As for the combatants, they were still eyeing each other, not flinching. Konnor was waiting for the betting to spice up.

He would ask them for a part of it after his victory. Astaroth was waiting on Konnor to make the first move.

He knew that if he tried doing the first move, he would lose, since the man was stronger than him.

Once the betting stopped on the sides, Konnor decided he had waited enough. He bent down a little, then sprang forth, aiming his fist right at Astaroth’s face.

He wanted to knock him up with one hit and waste no more time. When Astaroth saw Konnor dashing at him, he grinned.

During their staring contest, he had already made some kind of plan. As the man ran to him, he used his skill; propel.

But instead of throwing an object, he focused it on Konnor’s foot, which was not touching the ground, and pushed it back.

The quick jerk to his foot threw Konnor off balance for a second, but that second was more than enough for Astaroth. He equipped his shield and put it in front of him.

He then took two quick steps forward, leaning into the shield, and aiming it at Konnor’s face.

*Bang!* *Woosh!*

*-633!*

*Ding!*

*You have learned the skill ‘Shield Bash’*

ƥαṇdαηθνε|

Konnor quickly got back up, dashing out of the dust cloud to keep his eyes on Astaroth. Astaroth was still standing where the impact had happened, but you could see the footmarks on the ground.

He had slid back a few feet from the force.

Konnor touched his bleeding nose and could feel that it was crooked. He grabbed it between his thumb and index, and cracked it back the other way, bringing it back straight.

Astaroth was looking at him and smiling.

“It has been ten seconds.” Astaroth said, keeping his smile.

“You little!” Konnor growled, before lunging back at Astaroth.

This time, he watched his footing, making sure he wouldn’t fall into the same trap. With his attention being on Astaroth and his feet, he failed to notice the glowing wolf come out of the dust behind him and nip at his heel.

The attack did little damage, but again affected his balance. He quickly caught himself back, but not before receiving a glancing blow to the shoulder from a short sword.

After hitting him, Astaroth quickly tried to back away, to maintain distance. If he could kite him like this, he could win.

He scanned his adversary again.

Konnor Mac’Greygor:

Level: 28

Grade: Common

Race: Ash Elf

Class: Pugilist

Health: 1’185/2’100 Mana: 540/540

Almost half his health was gone! Astaroth gained a boost of confidence. In all honesty, he had hoped to do the most damage he could before losing, but now he thought he had a winning chance.

The fight went on for a couple of minutes, Astaroth running and hitting when a chance presented itself.

White Death, whom he had summoned, attacked from behind when Konnor focused on catching Astaroth too much, and Konnor; running after Astaroth and growing madder by the second.

In his mind, the pugilist thought Astaroth was fighting like a coward. Why couldn’t he stay still for a moment and take his punch, like a man?!

After a few minutes of fighting, his health was now dangerously low. He lost his shit.

“RRAAAGGGHHHHH!!!!!!” He screamed, his eyes going red.

“Dragon’s Fist!” He yelled out, punching the air before him.

What happened next, Astaroth would remember for a long time.

The air in front of Konnor distorted and transformed into the head of a dragon. The dragon head roared and lunged towards him at blazing speeds.

He lifted his shield, used ‘Enhance Weapon’ on it, used ‘Mana Skin’, and braced for impact.

The attack engulfed him an instant later. The hit propelled him back at vertiginous speeds, sending him flying toward the wall.

*-1650*

He was expecting a second impact on his back and a second damage number, but all that came was a slight impact. He could feel hands on his shoulders.

When he looked up, he saw Chris towering behind him. He separated himself from Chris, but then he was hit by a shock.

Chris was embedded into the courtyard wall a few centimeters. The hulking man dislodged himself and looked towards the sparring zone with anger.

In the sparring zone, another man was standing next to Konnor, holding a wolf by his mane. That man was Kloud.

And everyone around them was white right now, their faces drained of blood. Kloud emitted a pressure around him that most people would collapse from.

It was pure killing intent. And he directed it at Konnor.

Kloud let go of White Death when he noticed the wolf had fainted from the pressure he exerted.

“You dishonorable scum.” Kloud growled, looking Konnor in the eyes.

“He… He… He was humiliating me…” Konnor stuttered, barely able to stay standing.

“That is no reason to kill him!” Kloud exploded.

“Give me a good reason not to end your life right now!” He added, beyond furious.

“I was losing. I… I couldn’t just lose to a rookie!” Konnor stammered, feeling that it was not an empty threat.

“THEN YOU TAKE YOUR LOSS LIKE A MAN AND GROW STRONGER!” Kloud bellowed.

“Healer! Heal this sad sack right now!” He added, looking at a person wearing robes, a wand hanging at his belt.

The man quickly grabbed his wand and silently chanted something, pointing the wand at Konnor. A soft green wisp of energy left the wand and washed over Konnor, healing his injuries and recovering his health.

As soon as Konnor’s health reached over half, Kloud punched him in the face with tremendous force, sending him sprawling many meters further, close to death again.

“You are lucky for two things today! The first is, the boy resisted the first blow and Chris caught him before he impacted the wall, saving him from death. Second, I caught the boy’s wolf in time, before it killed you.” Kloud stated, still shouting.

“Killed me?” Konnor said, eyeing the white wolf on the ground.

“Once the wolf sensed you were going for a killing blow, it lunged at you with killing intent, aiming to rip out your throat while you were busy throwing your skill. With how low your health was, it would have killed you instantly! You lost your cool, going into a state of rage, unfitting a warrior under my command.” Kloud loudly admonished the man.

“I could have overlooked you for challenging a rookie if you had won justly or lost like a man. But I can’t turn a blind eye to attempted murder.” Kloud said, his eyes sad.

“From here on out, I banish you from this village. You have one day to grab your things and leave. Any longer, and I will chase you out myself.” He added with a tone of finality.

Konnor just sat there for a few seconds, his gaze empty.

They banished him…