‘Is he wearing children?’ Jurot thought, staring at his brother and the three children. His eyes then snapped to Lord Morkarai, who was standing with a large smile on his face.

Jurot reached down to his axe, and held it out to his brother. “Okay.”

“Thank you,” Adam said, though he was unable to reach for it due to his condition. “Uh. Little Kirot, would you mind?”

Kirot looked up at him with those silver eyes of hers, before she climbed up to his shoulder to sit on it. Karot did the same, and Adam took the axe carefully, strapping it to his side, replacing the mundane axe he had bought.

‘It would be easier after placing the children down,’ the pair thought whilst watching the Half Elf.

Adam carried the children back to the estate, where Jarot and his Aunts were currently looking after the babies, with Nirot and the other teens assisting them.

“You have brought me my greatchildren?” Jarot joked as Adam approached, before noticing Morkarai.

“Yeah,” Adam replied, standing before the group with his children. “Daddy needs to go do stuff, so you need to stay here with your greatfather, okay?”

Jarot stared up at the Giant, and he, along with the other Iyrmen, realised why Adam held Phantom at his side.

“Can you look after them?” Adam asked, letting his children down, who all stared up at him expectantly. They didn’t want to leave their father, but they had sensed a change within him.

“What are you doing?” Jarot asked, keeping his smirk contained.

“I’m going to have a fight with Lord Morkarai,” Adam said, simply.

The words didn’t shock the Iyrmen who were around, they had long become used to Adam’s antics, but the excitement began to flood through them. Watching Lord Morkarai fight would be something any Iyrman would want to see.

“We will watch,” Jarot said, eager to see the bout. He wanted to see how his grandson stacked up to someone like Morkarai.

“The triplets like you quite a lot, so I trust you to look after them.”

“You will not let them watch?”

“I’ve never lost in front of the kids,” Adam said, “and I plan on keeping it that way.”

The excitement of watching a fight between his grandson and a Prince was overwhelming, but from Adam’s words, and the look in the Half Elf’s eyes, Jarot leaned back and settled down. Adam had no chance against the likes of Prince Morkarai, but even he had his pride. “I wish to hear the tale when you return, Jurot.”

“Yes,” Jurot said, before he glanced between Adam and Morkarai. The pair followed him to a more secluded estate.

“A fight?” the Iyrman at the estate asked. “Between Prince Morkarai and… Unrivalled?”

“Yes,” Jurot replied, almost smiling.

Adam winced. ‘Cringe.’

“I will inform the Elder,” the Iyrman said, leaving the group alone. The other Iyrmen about approached Adam and Morkarai, wanting to speak with the pair and to hold their weapons.

“Of course it would be you,” Zijin said, stepping into the shared family estate. He gave the other Iyrmen a look, and they cleared out with the swiftness which could only be attributed to Iyrmen. “I hope you show me something interesting.”

“I’m not sure about interesting, but I am a Nephew of the Rot family, so I’ll try not to shame myself,” Adam said, before sitting down, placing Phantom on his lap. He began to meditate, feeling the weight of his old weapon against him. It was a comforting feeling, and soon he would feel at his strongest once more.

Morkarai thought about Adam’s words when he accepted the bout. Adam had remained silent to think for a long while, and when he accepted, he said some strange things. When he lost, he’d want a chance to face Morkarai once more, the day after.

‘What is the significance of one day?’

Elder Zijin remained at Jurot’s side, who wore a mundane axe at his side. There was a thought in the back of the Elder’s mind that Morkarai could kill Adam, and if that had come to be, there would be a big issue the Iyr would need to deal with. However, if Morkarai would attempt something like that, Zijin was sure they could bring Morkarai down with just himself and Jurot if need be. The chances of such a thing happening were slim, but as an Elder, Zijin had to keep even an impossible chance in mind.

An hour passed and Adam could feel his connection with Phantom. ‘It’s been a while, old friend.’ He swung the axe around in the air before him, before he looked to Morkarai, who had donned his armour. ‘Oh, right.’ “I need to…” Adam noted his armour and his shield to one side, looking to Jurot and Zijin, nodding his head, before he donned his armour.

