"I accept your duel," Orion said. Although Lilian had beaten him every ti they sparred together, this guy wasn’t Lilian. And Orion wasn’t the sa C-ranker like before. All his Dragonborn skills had leveled up.
Sure, Orion couldn’t go all out as he did with the B-rank monster, and his flash movent skill was sacrificed, as he couldn’t possibly use teleportation in the middle of the academy.
That’s the only thing that worried Orion.
But he still had this feeling that he could beat this guy.
"Wait, Orion, you don’t have to entertain this nonsense," Lilian said.
"Don’t worry. Just trust , I’ll be okay."
Seeing their interaction only fueled Aguri’s anger.
Seeing Orion’s determination, Lilian gave up and moved to a corner, her expression filled with worry.
Orion went towards Aguri.
"Alright, let’s do this."
But before they could go into the training ground, one teacher quickly ca forward from the crowd.
"Wait! Before you guys spar, the headmistress asked to lay out these rules."
He stopped and brought out a piece of paper.
He continued, "Nobody uses any skills. The fight should only involve dull weapons from the armory, and no magic should be used. We don’t want anyone getting hurt before the expedition," the teacher finished.
To which Aguri let out a groan, but Orion, on the other hand, was relieved, as he couldn’t use most of his skills anyway.
’Thank you, Miss Headmistress. You are not as bad as I thought.’
Then they both went to the armory and picked up their weapons. Orion chose a spear and a sword, as usual, while Aguri picked up a large, heavy greatsword.
After that, they went to the training ground and took their stances.
And without any more talking, Aguri charged, swinging his greatsword with full force at Orion.
Orion, who had thought Aguri’s movents would be slow because of the large sword, was caught off guard by his speed and jumped back as quickly as he could.
Although Orion managed to dodge the attack, his formation was ruined, and Aguri imdiately took advantage of it.
Swoossss.
Aguri slashed again, and Orion could only avoid.
Seeing that he wouldn’t gain the upper hand with just his sword, he quickly switched to a spear, allowing him to keep so distance from Aguri’s greatsword.
Aguri was montarily caught by surprise.
But he charged forward with another swing at Orion. This ti, Orion didn’t jump back, as he was far enough from Aguri’s attack. He caught Aguri’s sword with his spear and pushed it aside with all his strength. Then, to everyone’s shock, he released the spear from his hand, moved inside Aguri’s guard, and punched him in the gut.
The punch landed solidly, and Aguri imdiately fell to his knees.
"Grukkk," Aguri spat a mouthful of blood.
Then he glared at Orion with red eyes.
Orion didn’t stop. He followed up with a heavy punch to Aguri’s face, sending him crashing to the ground. The crowd went wild.
Blood and saliva spat from Aguri’s mouth as he fell face down.
The crowds were going wild.
"No fucking way...I thought it would be Orion who would get ssed up."
"What kinda hero candidate loses to so random kid?" soone said with a mocking tone.
"Hooo...that’s a very unpredictable fighting style," Josephine muttered, "but it’s so cool and effective." She was taking notes.
Felicity, who always had a cold expression, couldn’t help but flash an impressed expression at Orion.
The crowd’s words entered Aguri’s ears. He gritted his teeth, hardened his fist, and quickly got up.
And summoned so big-ass shield out of nowhere. The shield had a golden light radiating all over it.
Josephine’s eyes widened.
"Shield of Valor," she gulped.
"What is it? I thought they weren’t allowed to use their own weapons," Julia said, turning toward Josephine.
"The Shield of Valor. It’s impossible to penetrate—even the Demon Queen couldn’t damage it," she paused. "Not only that, but it also boosts its users’ physical strength."
Julia went silent after hearing this. She didn’t know how Orion could beat Aguri anymore.
Aguri dashed at Orion with more speed than before. It didn’t matter that he was holding a shield half his size.
Orion drew his spear and gashed toward the approaching shield.
CLANG!.
A high-pitched tallic sound rang out through the training ground. Everyone clutched their ears.
The impact of the collision sent Orion flying backward, but he jumped up from the ground without wasting any ti and switched his spear for a sword.
