The Sun had set on a long day, but the day had still yet to end.

It may be night now, but that was when the real action started.

It had been a couple of days since Bryn last went into Rosewater and he had to admit he was a bit worried thanks to what happened the last time he was there, he had been there twice and each time represented both one of the best moments in his life, and one of the worst, but when Bryn called up Armarni earlier, He had told him that if he wanted to earn some money through Duelling, then he knew the exact spot to go.

So that was how Bryn found himself leaning against a wall across from a bar which was for all intents and purpose, closed, the door was shut and there was no obvious signs advertising the duelling that Armani had told him went on inside.

All there was to the bar was a set of wooden doors with red lanterns hanging above them, and a symbol he did not know painted onto sign atop them.

Only, every now and then a soft rumble, or tremors running through the ground could be felt emanating from within.

It had been about five minutes since his arrival that he spotted Armarni and Alexa walking down the street together. Alexa was dressed like she was ready for a fight, whilst Armarni was dressed like he was ready to hook up, so honestly, not that much different from normal.

“Oi, I thought we were here to Duel?” Bryn called out to which Armani waved off, “No, I said I knew a place where you could Duel, not me” he said before walking by, forcing Bryn to leave his perch to keep up.

“Listen up, here's the deal, The academy encourages its students to duel as part of its curriculum, obviously you can issue a challenge wherever and whenever but to be frank they dislike that, too much stuff gets broke which costs a lot to repair, so they came together with the big factions that send their kids this way to create these places, they're essentially coliseums and bars rolled into one, you can fight, you can drink and you can even bet, each of the big factions manage the most popular arena's in town and this is the first year arena owned and operated by the yakuza, in here you will only find students of the same age as us, each arena bands the older years from entry but don't be mistaken, you are more than welcome to visit them if you’re seeking a true challenge” Armarni explained as he walked past Armarni who had held the wooden door open for him.

The interior was subtle, an aged but well stocked bar was too the left whilst small a sitting area where a couple of locals who had long since graduated were eating quietly.

Bryn stopped for a second as he expected more but was quickly brought out of his musing by Armarni, who as he past slapped his shoulder to get his attention.

“This is only the entrance Bryn, the real bars through there” Armarni said before giving a nod in greeting to the bartender as he passed by as he walked towards the wooden stairs the led underground.

The Stairs ran deep and were lit by a soft warm glow of light, so deep that the floor turned from wood into stone carved from the very bed rock of the island, and yet there seemed to be no end.

It was only when they had descended several hundred foot did they reach the exit, and what an exit it was.

Before the three was a massive cavern that had been polished smooth, running along the edge were stone steps that led towards the centre of the cavern where a several layered pagoda rose magnificently into the air, numerous arenas that offered all sorts of artificial environments to fight in encompassed the pagoda and even from where Bryn stood he could see that some were even currently in use.

Armarni led Bryn an Alexa across the wooden bridge that connected to that pagoda to the stairs, passing under the several 'Tori' that were built along the bridge, Bryn could see that each layer of the pagoda they were heading for, held a bar with the centre of each level, and each bar was packed to capacity.

“How is this even possible? How can the factions afford to pay for all of this?” Bryn asked in amazement as it was just as magnificent from afar, even the wooden rails lining the bridge were intricately decorated with carving of koi transforming into dragons, the level of detail put into the entire place was beyond anything he could imagine being made in this day and age.

“You literally attend an academy of magic Bryn, there is a skill for everything or did you really think the school and all of the was built by hand” Alexa said before Armarni could answer.

“she's right, and most Heroes I've met are pretentious pricks drunk on their own power, did you really think they would be subtle about all this, the cavern was probably done by someone with a Geomancer build whilst the woodwork was done by support hero, a craftsman of some type” Armarni said before steeling himself as he noticed they were getting close to the bar.

“Are you sure about this Bryn, Simply by attending a place like this your advertising that you’re up for a Duel and even from here I can tell, you're going to have a lot of people that are going to want to challenge you? You’re not exactly liked after all” Armarni asked for a final confirmation as he was worried for Bryn's sake, But Bryn gave his shoulder a squeeze, “don't worry man, all day people have been telling me that I should get into a Duel or two, what's the worst that could happen?” Bryn said in playful excitement.

As soon as he had saw the arena his blood had begun to boil and his eyes had grown wide in anticipation. Why should he worry if there is a line of people wanting to challenge him, all they are doing is saving him the hassle of seeking them out.

“Ha-ha, no worries then, just take it easy as first, don't get over confident and lose what little you've got” Armarni said before growing quiet as they entered the bar.

Dozens of people were either sat at old wooden tables or stood next to the bar, a few had clocked on to them as they approached and were conversing with their friends about them whilst others were simply too lost in their own worlds to care about their arrival.

“Alright then! I'm going to the bar, you two find us a table” Armarni said before leaving Alexa and Bryn to their own devices.

“This way” Alexa said before pointing to a small table atop one of the balconies that overlooked an arena below, but from the way several people stood up from their seats it was obvious that he wasn't even going to be able to sit down before he received his first challenge.

It was as they moved to confront him that he felt someone grab his shoulder a pull him from behind “I've been hoping you'd show up here sooner or later demon, your mine” The large brute who grabbed a hold of him said whilst looking at him with a predatory gaze.

Bryn looked the brute up and down and he was surprised, he was expecting a person of his size and muscle to be swinging a sword but instead, he wore combat gear and tech.

If anything, he looked like an overhyped security guard for a fortune five hundred instead of a Hero.

The guy looked like the perfect male specimen, he had the body of an Adonis, Brown hair trimmed to the latest fashion and a sculpted jaw, but from one look in those arrogant eyes you could tell he knew it, and if what he wore was anything to go by, he was trying to flaunt it as he wore a skin tight purple t-shirt that was so small that ever muscle was perfectly outlined like his top had been vacuum sealed on, worst was the fact that his leather pants were so tight they left little to the imagination with how they sat.

