There was an air of expectation, the potential recruits, Noel, Brynhildr, they were all watching the `arena´ where both Theresa and Ragnar were standing. They had a good distance between each other as they were preparing, or rather the Captain was since the Amazoness was ready and waiting for her opponent.
Despite how calmed he looked, Ragnar could not stop being slightly nervous about this. He was worried that he might use too much force against his rival, a person without a Falna could not be stronger than him but should not be a pushover either.
She looked menacing and eager to fight and he would of course oblige, not because of a duel but because there was more than just pride involved, there was respect and of course the idea that someone might join. Harsh? Maybe, but the blond wanted to be done with it as soon as possible.
"Alright, we will follow the rules as everyone else did: We fight until either side gives up, is pushed outside of boundaries or is knocked unconscious. Do not go for the kill."
"Yeah yeah, whatever." The woman waved her hand, dismissing the comment. "Are you ready or do you need another break? "
Her attitude was annoying him, it reminded him of the warrior of Odin Familia, albeit to an even higher degree. Ragnar clicked his tongue and nodded. "Sure, let's do it."
For this fight, Ragnar had already envisioned a few things, trying to analyze the entire situation with a more critical mind, he considered himself to have learned a lot ever since he arrived to Orario both in and out of combat.
There were two critical points that he was banking on thanks to his knowledge:
The first one was that there would be a huge disparity in strength between the two. Ragnar has been training all these months and is boosted thanks to the power of the Falna, he might still be a level one but he won't deny the improvements ever since he arrived as well as his combat prowess.
The second point was speed. He was wearing heavier armor than her (or rather she was not wearing any protective gear unlike him) which could limit his movement. She could be faster and her attacks could be the same but Ragnar had confidence in his ability to react quickly; the monsters laid ambushes sometimes and he was able to defend himself with barely any damage so this should be no problem.
With those in mind, he tried to remember his lessons when sparring against Thom. While it was practice, with no wins on him or Noel, he learned how to deal against another adventurer. It was completely different than a monster with the added factor that he did not want to hurt her.
Ragnar steeled himself when he saw the Amazoness charge, she bore a smile that looked eager, hard to call it happiness but the eyes were the giveaway: She was hungry for a fight.
She was fast, more than what he imagined. It was common knowledge that Humans are considered as the weakest race while the Amazonesses were naturally stronger, this was not an exception.
Theresa approached the Captain, she raised her sword and was ready to swing when Ragnar raised both his axes to block.
"Hmph." The disappointment sound didn't came from the Amazoness but from one of the spectators, the spear-wielding warrior that server Odin.
While everyone was expecting a hit, Theresa changed directions with her feet. Left foot, right foot, and left again. She weaved out of the way, quickly turning around and swinging, this time for good. The blond's eyes were able to catch to her but his body did not respond quickly enough and a mild pain appeared on his cheek.
"Argh…" He groaned in pain and stepped away from the Amazoness. "What was that?!"
His fingers touched the source of the pain and felt a liquid caressing his skin. Blood.
The cut was shallow but enough to let some blood come out, the pain was bearable but that was not his main concern. What was that speed? And those movements? Her body moved like water and flowed around him with no consequences.
Was his knowledge wrong this entire time? No, at least that's what he still believed. Months of training led to improvement which in turn led to knowing how to fight better but this was completely different.
"Please, don't tell me that hurt you." She grinned at him, a look that was quickly becoming irritating to him. "You are nothing but a poor attempt at a leader if that's how you fight. Why don't you save all of us the embarrassment and give up? "
"You wish…" Ragnar spat out those words and took a fighting stance once again.
"Oh, I do. But next time? Try to attack me, otherwise I'll just keep doing that."
She was annoying, taunting him at every possible opening which did nothing but to anger him even further.
He did not wait a single moment and went forward with the attack, swinging at her one axe at a time but with no positive results; Theresa kept dodging or deflecting the attacks with her blade, making this combat look far easier to the spectators, although the only one suffering was Ragnar himself who was still struggling to even land a single hit.
"What's the matter? " The woman kept dodging with a smile, every now and then the sound of steel clashing against each other echoed in their ears. "Why are you following my advice? Are you trying to get yourself killed? " Her tone was definitely playful, mocking the continuous failed attempts.
"You… talk too much."
"It's what keeps me entertained, you certainly aren't." With another remark, she kicked the Captain away and gave a backflip, earning the applause of some of the audience. "See? They are cheering for me? The one who deserves the victory. But you know, I don't think I can blame you at all, if anything I'm the one at fault." She walked left and right, waiting for Ragnar to do something at all. "I came here thinking you were strong but in reality you are nothing, just a simple adventurer who landed as a Captain out of sheer luck, this… Familia doesn't deserve you at the head, even your puny God is probably ashamed of you."
"Hey, hold on! " Noel tried to step up into the arena but Brynhildr grabbed his shoulder to stop him, his expression was not friendly in the slightest. "Let me go, I won't let her disrespect the Goddess! "
"Watch." Bryn tilted her head forward. "This battle is about to be over."
