Overwhelming Firepower

"Who are you, and what do you want from me?" Alexander asked while trying his best to remain standing.

Lucen did not respond and instead dashed forward. He did not use his aura, but the speed of his movement made it look like he did.

There was no warning, there was no shift in posture, no tightening of muscles. He simply moved.

One moment, he was standing still; the next, he was already closing the distance. Alexander's pupils shrank slightly.

'Fast-' The thought had not even fully formed before Lucen was already within striking range.

Lucen then performed a rather telegraphic punch. Alexander, who was being pushed down by the pressure Lucen was emitting, lifted his sword to barely block the attack.

It was a heavy punch that made Alexander take a step back.

The impact traveled through the blade, into his arms, and down to his shoulders like a shockwave. His grip tightened instinctively, fingers digging into the hilt as he felt the force trying to break through his guard.

For a split second, his stance wavered. If his footing had been even slightly off, he would have been thrown back entirely.

The sound Lucen's fist made upon hitting the flat side of Alexander's sword was not a sound a fist should make upon hitting a steel sword.

Lucen did not allow Alexander even a moment to recover. The instant the first attack ended, the next had already begun. The roundhouse kick came immediately, cutting through the air with sharp precision.

Alexander quickly ducked to evade the incoming attack. Lucen's leg cut through the air above him with a sharp whistle. The force alone made the ends of Alexander's hair flutter wildly.

Before Alexander could even recover from his crouched position, Lucen stepped forward again; there was no pause, no wasted movement. A downward strike followed immediately; it was a chop with Lucen's open hand.

Lucen's movement wasn't overwhelmingly fast, at least not yet, but the precision and flow of his attacks created the illusion of speed.

Each motion connected seamlessly into the next, leaving no openings, no wasted movement, no hesitation. It was not raw speed that pressured Alexander, but the fact that every action felt inevitable, as if Lucen had already decided how the exchange would unfold before it even began.

Alexander was rather late to react and was forced to use his aura to block the attack with his forearm.

The second Lucen's open palm hit Alexander's forearm, Alexander, who was using aura, felt how heavy Lucen's attack was. If he didn't use his aura, his arm might have been broken.

Alexander, for the first time since the fight began, was able to counter with a kick. Lucen was easily able to evade by swaying his body a bit to the right, but this gave Alexander enough time to distance himself from Lucen.

It was at this moment that most people would become even more confused and start asking the other party why they attacked them, but Alexander was different.

Alexander's focus had increased drastically. The confusion from earlier vanished completely, replaced by a calm, sharpened awareness.

His breathing slowed, steady and controlled, each inhale measured, each exhale deliberate. The world around him seemed to narrow. The sounds of the environment faded.

All unnecessary thoughts were thrown away. All that was in Alexander's mind was to take down the opponent in front of him.

Seeing Alexander's atmosphere change simply made Lucen excited; the trait Battle Crazed was adding to his already excited self.

He who loved the game Aerok wholeheartedly was now facing the hero whom he had deemed the paragon of what it means to be a hero; he was practically the happiest he had ever been in this life and the last.

Lucen smiled with unmistakable glee. His eyes shone with excitement and from genuine exhilaration as he dashed forward, still not using his aura.

Lucen pushed forward, but unlike before, Alexander did not dodge; he accepted the flow of the forward punch with his sword and then deflected it by redirecting Lucen's blow.

That move was not something anyone could do. The timing required was absurdly precise. Too early, and the force of Lucen's strike would crash through his guard and send him flying. Too late, and the blow would land cleanly. Yet Alexander executed it flawlessly, guiding the force away instead of resisting it.

Seeing Alexander perform a perfect parry in real life just made Lucen grin from ear to ear in enjoyment of the moment.

Alexander then countered with a downward slash, and Lucen also did a counter by doing a leg sweep.

Lucen's leg sweep was faster, but Alexander seemed to have seen that coming, as instead of his sword attacking Lucen, it was instead pierced into the ground, blocking Lucen's leg sweep.

The clash between leg and blade sent a dull vibration through the ground. Neither side forced the exchange further. Both adjusted immediately.

The moment Lucen's leg collided with the blade embedded in the ground, he shifted his weight and pushed off it instead of forcing through.

His body twisted mid-motion, turning what should have been a failed attack into a follow-up.

There was no stiffness in the movement; there was not a single shred of hesitation.

His body adapted mid-motion, converting failure into continuation as if it had been planned that way from the start.

Lucen, who had experienced many battles, plus his many skills and traits, allowed him to move in such a way.

His fist came down from above. Alexander reacted instantly. The same as before, he used the flow of Lucen's attack and redirected it elsewhere, but unlike before, he followed up with a sideward kick.

Lucen, who was in mid-air, was forced to bring his arms up to block. The impact pushed him sideways, his body sliding through the air before landing a few feet away.

His feet touched the ground lightly, but the force behind the kick still carried through, forcing him to take an extra step to stabilize himself.

This surprised Alexander as he infused that kick with his aura mantle, and he was expecting a few broken bones on Lucen, but it seems that he was able to somehow negate the bulk of the damage.

Even now, Lucen was not using his aura. He was facing Alexander with nothing but his monstrous physical ability.

'His strength, speed, and reaction time are incredible, and this is supposed to be Alexander at the start of his adventures.'

Lucen was now getting even more excited. "I guess warm-up is done, now how about we get to the real thing?"

The second Lucen said those words, he started using his aura, but he was not planning on using his aura mantle.

The moment Lucen decided to use his aura, nothing visibly changed. Yet Alexander felt it immediately.

The space between them grew heavier; the pressure he was sensing had sharpened. It was as if the opponent in front of him had taken a step forward without moving.

It was also during this time that Alexander finally understood that there was no ill intent in Lucen's attacks, smiled, and answered.

"Please, guide me."

The second Alexander said those words, Lucen burst forward once more. This time, with him using his aura, his movements were far faster than ever before.

Lucen did a move similar to what those masked riders in these old shows used to do, which was basically a flying kick.

The sudden increase in speed was something Alexander had anticipated when he felt Lucen was now using aura, but he could not have anticipated the increase in his speed to be this much.

Alexander had no time to dodge, so he blocked the incoming kick with his sword, covered in his aura mantle.

The power of the kick, even without an aura mantle, was overwhelming. Alexander felt it through his sword, through his aura, through his entire body. It was not just strength, it was weight. It was force concentrated into a single point.

He tried his best to have his feet planted on the ground, but he floated in the air and was about to fly backwards. It was at that brief moment that Alexander saw an opening.

Even in this rather awkward position, he was able to swing his sword. It was not something he consciously thought through. His body simply moved.

A natural response, sharp and immediate, as if he understood what needed to be done without needing to process it. That single move was able to slice through Lucen's clothes.

"Heh, as expected of the protagonist, even with his stats being at the starting line, he was able to do this much," Lucen mumbled to himself.

Alexander, who flew backward, hit the ground and rolled once before pushing himself back up almost immediately. His breathing was heavier now, but his stance remained firm.

His eyes never left Lucen. He immediately prepared for Lucen's next attack, but the next attack never came.

"That was a good spar." Lucen suddenly said.

"Huh?" Alexander looked at Lucen, bewildered by the sudden development.