A New World Part 3

Laena walked quietly toward her tent in order to fetch her precious sword, Brisnare. They had spoken about tactics and placements for some times so many adventurers had now finished their meals and were spending their nights by playing games or drinking together. Of course, they didn't miss the young elf walking by and soon many of them spoke about her under their breathes.

Some commentaries were racists, saying that these half-humans were even stealing the adventurers their work. Some others were about her thin, delicate features and were quite disgusting to hear. All of these immoral and inappropriate discussions blossomed on her path as she passed by since everyone was bored and enjoyed judging others.

In the beginning, she thought that she would find some helpers in the female adventurers since they had at least their sex in common. However, she remembered herself fast that women were even more malicious than men when they badmouthed people.

Hearing them had made Laena loose some of her hesitations about slaughtering everyone until reality remembered her that the others weren't all to throw away.

Nice adventurers also existed and her ears perked up as she picked up some voices which were blaming their horny or racists companions. She continued to walk like she couldn't hear them and yet enjoyed noticing that some took her defense.

"Damn Therry, check that elven chick there. It's a shame that she has more ass than bust though. I would give her a 10 otherw-"

"Dude, what the hell are you saying ! Shut the fuck up !"

'Oho? A man who isn't an horny pig? That's nic-' Laena thought before hearing his next sentence.

"She might hear us ! Elves have monstrous power you know, why do you think that they are feared? She could rip your head off your shoulders if she was angered to so shut your trap !"

'Why did I have any hope again? Fuck them all, I'll be happy to rip their heads later indeed.' She roared bitterly in her mind before walking faster and focusing on something else.

She finally reached her tent after searching around a little and flipped the entrance open so brutally that she surprised Evelyn. The young girl had been working on an original spell after she mastered her wind barrier enough for it to be useful in a real fight and had been more focused than ever until the frustrated Laena came in.

"Laena, you scared me ! What's happening?" The wind mage asked as she saw her friend's reddened face. At first, she wanted to pout and complain but she quickly understood that it wasn't the time to be childish.

"Oh uh... Nothing, really. I'm just going to do a duel with this one eyed lion order to test his strength in some time. You want to spectate?" The elf replied while forcing a small smile to appear on her lips.

"Yeah, I would love to ! Do you think that he's really as strong as the rumors says?" Evelyn answered while nodding. It would be interesting to see a legendary man who could have come from a fairy tale fight for real.

"I don't know but he seems like a tough opponent." Laena grinned at the candor of her friend before turning toward her teacher. He seemed deeply focused as he sat in a lotus position with his eyelid closed. Sweat could be seen rolling down his forehead while his eyes twitched from time to time. Deep black circles were marking his visage and his breath was ragged. Noticing all of this made the elf wonder if her teacher's plan was a good idea but she decided to brush it off for now since he was the one most qualified to think about his health.

Sighing, Laena got ready to leave before she heard a raspy and familiar voice coming from behind her :

"Have fun... And... Stay safe..." Jack's voice was weak and interrupted by moments where he seemed to be more focused than ever.

"Yes ! Thanks teacher !" The elf nodded with a bright smile that he couldn't see through his closed eyes.

She felt great and surprised since he spoke and listened to the conversation suddenly. He hadn't spoken a single word during the single day and seemed to have been somewhere else too. In reality, he had been fighting against his ghouls' ravenous will the whole time and did his best to listen at their conversation since there had been some commotion around the tent.

He had fed these ghouls as much as he could before leaving the city in order to quieten a bit their never ending hunger and fill them to the brim with mana. Yet, these things were still as active before and were always tried to fight against his will to run wild and consume every living being they saw.

In his head, the roars of his creations were permanents and clouded his mind. Whilst they were silent when you faced them these things were actually quite active on a mental plan. However, hearing the cries of famine and gluttony coming from them didn't bother him more than that. It was straining to control them and tug constantly on the mental leash but at least it was better than the nightmares which haunted him for eons after his imprisonment.

Meanwhile he struggled to control his undeads the girls had gotten out and reached the rally point easily. Laena's sword had been resting in its sheath in her hand and surprisingly seeing it quietened a bit the adventurers. Or maybe it scared them. Anyway, there were way less nasty comments and this pleased the elf.

Her young friend also helped to relax the atmosphere for her as she happily discussed with her about the meeting and the impressive adventurers she had met there. They didn't need to wait for too long before the massive silhouette of the beastman appeared in their field of view. An enormous black double sided axe rested in his hand and many scratches and bumps could be seen in the metal as a proof of intensive use it received.

Ashley seemed quiet and relaxed as he walked through the tents, attracting the curiosity of the bystanders. His small lion tail was flaying left and right whilst he stood in front of the two girls with a small grin on his face.

"May I know who is this small lady? And are you ready Laena?" He said calmly while crouching to reach Evelyn's eyes level.

"I-I'm Evelyn, nice to meet you Mr Lion !" The young girl stuttered a little in front of this apex predator humanoid which grunted and smiled in reply.