Atop all that he wore little in the way of armour or weapons, only a simple black holster that held a single pistol and a combat knife that was of obvious military design, probably in an effort to make sure anybody looking at him didn't have their attention drawn by anything other than himself, and if the man being an egotistical prick wasn't enough, the way that he looked at Bryn, as if he could squash him with ease if they were too fight was both aggravating, but most of all...laughable.

“Hah” Bryn scoffed at the thought and in doing so, seemed to trigger the Chad’s anger, he reached for the gun on his thigh and just as he was about to pull it from his holster a voice called out from the bar.

“You know the rules, there will be no fighting in my bar, settle your differences on the field of battle” the bartender sternly said and the Chad put his pistol away.

“Follow me you little bitch and I'll teach you not to scoff at a Son of Ares” He said whilst knocking his shoulder against Bryn's as he walked past and down a set of stairs leading to the arena's below.

Bryn looked at Alexa in confusion, “Son of Ares?” Bryn asked to which Alexa answered.

“It’s what the pricks belonging to the 'Ares Group' call themselves, there just a bunch of 'Mercs' that owe their allegiance to the highest bidder, they have no honour and no cause to fight for” Alexa said with physical disgust in her voice, “Do the world a favour and put him in the ground, I'm going to look for my own chump to earn some new gear off” She said with her eyes dotting around those that still looked at Bryn with a desire to fight.

“You're fighting as well, I thought you were like Armarni, that you're parents provided you with everything you would need” Bryn asked and Alexa shook her head.

“My Family gave me only what all the young of my people sent to the academy need to challenge the test, beyond that, ‘Aegis shall provide'” She said, only Bryn found it slightly odd when she said the last words, as she seemed to almost say it with reverence.

The two split up, Bryn headed towards the arena whilst Alexa grabbed some poor sod that had sparked her interest, he had no doubt that whatever he had on him wouldn't remain his for long.

It was a minute later that Armarni returned form the bar with three drinks on a tray, but confusion on his face, “Hey, where did they go?” he asked himself as he looked towards an empty table.

Standing at the base of the pagoda, Bryn could see the Hot Head who thought he was a hot shot already standing on the other side of the arena.

Unlike many of the fights that he had been in before, this was a pre-prepared arena, as such, it wasn't in a natural setting but a man made one just like all the other arena's around the pagoda were.

Some were made to look like artificial forests, others were common streets, one was full of water whilst another hand hills of rising sand.

Bryn wasn't sure whether his opponent had picked this arena on purpose to get an advantage, but the only way he could describe it was a 'combat arena', its only defining trait were the concrete walls and structures dotting the arena to use for cover.

It was a maze of enclosed passageways, small rooms, and few open spaces that offered a full view to the other side of the field.

It was a style of arena that he could easily imagine a PMC like his opponent was would regularly practice at.

For a moment Bryn thought about switching arena's to take away that advantage but for some reason he didn't want to. When he looked at his opponent, he simply did not fear him, the very idea that he was even a threat to him seemed almost amusing.

Bryn had no idea why he felt this way, he could only describe it as an instinct, an instinct he was having trouble going against.

“So, what are you putting up to bet, no offence but I've got bigger targets in mind than a company trigger man” Bryn asked in words that he knew would trigger his opponent, and even from across the field, he could see through the only spot that had direct line of sight between the two opponents, that it had worked.

“Tch, let’s see you make jokes with no teeth” Bryn's opponent said before drawing his pistol.

“Standard Ares Pistol, Tier three” he called out with a smirk only for Bryn to return it without pause as he drew John's pistol to show it off, “Done” Bryn said and motioned for the adjudicator who was stood within his own little watchtower within the arena that he was ready, he mask taking form at the same time.

It was only when Bryn had that his opponent gave out a cocky smirk, Bryn's opponent took one piece of gear out after another until he was wearing full combat armour with a helmet and face mask, an assault rifle which was of obviously better quality than his pistol, and even secondary small arms to use if he lost his primary.

Bryn had been fooled and schemed against from the beginning, his opponent had intentionally made himself look weak to make his opponent be caught off guard, but now that they were in the arena and were about to fight, there was nothing that Bryn could do to prepare in his opponents mind, He could only wait until he tasted his upcoming loss thanks to his hidden fire power.

It was only when he was fully decked out in gear that he signalled to the adjudicator that he was ready.

“As an adjudicator for the academy, I do formally announce this an official duel, State your names” the adjudicator called out from his watchtower.

“Chad Jaxon”

“Bryn Lockhart”

“Begin!”

Bryn dived for cover as Chad unloaded his rifle on where he had been standing, the rounds hitting as soon as they had been shot with a burst of brilliant green fire, the concrete walls of the arena were tore apart with each shot.

Bryn saw the destruction each bullet wrought and swore not to get hit otherwise he knew the fight would be over very quickly.

If he took a shot without [Reinforcement] and [Aura] being up at the same time, there was a good change that not only the Duel would be lost, but his life would be as well.

Bryn ran through the arena, hiding within the concrete jungle under Chad’s suppressive fire, but within moments the layout of the arena played against Chad and in the favour of Bryn, now there was multiple walls between the two opponents and not only could Chad no longer shoot at him from across the field, he had lost him in the concrete maze.

With no other choice, Chad could only go towards his last known position, giving up the advantage of range that his rifle offered.

With the rifle resting against his shoulder Chad slowly but smoothly made his way towards Bryn's last position, checking each and every corner as he passed like his training at Ares had taught him to do.

Bryn meanwhile, was watching all of this.

