Undisclosed Location.

11:52 a.m. 17th Zelyr 1092.

3 Days to World's End.

"Today's the day!"

"Can you make that a reality?"

Clang! BOOM!

A massive shockwave erupted from the clashing of metal against bone. Hektor's red eyes glared at the Sword Spirit's. The young man gritted his teeth as he pushed his bone spear against the Spirit's broadsword. Hektor eyes shone with joy despite the struggle. This was because he could finally contest the spirit in a simple battle of strength. This, more than anything else, proved just how much stronger he had gotten.

Hektor, overflowing with vigor and confidence, shouted as his muscles suddenly doubled in size. "Watch out!" Hektor's new Dragoon Technique showed its extreme power. It temporarily extricated some of Rex's ki, effectively almost doubling the youth's strength.

Boom!

Hektor surprisingly sent the Sword Spirit skidding back along the ground. "Try this!" The youth did not relent. He pushed off the ground in hot pursuit. As he approached, Hektor drew his spear back. Red and black swirled from his body, and then formed a spiral around the spear's shaft.

Whoosh!

Hektor stabbed the spear forward. Clang! Despite its disadvantaged position, the Sword Spirt sharply raised its spear, blocking Hektor's attack.

"Not Yet!" Hektor, however, was far from done. His eyes burned with excitement as he pulled the spear back once more. Whoosh! At speeds imperceptible to the human eyes, Hektor stabbed forward five times in the span of a second. The insane speed left strong afterimages that resembled a dragon's claws.

The Sword Spirit's gaze turned grave. It stomped its foot into the ground, stopping it in place. Unfortunately, this made the claws approach it even faster. The Sword Spirit faced the oncoming attack with calm eyes. The next moment, however, the Sword Spirit suddenly swung down. "Scatter!"

Vwoom! A human-sized black arc shot out of the Sword Spirit's sword. Boom! The arch smashed Hektor's claws to pieces. The arc, however, continued strong on a collision course with the young man.

Hektor sidestepped the attack, and then burst forward. His spear flew at the Sword Spirt's heart, but the Spirit shifted to the left, causing the strike to brush past him.

The Sword Spirit's counterattack was just as swift. With one arm, it slashed down at the advancing youth.

Hektor registered the immediate danger. At this rate, the sword would cleave him in half! It was too late to stop or dodge the strike. A few weeks ago, he would have lost the match, and possibly his life right here. Luckily, the past months had not been in vain!

Hektor channeled the Dragoon Technique into his legs. Dark veins bulged in his legs as he kicked against the ground. Boom! The earth beneath his feet exploded as he burst forth like a bullet. Woosh!

BAM! The Spirit's slash harmlessly crashed into the ground as Hektor burst past. Hektor, however, did not let this small window pass. He spun around, sending the spearhead spinning toward the Sword Spirit's exposed back before it could retrieve the blade.

BAM! The Sword Spirit caught the shaft with its left hand.

"The fuck!?" Hektor exclaimed, in shock and frustration. Who even caught weapons anymore!?

The Sword Spirit's gaze turned ferocious. "Choose." Without giving Hektor a chance to understand, it lifted the broadsword and then slashed at the young man in one smooth motion.

Hektor's gaze narrowed. To think this whatever-year-old spirit would be so shameless. It faked its broadsword was stuck just to catch Hektor off-guard. Now, the Sword Spirit was forcing him to make a decision. Spear or arm. If he did not let go, then his arms would definitely come off. But if he let go, he would be defenseless to the follow-up attack.

Hektor's teeth widened in a wide grin. "Have it your way." Hektor let go of the spear, but surprisingly, only took a step back in retreat. This step did not put him out of harm's way, but he did not seem to care. Instead, Hektor kicked up a couple of stones from the earlier explosion when his feet struck the ground.

BAM! Hektor heavily kicked the stones. Dark ki from his feet coated the stones as they sped toward the Sword Spirit.

The Sword Spirit frowned. It redirected its sword, smashing most of the stones to bits. Unfortunately, a few made it through the blast. The Spirit made to retreat, but Hektor grabbed his end of the spear, essentially keeping it in place.

"Good move." The Sword Spirit praised. It reluctantly let go of the spear and then punched out with its left hand. Wham! A shockwave sent the stones flying.

Hektor, however, held his ground amidst the storm. "I'm not done yet!" Hektor released the bone spear, and them palmed the pummel. Bam! The spear flew to the off-balance Sword Spirit's chest.

Clang! Once again, the Sword Spirit's god-like reflexes showed themselves. It rapidly fixed its posture, and then placed the broadsword over its chest. Hektor's spear struck the Sword Spirit's broadsword. The resulting force once again sent the Sword Spirit skidding back.

Hektor charged forward and grasped the bone spear before it fell to the ground. "Haha! What's wrong, old man?" Hektor taunted as he pursued the Spirit. His blood flowed hot. He could hear his excited heartbeat growing even more powerful with each passing second. This was it! This was what it felt like to be powerful! Hektor launched a series of savage attacks as he taunted. "Can't keep up?"

The Sword Spirit's gaze slowly grew wilder as it weathered Hektor's increasingly dangerous attacks. Hektor was like a raging bull. Once set off, he did not understand the meaning of pacing or strategy. He just kept attacking with maximum ferocity. If there was a strategy, then it could only be: Kill the enemy before I tire.

Hektor's sorry excuse for a strategy would make warriors world-over shake their heads in shame and disdain.

"Not bad." The Sword Spirit was different. For some reason, Hektor's attack only reinforced its approval of Hektor. Yes. This was the kind of battle it loved. Thoughts? Strategy? Smarts? Who needed all those? The best feeling in the world was losing yourself in the flurry of blows. That scary, uplifting dance, where one misstep spelled death? That's where it thrived.

