“Huff… Puff… Huff…” I panted heavily, using the spear to support myself with my remaining hand.
My condition was terrible—my vision blurred, my body swaying, consciousness slipping from losing too much blood. But Kaela was in no better shape. In the brutal clash between us, I had lost a hand, while she was left blind in one eye with a deep puncture wound in her stomach. By all accounts, this duel was a draw.
Warning: You have run out of Plausibility.
The possession has ended.
Your power has returned to normal.
You Strength has increased by 1.
Your Dexterity has increased by 1.
Your Stamina has increased by 1.
You have acquired a skill: [Sword Intent Lv.1].
Interdiate Swordsmanship has leveled up.
Phantom Blade has leveled up.
You Strength has increased by 2.
Your Stamina has increased by 1.
You have acquired a skill: [Blood-Fueled Frenzy Lv.1].
Midway through the battle, when she was getting used to Alric’s power, I had possessed Uldrek the Berserker to keep up with her monstrous strength. The mont Uldrek’s power surged into my veins, I abandoned my sword, Howling Edge, and swapped it for the teorite Spear. The spear’s weight and impact force allowed to contest her brute power more effectively.
Even so… it still wasn’t enough. Despite everything I threw at her, I couldn’t gain any significant advantage. Granted, I didn’t use Grant Plausibility as I had against Graham, but I wasn’t holding back either. I had used nearly every tool at my disposal, and Kaela tanked it all. She truly was a monster among monsters. Even five Grahams wouldn’t be her match in this beast form of hers.
Kaela, already losing her beast form, tried to keep her balance. Blood was streaking down her bare skin in thick rivulets and darkening the patches of fur along her forearms and lower legs.
“You…” She forced the word out between shallow breaths. “You are the strongest human in all of Fantasia. I’ll give you that.”
I tried to answer, but only a hoarse exhale escaped my throat. Frankly speaking, it seed to be who was the more exhausted one than her, and all it took to take down was a single push. Still, the way that she was speaking, had she ever encountered soone stronger than before?
“Maxim, was it?” Her lone golden eye narrowed with fierce recognition. “I will rember your na.”
As she said that, the mana barrier of the dueling cube dissipated, and the wounds all over our bodies started to heal. Warm light swept across us as the cube’s auto-recovery magic began its work. My ribs stitched themselves back together, the blood soaking my clothes evaporated, and even the stump where my hand had been began to regenerate—slowly, but visibly. Kaela’s deep abdominal wound shrank, and the gashes on her skin faded, leaving only faint traces behind.
However, the mont the barrier fully dissolved, we were t with stunned silence. Dozens of divine warriors stood outside the cube, frozen in place as they stared at us in disbelief. They hadn’t seen the fight; they couldn’t have, thanks to the concealnt function, but they could see the aftermath.
I quickly noticed that the dueling cube was a scene out of a disaster zone. Tiles lay shattered in piles of rubble, cracks spiderwebbed across the walls, and a massive crater gaped where Kaela’s transford strike had landed. Frost, ash, claw marks, and deep spear-gouges marred every inch of the floor.
And standing in the middle of that destruction were us—bloodied, battered, barely recognizable, slowly healing under the cube’s recovery magic.
“What… happened in there?”
“Those injuries… how did either of them survive?”
“Did they fight a monster? Or each other?”
“That can’t be a normal duel. Nothing could cause that level of damage.”
Michelle rushed forward first, eyes widening at the sight of . “Maxim! You—your hand—what happened in there?!”
Boris stepped beside her with a look of stunned acknowledgnt. “Lad… what in all hells did you fight? A dragon?”
Well, I guess it’s close to it.
My other friends hurried toward as well, each showing varying degrees of worry and shock.
Kaela pushed herself upright just as her subordinates rushed in beside her.
“Damn human! You dare injure our big sis like that?! You must be playing dirty! I’ll kill you!”
The one shouting was a young female therianthrope with ash-gray fur along her limbs and sharp amber eyes. She sprinted toward with surprising speed, her bow discarded in favor of extended claws. Her face filled with fury.
“You bastard—!”
Before she could reach , Kaela simply stepped in front of her and extended one arm sideways. The younger therianthrope collided with Kaela’s forearm and stumbled back, startled.
“Big sis? Move! He hurt you! He must’ve cheat—”
Kaela answered her with a single, flat look. “That was a fair duel. And it ended in a draw.”
The younger wolf therianthrope froze, claws still half-raised, seemingly unwilling to accept that her invincible leader had not won against .
“You don’t attack soone after a duel. That’s dishonorable,” she continued in a firm tone.
“But…”
“If you touch him, it’s the sa as going against ,” Kaela cut in—her words sharp enough to make all four of her kin stiffen. They, too, looked furious… but her ssage was clearly aid at them as much as the girl.
The girl’s ears flattened instantly. “…Sorry.”
She took a step back, shoulders hunched, clearly ashad. The rest of the pack stayed quiet, watching Kaela for cues.
Beside , Boris, Michelle, Erika, and the others had already braced themselves, ready to face the therianthropes if all four of them decided to attack . But such worries proved unnecessary.
I still gripped the teorite Spear for support. Although my body had stopped trembling and my lost hand had regenerated thanks to the dueling cube’s quick recovery magic, the exhaustion still lingered deep in my bones. I really wanted to fall down there and then, and took a night-long sleep.
Just then, Kaela, now mostly healed, turned toward her subordinates. “We’re leaving.”
The four therianthropes moved imdiately, falling in step behind her. Before she exited the cube, Kaela paused and glanced back at one last ti. “Don’t die before our next fight, human.”
