Chapter 129 : The Two Strongest (Part 1)

"U-ughh..."

Rei soon woke up in the bed while looking at the familiar ceiling.

"Where am I–hm??"

When he got up, he suddenly froze on the spot after he saw something unbelievable.

Yes.

Doldain was kneeling on the ground.

"I TOLD YOU TO BE CAREFUL! AND LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

And he was being scolded by the dwarf woman who treated Rei before.

"Uhhhh..."

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'What is he doing?' Rei couldn't process what just happened as he just watched them from the bed.

Until Doldain's eyes met with his.

"Ah—!! He's waking up already! Hey Rei! Tell me that I didn't do anything wrong!"

The Doldain, who was fearless and blocking all of his attacks, and not only that, knocking him down with just a single force of aura, was kneeling on the floor as he's scolded by the dwarf woman.

"Ummmm..."

"Oh, you woke up! Seriously, I don't know what is wrong with this knucklehead, forcing you to fight him while you are still recovering." The dwarf woman sighed.

"Hey! Mind your own busi—" But when Doldain was about to finish his words, the dwarf woman glared at him with such cold eyes, '—ness...' Doldain looked down and shut his mouth.

"I-it's okay, I mean, he was just trying to teach me." Rei smiled at her, saying that he was alright.

But the dwarf woman sighed again while Doldain having this puppy like eyes at Rei as if he was touched by his words.

"You are one stubborn boy, but at least you still hold your words for not using that flame again."

"Ahahaha, I am still trying not to do that..." Rei awkwardly shifted his eyes away, 'I cannot say that I almost used it during our fight.'

"Anyway, the most important thing is that you are fine now." The dwarf woman approached him and reached out her hand to give him a pat on his head.

"Now then, I will be out to get some food, and you!" The dwarf woman suddenly pointed her finger at him, "For three days, no more fight! Until he fully recovered! Are we clear!"

"Y-yes ma'am!" Doldain answered her immediately.

"Good."

After that warning, the dwarf woman left the room. As if the storm had passed, the two of them sighed.

Then Rei and Doldain stared at each other for a moment and laughed.

"Pft—hahaha!"

"Hehehe~"

After laughing for a while, Doldain approached him.

"So, how do you feel now, boy?" Doldain asked while he took a seat on the chair beside his bed.

"Well, I just needed to rest, it is regrettable since I did lose the fight." Rei spoke despite losing, he could still smile.

"I see." Doldain smiled seeing him not being depressed about their fight.

"Say, boy...I have something to say." Doldain spoke.

"Hmm? What is it?"

Then suddenly, Doldain bowed his head,

"I apologize."

"Huh?? W-what's wrong?" Rei was suprised from the sudden apology.

"I'm sorry, in order to see your strength I forced you to accept my selfish request."

"N-no, it's fine—"

"It's not fine at all!—you could lose your life if I didn't adjust my strength!" Doldain immediately shouted to interrupted his words.

"And it wasn't my intention to release such force while you were still recovering, I was too excited and forgot your condition." Doldain looked more distress than usual.

Rei couldn't help to feel bad when he watched him being like this, 'Did she told him something that make him look like this?'

"It's okay...it was an accident, so I know you didn't do it on purpose." Rei replied.

"Boy..." Doldain looked at him.

"Well like I said, it is regrettable but I did lose the fight, it sound pathetic hehehe~" Rei tried to shift the mood.

Doldain widened his eyes as he suddenly grinned widely.

"Heh, you aren't pathetic at all, there's no one in this entire world managaed to fight against me and managed to leave a scracth on me~" Doldain seemed satisfied with the result, while his fingers scratched the small cut on his cheek that had been closed.

"A scracth?"

"But what more surprising is that, to think you could shift my axe with your shield in that very short moment~"

"H-huh?? I-i did?"

Rei somehow didn't realize what he did before, and more importantly, he didn't remember it.

Doldain nodded his head,

"Mhm mhm! It was a very intense moment where you could lose your life you know! And you are brave enough to run forward likd that without hesitation!" Doldain continue to praise him.

