Larna ran down. His feet were trapped in an unstoppable race, the wind making him squint.

  Think! He stared at his opponent. The rank 3, whose battle-name was ‘Saint’.

  The mocking smile on his face as he unsheathed his sword made it clear. He didn't think Larna or Vale were a threat.

  He probably wasn't going to defeat Larna straight. He intends to toy with me.

  Larna’s jaw tightened. Better for me. He was going to use that to his advantage.

  He stomped and thrusted forward.

  Saint turned his body. The lance almost grazed his abdomen.

  Larna gritted his teeth, fighting against the inertia. But his feet didn't stop.

  Saint ended at his back.

  No! Larna turned in a beat of his agitated heart. Saint’s black eyes looked closely at him. Larna swung his lance, but Saint jumped away.

  This guy… He’s really trying to humiliate me. Larna's scowl deepened. It didn’t matter how much he tried. He would never understand where the joy was in making another person suffer.

  He lunged his lance again. It scraped against Saint’s sword surface until Saint shoved the lance away.

  Larna growled. I’m not over! Using all his body’s muscles, he stopped the lance and slammed it down.

  The wind burst. The clang of metal let a screeching noise in Larna's ears. His face contorted, his hands trembling from the impact.

  Saint had blocked the lance, using his sword with both hands.

  His speed is surely enough to have evaded it, but he took the attack… Larna scolded. Just to prove his higher level.

  The trembling in his hands faded. Larna pulled the lance back and thrusted. Again. Again. And Again. He unleashed a ravage of attacks. But Saint slipped across them.

  Damn it! Larna’s shield fell to the floor with a clang. He gripped the lance with two hands and swung it in a sweeping attack, as the ones the mohawk-jerk did. Dodge this!

  Saint stood in place. He put his sword in the specific position to deflect the lance.

  Saint turned into a blur.

  No! Larna freed his grip on the lance and quickly kneeled to heave the shield at his feet. When he looked up, Saint was there.

  Looking down at him as he had been doing the entire battle.

  Larna heaved the shield to try to protect his head. But it abruptly stopped, Saint's foot pushing it to a halt.

  Larna let out the shield and rose from the floor with a punch. Saint turned his body, seeing the fist pass in front of his eyes.

  Larna tripped over Saints's foot and stumbled into a crawl.

  Larna stared down at the pure blackness. He was at the center of the crater.

  He punched the floor. The muscles of his face tensed. What's the point?! He couldn’t understand why Saint and Garuma enjoyed humiliating others.

  But he was painfully aware he couldn't oppose them. Saint was stronger and could do as he pleased with him.

  "Hey."

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Larna glared up at Saint. He was clenching Larna’s lance with his left arm.

  This bastard. He was surely going to start spitting that crap about Larna being too weak to be a battler.

  Larna's hands pressed closed. The game-over screen was falling over him one more time. But he would start from zero again if it was necessary.

  "I choose to continue," he growled.

  Saint blinked, startled at Larna.

  "That's good."

  Larna 's forehead wrinkled. Huh?

  Saint looked down, not at Larna, but at the floor below his feet. “I’m sorry. You surely didn't enjoy it, but I was trying to seize your skills."

  "From now on, I'll use all I have.” Saint smiled. “Let's have fun."

  Larna gazed at Saint’s eyes. Looking closer, they weren't as deep black as Rising Shadow's eyes. They were a gentler dark grey, and their shape made them look always joyful.

  Saint extended his hand to Larna, causing the final crack that shattered Larna's impression of him.

  He blinked at Saint’s hand and took it. Saint handed him back the lance and stepped back. "Ready when you are,"

  Larna stepped back, aware of keeping him in range… and nodded.

  In a blink, Saint was already over him.

  Larna recoiled. He raised his shield.

  But Saint was already at his back.

  Larna felt a tingling in his stomach that slowly grew more intense. He gulped and lowered his head to find a red line splitting his abdomen in half.

  The red line faded from his body. The Battle Scenario disappeared too.

  Larna's mind grew silent as he assimilated the reality.

  It only took Saint seconds to finish the battle after getting serious.

  He is a final boss. When staring at him, Larna felt like looking at a mountain that broke into outer space.

  How much I’ll have to train to reach his level? Can I even reach it? He let out a sigh that left him empty.

  Hearing someone step, he turned to see Vale at his side. He must have lost, too, because of his serious face.

  "We were really wrong."

  Vale looked away at the top rankers who talked among themselves, too. His right hand turned into a trembling fist. "Those guys are amazing."

  Vale saw the world in a different way than him, but Larna couldn’t agree more with him.

  "Yeah, they're—"

  His throat tightened as Rising Shadow and Saint turned in their direction. The first rank let out a sigh as the third walked towards them.

  “First Challenger and Larna, I have a good offer for you.”

  Larna and Vale turned to look at each other.

  "You guys must be trying to enter the Battle Tournament, right? He pointed back with his thumb at Rising Shadow. “His clan has a couple of guys ranked for it."

  "My clan will challenge his clan. But I don't have members yet. I need exactly two guys for this.“

  Larna’s heart raced. His mind gave logical assumptions of how the proposal was going to end. But he couldn't believe them. The changes are too low…

  “So would you like to join my clan?"

  Larna's eyes widened. His mind needed time to analyze the words. He had to be misunderstanding something.

  "Join your clan?"

  "It will be fun."

  Larna turned to Vale. His lips were pressed, but a clear smile hid behind them. Larna sighed, relieving a bit of the overwhelming tingling on his chest.

  He looked down with a smile. He didn't know if he could be like Saint and Rising Shadow. He didn't know if he had the talent. He didn't know what his future would be. A Battler? Something else?

  Larna peered at Rising Shadow, and his throat tightened. His clan. He didn't doubt there were strong battlers. He surely wasn’t at their level.

  There were so many things he didn't know. So many unpredictable things could happen. But he was sure of something.

  He wanted to be strong. And Saint could help him with that.

  Larna chuckled, his next words bringing memories with them:

  "Please."

  Vale slapped Larna's back, making him stagger.

  "It would be sad doing this without you."

  "I can't stay behind."

  At that moment, Larna's eyes were obstructed by a notification.

  [You have joined 'Unnamed Clan']

  Larna's sight shifted towards Saint to see his glittering eyes. One more time, he left Larna dumbfounded.

  “Are you okay?" Vale asked, as startled as Larna.

  Saint nodded and tried to hold the tears.

  "I'm just happy.”