"I'm ready Ashley, we can fight whenever you want." Laena replied with a hint of excitation mixed with apprehension in her eyes.

"And I brought potions and bandages !" Evelyn chimed in.

"Hahaha, good, good. Let's go then. I found the perfect spot earlier when we arrived." The one eyed lion smiled before opening the way.

Laena took some time to watch the back of this seemingly quiet and confident man and noticed that he had many scars hidden under his fur. He never mentioned his wounds and yet he was covered by them. Heck, he even wanted more and continued to fight. Realizing this made him climb in the young elf's esteem as she jogged a little to catch up with him.

They soon reached the outer rim of the camp and crossed the guards cordon after having explained them their intention of training. This had interested greatly the adventurers who were standing and watching the darkness of the night without anything else to do and soon their eyes only looked at the duo of unusual beings.

Laena and Ashley were standing in front of each other with a space of around 10 meters between them. On the side, Evelyn was standing and watching them with curious eyes alongside the others adventurers. The elf's foot made the grass screech a little as she got into position with her sword raised next to her head. On the other side, the one armed beastman simply stood there in a relaxed stance.

"Are you ready?" He said with a strange tone.

"I am. And you, are you alright? It will be hard to fight with your injury no?" The elf replied, genuinely worried.

"Miss Laena, do you really think that I would have invited you to a duel if it bothered me?" Ashley retorted a bit harshly.

"... Excuse me for my rudeness. We will start the fight whenever you wish Mr Ashley." The swordwoman corrected herself before nodding with a small smile. She had recognized his pride warrior will and felt like she had deeply understood him since her former assumptions were true.

"Good. You can call me Ashley by the way." He gently announced before straightening his gaze and position. "Let's start then !" He roared before stomping on the ground and rushing toward Laena like a red and yellow bolt.

The young elf didn't stand still and also charged her training partner with a small grin on her face.

'Show me what you're made of !' She thought as he lunged toward his opening leg. She hadn't committed herself at all on this strike and only extended her arms a bit in order to be able to protect herself if he counterattacked.

This is what he did since he dodged her quick stab before bringing his axe on her from her left side. this surprised Laena a little since he reacted surprisingly fast. Yet, she didn't let this failure destabilize her and quickly rolled on the ground to avoid the sharp and heavy axe. She had hoped that he would be a bit slowed by his axe's momentum and thought that she could have used this opening to get up again but the reality was different.

His inhumane strength coupled to his mastery of his weapon had allowed him to stop his strike straight after she dodged. When she got up, a feline feet was next to her flank and ready to kick her. Instinct and speed were the two things which saved her ribs on this strike which sent her flying.

Putting up her guard against his kick had protected her flank but the strength behind it had surprised Laena, forcing her weapon out of her hands while she rolled on the grassy ground. She quickly got up and winced a little because of the pain she felt in her forearms before focusing on her foes which was sprinting toward her with a savage smile on his face.

'Can I grab my sword before he reaches me...?' She thought while glancing at the metallic shine she saw in the corner of her vision. However, it was way too far from her. If she dared to go toward it, Ashley would seize the opportunity and strike her uncovered flanks. Glaring at her foe, she decided herself to do something crazy.

' "Don't be stupid. If you someone has a weapon and you have none, flee. There is no need to play the hero and loose your life like an idiot." ' She remembered herself of her teacher's training. 'Sorry but this is a matter of pride and guts!' She then thought before rushing toward her opponent barehanded.

This surprised and destabilized Ashley a little, forcing him to hesitate before striking his foe. However, this hesitation only lasted an instant since he saw her the fighting will shine in her emerald eyes. A huge grin appeared on his face as he slashed at her with his axe.

Everything felt like a slow motion as the adrenaline pumped into Laena's veins. She saw the battered blade slowly come toward her side and stomped on the ground with all her strength to jump toward him. Then, she grabbed his mane with her two hands and dragged herself even higher while bringing her knees toward his face.

Ashley reacted with a spams from his severed shoulder and a defeated look appeared on his face before Laena's knee strike hit him. The impact hurt both of them and staggered the lion. However, the execution from the elf had been quite sloppy since she didn't plan her landing and fell heavily on her back and the attack didn't do as much damages as she hoped it would. Instead, Ashley was still standing and ready to finish her with a quick and decisive strike.

"You're too tough." She heaved as Ashley looked at her with interrogation in his eyes. Some blood dripped from his mouth and his animal nose but he seemed fine otherwise. "You win this round. Want a rematch?"

"With pleasure. You surprised me there... Even if that was kind of messy." The lion growled while spitting some bloody saliva.

"Hehe, sorry. I always wanted to do this. It pleased our spectators though." She grinned while massaging her knees and pointing toward the guards which were looking at them with their mouths agape. The exchange had lasted less than a minute and every move from Ashley had been precise, quick and heavy while Laena looked like a flash of silver with her agile movements and dodges.