Green.

A bright green similar to his eyes.

It was different from his scales, which were the same color as dark green tree leaves. It was closer to lime, but not as much closer to the neon side.

It was a strong color.

Something rare...

But that wasn't all.

This was an Aura with two distinct natures.

Its first characteristic was the color green. The second was its state, a simple fluid mixed with sharp winds.

It was a rare type of Aura, and he wasn't a human, so it was even rare.

The green water-like base was just like the water we were standing on right now. The winds surrounding it were something that reassembled the wind attacks that he used throughout their fight.

It was strong, and sharp and had a unique dominance over the surrounding calm air.

It was a mix of water and wind. Something that looked good, but at the same time, it was something obviously dangerous.

Materializing Aura is naturally more difficult for humans than energy beasts who have a body that can easily handle strong destructive energy.

The intelligent beasts who can use Aura like this lizardman could maintain this materialized form for far longer than humans who had clear limitations.

That was one of the reasons there was a rule that if a knight shows their Aura in a fight, the opponent has to show theirs as well.

That was the most basic respect one gave to their opponent as a knight.

Not that all the people followed this in all situations. And not definitely in situations like this one.

He was fighting a lizardman who had clearly different beliefs, traditions, and strengths than the humans.

Maybe he was even hearing about the humans for the first time or had little knowledge about the humans, but he clearly acknowledged the strength of his opponent to show the Aura just after this relatively short fight.

The opponent was strong and smart. He was clearly better than himself and that much he knew for certain.

So he called his special power and got ready to start the 'real' fight.

The evaluation was completed and the conclusion the lizardman reached was that the opponent was strong but probably something that he had a chance to defeat.

He clearly had limitations, and the terrain was also unfavorable to him, something that was a strength for the lizardman.

If the opponent was strong, he wasn't weak either...

But he was excited, and the toothy smile on his face showed his excitement.

-Ooooooooong!

The winding form of Aura covered his body while the thin green fluid covered the sword, elevating the beauty of the blue blade even more.

The boy knew the lizardman was finally going to start his onslaught, so he was ready too...!

But before he could react, this time, the lizardman vanished from his place first and appeared just before the place he was standing in and..

-Swwwwwwwing!

A sharp sound of a blade cutting the air reverberated throughout the open cave.

It was a sharp sound, but... the sound just passed through the air and vanished. Nothing was hit by the sword or the sharp wind.

"Pure physical archery!"

A shout rang out in the surroundings and a strong gust of wind followed after a loud sound of explosion!

"True spar!"

-Swwwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish!

-Boooooooooom!

At the same time, the lizardman and his opponent both vanished from the naked eyes of the spectators, confusing the little furballs.

They were confused. Just what was going on...?

Their brother-master was fighting the big lizard uncle and both of them looked super cool! But then both of them just vanished and now there were countless explosions that shook the water as well as created big waves that hit the barrier that he had created before leaving.

The water blocked their sight even more, so they had no idea what was going on, but thankfully the butterflies with them were telling them what was happening in real time!

They had seen the bright colorful Aura that the big lizardman had created as well as how the lines of green light were moving all over the area like some laser light with a will of its own.

They could also see the flashes of colorful lights that either clashed with the green light or collided with the ground and water.

The lights that hit the ground were then turned into arrows and were starting to cover the ground, but one thing was undeniably true..

It looked cool!

The pretty colors, the lights that collided with each other in this dimly lit vast area. And the blue color of the flames increased the effect of bright green even more.

The lizardman was a big creature, and he moved throughout the area with his sword covered in a brighter light than his body, which was the reason for the effects of laser light.

He had his senses sharpened even further, so he was able to follow the movements of the boy.

And though he couldn't reach him completely, he definitely shot some of his Aura, something only a [Rank-4] knight could do, towards the boy, which became straight lines of beautiful green.

But the boy also countered them with countless arrows that he took out from his weird silver quiver that seemed to have infinite arrows.

His arrows too... they weren't fully the arrows of light that he was using previously. These were normal wooden arrows with some weird glowing patterns.

But one thing was amazing here too...

These wooden arrows, maybe some if not all, were strong enough to cancel his Aura attacks!

A simple piece of wood could cancel his powerful attacks, and the ranged ones, not the simple ones at that?

It was impossible for even the wood of an ancient tree, so it was simple to understand what the reason for this could be.