The arena wasn't of a single level, there were blocks that offered a higher ground and passageways between the large walls.

They were places where you could both attack and observe your opponent from.

“Come out and die like a man monster” Chad shouted out in an attempt to rile Bryn up but his words were of no use, Bryn had used his chains to scale one of the large blocks and was currently watching Chad search for him from a place of safety and he was not going to give that up until he was ready to attack.

He had recognised the danger the rifle represented by how it tore the concrete walls of the arena apart, he was guessing it was either peak tier three or maybe even tier 4 tech. Worst of all Bryn could tell that Chad wasn't using no stun rounds like he was, Bryn was scared about being hit by a single round, never mind an entire clip of that monster.

His instincts as a teen brawler had been wrong, his opponent wasn't weak, Bryn had been a fool to think that this was going to be an easy fight.

He was no longer living with his aunt, he was attending an academy for Heroes, each and every person he had come across was not only powerful, but a threat to his life, his ignorance towards the threat and malice that Chad obviously held was downright stupid and he knew he was lucky to realise this now. Bryn could only imagine what would happen if he acted this way on a mission and not in the relative safety of a school duel, where medics were abound to save his life if Chad was to capitalize on his stupidity.

With his thought process corrected, Bryn continued to watch as Chad grew more frustrated at his lack of ability to find Bryn until he watched as the large boy stopped in his tracks and a dark smile appeared on his face.

“That girl that you were with, oooh, she was fine, is she your girlfriend?” Chad called out again with a perverted smile.

“Well, To each their own, is what I would usually say but damn, never thought there would be someone willing to fuck a monster” He said and Bryn's eyes narrowed.

“I guess her parents never gave her the talk, 'Now look her honey, I know you’re getting to that age where you want to experiment but remember to always wear protection and don't suck demonic cock, it’s no good for you” He said whilst checking each corner for Bryn.

Finally, Chad stopped.

“Hey, does she know what happened to your mother?” He said and Bryn's blood run cold.

“Does she know that her head will one day end up as an ornament hanging from your belt” He asked and Bryn saw red.

Bryn's [Aura] flashed to life as soon as the first step of his run begun, atop the concrete wall where he hid he ran to the edge closest to Chad before reaching its end to which he jumped with all his might before falling down on Chads position like a meteor baring down on the earth.

“Got you” Chad called out and tried to target Bryn but Bryn had saw this coming and was peppering his position with his own pistol, his shots weren't accurate but they were enough to force Chad to move to cover.

“Damn” Chad said as pieces of the concrete wall he hid behind began spraying off his armour but he had no time to relax, he needed to put some distance between him and Bryn again so he back peddled down the passageway he had hid in, his rifle trained on the corner he expected Bryn to pass around at any second, but it was too late for him, the distance that was his only friend was gone, even worse, he had royally pissed off someone he never should have.

Bryn darted around the corner and Chad tried to shoot him but Bryn was too fast, his bullets may have been impacting as soon as they were shot but Bryn had already moved out of the way, he wasn't beating the bullet but the person.

The already short distance shortened until Bryn was able to reach up and point Chad’s rifle into the sky whilst Bryn's other hand clasped his neck and lifted him into the air.

The Duel was all but over except for a verdict to be given, but Bryn was not satisfied, he squeezed his hand together like a clamp but Chad's armour would not budge, it was good, and at the very least, better than his, all he had managed to do with his prodigious strength was choke him a little, and even then it was but a bit or pressure, it wasn't something he would die from.

“You think you're safe in there” Bryn said as he drew Chad closer who was trying to pry his hands away from his neck before giving up and reaching for the pistol on his side.

Bryn saw this and threw Chad with all his might, sending him splaying against the concrete wall, Chad went for his pistol again but Bryn was already there, he used the rifle he had taken from Chad like a golf club and drove it into Chad's helmet, Breaking the rifle in half and impacting his head against the concrete wall again in a simple shot.

“Did you think you could say all of that and get away with it” Bryn said as he moved forward and stood on one of Chad's hands before kneeling down to head height.

“Does this look like the face of someone you want to fuck with” Bryn said whilst pointing to the reaper mask that he wore, “You dared to speak of my mother, who the hell are you, Do you think you have the right because you belong to some bitch ass PMC” Bryn said as he grabbed a hold of Chads other hand as he reached for his other pistol before raising it above his head and placing it against the wall before impaling it with Chad’s own combat knife.

“Come on, Answer me!” Bryn shouted as heard no response but soft moans of pain from the beaten Chad.

“I... I give up” Chad Said as he lifted his head to face the reaper in its eyes, a final show of defiance in a fight he knew that he had lost.

“Winner, Bryn Lockhart!” the Adjudicator called out but Bryn barely heard his words through his anger.

“Mother fucker, you think this is over” Bryn said as he twisted the impaled knife but as he was about to go further, he felt a pistol touch the side of his head.

“You heard my man, the fights over but if you’re not satisfied, then I'm more than willing to keep your company” A feminine voice said as a figure faded into existence upon the field as her cloak was turned off.

Bryn turned his head to the side where he could see a figure adorned in full combat armour aiming a pistol at him, it was only when her helmet collapsed in on itself that he saw that it was a first-year red head with a short bob that he knew who was speaking to him.

“He's your man?” Bryn asked to which the red head cocked her pistol.

“All the sons and daughters of Ares are mine, if you have a problem with them, you have a problem with me” she said as her eyes turned sharp but before she could react Bryn had turned and grabbed the pistol with one hand whilst her neck with another, he held them both and put her against the wall.

She struggled for a second but it was of no use, she was too weak to break free from Bryn's surprise attack.

“Let...me...go” She struggled to say whilst Bryn moved his head closer to her face, his reaper mask with his depthless black eyes making for an intimidating image.

