In the ages of when Atlanta was first made by the hands of God, conflict has risen through the very nature of what lead man to achieve strength.

Conflict was what ignited the flames of a man’s desperation to survive.

It may have started through a simple spat between man and woman, or a petty brawl from two children competing for their own simple ways, or maybe it was the very war that grew from the old world who gained knowledge of the world of Atlanta. But nevertheless, conflict was one that buried all hope for an everlasting peace and in exchange an ever so growing nature for the greed in the admiration for strength grew from the men and women who faced conflict each day.

It started then and it continues even to this day…

Some were lighthearted, but most, in a world that was bringing with power and magic, most conflicts were never as soft as what came along in a simple life.

In the world of Atlanta, conflicts were heavy, filled with a sense of rage, a sensible amount of pettiness and most of all, simply impossible to understand without exchanging a few blows. This sense of understanding came from the lesson left from the war many years ago…and it may never leave.

Standing in the middle of the training centre for first year’s was a flat grounded empty duel floor that was circular and had a radius of about 30 meters. This was the place meant for students to duel one another in their own reasons. Once a person is invited to a duel, the moment he accepts it, he must go through the invitation and to it, with the written terms of their agreement, only one must come out victorious.

Conner O’neil was the person who invited and initiated the duel between him and Jason Emory.

In the agreement that the winner gets to give order to the loser, it may seem like a simple reward, but what hangs in the end of this bout was the respect and order that the winner would accomplish.

Jason had to win at all cost…

Conner was just as greedy to his core as ever…

Both wanted to win…but the position for a winner was only available to only one person.

Before the duel has even started, already, a hundred students had flocked to the training center to watch the upcoming battle between the wild-handed Conner O’neil who was the fifth ranked student overall the other students in the first year batch and was also very infamous for his anger and talent in a fight. Against him was Jason Emory, the third ranked student in the first year’s batch. With a strong hold and understanding on both the magic usage and swordsmanship, Jason Emory was no pushover.

He earned his rank rightfully soo…

And if one were to compare their strength against one another it would be more favored to think that Jason would win since his rank was above Conner…but that isn’t the whole truth.

Although Jason may have fought with the sword all his entire life as a hunter, the point of his ever so growing strength simply came from fighting in dungeons against monster…fighting a man was entirely different. It was rare for him to pick up his sword against a human and fight to kill, but nonetheless he could prepare himself. He was strong…he was strong as hunter, nothing else.

As for Conner, he was a madman when it comes to fighting. Like a raging bull, once he gets started, the only thing to ever settle his rage was the fact that Jason would ultimately overpower him in some way or another…He was tough, he was strong…and he’s battle experience was one that completely dominates over Jason when it comes to fighting a man against another man. He even once took a life under the alleys of the city.

Orthodox against the Unorthodox…it would simply be a fool’s game to wonder which one of them could ultimately come out winning in this duel.

If Jason had any chance of ever winning this duel, he had to hunt a man…he had to hunt Conner as if he was nothing more than a beast in the dungeon.

***

The crowd cheered as they saw that the duel was finally about to start…in it, the two names were chanted non stop.

““Conner!”” ““Conner!”” ““Conner!”” ““Conner!””

“Jason!!” “Jason!!” “Jason!!” “Jason!!” “Jason!!”

It was so heavy, the scream came non stop as they began to see the two combatants walk up to the stage.

On the left was Conner who wore nothing to wear but a pair boxing shorts and his bare fists wrapped in bandages as well as a pair of iron knuckles. This was his signature weapon and look. Like that of a muay Thai fighter, he was oozing with so much pressure, no could ignore his presence. Iron knuckles paired with his rock hard fist was something he was recognized for since he gained the image of being a wild-handed brawler.

He favored flexibility, agility and speed most of all in terms of a combat prowess. His level of magic was above average…something comparable to that of Jason, but his only mastery for the spells was Mana Detection and Mana Reinforcement, both spells that would greatly improve in his fighting capabilities.

