Over the next few matches Hiro kept to himself and focused on the main point of his plan.

‘Shunpo is a really profound movement, but it uses a lot of energy to utilize it. I can’t just use it without thinking…’

Hiro was deep in thought as he hashed out the finer points of his plan that he had ignored the matches that were going on. By the time he came back to reality, Colin had just finished knocking out the sorry warrior from the stage. The match had only lasted a split second as Colin charged in and used the flat side of his gigantic broadsword to bash the unprepared opponent off the stone ring.

“Woah…” Hiro let out a quiet whisper.

‘No! I gotta stay focused.’ He slapped his cheeks and remained focused on executing his plan.

After Colin’s match, there was a break. This was so the audience will have a moment to rest from all the matches and converse with one another. After the short 30 minute intermission, the quarter-finals began.

Up first was the kid called Kairn and against Kairn was an adventurer that goes by the name of Pico. Hardly anyone knew the name of the second guy, the moment when Kairn revealed that he was a boy and was not called ‘Lolis’ had left everyone stunned. That event overshadowed Pico’s match and left him bitter.

“Look here Kairn! I’ll show you what it means to steal the spotlight from me!” He yelled out as he brandish his 4 foot long sword. It was a single-edged blade that curves outwards starting from the midpoint of the blade, kind of like a Shamshir.

“Hmph! You look even weaker than the last guy, don’t talk about showing me up.” Kairn scoffed.

*Beep!*

The enraged warrior made a mad dash at the small boy as soon as the signal rang. Pico looked quite reckless as he charged in, however he was keeping a calm mind. He still remembered what happened in Kairn’s last match, Kairn was a poison user, Pico must take care when he approached Kairn.

Seeing Kairn reach for his pouch once more, Pico came to an abrupt halt.

“What? You scared?” Kairn mocked as he took out a small muffin and took a bite.

Seeing what Kairn was doing, Pico couldn’t help but ask, “What are you doing?!” The nerve of the boy, to eat in the middle of a match. It was as if Kairn was intentionally saying that Pico and Kairn’s match was less important than his snack.

“Don’t you have eyes? I’m eating.” He snorted.

“Rahh!!!” Rage built up within Pico and he continued charging forward.

What Pico didn’t notice was the smirk that was hidden behind the muffin and the small powder clenched in his hand. When he took out the muffin, he had also secretly hid the poison alongside the muffin. As soon as Pico neared, Kairn pretended to sneeze.

“Ah Choo!” He moved the muffin to his other hand and used the hand that had the powder to cover his mouth during his mock sneeze. The cloud of blue powder, somehow larger than what Kairn had in his hand flew outwards and towards the warrior.

“!!!” Pico’s eyes widened as he tried his hardest to come to a stop, however he could only do so much as he charged face first into the blue cloud.

*Poof!*

A silhouette of the warrior appeared as he entered the thick blue cloud that covered both him and Kairn. Smiling to himself, Pico slashed horizontally at the location Kairn was before.

“Hah!” He yelled as his sword came whizzing out. To his dismay, Kairn wasn’t there.

‘What?!’ Pico thought, ‘I swear he was here just a second ago!’ Pico began to look around, hoping to catch sight of the silhouette of the small boy.

“Tsk Tsk.” He heard the voice say from behind.

“Behind!” Pico slashed behind him.

“Wrong! Guess again! Hee Hee!” The voice mocked, this time coming from his front. Angered, Pico threw an overhead slash as he lunged forward.

“Come out you coward!”

“Haha, I am out.” This time the voice was coming from above him.

“Grah!” Pico waved his sword around in the air.

What Pico didn’t know was that he had already lost. As soon as the powder blew out and hit his face, he was already trapped within the poison’s effect.

Off to the side, Kairn was sitting on the ground mocking the warrior as the warrior swung his sword around like a maniac. The blue cloud was already gone, but the effects weren’t. Pico was trapped within the illusion of the Blue Mist Flower, a flower that has a pollen which induces illusions. The illusion effects can be negated by consuming the root of the flower, which Kairn had just done so from eating the muffin.

“Aw~ I thought you were gonna be more fun to toy with. I guess I was wrong. You thought you were fine just because you have that poison negating amulet? Hmph! That only works with poisons of the body, not of the mind!” Kairn ridiculed as the MC announced his win.