It was as she was peering into the darkness of those eyes that his mask retracted within his face, exposing his natural looks.

“Your damn right I have a problem with...'you're man'” Bryn said before staring deeply into her eyes, and in turn she stared into his.

As to what she saw, well, she saw anger, rage, hate even, but also, sadness.

“Bryn Lockhart, if you wish to issue a Duel then do so otherwise release her” the Adjudicator said as he had come down from his tower to stop the fight before it got any worse, he was already unhappy that the red head had intruded upon his field before he had called the fight but now it appeared that no one was going to show him the respect he was deserved unless he showed them that he was in charge here.

Bryn heard the adjudicator but he never let go, he looked to Chad who was still on the floor, his hand pinned but helmet open, he was staring hatefully at Bryn, he looked as if he wanted to jump up and fight him at this very second, but as he had just found out, he was no match for Bryn so all he could do was sit there and stew in his cold rage.

Bryn smirked at this before turning back towards the red head, “So, If he's your man, What's he worth to you?” Bryn asked before lightening his grip so she could speak.

The red head looked to Chad not with care or sympathy, but anger, only it was but a flicker of a flame before the anger she held towards Bryn.

“Here's The Deal, I Wager a Tier two Token but that's only the first part, you insulted the Ares Group even if this moron was at fault, it cannot be ignored” She said to which Bryn finally let go and moved away.

The Red head rubbed her neck before shooting an angry look at Bryn, “When I win, not only do you publicly apologise in front of the entire academy for offending the Ares Group, you will do it naked” She said with a glint of sadism in her eyes.

Bryn scoffed before covering the distance between the two of them in the blink of an eye and slamming his open palm against the wall beside her head.

“If you want to see me naked, then you just need to ask” He taunted whilst staring deeply into her eyes before frowning when she did not respond to his words.

“I don't have any tokens to bet with” Bryn said as he was unwilling to let the world know he had a Tier three Token, there would be too many people all too willing to have him part with it before he could use it if they knew

“Fine, I will cover the bet but you will pay double the wager when you lose in the future” She said without turning away.

Bryn thought about it before giving the girl a greedy grin, “Why not make it two tokens then” Bryn said cheekily, not expecting her to accept.

“Fine!” She said before knocking Bryn aside and moving to the other end of the arena to get ready, not forgetting to kick Chads foot and rip the knife out of his hand as she passed by.

“Get the hell off the field and get yourself sorted; you’ll meet me at the common room later...we're going to have words” She basically spat in distaste as she thought about what he had said in the duel.

Chad looked at her back as she walked away, what he felt at that moment was only known to himself, but Bryn could see from his eyes that he was not happy with her even though she had just saved his life.

Chad left the field and the adjudicator returned to his box; the red head was still in her full gear as before whilst Bryn had returned the reapers mask to don his face again.

“As an adjudicator for the academy, I do formally announce this an official duel, State your names”

“Bryn Lockhart”

“Harmony Aspell”

“Begin!”

The Adjudicators voice echoed across the arena but unlike last time, Bryn didn't need to dodge for his life as Harmony fired no shots, The duel had only been going on for less than a second but Bryn could do nothing but watch as harmony disappeared into thin air as her body was cloaked by the tech she wore.

With his pistols drawn, both old and new, Bryn slowly made his way across the arena to where Harmony had begun the fight.

Bryn reached down to check for traces on the arena floor, it was made from concrete just like the walls so whilst there was a little dust and rubble scattered thanks to the previous fight, there wasn't enough to track where she had gone.

Hell, for all he knew she could still be stood in the exact same spot as she was before.

Acting on that thought Bryn waved his pistol through the air before stopping after confirming she had in fact moved.

There was a flash out of the corner of his eye and with no second thought Bryn dived for cover behind a concrete wall, Harmony's shot exploded on the other side of where he hid but unlike Chad's shot, hers didn't blow upon impact, they penetrated right through the wall he hid behind, and the one in front of it.

“Shit” Bryn called out as he got up and ran down the passageway, Harmonies shots following close behind him Asif she knew exactly where he was at all times.

“God damn it, What is up with this girl!” Bryn called out as the shots she rained down on him kept on coming, only by putting more and more layers of concrete between him and where the shots were coming was he able to find any peace.

Bryn quickly peaked around the corner, his eyes darting around the arena in an attempt to find her but all he could find was the wreckage caused by her piercing shots, the only thing he could make from this was that she was had some way to track him though the walls, and that she preferred to fight from a distance.

Neither fact was good for him.

“Damn” Bryn cursed out of frustration, he had been trained by his aunt to be the person that hid in the shadows and hunted his prey, to be the invisible predator, but now he was prey that he had been trained to hunt and he was disheartened to say, the hunter that he now fought was beyond his abilities.

He had no way of overcoming Harmony’s ability to see through the concrete walls of the arena, nor did he had the ability to tank one of her shots without using one of his emergency [Charms], something he was not willing to do unless his life was at risk.

Bryn kept moving but only slowly not, he didn't want to stay still behind a wall, only for a shot to pierce through both it and him.

Slowly he circled around the arena whilst keeping a certain distance, he was hoping her ability or the tech she used was directional and not all encompassing otherwise he was truly screwed.

Suddenly Bryn stopped in his tracks and aimed his pistol down a passageway but there was nothing there, Bryn gave a double take as he was sure he saw something out of the corner of his eye as he was walking past but whatever it was, it was gone now.

Bryn took a step and the wall where he had been standing blew up, she had somehow found him and was peppering his position with high penetration shots again.

“Damn it” Bryn called out as he ran away before slowing down as the shots stopped again.

“How in the hell did she spot me?” Bryn asked himself in frustration before aiming his pistol down a passageway again.

Only it was the same as last time, there was nothing there, it was an empty passageway. Yet, Bryn couldn't help but feel that there was a something there, something just out of sight.

