Darius took Gunner and Boris out to the plains around Ando City.
Fighting in any sort of arena not made with special magical materials such as the Colosseum of Blood was a sure way to accrue property damage, so this was the best place for two Masters to duke it out.
Genie and her brother stood together and watched Boris with solemn expression, neither one cheering on their companion, while Darius and Xela had their eyes on Gunner.
Meanwhile, Jeanne continued gazing at Darius without blinking.
Boris performed some warm-up exercises to make himself more limber while Gunner's energy began to surge greatly.
His hair rose up and floated like an updraft from beneath him, yet Boris grinned as the same happened to him.
As if they had planned it beforehand, the two exploded with a greenish aura that covered their entire bodies.
Gunner's happened to be far thicker and more potent than Boris' though, surprising the other half-giant.
However, that was nothing compared to Gunner and Darius' shock as they had never expected Boris to have Earth's Guardian as well.
It was supposed to be an ultra-rare bloodline skill that was hard to awaken in even pureblooded giants, much less half-breeds.
Gunner had only unlocked it because the Supreme System had dug it out for him when converting him into a Branded Servant.
Either Boris was greatly talented, had a great encounter or had simply lucked out to unlock the racial skill.
Darius Analyzed the half-giant to compare his full stats to Gunner's.
'Hm, 102 Strength, 37 Agility, 98 Endurance, 15 Intellect, 8 Charisma, 13 Luck. Not bad, he definitely should have had a lucky encounter.' Darius thought to himself.
However, Gunner was a bit short of Boris with his 100 Strength and 90 Endurance. However, everything else was at 50, giving Gunner a speed edge over Boris. Not to mention Gunner's skills were far more potent.
Without further ado, the two half-giants began their battle after roaring with ferocity. They became blurs as they rushed at the other and both threw out a punch infused with Earth Energy.
When their fists collided, Boris was sent back by 10 steps while Gunner remained on the spot. Boris' face changed as he raised his trembling fist, his knuckles skinned from the punch, and gazed at the other with horror.
Genie and Kilo were also left flabbergasted, their hearts shaking as they witnessed saw Gunner's might.
Imagine if their commanders had been foolish enough to bull forward and provoke a fight?
Boris was the physically strongest and sturdiest of all the 12 who stepped forward and he was beaten back by Gunner while the fellow suffered no damage. In that case, how would they themselves fare?
Boris laughed the next moment, excitement on his face. "Good, good, good! I have not been able to enjoy a good hand-to-hand fight in years due to how fragile these humans are! Now, let's get serious!"
Boris dove back in headfirst while Gunner obliged him. The duo began to fight at speeds that were hard to follow, but the spectators here could do so easily.
Kilo and Genie had more than 50 points in Agility as Master swordsmen, almost bordering on the Master grade for it so Gunner and Boris still looked slow in their eyes.
Darius and Xela too could follow with their 50 points in Agility, everything looking to be at normal speed to them. However, due to how much Boris and Gunner moved about, their pupils kept darting about rapidly while following them.
An onlooker would only be able to feel the shockwaves and hide while wondering if the sky was falling, also thinking that Darius and co. were mad with how fast their eyes darted left and right.
Boris himself was feeling extremely good! Despite being brutally beaten and outclassed by Gunner, he started to feel a deeper connection to the earth.
Not only that, his and Gunner's greenish auras mixed whenever they collided, and from it, Boris could feel how pure and potent Gunner's Earth Energy was!
It was extremely clean and free from impurities, so all Gunner needed to do was concentrate it further and further!
Seeing this, Boris understood where he had gone wrong all this while. He had just been accumulating Earth Energy to increase the quantity without filtering or compressing it, leading to a weaker aura and weaker effectiveness.
With Gunner as a chisel, he felt like he was being sculpted into something greater! His Earth Energy reduced in volume, as seen by his aura reducing in volume more and more with every hit, but it became purer and purer.
It was impossible for him to directly reach Gunner's level as the royal half-giant had the Supreme System do it for him, but Boris certainly came as close as possible organically. After his aura was reduced to a mere green light that made his skin glow, it began to reduce again.
This time, Boris was compressing it over and over, making it far more potent yet thinner.
When he was done, it looked like he was petering out of energy as he was overwhelmed by Gunner, leading everyone else to sigh on his behalf.
Even Darius could not see this as he was not all-knowing, and unfortunately, did not have giant genes or blood. Gunner could obviously tell what the other was doing, so he kept up the intensity, even increasing it further to help Boris achieve his goal.
It looked like Gunner had smelled Boris' weakness and was going in for the kill to the spectators. Like a sadistic brute enjoying the suffering of his prey and making them fall to the pits of despair.
Darius rubbed his chin in interest, suspecting that there was more to it as he knew Gunner's character. Xela remained silent and kept her mind clear of any judgments until Gunner was done and she could ascertain his reason.
Genie and Kilo frowned, as the last thing they needed was Boris injured greatly as they planned to set off right after.
Eventually, Boris fell to his knees and Gunner came to a stop. The large lad then stretched out his hand to the kneeling half-giant, Boris gazing up at him with respect and gratefulness.
It seemed that Gunner had finally made his first friend.
