CHAPTER 19: PREPARATION

The next two days were a blur of sweat and shadow. After agreeing to duel an A-Rank Awakened Reaper for his weapon, I focused more than I had ever. The low level gates dotting across the outskirts of town were leaking shadow creatures.

My squad were still tasked clearing them out, but it wasn’t just a cleanup for me, I was sharpening my myself, grinding every kill to home my skills and claw my way up the levels. The Reaper’s bone white daggers were my goal and they haunted my thoughts, knowing fully well I’d need every edge I could get to face an A-Rank Awakened in a duel.

Each morning, I arrived at the border before dawn hours, before my teammates dragged themselves out of bed. The air was always crisp around that time and heavy with the scent of damp soil and faint traces of Arcane residue from the gates.

I started my expedition without them, with Pyro and Cryo, my new Arcane pets by my side. Pyro soon realized to be a sleek fire wreathed hound with a temper to match, it snapped st the shadows with bursts of flame. Cryo on the other hand moved like a ghost, freezing enemies in their tracks. They were more than pets now, they were extensions of my will, and I didn’t every spare moment drilling battle strategies with them.

"Pyro, flank left! Cryo, hold the center!" I’d bark, weaving through a pack of shadow creatures. Every kill pushed my system stats a little higher, I was fighting now not just to survive but to close the gap between me and that smug Reaper.

I knew the odds.

An A-Rank Awakened was a monster in human skin, with tears of experience as a Reaper and power I could only dream of. My magic was unclassified, raw and very much unpredictable, but I’d learned one thing from scraping by; raw power didn’t win fights, especially when it’s against someone far stronger than you... Cunning did. I’d need to out smart him, to turn his strength against him.

By the evening of the second day, my muscles ached, and my clothes were came in dirt. The cleanup group was wrapping up for the evening. Dasheen suddenly clasped me on the shoulder while I was busy picking up Anti-arcane stones.

"You’ve been pushing hard, Levi," he said with a warm voice. "What’s got you so fired up? You’re out here before us svd staying after we’re gone... You realize the entrance to the RAA is still a month away right?"

I hesitated, I initially didn’t want to tell him what I had going on, but I looked down at my sword which was now even more chipped than it was and glanced back up at him.

"I agreed to duel someone tomorrow," I admitted. "An A-Rank Reaper and I need to be ready."

Dasheen’s eyes shot up, but he didn’t laugh or yell or kick me like the tavern crowd. Instead, he studied me with a stern gaze. "You just don’t know when to quit boy... Do you. That’s a death wish, kid."

"Maybe," I said, meeting his gaze squarely. "But I’m not backing down. I need to get what he has and the only way to do that is to duel him for it..." I gestured to my chipped sword, it’s edge was duller than my brother’s dinner knives.

Dasheen grunted, then rummaged through his pack, and came up with a sturdy dagger, it blade gleaming with a faint blue sheen. It was decent, but nothing like the Reaper’s bone-white fangs.

"Best I can spare, it’s yours from now on, probably should have given it to you earlier." he said having it to me. "I call it Cobra’s tongue, because it has a venom effect of you use it to stab someone. It’s no artifact, but I’ll hold up better than that scrap you’re carrying... Make sure you don’t die, Levi."

I held the blade, unsheathed it and tested it’s weight. It was balanced, solid, but it paled in comparison to the Reaper’s weapons. Still, it was something. "Thanks Dasheen," I said, tucking it into my belt. "I owe you..."

"You owe me by staying alive punk," he shot back almost immediately, already turning to leave. "If you die, I’ll kill you."

»»»«««

The morning of the duel arrived, and I woke up with the dawn, I moved through my usual drills like clockwork. I stretched, ran through basic sword forms and practiced with the blade Dasheen gave me— Cobra’s tongue.

The system’s interface flickered in my vision and I pulled up my stats. I was no at a decent Level 20, with my Strength, agility and endurance climbing steadily from the past two days of grinding. It was still not enough to match an A-Rank, but enough to hold my own. I hoped.

I packed lightly as usual, Dasheen’s dagger and a small bag of Anti-arcane stones for whenever I run out of Arcane energy, I can easily absorb and fill up.

The walk to the abandoned boarding school was eerily quiet especially because it was so early. The slushy terrain squelched under my boots, the air was heavy with the scent of decay and old magic. On getting to the widely open gate of the school, I realized it was in its sense abandoned.

The windows were broken and the walls were crumbling casting jagged shadows as the sun began to rise from behind the horizon.

I stood in the courtyard, my heart pounding with anticipation as I started to wonder if the Reaper was a no show.