Bryn intensely focused on the passageway and as he did, he felt a warm heat emanate from his chest, no, it wasn’t his chest, it was from his soul realm, more specifically, it was from his mask, not the one he wore now, but the original, the Five-eyed Oni.

The masked pulsed with power and the reaper mask was forcefully withdrawn before it pulsed again but only for a second, but in that second Bryn saw it, he saw that the empty passageway was not empty.

There was cloaked drone hovering not even 7ft away, it was only a small thing, only a few inches, but it had been relaying his position to Harmony throughout the entire duel.

“Got you” Bryn said before blowing the drone out of the sky with his pistol.

On the other side of the arena Harmony watched as one of the screen projected on his wrist went dead as the signal was cut, she showed an unhappy expression before commanding the rest of her drones to seek out Bryn's position once again, meanwhile she went back to looking through the digital scope attached to the sniper rifle that lay atop the concrete block she was perched on, the image she saw was blue and appeared as if she were looking through an x-ray. The scope was how she was able to see Bryn's position through the concrete walls of the arena when he was close enough, if he wasn't then she had depend on the drone to get an accurate shot.

The Drones converged on Bryn's position but every drone that drew close the mask hidden within his chest pulsed with power, giving Bryn the ability to see through their cloak, only this was not without its dangers.

Bryn reached up to his eyes and felt the soreness around them, with each pulse of power his eyes were strained to their limits, it was to the point that he now bled tears of blood.

If he kept this up then there was risk he would go blind, he had to end this fight now and now that he had taken out her last drone, he actually had a chance.

Whilst he hoped Harmony’s ability to shoot at him through walls was gone now that he had gotten rid of all her drones, he could not depend on that, he had to attack with the thought that she could see every move that he made.

He had to cover the distance without her realising it.

Worst of all he had to cover the distance between the two of them but he didn't actually know where she was, she was still cloaked after all and he had not seen her since the beginning of the fight.

Hoping that he could depend on his eyes one more time, Bryn carried out his somewhat risky plan.

Bryn moved to the passageway that offered cover from where he thought Harmony was but still offered a view of the centre of the arena, Bryn drew both his pistols and began unload not on where he thought harmony was, but on a concrete pillar.

With each shot the pillar broke and both rubble and dust was shot into the air but it was not enough, Bryn kept of going, he kept on shooting until the concrete pillar collapsed and even then he kept on shooting even more.

It was only when a massive cloud of dust covered the centre of the arena did he use his [Ethereal chains] to climb to the highest point he could and look across the other side of the arena, hoping that his eyes would not let him down, and to his luck, they didn't.

Bryn found harmony on her belly in a spot not too far from where he had ambushed Chad in the duel before.

With no time to lose Bryn shot off in her direction, he circled around so he was not directly in line of sight of her but he never her out of his sight, he didn't to make it there to only find that she had moved.

Quietly, Bryn snook up on Harmony, she was still cloaked and none the wiser that he had found her, she was still aiming down the scope of her barrel desperately trying to find Bryn after all her drones were somehow taken out, She Had no clue how he had done it, each of the drones were equipped with a cloak just as good as hers, it was as she was thinking that she felt the 'tap' tap' on the back of her helmet.

Stood by her side was Bryn and much like she had done to him, he now held a pistol aimed at her.

“Does this mean you have to tell the world what a great guy I am whilst naked” Bryn asked whilst looking down on Harmony with a cheeky smile.

The match was over, she had lost.

“Winner, Bryn Lockhart!”

As soon as the Adjudicator announced the result Bryn holstered his pistol and Harmony moved to get up but stopped at the sight of Bryn's outstretched hand.

Harmony looked at him in confusion before seeing the earnest expression on his face and decided to take it.

“Actions say more than words, and having a girl strip naked whilst preaching as to your greatness may be counterproductive” Harmony said as her helmet collapsed, Bryn chuckled hearing this and the little anger he had from before was gone.

“Ha ha, I suppose you're right, then forget about it, no point in marring such a good fight for a stupid bet” Bryn said much to Harmony's surprise.

“Oh, I like that, how about we forget about the entire bet then” she said with a wicked grin to which Bryn's eyes widened.

“Ha-ha no, I need those [Tokens] if I'm going to live through this year” Bryn replied quickly to ensure that there was no miscommunication between whether she would give up the token or not.

“You say that, and yet you publicly shamed an entire organisation whose existence is to act as a 'hired gun'” Harmony said, purposefully using his own words against him.

“Ah” Bryn choked on his response as there was not much he could say, he really had gone out of his way to create even more enemies with that, his problem was with Chad, not his employees.

“Look, about that, I'm sor...” Bryn tried to say but Harmony held out her finger to stop him, “Don't apologise, it is a sign of weakness and here, in this academy, that just makes you a target” she said before tossing the two tokens to him and walking off, only to stop at the edge of arena.

“Are you coming, or have you not had enough yet” She asked to which Bryn looked towards the crowd that watched from the balconies above.

Harmony was right, showing weakness really was making oneself a target, and if he wanted to stop being a target, then he had to show strength.

He had to go on the offensive.

“It's not really my choice is it, so, HOW ABOUT IT, ANY OF YOU STILL WANT TO CHALLENGE ME!” Bryn shouted out to those watching on and whilst there were still a few eager for a fight, the number was not only less than before, those still willing were cautious as to Bryn's strength.

No longer did they arrogantly believe they could stomp him one-sidedly into the ground, now they had to question whether or not they had the strength to win, and from the fact that one person called out, he apparently thought so.

“Are you going to let everything you won today ride?” an unassuming boy called out from where he sat on the balcony.

Bryn thought about it for second before nodding his head in agreement, the unassuming boy smiled before directly jumping over the side of the balcony and landing heavily in the space below.

