Now that I had a new sword, I wanted to test it, so I asked the master for a duel. Seeing how excited I was, he accepted instantly.
Since we were already in a place far from the people of the city, we prepared ourselves.
—So, shall we begin already, Master?
I was very excited because I was going to fight the master again.
—Be careful Aito, try not to hurt yourself.
—I don't think I can do that, but thanks Lilia.
—Well brat, since you challenged me, now attack me.
So I raised my arm and ran towards him, swinging my sword again and again while he blocked. We exchanged several strikes.
The pressure from the attacks alone sent the nearby leaves flying away.
On the last exchange, I charged the sword with mana and delivered a stronger strike than the previous ones, pushing him downwards. He didn't kneel, but it was clear the impact had reached the ground.
I charged another attack instantly in the next movement, but he raised his hand with the sword, deflected the attack, then struck me, sending me flying until I crashed into a large rock nearby.
Although I protected myself using my Wind magic to soften the attack, I was still bleeding, and it wasn't because of the impact against the rock, but because of the old man's attack. If I hadn't slowed it down, the blow would have been much more fatal.
Coff… cof, I was coughing blood, even after having protected myself. But it wasn't over yet, because just by swinging his sword, the pressure of the air hit me and shattered the huge rock behind me into rubble, knocking me unconscious instantly.
—…A.
—…Aito, Aito.
—Coff… cof anh… is that you Lilia?
—Aito, drink this quickly.
Lilia gave me a potion. It didn't do much because it wasn't high quality, but the point is that I drank it.
After that we rested. Well, I rested, since I was the one in the worst condition. Then we left that place because everything was a disaster. The trees were split into several pieces, and the large rock that had been there was now just rubble.
Even after resting I still had aftereffects. We returned to the tavern early. Even though I had lost in just a few moments, I wasn't sad. On the contrary, I was happy because the master had actually used some strength against me.
When night came, we went downstairs to have dinner. Since that tavern was huge —that was no tavern— there were many people eating there. There were also many travelers, and while we were eating we heard the following:
—Did you hear that a ruin appeared outside the City?
—Wait, you already know? I was about to tell you just now.
—Haha I didn't know you already heard about it.
Zekin raised an eyebrow while listening to the men talk.
—Ruins appeared outside the city. It's like bad luck is chasing me.
The master said this because I was there, and after hearing that, I would definitely want to go explore it, and Lilia would follow me too. And that was exactly what I was going to do, even if it carried risks.
—Brat, I already know what you're thinking, and I hope I'm wrong.
—What are you talking about Master, I'm not thinking about anything.
—What, so you weren't thinking about going to explore the ruins?
—Master, can you read minds or something?
—You say it like I don't know you already. Though there are many risks, there are also many rewards in ruins.
After that, Lilia wanted to go too. The master complained, but he gave in to her wishes, though he would also be coming with us.
So then… ruins, wait for me.