"Have you guys heard the news?
"What news?
"Sujin from the Flyers is going to fight with a fresh meat at the Field of Bones."
"For real?"
"Yeah, and if the fresh meat wins he gets take to take Sujin's number 10 rank!"
In less than an hour, the news spread to hundreds of people in Crux, and many of them were at the Field of Bones now waiting to witness the duel.
Reon made his way to the eastern gate of the village. When he was about to walk out, Silva saw him.
"Hey, kid, Reon! Slow down for a minute!" called Silva.
Hearing his name called, Reon turned around to see who it was calling him.
"Oh, it's her again, what does she want?" thought Reon
Silva caught up to Reon and caught her breath for a second.
"If you're really going duel, you're going to be much better off with a weapon." She reasoned to him, holding in between her hands a sheathed long dagger.
Reon paused for a moment looking at the sheathed weapon, then looked at Silva.
"Thanks Miss, but why are you helping me?" he asked.
She didn't even think about this.
"I don't know, it just doesn't seem right to let an unarmed kid fight one of the strongest warriors of the guild." Silva responded.
"I would prefer it if no one died. If I didn't think you were just all talk at the registration desk then all of this probably would not have happened." she said.
"The only reason this is actually happening is because the Vice-Guild Master wanted it." Reon thought to himself.
Reon smiled and took the dagger.
"Don't blame yourself for this, it was fate." he said unsheathing the blade.
It was slightly longer than 1 foot long. It had ridged sharp blue metal and a black handle designed to enhance the wielder's grip.
"This is a really good weapon Miss." Reon admired.
Taking a few steps away from Silva, Reon started to bend his knees.
"No, not that one, like this? No, this was closer."
"What is he doing?" Silva looked confused.
Reon was continuously altering the posture of his body, at first he was low down, then he stood straight.
He remembered the lessons his uncle had given him about wielding daggers.
He altered more and more until he found a perfect stance and arm position for the weapon.
Reon thought back to how he saw Sujin. His negative intent and his words.
Reon started picturing Sujin, imagining the man was right there in front of him, looking him in the eye.
"You're dead, I challenge you to a duel!" Sujin's words rang in his mind.
Reon slashed the long dagger three times in the blink of an eye, but to Silva's eyes, only looked like he slashed twice.
"Woah, this kid is really good with a dagger. I thought he didn't specialize in any weapons. I guess he was lying after all." thought Silva.
Reon spoke before she could ponder more.
"So I know you work at the Flyers guild, but I don't know your name," Reon said, sheathing the blade.
"Ah, it's Silva Greyallen, and yes I work part time for the guild at the registration desk, but I'm also a warrior, and a forger. I'm actually the one crafted that long dagger, so take good care of it." Silva said proudly.
"Wow! You made this? You're quite talented Silva, to make this at such a young age." Reon complimented.
This made Silva blush a little, "Come on now, let's move, you don't want to be late for the duel, or they'll call you a coward."
As they made their way over to the Field of Bones, Reon felt curious about something, or rather someone.
"Say, Silva, what do you know about the Vice-Master Hyo? Is he strong?" Reon asked.
"Vice-Guild Master Hyo? Why do you ask?" Silva responded.
"Well I may have to duel him one day right? So I'd like to know everything I can beforehand." Reon stated.
"First you get into a duel with Sujin on your first day and now you want to fight with the new Vice-Guild Master. You're pretty aggressive, you know that." Silva said.
"Well it's not for me to judge anyway." She said.
"But I don't know very much actually. Hyo joined the guild not too long ago, it's only been a few years now that I think about it, but he rose up very quickly in the ranks of the guild due to his strength."
"He is a 3-Star brawler and he is the strongest member of the guild besides the Guild-Master."
"You've mentioned that before, someone's Star Level, what is it?" Reon questioned.
"I didn't really know what you were referring to."
"Sheesh. You must have been honest when you said you didn't go to the academy if you don't even know about that stuff." said Silva.