"Y-you are exaggerating."

"No, do you think I could pull off something like that? Blocking an attack that is just right in front of your face which can be very fatal that could lead to your death?"

"No, it is entirely impossible, especially for a youngster like you."

"Unless they trained their reflexes to the limit." Doldain explained.

"So, it is entirely my defeat here! Hahaha!"

Seeing Doldain laugh, made Rei stunned by his many praise which he is hardly to hear.

"T-thank you...but I think I am still far from being strong." But despite receiving such praise from him, Rei wasn't happy with the result.

And that put a bad taste on Doldain who witnessed his strength.

'Far? You are stronger than most elite soldiers in here, from what I seen so far.' Doldain thought.

'The way he switched weapons with Spatial Magic is way too fast and too complicated, since I don't know what kind of weapon he will be using and...'

'If I didn't see his fight with my King, I would probably lose miserably.'

'And each of his strikes is deadly enough, to kill most of the monsters around B to A rank but there's some flaw and that's...'

"Yes, indeed you are far from being strong like you wanted since in reality you did lose to me and our King." Doldain spoke out.

Rei clench his fist after he heard his words.

"But...right now, you have the opportunity to learn to become stronger from the two of us." Doldain continued.

Rei then looked at him while being suprised by his words.

Then Doldain smiled and looked at him, "So don't be too depressed, cause I am going to tell you few point that needed to be fixed." Doldain spoke.

It caught Rei's attention, "I understand." as he nodded and prepared for his words.

"Good." Doldain smiled to hear his answer.

"The first thing, from what I observe during our fight."

"Is that, you did great on the way you utilized your weapons, it is complicated and tricky to fight with a person who uses multiple weapons."

"But ...what you are lacking right now, is the way you switch on each weapons you use." Doldain spoke.

"The way I switch my weapons?"

"Yes, because everytime you change your weapons, I can feel on every strike you made...your strength becomes weaker and weaker."

"And that's not all, your body was stiff for a short moment everytime you tried to change your weapon."

"It is as if your body needs to adjust with the weapons again and again, like mechanical weapon that we Dwarves have here."

Doldain explained.

And that reminded him of what Kajia said to him before.

[I was hoping that you could put up more of a fight than this. That technique was good but it was still sloppy~]

[You really have so many tricks that could defeat many opponents, but in front of me...]

[It's useless~]

Rei was confused about what he said before, but now he got his answer.

"I see."

Rei looked dejected, Doldain who saw that immediately coughed.

"Ahem, I won't say it was that bad but facing you is much trickier than it looks."

"So probably a veteran fighter who emever met you, would be having hard time to fight against you." Doldain spoke to consoled him a bit.

That made Rei look even more dejected.

"A-ah...I-i mean." Doldain panicked after that.

"What is the next one..."

"Huh?"

"Yeah...you said that was still the first one, so what is the second one that I needed to know." Rei spoke while not caring about what he's gonna say, even though that might hurt his pride and his hard work.

But he wanted to know, what he need to improve.

Doldain sighed, "Calm down, I haven't finished yet...so the thing is that you need to learn and train your switching techniques to be more flexible and quick."

"And not losing your strength on every time you switched." Doldain continued to explain.

Rei who listened, quickly nodded his head. "I see..."

Doldain looked at him as he sighed, "Well that the first one and I only have three points that needed to say, so don't get your hopes up too much."

"I understand." Rei nodded.

Doldain nodded his head as well, "Right, so the second point, is that your attack is way too obvious." Doldain spoke.

Rei thought about that too but he didn't understand what he's saying.

"Despite knowing how to anticipate an enemy's attack and know how to feint your attack, you are still lacking in using complicated movements." Doldain answered him.

'That's just like what Houston and Kajia said...' As Rei remembered about what Ray taught him before.

"Of course feint and tricking your enemy is important, but a weapon that been used in such obvious way can be more anticipated, blocked and dodged easier than it could."

