(This chapter and the next are from Quillon''s point of view in his battle against Marcus.)


    ''I wonder if my next opponent will actually be any sort of challenge.'' Quillon thought while letting out a sigh.


    His master had told him to enter this tournament andpete with the kingdom''s elite that are around the same age and level as him, but so far it had been aplete waste of time.


    Even though he had his hopes up in the beginning to maybe find someone close to his level of strength, all he found were half-baked blowhards happy with the measly strength they had acquired.


    The tournament staff member then entered his room and said it was time for his next match.


    ''Guess it is time. Let''s get this over with quickly.''


    Following the staff member out into the ring, Quillon took a good look at his opponent but when he saw their level let out an internal sigh.


    ''Only level forty-two. Looks like a weakling got lucky to make it this far.''


    Of course, had Quillon seen any of Marcus'' matches he would not be thinking this, but after the first few matches of the tournament he watched, he had lost interest.


    However, when he heard the referee say that in theirst match, they had used a tier six spell his interest was piqued.


    ''Hm maybe this Irene will be the first able to take at least one blow from me.''


    With the referee''s opening speeching near its end Quillon readied his stance, nning to use his normal opening move.


    "And let the match begin."


    ''Sword savant style second form, light speed sh.''


    Using one of the skills his master had taught him, Quillon shot forward at a blinding speed.


    ''Hmph as if that will stop me.''


    Seeing the adamantine shield in front of his opponent, Quillon was certain the match would end in one strike as usual.


    He had already sliced straight through and adamantine shield in his first match and he figured now would be no different.


    Yet he was surprised when his sword impacted the floating shield, and not only did it hold up, but it also even managed to fully repel his first strike.


    Still even if the shield could take one strike, he only needed to attack again and this time it was battered out of the way.


    ''Well, at least she was able to block one attack, but this is the end.''


    With the adamantine shield that was his opponent''s only defense out of the way Quillon simply shed forward thinking that this match was over.


    ''She''s gone.''


    However, he watched as his target disappeared right before his eyes.


    ''Quillon they are not human, that is some type of upper ranked spirit.'' Quillon''s contracted spirit said to him.


    ''Thanks Aerial.''


    With the quick response from his contracted spirit, Quillon used his spiritual energy to coat his eyes and sword.


    This allowed him to see his adversary, and unleash an attack that could hit them, even while not in a physical form.


    But before his sword hit, they reappeared and exploded with an aura of light and darkness.


    Scythe and sword then shed, but of course Quillon won out just as he though he would.


    His opponent was sted back after losing out in the battle of power, and Quillon prepared his stance again to unleash his technique once more.


    ''Light speed sh.''


    Shooting forward, Quillon was confident to end this with his next attack, when the atmosphere around Marcus changed, and instead he was the one getting overpowered.


    He could not believe it, one of the techniques he had learned from his master had been overpowered, and now he was the one flying backwards.


    ''Looks like I may get a good battle this time.''


    With a smile on his face Quillon could not express how happy he was to finally be able to trade blows with someone.


    Then after regaining his footing and the dust cloud their sh had created began to clear Quillon said, "You wanted to see, right?"


    After that he took of his appraisal jamming ring, allowing Marcus to appraise him.


    He wanted them to know as well that there was someone out there just as strong.


    "Now let us get back to our match. I have finally found a worthy opponent so try to keep this interesting for me."


    After giving his fellowpetitor enough time to look at his level and let it sink in, Quillon got ready to begin their match anew.


    He charged forward nning to fight head on and see who could overpower the other, but to his surprise Marcus jumped into the air and began to attack with ranged spells.


    ''Unique skill, Trajectory disruption.''


    Unfortunately, for hispetition, Quillon had a unique skill that made any aimed ranged attacks go around and miss him.


    ''Sword savant style fifth form, sky yer.''


    shing his sword upwards Quillon sent a massive st of mana into the air, with a move specialized in taking down flying targets.


    Still his opponent managed to block it with a well-timed counterattack after using a couple of defensive abilities to wear his attack down.


    ''Sword savant style third form, flow redirection.''


    Swinging his sword in a fluid motion Quillon was able to cause the attacking for him to break apart and fly in multiple different directions away from him.


    After that he decided to take to the air as well using the mana barrier skill to create tforms under his feet so he could run up into the air.


    ''That won''t work. Trajectory disruption.''


    Seeing his opponent fire of some type of beam spell, Quillon once again used his unique skill to force it to curve around him harmlessly.


    Then with theirst attack having failed, Marcus flew towards Quillon with no other option but to meet him head on.


    ''Not this time.''


    Sensing the sudden explosion of strength from Marcus, Quillon instead of meeting power against power used his sword for a very smooth parry and slipped around to the side where his adversary''s guard was down.