Point-of-View: Argent Stryker

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"I must apologize. Unfortunately, there are no Platinum ranked Adventurers currently available, all of them are on quests at the moment, and are unlikely to return to town within the day. We can postpone your next duel, or alternatively...we could make an exception and have your next opponent be a Diamond rank. Depending on your performance, you may be approved for Platinum rank even if you are defeated," The receptionist informed me.

Hm...that’s a tough one. Realistically speaking, my chances against a Diamond rank probably aren’t very good. I mean, my mother was a retired Diamond rank, and I never defeated her even once during sparring sessions.

Actually, the same goes for my dad as well, who was a retired, but not entirely inactive, Platinum rank...but, in their cases, since they’re the ones who trained me, they were intricately familiar with how I fight and what options I have up my sleeve. After all, they taught me everything I know. So, it might not be a fair comparison.

With that in mind, this is an ideal opportunity to see exactly how I stack up against a Platinum ranked Adventurer. My chances of victory are likely to be slim at best, but regardless, it’s a valuable opportunity that would be a waste to pass up on.

And even if I lose and don’t get to a starting rank of Platinum, I’ve already ensured that I’ll be able to officially register as an Adventurer, and besides, what rank I start at won’t change how strong I am. It’s just a title, at the end of the day.

"Alright, I’ll go with the latter option. I’ll fight a Diamond rank next," I replied without hesitation, having made up my mind.

"Are you certain? Regardless of the result, this will be the last duel of your ranking exam. If you lose, you will not have the option of dueling a Platinum rank when one is available, at least not for the purpose of ranking up. Do you accept that?" He responded, as he clarified the process.

"Yeah, I’m fine with that," I nodded firmly, no second thoughts about it.

"Very well, then. I shall return with your next opponent in a moment," He remarked, before heading back up the stairs.

Gotta say, I’m both nervous and excited about this. I should probably go all out right from the start in this duel, I’ll activate both Intangibility and Limit Breaker as soon as it begins.

Afterwards, once I’m done with this ranking exam, I should take on some quests to earn money, I don’t have a whole lot to spend, and I shouldn’t waste the amount I do have too soon. I mainly need to buy some Magic Items, especially healing devices.

I then glanced towards the staircase as I heard footsteps approaching from above. And before long, the receptionist came into sight, along with a woman who looked like she was in her late-twenties or maybe early thirties at the most.

She had light red hair that was cut a bit short, it was kinda messy and framed her face. Her eyes were sort of two-toned in color, the tops of her irises were dark red, and transitioned to a lighter red through the middle, with the lower part a slight orange.

She was on the shorter side, with a slender build. She wore a black, sleeveless leather armor top, with black leather arm guards across each forearm. She had skintight black shorts under a short black skirt and heavy looking boots that went halfway up her calves.

"This is one of our most experienced Diamond ranked Adventurers, and your last opponent for this ranking exam," Said the receptionist, as they walked over towards me.

"Hi, there, young man. I’m Severa Sauveron, nice to meet you," She greeted me with a slight, polite smile.

So formal, she doesn’t seem threatening at all. It’s kinda throwing me off, she’s also the first of my opponents who’s actually taken the time to introduce herself.

"Uh, yeah, likewise. I’m Argent Stryker," I replied with a nod.

"Ahem, shall we get started?" Suggested the receptionist, as he cleared his throat.

"Oh, of course. I shall take my position right away," Responded Severa, as she strolled out into the grassy area, heading for the waterfall.

I then followed suit once I lost sight of her, heading for the trees. I have no idea where she’s hiding by the waterfall, it’s possible that she’ll see me if I pick that spot too.

I made my way towards the trees and hid behind some dense foliage once I got there, glancing up as the protective barrier began to form around the area. I quietly chanted and brought out my Soul Weapon as I waited, keeping my eyes on the area by the waterfall.