"That is why, what you need is a technique that you could perform and trick your enemy." Doldain pointed it out.

"For example Sword, Spear and Shield had many complicated techniques which made them hard to deal with."

"Like Sword, you can either slash and stab but it can be used as a shield to block an enemy's attack."

"Just like Sword, Spear also has the same use, you can stab and render them unconscious with a slamming attack using the shaft, and block an enemy's attack from another direction or attacking them."

"And Shield can be used as a blunt attack, crushing and blocking the enemy."

"Meanwhile Bow and Axe, they don't have complicated techniques because they only focus on shooting and destroying your opponents."

"So now you know, that every weapon has many uses, especially you who can wield them with ease."

"You can created more complicated movement with your weapon switching, so try to improve and be more flexible." Doldain explained again.

Rei couldn't help to be amazed by his explaination, 'He does sound like what Houston said before, but to think he was able to explained them all.'

"Doldain, you are amazing to be able to explained that."

"Heh, of course since I am a Dwarf who lives in this Kingdom and had seen many weapons and fights."

'Dwarf.'

Rei listened to his explanation as he made sure to remember his words word by words, but he had forgotten about one thing.

It was just a fleeting thought, but he suddenly noticed something strange.

"Doldain...you said that you had seen many weapons and fight against them right?"

"Correct."

And that is...

"Then...may I ask?"

"Sure."

Rei looked straight at his eyes.

"What is your [Job]?"

Doldain looked back at him, knowing he would certainly be interested in his [Job].

"Well you caught me there, never thought a human would ask me this."

"Why a [Dwarf] like myself who knows many weapons, is having a warrior type [Job] who's supposed to understand only a few weapons. Is that why you are asking?"

Doldain immediately guessed what he was thinking about.

"Yeah..."

Doldain laughed, "Hahaha! How amusing! This might be the first time someone actually interested on my actual [Job] which is considered a mystery and forgotten by others~"

But Doldain didn't seem to be nervous as he simply looked straight at him with a smile.

"Well don't be surprised then." Doldain spoke while smiling at him.

"Ummm, sure." Rei was getting ready to hear his answer.

"My [Job] is...

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a [Blacksmith], a production [Job] that could only make weapons." Doldain finally revealed it.

And that...surprised Rei, from the way he looked at him.

Though...

His reaction was a bit smaller than he thought, since he suddenly calmed down and tilted his head instead while looking confused.

"That's all?" Rei blinked.

Doldain blinked as well, "Huh? I mean...wait...aren't you supposed to be surprised."

Rei raised one of his eyebrows, "Well you did say to me not to be surprised right?" And he replied to him.

"I did said that...but what's with that reaction..." Doldain somehow felt disappointed that his reveal was not enough to actually surprise him.

"A-ah, it's just well...I have seen or experienced this myself before...ummm.."

Rei looked away as if he wanted to avoid this conversation despite being the one who started it.

"Huh?...you saw it? Or experienced it? What do you mean by that??"

Rei scratched his cheek a bit, "Ummm...well..."

"Come on, just say it. I just revealed a big secret to you~ so a secret of one or two won't be enough to surprise me" Doldain proudly spoke.

"Ohhh." Rei clapped his hand then he smiled at him,

"Well then...I am a [Blacksmith] like you~" Rei answered him.

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"I see I see, a [Blacksmith]~" Doldain then nodded his head

Until he realized something...

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"Hmm?"

While blinking his eyes for a moment after coming to realize it.

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"HMMM?!?!?!?!?"

Doldain widened his eyes as if it was about to pop off.

And the one who was more surprised now was Doldain himself.

"Y-you are a [Blacksmith] too?! H-how??"

"How? Well it is because I was born with it?" Rei answered him.

"Are you joking with me?!"

Doldain suddenly charged at him while grabbing on his collar and shaking his body.

"W-what is wrong with you?! C-calm down?!"

"Calm down? Calm down?! How can I calm down when you told me you were a [Blacksmith] as well?!" Doldain continued to shook his body.

