"Hey Tryst, is there some sort of sparring grounds in this city?"

So now that master needs help, he asks. It's across from the guild.

"Thanks. Are all shades this depressed?"

Shades normally have no will of their own. The system chose to give me a will, and thus created a unique existence.

"Right... Speaking of the system, why is everything in there so powerful?"

In a word, efficiency. Most craftsmen in this world are only able to use 10% of the energy available for crafting enchanted objects. The system has a 100% efficiency rate, which is why anything you buy from the store will be of the highest quality.

Looking at my map, it seemed like the person I had marked earlier was inside. I was never one to miss a flag, so I walked through the double doors to see several mats set up to create a miniature arena. Several healers stood on standby, ready to help with any injuries.

"This your first time, kid? Entrance fee's two silver."

I fished two silver out of my inventory, watching my money indicator drop by only one. This skill is way too useful. Even after spending so much on the useless gauntlets, I still had well over 900G left. Looking over to my flag target, he had cornered one of the healers, who was looking very uncomfortable. Flag obtained!

I started to make my way over to him, taking care to isolate my mana from the outside. Something I learned is everything in this world had mana. The more mana that flowed into the air, the bigger the potential for intelligence. Now, all sentient races had a similar flow of mana, but each individual had a signature frequency. The reason dragons were such a superior race was most likely from Mana Mastery. They never ran out of mana, they could keep their opponents mana from regenerating, and boasted massive physical combat power. To be honest, it was slightly unfair. Not that I minded, though.

"Come on, what harm could it be? It's just a drink tonight. You're way too pretty to spend the night alone."

With the mana concealment, he didn't notice me until I was at his side. Come on man, a troll could easily see through that act.

"Hello there! Do you have a moment?"

The girl shot me a grateful glance, while my flag bearer nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Oi! Don't go scaring people like that."

'Sorry, I didn't realized you scared easy. I was just looking for someone to spar with, but I don't think you'll be home enough. Sorry to bother you."

Okay, turn around, walk away, and wait for the shock to wear off in 3, 2, 1...

"Are you calling me weak? Those are fighting words! Get back here!"

All according to plan. I simply poked his sensitive ego and now he's dancing in the palm of my hand.

"Fine... If I have to."

We both stepped into the ring, and waited for the ref to start our time. The rules of this place had a ref judge wins and losses, as well as stopping the fight if it got out of hand. I wasn't too worried. His strength was only 800, even lower than the guards at the gate. With my gauntlets, I now surpassed them by a fair amount.

I was still in casual clothes, but I felt like showing off a bit. To anyone looking, my clothes were instantly switched into leather armor and gold gauntlets. I managed un rattle him a bit, as touch was all that was needed to store or withdraw something from my inventory.

A bell rang, signalling the start of the match. I immediately used Battle Flow along side Danger Sense and Mana Mastery, then jumped into the air with the help of a mana cushion. I felt like I could predict his every move light years away, and could counter every move perfectly. He throws a punch, I sidestep and tap his shoulder. He goes for a leg sweep, I summersault over him and attack his back. This is a battle. This is... exhilarating! Before I can fully savor the taste, though, the man's unconscious at my feet. All in all, about thirty seconds have passed since the battle started. If I hadn't held back, I could have finished it in one blow. I figured if I activated Overhaul at the last second before contact, I could maximize damage while minimizing drawbacks. However, this was satisfactory as a system notification popped up.

Bruiser has grown to level 2

Learned Life Drain

The strange man hopped off the stage and just walked off whistling a small tune, as if what had happened was an everyday affair. Most people had no clue as to what happened, but I was even more surprised than most. My ears twitched under my hood as I recalled his taunting lines towards the man bothering me, the clouds of mana that he used as a springboard. I wonder, will I run into him again?