A Bet

[Swiftdrive Scythe's durability has reached 0! The item is destroyed]

"Eh...?"

Blake pauses for a moment as he stares at his hand in disbelief. What was once a whole sword is now little more than a stump of it. The rest of the scythe is lying on the ground in fragments of what used to be the blade and handle.

Of course, his mind experienced an error when he realized what just happened.

Considering that he was only swinging the scythe lightly, not even using any power behind his swing, this kind of result is the last thing he expected. 'Why did it break...?' Blake thought in utter confusion.

Not knowing what to do, he could only glance over to the clerk and smile awkwardly.

Similarly, the clerk is also stunned by this and it's understandable.

"I'm sorry for this, I didn't mean to shatter it. It suddenly breaks wh- Don't worry, I'll pay for the scythe" Blake decided to not let the clerk get in trouble because of the scythe he broke, so he will pay for it.

Blake is in a new city, and he didn't want to create a problem and jeopardize himself.

Seeing him broke something, the onlookers gave him a sharp glance.

A moment later, the clerk snapped out of her daze and smiled back, the scythe shouldn't shatter that easily as if it was made of fragile glass, "Ah, yes... I'll put it in your tab. I'm sorry this happened to you" she said before she started cleaning the mess.

Likewise, the man beside him also shrugs off his daze.

"For someone at level 25, you're very strong to be able to shatter a level 20 well-crafted weapon like that" the man praised, he was intending to help Blake yet it ended up like this. But even so, he now finds out that Blake is actually quite strong.

But as they were talking, a rough voice suddenly came from the side.

"Oh...? What do we have here?"

Glancing at the source of the rough voice, Blake can see another newcomer approaching.

The man who is approaching them is a burly dark skin man with a buzz cut, and there's a tiger-shaped emblem on his chest. Compared to the man beside him, this man doesn't seem to have good intentions.

Moreover, the burly man's eyes seem to be fixed on the man beside Blake.

'I can smell trouble coming from him, should I go?' Blake thought, pondering on what to do.

Putting on a playful smile while looking at the brown-haired man beside Blake, the burly man then said, "Issaiah, is your guild that desperate for a new member? To actually be amazed by a nobody like that just because he could shatter a weak weapon"

"I can't believe how low the Arcane Guardians guild stooped" he added.

Upon hearing the mocking tone, the brown-haired man, Issaiah clenched his jaw in anger.

Despite he could feel the anger burning his chest, Issaiah didn't do anything and asked with a grim tone without even looking at the burly man in the eyes, "What do you want, Axel? I didn't recall doing anything to provoke you"

Listening to Issaiah's meek voice, the burly man, Axel grins arrogantly.

"Hmm...? Am I hearing this right? Didn't do anything? Your disgusting presence alone stains my eyes, that's what you did wrong" Axel said, he then take a couple of steps closer and puts his face close to Issaiah, "Aren't you going to apologize to me?"

"And you, small guy, apologize with him too" Axel pointed at Blake and added.

Blake pointed at himself when he saw this, he was not a part of this but got blamed too.

It was never his problem to begin with, he didn't do anything but stand on his spot yet he too got targeted by Axel which is unfair, "I'm sorry, I'll leave the place immediately. Don't drag the visitor into this" Issaiah apologized with a dejected tone.

Seems like he doesn't have any intention of resisting, and obeyed everything Axel wanted.

Not even feeling shameless, Axel asked for Issaiah's gold pouch as 'compensation' for sullying his eyes. Instead of refusing, Issaiah gave it willingly without much thought. Turning over to Blake, he then sighs lightly, "I'm sorry to drag you into this, I'll compensate you for your trouble. But for now, come leave with me"

Axel laughed when he heard this, he was enjoying this pathetic sight.

Listening to this exchange with her arms crossed, Salana gave Axel a disgusted look as she was quite annoyed by the situation and also his laughter. Axel's voice and overbearing attitude made her blood boils.

"It's surprising for a weakling to be this arrogant" Salana mused, her voice grating.

Glancing over to Blake who wanted to leave the place as Issaiah requested, she gave him a look and added, "Blake, make him shut up already. His voice hurts my eardrums, and I can't stand it"

"Not inside the city you dumb woman" Blake mutters, keeping a smile on his face.

Alebit uncertain, Blake finds out from this exchange that Issaiah came from a guild called Arcane Guardians which is a smaller guild compared to Axel's guild. Additionally, there's a level gap between the two of them.

Issaiah is at level 27 while Axel is at level 32, a five-level gap between them.

Knowing that the situation would only escalate if he stays, he decided to leave alongside Issaiah since he could come back later to buy his things when Axel and the two goons behind him are not here.

'Why do I feel like a bitch?' Blake thought, cursing himself, and feeling uncomfortable.

As he suppressed his emotions and pick the better choice, Axel overstepped.

"Hey, where are you going, visitor? I told you to apologize to me to" Axel said arrogantly followed by the laughter of his two goons behind him, finding it fun to bully a visitor that doesn't want any problem.

If he had kept his mouth shut, Blake would probably leave by now.

