Chapter 184

[This is a test chapter for the new translator. She's significantly more experienced, though, in turn, her hourly rate is a bit higher. If we are to proceed with her working on Never Die Extra, the upload rate will increase to at least 21 chapters a week at 30 cents per chapter. Any feedback would be appreciated on Discord! Nov. 23.]

Evan D. Sherden, Parting With The Legend. (2)

"Are you proposing a duel?"

"Yes, I am. You may even call it a battle if you want."

It seemed like he wouldn't take no for an answer. Leo always loved to fool around, so it was easy to tell if he was being serious. Evan felt a death-like chill, almost as if Leo would swing his greatsword at him if he didn't agree to this.

"...That's not a present."

"If I say it's a present, then it's a present."

"Oh, Grandpa..."

Evan heavily sighed as he glared at Leo, who was still looking straight at Evan. It was a young, powerful glare that justified why Aria had been wondering when her husband would ever grow up.

If Evan hadn't heard that Leo would be leaving soon, he would have done everything in his power to avoid this, but... Sighing, Evan eventually nodded.

"Alright, let's do this."

"What?"

"If people can make a dead man's wish come true, then it won't be that hard for me to fulfill yours."

"You little prick...!"

Leo felt astounded upon seeing Evan agree without any hesitation. He had prepared himself to go all out, even pull Evan's boots off should the need arise. He wanted Evan to fight him without holding himself back.

"I know."

"Aria is going to be on standby, of course, as you may get hurt if things go south."

"I got it, so try not to kill me instantly."

"Right...Huh...?!"

Leo faltered as he saw Evan taking off his boots before putting them into his inventory. He then took out a different pair and put them on. Afterwards, he made Belois, who had been loitering nearby, gather up the entire knightage.

"Why the gathering?"

"Well, I'm putting my life on the line for this duel, so I better make the best of it. They're going to learn a lot just from watching, especially from your moves."

"Haha, Shine's going to miss a good show."

Raihan got psyched when he heard Evan and Leo's conversation. Although he did not know how to use any weapons, he was still a knight. It was almost impossible not to get excited when the two strongest people he knew were about to go at it without any shackles.

"Well, Grandpa, people are gathering up, so we should head straight to the training arena. It should hold up."

"Evan, what the heck happened? Your willingness is bothering me."

"You still get angry when I follow your orders. I don't understand you at all, Grandpa."

It didn't take long for the entire Dungeon Knights to gather around the Training Arena.

Shine was not there since he was still in the Dungeon, but Aria, the medic, was on standby. Bernard, Illoin, and Rose were also there. He wasn't sure, either, but it appeared that Hanna and Seraphina were also there.

"It's not every day you get to see Leo get stomped."

"I, for sure, am interested in a fight among the strong."

[Huh, I knew that little bastard was strong but is he that strong to go head to head with that damn guy who sliced my main body in half?]

"Grandpa, shouldn't we be trying to stop this?"

"No, but it's the young lord, so...."

It seemed like Aria had informed Bernard about the duel, and it appeared as if everyone else had hurried here. They knew that Seraphina and Hanna had gone on a dungeon, but now they were also having tea together? You could never know women.

However, what Evan had not expected was...

"...I'll make sure I carve the step to the last process in my head."

"How on earth did Horta make it here?!"

"Hmm? Last process?"

"Ah... It's nothing."

Even Horta, who was supposed to be busy working on Leo's and Aria's weapons, was sitting straight up in the corner of the Training Arena.

It seemed that, after hearing that Evan returned from the Dungeon, he had come to report on the status of the project. Evan had to be extra careful not to reveal the present he had prepared for Leo.

"This feels just like a party!"

"The pressure is just..."

The moment Evan felt thankful about the fact that his family was not here, the door to the Training Arena opened, revealing Marquis Sorain and his family. Maybell and the Knight Commander were with them.

"So, it is indeed true that our Evan is going against Sir Leo...."

"Evan, you can do it!"

"Wait, is this some major event?! I thought this was just a duel!"

"Well, this is definitely not an everyday event."

The root of the problem was the Knight Commander. He had been contacted by Aria and thus, had led Evan's entire family here. At least he didn't round up the servants too.

"Now, there's no way I can just make this easy."

"Grandpa, you never had the intention to take it easy on me."

Evan rolled his feet on the ground as if he was trying to get a feel of his boots. Then, he nodded with satisfaction and made sure to maintain a good distance from Leo. Besides the fact that he was not wearing the cursed boots, Evan and Leo's duel was a common and familiar occurrence to their audience.

"Aria, please place a barrier."

"Oh, is that necessary?"

"Aria, please."

"Fine, I'm already on it."

The spectators silently took their seats as soon as they saw Evan and Leo getting ready.

Meanwhile, Aria built a semi-circle shaped barrier surrounding the two by a short chant of a spell. It was truly the work of a talented disciple.

"Although I may be underqualified, I'll act as the referee here."

At this, Knight Commander Mikhail, the only person who could stay calm during the fight between Leo and Evan, entered the barrier.

"Whenever you're ready, Knight Commander."

"...Alright, let's begin."

As Mikhail's hand pointed upwards before swinging downwards, Evan's fist and Leo's sword clashed.

"Argh!"

"......!"

