The two men began to fight. Their weapons were practically blurs, and as they fought, they used skills as naturally as they were breathing. This was truly a higher-tier battle. Up until now, the fights I had seen were usually powerful, but they weren’t smooth. People would call out attacks, spending time on offense and defense. While attacks would happen in flurries, there would often be breaks.
The difference here was that the battle felt more frantic and the moves felt smoother. A skill wasn’t just performed, but it occurred and then melded into the next which melded into the next. They’d even perform combos, which were popping multiple skills off at the right time to take advantage of the previous skill. When I attacked, I’d use something like Quick Attack. These fighters would use Quick Attack, but then that would set them into the position to do a Fireslash, which would then blind their opponent and allow them to perform a Break Slice, leading into a Rapid Flurry.
Lydia had said that she didn’t feel like she could become better with the sword without finding a master. I had understood what she meant at the time, but it had never been clearer until seeing two masters fighting. Some things couldn’t be overcome with speed and levels. Prediction, intuition, reaction… these were things that could only come with training and experience. It was clear that both of them were extremely experienced. Remarkably, both men were only a few years older than me. Yet, they had been training since they were teenagers, while I had only been handed my strength a half year before.
“Please, stop!” Faeyna cried out desperately as her brother and the Elf Hero fought violently.
Her brother had been pushed into a fate that he wanted no part of. He desired to be free and love who he wanted. Yet, the woman he tried to be with died too young. At that point, he was found by a master who began to train him. Although he had told his sister he was a dungeon diver, the truth was that he was a True Dungeon Diver with aspirations of becoming a powerful hero. Only a true hero could be able to defy their fate. It was that kind of thing. Did that mean that the day I had stopped Shao, I had become a True Hero because I defied her fate?
Well, just because I had that job didn’t mean I was a hero by the way these guys were using it. There were multiple heroes in this world. There were the local heroes. They received the tokens given by cities, and thus had the selfless job Hero. Then, there were the legacy heroes. That was the best way to describe the likes of the Maid Hero, the Hero King, and so on… These were all people who had become heroes by absorbing the legacy of a heroic lore.
The final type of hero, the one that Faeyna’s brother was trying to reach, I guess I could call a true hero. This was someone who had gained a great deal of power by their own right, forging their name into history. If a true hero met a tragic end, they may end up becoming a legacy hero, only being able to pass down their mantle to the next qualified person.
What did that make me? Was I following the path of a true hero? I had various blessings, and my soul had been grown and expanded. I was no longer a normal person bound to live a normal life. As I was lost in thought, the fight had reached a critical point. The victor of the fight had been obvious, and I had already guessed who it would be.
“Brother!” Faeyna cried out in horror as a sword pierced right through his chest.