In the waiting room, Hiro felt a droplet of sweat slide down his back. How was he going to win against that boy? His only chance would be to use his bow, seeing how two warriors had already fallen victim to the boy’s poisons, Hiro didn’t want to chance it and fight at close range. After Kairn’s match, he left through another entrance. To allow fairness, the semi-finalists each had their own separate waiting rooms.

Soon, it was Hiro’s turn. Swallowing hard, Hiro stared at the two-bladed fighter as they both walked onto the stage. Hiro’s heart was beating rapidly as he quickly reviewed his plan for the final time.

“Hey pretty boy. I don’t know how good you are, but it would be a shame if you were to injure your face in this match. Just admit defeat and no one will get hurt.” Seith threatened, with a smirk on his face.

‘Pretty boy? Me? No no, focus! Stay focused.’ Hiro gritted his teeth and remained silent. By his side, was the Bonesteel Blade with its tip pointed at the ground. Remembering what he had learned from the spatial training room, Hiro began to spread out his aura.

*Beep!*

The signal sounded and Seith dashed off the Hiro’s right side. Knowing the trick, Hiro silently faced forward and brought up his blade into a ready position. Hiro wanted to look defenseless, while he wasn’t looking at Seith, his aura was always vigilant.

‘This kid! Did he give up on life already?!’ Seith thought as he circled around to Hiro’s back. In his eyes, Hiro looked like an easy target. Grinning to himself, Seith took that opportunity and attacked.

Dashing fast and low to the ground, Seith held out his two daggers, aiming for Hiro’s thighs. Seith’s goal was to seal Hiro’s movements and then toy with the youth until the youth surrenders.

Feeling the change with his aura, Hiro knew that Seith was coming. With his eyes still shut, Hiro silently waited until Seith got within a meter of him. As soon as his opponent approached his range, Hiro sprang into action. Collecting the magical energy from his Astral Body into his foot, Hiro readied for his chance.

Smiling widely, Seith was giddy from how easy this was going to be. He was already within reach and yet the youth had not acted. He assumed that Hiro had a death wish and kept still. He had already planned to injure Hiro and while at it destroy his pretty boy face. ‘All pretty boys should die!’ Seith thought.

His confidence rose even more as he started swinging his two daggers at Hiro’s left thigh. He was targeting the back leg muscles, near the knee to prevent Hiro from moving.

‘Not yet…Not yet…’ Hiro thought as he felt the blades swinging towards his back thigh. ‘Now!’ Hiro’s eyes open as he released the pent up energy within his feet.

[Shunpo!]

As if by magic, Hiro disappeared. Seith who should have felt his daggers bite into flesh lost his balance and tried to regain his posture. His eyes widened as his two blades passed harmlessly through Hiro’s after-image.

“What?!” He screamed as he witness strange sight in front of him, leaving him momentarily confused.

*Slash!*

“Ahhh!” Seith screamed as he felt a cold blade rip into his shoulder and cleaving his back from shoulder to hip.

Behind him stood a breathless youth. Dressed in black and covered in black-dyed leather armor, a handsome youth sported a blood-red blade. A look of achievement and shock was present on his face as his knuckles turn white from feeling the sword in his hand cut through flesh.

Flinching from the burst of pain, Seith stumbled forward and dropped his dagger on his right hand. He could feel a burning sensation from across his back as the droplets of blood began to leak through his leather armor. Thankfully, Seith was wearing his leather gear and had prevented the wound from cutting further into his back.

Recovering quickly from his first time slashing someone, Hiro quickly pressed his advantage. Just now he held back a little, because he was unsure of his strength, that’s why Seith’s wound wasn’t very deep. If Hiro doesn’t capitalize on his surprise attack, he would lose. Clenching his sword even harder, Hiro dashed forward at the stumbling warrior.

Seith was experienced in combat, he knew that anybody, even an idiot would use that moment to attack. Left with no choice and remembering from his mistake, Seith decided to roll forward and abandon the dagger he dropped. He had more in his spatial inventory anyways. Gritting his teeth, Seith bit down as he rolled forward unto his back.

Seeing his opponent’s actions, Hiro clumsily fumbled as he tried to attack the person rolling. However, having no experience attacking a person on the ground, Hiro could only try and slash at his opponent’s legs.

