"Don't worry, I'll do my best not to kill you by accident," Flamma said as he stood facing Cethus in the Grand Arena used by the Blackrock Clan.
Cethus didn't bother to give a reply and simply summoned the spear he had received as a reward after completing the quest of escorting the residents of Abingdon Town.
After hearing that Flamma had challenged the newcomers into a duel, all of the Orcs who had finished their preparations for the war went to the Grand Arena to watch the battle.
Of course, they knew that Cethus, who was only of the Initiate Rank, had no chance of winning against Flamma. But, it didn't matter.
They were there to support the son of their Orc Chieftain, and also to watch something entertaining before they headed off to the battlefield.
"Are both fighters ready?" Baronar, who had come to the Grand Arena in a hurry to better understand what happened, decided to referee.
He had no chance to ask questions because Flamma insisted on having the duel, and Cethus kept his silence.
Because of this, the Great Orc Shaman had no choice but to facilitate the duel. The only thing he could do was to ensure that the Dragon Born wouldn't die if the son of their Chieftain got carried away with his antics.
"Start the battle!" Baronar shouted, and all the Orcs in the stands raised their weapons and cheered.
The first thing that Cethus did was to fly upwards because there was no way he could battle a Deimos-Ranked Alpha Monster in close quarters. The Dragon Born understood that he needed to gain distance, as soon as possible, but Flamma had anticipated this move from the get go.
"Fire Snakes!" Flamma roared as he unleashed two flames, which transformed into giant snakes.
These Spirit Snakes flew towards Cethus, forcing the Dragon Born to distance himself from the enemy's attacks.
The spear in his hands hummed faintly, as if telling Cethus that all was well. With his sentient weapon telling him that the preparations were underway, the Dragon Born focused all of his attention on evading.
Flamma chuckled after seeing Cethus' desperate struggles. He had fought almost all of the Orcs in the Blackrock Clan that was close to his age, and none of them even managed to deal a decisive blow on him.
Part of this was because Flamma was born strong, and another was that he acquired several artifacts, and pieces of equipment, which were all Pseudo-Legendary in nature.
In time, no one dared to challenge him again because he was simply too strong for the younger generation.
"Maybe two Fire Snakes isn't enough for you," Flamma said as he raised both of his hands. "How about four then?"
Two more FIre Snakes materialized in the arena, and once again flew in Cethus' direction. Everyone watching the battle, with the exception of Lux and his party, thought that the battle was already over, but what they saw next made their eyes widen in shock.
"Gravity Domain!" Cethus roared as he pointed his spear towards the sky.
Immediately, a black dome encapsulated the entire arena, increasing the gravity inside the domain by six times.
The Fire Snakes, which were like fishes in the water earlier, fell to the floor of the arena, barely able to raise their heads.
Flamma narrowed his eyes, as he stood unmoving from his spot. Although he seemed to be completely fine, the truth was, his body felt as heavy as lead.
'I underestimated this Dragon Born,' Flamma thought. 'I guess it's time for me to get serious.'
Baronar, who was outside of the arena, looked at the battle with his arms crossed over his chest. Just like everyone else, he didn't expect Cethus to have a Trump Card that could make things difficult for Flamma.
One of the rewards that Cethus acquired when he cleared the mission in the Shaufell Plains was a Rank 5 Skill Book of his choice.
The Skill Book he chose was something that he had always wanted to have, and that was none other than Gravity Domain.
Cethus' true power lay in manipulating gravity. However, he could only manipulate the gravity of his equipment.
For example he could make his weapon lighter, or heavier, depending on the situation.
When attacking, he could decrease the gravity of his weapon to allow him to make it lighter, and instantly make it heavier at the point of impact.
This would take his enemies completely by surprise, and one of aces he kept up his sleeve. Only his Grandma knew about this ability of his, which he only used during life and death situations.
During his duel with Lux, the Dragon Born wasn't given the opportunity to highlight this ability because he got gang banged pretty early during their duel. However, right now, he felt as if he could do it, and that's why he was now showcasing his might for everyone to see.
The Gravity Domain skill perfectly complimented his ability, making Cethus more deadly than ever before.
"Pay for your arrogance, Half-Orc!" Cethus roared as he pulled back his arm in preparation to throw the spear in his hand.
"Gravitas Dominion!"
The moment Cethus threw his weapon, he activated his ability and nullified the gravity of the spear, making it travel at the speed of sound.
When the spear was only a meter away from Flamma, the Dragon Born once again activated his ability, and increased the gravity of the spear by 10, making it extremely heavy.
The weapon that Cethus received was a sentient spear, meaning that it had intelligence and the ability to communicate with its Master.
The spear was called Oblivion, the Impaler of the Forsaken, and now, this same weapon was only a meter away from the Half-Orc, who originally thought that he could defeat Cethus without breaking a sweat.
Oblivion hit his mark, and embedded itself in Flamma's shoulder. Since they were in the Blackrock Clan's territory, accidentally killing the son of the reigning Patriarch would certainly spell doom for everyone in Lux's party.
Because of this, Cethus had only aimed at the Half-Orc's dominant shoulder. He believed that as long as his spear made contact with Flamma's body, the match would be over in no time at all.
A resounding clap reverberated in the surroundings as Oblivion pierced through the Half-Orc's shoulder. At least, this was what Cethus believed would happen.
Unfortunately, the moment the spear hit the Half-Orc's shoulder, it immediately bounced off as if it was a rubber ball, hitting a boulder.
Before Cethus could even recover from his shock, Flamma created runic symbols with his fingers before pressing his hand over the arena.
"Wind Break!"
A moment later, Cethus found himself falling from the air as if he was a puppet whose strings had been cut off.
As the Dragon Born struggled to regain balance, he suddenly saw Flamma's face, inches away from his own.
"Nice try," Flamma said. "But not enough to beat me."
Without even giving Cethus an opportunity to recover, Flamma slammed his clenched fist against the Dragon Born's chest, smashing him towards the ground.
The Dragon Born was only able to cough a mouthful of blood before passing out completely.
Almost all of his ribs had been broken, and if he didn't get medical help soon, his condition would quickly deteriorate.
Fortunately, Baronar was there and he immediately stopped the match before Flamma could get carried away and harm the unconscious Dragon Born further.
The Great Orc Shaman had invited Lux and his comrades as his guests, and it would reflect badly on him if one of them died under his watch.
"Flamma Wins!" Baronar shouted before summoning several Elite Orc Spirit Warriors to carry the unconscious Cethus to his side.
Cheers erupted on the stands as the Blackrock Clan shouted Flamma's name, cheering him on his victory.
"""Flamma!"""
"""Flamma!"""
"""Flamma!"""
Gerhart, who watched the battle from start to finish, looked at the fallen Dragon Born with a calm expression on his face. He had no love for Cethus, and he could care less if he lost the duel.
However, after seeing how the latter was defeated, he realized that Flamma had used an ability that rendered him invincible for a short period of time. Because of this, he was worried that Lux might also get defeated in a similar manner, which might bring further complications to their mission.