On the right end of the stage was Jason who carried nothing but a full suit of the standard academy armor provided by the school, and a standard sword also provided by the school. He simply put on what was given to him in his request for something sturdy and available…but despite the lack of flair in his armor, he was confident in himself that this was all that he could need.

In the middle came the a teacher that was chosen to assist the duel between the students. He had no bias towards the two, so he was perfectly allowed to act as the referee.

“By the laws of the academy and the laws of a warriors code, a duel has been set in today’s manner. On the left is Conner O’neil, fifth ranking student overall and on the right is Jason Emory, third ranking student overall. You two have decided on your own terms that you will commit to this duel…and that the winner will have his say towards the other.”

“And although your win grants as a right for your request, there are some wishes that cannot be allowed under the laws of the academy. No death shall be committed in this duel in an act of intention and no requests towards death of any kind. Other than that, any request will be granted under reason.”

“Once I ring the bell, the battle shall commence. You have fifteen minutes before the bell rings again, where once it is done, the battle has ended…no rest are given and no timeouts are made, so this fight will continue on for fifteen minutes straight. If there are no defeats yet made after those fifteen minutes of passing, I shall be the once to choose the winner of this duel. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes.” said Jason, while Conner simply nodded his head in affirmation.

“Good…with that said and agreed upon, let the duel commence!”

*TING!!*

The bell rang and with it, Conner quickly made his step forward. Dashing through, his first step caused a crater of power that simply broke the floors with ease.

*Thug!*

His feet were heavy, yet his launch was true and fast…

So much so, that it seemed like he was coming at Jason like a straight arrow, but to Jason’s awareness, he quickly took caution and action by not feeling threatened by Conner rush, instead he thrusted his sword so fast like a spear, that it he was able to break the sound barrier with the tip of his sword. With it, he launched a force of pressure so fast that without caution, Conner was instantly struck down by the sword without even knowing that he was struck down.

“!?”

In the moment that the sword tip was able to reach him, he was able to see the sword pierce through the right side of his stomach. Like that of a slow motioned scene, he could feel his flesh tearing away because of the sword, so to bare less damage, he had to dodge as much as he could. But he barely had enough power to stop himself in his rushing pace. The only thing he could do was weave to the left and try to see put as much distance as he could to observe Jason’s reaction in his accomplishment in being able to put in the first hit.

“…” Conner was silent in his observation towards Jason.

‘Well…he didn’t just get that third rank for nothing. I was careless…to think that he had the speed to actually make me dodge…or is it just his hands that were fast…lets test it out.’

In his mind, he thought that maybe Jason was fast with wielding the sword, maybe it was different with his legs altogether. This was usually the case for people who carry a sword. Their swings were just that faster compared to their legs…

In his next attempt to attack, he wanted to rush again but only this time, he had to stop at a distance where the reach of Jason’s sword would barely reach him.

But to his attempt, the moment he launched himself, he was meet with a beaming surge of light coming to his way…

“!?”

It was an spell called the mana cannon, and to it, he amazed to see the chanting speed behind that attack. Just barely under 0.8 seconds, and the attack was already fired like it was nothing. And most of all, it was chant-less. No words were said in this attack.

He had to dodge quick…

And as such, instead of rushing forward, he rushed sidewards.

He was able to dodge, and as he dodge, he had the attempt to rush him again, since Jason wasn’t yet finished. During his rush, he quickly casted mana reinforcement into both his fist. Strengthening them at three times his usual power…

And yet to his attempt, of rushing in, Jason had another way of using his mana cannon.

By simply turning the direction of his attack, the mana cannon, a straight beam of light, simply adored and followed his way without effort. His direction, the target who he aimed it was none other than Conner himself.

“!?”with the beam of mana that was powerful enough to inflict massive damage to him, caused him to jump at a rather large leap.

“!!” Jason was shocked to see Conner be able to dodge his move, not once has he done this to a human before, yet using it against Conner for the first time, he thought that he had done it, but to his expectations, they were instantly broken.

