“Prepare yourself!” snarled Ral. His vis was revolving around his arm and growing in size. It began to resemble a giant gauntlet.

Kane gulped. He should run away! And yet, his feet stayed in place. To his defense, fighting Ral could make him stronger and more experienced, even though he had once already reached his peak. An absurd rationalization for normal folks, but as a warrior at heart, it wasn’t. Finished deciding, he readied his stance.

“That’s enough!” a familiar female voice echoed throughout the hallway. Four black chains were projected from the direction behind Ral. They roped him in until he was bound, unable to struggle. His vis dissipated when he was fully restrained.

Then, Sharon came into their view, striding while yanking the chains she previously cast and knocking him down.

Ral shouted at her, “Oi, Sharon! Don’t interrupt our fight—” Then, her pointy long laced boot stepped on his forehead, grinding against him. “Ow!”

“Do you realize what you have done? Were you trying to kill him!?” she shouted, scowling. A jarring contrast to her usual kind and calm demeanor. Just when Kane thought he had seen her true side.

“Hey, I know my power, okay? I was just testing him—” Sharon stomped on him and chained his mouth. “Ugh!” he groaned again.

“No more excuses! Your ludicrous strength can easily…” She halted her berating midway when she noticed Kane looking at her. Her previous furious face turned into a smiling, gentle one. How eerie.

“Ahem! I’m very, very sorry, Kane, for his behalf and mine. I should’ve paid more attention to him.” She bowed as Ral squirmed underneath her foot.

“Seems like you two are close,” commented Kane.

“That’s because he’s my older brother, Ral. I and my other siblings have been watching him for a long time. He tends to get into troubles.” She sighed.

“How come you two don’t look similar?”

Due to the loose chain, Ral was able to speak, “We were adopted! Mmh…” The chain was tightened again.

“Stop saying needless things!” she shouted at him, then switched the topic. “Oh no, Kane! You’re badly injured! You must be treated immediately!”

Kane inspected his arms; they were all black and blue. Painful sensations began surging into his brain. He knelt as he grimaced in silence.

In the meantime, Sharon rushed to wake the wardens up and told one of them to find medics. She said to Kane, “I know this is obvious, but you need to recuperate as much as possible. I’ll delay the matches the best I could; this is partially my fault to begin with.”

“So, you won’t give me some healing, then?”

“I wish I can, but I have to take care of him first. I’ll visit you again tomorrow. Rest well, Kane.” She bid goodbye, dragging Ral with her.

Kane waddled toward the bed and sank into it. He checked his arms again. They looked awful, but at least they were not broken nor cracked. What a monstrous power that guy had. Ral’s raw strength was probably nearing that of the Bow Saint, the mightiest saint, despite his scrawny body and young age. Nonetheless, he was much, much far behind in terms of vis quality when compared to a saint.

A nigh-impossible feat for a mortal. Usually, monsters rank 5 or above had that might. Few of them could transform into a human-like form, but they would’ve retained some of their monster features, which wasn’t seen in Ral. Also, he was rather dumb unlike those who had that ability. So, what was his secret then? No point in thinking about that for now.

In any case, Kane yearned to encounter him again someday. A duel where they could unleash their utmost ability and power without interference. It was obvious that Ral was holding back and not used to unarmed combat. Although admittedly, he might have suffered more debilitating injuries if not for Sharon’s interruption. Despite constant reminders to himself, it was hard to think rationally in heated moments. This wasn’t the case before reincarnating. Perhaps it was related to his new, young body.

---

Traversing the dim hallway, Sharon pulled the chained Ral around. No words had been uttered between them since parting ways with Kane.

“You can release me now. I promise I won’t hurt him again until he stops being your champion,” he said.

“…”

“Still mad, eh? Fine, I’ll do it by myself, then.” Ral broke free from the bondage with ease as the chains shattered into pieces before disappearing. He stood up and patted his clothing.

“How was he?” asked Sharon, still looking ahead.

“Much better than I expected. At first, I thought I could beat him by just playing around, but he managed to defend himself from all of my punches!” he praised.

“All? Are you sure?” She turned her head and stared at him.

“Yes!” shouted Ral. “It’s like he was already used to fighting me for some reason. Come to think of it, it felt like I was fighting a seasoned warrior instead of a kid. Man, his childhood must’ve been full of bloodbaths and stuff. Like us.”

“To make you this excited… he must be one of your worthy opponents.”

“No, not yet. Maybe in three or four years. Heh, I can’t wait until then.” He chuckled. “Where did you find him anyway? Somewhere in the Untamed Land? Since people from there are stronger than usual.”

“From my school. He wanted to become a mage, apparently.”

“What!? You can’t be serious! How—”

Sharon placed her finger on Ral’s mouth, silencing him. “I’ll explain to you right away.”

---

The next day, Kane rose, yawning. He noticed that his arms were covered in bandages. On the table, there was a plate full of pieces of bread, sliced meats, and green veggies. He wolfed them down like a hungry beast. He had been sleeping for a long time; his stomach was gnawing on him from inside.