Then she walked away, her kin following silently.
Great, just what I need… Truth be told, Kaela was even more terrifying than Erika, but in the upcoming Battle of Divine Will, she could be incredibly useful. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered entertaining her at all, as dealing with her was nothing but added stress.
Michelle let out a long, shaky breath, her shoulders slumping. “Fortunately, it didn’t co to the worst.”
Boris barked out a hearty laugh. “What’s there to fear? I alone could’ve handled all four of her subordinates.”
Haha, typical Boris. I managed a weak chuckle, no longer leaning on the spear as hard.
“So, how did the duel go?” Tuilë asked.
“It’s—”
I couldn’t even finish my sentence before a crowd of divine warriors sward like a tide breaking through a dam.
“Young man! Did you actually fight that monster head-on?!”
“Are you the reason there’s a crater the size of a house in there?!”
“Dude, are you alive? Blink twice if you’re alive.”
“Did you win? Lose? Did she snap your spine? What happened?!”
A few stared at with awestruck expressions, clearly impressed by the devastation left behind. Of course, they would be. This was not the typical destruction that could be unleashed by re Giml-rank divine warriors.
But most of them seed more eager to learn who had won the duel. Even though Kaela had already stated it was a draw, they wanted confirmation directly from . One divine warrior even blurted out that he had his entire money on the line. Wait… money?
My eyelid twitched. “What… money?”
One divine warrior coughed guiltily. “Uh… there might’ve been a small betting pool.”
“Small?!” another shouted. “It wasn’t small! We had like fifty people in on it!”
Tuilë crossed her arms and answered amusedly, “These people were betting on your fight—whether you’d win or lose.”
Soone shoved forward and asked again, “So? Did you win or lose?”
Seeing that I couldn’t hide the result, I told them it was a draw. The reaction was imdiate as most divine warriors groaned in frustration—naturally, since nearly all of them had bet on either my victory or my loss. Only three divine warriors in the back threw their fists into the air, cheering.
“YES! I bet a draw!”
“Pay up, losers!”
Boris burst out laughing. “Hahaha! Lad, your duel has turned into a betting arena.”
I could only shake my head in frustration before turning away, heading back toward the inn, along with Boris and Michelle. My body was far too exhausted to think about anything else at the mont. On the way back, I stored the teorite Spear in my inventory and opened my status screen to check on myself.
Maximillian Anderson Lv. 60/60 (EXP 1,069)
HP: 95%
MP: 205/1,103
Rank: Giml [3]
Patron God: Istellia (Goddess of Imagination)
Class: Paradox Incarnate
Title: One Who Conquered the Impossible (7)
Status: Extrely Exhausted
Strength: 459 29 46 | Dexterity: 517 24 50 | Stamina: 439 35 44
Mind: 340 5 34 | Magic Power: 400 20 40 | Luck: 420 42
Plausibility: 0
Free Attributes: 19
Signature Skill(s): [Absorb Plausibility], [Fabled Vessel], [God!$# Creation], [Grant Plausibility], [Gravity Magic Lv.4], [Scenario Manipulation]
Skill(s): [Assassination Arts Lv.3], [Basic Alchemy Lv.7], [Basic Cryo Magic Lv.8], [Basic Dagger/Knife Mastery Lv.4], [Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv.7], [Basic Neutral Magic Lv.10], [Basic Shield Mastery Lv.9], [Back Stab Lv.4], [Berserk Lv.3], [Blood-Fueled Frenzy Lv.1], [Calm Mind], [Chantless Casting Lv.3], [Desperate Willpower Lv.8], [Divine Sermon Lv.1], [Echo Construct Lv.2], [Extraordinary Fortune], [Extraordinary Harmonized Constitution], [Fast Equip], [Fast Reading Lv.5], [Flaming Fist Lv.1], [Heavy Stab Lv.7], [Inspect Eye Lv.4], [Interdiate Spearmanship Lv.5], [Interdiate Swordsmanship Lv.7], [Inventory], [Mana Manipulation Lv.8], [Mana Sense Lv.8], [ntal Tolerance Lv.5], [Negotiation Lv.7], [Night Vision], [Pain Tolerance Lv.6], [Phantom Blade Lv.4], [Phantom Slash Lv.6], [Poison-Paralysis Resistance Lv.4], [Projectile Defense Lv.3], [Predator’s Step Lv.5], [Reflection Counter Lv.1], [Shield Bash Lv.1], [Stealth Movents Lv.6], [Sword Intent Lv.1], [Weapon Manifestation Lv.5], [Wind Rush Lv.6]
Spell(s): {Frozen Icicle}, {Graviton Pull}, {Gravity Field}, {Gravity Launch}, {Mana Arrow}, {Mana Bullet}, {Mana Shield}, {Mass Alteration}, {Spinning Mana Arrow}
Damn, zero plausibility… This fight with Kaela was even more plausibility-consuming than I expected. Still, I was satisfied that I managed to eke out a draw against her.
Her class allowed her to transform into a monstrous beast that could rival , even when I used Fabled Vessel. However, I believed that once I advanced to the Daleth rank, defeating her would no longer be an issue. At the very least, I should be able to go toe-to-toe with her beast form without relying on any of my signature skills.
In any case, my next objective was to challenge and complete the tenth scenario. I didn’t feel like tackling it tomorrow—and the others needed ti to prepare as well—but at the sa ti, I couldn’t afford to waste too much ti, especially with Erika’s ti limit likely being three days at most. In that case…
“Let’s challenge the tenth scenario the day after tomorrow,” I decided.
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