In the high crossing airs above, he saw Conner fill himself with an enormous amount of magic surrounding his body.

‘…Mana reinforcement!’

A concentration of mana was made…and it all gathered on just one spot altogether.

On Conner’s right fist.

There, as Conner started to descent with his fist first, Jason knew that this attack was going to have a wide range of effect on not just him but the stage as well. So he had to escape his attack right away.

He leaped away to the side from his spot at a dash of a second and was able to distance himself with about five meters away from Conner’s falling descent, but as he see’s Conner fall from above, he suddenly saw a smirk on Conner’s expression.

He felt quite an ominous sight as he was backing away, and to it, in a burst of power, a sudden cracking within the air was heard and Conner had disappeared from his spot, only to appear a second later right in front of Jason’s face.

“!?”

Shocked and surprised, Jason was to slow to react of what was to happen next.

“Thuck!*

Conner’s fist struck down directly at Jason’s face and to this attack, Jason was slammed straight down to the floor. His head was forced deep down the floor and to it,

*BOOM!*

The attack was strong…strong enough to even cause a small quake on the stage. With his attack made, clouds and dust were seen in the air…

The audience were quite shocked by what just happened…

And yet somehow, a person in the crowd shouted something.

“There it is! The Vanishing Flash Step! He finally used it!” said a boy in one of the crowds of students.

“The Vanishing Flash Step? Is it a skill?” asked one of the girls…

The Vanishing Flash Step was a skill rarely used by warriors, but was commonly used by assassin type hunters. By using the skill, it would cause the hunter the ability to dash at any direction at incredible speeds, even in the middle of the sky/air. The speed of this skill was so fast that it would likely cause some lower leveled hunters to think that they had vanished from their spot.

And to it, Conner showed off in front of the whole crowd in his victory with his skill.

“See this everybody! This is how the strong is! Jason, the hero that some of you thought was going to win, lost to me! It proves that nothing is at it seems to be…I am just simply that strong.” he boasted his win…like that of a egotistical man.

Before the duel had even started, Conner had thought of simply playing with Jason by his impressive speed and agility, as it would demonstrate his strength compared to someone like Jason, but during the battle, once he knew just how strong Jason was and how fast he could react to his normal speed, he had to show another way to let the people know just how strong he was…the decision he came to in the end was simply to finish Jason off with just one strike.

A strike that would remain memorable to all.

And that he did…

But as he stood feeling victorious than ever before, he suddenly heard the cracking noise coming from the floor, to it, he leaned back and saw that Jason had already recovered from his attack.

“What!? How can this be!?” he said, ever so shocked.

“…Damn it, it looks like your were as strong as you said you were. I feel like its my fault for underestimating you. My bad…”

“…That strike from the above could have easily caused a coma for a student…how are you still conscious!?”

“…I’m sorry, but I’ve faced more dangerous monsters and took more hits from heavy bastards in the dungeon than what you just did. But don’t be too disappointed, you were just as strong as they were…”

“A monster as strong as me!?”

“Yeah…but its nice though, unlike them, you get to live.” in the threat that came from his voice, a pressure surrounding suddenly appeared, and to it, he chanted his skill. Something that he would only ever make in the dungeons.

“Arcane Sword Arts: 1^st Blooming Sword .”

In that simple but eire chant granted the entire stage some sort of heavy pressure…and to it, Conner saw something quite terrifying. A blade that was once made of metal and wood, turned into a fierce sword that was emitting some sort of magical energy unlike any normal magic one would find in Atlanta. It was heavy and alive at the same time.

“…What is this skill, I’ve never heard of such an ability!?” screamed Conner.

“Its one of the more rare skills found in dungeons. I was just lucky enough to claim the Arcane arts. If you want to know more…take a step, and I’ll show you.”

In that threat, Conner felt mocked and embarrassed. So to act as mighty and as brave as he thought he could, he took his step, but the moment he did so, he felt an overwhelming change of pressure altogether.

“!!?”

What followed was a spill of blood that caused Conner to freeze on the spot.