At that moment, a flash of light engulfed the entire barrier. It was only natural since there was a clash between highly dense mana. However, after a second, the flash of light was nowhere to be found. Another flash had resounded with the second clash. The two who were in the center of this battle were clenching their jaw from the damage.

"Are you sure you went down to level 30...? Your strength proves otherwise!"

"Aha, it's you, Grandpa, who got real strong within just a year!"

"As you know, I'm very talented!"

Evan's fist and Leo's greatsword clashed in mid-air and proved to be evenly matched. Their mana was so dense that it was almost visible, causing sparks everywhere. Evan's spark was purple, just like his eye color, and Leo's spark was shining gold, just like his fierce spirit. The qualities of both their mana were the same.

The two repeatedly collided numerous times, but it was apparent that they were of the same strength.

"Figured that a simple strength on strength battle would be meaningless."

"Just the fact that Leo, who had mana training for tens of years and finally conquered the Dungeon up to level 70, had the same quality of mana as a 14-year-old kid is just unbelievable... But it appears that Leo has no intention to back off!

When Leo's sharp warcry impacted Evan, his sword lit up and shot out hundreds of high-density mana bullets! It was just a basic skill to shoot out mana using the sword as a medium, but for Leo, who had mastered this skill over the years, he could simultaneously fire hundreds of it.

'He's trying to kill me!'

It was known that he had already mastered the skill, but he became even stronger after conquering the Dungeon, and thus, the strength of the skill doubled.

Evan, who was awed, quickly retreated and secured his distance. This was exactly what Leo wanted. He had his sword, yet Evan didn't have any weapon, so he needed to secure the distance in order to have an advantage over him.

"......Urgh!"

However, Evan's ChunJoong was not just any martial arts. It created devastating pressure in the region, but it was also a unique skill that he could use to attack targets that were far. The unreal strength came flying into a small opening when Leo was trying to gain back posture.

"Huh!?"

"Hmm, of course, you were prepared."

However, there was no chance of it impacting Leo. Rather Leo leaned forward and darted towards Evan as if he had been waiting for this very moment.

"You did tell me kindly what my weaknesses were so that I would be prepared!"

"Ummm... I did, but I never knew back then that I would ever fight you again!"

Fierce and fast movement, this was Lion's Glide!

With the strength of his unique skill, which he was never able to teach Evan, Leo's greatsword was surrounded by unprecedented strength. Fierce attacks were cornering Evan! Although the skills were not based on fanciness but purely on strength, he did not give Evan any openings.

"Argh!"

"Haaaa!"

However, when Evan instinctively tried to block Leo's greatsword with his two hands, the weapon seemed to have lost its momentum. Leo backed off. It was an art of control. Evan, who had his weight on his front defending, ended up losing his balance and leaned forward.

The moment Evan realized this, Leo was already swinging his sword horizontally with such speed. By the looks of the golden aura that was shining bright, he was already activating his skill!

"You little pipsqueak! Just die!"

"I told you not to kill me instantly!"

Evan screamed and threw a punch. Within that short period, the strength of ChunJoong had gathered repeatedly in his fist, and had started to make sounds similar to a giant bell going off.

'Hmmm? It didn't even touch him, but my sword is being pushed back...!"

With that, Leo realized that Evan had once again developed ChunJoong to a new level. How many times did he have to evolve that skill of his in the Dungeon for him to feel satisfied?!

"You little...Argh!"

However, when Leo, who felt astounded by Evan's skills, tried to react to it, Evan landed a devastating blow. His sword-like kick landed directly on Leo's shin! While he was distracted by the ChunJoong filled fist, the right leg, which held a similar force, successfully reached him.

"Grandpa, you still have to work on your distracted state."

Leo's body was like steel. Evan knew the power of his skill, so he summed up everything he had, intending to smash Leo to the wall. However, Leo remained unmoving. Still, with the thought that he had inflicted some semblance of damage, Evan retrieved his leg in an attempt to regain his posture, but it didn't work as he had initially thought. His sole remained stuck on Leo's shin and refused to come off.

"....?"

"Ha."

Leo, with a ridiculous laugh, pulled his leg backward. This caused Evan, who was stuck to him, to lose his balance and fall. As he did, Leo's greatsword mercilessly swung his way.

"Argh...!"

Evan panicked and focused his ChunJoong energy onto his head, but it was apparently not strong enough and was dispelled because of his poor posture. While Evan's head was being crushed into the ground, he blocked Leo's greatsword by swinging his arms. Another flash went off.

"Grandpa...!"

"Hmm."

The greatsword stopped right below Evan's neck. Evan's shoulders were aching, taking damage from the ridiculous strength the weapon posed. This entire time, Evan's right foot was still stuck on Leo's shin. He was in such a bad stance that he wanted to cry out loud.

Trying to take off the boots wasn't a solution because the skill had been activated on his body, not his gear.

"This is your special skill, right?!"

"Yes, I had no time to show it last time because I lost so quickly. It's called Dirty Revenge. Nice name, right?"

Dirty Revenge... Evan knew this skill. It was a unique skill that one could only earn in Yoma 1! It was a passive skill that activated, with a fixed percentage, when one received an enemy's blow to their own body. It stunned the opponent for a fixed amount of time. However, Evan never knew that this skill could be activated in this manner. However, the more troubling part was...

'Why does Grandpa have a Yoma 1 skill?!'