"Do you always use a sword?" Karl tilted his head while looking at Brand.
"Why? Was there a problem?" Brand replied. Now that he thought about it, what weapon did Essen use?
"Hmm, I guess people forgot even their preferred weapons with amnesia?" Karl was sceptical, but he let it slide. He just wanted to test Brand's skill.
He picked up a wooden spear, went up to the courtyard meant for sparring. The warriors who were training there made way for Karl. Their eyes were full of anticipation.
Lena's expression changed as Karl made his way to the training ground.
'Did she get excited with every spear user she met? Or was it Karl that piqued her interest?'
Karl steadied his breathing and started brandishing his spear against the ground. This was his habit before a fight, solely to intimidate his opponents.
'That's a great way to start a fight with.'
Brand thought that he could adapt the concept of intimidation in his fighting as well.
Meanwhile, there were some other young trainee warriors leaning out of the training facilities' window to get a better view. Some of them even went down to watch the spar.
"It had been a long time since I witnessed an elder sparred."
"That's because no one wanted to spar with him."
"His opponents ended up bedridden for days!"
They seemed to respect Karl deeply. But Brand couldn't help but think, could the wooden sword cause such significant damage that it would require days to recover?
'Maybe he was using body-based skills like Ed? His body was the weapon?'
Brand looked at them briefly before a female trainee caught his attention. She has long red hair with a white ribbon. She was kinda cute, but her eyes looked fierce, like a predator.
"She's Ruby." Karl noticed Brand's lingering gaze on her. "She's quite a hot temperament."
"Ahh… but why're you telling me?" Brand couldn't let his guard down for a different reason now. This guy managed to catch that? His sight only paused for a short while.
"She's pretty, but let's focus on Karl, okay?" Seraphine giggled.
"With that being said, let's start." Brand readied his weapon and stepped onto the training ground. Lena seemed to be more frustrated than before.
Was it after she heard Brand was checking Ruby?
Probably because she wanted to go to the inn sooner, right?
Nevertheless, Brand was now facing Karl.
***
Before a fight started, he always checked on the opponent's level. But after the battle with the trios, he realized that level did not dictate the strength of an opponent.
If so, could he know the strength of an opponent before the fight?
Lena was an exceptional opponent. Throughout the whole fight, she was just exerting enough force to subdue Brand. Strictly speaking, Seraphine also mentioned that she was using incompatible weapons and skills to keep up the disguise.
How about Karl?
When Karl swung his spear against the ground, Brand could feel the intimidating spread out from him, which was akin to a savage beast. He didn't even apply aura yet, nor was he executing combat arts. This was just a warm-up.
[Karl Rok - Lv 12]
[Successor of Wolf Fang Clan]
Even GHOST treated him differently. He had a favour text which the trio didn't have.
His levels were comparably higher than the trios ' and significantly higher than his own.
How about his potential?
Seraphine mentioned that he needed to fight opponents with high growth potential to gain experience to level up.
"Each region has their own way of differentiating the ranks," Seraphine explained. "To keep it simple, check this table I made for you."
==========
Potential Rank:
(Rank - Description)
S - Dragon
A - Chief
B - Elder
C - Warrior
D - Captain
E - Youngster
==========
"We keep the Rank to standardise it across different regions, but each region has their own descriptions for an individual strength." Seraphine continued.
"For example, the human kingdom referred to A-Rank as Hero instead of Chief."
"You get what I mean?" Seraphine explained further to let Brand know that he was unique. "They don't have a System to tell the level of a person, nor the potential."
"The people in this world refer to the rank as some sort of Title, to acknowledge the strength of an individual." Seraphine continued.
"So that's why he was referred to as an elder even though he was so young?" Brand asked. Karl looked like someone in his early twenties, around the same age as him.
"Thus, the World rewards me based on the rank of the opponent I defeated?" Brand asked.
"Bingo!" Seraphine exclaimed.
"You should know by now, but GHOST was not a native system to this world," she whispered.
"Could I at least check the potential of an opponent?" Brand wondered if the GHOST could be upgraded to detect more than just name and level.
"That'll be when you reach Core Lv. 2, okay?" Seraphine reassured him.
He would get a better chance if he could check the opponents' stats and levels. 35 more Karma Points before reaching Lv 2.
==============
GHOST Core: Lv. 1
- 15/50 Karma to Lv 2
==============
"I'm a kind angel who takes good care of others, so I'll let you know Karls' rank," Seraphine exclaimed. "He was B-rank."
Brand nodded, absorbing the information he just received. He forgot to ask about the trios, but he felt they were only around E or D ranks.
Okay, enough on the scouting then.
"I'm ready, thanks for waiting." Brand expressed his gratitude to Karl, who just stayed silent while he was doing his monologues.
At least that was how others saw him, because they couldn't see or hear Seraphine.
"He did that from time to time," Lena told Brand about his peculiar behaviour of suddenly nodding and talking to the thin air.
But she kept a secret, where Brand showed a heightened sense suddenly, as if he was possessed. He could see her attack coming even though he was meditating with closed eyes.
"It's okay, you could be weird if you're strong." Karl has his own logic, which made him unfazed. "Please don't disappoint me."
Energy burst out from Karl, striking against the training ground's floor slab. Brand could see visible cracks formed as the sparks of energy hit the floor.
He was surprised that there were so many applications of aura. Lena and Edd used their aura to strengthen their weapons, Ed and Eddy strengthened their body with aura.
Now, Karl was using it as an area of effect skill, which covered his body and let him be part of the attack. His aura was radiating from his body like a storm.
Karl dashed toward Brand, spear thrust forward. Before Brand could react, the attack swept past him like a raging storm, leaving a crackling aura lingering in the air.