Chapter LXXVII - Light Speed (part 1)

That smug… something tells me that he has changed.

Behind him, his friends are also coming this way. Aside from the two boys who were with him back then, there's also two other girls that I do not recognize.

Looking around, it seems like everyone else also recognized him.

After all, he has become quite famous.

"Interesting battle, Rize... I didn't expect you to ever go that barbaric."

Cane said after he arrived in front of us. Somehow the air is different around him. He is more... arrogant.

Cane turned his attention to Barett, who is standing next to me.

"I'm Cane. Blue ranked."

Cane said to Barett as he moved his hand, and Barett shook his hand firmly.

"Cane the Light Slayer, I know. You killed a lesser dragon in one hit."

Cane laughed at that, and then he turned to me and pointed his finger at me.

"That is all… was actually thanks to her."

I lifted one eyebrow, while everyone suddenly became confused. His friends behind him just watched as Cane spoke to us.

Cane turned his gaze backwards, and noticed his friends were standing like a brick wall.

"Why are you guys standing there!?"

"W-What do you want us to do!?"

Spike-I mean, Brian defended himself, a little snapped. Though Cane did snap first at them, it makes sense why he snapped back.

Everyone else aside from us seemed to be watching in amazement. They recognize us, and they know what is happening. 

Looks like I was right. Cane has become quite famous.

Though, there is something else. I don't recall those two being in Cane's team back then. The two girls, twins, standing next to Gen and Brian. They looked like they were grinning as they watched us.

"Who's those two?"

Cane returned his gaze to me, and noticed my gaze. He followed my gaze and arrived on the twins.

"Right, you guys haven't met. That's Silica and Selina. They are insanely powerful, but they are only Green ranked."

"I see."

Insanely powerful… in Cane's terms? Then they are really strong indeed.

Cane turned his gaze at me and patted my shoulder.

"What about you? Have you reached the White rank yet?"

I smacked away his arm from my shoulder coldly.

"Nope. I'm still at Purple rank."

"Seriously? Back then, you told me to keep climbing ranks, yet you yourself are still being at the bottom. 

Playing around, like a newbie."

That last couple of words was very necessary to his sentence, because it serves the purpose of pissing me off.

So that was his goal… speaking of goals,

"We all have our own goals, don't we?"

I answered coldly at him, and he chuckled.

Everyone can sense the slight enmity between us, and I can understand why.

Cane still can't forgive me for suddenly throwing the credit for killing that lesser dragon to him. Because since that day, everyone has been going on and on about him killing a lesser dragon in one hit. Though, technically he did, but with the help from me and the others.

As someone striving to become a hero, something like that is very wrong. Unfortunately, the rumors have already gone rather wide, that it is impossible to change it.

So really, he can only blame me.

"What's going on here?"

Hod walked to us when he sensed something was wrong. Seeing that the leader finally came, Cane spoke towards him.

"I want a spar... With her."

I expected as much…

.

Before long, everyone moves out of the way and watches from afar. The light slayer, a Blue ranked adventurer that was famous for killing a dragon in one attack, is going to fight one of Hod's team members.

This is an interesting scene for everyone.

"Say... What rank is that woman?"

"I think I heard that she is a Purple."

"What?? A Purple?"

"Don't look down on her though! She was a healer, as well as a barbarian!!"

"No way!! That's a weird combination!"

The spectators are starting to chat about nonsense while me and Cane are waiting in our positions.

"What's your point for doing this, exactly?"

I asked him, who seemed to be busy staring at his friends. He turned around when I asked.

"Isn't it clear? I wanted to beat you in a match."

No. That couldn't be it.

If anyone wants to see his strength, then it should be proven when he killed the dragon with one shot.

No. He is setting me up.

"That lady is strong right?"

"Yeah, she is very strong. I saw her fighting her team members, and she defeated every single one of them."

"No way..."

Sometimes, having heightened senses also means you can hear what everyone is saying around you. From what I am hearing, most of the chatters around me… literally only talk about me.

"Let's get this over with."

I took a stance and let my pressure leak a little. The air around us went stiffer, but not to the point where everyone couldn't breath.

"Scary... but I won't lose to that!"

Cane also took a stance as he himself let out the pressure. Our pressure was about the same at this point, though I only opened like five percent of the lid.

"I'll be the judge."

Jrake came forward and declared himself the judge. He is the only one who is familiar on both sides, so he felt the responsibility to be the judge.

All the other adventurers are rather glad when Jrake becomes the judge. It seemed that this fight might be crazy after all.

"I'll be fair, don't worry."

I nodded at Jrake, and Cane did the same.

Once making sure everyone is out of the way, Jrake started the countdown.

"Okay. Ready?"

We are now at our fighting stances, glaring sharply at each other. Hmm, I wonder how I should make this go...

"Get set..."

We both glared even more fearsomely, but Cane is taking this very seriously. His pressure is getting bigger and bigger, to the point that it completely beats mine.

"Go!!"