I don’t see her anywhere...is she waiting for me to make the first move? Well, if that’s the case, then...she’s gonna be waiting for a long time. Since she’s a Diamond rank, I can’t afford to take any risks.

Hm? What the...? She’s...strolling right out into the open. Huh? What? Why? What’s she upto, is she trying to provoke me into attacking? If that’s the case, it’s certainly effective...even if this is a trap, it’s far too good an opening to just ignore.

Damn it, what do I do? Should I risk it? Or play it safe? No...I won’t accomplish anything if I just sit around here, doing nothing. She’s probably thinking that she can easily block or dodge whatever attack I throw at her, and then counter with a winning blow.

In that case...I’ll just have to attack faster than she can react. I quietly chanted to activate Limit Breaker and Intangibility, tightening my grip on my swords as I slowly rose to my feet, my gaze fixated on her.

Okay, here I go! I shot forward at top speed in her direction, flinging my blades up and forward as I pointed my palms in her direction, taking careful aim before chanting...

"Elemental Flame: Double Fire Blast!"

I fired out powerful blasts of flames from both my hands, straight towards my opponent. She noticed and sprang off to her right, evading both my attacks without too much trouble. Guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, huh?

I then caught my blades as I picked up the pace, leaping at her as I closed in and slashing both my blades at her.

She attempted to grab my left wrist to try and block one of my slashes, my left blade leaving a small cut on her cheek as she tilted her head across the instant she failed to grab my left wrist as I turned it intangible...but she completely ignored my right blade, which struck her right shoulder and cut into it, my eyes widening as I sliced right through the right side of her ribcage and lung. Also her right breast, which had been split in half.

What the hell...? Why didn’t the barrier activate? Something isn’t right here, she didn’t even try to evade my attack, but why? What’s going on!?

"Hm, not bad...," She mused quietly, meeting my gaze before her expression changed, her eyes darkening and narrowing as a malicious smile spread out across her lips, sending chills down my spine, my blood running cold as she whispered menacingly, "You’re quite fast...aren’t you? Now, Manifest Soul Weapon: Slasher." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Gloves formed on both her hands, with sharp spike-like blades above the knuckles, four on each hand. I quickly turned intangible as she slashed at me, pulling my blade out of her body as I sprang back several paces and got some distance.

"What the hell?" I muttered to myself, as she let out a slight, ominous chuckle.

It’s like she’s a completely different person now...the bloodthirsty look in her eyes, and the slight but menacing smile across her lips...she’s absolutely terrifying!

"Oh, I’m feeling a bit light-headed...Initiate Skill: Ultra High Speed Regeneration," She chanted, as I stared in bewilderment as the deep gash across her right shoulder and chest swiftly closed up.

U-uh, her right breast is completely exposed, does she not notice? Or does she simply not care? More importantly...is it even possible for me to defeat her if she can heal an injury like that almost instantly!?

Okay, calm down...I’ll just have to overwhelm her with my speed and try to land some hits. At the very least, I’ll try to do well enough to get approval for a starting rank of Platinum.

I then raced across at top speed, rapidly circling her as I closed in, chanting quietly to fire out Elemental Spells at regular intervals from various different directions.

But she was easily batting them away with the claws on her gloves, with minimal movement and incredible efficiency. She’s good at using that Soul Weapon, it’s nothing too overpowered on its own, she’s just wielding it incredibly well.

"You sure are fast, aren’t you?" She remarked, as she deflected another couple of fireballs with ease, before adding, "In that case, how about this? Initiate Skill: Total Nullification Field."

Suddenly, I felt both my Intangibility and Limit Breaker abruptly deactivate, almost losing my balance at the sudden drop in speed, before wincing as I got hit with the toll for using Limit Breaker.

And in the next instant, I was staring at something sharp right in front of my eyes, barely a couple of inches away, with a small barrier wall in front of my face. It took me a second to realize what had just happened...damn it. I...I lost, and so easily at that...

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