Player VS Player.

"Dynasties Online is one of the cruellest games in the world."

"As behind every player's noble house, every player laden with wealth, power and prestige is a mountain of corpses."

"Of hopes and dreams."

"And the helpless cries of the powerless, the talentless."

"As players clash if only unknowingly with each other constantly, the opportunity for one being the death and destruction of another and their noble house."

"Such is the cruel way of the real and virtual worlds." 

James Larent, creator of Dynasties Online.

….

Demarcus met Railius at the centre of the two opposing forces. That arrogant, confident, scheming smile that made him want to punch the bastard was still plastered on the young captain's face. 

'Such a punchable face….'

Demarcus thought, his heavy mail clinking as he walked forward, a round shield and sword gripped tightly in his hands, still clenched slightly from Railius' previous provocation, his sharp chestnut eyes locking onto his target, who stood with his sword resting casually on his right shoulder as if he was just out taking a stroll and not about to enter a fight to the death.

Demarcus stopped barely 2 meters from Railius as the silent seconds turned into minutes. Neither side moved, both taking their time to take stock of their opponent, but it was Demarcus who made the first move, not the young mercenary captain as many had expected, bringing his sword above his head and into a powerful overhead swing, aiming to cut Railius down in one swift blow.

Only Demarcus would know whether his tumultuous emotional state or lack of patience led to him attacking first.

However, Railius quickly dodged the attack, his trained reflexes readily reacting to the strike. His nervousness at fighting this leader single-handedly despite Aldorus' protection vanished the instant he received the raider leader's first few strikes.

Only one thing came to the young lord's mind after he easily dodged the amateur-like blow.

'Weak.'

'Compared to Jordis and the rest of the Pelican Guards he had been training with, this raider leader was far too weak as any of his men could end this man's life within a minute.'

If others knew what Railius was thinking, they would not know whether to laugh or cry at how extravagantly blessed it was for the young lord to be able to train every day with soldiers and recruits from one of the strongest, unique military units in the game.

Or at how, compared to the rest of the world, his loyal Pelican Guards could only be matched with the powerful royal and imperial guards of more warlike and martial countries like Chavaria.

 Taking this into account, it is no wonder that Railius feels that this opponent is weak when he trains with the best of the best, and those who, like many marital nobles, have been learning to fight from a young age compared to a player who had spent most of his time training or fighting against opponents far worse than him. 

Railius was surprised at how easy it was for him to follow the strike of this raider leader, who, by all accounts, should, at the very minimum, be an expert fighter. The only reason he was confident that this Viking-looking guy was not a master fighter was because Aldorus allowed him to take this fight in the first place.

Aldorus' top priority was the safety of Railius himself, and the Pelican Guard commander was far too careful to allow him to approach and be so close to a master fighter who would be able to kill him before Aldorus could intervene.

Master fighters could not be underestimated, and only a grandmaster could ensure that Railius was unharmed, easily following the movements of a master enough for them to intervene.

The confrontation continued, metal ringing against metal, as the two warriors fought, one with an angry, almost reckless abandon and one calmly, taking his time to study his opponent and his style for any weaknesses.

It only took a few seconds for Railius to have a somewhat accurate judge of the raider leader's skill.

'He seems about as good as me, if not a bit worse, but he definitely has not been taught by someone above the master level.'

Railius thought his specialised sword skill and sharp mind analysed his opponent's style, taking his time to become familiar with Demarcus's style so he could calculate his defeat.

While Railius would be known in the future for his myriad military strategies and terrifying political insights, which could put even kings to shame, this did not mean that his martial arts were weak or that he had no talent for the sword.

It's just that his godlike ability and talent in other aspects vastly overshadows his combat abilities to the point that people forget just how good his personal combat ability was, giving off the illusion that he was weak and all an enemy had to do was break through his formidable Pelican Guard to kill him when in truth it was far harder than that to kill the lord of House Aurellion.

While this was certainly true for now, in the future, as long as Railius could live, this would dramatically change as only Leon and Aldorus, who were experienced experts and powerhouses of the world, knew that Railius' talent for swordplay was, in fact, amongst the best in the southern continent. He needs to just commit to diligently training for a decade or two, he could become a combat powerhouse himself.

Of course, there would still be geniuses stronger than him, but to say that he had no talent at all for close combat would be a gross underestimation of his abilities.

Thanks to Leon's unrelenting physical training, which started when he was a child, Railius had a far better foundation than his father, Lucius. The ex-great general of Chavaria only joined the army and started learning to fight at 17 years old, having the same foundation as the upper noble classes. 

Unlike in the modern world, you get more punishment than just detention for refusing to do something a teacher orders of you. Under the watchful eyes of the Grandmaster of Loyalty, any slacking was quickly found, and the offending student was 'corrected.'

However, these 'corrections' didn't have much effect on Railius, who would continue slacking if only to spite his teacher.

At times, Railius' slightly problematic personality and determination not to give in to someone no matter what can cause major problems.

