After skidding across the floor, the knight drove his blade across the ground to stop himself. Finally, he pushed the face cover of his helmet off to reveal his eyes, nose, and mouth.

His eyes widened in shock, and he was slightly bleeding from his lips. Pushing his sword into the ground, he stood up. "This is... unheard of," he said, standing up.

Still on top of Garmr, Lyrian slowly made his way to the boy. Soon enough, he realized that he recognized the face under that helmet...

'Huh? That's my roommate!' He said to himself in confusion.

Out of nowhere, the knight, who Lyrian now realized was his roommate after all, began to laugh. "Hahahaha! Something like this hasn't happened to me in a while. First, someone actually fights me and doesn't forfeit the match immediately, and second, they do some damage!" He sounded like a maniac.

"The arrogance on this guy..." Lyrian mumbled with distaste.

"Don't take it the wrong way... I'm just surprised, is all. Now... let me play seriously."

Lyrian didn't know what the knight was talking about, but he soon found out. Within seconds, the knight's entire body began to glow in a green hue.

'What? That... Enhance.' Lyrian couldn't help but recognize that color.

"You see... I tend to go easy on here. Otherwise, no one would want to fight me. The ones that do still give up after a while most of the time. However, if they actually pose a challenge, which doesn't happen often, I start to use mana." The boy's eyes lit up as he spoke.

"But don't get discouraged, weakling. I only use a little, and use more as the fight goes on. I want to get the most out of this, you know?"

"You like fighting that much?" Lyrian retorted abruptly.

"No... I don't like fighting much at all. I like to study though... study all manners of battle so that I can become greater than others. But enough about me. How about you show me how you handle this?"

On hearing this, Lyrian said, "Shadow," under his breath. Garmr disappeared from sight, as Zuuc appeared in his stead.

"Huh? Another beast? Not bad..." The knight exclaimed.

Lyrian walked to the side. He stared at the Generational Hobgoblin, whose arms were crossed. As usual, he didn't feel like following Lyrian's commands that day either.

"Zuuc! If you beat this guy, I will deem you stronger than Garmr for one day!"

Suddenly, Zuuc's eyes widened, and a grin formed on his face. "What!? I'll do it then!" The beast exclaimed in its rough voice, uncrossing its hands.

"Puny human, prepare to die!" He stared at the knight.

"Huh... having it fight for you huh? I suppose that is your right as a summoner," Lyrian's roommate exclaimed, facing Zuuc.

"Begin!" Lyrian shouted as Zuuc stormed towards the knight in his adult, green form.

He was agile, like a human running at max speed. Except, much more ferocious and scary. The knight didn't back down, however. He ran toward Zuuc at full speed, dragging his blade behind him.I think you should take a look at

He was much faster now with Enhance, and Lyrian noticed this early on. "I would have gotten destroyed quickly if I fought with him like that..." He said as Zuuc neared the knight.

Finally, the knight heaved his sword up and swung toward the tall brute from the side. At that moment, the hobgoblin disappeared from the knight's sight out of nowhere!

Zuuc had transformed into his baby form. He ran to the side of the attack before turning into his elder form out of nowhere and unleashing a powerful punch right at the knight's shoulder.

"Woah--not good." The boy said, driving his sword in front of his shoulder just in time to block the attack. Still, he was flung into the air once again. He landed safely this time but understood the power that he just felt.

"If that hit me straight on..." He began to muse, as the beast began storming towards him again.

"Haha! Good! I will use my normal power now then!" The knight suddenly threw his broad sword to the side.

"I used that weapon to purposefully slow me down. Only brainless brutes have such big weapons. The wise use the quick weapons, the small weapons." He said, unsheathing a thin but long blade from his waist.

In a series of quick and calculated steps, he neared Zuuc in less than a second. Before the hobgoblin knew it, its arm had been pierced straight through. It dashed back, gripping its forearm that was spewing out blood.historical

Lyrian was also surprised to see this. 'Hmm... Zuuc's current OP is around 9. An OP of 10 represents a Genesis: Layer 2 rank. If he is stronger than Zuuc, that means that he is in the second layer undoubtedly. Maybe even the third.'

"You see, I learned my skills from my great father. He knew all that needed to be known in this world and taught me how to become a feared and ruthless monarch. These skills are for inducing fright within an enemy. Now, feel it, beast." He remarked, dashing from side to side as Zuuc quickly became disorientated.

"Side Step Mirage!" The knight shouted as the speed of his side steps allowed him to create several blurs of himself around the hobgoblin.

Out of nowhere, spikes and thrusts began hurtling toward Zuuc from different places in the circle. They poked and prodded at him, injuring him countlessly in a matter of seconds.

"Alright... that's enough. Shadow." Lyrian called Zuuc back into his shadow at that moment.

"Hahaha!" The boy suddenly broke out into a frenzied laugh, "Scared for your summon, huh? Better get it some potions, or it's not gonna last long with how much it's bleeding!"

'Let's see... how strong have you gotten, Tao?' Lyrian said, unleashing the bird from his shadow.

It was surprisingly large, the size of a fully grown eagle by this point. As it began soaring through the air, its wingspan was nine feet in length.

Lyrian looked at its stats... and was at a loss for words.

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Name: Tao

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