Thane didn’t make a sound nor did he even flinch from the pain. All he did was stare at his loose arm, then to Leo. After a moment of contemplation, for the first time, Thane took an actual stance as he planted his feet and raised his good arm in a combative form.

  Confused, Leo looked down at his hands on the ground to see the sand surrounding his hands rippling like water. The solid ground below shook as if an earthquake was happening.

  ‘Was this…a Refraction?’

  Thane’s original amusement was long gone, replaced with a cold steadiness. He no longer had that relaxed smile as he raised his remaining arm up to his chest. His eyes that were once dim now glowed red, filled with rage as he snarled, “Trickster!”

  Not wasting anymore time, Thane shot forward, charging at Leo. But to Leo it was…

  Slow.

  Why was it so slow now?

  Had he really struggled seeing this?

  Thane wasn’t much slower, but he was no longer a blur like before. Now, Leo could actually see him clearly. It was as if he had finally awakened from a long dream.

  Leo was unable to linger on this awakening as Thane was speeding towards him. But Leo felt as though he had entered some state of focus he couldn’t have attained before. He believed some called it the “flow” state.

  With his reaction time heightened, he easily dodged the charge. But Thane stopped in his tracks and threw a barrage of punches from his remaining hand, his broken arm swinging freely behind him.

  Leo barely dodged the punches as they were thrown, actually able to see the punch come to him. Unfortunately, although they were slow, it didn’t change the devastating effect those fists had as he was hit on the shoulder and stomach, causing him to spit out a mix of saliva and blood. But something was different…

  ‘I don’t feel…too hurt?’

  Leo took less damage than he did before from the hits. It seemed that his awakening as a Smogborn had increased his endurance and pain tolerance, even if by a little bit.

  This little bit made the largest difference in the world.

  After a bit of time, Leo even began to throw counter-attacks in between Thane’s punches. Jabbing at Thane’s face and throwing hits at his body whenever Thane threw a punch.

  Because of his broken arm, all Thane could do was take the strikes as he continued his onslaught of attacks. Eventually, what once started as a punching match slowly devolved into something more savage with each throwing punch after punch. Kick after kick. Hoping the other would fall first without a care for their own well-being.

  At some point, Leo had stopped dodging like Thane, too tired to waste his energy on such a thing.

  Both had become so bloodied the sand around them was practically dyed red, a small circle of carnage surrounding the two.

  But neither gave in.

  Pain built with every second, Leo’s arms dulled, his legs trembled—his body begging him to fall. His waist was aching, it was as if a hole had been dug into his stomach.

  His vision became blurry as he struggled to stay conscious.

  He wanted to fall so badly.

  He wanted things to end.

  But he couldn’t.

  He needed to win.

  He had to win!

  Leo let out a cry as he brought more strength into his attacks.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  With the newfound vigor, Thane was caught off guard, perhaps surprised his opponent still had so much life in him. But that didn’t stop him as he responded in kind and with a savage grin, he rammed his leg into the red sand causing it to fly into Leo’s eye.

  Luckily, none of it got into his eye, but he suddenly had an idea. He quickly stopped his attacks, jumping back to a safe distance from Thane and rubbed his eyes.

  Seizing the moment, Thane rushed to Leo, not giving him any leeway only to be shocked as he approached.

  Just as he was about to collide into him, Leo reeled back the arm rubbing his eye. Putting all his strength into this attack, Leo shot his fist at the charging bull. Unable to dodge, the fist went straight into Thane’s jaw.

  The strength of the attack stacked with the momentum of his charge, Thane quickly fell to his knees.

  He had finally got that bastard on his knees.

  Taking this chance, Leo threw an axe kick aimed at his shoulder. But the next move took Leo completely by surprise.

  With his broken hand, Thane threw the broken hand over his shoulder. The arm awkwardly dangled as it slapped Leo’s leg out of the way, swinging like a nunchuk. Bone could be heard crunching against the flesh as it slammed the leg away.

  The sudden change of trajectory caused a moment of weakness.

  But that was all Thane needed.

  In one swift motion, he kicked at Leo’s remaining leg, completely sweeping him off his feet. And as he fell, the giant grabbed his head by the hair and rammed it into his rising knee twice before lifting his face up.

  Leo quickly spat blood onto Thane’s face, loosening his grip. Seizing the opportunity, he headbutted the brute, biting him by the ear quickly after. And with savage force, he ripped the ear clean off.

  Thane screamed in pain and grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him away from him, landing far beyond their circle of death.

  Blood poured nonstop out of Leo’s nose. It had definitely been broken! But he couldn’t stop it as he had to focus on Thane completely. Luckily, it seemed the damage was real as Thane was on his knees, sitting still to recover. But he knew this short break wouldn’t last long.

  ‘Think! Think!’

  He had done what he could, damaging Thane to this extent was already a miracle. Topping that off with even breaking his arm. How had he done that? How could he do something similar to that again?

  The two stood motionless, keeping their distance from each other as they both gasped for air. The crowd around them were shouting for them to continue, not wanting the bloodbath to end. From there, it seemed some had even started bets, the majority siding with Thane.

  Below, Leo couldn’t help but vomit in this moment of peace. The damage from the fight was starting to really kick in as he began to calm down. Straightening his arms, he could feel the stress they’ve been through.

  Nearby, he picked up a fragment of a spear, the spearhead having been removed from the fight and used it as a cane for his broken body. If he was going to rest, he would do it the best way he could.

  Looking across, it seemed Thane was fairing no better than he was. The man was on all fours with his head facing the floor, his greasy black hair covering his masked face with blood getting mixed in. Somehow, throughout the entire fight, that mask had remained unbroken and unmoved.

  Leo already knew it was something similar to the mirror in the last trial, but he couldn’t believe how durable it was. There wasn’t even a scratch! At least from his perspective.

  Struggling to get his words out, Leo tried forming a smug grin, hoping it would help with his mindset.

  “Say…That mask wouldn’t…be, uh, runic…right?”

  Thane raised his head with a newfound bewilderment at the sudden question. He only became more confused as to how his opponent was still standing while he was on the floor, exhausted beyond imagining.

  For the first time, rather than boasts or taunts, Thane spoke in a confused voice.

  “Um…what? Have you gone mad?”

  “Maybe. It’s just that mask is a bit too red isn’t it? Why are they glowing?”

  ‘Time. I need time.’

  At this point, Leo was in a somewhat better condition than Thane. And with the recent awakening of this Refraction, his body seemed to recover much faster than before. And based on both their conditions, his rate of recovery seemed to be the better of the two.

  He just needed time.

  But time wasn’t available as he also knew the adrenaline pumping through him now would soon run out. Once that was gone, he’d be finished.

  Unfortunately for him, Thane wasn’t exactly a man of words, but a man of action.

  As if enraged by this stunt, he grunted before punching the ground beneath to launch his body up.

  ‘Really? You couldn’t have just pushed up normally?’

  He hadn’t bought nearly enough time as he had hoped, but it would have to do. Throwing the makeshift cane away, he slapped his knees in preparation for the upcoming battle.

  Meanwhile, in the corner of his blurry vision, just past Thane. A wobbly figure could be seen at the weapons racks, a multitude of javelins being slowly and quietly taken off.

  This was the deciding point of this match.