Cherreads

Chapter 28 - Duel Invitation

Seriously. Does this have to happen now?

Levian let out a sigh.

I haven't got the energy for this.

Levian decided to ignore the man and the crowd watching by walking past and heading towards his destination.

He was stopped by a heavy hand landing on his chest.

It belonged to Farys.

The man's face hadn't changed. It was as though nothing in the world could frighten him, not even the entities themselves.

"Ignoring Farys, son of the Lord Commander?" One of Farys' underlings hissed from behind. "That's pretty much asking for an official duel, wouldn't you say Farys?"

Shit... son of the Lord Commander?

Farys looked back at the smaller elf who had chimed in for him. His eyebrows furrowed

"Did I fucking ask you to speak, Calion?" He rumbled, making his own allies back away in fear.

It was well known that within all kingdoms and empires, commanders existed. These men and women would lead individual forces into the battlefield during times of war, and were also responsible for training their troops when out of battle.

The Lord Commander, however, was the man in charge of the entire nation's army and forces. During times of war, they were often seen as the second most powerful man within a realm, only answering to the King himself.

Farys was the child of such a man, and was currently enrolled on the academy to sharpen up his knowledge whilst also powering up his system through entering dungeons.

In simple terms, he was one of the most feared students in the academy.

If I want to avoid trouble, I should try to de-escalate this as soon as possible. I don't want to make an enemy of the elves on my first day of arrival.

Levian flashed a tall elf a casual smile.

"I apologise for the disturbance I've caused in the academy. I'm only here on the King's request." He then explained.

Around him, he heard whispers of laughter.

"See. Even the humans are afraid of Farys! Imagine what he'll do to them once he's out on the battlefield."

He tried his best not to ignore them, but he'd be lying if he said their words didn't irritate him.

After all, Levian was far from human.

Farys, however, didn't seem to care. His mind was on something else.

Something that Levian would have liked to avoid completely.

The man reached into his coat pocket and pulled free a black handkerchief.

From the crowd's sudden burst of excitement, it was clear that the act symbolised something.

Then, he threw the handkerchief at Levian, hitting his chest harmlessly.

What's this?

Farys' face remained the same as it always had. "I've always wanted to test myself against a human. Let us duel and see who is truly the better of the two races. After all, your kind believe that you're owed more than ours."

The crowd erupted into discussion, and the entourage behind Farys wore cocky grins on their faces.

Levian's own face began to sweat.

This was the last thing that he wanted.

Of course, he could simply decline the duel. However, that would be conceding the man's point.

What bothered him most wasn't the challenge itself, but rather the fact that everyone believed that he was a human, and carried their racist beliefs.

He could not let that slide.

"If it's a duel you'd like, I'd be happy to train with you sometime. I'm sure we could both learn something from each other."

The crowd began to boo.

"Coward!" They chanted, too loudly for the guards to calm them down, even if they wished to.

However, Levian wasn't finished.

"However, there is one thing that you all need to know." He said, bringing the hallway to momentary silence. "I am not a human..."

He let the words hang in the air, confusion spreading amongst them for a few moments.

"I am an elf." He continued, confidently. "A True Elf."

The silence continued. Jaws of the crowd hung low in disbelief.

Fary's eyes glared down at Levian, continuing to give nothing away.

And then...

THUD

At the speed of light, a heavy fist crashed into Levian's chest, sending him flying and tumbling through the air.

He crashed into the door of the training ground and was sent blasting back into the room.

Eventually, he came to a stop, but there was a ringing sound in his head.

"Fuck him up Farys!"

"He dares to call himself a true elf. Show him what a true elf is!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

The crowd filtered into the training grounds, making a circle around the two men.

Levian pushed himself to his feet, but his whole upper body ached from the blow.

Standing on the other side of the circle was Farys, glaring at him with his sleeves rolled up, revealing a muscular set of forearms.

His fists were shrouded in a swirling black and white essence of magic, that curled around his body like smoke.

Levian was now given sight of the man's status.

[Farys Blackleg]

[Low-Platinum]

[Life Force: 1200/1200]

His heart almost stopped in his chest.

The man standing before him with malicious intent was not only low-platinum, but also boasted a life force of 1200.

Levian was only a Low-Gold with a life force of 425.

The odds were stacked against him immensely.

However...

I've faced impossible odds before.

And his blood boiled at the fact that he had been attacked after revealing the truth about himself.

Embarrassed in front of everybody around him. Bullied like he had been back before his awakening.

I will not let that happen again. Not by the humans, or by the elves.

Levian reached into his soulspace, summoning Nyx into his hand.

The tall sword burned with black flames, roaring into the air like a dragon's breath.

In an instant, the pressure of the mythical weapon weighed heavily on the souls of everyone around them.

Even Farys' eyes went wide at the sight of it.

"I-is that a legendary weapon?" Voices in the crowd muttered in disbelief.

"No, it looks even stronger!"

"It doesn't matter. The gap in rank between them is too big. Not to mention that Farys is an elf."

"That's right. Fuck this imposter up Farys!"

The tall, bronze-skinned elf didn't react to the crowd. In fact, he hardly seemed to care.

Instead, his eyes lay only on the opponent ahead of him.

"You've drawn your weapon against me, human. I hope that means you are prepared to use it?" The man spoke casually.

Levian tightened his grip around Nyx and entered a readied stance.

"Don't worry. Every time I've drawn Nyx, blood has spilt."

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