Battle

Ethan stared at the boy in front of him. He had dirty white hair and slanted black eyes. His eyes looked dead, like a corpse. Three brown cores hung from his waist. He looked at Ethan arrogantly, as if he owned him. Ethan clenched his fist. A young master. A young master had decided to attack him.

Ethan hadn't been discreet while hunting the clay golems. The white haired boy probably had a couple of lackeys waiting to ambush him. He didn't know if he could take them on. "Who're you," he asked. Ethan tried to think of something.

"Who I am does not matter. What you should do is hand over the cores right now. Or else....." He raised his fist threateningly. They had probably fired an arrow at him to gauge his strength. And they'd found him to be an easy target.

The white haired boy needed a few more cores to complete his mission. This blue-eyed kid's cores would be enough to do the job. He smiled in satisfaction. "Well? Give me the cores!" He couldn't control his laughter as he asked for the cores.

He was sure that this guy wasn't from any high ranking family. After all, he knew all the talented heirs of families above him. He'd already buttered up to them. He stared at Ethan. He looked a bit familiar. His heart contracted. Had he offended somebody important?

"Sir, it seems like he's the guy who has F rank potential." The white haired kid couldn't believe his ears. "Huh? F rank? Hahahahaha!" He burst out laughing. Ethan glared at the young master laughing at him. "You...How did you manage to get even a monster core? Are you serious?"

He continued laughing. He saw Ethan's expression. "Oi....Oi! What's that look on your face? Aren't you being rude to your seniors?" Ethan didn't say anything. It was better to avoid angering this guy until he could get away safely.

"You seem new to Dragopolis. Let me tell you something important. When somebody of my status tells you something, you follow it silently." He folded his arms proudly, as if he had done Ethan a great service. "So hand over the cores. With your potential, you probably stumbled across four drunk golems or something. Giving me those cores is only fair." He laughed at his own joke.

Ethan stared back. "I'm sorry. I don't want to." Ethan took a deep breath. The white haired boy's eyes narrowed. "What? You're disagreeing with me? I did this so that things could be fair. So that you don't steal opportunities from others." Ethan clenched his knife tightly. "Bullshit!"

The white haired boy froze. "You...you damn commoner. Get him!" Two boys jumped from behind him. Ethan crouched down, getting ready to battle. He took a step back. He couldn't run away. They'd probably catch up to him. Shing! The three of them unsheathed their swords.

"Last chance, F rank! Give up the core. Or I'll break your bones." No way. Ethan wouldn't give away his hard eared cores. Definitely not to Whitey of the Arrogant clan on account of his daddy. He gnashed his teeth. All young masters weren't like the green haired boy. "Fuck you, young master!"

Ethan had uttered the worst possible insult. The white haired boy's face contorted in rage. He rushed at him. Clang! Sword and dagger met as Ethan defended himself. He jumped back. He'd gauged their strength in the first blow. The young master was around G-8 and his two lackeys were at G-6.

Ethan cursed. He'd messed with the wrong guy. He smiled wryly. When did he not mess with the wrong guy? This was fate. He rushed forward. Clang! Clang! He defended against another rain of blows. He weaved around holding his dagger, searching for an opening.

Ethan ducked underneath a sword. Whoosh! A powerful strike. He jumped towards a boy, aiming for his chest. Clang! He jumped back as another boy slammed his sword towards him. Huff...huff...huff. He breathed heavily.

"Get him properly, guys. I need to teach him a good lesson." The white haired boy hissed with venom in his eyes. Lackey 1 rushed at Ethan. Clang! Clang! They weren't using their numerical superiority. Good.

Slash! Ethan slashed at his chest. Aah! Lackey 1 screamed in pain. Evidently, he wasn't used to being hurt. Ethan didn't waste this opportunity. He pounced on him, intending to end it in one strike. Splash! Ethan was doused in water. Lackey 2 had attacked him!

Ethan yelped out loud. The water was cold. Lackey 1 didn't miss this opportunity. Slash! "Aaaah!" Ethan clutched his chest as he staggered backwards. "You're terrible. You couldn't even handle my lackeys. And you wanted to get into KGS."

Ethan fell down. The slash had hurt him. He wasn't able to handle these idiots. He cursed his luck. He could have handled any of the lackeys in a one on one battle easily. Even though their rank was above his, he could overcome the difference with skill. But the young master wasn't somebody he could handle. A difference of three stages was something that was difficult to overcome.

Ethan had been defeated. He'd lost. Slide! His hand slipped as he reached the edge of the moat. "Nowhere to run, blue eyes!" The white haired boy snickered. "I told you to handover the cores." He was still smiling. "Why are you trying to steal my cores?" Ethan was frustrated. If only this guy hadn't intervened, he might have passed the test.