"Well to put it simply it's how warriors rank each other in Akram." she explained.
From 1 to 5 stars, are the given Star levels. As a warrior's mastery increases, their star level increases to represent their mastery.
"So that's how it works, huh? That's interesting. So how does a warrior's Star level compare with their level of Kinshi Mastery?" asked Reon.
"Kinshi Mastery, what is that? Do you mean energy control?" Silva responded.
"Well… I guess; it is related." Reon responded.
"Then you at least know about the basics of energy? It's commonly known that warriors who have gone through many battles, overcoming difficult challenges, can eventually develop the ability to sense a type of spiritual energy within." Silva explained.
"Warriors can only be considered 3-Star level when they unlock the ability to sense and use that energy to improve their combat power."
"That's what makes 3-Star warriors so sought after in warrior's guilds."
"Until they break through that bottle neck, they are considered 2-Star level at most, no matter how skilled they are." she explained.
"I see." Reon responded.
"It seems that warriors here intuitively use Kinshi even if they don't know much about it." Reon thought.
If it's only the warriors who can sense and harness energy who can be considered 3-Star level, that would make Reon a 2-Star warrior stuck at the bottleneck, as he has never been able to use energy before, only sense it.
As Reon and Silva neared the Field of Bones, they saw a group of about a hundred warriors.
They all wore combat gear and had different weapons on their bodies however, they were not about to go to battle, this was simply everyday attire in Akram.
"So what level is the person I'm fighting at, do you know?" asked Reon.
"Yes, Sujin is a 2-Star fighter, specializing in blade arts. He is quite skilled so you'd better be careful Reon. If you can't win, just surrender." Silva pleaded
"No one will look down on you, Sujin is in the top 10 in a guild with thousands of members for a reason."
…
The Field of Bones was an area surrounded by green hills, but the field itself was dyed red with blood.
The group of spectators were gathered under the only tree for a mile, with it's thick black trunk going high in the air, falling from it were leaves the same color as blood.
It was at this place where many Warriors had come to settle their differences before. Often leading to death.
"He's finally here! Fresh Meat!" someone yelled.
Sujin had been leaning against the Blood Tree, his mouth covered by his red scarf, and his eyes closed.
After hearing the yell, he opened his eyes, standing up.
"It's time." Reon walked through the crowd.
"Indeed. It's time to pay for looking down on the Flyers." said Sujin.
Everyone in the crowd including the Axe wielding man, Silva, and Vice-Guild Master Hyo moved a good distance away from the fighters, leaving them space to fight.
"Fighters speak your names! We will all be witness to this duel!" yelled Hyo.
The first to speak was Sujin.
"My name is Sujin the Bladesmen. I have no family, and no family name, but the Flyers are like my family, so I can't stand for the insult this boy gave us." Sujin claimed.
"And my name is Reon DeValt, I will prove myself to all of you now." Reon claimed.
"The Warrior's Claims are heard! May fate let the best warrior win!" Hyo said.
"Akram!" He yelled much louder.
"Akram!" everyone in the crowd yelled, booming to the heavens, signaling the duel to begin.
Both fighters simultaneously unsheathed their weapons, Sujin with his shortblade, and Reon with his long dagger.
…
Reon moved in first to try to get in close as quickly as possible, since the range on his weapon was at a slight disadvantage.
"I won't let you get close." Sujin took a step back, while slashing at Reon's neck.
Reon was quick however, intercepting the short blade with his dagger causing sparks to fly.
Sujin wanted to use his arm's strength to push through Reon's defense but Reon's weapon didn't budge, so instead, he made another attack to the left side of Reon's body, which he narrowly dodged.
Then, Reon's response came in the form of a sudden slash at Sujin from the front middle.
He wanted to dodge it, but Sujin noticed the slash would come too fast, so instead he used his blade to block Reon's slash instead.