The dust dispersed from where he impacted and not a hair on his head was out of place, “Great” he said before making his way over to the arena calmly.

Bryn looked at the boy and wondered how he could be so unbothered by their upcoming fight but before he could figure it out his Holowatch rang and he could see it was Armani calling him, with a quick look he could see the boy with a drink on the balcony, he was waving at Bryn to answer.

Bryn answered and before he could say anything Armarni spoke, “Hey Bryn, it's too late for me to tell you to back out so all I'll say is this, the guy your facing this time is from one of the big factions, he isn't like those from the 'Ares group', he's been trained from young to be one thing, and one thing only, he’s a monster...Don't let your guard down and be safe” Armani said before cutting the call once he was done.

Bryn looked to Armarni before looking to his new opponent in a new light, he thought the guy must be strong as he still challenged him after watching the two previous fights but now he knew why.

The guy he was about to face was on the level of those within the big factions.

He knew he should be worried but in reality, he was excited.

Bryn watched as his opponent reached the arena and give it an unappreciative glance, kicking some of the rubble that littered the floor from the previous two fights to the side.

“Adjudicator, I wish for the setting of the arena to be changed due to the damage sustained” He called out as if it was only natural to ask, the adjudicator nodded in agreement before asking openly to the both of them.

“Do you have any preference as to the type of arena you would like to fight in” The Adjudicator asked but Bryn didn't really have an opinion so he shrugged his shoulders whilst his new opponent showed a rare smile, “Well, how about we keep it simple, use the default setting” he said and the Adjudicator went into action from within his tower.

The adjudicator pressed several buttons and toggled several levers until magic circles appeared all around the arena and started to erase the concrete structures and rubble until nothing was left, as for the floor, it was perfectly repaired until all that was left was a plain and open arena.

In less than a minute, Bryn and his new opponent were the only things left on the arena.

“Perfect” Bryn's opponent called out before moving to the centre of the arena before announcing that he was ready.

This confused Bryn as from what he could tell his opponent had no weapon, nor any armour. For all intents and purposes, the only thing he carried into battle was the clothes on his back.

Bryn questioned whether his opponent was like Chad in the first Duel, planning to put on a bunch of gear at the last second, but he had already announced that he was ready to fight.

Bryn thought that maybe it was because he was a close-range fighter, Bryn didn't discount the possibility but he didn't exactly have the body for it. His opponent was smaller than him and had a very thin body, his hair was long and bobbed almost to the point of covering his eyes whilst his clothes were common ones bought from a normal store.

Bryn couldn't figure out the angle his opponent was trying to play so with no choice, he could only tell the Adjudicator that he was ready and hope for the best.

“Ready”

“Ready”

“As an adjudicator for the academy, I do formally announce this an official duel, State your names”

“Bryn Lockhart”

“Lee Jinho”

“Begin!” The Adjudicator announced and the fight begun.

Bryn quickly drew his pistol and aimed at Jinho but contrary to what he expected, Jinho hadn't started to charge towards him to fight in close combat, he was calmly walking instead.

Bryn was stumped as to why he was acting this way but as he couldn't figure out the reason he paid it no mind and decided to take a few shots to test the waters, but it was only when the shots hit did he realise why Jon-ho was so calm as he made his way over.

His rounds were on target, he could see the small explosion of power when the energy round hit, but the shots never actually 'hit' Jinho, they hit the barrier that surrounded him.

That was his ability, the reason for his confidence and his lack of fear towards Bryn and the firepower he wielded.

Jinho had the ability to create an impenetrable barrier.

“okay, that may be a problem” Bryn said as he started to fire his two pistols one after the other but each round shot was only able to create a ripple in the barrier surrounding Jinho, they weren't able to penetrate it, and when Bryn realised this and the trouble that he was in, was when Jinho made his move.

His slow and casual walk sped up into a full run, he had had his fun and seen the despair enter Bryn's eyes, now it was time to make him suffer and realise the difference between someone belonging to a true faction and the rabble that were only fit to serve at their feet.

Jinho covered the distance quickly, barely leaving the time for Bryn to put away his useless pistols and draw his two knives in the hope that they would be able to pierce the barrier, Bryn took a stance and prepared himself for Jinho attack, only he could never have imagined how useless his actions were.

Jinho arrived but he put up no defence and allowed Bryn to attack as he wanted, he didn't try to stop Bryn's knives as they went towards his throat but merely smiled in derision as they struck harmlessly off of his barrier like a twig trying to pierce steel.

“Is that all you've got” Jinho asked in disappointment before smoothly raising his hand and performing a simple straight punch to Bryn's chest, only there was nothing simple about it.

The barrier that surrounded Jon-ho's fist exploded with power and Bryn's chest was almost caved in as he was shot several meters backwards before gravity took hold and sent him rolling across the floor of the arena.

Bryn immediately held his chest and gasped for breathe, the wind had been knocked out of his and he had no doubt that his sternum was cracked and a massive bruise now adorned his chest, he looked towards Jinho who still held his fist out like he was a monster.

Bryn had never been hit like that before, he had never been overpowered to such a degree.

“This cannot be the strength of one descended from the demon of Hong Kong, Come!” Jinho called out in mock disappointment and Bryn who had always hated being looked down upon, was only more than happy to answer.

“[Aura], [Reinforcement]” Bryn used these two skills as he charged over to Jinho in his strongest state before punching his unprotected face with all his might, but his might was not enough, the barrier still remained.

“God Damn it!” Bryn angrily shouted out before unloaded on Jinho like a punching bag.

Bryn went for his face, throat, stomach and he even gave a few cheap shots below the belt, nothing seemed to work as whatever he did had no impact on the barrier.