Aguri charged again, but Orion didn’t move away. He waited until the last mont, then leapt upward, spun around in midair, and slashed his dull blade at Aguri’s back.
Although the blades were dull, Orion could still see the blood in Aguri’s clothes.
Aguri fell on his knee. He imdiately countered, swinging his shield toward Orion.
Orion didn’t expect Aguri to use the shield that fast.
And the shield hit Orion. The impact sent Orion flying again.
And without giving Orion ti to get up, Aguri threw his shield in Orion’s direction.
Orion rolled away from the spot, but Aguri was already there and kicked Orion in the gut.
"Ackkkk," Orion rolled away once again.
"Ohhh... It’s getting interesting."
"The hero is finally showing his might."
The crowd roared.
"But isn’t he using his overpowered shield against Orion’s dulled blade? I don’t think that’s allowed," Julia stomped her feet and protested loudly.
"You are a pathetic cheater, cheater!" Julia shouted towards Aguri in frustration.
Hearing their princess, the crowd joined in.
"Cheater!"
"Cheater!"
"I never thought I would ever feel embarrassed for being a hero. Damn," Revo said, looking concerned. The public opinion was surely going to take a hit after this.
Lilian, on the other hand, was biting her nails. She wanted to interfere, but deep inside, she still believed Orion could do it.
As for Aguri, he didn’t care about the public’s opinion. For now, he had only one concern—to beat Orion.
Aguri went in front of Orion’s lying body and started punching Orion in the face.
Orion, seeing that Aguri had gone crazy, decided to use one of his own skills.
"Fla Pulse."
He activated his Fla Pulse skill, but this ti the skill didn’t just heat up Orion’s aura. Instead, a faint, transparent fla covered his entire body.
"Ahhh..." Aguri quickly retreated from Orion.
"Wow... I can feel his burning aura from here..." Josephine muttered.
Taking advantage of Aguri’s mont of hesitation, Orion burst forward, blood dripping from his nose and mouth.
He summoned his sword and slashed toward Aguri’s gut.
"Ughh!" With a defensive roar, Aguri fell to the ground.
The dull blade left a small cut on Aguri’s abdon.
Then Aguri’s eyes turned blood-red. He forgot all about the rules, though he had already broken them by summoning his shield.
He stood up and pointed his blade toward Orion.
Orion was about to charge, but he stopped.
At least twenty aura blades circled behind Aguri.
The teacher was about to interfere, but it was too late.
All twenty aura blades burst forward at Orion.
Orion blocked most of them with his sword, but the blades didn’t just vanish—they kept striking him again and again.
And while Orion was defending against the blades, Aguri ca in from Orion’s right side and kicked him.
Orion tried to move away, but in that process, an aura blade struck his shoulder.
Orion fell back to the ground.
"Aghhh uuckk," he groaned.
But Aguri approached him with a wide grin. Seeing that grin made Orion completely lose control in anger.
His instinct started to take over. Dragon’s Charm burst forward.
"Why am I feeling sooo...strangely afraid?" one of the boys said to his friends.
" too," said his friend.
"What do you an...just look at Orion, he’s so...sexy," said one of the girls.
Aguri took two steps backward.
Orion didn’t hesitate anymore. He summoned his sword and lashed at Aguri.
Aguri quickly summoned his shield.
Their sword and shield collided, but Orion wasn’t done.
He started slashing at Aguri at incredible speed, pushing him backward.
After a while, Aguri started to get the hang of Orion’s attacks, although he was still at a disadvantage.
But suddenly, Orion leapt upward, landed behind Aguri, and in a quick movent, he turned and pinned his sword into Aguri’s shoulder.
The dull blade pierced through Aguri’s shoulder.
The pain was so intense that Aguri lost consciousness on the spot and collapsed to the ground.
Orion also fell, overwheld by his massive injuries.
The teachers and healers ca rushing in. Lilian also rushed toward Orion and sat beside him.
Orion was about to say sothing, but Lilian didn’t give him any ti to speak.
And pulled Orion closer in a deep kiss.
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