章 23: Chapter 23

—Next Day—

Heading to the Adventurer's Guild the following morning, Nicholas and an army of Guild Receptionists were waiting for us at the front door. Handing me my Adventurer ID Card, as promised, Nicholas informed me that I held the prestige of being the only living adventurer to have cleared a Rank 5 dungeon.

"As an S-Ranked adventurer, the Kingdom and Adventurer's Guild have high hopes for your future. Given how quickly you cleared the most feared dungeon in our nation, the Crown has officially placed a request with us to have you clear all the Rank 4 and 5 dungeons in our borders.", Nicholas said, producing a signed royal decree from the pouch on his hip, "To help mitigate any potential issues as you travel, you will be acting in an official capacity as a representative of the Crown."

"I know they want the dungeons dealt with, but this is a bit extreme, is it not?", I inquired.

"Oh no, this was necessary for two reasons. First, Monster Stampedes are the biggest threat to our country right now. We have three dungeons that could have one start in the next two weeks, that is your highest priority for the moment. After that, you can clear them as you have the time.", Nicholas explained, "Secondly, this decree will help keep the nobility off your back. As you may have already realized, all of your achievements will make you a target of the nobility. Any household that can snag you will become incredibly influential so be prepared when you go to the Academy."

"I am well aware…", I sighed, "By the way, how difficult would it be to change my name? My household name was already in bad shape, because of my father's cowardice, and after what Rutart did yesterday…I am certain it is completely trashed now."

"Ah yes…I heard about that…", Nicholas groaned, "It will not be that difficult, since you are so young, but that is something for the Crown to handle. I can let them know you are interested so they can get the ball rolling. Now then, on to the fun part! Can you show us all the goods you have from the dungeon?"

Nodding my head, I put my ID and the royal decree in my Item Box and headed inside with Nicholas. Emptying a small portion of everything I had collected in their underground warehouse, my loot filled all the shelving and crates in their ten thousand square foot facility. Leaving them to do their work, we continued to the Academy for my duel with Rutart.

—Noon—

Parting ways with Lucoa and Roxanne, they sat in the stands with most of the student body while I stepped out into the arena. Finding my idiot eldest brother being helped into his expensive Mithril chainmail and armored suit, I wondered how much it cost my father. Deciding to repurpose the metal, I pondered what I would make with it after I reduced it to scrap.

"I am happy to see that you did not chicken out!", Rutart snapped, as Zola's servant adjusted his chainmail.

"Funny, I thought you would be at home cowering under your bed after how our last duel ended.", I retorted.

Glaring at me, as some of his classmates began laughing at him, Rutart quickly laid out the rules for this duel.

"We are only allowed to use our fists, magic, and swords to fight. No Lost Items!", Rutart shouted, while wearing a mischievous smile.

"Very well, fine by me.", I agreed, 'I bet you think Lost Items are the only reason I cleared the dungeon. The truth is, they only helped speed up clearing it. Clearing it without Lost Items would have taken longer, but was certainly possible.'

Pulling out the original three Steel Swords I made, I affixed them to my right hip. Taking my coat off, I decided to run with just my white dress shirt, dress pants, and comfortable shoes. Noticing that I was not going to use any armor, Rutart gave me a confused look and asked what I thought I was doing.

"You do know this is a duel to the death, right? Why are you not putting on any armor?", he inquired, "Even a moron like you should understand the importance of armor."

"You only need to wear armor when there is a genuine threat around.", I snickered, causing his classmates to gasp and whisper amongst themselves, "Judging by how much equipment you have, you must be petrified of fighting me. It is good to see that you are not a complete idiot."

Grinding his teeth together in anger, Rutart put on a Sacrificial Misanga before being helped into his plate armor. Ensuring that all the buckles and straps were secure, Zola's servant handed Rutart a massive Mithril Greatsword. Swinging it around a few times, in a futile attempt to intimidate me, I just looked at him with an unamused expression. Quickly retreating to his master's side, Rutart and I stood there waiting for the officiate to arrive.

"I am here, sorry for the delay!", the officiate said, hurrying to his seat on the edge of the arena, "Alright, I trust both parties are aware of the rules for this duel. This duel to death can only be stopped when one of you has expired, it cannot be stopped any other way. Do both of you understand and agree?"

