The arena roared like a living beast, its stands packed to the brim. Felix shoved through the crowd, his ribs aching from elbows and impatient shoves. He'd heard whispers all morning—this wasn't just a duel. It was a clash between legends: Orric "The Last Laugh," one of the empire's deadliest swordsmen, and Keelan Duskthorn, the duke's prodigal son.
Even the king had come.
The energy in the air was thick—part excitement, part fear.
Felix barely snatched a seat before the announcer's voice thundered: "Honoring us with his presence—His Majesty, King Tharion Virelorn, and Crown Prince Kael Virelorn!"
A hush fell as the royal box's curtains parted. The king, a middle-aged man with a crown of iron and frost-blue eyes, surveyed the crowd like a hawk. Beside him sat a boy no older than thirteen—the prince, his golden hair catching the torchlight like a coin. To the king's right stood a gray-haired man in general's garb, his scarred hand resting on the prince's shoulder.
Felix's gaze snapped left. There, in the combatants' aisle, stood Dain—the arrogant noble he'd humiliated not long ago. The bastard smirked as if he'd already won some unseen game.
"In the right corner—Orric, one of the strongest swordsmen in the empire!"
"And facing him—from the noble house of Duskthorn, the duke's second-born—Kaelan Duskthorn!"
Felix blinked. Wait… is he really a boy?
Orric looked younger than Felix expected—maybe early twenties, with wild red hair and a grin that didn't reach his eyes. His opponent, Kaelan, was the opposite: elegant, quiet, and light on their feet. Their blackthorn blade shimmered in the sun.
Isn't Kaelan... a bit too graceful?
"Begin!" the king commanded.
Keelan struck first. His sword wept thorns, each slash unfurling like a rose's venomous kiss. Orric dodged, but a barb grazed his cheek—and the crowd gasped as his pupils flared, his stance tightening like a coiled spring.
"He's faster now," Felix muttered.
The guy beside him chuckled. "That's his magic, boy. The more you cut him, the more he learns. Call it… the last laugh."
"Frustrated by Orric's resilience, Kaelan traps him..." in a dome of razor thorns slashing from all angles but orric blocks them easily. He also takes some damage but with his eye glowing with a single explosive slash he shatters the thorn cage into small fragments.
Kaelan changes his tactics.
He sneered. "Elegance cuts deeper than thorns." He lunged—but Orric wasn't there. The redhead's blade met air as Keelan's afterimage dissolved.
Something about Kaelan's movements—it was too graceful, too precise. Felix filed the thought away. But shruggs it off.
A feint.
Orric's eyes shut. His next parry rang true, steel screaming as he split the illusion.
"Instincts," the guild master breathed. "They say he once slaughtered a pack of shadow-wolves blindfolded the guy said .
"Felix grinned. "I'd love to fight him someday.".
Blood slicked the sand. Keelan panted, his Rosie sword glowing like a dying star. The crowd recoiled— even the king leaned forward.
"That's Thorned Rose Apocalypse," the man said again. "The Duskthorn family's trump card. One strike is enough to take down a warlord."
Keelan unleashed his technique—but before he could finish it, Orric moved. In one clean strike, he shattered the attack and sent Kaelan crashing into the arena floor. Kaelan's blade skittered away.
Orric stepped forward, placing his blade at Kaelan's throat. "Yield."
Silence.
Even Felix stood frozen, breath held. Then a white scarf fluttered down from the royal box—the duke's signal of surrender.
The crowd erupted.
Felix rose and cheered like the rest, adrenaline buzzing through his veins.
The king stood. "Name your reward."
Orric sheathed his sword. "A scholarship for my brother, Dain. Let him train at the best academy."
Dain's lips curled into something between a sneer and a smile. Gratitude? Resentment? Even Felix couldn't tell.
A murmur rippled through the crowd. Dain's face twisted— was that gratitude or humiliation?
The guy next to felix turned. I am the guild master of this town .
"Nice to meet you. I'm Felix—the one who bets against odds."
The guild master nudged Felix. "You've got a fighter's eyes. Join me for lunch?"
Felix grinned. "Only if you're paying."