It also just so happened that the person most familiar with these corrections was Railius himself, who routinely did his best to slack off and suffered no small amount of pain for the trouble he caused as being chased around by fake arrows that felt like paintballs were one of the lighter 'character building' exercises that Railius was forced to go through under Leon's unrelenting tutelage.

Though ironically, through this training, Railius increased his physical attributes even if he did so unwillingly, providing him with a sturdy foundation to work from.

All of this preparation and talent could finally openly blossom when facing his fellow players who had far less combat experience in the early game than the NPCs, and even players like Demarcus, who spent the last 6 months slowly increasing their skill step by step, would still at best be at the same skill level if not worse than Railius without being a genius.

Railius struck out with a horizontal slash, the steel singing as it brushed just above Demarcus' head, cutting off a few hairs. The raider captain suddenly increased in speed, and there was only one reason for such a sudden increase as he slid across the floor like a bullet.

Demarcus had used a skill or, more specifically, multiple skills linked together in an attempt to end the battle in one blow.

[Swift Slide skill activated]

[Swift Strike skill activated] 

 However, despite his attempts to surprise his opponent, nothing got past Railius' insightful, calm eyes at a time when others would hesitate or be surprised; the young lord of Aurellion was like an unmoving mountain and used his own skills in an instant to defend from this vicious sudden attack.

[Combat Concentration skill activated.]

[5 mana has been lost]

Once again, time slowed for Railius, a sensation he had long gotten used to after using this skill many times. He was far better at utilising it, only needing it for a few seconds; even if those few seconds still lowered his mana significantly by 5 every second, the ability to increase his calculative ability could be used to save his life in a pinch.

Just like in this situation.

Demarcus slid across the ground with the blade of his sword, aiming for Railius' Achilles tendons and his less protected ankles because if he could remove Railius' ability to move, the match would be his as no one, not even a master fighter, would be able to intervene and save the young captains life.

'Though if there is a master fighter skilled at magic, then it would be different, but it's not like there would be one of those around anyhow, as I can count the number I know about in the entire grand duchy of Ubernoss on one hand.'

Demarcus thought but was surprised to see that almost immediately as he began to slide, his opponent immediately jumped with no hesitation as if he could predict what was going to happen as he slashed nothing but air and only a slight indenture was left on the leather sole of Railius' mail boots not getting his intended outcome one bit.

'H-he actually managed to dodge that?'

Demarcus questioned, surprised, as until now, even a few of the adept fighters he had fought against had failed to block this move, yet this guy, who wasn't even at the level, managed to dodge.

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

"My lord!"

Various worried cries boomed from the Pelican Guards, all letting out a sigh of relief, seeing their lord unharmed by the raider leaders' move that may even have caught them out. Jordis had even begun running towards the two players when he saw the dangerous situation, silently cursing Aldorus in his heart, who seemed content just to watch on and make no attempt to save their lord.

Even Jordis was not confident in being able to dodge that attack, and if it were not for his lord's weird sword style and frightening calculative ability, Railius' life would have been at great risk.

As the young noble's oldest friend and most loyal subject, the one thing he struggled the most with was allowing Railius to take risks such as this.

Railius looked calm as he glanced back to Jordis.

"Jordis, do you have so little confidence in me?"

"Go back. I have not ordered you to do anything, so don't interrupt this duel."

"Don't stop my growth."

Railius said, his voice sending a shiver down his old friend's spine as it was far colder and more authoritative than the loyal bodyguard had ever heard before. In his worry, he had forgotten that nearby, there was a person far more suited to protecting Railius, even if he was hundreds of meters away, secretly looking on with seemingly no interest at all. 

'That was a close one.'

Aldorus thought the powerful, bright, white magical light that was gathering in his palm and dispersing in a second. At any moment, the Pelican Guard commander was ready to cast a spell to protect Railius from the blow. However, he hesitated when he calculated that his lord would narrowly dodge the attack.

As a master fighter, it was all too easy for him to see through the moves of two combatants who were practically at the intermediate level, but wondered why such a weak person could become a leader in the first place, knowing that if he could escape this encounter relatively unharmed, then the young noble could learn a lot from this encounter by fighting an opponent who was on a similar skill level.

It took all of the master fighter's self-control to prevent himself from intervening, and if it were Leon, he likely would have done so, but Aldorus knew just how risky it was for him to reveal his actual skill to outsiders.

Just having Por know of his status as a master fighter was a grave risk. It would be easy to spread the emergence of a new powerful force in Rinada, which would attract undue attention that Railius did not want to deal with at the moment because It usually meant that they would do a thorough background check on their caravan.

'Should I find some time to silence him?.'

Aldorus wondered ruthlessly as he watched over the duel unfolding before his eyes.

The fact that one of the raiders was a master fighter should not be common knowledge, as the difference between dealing with a bunch of raiders and a bunch of raiders led by a master fighter was the difference between heaven and earth!

