185 A Tiger meeting an Owl

Words : 2103 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

....…. The leader of the scammers' group fell lifelessly on the ground before turning in to a bunch of golden particles of light that fades away after a few moments. Meanwhile, the other three members that were still alive were staring blankly at the battle stage with a face that was full of disbelief. It was because even if their captain failed to see and comprehend what exactly had happened; they, on the other hand, not only understand what had occurred but they also clearly saw what exactly have happened during that small time frame with their own two eyes. They saw that Shin made his move on the exact moment when their captain took aim at him; the former did a direct sprint at the latter with full speed. And at the very same moment, the leader of the scammers' group suddenly paused for a moment from some unknown reason. And at the same time, that slight pause on his movements sealed off his fate; because Shin was already in front of him while pulling his twin sabers from being sheath on both sides of his waist before slashing it to his opponent. Then what the trio saw was a bunch of sword silhouettes that assaulted the body of their captain as Shin's arms turned into a blur while swinging his dual sabers. And what happened on the next instant was thing that we already know. But what the real thing that shocked them the most was that all of those was ended in just a matter of seconds. They were still not done at processing what had happened, yet their captain was already dead while Shin was already sheathing his sabers back once again. Even Celine who kind of expecting the result of the fight, was also gotten off-guard at what had happened. Shin's current speed exceeds her expectations. From the battle videos that she had watched, knew that Shin's movement and attack speed were quite fast, but not this fast! He seemed to be a pure agility type class instead of a Swordsman. "Looks like he also held back his strength with a great margin when fighting against the Nameless Swordsman," muttered by Celine to herself when she saw Shin's movements. Well, she almost got it right since Shin was not really using his full power when he was fighting against himself. After killing off the leader of the scammers' group, Shin didn't immediately walk down the battle stage. First, he looked at the remaining three before saying with a slight urgency. "Hey! Who is going next? My time is quite limited so we better end this quickly so that I can practice some of my skills." The trio trembled uncontrollably when they heard what Shin have said. Even their captain was taken down by this guy in a matter of seconds so it was obvious that they couldn't beat him even if they wanted to. And to make the matter worse, the key of this room was in the hands of that scary woman that also took down their ace one-sidedly. But whatever they thought might be, they still couldn't be save at their current predicament, And all that they could do was to accept their fates and fight these two monsters that were caged with them. But at the same time, they couldn't just back down without putting up a fight. At the very least, they were going to do everything they could to fight out for their survival; they still have some of their pride as Maverick Rankers after all. But unfortunately for them, the reality slapped them on their faces as life was too cruel. The three of them couldn't even put up a fight against these two monsters; they didn't even last for more than a minute when they were battling the two. The only good thing on here was that they didn't have to do a 'Winner-takes-it-all' kind of bet this time. But if they wanted to escape from the torture of getting beaten up repeatedly, they still needed to offer all of their equipments to the two; including the ones that were stored on their personal storage. That way, they were still able to retain their active quest and curreny levels. And after that, the three were immediately sent out of the room, leaving Shin and Celine behind. And this time, Celine could now soloed Shin… Eh!? I mean, she could now tell him that the thing that she wanted to ask. "You are that famous Sickarius that beaten the trio of Exheart, Bryan and HellBan, right? And the very same guy that score a draw with the well-known Nameless Swordsman, am I right?" Shin knitted his brow as he looked at her. His reason on coming here was he wanted to practice some of his skills, but from the looked of it, he couldn't do it with this girl around. It was because he wanted to try creating some skill combo with the skill set of his two personas. And with this girl being here, it might exposed his identity if she somehow managed to recognize some of his skills. 'I guess I need to change to other room so that I can do my peaceful training.' When Celine saw Shin looking at her but not saying anything, she couldn't help herself but pouted her lips a little before waving her right hand in front of Shin's face while saying to him with a slight teasing tone. "Hello~♪ Are you still there? I am asking you a question, at least respond to me and not treat me like some sort of air. Or don't tell me that you are dumbstruck with my beauty." Then Shin finally snapped out of his daze after hearing that and chuckles slightly before saying. "Hehe… You really are a beauty, but unfortunately you are not my type. So sorry." Celine was gotten off-guard by Shin's reply before laughing out loud. "Hahaha…. So, you are a cheeky b*st*rd, Huh? Anyway, how about answering a girl's question first before dumping her directly." Shin chuckled one