But when he was trying to be the better person and not cause a ruckus here, Axel said that, and this causes the vein on Blake's forehead to bulge as his smile stiffen. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

With a slow and steady movement, Blake turns around with the same smile on his face.

Instead of apologizing as Axel wanted, he then blatantly said, "Oh, I still haven't bought the things I need here yet, so can you leave me be? I'll leave the place as soon as I bought what I need"

"Didn't you hear what I said? Apologize" Axel added once more, being more aggressive.

Issaiah who was standing behind Blake pulls his arm with a frown on his face, "What are you doing? Don't mess with him, just apologize and leave. I told you that I'll compensate you for dragging you into this"

Blake didn't answer Issaiah as he kept his eyes fixed on Axel.

More people started to notice their banters, while the clerk is panicking about the situation.

Just as the situation started to become tense, Axel thought of something fun as a smile crept to his face, "Since you want to be a tough guy, how about we make a bet?" he said, causing Blake to raise one of his eyebrows.

Pointing at the black scythe that he was originally interested in, Axel then explained.

"That scythe is a level 30 B-grade weapon. Don't worry, you can hold it, my friend here can help you bypass the requirement. Let's see if you can shatter that one. If you can, then I'll back off and let the two of you be" Axel then paused before the smile on his face turns into an evil one. "But if you can't, then I want you to prostrate to me while apologizing"

Upon hearing this, Blake chuckled as a surge of excitement fueled his body.

"If it's a bet, make the playing chip even. If I shatter that scythe, then I want you to buy me one thing from this place" Blake said and paused. Axel thought he had finished but he was wrong, "And also I want you to kiss Issaiah's foot" he added, his expression stoic.

Just as he said that the entire place turned silent, and nobody talked.

None of them could believe Blake's demand, yet all of them snapped from their dazes when Blake continues, tilting his head playfully, "Do we have a deal? Or are you scared that I might be able to break the scythe?"

Since this Axel guy started first, then he would mess with him back.

Gritting his teeth at the audacity and pride that Blake suddenly have when he was meek and all smiles before, Axel didn't back down as his eyes flashed fiercely, "Okay, you fucker. It's a deal. Don't go back on your words now, I'll enjoy the sight of you prostrating"

With that, the clerk was forced to take the scythe and gave it to Axel.

Passing the scythe to another man behind him, Axel keeps fierce eye contact with Blake, trying to hide his mocking smile. When the man behind Axel was done lifting the restriction, he then gave it to Blake.

"Go ahead, I'll even let you do as many swings as you want. Don't be too pressured"

"Cheap tricks..."

Blake glanced at Salana when he heard her laugh lightly, "What do you mean by that?"

Pointing at the bottom part of the scythe's handle, Salana then replied mockingly, "That guy did more than lowering the restriction to wield the weapon, he also put on an enhancing spell on the scythe just to make sure that you can't destroy it. What a bunch of losers"

Upon hearing this, Blake looks at the handle and finds a small mark on it.

Realizing that what she was saying is true, Blake's expression darkens but it didn't last long as an excited smile soon replaced it. 'So that's how you want to play it, then I'll look forward to seeing your expression when I power through your tricks"

Although he was unsure of himself earlier, he can guess why he shattered the scythe.

Strength-wise, he was not that strong to actually shatter the scythe with a light swing or even gripping it tightly. It should be the power of the Perfect Scythe Proficiency that he has, there's no other answer.

It's an S-grade skill, harnessing the innate energy of his Spectral Vampire race.

Even though it was a C-grade scythe that he shattered earlier, one grade higher than that shouldn't be a problem. Blake grips the scythe tightly under the onlookers' gaze which is interested in the outcome.

None of them know why this problem arises, but they wanted to see Blake attempt it.

"Axel, isn't it?" Blake suddenly said.

Hearing his name being mentioned, Axel raises one of his eyebrows smugly before he saw an excited smile on Blake's face, "Since you initiate this, don't go back on your words. There are many witnesses here, it would be embarrassing if you didn't fulfill our bet"

As he said that, Axel was about to reply but suddenly stopped.

Out of all their surprise, Blake raised the black scythe above his head, and a red layer of energy pulsated from his arm. It was then that the red energy started to steam, and in the moment when he swung the scythe, a crack appeared on the blade.

Crack!

Seeing this, the onlookers gasped in surprise, the B-grade scythe cracked rather easily.

When the trajectory of the swing reaches the end, the entire scythe cracked before a loud shattering sound resounded throughout the armory, grabbing the attention of the other people that were not aware of this event.

[Jet-black Hollow Scythe's durability has reached 0! The item is destroyed]

Realizing that Blake surprisingly succeeds, Axel was at a loss for words.

But in a moment, he shakes his head as anger started to well up inside of him as he was embarrassed by Blake. In an impulse he strides forward filled with malice, "How dare you a brat like y-"

Just before he could finish his sentence, Blake's eyes flashed with malicious intent.

Spreading his arms to the side mockingly, he then exclaimed as a crazed smile appeared on his face, "Come! Attack me! I dare you- no, I beg you to attack me right now. I'm excited to show you what would happen after you attack me!"

But at the sight of this, Axel stopped in his tracks, 'What in the hell...? This guy is crazy!'