69. Duel
After hearing Elenoir's words, the first thing I asked was whether this duel was the kind of duel I knew.
"Yeah, it's a standard duel."
Elenoir knew I was an adventurer who wandered between dimensions, so she understood I might not be familiar with the common sense of this world. If even she was calling it a plain old duel, then it probably matched what I had in mind. A fight held publicly with witnesses to settle a matter of honor and decide a clear winner.
Elenoir went on to explain the duel with a few examples, and it all sounded pretty ordinary. I'd wondered if there might be some quirky elf-style rules, but apparently not.
Still, wasn't this decided way too suddenly? A duel involving royalty from two opposing races wasn't something to take lightly. They should've at least given me a heads-up.
"You're talking like that's not like you. Even if they'd given you warning, nothing would've changed."
"I could've at least prepared for it."
"Prepared? Against that scrawny little prince? What preparation?"
Elenoir snorted like I'd said something ridiculous. Thinking about it, she wasn't wrong. That high elf prince had gotten completely shut down by me right after I entered Floor 7, without landing a single hit. There was no way he could match me now, after I'd learned so much from Rizmel and Elenoir and grown even stronger.
"Sure, they'll pull some tricks, but it's not like petty schemes can bridge that gap in power."
"True enough."
"They might try setting rules that suit them or demanding handicaps—but at your level, it won't matter."
No one knew my abilities better than Elenoir, and she probably had a better read on that prince's strength than I did. If she was this confident there'd be no surprises, then there probably wouldn't be.
Though for the final quest on Floor 7, it felt a bit too easy. If you judged by the average challenger's strength on Floor 7, maybe not—but my current power? My raw stats alone put me at mid-20s Floor level, and factoring in skill, I was probably beyond a Floor 25 ranker.
Of course, whether a Floor 25 ranker like that spear idiot Choi Gil-hyun was a fair benchmark was debatable. The guy had the specs but goblin-level skill. Even rankers who bused low-floor newbies formed parties for boss fights. They had to smash the boss fast and clean to avoid variables hurting the noobs.
Choi Gil-hyun was probably just the one dumping party buffs and spamming skills for burst DPS. That's why the dumbass could only manage pokes with that spear.
Not a good standard for true strength, then. I couldn't flat-out claim I was beyond Floor 25 rankers. Still, I was way past Floor 7 level, so no worries this time.
But I was curious. Exactly how strong was I?
The duel date—decided without my input—was a full week away, plenty of time. But since it wasn't some epic showdown, I didn't bother with special duel prep training. Just my usual sword practice, meditation, and mana control drills that still weren't clicking great.
Otherwise, I hung out with Elenoir, spinning tales of dimension-hopping adventures or paying calls on the queen. The dark elf queen had a face much like Elenoir's, but she looked pretty worn out. I'd figured she'd hate me for trying to break off the engagement for peace's sake, but surprisingly, she didn't seem to.
Maybe she was just hiding it, but she treated me with cool, businesslike detachment. My eyes were more drawn to the world tree root crown on her head, pulsing with immense magic anyway.
A week passed like that.
Floor 7's layout made getting to the boss room dead simple, thanks to its nature. The open fields were rougher than any labyrinth. Finish the faction quest, and you could challenge the boss right away.
And that's what I planned. Sticking around the dark elf village too long would make me soft. Finish the duel, grab the reward, smash the boss, and head to Floor 8.
The Floor 7 boss wasn't great matchup for a melee fighter like me, but with guide-spec stats, it'd be a breeze. Elenoir might pout if I bounced too quick, but I couldn't linger on Floor 7 for that. We'd meet again on Floor 8 anyway.
Today, I was leaving Floor 7.
"Hoo..."
I finished my last training session, blending mana control, and caught my breath. A familiar presence approached from outside—that intense mana flow was definitely Elenoir.
"It's about time, my dear."
I said sure and stepped out. Plenty of time till the duel, but she'd called me early on purpose. Something about dressing up a bit for the romantic spectacle of two men fighting over one woman.
"Even their forest-dweller king will be watching. Gotta crush their smug noses, right?"
I wasn't thrilled, but I went along. "Dressing up" just meant sprucing up my combat armor a little. No hindrance to fighting.
"Perfect. Let's go."
Since the duel acceptor sets the place and rules, we had to head into high elf territory. Wary of tricks, several dark elf knights came as witnesses besides Elenoir. And since it was important, both the dark elf queen and high elf king would observe.
Rustle, rustle.
Pushing through the underbrush deep into the great forest, we soon ran into other high elves. My opponent, the prince himself, plus a few escort knights, had come to greet us.
Seemed like just knights were planned, but the prince showed too.
"Heh."
Spotting the prince, Elenoir deliberately plastered herself to my arm like a sticker.
"Kuh...!"
The prince ground his teeth, glaring daggers at me. Full of fight, huh.
Word was they'd known each other since childhood thanks to the engagement. Never thought I'd end up the blonde tanned homewrecker stealing someone's childhood friend.
Thud!
Mid-stare-down, one of the prince's escort knights lunged forward. Charging with bad intent, sharp sword in hand.
"Why the hell are you here, you filthy human swordsman?!"
Bellowing as he charged—it was that high elf knight I'd thrashed before.
The accompanying dark elf knights moved to intercept, but I stepped up first. No thoughts of conserving energy before the duel.
Clang!
I parried the knight's swinging blade and glanced around. The high elf prince looked shocked too, so it wasn't their plot. From his "why are you here" yell, he'd rushed ahead without knowing I was the opponent.
Then his side would handle it. But letting it slide felt like a waste.
"Perfect timing."
A great chance to test my skills. The high elf knight, still clueless, kept slashing wildly.
Clang, clang! Clang!
His swordplay was as sharp and varied as before—impressive technique. Last time, I'd countered his sword-and-shield combo with tricky weapon switches since I couldn't match it.
Now, with expanded and amplified senses mastered, his flashy moves looked trivial. He probably had sensory expansion too.
Whoosh!
I read his shield bash—a beat faster than usual—two beats ahead and dodged. His eyes bulged; he hadn't expected that.
He'd beaten my old tricks easily with his sensory edge. So how about now, both at the same level?
I grabbed his shield-swinging arm, yanked to unbalance him, and slammed him face-first into the dirt.
Bam!
"Guhk!"
Sword training had naturally honed my grappling too. Using his momentum plus mine for the slam—major impact.
I raised my fist over his grounded face.
Iron Wall — Enhanced by rising spirit affinity
I drove the fist down.
Bam!
This guy... not as big a deal as I thought.