They could all see Ragnar did not respond but there was something odd about him. His eyes were focusing on the floor beneath him, contemplating about the words that the enemy told him.
He could bear being insulted, saying that he wasn't strong, as much as it hurts him. But there was something that didn't sit well to him.
Ragnar directed his attention at the Amazoness, pointing at her with his heirloom. "Take back what you said? "
"What? About you not being strong? But it's the truth! " Her smile was becoming more and more annoying, angering him to no end. "Oh? I think I know, maybe it was that your God was puny? " She found out what made him click, and now she had a greater tool at her disposal.
"Take. That. Back." Ragnar was slowly dropping the idea of fighting without hurting her, perhaps evening the field.
"Oh, ho ho. Are you angry about it?"
The answer was obvious, a fury that he has never experienced before was flowing through him, a desire to kill her. A grudge that is yet unresolved after his Goddess was insulted.
Grudge Taker.
Ragnar's own unique skill that he acquired after the status update with the bear. A skill that empowers him whenever there is a grudge to settle against an enemy, whether it was a monster or an adventurer, it made no difference to his eyes. It was an enemy and that's what mattered.
The bigger the grudge the stronger he would get but there was a problem with this. Ragnar felt like losing control of himself, his only desire was to inflict pain on Theresa, any other reasoning was off the table. Diplomacy? As if!
With a blood curling scream, he ran at the Amazoness with both axes high. Even with the little control he had over his strength at the moment, he would attempt to not give her a mortal wound, although at that moment why would he care?
The sound of metal clashing against each other was louder than before. The sword from Theresa helped her block the attack but both axes were lodged in the steel, creating a deep cut, although this did not seem to worry the Amazoness who kept grinning at the Captain.
"So that's where the strength was. The angrier you are the stronger you swing? I'll keep that in mind for the future, but unfortunately for you, I won."
The Captain saw that the thumb that was holding the sword moved to press something on the hilt, an almost hidden button that at a quick glance it would be impossible to see, let alone in the middle of combat.
The enraged boy noticed that the cuts in the blade were intentional and they were slowly separating even further, revealing a thin metal wire within the blade that was connected to multiple segments of the now broken blade.
No.
It wasn't broken. It was part of the weapon itself. The thick wire resonated with the multiple parts that were connected to it, flowing like the water and much like a wave, crash against the one who was not prepared.
Ragnar's axes lowered, the surprise shock made him regain his sanity for he knew what the outcome would be. Even if he decided to do a rash action like swinging at her arms or body, he would not be able to make a sizeable cut to push her away.
The next thing he saw was her foot going straight to his belly and while he tried to defend him himself in a last ditch effort, he was able to swing one last time and make a cut on her leg before he was slightly pushed.
Theresa moved her arm like a violent wind and the sword whip mimicked that movement, the different parts lodged onto Ragnar's ankle, stabbing him all around it and wrapping like barbed wire. The next was simple for her: She pulled her blade and with it, the Captain fell to the ground with a loud thud.
The Amazoness grinned and pressed the same button again, the whip was slowly reforming back into the sword from before. She took a few steps and was ready to swing to finish this combat. "I win." Were the words that came from her mouth and swung.
Everyone was surprised, the newcomer was ready to kill the Captain himself, just for what? Not being stronger? Many people disagreed with the idea, regardless of how skillful she was, the Amazoness was nothing but a bully, or worse, a cold blooded murdered.
As for Ragnar, his rage subsided only for him to witness this moment. His hubris, his fury led him to an embarrassing defeat. All these months of training proved to be pointless if he couldn't beat some random person that showed up. What if there was an attack and someone were to try and kill Skadi? He won't be able to do anything to stop it, other than to see it all fall.
The blade was coming at him at high speed, he closed his eyes and waited for his demise, his mind was blank as he has seen this scenario in his head multiple times in the past, only this time it was at the hands of an adventurer or glory seeker.
But nothing happened, the only thing he felt was the lingering pain from his ankle. When he opened his eyes, he saw that there was someone right next to Theresa: A woman holding a spear and in her eyes there was a lack of emotion, something that the Captain saw before and feared whenever he saw it.
"Enough with him."
"Huh? " Theresa turned her head to notice one of the spectators joined in the arena to stop the sword. It was Brynhildr, not looking at the woman in the eyes but exerting enough strength on her hand so the spear would completely halt the blade's advances. "And who are you to save him? "
"I'm the one that will challenge you." The struggle between the spear and the sword ended when Theresa yielded, pushing the long armament away and stepping back to get some distance from the girl who appeared out of nowhere.
"Nice try, but I said I would only challenge the strongest in this place."
"That guy over there is the strongest in his Familia. However, I am the strongest here."
"Bold statement, but I doubt you can beat me."
