"You seem so confident in yourself." The young knight chuckled, his voice full of disdain.
"You have no right to fight with my prince. Why don't you kneel down and lick the floor? Who knows, I might even let you lose with some dignity."
Hector just sighed and shrugged, ignoring the knight's provocation. To him, the knight wasn't even worth talking to, and Hector's actions had already made his own intent clear.
"Just inferior rubbish—how dare you show such pride before me?" The young knight scowled and stepped forward, ready to show Hector the consequences he would have to face.
Bang!
In the blink of an eye, Hector delivered a brutal, precise punch to the knight's insolent face, sending him skidding across the floor of the arena and smashing through the chair beside the prince.
The arena fell into silence before Hector finally spoke in a cold voice.
"Sorry, Prince Ralph… it seems your knight is not strong enough for a warm-up." Hector clicked his tongue, shaking his fist to loosen it, then sent a mocking smile toward Ralph.
Ting!
[A blessing has appeared. Do you want to receive it?]
Name: Eyes of the Predator
Rank: ★
Description: You possess sharp eyesight in combat. You can see everything clearly under scorching light and in the darkest night.
"It's so good since it's hard to find a blessing from the minor characters."
"Damn! How could he be that strong?" a noble said in surprise.
"Perhaps the rumors about him were wrong."
"Tch. Or that knight was just too weak. The royalty sometimes recruits the wrong people."
Countless whispers spread through the audience. Most of them concluded that the knight had simply been too weak. Only the royal group truly knew how strong he was. After all, that knight was one of the prince's three personal guards and highly skilled in combat.
Ralph scowled. A tinge of humiliation surfaced in his mind, irritating him.
"Alright, I misjudged him."
He glanced aside, gesturing for the second knight to step forward.
"Handle him. Remember… if you lose, you'll be fired from my team. My team doesn't keep weaklings."
"Weaklings can never uphold justice."
…
"Yes, sir… I won't disappoint you."
The knight then stepped onto the arena.
"You're strong, but—"
Bang!
Ting!
--
[A blessing has appeared. Do you want to receive it?]
Name: Physical Cleansing
Rank: ★
Description: Your body is resistant to dirt, so it automatically cleans away accumulated filth and sweat each day.
--
"You talk too much… don't repeat those clichés. I hate them."
A spark of annoyance flickered in Hector's mind as he listened to the babbling of these minor characters.
To end the boredom, Hector spoke up, his voice filled with discomfort and open disrespect.
''Warm-up's done… Let's step up. I can't stand the pathetic weaklings from your team anymore, you perverted fanatics.''
Silence.
''Wow, now I think the rumor is true. The third son of the Jenkins Clan is impolite and insolent.'' A nearby noble said.
''Sure. He acts like an uneducated commoner, not like a noble at all.''
''Certainly, prince is never provoked by things like that.''
However, in contrast, Ralph was actually furious after hearing this. Veins bulged on his face. He clenched his fists, his body trembling with rage. He hated anyone who showed disrespect to his faith… the faith of justice.
''I'm gonna crush you into pieces, bastard!''
***
''You should learn to respect the faith of justice,'' Ralph said in a cold voice.
Hector smirked.
''Faith of justice? Damn that. There's no justice in this world. You're one of the scums I hate the most. You people always babble about something called justice to justify your vicious and lowly actions.''
Ralph narrowed his eyes, murderous intent filling them. He slowly drew his sword and took a fighting stance.
''Weaklings have no right to debate my faith. In the name of justice, I'll punish you, damned heretic.''
He tightened his grip on his sword, glaring at Hector.
''I'll prove justice by defeating you. Don't worry about your mana cores—justice is always fair. I'll fight you using the strength of only two mana cores.''
Hector chuckled and casually brandished his sword a few times before giving Ralph a cold glance.
''So, if I force you to use power beyond two mana cores, will I shatter your faith?''
Ralph smirked.
''If you can.''
Without thinking, Ralph charged at Hector with lightning-fast speed. Performing a series of sharp, precise slashes, he aimed at every part of Hector's body. Each strike carried pure murderous intent.
''Is that all you've got, damned heretic?''
Hector managed to deflect and block Ralph's fatal blows, minimizing the damage he could take.
Of course, he barely fought back. But everything unfolded exactly as he had predicted. He was adapting to Ralph's sword technique.
Adapting sword technique to everything.
The clash of their weapons echoed through the arena, leaving everyone wide-eyed in shock.
''The third son of the Jenkins Clan is so strong!'' a noble said, fear in his voice.
''It's hard to believe, but the rumors about him being weak are wrong—though he is still vicious and insolent.''
…
''I-I can't believe it! How strong can he be?'' Bel gritted his teeth, anger and bitterness mixing as he watched Hector's swordplay.
Hector was even matching Ralph blow for blow in terms of technique, all while barely taking a single hit.
Witnessing Hector's performance left him utterly stunned.
Hector a weakling? No—he was far beyond that. A wave of humiliation washed over him.
Alger smiled bitterly. Unlike Bell, he didn't show anger—just a quiet relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
''At least our current generation still has a genius.''
…
''No… big brother will lose?'' Luna said, fear in her voice. In her whole life, she had never imagined such a thing.
For some reason, the thought suddenly came to her.
''Tch.'' Waldo clicked his tongue and rubbed Luna's head in mild annoyance.
''Don't say such unlucky things. Can't you see your brother is completely overpowering that trash? And he hasn't even used his blessing yet.''
''I'm sorry.'' Luna bowed her head, looking apologetic and cute. But she glanced at Hector again.
She scowled. A feeling she couldn't quite understand. Why was Hector still smiling and staying so cold? To her, Hector was so cool… and the sense that he would win even if what felt completely illogical.
''I have a bad feeling, grandpa.''