‘I don’t have the proper spells to deal with him,’ Adam thought, thinking about how he hadn’t taken spells to fight. ‘Will I be okay going against him with these kind of spells? No, Phantom is good enough, but…’

‘What’s he thinking so deeply about?’ Morkarai wondered.

‘Should I do that? No. I should wait to see what happens after this match. He’s already agreed to a rematch tomorrow if I lose today.’

“It’s a shame I won’t be able to fight at my full strength, Lord Morkarai, so I hope you won’t be too harsh on me,” Adam said.

“Are you already making excuses?”

“Absolutely. I don’t think I can beat you even at my strongest, so let me belittle myself now.”

Morkarai chuckled. “So what’s my excuse when I lose?”

“If you do lose, you can just say you lost to one hell of a monster,” Adam said, though his voice quivered. Calling himself a monster felt so ridiculous, especially after what had happened before.

“Hell of a monster?” Morkarai asked, raising his blade, resting it against his shoulder. “Is that why you are so close with the Iyr?”

“You’re about to find out why I’m so close to the Iyr,” Adam said, strapping on his shield, and raising Phantom towards Morkarai. “Though, you’re in luck. I’ve decided not to use my most dangerous technique against you.” ‘I need to see just how strong I really am.’

Morkarai grinned behind his helmet, raising his blade with both hands. “I wonder if you are strong enough to talk in such a manner.”

Battle Order

D20 + 1 = 19 (18)

Fighting Spirit: 3 -> 2

Attack - Phantom

D20 + 8 = 13 (5)

D20 + 8 = 17 (9)

Miss!

Adam bolted forward with frightening speed, swinging his magical axe wildly towards Morkarai. The Giant deflected the blow with his magical greatsword, Giantsfire, which easily managed to stop Adam’s axe in its path. Adam tried to push the Fire Giant, but in a contest of strength, Morkarai would not lose.

“If this is all you’ve got, I will be severely disappointed,” Morkarai goaded, chuckling lightly. Even if this young man was someone the Iyr kept his eyes on, Morkarai was not a random weakling. Though he was weakest from his siblings, he was still a Prince of the Fire Giants.

“Who said this was all I had?” Adam cried back, hopping to the side. ‘Damn, my arm hurts so bad already!’ He swiped his axe towards Morkarai, who was still chuckling.

Attack - Phantom

D20 + 8 = 9 (2)

D20 + 8 = 19 (11)

Hit!

Mana: 18 -> 15

Ability: Divine Smite

1D6 + 1D6 + 4D6 + 7 = 28 (3)(4)(3, 3, 4, 4)

28 damage!

Phantom struck Morkarai’s platemail across the chest, flashing white with divine magic. The blow dealt quite some damage, able to kill the average man twice over, but Morkarai was not the average man.

“That’s better,” Morkarai said, feeling the slight throbbing in his mind. He realised why Phantom held its name, and why Adam wanted to wield it. No, he could feel there was something more to it. “Is it my turn?”

Adam’s heart throbbed, recalling a similar phrase by the old monster he had faced.

Onward Soar: 1 -> 0

Attack - Phantom

D20 + 8 = 14 (6)

D20 + 8 = 18 (10)

Miss!

In his panic, he forced his muscles to move, and slashed wildly across the air as Morkarai pulled back, only for him to raise his blade. Adam almost used his Omen, but he had already promised himself not to use it, and he had talked so much trash too.

“I hope you don’t fall to a single blow,” Morkarai said, ready to swing his blade.

As the battle raged, the two Iyrmen watched, wondering if Adam was going to show them something unbelievable.

“Who do you think will win?” Zijin asked.

“One hundred gold for Adam,” Jurot replied.

Zijin shook his head. “Even if it is the easiest bet to make, I will not bet against Adam. He is someone who can make miracles come true.” Zijin hoped, like Jurot, that Adam would do something which would blow their expectations.

Adam stepped forward towards Morkarai, panting for air as he swung Phantom towards the Prince of the Fire Giants. Morkarai raised his Giantsfire to deflect the axe, but it slipped past the giant greatsword, and grazed across the Fire Giant’s plate mail.

Attack - Phantom

D20 + 8 = 19 (11)

D20 + 8 = 28 (20)

Critical hit!

‘Ho!’ Strom thought, smirking down from the rooftops. ‘That’s more like it!’