"Yes sir.", I acknowledged.

"Whatever, let us get this started!", Rutart snarled.

Taking a moment to confirm we were far enough apart for his liking, the officiate lifted his hand into the air and gave us one final statement.

"Alright, fight to the utmost of your abilities. Begin!", the officiate shouted, dropping his hand to signal the start of the match.

—3rd Person POV—

Sitting in the Duke's private booth with his father, Gilbert Rapha Redgrave closely examined the two boys about to fight to the death. Having come at his father's request, Gilbert was curious why he had been asked to come here. He had heard that two brothers were dueling each other to the death, over a girl, but that was all he knew.

"Father, does this squabble between brothers involve us in some way?", Gilbert inquired.

"Normally, I would not even consider coming to an event like this but the younger brother has the capital in an uproar. As you likely have heard, the Flying Dutchman's Dungeon was cleared single-handedly a few days ago by Leon Fou Bartfort. Do you know who is fighting here today?", Vince asked his son.

"Rutart Fou Bartfort and Leon Fou Bartfort…", Gilbert replied, "Wait, that twelve year old boy cleared a Rank 5 dungeon alone!?"

"Reportedly in four days, yes.", Vince acknowledged, glancing over at Leon, "As you may have noticed, many noble families are in attendance today to observe Leon closely. Everyone is curious to know if he cleared it only because of his Lost Items, or if he is a monster in the body of a young boy."

Having noticed the other nobles in attendance, Gilbert had assumed there was another event being held afterward that had brought everyone here. Understanding now that they were here to see if the Holfort Prodigy lived up to his name, he silently sat beside his father and watched the fight closely.

As soon as the officiate started the match, Rutart activated the physical enhancement enchantment imbued into his plate armor and charged at Leon. Whipping his greatsword around, Rutart leaped into the air and threw everything into a slash aimed for the top of Leon's head. Slamming into the ground as he landed, the impact kicked up a large amount of dust which obscured everyone's view for a few moments. As the wind blew the cloud away, everyone was stunned by what they saw.

'No way…I am certain I hit him!!', Rutart thought, as a chill ran down his spine.

Staring at the ground, the tip of his blade had come to a stop just millimeters from Leon's right foot. Noticing that Leon had not moved during his attack, Rutart was left dumbfounded as there was no way he should have missed like that.

"All that showboating and bragging only to miss me by a hair's breadth. You disappoint me Rutart.", Leon said, pointing his left index finger at Rutart.

Before Rutart could utter a response, Leon blasted him with a powerful Force Blast that sent Rutart skipping across the arena. Slamming into the thick, stone wall, he sunk into it a few feet before falling to the ground.

"Father…what was that?", Gilbert inquired, staring at Leon in shock, "Rutart's attack missed Leon, and then Leon knocked him away somehow. He did not lay a finger on Rutart or utter a magic chant!!"

'So Guildmaster Nicholas was not exaggerating, Leon is truly a monster in the body of a child. Even I misjudged where Leon had been standing, and I have fought countless battles across our nation. For a twelve year old boy to throw off my perception without the use of a Lost Item or magic…maybe there is some hope left for our nation yet.', Vince thought, as a smile crept onto his face, "I am not sure about how he knocked him away, but I am certain of what Leon did to avoid the attack. He made Rutart believe he was in a different location than he truly was. I have seen it only performed by high-level swordsmen like Earl Arclight, it is a skill that can only be learned through hard work and training."

"How is that possible without magic though?", Gilbert asked.

"He effectively projected his presence to another location rendering himself imperceivable by Rutart. I did not realize it until after Rutart's attack missed, to be honest.", Vince informed him.

As Rutart began to stagger back to his feet, Leon drew his three blades from their sheath. Holding one of them with his teeth, the other two he had in both hands. Squatting into a sprinting position, Leon suddenly disappeared from everyone's view as the ground beneath where he had been exploded. Reappearing in front of Rutart, the elder brother had no time to react to what was coming.

'This is for all the families you tore apart for the sake of getting Roxanne! Rengoku Oni Giri!', Leon thought, unleashing the devastating attack on Rutart.