Unexpectedly right before he expected the boy's dagger to hit his blade, it instead curved slightly missing his blade scratching on his chest armor.
Jumping back after this exchange, Sujin realized that if he wasn't wearing the chest armor he would have already been the first one to get cut.
"This brat is fast! I can't underestimate his speed!" Sujin thought to himself.
Not wanting to let this momentum die out, Reon ran toward Sujin again who was more on his toes now.
Sujin dodged and blocked a flurry of Reon's slashes, before returning his own.
For half a minute they both repeatedly slashed at, dodged, and blocked each other, neither warrior taking a hit.
The audience was impressed by the speed of both warriors' attack and defense.
"Is he really fresh meat?" the warrior carrying an axe questioned.
"I can't get any advantage as things are now, I'm going to have to use that." Sujin thought, his face getting serious.
Sujin blocked another one of Reon's slashes with his blade.
Right when Reon went to retract his weapon, for a brief moment, it didn't pull it back. The slight delay allowing Sujin to kick Reon in the jaw causing Reon to fly a few meters back.
"What the hell was that? When I went to pull my dagger away it was like it was stuck to his blade." Reon was shocked as he flew to the ground.
He fell on his back but quickly stood back up looking curiously at Sujin.
The warriors that were watching in the crowd were also talking amongst each other about what just happened.
To them, it didn't seem like any side was at an advantage until Reon was suddenly kicked back.
"So, he's almost there." Hyo mumbled.
Silva heard this and wondered what Hyo was talking about.
"That must have been Kinshi." Reon thought. "Otherwise why would the dagger not come back when I pulled it?"
"But didn't Silva say he was a 2-Star fighter? Was he hiding his strength? Or did he just learn to use his energy, and can't truly control it."
"Either way, he was dealing with me equally without Kinshi before, so I have to be extra careful now." thought Reon.
"It's time to use that dagger technique Uncle Ken taught me."
5 years ago, in the Great Tree Temple on the Island of Valt…
Reon and his Uncle, Ken, were in a training area outside.
They were stood in an open square area meant for sparring. Around them were many training dummies and targets where one could practice weapon skills and archery.
"How were you able to hit me so fast Uncle? I didn't see you hit me at all!" Young Reon asked.
"It seemed fast did it?" Ken retorted.
"Look here, and pay attention to my movements." Ken said as he walked over to one of the practice dummies.
Reon sensed Ken's Kinshi, and watched as a blue and purple crystal dagger materialized in Ken's right hand.
"Awesome! Will I be able to do that too one day!" Reon wondered.
Ken took a moment breathing deeply, then unleashed a slash, precisely controlling his breath, while moving his feet several times as well.
"How many times did I slash the dummy, my nephew?" Ken asked.
Reon thought it was a trick question.
"What? You only slashed one time. But you were also moving your feet around and breathing weirdly too." Reon answered.
Ken pointed at the dummy.
On second look, Reon saw 5 deep cuts in the dummy's neck, chest and limbs.
"Did you cut them so fast I couldn't see it!?" Reon was amazed.
"No, the trick isn't the speed although you have to be fast to use this technique," said Ken.
"What technique is this?" asked Reon.
"This is my Nightmare Dagger Technique." Ken replied.
"The trick isn't in speed, but rhythm."
"The first slash, called the warning slash, is a feint. Then after conditioning your opponent to respond to a certain rhythm, you break the rhythm and explosively strike them before they even realize what's happening."
"I actually developed this technique after sparring with a warrior from the country of warriors, Akram."
"He was so skillful, that he could perfectly predict and disrupt a person's fighting rhythm, which made it almost impossible for someone to tell which way his attacks would come from. This technique was made to try to emulate that man's talent into my weapon."
Ken was pleased to see that Reon was wide eyed, taking in everything he was teaching.
"You see Reon, there are many more powerful, and talented warriors out there just like that! That is why we must always improve ourselves, or they will surely surpass us!"