"You? " Bryn looked her rival up and down. "It is undeniable that you are strong and have quite the skill in combat, you could easily be level two, but you are definitely not mature. You pick on those who are weak because you know that if you do face someone that is stronger then you will face humiliation. Something that the people of your kind would not appreciate."
"Tsch." Theresa clicked her tongue and spat to the side. "I hope that spear is as sharp as your tongue, because I will not hesitate to cut you down." She aimed her sword at the spear-wielding woman who was walking away from her, getting some space to prepare herself to fight.
By the time Bryn got in place she did not expect the Amazoness to wait for her signal, instead she was on the full offensive. The whip was activated and the blades ready to strike at her face. Although the warrior from Odin Familia was no slouch, she was quick enough to dodge the whip and hit Theresa on the chin with the flat back of her weapon.
"Why you…" Bryn spun the spear in between her fingers, her face lacked any emotion, only intense focus towards her opponent. "Do you think that fancy tricks will let you win? " The sword reformed and she was ready to attack once again.
Or at least that was her plan before the ground in front of her rose and punted her in the stomach, like a knee hitting her at high speed.
The Amazoness was sent flying backwards and outside of the arena's boundaries, marking a clear defeat on her as the many spectators were clapping at Brynhildr's victory.
"Pah!" The woman slowly stood up, coughing and feeling immense pain from that attack but slowly returning to the arena, only this time she lacked her weapon. "Magic, I knew that you would use foul tricks to win…"
"You ended outside of the boundaries, therefore: You lose." The dry response from Bryn as the ground retracted and returned to normal while she kept spinning the spear in her fingers.
"No, I haven't lost yet, missy. Not while you're still standing. Now, fight fair! "
"Fair? Very well…" The brunette looked at her spear but noticed something else right next to her. Without a moment's hesitation, she planted the spear and kneeled to grab the sword whip from Theresa.
"I will use the same tools as you do."
"Bring it on!" The dark haired one went forward with nothing but her fists while Bryn also charged with sword in hand.
Out of this attack, one of them would claim definite victory. The goal of Theresa was to use Brynhildr's strength against her and then take the sword from her, a task that was no simple whatsoever but she believed.
They were getting closer and her grin was becoming bigger, her thirst for battle was soon going to be accomplished and she would not only beat the Captain of a Familia but also the warrior from another. Glory will come to her, the praise of all the spectators and finally he would be able to call herself a true Amazoness.
Until she saw them.
The same empty eyes that Ragnar saw, the ones that ushered an omen of terror. Her rival was not just a simple warrior but something else, an emotionless human that was entirely focused in combat. That was when she knew that Brynhildr was on a complete different league.
They crossed each other and the attempt at grabbing her failed, instead, Bryn used the back of the sword and hit the Amazoness in the back of her head and making her fall, thus marking the end of this combat.
"Just… who are you? " Theresa saw the blade land in front of her and the warrior walking back to pick up her spear.
"Brynhildr. A member of Odin Familia." She picked her weapon, making it spin from one hand to the other. "Do not be mistaken by your decisive defeat, you are strong, but your attitude is holding you back. You are definitely not material worthy of serving Odin."
"Huh…" The downed one decided to sit down and grab her sword once more, looking at the reflection of a defeated adventurer. "Odin Familia you said? " She grinned. "Alright. Oi! Captain!" Everyone directed their attention at Ragnar who was able to scuttle away while the two girls were fighting. "I'm joining your Familia."
"What? But I didn't-"
"Oh, come on! I'm sure that you'll need more muscle if you want to get into that Dungeon, right? "
With the battles done, the round of recruitment was over for the day. Ragnar brought the small box in front of all the prospects and with Noel at his side, he held a small piece parchment with names that they both wrote down. The two of them considered that those in the list would be selected to join the Familia, or at the very least advance to the next step of the trial.
"As I said before, and I hope there are no more interruptions…" Ragnar muttered this mostly to himself. "I want to congratulate everyone who decided to come today to be part of Skadi Familia, even if you haven't been selected in this list here, this does not mean that you should feel down."
The Captain cleared his throat. "Anyways, if you are selected, there will be another test, or rather just an interview. Just because you were selected it does not mean you will be part of the Familia just yet."
With a smile (and still some pain), Ragnar began to read off the list.
"So, those that passed the first test are…"
And we leave it that that! Next chapter is going to be the end of this recruitment drive as well as the interview on those who passed the first test. Who would it be? Is it going to be a surprise? Maybe someone you won't expect will show up? Maybe I am just being vague even though it is obvious? Who knows!
Thanks to everyone reading and following the story, this may not be a long chapter but we'll advance with the story soon. After all the Familia will have to see how they work together.
I've been having plenty of writer's block as well as being busy so it took me a quite a while to set up the chapter but I hope this small delay did not ruin the enjoyment of the story.
Not much to say here except that we finally have a (somewhat) release date for Season 5 so we'll see how that goes! Have a great week and as always: See you in the next chapter.
