He opened his eyes, feeling like he heard his name was being called by someone. No, he was wrong. The voice didn't belong to just one person. It was a collective echo, filled with various emotions.
Nevertheless, they were all calling out his name.
"Silas."
Strange. It is not my name. What is going on? Ahh..It is too bright.
He lifted up his hand and shielded his eyes from the light. He blinked a few times adjusting to the strange feeling he was experiencing.
Huh? My arm is not broken. Even my fingernails are intact as well. Is this a dream?
He looked around, trying to grasp his situation. Even though his mind was now clouded, he could still push through with sheer will.
Okay. Clear your mind. Relax. Block out the unnecessary noise. My name is …. Nevermind… let's look at the situation first.
He was laying on the green grass and shattered glasses surrounded him. Judging by the moonlight, the time was around 10 pm.
He slowly stood up. Another wave of voices echoed in his ears. He patted his body and frowned. Even though his arms and legs weren't broken, he was in terrible pain.
There were a few small shards of glasses embedding inside his skin. Ignoring them,he turned his head toward the direction of the noise.
His eyes lowered as he observed.
He understood it. He had been thrown or pushed into the window. How did he know? It was simple. There was a young man staring at him with anger in his eyes.
He squinted his eyes and looked at the wooden sword the young man was holding. Without a doubt, it was high quality. He could tell it instantly.
The con man's heart inside his chest was beating loudly.
Wait, wait. What is really going on? Is it a prank? Am I hallucinating? I was supposed to be captured by the mafia.
He refused to believe that he died. But now was not the time to dwell on that as the young man jumped through the broken window and landed perfectly on the grass.
The young man raised his wooden sword and aimed the tip at him.
"Silas Viremont." The young man called out, his voice filled with unfiltered hatred.
The con man frowned, not liking the fact that he was mistaken by someone else. He searched for the name Silas but he couldn't find any memory relating to it. And there was no way he used this name for a scam.
"I am not Silas." He said, lifting up both hands.
"Playing dumb!? Who do you think I am? You insult my fiance. Accept my challenge." The young man yelled, swinging his sword in the air.
He nodded slowly, his eyes moving past the young man. There were many people staring at them. The strangest part was not the fact that there were no phones recording this incident.
It was their clothing.
What he found strange was that they all wore very expensive clothes. And it was all very formal style.
This is like a noble gathering party. He remarked.
"It is okay, Dulua." A soft feminine voice called out.
As soon as the voice came, the crowd gave her the way. A young girl with a pale complexion came forward, biting her lips. She looked innocent and pure. Those were the words that came to his mind concerning her.
She should be easy to deceive.
"It is not okay, Juniet." Dulua said, without turning back. "He insulted you. And he must pay the price for that."
"We are in the Lord Viremont household." Juniet yelled. "We can't cause anymore problems for our families. Come back to my side, darling."
Dulua hesitated and finally dropped his wooden sword.
Seeing the conflict dying down without his interference, he let out a small sigh. It was good. Violence only brought pain. And he despised pain.
Just as Dulua was about to turn away from this conflict, a sharp voice passed through. The voice carried a powerful authority.
"You may fight the son of Viremont."
He frowned.
Who the hell is starting up a fire? He searched for the source of the voice but didn't find anyone unusual. But he noticed Dulua looking up. More specifically, he was staring at the roof of the building.
Ah, he caught the glance of the person standing on top of the roof. Though it was dark, the moonlight revealed the outline of the person.
The person was tall and huge. The cloak fluttered behind her back.
Feeling the glances of the crowd, she jumped.
Woah….Seriously, it is two stories tall. She is going to hurt herself. Should I catch her?
Without thinking, he spread his arms, trying to catch her but before she crashed to the ground. She flipped and twisted her body, landing softly on the ground.
Oh..she is seriously tall. I have never seen someone towering over me before. And how is she moving like that? This is not an action movie.
She turned toward his direction and walked toward the middle. Embarrassed by his decision, he awkwardly lowered his arms.
Calm. Calm. Calm. I don't know how I got myself into this mess but I can handle it. I already know the general outline of the situation.
"Look at me, Silas." The woman called out.
Again with that name.