All the whilst Bryn tried his hardest, Jinho simply stood and watched, he didn't even move from where he stood.

Bryn's attacks were completely ineffective.

The only difference Bryn made since the beginning of his barrage, was allow the superiority Jinho felt within him grow.

“Enough!” Jinho called out and kicked Bryn in his chest, he was once again flung across the floor of the arena before quickly getting back to his feet with a savage look in his eyes, His [Aura] had run out but his [reinforcement] was still active.

When Jinho saw that look he was annoyed to no end as it meant that Bryn's hadn't realised the difference between the two of them, he hadn't been broken to heel yet.

“You still haven't realised the difference between us yet, have you?” Jinho called out mockingly, “Fine, I'll beat it into you” He said before under the eyes of Bryn and those in the spectator balconies, Jinho adjusted the barrier that was surrounding him until it only remained on his hands and feet.

“You may have thought that the difference between us was the tier of our skills, but the true difference is the level of our skill, come!” Jinho called out again and Bryn in his growing anger, attacked!

Bryn covered the difference between the two of them and opened with a superman punch but unlike last time Jinho was defenceless so if his attack hit the fight was all but over, but his defence had been dropped because he chose to drop it, so why would he still choose that allow Bryn to freely hit him?

The answer was that he wouldn't.

Jinho moved out of the way and retaliated, his fist found flesh before a roundhouse sent Bryn flying back to where he came.

“Again!” Jinho shouted and Bryn roared as he charged.

Bryn fired one punch after another at Jinho but none were able to connect, he either dodged out of the way or redirected Bryn's attacks with his barrier covered hands.

At the beginning of the Fight Bryn believed that Jinho was some type of Barrier mage but now he realised that he was actually a Barrier Monk, A Close-range fighter with absolute defence.

No matter how Bryn Attacked at close range he was unable to find purchase, Jinho was a better fighter than him!

With no choice Bryn created distance between the two of them before pulling out his pistol and taking a number of pot shots under Jinho's surprised gaze.

Alas it was to no affect, Jinho didn't re-establish the Barrier around his body but instead slapped the shots away with his Barrier infused fists.

“Ha-ha, is that all you've got, cheap tricks” Jinho stated before flinging his palm forwards and shooting the barrier that surrounded his palm at Bryn, it hit him in the shoulder and flung his body on arena floor.

“Do you get it now, what the difference is?” Jinho asked but whilst Bryn struggled to raised himself off the floor, the fire in his eyes had not gone out and he had not given up on this fight.

“Tch” Jinho clicked his tongue in annoyance before creating a barrier between his two palms, he moulded it for a second before sending if flying towards Bryn who raised his hands to defend against it, yet he felt no impact when it hit, he only realised when he dropped his defence that the barrier wasn't meant to attack like the previous one, but to restrict.

He had been Encased completely within a bubble-like barrier.

Bryn immediately tried to break free but his attacks were too weak to pierce Jinho's Barrier, the only thing he managed to do was ignite the sadism within Jinho with his desperate struggle to escape.

“You are trapped and out of options, and yet you still haven't realised the difference between me and you, you haven't accepted your defeat...that is the problem with you low brow Heroes, Just because you have been given [Skills] by Aegis you think you are on our level” Jinho said as he circled the bubble Bryn was trapped in, mocking him as he went.

“Let me tell you a secret, just because you have a [Skill] does not mean that you are on our level, we, the elite, do not depend on a [Skill] for our power, we merely use them as a stepping stone to greater power, our strength comes not from their raw ability, but our absolute control and dominance of a [Skill]” Jinho said as he clenched his fist.

“Despair and repent, for it is control that allows me to do this” Jinho spoke and suddenly Bryn felt as if all the air within the Barrier was being sucked out.

Seeing Bryn's worried face made Jinho's light up in Delight, “Amazing isn't it, imagine a Barrier's purpose being to stop anything from penetrating through it, being changed to allow oxygen to only flow out of it, Marvellous, isn't it” Jinho said whilst watching Bryn drop down to his knees as he begun to choke on what little air was left.

The air was getting thin and Bryn knew that he didn't have long left, he could see the smug and perverted face of Jinho watching him outside of the barrier and if it was the last thing he ever did, he would smash that face in until all that was left was ground beef.

“[Ethereal Chains]” Bryn summoned his chains and tried to stab at the barrier but it was of no use, they were more effective that his knives but they still weren't able to penetrate the barrier, he needed them to be stronger so he focused on them and drove every ounce of power he had access to into them until they glowed a royal purple.

He struck at the barrier but they still couldn't get though, they barrier was too strong whilst his chains were too weak, but he couldn't give up, he had to keep up the attack otherwise he would lose.

Again and again, he stuck but it was of no use, his chains faded out of existence as he fell to his knees, the air was gone now and all he could do to stay conscious was hold his breath, but that would not last long, especially if he kept trying to break the barrier like he had been.

Physical attacks were not the way to go, he needed to use something else.

His anger had faded and his mind had become clearer, he realised his folly and quickly used [Reapers Touch] by placing his palm on the barrier and there was an immediate effect, the barrier quickly rippled as the power was drained away but Jinho was quick to notice this as well and pumped more power into it to keep it stable.

Bryn knew that he could breach the barrier if he kept [Reapers touch] active, but he also knew that it was of no use.

He would only be able to breach the barrier once Jinho had been drained of all his Mana, it was task that would take longer than the amount of Air left in his lungs would allow to be performed.

He needed to breach the barrier now, but how.

The only thing he could think about were Jinho's own words, about the difference between a Faction elite and him, the ability to control a skill beyond its pre-programmed abilities, but he couldn't think of any of his skills that he could manipulate to achieve an effect that could get him out of this situation, but he did think of a skill he could use in conjunction with one of his own.