[< 'The special patterns...' >]

The lizardman smiled deeper as he blocked four arrows parallelly coming at him from behind.

They not only contained more weight than the weird golden arrow standing some distance away but these arrows were also filled with the power of the elements. More precisely, the power of the earth and fire attribute!

It was impossible to make these kinds of weapons with a shallow knowledge of nature and elements, so he acknowledged the fact that this person was amazing enough to make or obtain them.

They were no less valuable than his sword, a relic passed down to their kind throughout generations.

And the boy was using them in this mere fight.

Which meant he also acknowledged the champion lizardman as a worthy, strong opponent.

He was happy about this fact, but his life was on the line right now... he had to defeat this opponent instead of praising him for his weapons.

There was still the threat of that golden arrow on his head. The boy had yet to even use that weapon and the lizardman was already feeling the pressure.

His stamina recovery was great, amazing maybe. But there were also some limitations to him.

He knew... from how things were going on... one hour. That was the limit he could go on like this and maintain his Aura and fight this fast-paced battle.

His opponent shouldn't even last for a few minutes if this pace continued... or so he previously thought.

[< 'He's... not normal.' >]

From the looks of it, he was using the most efficient way to avoid his attack at the same time as he used the most simple techniques to shoot his arrows.

Not only was his stamina consumption less than the lizardman, but his recovery rate was also close to him, something far disadvantaged for a big creature like himself.

If the fight continued, he would be the one in the most disadvantageous position. And he didn't want to lose at all.

He was a champion!

A winner who had only lost once in his lifetime!

He couldn't lose to a simple intruder who was stronger, better, and superior to him in some ways.

He was still better in physical aspects!

He was stronger, faster, and had more advantages in terrain, weapon, and senses.

He could also learn during the fight and adapt to the new changes and enemy attacks!

Though the opponent was smarter and had edges, he was still not something impossible to defeat. Not at least for the current him.

-Swiiiiiiiiiiiish~!

An arrow flew through the surroundings, strangely changed paths, and, unlike the others that had come in a group of three to six to his way a moment before, this one was alone.

A single arrow fired from the same bow, but surprisingly, this one contained more power and speed... something that he can't avoid even after already being accustomed to the opponent's attack pattern.

The arrow was also a bit longer and filled with more designs than the previous ones.

He had also aimed at his tail, something he hadn't done throughout this whole confrontation.

[< "...!" >]

But the tail was one of his most vital weak spots.

A detached organ that was practically far stronger than even his hands, but at the same time, if hit with greater force, it could cause him a great injury!

He had faintly but surely perceived the incoming stronger arrow. He had a fraction of a second to avoid this fatal injury... thankfully, that was enough this time.

[< Hump! >]

The big lizardman used his water attribute skill, [Gator jaws] on his tail, surrounding his tail in a shell of water... which was definitely painful as the skill actually bit off the designated target.This chapter made its debut appearance via N0v3lB1n.

But the shell of water that was created after the use of skill was enough to at least reduce the impact of the unique arrow.

-Shpsh-booooooooom!

'Smart...'

That was the only thing the boy could think of while seeing his special arrow, one of the high-enchanted arrows failing to penetrate the only weak spot he had found on the lizardman.

The decision to cover his tail with that water attribute skill was good. Not all could make a quick decision to hurt their own bodies while in a fast-paced fight like that one.

He didn't even have a second to think about what would be the best way to defend against this attack.

That decision was instinctive. Something only a being who had faced deathly situations could come up with.

'But... he will lose.'

The boy smiled as he saw the arrow with fire attribute enchantment that collided with the water shell.

His defense was effective, as the shell itself was reminiscent of a predator finish with a hard body.

He was fine even after the attack... and as soon as the arrow collided with the shell, evaporated the water attribute shell, and even collided with his tail, the lizardman turned his body to the left and blocked another arrow coming from that side as.. the previous arrow had failed to damage the active defense of rock hard body armor.

[< "Let's end this... warrior." >]

The boy was personally holding the golden arrow this time. The bow he was holding just a moment before was now hanging on his back.

His red eyes now had a glowing dot of white light and his wide smile was enough for the opponent to know the opponent, the challenger, was now finally going to get serious.

Serious enough to be ready to end the fight.

His heart and wish were conveyed to the lizardman warrior... so he, too, strengthened the grip on the sword.

They increased their speed... and the lights that were at least understandable by Celes also vanished from their field of view.