He could feel his patience running low. He decided to rebuke that.
"Stop with… Ouch!"
A sharp pain on his forehead interrupted him. He rubbed his head and looked at the woman who was blowing her finger. She flickered his forehead.
He didn't see her movement, how did she do that?
He finally took a long good look at her. Now that she came to the light, he saw her entire outfit. Her complexion was dark, likely tanned by the sun.
She must be an outdoor person or her job demanded this kind of lifestyle. And the most glaring part of her outfit was that she didn't wear any shirt. Her body was warped by a layer of bandages.
At least, she wore a cloak to cover up. But the cloak did little work to shield her giant breast from spilling out.
The overall impression he got from her was that she was carefree.
What do they call her type? Think. Ah…. Tomboy.
"Good." She nodded at him and turned around facing Dulua. "Don't worry about my family. I will oversee this little duel."
"Dulua." Juniet called anxiously.
Dulua ignored his finance and bowed toward the tall woman. He then spoke, voice filled with gratitude and admiration.
"I am honored to see Lady Viremont."
The woman nodded and took a step back. "Alright. Come. Come. Make a circle."
Dulua followed her instruction and stepped forward, his hand clenching his wooden sword tightly.
Seeing that he was not entering inside the fighting range, the woman gave him a glance. The con man felt his body shiver uncontrollably. Dread coiled inside his heart, hugging him tightly.
Unable to bear that, he took a step forward reluctantly.
The woman nodded and gave him something. He caught the object in reflex. It was a wooden sword. A similar quality to the one in Dulua's hand.
How did it appear in her hand? I don't see her carrying this sword. Sleight of hands? Impressive.
"In order to start this duel I need an explanation. State your reason, challenger." The woman stated.
Dulua nodded and swung his sword, taking a fighting stance. "I am Dulua Gillter, heir of Gillter of the south. Today, I came to celebrate the son of Viremont's eighteenth birthday but was insulted by the man. I wanted him to apologize for his cruel words."
The woman nodded, not caring for Dulua's reason at all. She just wanted to enjoy the beating.
I don't understand at all.
Despite not knowing the reason why he was here, the con man sighed. He lifted up his hand and said, "I give you my heartfelt apology. Excuse my bad behavior, I don't mean the words I said."
For a moment, Dulua flinched. After all, his target just told him that he was sorry. Of he continued to pursue this matter, he would be wrong. His finance also wanted to drop this matter.
Continuing to pursue this will result in him being the bad one.
He growled and was about to drop it when. A sharp voice cut through.
"Doesn't matter." The tall woman said with a smile. "Fight."
"Huh?!"
Both men exclaimed in confusion.
Is this woman crazy? Who would want an unnecessary fight.
Just as the con man was about to rebuke, the woman interrupted again. Seems like that was her favorite way to communicate.
"If you don't fight, I will beat you two. And it won't be merciless." She grinned devilishly.
Dulua nodded and took a stance. The con man sighed and prepared as well. His instinct was telling him that the woman was more dangerous than Dulua.
If he had the choice between the two pain, he would choose the lesser pain. Besides, he was having a good feeling that he would win this fight.
"Good. Good. Excellent. I want to see more passion. Hahaha…!" The woman laughed.
"I will oversee this small duel. Therefore, no usage of mana, aura or magic of any kind. Although, I doubt the two of you can use aura. Nevertheless, this is a fight of skill and passion."
She snapped her finger and shouted with authority. "Fight in the name of Zrron Kingdom."
The con man was puzzled by her statement. Magic? Mana! What the hell is going on? Don't tell me… Zrron… that name sounds familiar.
His eyes widened as he began to click all the puzzles inside his head. Then a wave of information rushed toward him, followed by a terrible headache.
It was like his head was split apart and sawed by a rusted chainsaw.
Not knowing the terrible pain he was in, Dulua rushed forward and swung his wooden sword toward the unguarded head.
BAAM!
With a smack to his head, the con man fell to the ground. He saw the stars spinning, dancing. The sky flipped over.
Before he lost his consciousness, he heard a small whisper from the tall woman.
"Ah.. that is anticlimactic. Well anyway, you all can go now. The party is over. Go. Go."