Gelnar

"[Wind Gust]"

A strong gust of wind came out from Rick's palm as it rushed towards the boy.

"[Aegis Shield]"

A cone-shaped shield appeared in front of the boy, redirecting the [Wind Gust] on the sides. Shortly afterwards, it disappeared, revealing the unharmed figure of the boy.

'What a peculiar shield' Rick inwardly commented.

"[Wind Breakthrough]"

Rick raised his hand backwards as a gust of wind blew from his hands, propelling him towards the boy.

"[Judgment Sword]"

A steel sword appeared on the boy's hands and slashed it forward.

Rick hurriedly maneuvered his body and parried the sword with his legs.

"[Wind Force]!"

He then somersaulted in the air and performed an ax kick propelled by the wind. It was a new wind spell he learned after days of Lisa's torture. It allows him to use the propelling force of the wind to enhance his melee attacks.

"[Aegis Shield]"

A steel shield appeared on the boy's hands, shielding him from Rick's ax kick. This time, the shield appeared to be a regular kite shield, unlike the cone-shaped shield earlier.

Ding!

A bell-like sound reverberated throughout the garden. Shortly afterwards, the shield once again disappeared while the sword stayed on the boy's left hand.

'Damn. It hurts like hell' Rick cursed as he grit his teeth.

'He's good' the boy inwardly praised Rick as his brows knitted.

"What's your name?" the boy asked.

"Before you ask for names, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" Rick replied as he raised his left eyebrow.

"Gelnar, that's my name." Gelnar replied briefly.

'Must be a fake name. After all, what kind of thief would give out their real identity?' Rick thought to himself.

"Rick, as in Rickrolling" Rick replied sarcastically.

"Rickrolling?" Gelnar muttered with a confused expression but Rick didn't bother to explain.

'Hold on, Rick? That doesn't ring a bell.. With his talent, I should have at least heard of him. It can only mean that he's gonna die some time soon' Gelnar thought to himself as he eyed Rick with pity.

Rick didn't know what Gelnar was thinking but when he saw his gaze, for some reason, veins popped up on his forehead. He seemed to be annoyed by Gelnar's pity.

'Oh, he's underestimating me' Rick inwardly said as he grinned.

Gelnar pointed his sword at Rick and said "Let me go with the mirror. You can't beat me."

"How about you leave the mirror behind and I'll let this one slide" Rick retorted as his lips curled up to a smirk.

"In that case, let's just continue." Gelnar said with a sigh.

Gelnar rushed forward with his sword and slashed diagonally down to the right.

Rick hurriedly grabbed a knife from his pocket and blocked the sword.

Gelnar let out multiple slashes with his sword while Rick skillfully parried and blocked them.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Rick appeared to be skillfully dealing with Gelnar's slashes but in reality, it was Gelnar who had the momentum in their fight.

Rick, who was using a knife, was to be on the defensive while Gelnar had the range advantage with his sword.

'He's too fast and he's not giving me time to plan my next course of action' Rick thought to himself.

Rick then hurriedly leaped backwards to gain some distance.

Seeing that Rick was trying to gain some distance, Gelnar hurriedly rushed forward.

"[Wind Gust]"

A gust of wind blew away from Rick's hands and stopped Gelnar's rush.

"[Aegis Shield]"

A cone-shaped shield once again appeared in front of Gelnar, shielding him from the gust.

"[Wind Slash]"

Rick said as he slashed out with his knife, generating a sharp-edged wind heading towards Gelnar.

"[Wind Breakthrough]"

Rick didn't wait for Gelnar to deal with his [Wind Slash] as he rushed forward at breakneck speed with his body bent forward. [Wind Breakthrough]'s propelling force increased his speed.

This time, the [Aegis Shield] didn't disappear and blocked the [Wind Slash]. Shortly afterwards, the [Aegis Shield] disappeared.

"[Wind Force]"

Rick slashed out his knife at lightning speed with the help of the propelling force of the wind.

[Aegis Shield] blocked Rick's attacks for a moment but it also served as a cover for him to launch a sneak attack. Gelnar's eyes widened in shock for a moment but he quickly composed himself.

"[Aegis Shield]"

A steel kite shield appeared on Gelnar's hands and blocked the knife attack at hair's breadth.

Nevertheless, Rick didn't stop and once again slashed out his knife diagonally to the left and unleashed a barrage of knife attacks.

This time, it was Gelnar's turn to be on the defensive with his steel kite shield.

The two continued their fight for a while as they exchanged attacks with each other.

Some time later, the two panted for breath as sweat covered their bodies. They looked at each other with recognition dawning on their faces.

'He's good. I'm afraid I can't beat him without using that spell' Gelnar thought to himself as he eyed Rick warily.

'Tch, I can use [Phantom Rush] to defeat him but I can't use it unless it's a life and death situation. There's no need to go into a life and death situation with a thief with no killing intent' Rick thought to himself as he clicked his tongue.

It was at this moment that they heard footsteps heading towards their direction.

Rick's eyes brightened while Gelnar's expression turned ugly.

Carla and Leon finally arrived. Seeing that the thief was just a boy about the same age as them, they both heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that it should be easy to deal with the thief.

"Rick, you still haven't dealt with the thief?" Carla said with a mocking tone as her lips curled up to a lopsided grin.

"Oh shut up. You know that I'm holding back" Rick retorted in annoyance.

"Calm down, you two." Leon said as he forced a smile.

Carla harrumphed while Rick's mouth twitched before he let out a sigh.

"Now then, how should we deal with you?" Rick said while looking at Gelnar as his lips curled up to a lopsided smile.

Gelnar darted a look at Carla and Leon as his eyes flashed in recognition.

'These two must be Leon Vargas and Carla Ferlon' Gelnar thought to himself before he turned to look at Rick.

'I recognize these two but who is this Rick?' Gelnar mused.

"I'm taking that mirror with me no matter what. Do what you must" Gelnar replied as his expression dulled.