Clat....clat....clat. He could hear the rock golems beneath him. "Why? Because I need ten cores. These guys have two each and I've got three. So I need three more" He spoke as if it was obvious. As if he deserved other's cores.

Clat...clat.....clat. "So you're going to take away their cores as well?" Ethan couldn't believe it. He'd basically gained two pairs of hands to complete the test for him. "Pretty much!" He shrugged. "Let me tell you a secret." He inched closer. Clat.....clat.....clat. "The fact that these guys got sent to the same place as me. It wasn't a coincidence."

Ethan stared at the white haired boy. Of course he did. If he had come alone, Ethan would have been able to escape. But he had to bring some lackeys. He had to use his influence to make his life hell. Clat....clat....clat. It was Douglas all over again. This guy was just like Douglas.

Ethan sighed. He was cornered. He was trapped. He was defeated. But he hadn't lost yet. There was still a way. He remembered the skill he had bought. Clat...clat...clat. There was a way out. An insane way. A difficult way. But a way indeed.

Ethan opened his mouth. "You said you have three cores. But where are they? I can't see them." The white haired boy frowned. "What do you mean? Of course I have three cores. I....." His cores had disappeared, He barked furiously at his lackeys. "Where are they where are the cores?"

Lackey 1 and 2 furiously searched through their armour. "We're sorry sir. We can't find it!" Clat..clat..clat. "Where is it! Who took it?" He turned around. ""Is it you? Did you take it, trash?" Ethan smirked. "So what if I did?" The white haired boy relaxed. "I'll just take it back. Along with those three cores you have. I'll pick it from your corpse!"

He started walking towards Ethan. Thump!Thump!Thump!Thump! "No, you won't." Ethan pulled out all the cores. "See, you messed with the wrong person. I don't care who your daddy is." The white haired boy froze. "Don't do it." Ethan ignored him. "I don't care which trashy famil you're from. I don't care hat your clan, power, Corp or status is."

Ethan brought the cores closer to his watch "Stop! Give me the cores and I'll spare your life." "I don't care about you. You're just a trashy young master in my eyes." Beep! His watch made a noise. "Don't do it! Please don't do it! I've spent so much time gathering those cores!"

Ethan stared at the young master indifferently. "Fuck you, Whitey!" He brought the cores near the watch. "No!!!!!" Beep!

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[Points: 11]

Unlocked:

[Kill 1 Clay Golem(s) (24)] - 1 point(s)

[Kill 10 Clay Golem(s) (69)] - 5 point(s)

[Kill 1 Pebble Golem(s)(59)] - 10 point(s)

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"I'll kiiiill youuu!" The boy screamed as he lunged towards Ethan. "You can't do anything to me." He steeled his heart, resolving himself. Clat! Clat! Clat! He could hear the rock golems shuffling violently. Jump! Ethan jumped down.

Whooosh! The wind rushed in his face. He was assaulted by a barrage of gravel. These were pebble golems. They could glide through the air, making them togh to catch. Stab! Slash! Slash! He weaved his blade, killing multiple golems.

Ethan grabbed their cores. He stuffed them into his watch.

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[Points: 71]

Unlocked:

[Kill 1 Clay Golem(s) (23)] - 1 point(s)

[Kill 10 Clay Golem(s) (69)] - 5 point(s)

[Kill 1 Pebble Golem(s) (58)] - 10 point(s)

[Kill 10 Pebble Golem(s) (49)] - 50 point(s)

[Kill 1 Rock Golem(s) (40)] - 100 point(s)

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The ground rushed towards him. Ethan infused his legs with mana. Slam! He landed on the soft soil, cushioning his fall. Huff...huff...huff. He could hear the young master shouting wildly from above. He couldn't hear him though. He unsheathed his knife. The battle hadn't hurt him as much as he had shown. He weakness came from the fear of what he was about to do.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Rocks clashed together. A three metre tall figure walked in front of him. A rock golem. A dangerous upper G ranked monster. Large boulders made up the rock golem, serving as its joints and flesh. Ethan clenched his knife tightly.

BOOM! The rock golem's boulders clashed together as it moved. Ethan could hear this sound when he was above the moat. This mighty BOOM devolved into a tiny clat when he was far away. He smiled wryly. He'd taken a leap of faith, and now he had to pay the price. He glared at the monster. "Prepare to die." He didn't know if he was talking to the monster or himself. Shing! He jumped towards the monster. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! "ROOOOOAR!!!" The rock golem was ready to fight.