again and said. "Hehe… Didn't you already know the answer on that question of yours? So why bother asking about it? Are you a teacher or something? Teachers and boastful people are the only ones that ask questions even though they already know the answers on it. And you know, it is quite annoying sometimes." This time, Celine clicked her tongue and said. "Tsk! I thought that you were a charming guy, but it turns out that you are quite a cold man." Shin smirked at her and said. "Heh! Sorry to shatter your fantasy then. Anyway, I'm going now. I still need to do something," before turning around and planning to get out of the room. "Eh? Wait! Let's spar for a few rounds before you go!" said by Celine almost immediately while pulling one of Shin's arms with both of her hands. "Hey! What are you doing? Let me go! I'm quite a busy person you know?" said Shin while pulling back his right arm. "Come on! Let's have a match for a few rounds. I promise you that it will not take much of your time. And didn't you said earlier that you are going to practice some of your skills? Let me spar with you! Sparring with someone with similar strength as yours is the best way to practice our skills." Said by Celine with one breath while refusing to let go the right arm of the swordsman. Now, Shin's eyebrows were starting to lock into a frown at this point of time. Then he said with a slightly annoyed tone. "What's wrong with your head girl? Did you hit it against something or what?" This time, Celine stopped being 'nice' too and glared at Shin while saying. "Hey! Why are you so close minded? I'm being nice here, you know. So, stop being a sissy and spar with me. Or are you scared of me? Yeah! You must be scared of me, that is why you are running away." The corner of Shin's mouth suddenly twitched a little after hearing what she had said. He wanted to say something, but no words came out. 'Now that I think about it. I guess I can give her a round or two. But d*mn! My time is limited, if I go spar with this girl, I may not able to do some experiments for my skill combos. I feel that my Fire-Ice Combo Barrage was not enough anymore.' And while Shin was caught in a dilemma, Celine suddenly remembered something crucial. "And how are you going to get out of this room? The key is in my hands." Shin smirked at her and said. "Heh! Well, you can put me on the VIP members of this Battle Arena. I can come and go on any rooms that I wanted." Then Celine suddenly got some hints and said with an excited tone. "Whoa! You know who are the owner of the Town? Or do you perhaps close to the mysterious Guild Leader of the Hand of Midas Guild? My Captain is doing his best to set up a connection with those two, yet there are still no positive results. It looks like you are someone that is not so simple." but she still refused to let Shin's arm go. 'Girls are really unpredictable. They are too quick at changing moods. And it looks like she is really determined at having a sparring match with me,' thought Shin to himself while releasing a helpless sigh. Then Shin have nothing to do but to accept her challenge. "Alright, let's have a duel now. So will you please let my arm go." Celine squinted her eyes and looked at Shin suspiciously before saying. "Hey! Did you hit your head or something? You keep changing the topic every time I ask you an interesting question?" Shin looked at her skeptically and said. "I don't have to answer that question, right? And are we going to spar or not? Don't waste my time. I still have a lot of things that I need to do." Celine was still looking at Shin suspiciously and said. "Formed a contract first. Then I'll let you go." And after making a contract with him, Celine finally let Shin's right arm go. Of course, the contract was not 'Winner-takes-it-all' mode. They didn't have any grudge with after all, while the scammers' group earlier was already a given. But the in the contract that they signed, they need to battle with a best of three rounds, before Shin was permitted by the System to get out of the room. Good thing, that dying here didn't give any player a penalty unless they included it in the contract agreement. And without wasting any more time, Shin and Celine walked towards the battle stage while the two of them were standing at each end of the of the arena; the distance between the two of them was a total of 70 meters. Celine already saw earlier that Shin was able to travel a distance of 20-meters in a matter of seconds, or worst, in almost an instant. Given that, she already learned her lesson from what happen to the leader of the scammers' group, so she will not underestimate Shin the same thing that that guy did. Shin didn't shorten the distance in the preparation time. Instead, he welcomed the handicap with full of confidence. And when Celine saw that, she also refused to cast any kind of spells that she could use; she refused taking more advantage. They continue standing still on their current spot for a few moments before they simultaneously release their Aura Manifestation. Celine can see a majestic White Tiger standing behind Shin while looking down at her arrogantly. At the same time, the latter saw a huge Owl with gray-colored feathers appeared behind the former while looking back at him with its intelligent eyes. And as the Tiger and the Owl were looking back with each other, the atmosphere inside the room suddenly dropped with a great margin with the aura of the two starting to collide with one another, And that gave the two standing on each end of the battle arena, a signal to start their battle. ...…

185 A Tiger meeting an Owl

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