"You said you aren't going to be suprised!—ugh—?!" Rei became dizzy as his head got thrown back and forth as Doldain shook his body.

"That is different!! AGHHH!!!"

"S-STOP IT DOLDAIN!!!" Rei tried to stop him until...

"AFHFUDNSGSUIJFU." Doldain start to talk gibberish.

"DOLDAIN!!!"

And the scream rang out throughout the whole castle.

******

After that, Doldain finally calmed down, meanwhile Rei looked tired more than usual.

"So, you are a [Blacksmith] like me."

"Correct."

"And you can use four different kinds of weapons."

"Correct."

"And you are also the holder of that flame, at such a young age?"

"Ummm...correct." Rei nodded

Then Doldain sighed as he flopped down on his seat, "How can I not be more surprised than this." As he sat there, while looking defeated.

'It seems his secret that was supposed to be big, was defeated by my own huh.' Rei couldn't say that out loud as he stared at him.

Then Doldain sighed, "Well that explained why is your aura lesser than anyone I ever seen."

Then that piqued Rei's interest, "My aura?"

"Yes, your [Aura], it is less than normal which is why I wondered if you have a weird constitution, but now I understand that your [Job] is the same like me." Doldain explained.

"I see."

"Well don't be discouraged, but this might be the last part of what I am gonna say."

"Your dependency on equipment that is making you weaker" Doldain answered him.

"My dependency on equipment?"

"Yes, I heard your fight against the King of....the King of what was it again?" Doldain immediately stopped his explanation when he tried to recall that name.

"I-it's the [King of Destruction]." Rei corrected him, 'Is it just me or just the King of Destruction is not known in this Kingdom.'

"Ah, yes! That's the name, I heard his Martial Arts is at the peak already."

"Yeah...he was strong." Rei spoke.

Doldain noticed a change in his mood, "Indeed he was...but you are strong too."

"But...I'm not strong." Rei replied to him as he admitted it that he is far from being strong than him.

But Doldain sighed, "Like I said before...why you aren't strong enough to fight him was because of your dependency on the weapons you make and your experience as well."

"My...experience?"

"Yepp, also your aura, your tactics, your..." Doldain continued to list down what he's weak at.

"Okay okay, I have so many weak points!" But Rei managed to stop him before he got hurt by those words.

Doldain smiled, "But as you gain more experience and stop relying on weapons too much, you could defeat him with ease."

Rei widened his eyes when he heard those words, "Are you sure? I can win...against him?"

Doldain shrugged his shoulders, "Hahaha! I don't know that yet!"

"Huh??"

Then Doldain smiled again, "But for sure, you will soon! And you can look at me, I am the same as you a [Blacksmith]! And I've become the second strongest to our King!" Doldain proudly replied to him.

Rei blinked, "That's true..."

He looked down for a moment before meeting his eyes again, "Then...what am I supposed to do?"

Doldain grinned, "Heh, that is—"

"—to improve your [Aura]." Then his words were cut off by a woman's voice.

They immediately turned their attention to the woman who came inside the room.

"My King!"

It was Ignia.

"It seems you got hurt again, Other Worlder~" Ignia spoke while approaching them, it seemed like her mood had improved and returned to normal again.

"My name is Rei...I said it already." Rei sounded displeased about the way she called him.

"My apologies~ but it's just that it stuck in my head~" Ignia spoke as she smiled at him.

"And improving my aura? How is that possible?"

Ignia sat down on the chair beside Doldain and smiled at him, "Of course it is possible, I have a method that could improve your aura two—no, ten times stronger than ever~"

"Ohh! Really?!" But when Rei asked that, he noticed something.

"Hmm?"

Is that, Doldain was trembling at her words.

"Doldain?"

Doldain immediately looked away, "H-hmm? Y-yes? W-what is it?"

Rei saw a glimpse of his face before he looked away, 'Was he frightened? Of what?'

"Ummm, nothing."

"G-good! Haha!"

Then when his eyes returned to Ignia, suddenly he felt shivers down his spine.

