the corners of the arena, I observed the Heschel.

'A long straight sword for two handing.'

I thought while looking at Heschel.

"Both of the contestants. Are you ready?"

/NOD/ /NOD/

Nodding our heads, both of us took our stances.

"Then, when the coin hits the ground, the duel will commerce."

Saying that, he threw a coin in the air.

/THUD/ /SWOOSH/ /SWOOHS/

And the moment the coin reached the ground with a thud sound, both of us bolted toward each other.

While fighting with an enemy in one on one, going for the kill immediately might prove to be a bad decision.

The correct decision is always respecting your enemy and trading blows with him or her in order to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of your enemy while hiding yours as much as possible.

A fight is won not only with physical aspects but also with the brain.

However, a novice knight would be prone to make mistakes.

/CLANK!/

Bolting towards each other, we exchanged blows at the first moment. Blocking his sword with mine, I was on the losing side of the exchange.

/SWOOSH/

Immediately dashing backward, I opened the distance.

'He is putting too much force on his left arm, and he is wasting his movements on his back. However, he is still strong even with his limited strength.'

Normally, facing a long two-handed sword with a rapier in a direct confrontation like that would not be a good idea. However, to feel the strength of a peak 1-star firsthand, I decided to confront him head-on.

However, of course, he didn't stay still either.

Following my movements, he dashed towards me, following me with a swing of his attack.

/SWOOSH/

'A right horizontal swing!'

Immediately reading his attack, I evaded it. Of course, since my speed was superior to his evading, his attack was easy.

/SWOOSH/

'A vertical swing from below!'

Dashing to the side, I evaded his following attack at the last moment.

/THUD/

Taking advantage of his momentarily lost balance, I kicked him in his chest, making him stagger to backward.

"Scared?"

"What are yo-"

Slowly taunting him, I dashed again, attacking him without letting him finish his sentence.

/CLANK/

Albeit, my attack was blocked.

"Heh, look at this. Are you trying to prove yourself in front of everyone?"

"Do you th-"

Not letting him respond, I dashed towards him again, attacking his left shoulder.

/CLANK/

Albeit, he responded quite well.

"Such a pat-"

/CLANK/

Without giving him any time, I started rapidly attacking him.

/CLANK/

A thrust to his left shoulder blocked.

/CLANK/

A thrust to his chest blocked again.

/SWIISH/ /CUT/

A thrust to his face. This time my attack was almost connected, albeit it still missed his left eye by a hair's breadth.

/DRIP/

However, still, a cut was made on his left cheek, under his eye, and from that wound, a little drop fell to the ground.

"Huh?"

/PIERCE/ /PIERCE/ /SPLURT/ /SPLURT/

Before he could even get surprised, I attacked his left shoulder and his right side at a rapid speed, albeit he ignored my attacks.

"I got cut? Me? By this wretch?"

Before I reattacked, I saw the muscles on his right arm and back clenching.

"!"

Immediately dashing backward while stopping my attack in order to evade the incoming thing, I opened the distance.

"YOU FUCKER!"

And that proved to be the right decision.

At a faster speed than before, he swung his sword, albeit I was no longer standing there. If I was even a little bit late, I would probably sustain a severe injury.

However, since his attack was already missed, he had already lost his footing.

/SWOOSH/ /PIERCE/

Taking advantage of that fact, I immediately dashed to him, piercing his right shoulder with my sword.

/SWOOSH/

And immediately retreated to avoid another drunk slash coming.

"WHY! WHY CAN'T I HIT YOU?"

Hearing the scream of agony coming from his mouth, I retreated for a second.

"Just, why? You are supposed to be talentless; why can't I beat you?"

Looking at me with sullen eyes, he asked.

"Pathetic."

"What?"

"In your next life, instead of chasing after some girl, chase after your goals. A sword is not for the impressing girl. It is for killing. Such a pathetic display of sword; I don't even need to use the swordplay of our family."

Looking at his brown eyes, I said without breaking eye contact.

"Let me show you how to use a real sword."

Saying that, I aligned my sword vertically on my face while putting my left hand on my back.

"Huff."

Exhaling my breath, I immediately dashed to him, attacking his left shoulder.

Raising his sword, he tried to block it.

/PIERCE/ /SPLURT/

However, instead of reaching his left shoulder, my attack pierced his neck, making a blood spurt.

'Sword of Lightning. The trick of Light.'

Remembering the move father tried so hard to teach me, I pierced his neck, finishing the duel.

"Huh?"

"Huh? Did you see it?"

"The sword looked like it was going to attack his shoulder. How come his neck was cut?"

Between all those surprised sounds, the fight was over.

"Callius von Augustride wins the duel."

Hearing the exclamation coming from George, a healer immediately rushed to the side of Heschel to heal him from his wounds.

<A 2-star knight has been defeated.>

<Quest [Beat the knights is advanced to the second state.>

Just like that, the first duel of mine in this world ended….