It looked like it was another point for professor Kane with an assist from professor Blackwell.

If he wanted to get out of this barrier, then the [Mana Root Seal] was his way.

Bryn thought back to what professor Blackwell had said in class on how to use this [Skill], he decided to first attempt it on a small area so he placed his palm against the barrier and concentrated.

Bryn drew his Mana towards the skin of his palm before directing it out like the roots of a plant, he could feel the Jinho's Mana in the barrier, how tightly clustered and uniform it was, they were organised like blocks to make up a wall, not too different from their actual purpose.

Bryn thought and concentrated, focusing on the imagery that Professor Blackwell had said was so important.

“My Mana is that of a root, neither stone nor steel may block its passage” Bryn repeated to himself and with a pop, his palm went through the barrier and blast of fresh air washed against his face.

Bryn opened his eyes and saw a shocked look on Jinho, with a small smile on his face Bryn used the palm outside of the barrier and gave Jinho the finger.

“Right, now it’s about time I got out of this oversize Christmas ornament” Bryn thought before summoning his chains to wrap the entirety of the barrier.

Several seconds later and a bit of intense concentration and barrier was down and gone.

Jinho watched as Bryn broke his barrier that none of their age had ever managed to break before and he could manage a single word due to the shock that had befell him, “How”

Bryn smiled and gave him a cocky, “What can I say, I'm beyond Elite” Bryn spoke and shot his chains towards Jinho who quickly encompassed his entire body with his barrier, only the chains Bryn had shot out weren't made to penetrate the barrier, they were to lock him up so he couldn't escape.

It was a fact that Jinho only realised too late, “No!” he called out but it wouldn't stop what happened next.

Bryn used the [Mana Root Seal] and his barrier fell, only the chains that surrounded him quickly tightened so that he could not use his advanced martial arts that were still a threat to Bryn to win the fight.

With his entire body bound and the [Mana Root Seal] Still active, Jinho couldn't raise another barrier to stop happened next.

[Aura], [Reinforcement]

Bryn gave a tug of his chain and brought Jinho Flying across the arena before with a single fist, he buried the sadistic boy into the floor, his jaw and in reality the entire left side of his face shattered.

The fight may not have been as easy as the other two, but it didn't change the face, it was his win.

“Winner Bryn Lockhart!” The adjudicator announced and Bryn was amazed to hear a few, if only quiet, cheers coming from the balcony above the arena.

Bryn gave a quick look and saw Armarni and Alexa cheering from where they sat, Bryn gave a wave to his two friends before taken his spoils from the adjudicator who had fished them out of Jinho's Pockets, the boy was barely conscious and was in the care of the medics that always seemed to be busy within the academy.

Bryn having decided that he has had enough action for the night left the arena without addressing the crowd that was shouting insults from the balcony above, under the intense gaze of several bar patrons he finally makes it to the table Armarni and Alexa were waiting for him at.

It was as he was able to take a sip of his drink that a number of people stood at the edge of his table, an intense desire to fight wafting from their entire beings.

“Do you think you can just stop and start when you want, that you can leave here with all those tokens” one of the group asks before looking at Bryn greedily.

Several more people within the group murmur a response agreeing with him but Bryn doesn't care, he has had enough, he is tired and simply wants to rest now.

It was at this moment that he knew that he had made the right decision to give up the sword, they may have been able to strong arm him in the past, but not anymore.

“Before any of you starts something that you can't finish, let me remind you of the deal that I have with the yakuza, you start something with me, you’re picking a fight with them” Bryn said calmly if not with a bit of schadenfreude in his voice.

At the mention of his words the noise in the bar noticeably drops off whilst a number of heads turn towards a corner of the bar, sat there were those that belonged to yakuza!

They knew about the deal that Bryn had struck with their boss so they had been watching him ever since he had entered the bar, it appeared that it was not time for them to see action.

The went to grab their weapons but upon seeing them move, those that had gathered around Bryn's table backed off with their hands rose in the air.

They wanted to knock Bryn down a peg or earn some easy [Tokens], they didn't want to piss off a faction.

Seeing that all his potential challengers had given up, Bryn noticed that Alexa was inspecting a new hatchet she certainty didn't have before whilst Armarni walking towards the table with another round of drinks.

Armarni passed the drinks out whilst Alexa put her knew hatchet away, they rose their drinks into toasted.

“Para Bellum”“Det illis Infernum”

With the Drinks out of the way Armarni gave Bryn an intense stair, a stare so powerful that Bryn could feel it in his bones, no, in his soul!

“We have put this off long enough Bryn....It is time” Armani said with all seriousness.

Bryn spared a glance to Alexa hoping that she would know why Armarni was acting so weird but the way that she looked at him was just as powerful, if not more so!

The two shared a glance between each other before nodding their heads in agreement.

“Bring us Leena!”

With that the action of the night came to an end, Bryn brought out Leena and the two of them fawned over how cute and majestic she was, they brought her treats and spoiled her in every possible way.

The trio stayed at the bar until well into the night, Alexa was annoyed that Bryn had earned more than her and after a few drinks asked whether he wanted to face her in a duel where winner keeps all but Bryn quickly declined.

It was only as the bar was closing and the trio was walking home, Armarni on one side and Bryn on the other as they carried a stumbling Alexa, that Armarni asked.

“So, Bryn, How does it feel to get out of your room?” Armarni asked in a knowing tone and Bryn realised that tonight was the first time he had been able to actually live like a student without the worry of being attacked or losing all his gear in a Duel, he had been to the Banquet but he had been given guaranteed protection from Armarni for that party only.

Now…now he could go wherever he wanted in the academy, he may not have been welcome but he could head into town, he could practice outside in the training fields or even relax at the meadows near the farm.

It was as if he was a real student without any worries.

“It feels good man, It feels good”