Slicing through both the Mithril Plate Armor and Mithril Chainmail like butter, three huge gashes appeared in the wall behind Rutart. Blowing the ruined equipment away with the resulting air pressure, a torrent of blood began spraying Rutart's chest as he stumbled backward screaming in pain. Watching his blood pour out of the wounds Leon inflicted, Rutart haphazardly launched a flurry of half-baked spells at him to cover his escape.

"What?! How!?", Gibert shrieked, overwhelmed by Leon's display of strength and skill, "That was two layers of Mithril armor! How did he do that?!"

In the other private booths, the nobles who were in attendance were equally surprised by this development. Wanting to know what metal his blades were made of, some of them wondered if they were made of Orichalcum or Adamantine. While the nobles discussed things in private, the students in attendance became rowdy. The boys began demanding to know where Leon learned that sword style while many of the girls were upset he was not yet a student at the Academy. Listening to all of it, Roxanne looked at Lucoa with a startled expression.

"Since when has Leon been this powerful?! He has never done that before when we went dungeon crawling together.", Roxanne stated.

"I think he is purposefully just showing off for you.", Lucoa remarked, with a grin, 'Still though, this is way different than when he fought the Guildmaster. Did he learn something else down in the dungeon, or is this what he has always been capable of?'

Stumbling toward his mother, Rutart glanced at his Sacrificial Misanga to figure out why it had not activated. Finding it already broken inside his glove, he realized Leon's attack would have killed him twice over. Throwing his remaining bits of armor to the ground, Rutart continued blasting Leon with magic.

"Stay away from me!!", Rutart shouted, almost pleading in his tone.

"Do not cry and beg now, you were the one who demanded a rematch with me. Face your death with some dignity!", Leon remarked, blocking all of Rutart's attacks with swift slashes.

"I do not want to die!!", Rutart cried, discovering his attacks were not reaching Leon, "I am sorry, take your whores and let me-"

Picking up the discarded mythril sword with the Force, Leon flicked the sword at Rutart's back. Impaling him through the chest, Rutart slammed into the wall beneath where Zola and her servant were sitting. Thrashing around trying to break free, her son pleaded with her to do something because he was about to die.

"MOTHER, PLEASE HELP ME!!!", Rutart screamed, before coughing up a mouthful of blood, "I DO NOT WANT TO DIE!!"

"Leon, let your eldest brother go...", Zola demanded, still not completely there due to her concussion, "If you kill him, I will personally see to it that your brother Nicks and your whores die."

"I have tolerated you long enough...", Leon said, as he began to generate a large amount of Force Lightning, "All you had to do was leave me alone, instead, you tried to steal one of the most important people in my life from me. A bastard like you has no business interfering in my life or lives of my family anymore. Die here and now knowing that not one person is going to shed a tear of your death."

Unleashing a torrent of Force Lightning upon Rutart, his body began violently shaking as his skeletal structure became visible through his skin. Screaming like a banshee as his body began to crumble apart, his screams sent shivers down the spines of everyone who heard it. Reaching toward his mother one last time, Rutart's arm disintegrated followed by the rest of his body. Watching her son turn to ash, the color in Zola's face turned red with anger.

"I warned you brat!!", she said, looking toward her servant, "Find his whores, and- "

Seizing the two of them with the Force, Leon began squeezing the life out of them. Having waited for this very moment, he intended to show everyone that he did not give a damn about noble status or the hierarchy. If anyone came for the people he cherished, there was nothing anyone could do to stop him from killing them now. Pulling them out of the stands and forcing them to their knees, Zola and her servant glared at him.

"Just so you are aware Zola, I take great pleasure in being the one to kill you. I hope you enjoy your eternity in hell, bitch.", Leon remarked.

Generating a Force Storm, Leon disintegrated the flesh off of their bones leaving only a blackened skeleton behind. Feeling a wave of satisfaction wash over him, he looked up toward the crowd and stared at Zola's close associates.

"If anyone pursues this matter any further, you can join her in the afterlife. I am done playing nice with you bastards.", Leon warned them, before hitting them with a mental blast.

Watching them drop like flies, Leon sheathed my blades and turned back toward the officiate. Realizing that the man had passed out, he wondered if they had a backup to call the match.

"Ahem, as it appears the judge has fainted, I will call the match here.", Vince said, as the ranking noble there, "The winner is, Leon Fou Bartfort."

Happy to put this shitshow behind him, Leon joined Lucoa and Roxanne then headed off to get something to eat.