Because all the caravan guards were mounted and acted as light-medium cavalry, it was not a stretch for 50 veteran mercenaries to be able to deal with 200 raiders on a flat plain, especially when they decided to split up and end up ambushed by Railius' much faster cavalry.

However, killing 200 raiders led by a master fighter was a completely different ball game entirely as even some of the local barons and nobility did not have that capability, and Railius' merchant group was not even well established, which would make people wonder which powerful force was behind it.

Back in the village where the duel was taking place, Railius was surprised as there was one more thing that combat concentration allowed him to do apart from surviving Demarcus' sudden attack, which would have ended their duel if it were not for his somewhat fraudulent skill.

And that was to find out the combat skill of his opponent.

Well, on paper, at least.

Something that usually only those at the master rank or higher can accurately identify, but as always, when it came to problems like this, Reginald, the eccentric player behind Railius, found his own way of learning his opponent's skill level. 

Using combat concentration, Railius can judge depending on how much his opponent's movements are affected by the skill slow-down effect, as those at a higher rank than himself will slow down far less than those of his skill rank or lower. 

And because Demarcus slowed down as much as Jordis did when the two friends fought, it meant that on paper, Demarcus' skill level was at the adept rank, but his practical skill was not as compared to Jordis' well-timed and fluid strikes the raider leader's was far too sloppy and easy to read through.

Which could only mean one thing.

Railius was fighting a player.

And it was a player worse than him, at least when you compared the two players' practical skills.

This duel….

Was destined to end in a victory for the young lord of House Aurellion, becoming an unknown landmark of Railius' first victory against a player in a straight 1v1 battle. 

Railius was quick to follow Demarcus' finishing move, who was barely on his feet before he had to defend himself against a particularly problematic strike aimed at his upper thigh, barely blocking it in his panic, but the calm manner that the young captain fought unnerved him. 

His opponent's eyes were also completely different from before. It was as if he was dealing with two completely different people. Entirely gone was the lazy, arrogant expression that could infuriate millions, replaced with nothing but one of cold concentration as Railius appeared to be in a trance-like state, his eyes shining with a ruthless light that belonged more to a monster than a human.

A state that sent a shiver down Demarcus' spine.

'How dare he see me as nothing more than exp or a dummy to train with!'

Demarcus thought angrily, finally feeling the helplessness that all expendable mobs of every MMORPG would feel if they had even the slightest bit of sentience about them.

For that is what Demarcus had become to Railius.

Nothing more than a thing to train on. An experience to learn from.

Nothing, but a pot of exp that he would use to upgrade his skills. 

As the duel lingered for five long minutes and more time passed, Railius gained more of the upper hand as the steel blades of the two continued to clash. The ringing of metal striking metal resounded through the village as everyone's eyes were locked on the two combatants who were once evenly matched.

Feeling that 5 minutes was long enough for the duel, and after figuring out Demarcus' general attack patterns, Railius planned his final fatal move.

A horizontal slash was aimed at Railius's neck, the steel moving at a breakneck speed. A smile appeared on Demarcus' face when he saw that his opponent made no real attempt to dodge. The raider captain gazed at the arrogant noble with glee as the player imagined himself atop the young man's lifeless corpse, raising his sword and letting out a mighty cry of victory.

But this imagined future that he thought was so destined to happen would never come to pass as Railius activated his own skills.

[Combat Concentration skill activated[

[Calculated Cut skill activated]

[15 mana has been consumed]

The slash that should have sliced open Railius' throat hit nothing but air in the euphoria of expected victory. Demarcus did not notice the subtle changes in Railius' movements, putting it down to a mistake rather than a calculation on the part of his opponent, who had already predicted the outcome of this exchange. 

Railius barely dodged Demarcus' sword by a hair, slipping under the raider captain's guard. It was so close that many, even Demarcus himself, after his inevitable defeat, thought that luck rather than skill cost him the duel.

Warm blood flowed out of Demarcus' abdomen, staining his once shining heavy mail crimson. He was hit so quickly and unexpectedly that it took a second or two for the Ubernoss player's body to register the pain before the raider leader, who had never been seriously injured, cried out at the sharp, unfamiliar sensation that wrecked over his body. 

But Railius' attack did not end there, making the most of the brief shock that his cut induced to make a backwards stab at a speed faster than light as steel pierced through Demarcus' chest, breaking through his armour from the back like a knife through butter as the lord of Aurellion ruthlessly twisted it rending Demarcus' insides before the sword was removed it blade bloodied as it pointed to the right held tightly in Railius' hand as the raider captain crumpled to the ground having only seconds to live his sword and shield clattering to the ground.

Using the last part of his strength, Demarcus rolled over to his back, his blood seeping into the sodden ground, fertilising the soil with its mineral-rich liquid as he gazed at the back of his young enemy with hate.

Railius seemed to care not for the state of his soon-to-be-dead opponent, who now lay dying, raising his gleaming gold-pommelled sword proclaiming his victory. The Pelican Guards cheered at their lord's victory, the cry reaching out for miles around.