Suddenly, the Sword Spirit grinned. Its eyes shone with a deranged light as it said amidst the barrage, "My turn."

Boom!

A sonic boom sent Hektor flying backward. The young man's feet had barely touched the ground when his hairs stood on end. "Damn it!" BANG! Hektor barely raised his spear in time to block the Sword Spirit's slash. Unfortunately, Hektor's mad attack had awoken the Sword Spirit's fighting spirit.

BAM!

The Sword Spirit, in an unconventional attack, suddenly kicked Hektor's ribs. Hektor groaned as the impact sent him sliding back. The Sword Spirit burst forward, and then reversed the roles. This time, the Sword Spirit led the ferocious attack.

Up! Down! Left! Right! Center!

Injuries slowly piled all over Hektor's body as he weathered an onslaught that could only be likened to a natural calamity. The young man groaned as he parried strike after strike. There was simply no end to them! Each time he felt the Sword Spirit relax, an even deadlier strike came from seemingly nowhere.

"Ugh!" Hektor coughed up blood after blocking a particularly powerful strike. The youth, however, welcomed the brief respite as he was pushed several meters back. He looked up at the Sword Spirit in equal parts fear and admiration.

Now, this was true power!

Hektor could tell that the Sword Spirit had matched its physical stats with his. It was just as strong as he was. However, its techniques were much more refined. Its wits were much sharper. Its ability to control its strength was leagues beyond anything Hektor could imagine. These kinds of strengths could only be gained after bathing in blood and sweat for countless years.

'Who are you?' For the first time, Hektor cultivated a desire to know more about this Sword Spirit. Who was it previously? And how the hell did it train?

Clang!

Hektor shook his head as he parried the Sword Spirit's charge. This was not the time to be dreaming! One wrong move and he would lose his head. The young man regained his focus.

Bang! Bang!

Unfortunately, regaining focus did little to alleviate the situation. Even more injuries began to pile up, and even though they were mostly superficial cuts, the combined blood loss slowly, but surely, began to take its toll.

"Ugh." Hektor groaned. Even though he hated it. Even though he tried his best. In the end, he could not match up the Sword Spirit's experience. His arms grew weary, trembling and aching from the pain. Inevitably, his reflexes slowed, which in turn caused even more injuries.

And thus a vicious cycle was born.

Intriguingly, the Sword Spirit's fire died alongside Hektor. Its eyes mellowed from wild-hot to a placid look. His gaze seemed to hold a hint of regret as he said, "Do not worry. You are the first to last this long. I will let you leave with your life, dragon, and technique."

Hektor, however, paid no attention to the Sword Spirit's words. He kept blocking and sneaking opportunities for counterattacks despite his growing injuries. The young man seemed to have been possessed by a demon. He kept striking away no matter how many times the Sword Spirit called out.

The Sword Spirit's lips curled up in a tight smile. "You'll die at this rate. Just give up."

"Not yet!" Hektor groaned. His heartbeat exploded in his ears. His arms felt like lead. His feet felt like they were drowned in sludge. He knew that his body was on the verge of breaking down. But he did not want to give up. Not like this!

"Any more is futile." The Sword Spirit cajoled the youth. "You already earned the technique and gained a dragon. You can—" The Sword Spirit suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Its brows furrowed as it quickly scanned the room. "Where's your dra—"

"Rex! Now!"

A white mass descended appeared on Hektor's back. A bright light suddenly encompassed the youth and then exploded outward. Hektor burst out from within that light like a bat out of hell. However, the Hektor that emerged was slightly different from normal.

Hektor's muscles shrunk but grew ten times firmer. White tribal markings ran along the length of his arms and chest, but most prominent was the pair of illusionary, silver-white, thirty-centimeter horns that protruded from his head.

"Dragoon Technique, [Assimilation]" The Sword Spirit revealed a rare, shocked expression. [Assimilation] was a high-level Dragoon Technique. But it was a unique technique. Learning difficulty did not determine its level. Instead, its level was gained because only dragoons and dragons with extremely strong bonds could achieve the skill. It usually took years to form the bond needed to perform this skill.

The Sword Spirit looked at the exhausted dragon lying on the ground behind the charging youth. Could it be? His lips spread as realization dawned. 'So that's it.'

"RAAH!" Hektor, pulsing with power beyond his dreams, let out a bestial roared. "Dodge this!" The youth gathered all his ki within the tip of his spear.

BAM! Hektor stomped on the ground and then stabbed out at the off-guard Sword Spirit.

Gwoooo! A ki-blast as large as a man shot out. It made a beeline for the Sword Spirit. At this speed and distance, the Spirit had neither the time nor space to dodge. It also did not have time to raise its sword in defense.

All seemed to be over. However, the Sword Spirit's gaze did not waver.

Hektor's went wide with shock when the Sword Spirit suddenly punched at the blast. The ensuing explosion sent Hektor flying several meters back. The youth unceremoniously tumbled across the ground—thud!

Luckily, Rex appeared behind and then stopped Hektor. The youth quickly thanked Rex and then looked at the crash site with fear and anticipation.

Whoosh...

The dust cleared, revealing an unscathed Sword Spirit.

Hektor's heart sank as his transformation ended. His body was not strong enough to use [Assimilaiton]. As a result, not only did his transformation last only for a few seconds, Hektor always ended up weakened for a few hours afterward.

"Congratulations." The Sword Spirit wore an enigmatic smile as it regarded the youth. It raised its fist, and examined the missing particles on its knuckles. "You pass."