“Slow down, Kane, or you’re going to choke on that,” warned Sharon, standing behind the cell door. She brought the same box from yesterday and Ral with her.

“Sup, Kane?” he greeted.

Kane swallowed the food and paused eating. “What do you two want?”

“That’s not the correct tone to speak to your masters. Looks like I’ve been too nice. Shall I ‘educate’ you as I did with Ral?” she threatened.

“Sorry, that was uncalled for. I was still… agitated because of your brother for causing these injuries.”

“Well, I can’t blame you for that. Apology accepted for this time.” Sharon whipped her fringe, then turned her gaze at Ral. “If only my brother here can also admit his mistake.”

“Hmph! I would never apologize to anyone but Father,” he remarked. “But yeah, I was a bit too excited back then. No hard feelings, okay? I was just testing you.”

“Sure…” answered Kane half-heartedly.

“Wait here, Ral.” After giving the box to Ral, she then entered the cell and sat on the chair. “I want to talk about your match yesterday versus Sylphina.”

“Yeah? What about it?”

“Are you always… that ruthless?”

“Err…” Kane scratched his neck. He had foreseen this question beforehand. “I was angry that he tried to strangle me from behind. It’s a cowardly move in oni culture.”

“Even if she was a girl?”

“A girl? I thought she was a boy!” exclaimed Kane.

“Does the name Sylphina strike you as a boy’s name? Even after the announcer said she’s a girl.”

“I’m not that familiar with elven names. Also, I didn’t hear what he was saying at that time. I was too busy thinking how to win,” he blurted out more lies. He wanted to punch himself for saying that, but still, it was necessary. “Again, I’m sorry if I was too cruel. I didn’t mean to do that. I just want to win.”

Sharon squinted, undoubtedly doubting his words, while Kane simpered to hide the truth.

“I’m afraid that we aren’t on the same page here. To be frank, I don’t give the slightest damn about that elf since she’s been a thorn in my side. In fact, I’m really glad that you crippled her. She got what she deserved.” Her face beamed.

“Then, why did you ask those questions?”

“Because you began to resemble him.”

“Your brother?” he asked again.

“Yes.” Sharon nodded.

“In what way? We don’t even look remotely similar aside from the fact that we’re both male.”

“Ugh, you even said the same thing as him.” She rolled her eyes. “You both are strong, reliable, never complaining, indiscriminate…”

“Gee, thanks.” Kane coyed. Her compliments caught him off guard.

“…but are also muscle-headed, simple, and straightforward. Very amusing, both of you,” she let out a girlish giggle.

“…” He kept a deadpan face outside while also laughing inside. How very wrong she was. Or at least only partially correct. It had to be said, however, that he was uncertain whether she told no lies or not.

“That’s all I wanted to say. Your next match will begin in five hours.”

“No daily reward for today?” begged Kane.

“My, you’re hopeless, aren’t you? Fine, I’ll give you one.” Sharon approached Kane and sat on the edge of the bed.

They gazed at each other. Laying her hand on his chest, she leaned closer and closer until they’re almost touching. Kane’s eyes widened. Was she going to kiss him for real? His heart started beating faster and faster. Then, he realized that kissing was probably a mundane act to her, so he had to do something unexpected.

Screw it, he would take the initiative.Touching her cheek, Kane got up and kissed her forehead.

He then took a good look at Sharon and prepared for an incoming slap. It didn’t happen. Instead, she froze up. Her face and ears flushed. Without uttering a word, she stood up and hurried to leave, covering her face.

Ral, who was standing guard beside the cell, noticed this before chasing after her. “Sharon? What’s wrong!?” His voice faded away as he ran further.

Smirking, Kane was proud of his impromptu move. Never thought he would apply one of the lessons from a certain womanizer saint back when Kane was ‘befriending’ him. However, this raised some questions: Why was she embarrassed just by that? Wasn’t she supposed to be a seductress?

Could it be that… she liked him?

No, that shouldn’t be the case. Despite Kane’s foreign appearance, most people never praised him for his look nor his height, unlike Calypso or Leonard. He had no impressive background either. While his wealth was… sizable, she shouldn’t have known that. She also had been seeing strong people frequently, so she should’ve gotten used to it. Perhaps it was just a facade. Or he was being obtuse. Who knows.

As usual, he stopped thinking about any trivial matters too much. He then combed his hair, searching for two tiny objects: a teleportation stone, the same stone from the entrance test, and a mana shard. Kane untied the string that was attached to his hair and retrieved them. They were given by Reynar when visiting his office. By using these, he could escape from this dungeon whenever he wanted unless there was magical interference.

If not for Ral following Sharon around, Kane would’ve strangled her, stole the feather, and teleported to Reynar’s position. Kane had an opportunity back when she brought the box for the first time; however, it had been too sudden and risky, even for him.

There was only one option left: winning the underaged brawl. He had to get the feather whether Sharon fulfilled her promise or not.