Ignia was smiling, frighteningly.

"Hmm? What is it?~"

"N-nothing." Rei felt this sensation just before she started explaining, 'Why did the atmosphere suddenly feel like this…'

"Ummm...about that method..."

Ignia smiled, "We can do that later after you recover enough, because if we do that now, your body will go [pop~] in your current condition."

Rei blinked his eyes for a moment.

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"P-pop?!—wait, what?!"

Ignia just smiled at him, "Yepp~ well let's not concern ourselves about that~"

'Of course it concerns me the most!' Rei thought while gulping his saliva.

"Now then, shall we head out for a bit since living in this castle can be boring sometimes, right?~" Ignia spoke while standing up from her seat.

"Huh? Where are we going?"

"Oh, is it that day already?" Doldain joined.

"Huh? What day?" Rei asked

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******

"CHEERS!"

*CLUNK*

The dwarves cheered as they clashed their big cups made out of wood together at once.

And Rei was there witnessing such a scene on the sideline with Doldain and Ignia on his sides.

Rei questioned himself, 'How did I end up in this place.'

Currently, they are in the middle of the city which is the center plaza. Food and drinks were scattered all over the places with the Dwarves singing and dancing with joy.

"This is called [Dragon God Festival]." Dwarf explained while gulping a drink in his hand.

"Puhaa!~"

"[Dragon God Festival]?"

"Yes, we Dwarves worshiped two beings which is the [God of Blacksmithing, Hephaesteus] and our king, [The King of Dragons, Ignia] who have been our guardian for a long time." Doldain explained.

"Woah..." Rei was amazed by their culture, 'To think Dwarves think like that, and worshiping a Dragon which is quite unbelievable...'

Rei looked at them, seeing how cheerful the people were.

Until...

*BAM*

Three dwarves came and covered his view.

One of the dwarves wore a goggle, one of them had this scar on his right eye, and one of them had this older looking face than any dwarves here.

"So you are the guest that the rumor said?" The dwarf with the scar spoke.

"What is this? A child? I thought he would be at least older!" The dwarf with goggles spoke.

"Hohoho, even though he looked like a child it seems he wasn't a simple child huh?" The older looking dwarf spoke.

Rei was just stunned and remained silent as thet suddenly surrounding him.

"U-ummm..."

"Hey hey! What are you doing covering the view!" Doldain spoke at them in an attempt to shoo them away.

"Come on, we are all curious since you haven't shown up these days, and we heard you are babysitting a child~" The dwarf with a scar spoke while mocking him.

"I am not babysitting him, I am training him! And you should be careful with the way you speak, Bavog."

"Oh, why is that?~"

"Well you will regret it if you think he is just a simple child~" Doldain grinned widely and gulping down another glass of his drink.

"Regret? Me? Hahaha! You spoke jest~" Bavog spoke while grinning widely.

"Rei, just show him what you got~" Doldain burped and spoke at him.

Rei was confused with this situation, until he was dragged into the middle of the festival where many eyes were watching.

Rei couldn't help but to be shocked, since all of a sudden the dwarves around them were making a circle where he and Bavog the dwarf with the scar challenged him to a fight.

"Heh, Doldain praised you a lot~ but I wonder if you could defeat me!~" Bavog then removed his shirt, revealing his muscle underneath.

And the crowd became louder around them.

"Look at this muscle! Can you defeat this with that thin body of yours?" Bavog mockingly spoke to him.

Rei chose to remain silent and observed him.

"Now let's start the fight—?!"

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*SWOOSH*

But just right when the fight was about to start, Rei immediately appeared in front of him.

"Huh?"

Then Rei clenched his fist and swung it towards his stomach.

*BAM*

Sending Bavog's body flying and crashing to the chimney on one of the houses around them.

The crowd went quiet and just noticed that Bavog had already fallen unconscious and was lying on the broken chimney.

And their attention returned to the boy who stood there.

"Hm? Is it over?"

After that, that's how Rei was recognized as the honorable guest of the King of Dragons herself.

To be continued...