*Swish!*

Hitting nothing but air, Hiro’s blade missed his target and allowed Seith a moment of respite. Quickly getting up, Seith got back to his feet and glared angrily at Hiro. He had underestimated the youth and paid a price for it, he won’t make that mistake again.

“You… What move was that?” He demanded Hiro for an answer.

Hiro could only frown. His plan was to keep pressing his advantage after his initial strike, but because of his inexperience, Hiro had paused for a split-second, giving Seith enough time to recover. Overhead, the MC’s voice was booming and wild cheers were spreading throughout the audience.

[Ladies and Gentlemen! Is that what I think it was?! The legendary movement skill that made Lord Lucia famous?! They say that with that skill, Lord Lucia was able to tear through an army of no fewer than 300,000 troops!]

The crowd was going crazy. After their initial shock from seeing Hiro disappear, only to reappear behind his opponent and land a hit, the crowd began to chant Hiro’s name.

“”“Hiro! Hiro! Hiro!”””

Under the pavilion, a man cloaked in black casually whispered into Siberus’ ears.

“He’s quite interesting like you said. Is it true that the boy only had a little over 2 months to learn the first stage?” The man asked.

“Yes. You were a genius and even then it took you over a year to learn it. What do you think that makes the boy?” Siberus replied in a bemused manner.

Grinning widely, the cloak man answered, “A monster.”

Back on the stage, Seith and Hiro were stuck in a deadlock. Hiro had inferior battle experience, while Seith was injured and couldn’t utilize his full strength. Every time Seith tried to attack, the wound on his back would flare up from the exertion and slow down his speed. With the slowed down speed, Hiro would use it to his advantage and either parry the blades or dodge. Though I say parry, it was more of a clumsy block with Hiro chopping at the other blade.

‘This is it! I can do this!’ Hiro said, panting from excitement. With Seith injured, Hiro finally had a chance.

‘Tsk!’ Seith clicked his tongue and tried hard to ignore the pain. He was slowly losing blood and soon he would lose consciousness from the blood loss, he had to end it quick. However, every time he moved to attack Hiro, the youth would always somehow manage to block him.

Hiro could only use [Shunpo] a few times, before having to recharge it using his life energy. During his first strike, Hiro had to use [Shunpo] two times in quick succession to go behind Seith and wound him. Though [Shunpo] looked like a teleportation skill, it wasn’t. Hiro was actually moving through space at a quick speed, so if anything was in his way, he would be greatly injured. That’s why he had to use [Shunpo] to jump to the side before going behind Seith.

Hiro’s offensive was weak. All his swings and thrusts were slow and had no practice within them, making them predictable and easy to defend against. Though quickly, Hiro was gaining experience, he could tell that slowly, he was gaining the advantage.

After a few more clashes with Seith, Hiro felt something strange. Every time he swung his sword from right to left, Seith was forced to dodge. Noticing that strange behavior, Hiro decided to test it out. Dashing to the side, Hiro used both his hands to swing his sword at Seith’s flank. Seeing Hiro’s attack, Seith quickly tried to reposition himself so that his right side was facing the incoming blade.

‘Aha!’ Hiro thought as his eyes widened.

Bringing up both his daggers, Seith had turned towards the blade and position both daggers to parry the swing. With his right dagger out in front and his left as a support, Seith was ready to parry. However, at that moment, the [Shunpo] kicked into effect.

*Slash!*

“EURGH!” Seith let out a loud cry as he felt the cold blade run through his left arm.

Appearing behind Seith, Hiro quickly pivoted and began to attack Seith’s back. Just now, Hiro used [Shunpo] and madly dashed by Seith, knowing that Seith was defending, he didn’t have to worry about anything as he cut into Seith’s upper left arm. The cut was so deep and the whites of his bone was showing.

Once more behind the stunned Seith, Hiro was about to begin his dangerous slashing frenzy. Without even himself knowing, he was smiling. His blood was boiling from excitement, he felt powerful as if nothing in the world could stop him. Just as his blade was about to once more cut into flesh, it struck steel.

*Clang!*

“Stop the match!” The voice yelled.

‘Huh?’ Regaining his senses, Hiro was brought back to reality.

In front of him was a man clad in a black cloak. What Hiro had just hit was a glowing amethyst blade that the cloaked man was holding. The hood was drawn up and only revealed the mouth of the stranger, as the stranger spoke, a strong pressure pressed down on Hiro.

“The match is over! Stay your blade!” The man commanded.

Quickly understanding the stranger’s words, Hiro looked at the man sprawled out on the floor. The deep cut to Seith’s arm had started to bleed profusely and the pain had already knocked him out. Hiro was currently confused, why did he continue attacking Seith? Wasn’t it only a match? He quietly asked himself that. More ever, how did the stranger in front of him appear?

These answers, only the man in the cloak knew. He was beside Romulus and Siberus, under the pavilion reserved for VIP’s. From the pavilion to where Hiro was at was a distance of over 100 meters, in the split-second that Hiro was going to swing at the defenseless Seith, the black-cloaked man had traversed that distance. Not only that, the man had sensed Hiro’s bloodlust and quickly reacted by breaking through the barrier surrounding the field and blocked Hiro’s sword. Of course, none of this was revealed to Hiro.

From under the pavilion, Siberus let out a long drawn out sigh.

“That man…was he always that impulsive? I guess he doesn’t want to see such a genius go to waste…” Siberus mumbled.

On the stage, the medical team was quickly healing the bleeding wound on Seith’s arm, before placing him into the stretcher.

“You.” The cloaked man pointed at Hiro with his sword, “What were you doing? Didn’t you see that your opponent had already lost?”

“…” Hiro couldn’t explain himself either, he couldn’t understand why he acted as he did, so he stood there silently with his head down.

“What? Are you admitting to your guilt?” The cloaked man gruffly asked.

“N-no! It’s just…” Hiro began to shake, “I’m not sure what happened…”

Hiro dropped his sword that was dyed red with blood and fell to his knees. He himself was scared, he couldn’t understand what had come over him when he was about to strike the unconscious man. He could feel the residual glee from shedding the blood of his opponent during that last attack. This was only his first time fighting in close-combat, but his body, no, his soul seemed to go into a frenzy after witnessing all that blood.

“You…” The stranger seemed to be at a loss for words.

“What is happening to me?” Hiro looked at his palms, which were shaking. Hiro had remembered that he was enjoying the fight, something that until now he had never truly experienced.

Noticing that Hiro was panicking, the man dashed behind Hiro and knocked him out with a single blow. Catching the falling youth, the cloaked man disappeared once more. Under the pavilion, the VIP’s stared in shock, they knew who that person was and how powerful he was. If that man had acted, not even the whole kingdom of Adet would be able to stop him. Romulus who was reviewing the scene that had just transpired in front of him let out a long sigh. Even he himself, wouldn’t have been able to stop the cloaked man from interfering with the match.

“Hiro…” Lena let out a worried cry as she searched for her beloved.

Priestess Allaya could only stare in shock at the scene. She didn’t know who the cloaked man was, but she had seen him with Siberus and Romulus. She had also felt the barrier break as the man dashed onto the stage. However, the most shocking thing of all was Hiro’s skill. It had left her speechless, such a genius, to be able to use the much sought after profound movement skill [Shunpo] at such a young age, would no doubt have a limitless growth potential. Now Allaya dearly regretted treating Hiro so cold during their meeting within Siberus’ office. She was quickly wracking her mind for a way to rope him into her temple.

“Hah~ The child of prophecy… You are too interesting.” Siberus’ face spread out into a satisfied smile as he witnessed the cloaked man leaving with Hiro.

[Ladies and Gentlemen! Do not fear! The victor of the match, Hiro was taken away to rest! The man in the cloak isn’t someone you should worry about, just another staff member! Now on to our next match!]

The MC quickly tried to sweep the strange occurrence under the rug. He was instructed to do so by Romulus. While the MC was doing that, the crowd was in an uproar. They were all shouting in discontent, since the match was stopped prematurely. They had just witnessed the legenday [Shunpo] skill, a skill that was made famous by Siberus Lucia of the Lightspeed. Unlike the warriors, the audience knew little about the match, they didn’t know that by that point, the victor was already decided. They still wanted to watch more of Hiro’s demonstration of [Shunpo].