Flashy Adventurer System : Show Off to Get Stronger!

\'What?! Why aren\'t you guys impressed?! Isn\'t a dual wielder all cool and sh*t?\' Shye inwardly cursed, rather dissatisfied about the small number of points he earned upon revealing that he was a dual wielder.

\'Tch, I guess I have to actually do something with dual swords first huh? People are getting harder and harder to please!\'

"Hoh? And what do you plan on doing with two swords? Is that supposed to boost your strength attribute up to be on par with mine?" Jason taunted as he mockingly looked at Shye who was slightly dumbfounded.

The bastard guessed it correctly.

Only, Jason\'s words were insincere; he merely intended to mock Shye for flaunting something rare but ultimately useless in the present circumstance.

Shye knew this to be the case, thus, after being initially surprised, his characteristic arrogant smile reappeared on his face.

"How about we try again? Fat oaf." Shye retorted, charging straight toward Jason without waiting for his reply.

"Y-You dare call me fat oaf?! I\'ll f*cking kill you!"

Never even once did Jason encounter someone around the same age range as him who dared fight him head-on while his Dark Bulwark was active, giving him a false sense of security that he was unbeatable in such a state.

Even the top-ranked rookie of the Nookbury branch had no choice but to run around and wait for his skill to time out.

Hence, Jason believed that Shye was simply being stupid in trying to engage against him in a direct comparison of strength.

Charging forward, the fat oaf once again swung his shortsword diagonally upwards, aiming to prove that Shye\'s dual wielding wouldn\'t do him any good in this situation.

*CLANG!*

Another ear-rending metallic noise was produced as two platinum-tier weapons clashed.

Astonishingly though, this time, no one was blown back—both duelists standing firm in the middle of the arena.

Jason was naturally shocked.

In the first clash, his forearms felt the satisfying sensation of overpowering his opponent, causing him to feel confident that nothing would change.

After all, how could an additional greatsword increase one\'s attributes?

Unfortunately for the fat oaf, that was exactly what happened as Shye\'s rare talent once again shone through.

\'Tch! This pretentious bastard probably used a self-buff skill! Just to show off? Despicable!\' Jason thought as the two of them stepped back simultaneously to reset the distance. \'My Dark Bulwark\'s time is almost up…I have to finish this!\'

Jason\'s Dark Bulwark skill was indeed strong, however, it isn\'t that strong when used alone.

The Nookbury true elite also knows this.

Hence, he tried hard to look for a skill to complement the strong trump card.

After around one and a half years of searching, Jason finally found it.

He was saving this trump card combination for him to obtain a real shot at the rookie representative selection tournament.

However, he couldn\'t allow himself to be humiliated in front of ten thousand people, thus, he decided to go all out today.

If he could defeat Shye, then everything would at least be worth it as 900 gold coins isn\'t a small amount even for him.

As a bonus, he would be able to clean up his tarnished name in the ice queen\'s heart.

Hopefully, he would also obtain a real chance to woo the love of his life.

Nevertheless, everything hinged on the condition that he could defeat Shye.

With a firm resolve to emerge victorious, Jason lowered the base of his tower shield to the ground, taking cover behind it as he menacingly aimed his shortsword toward Shye.

He then slowly advanced, carefully stalking Shye as he prepared to use his ultimate skill.

\'Bruiser Box!\'

Right after mentally invoking the skill\'s name, blue mana lines slithered across the ground, swiftly enveloping Shye and Jason within a massive mana cube that appeared to shrink with each passing second.

\'Hoh? So we\'re forced to duel each other head-on huh?\' Shye inwardly deduced as he looked at Jason with a cold smile. \'You think I\'m scared of you in a direct clash? Well, then I shall beat you up to let you know how insignificant you truly are.\'

*HYAAAOOOOHH!*

Rotten mana wings suddenly emerged from Shye\'s back followed by a blood-curdling howl which sent chills down Jason\'s spine.

The fear stacks hadn\'t reached their peak yet, so when Shye utilized his [Fallen] skills, Jason managed to withstand the effects of the fear stacks.

Shye didn\'t mind though as he would like to engage in an all-out battle against Jason.

It wasn\'t every day that he could fight a head-on duel to his heart\'s content while trapped in a small cube, after all.

He wanted to make the most out of this experience.

Feeling the massive attribute boosts provided by his [Fallen] skills, Shye smiled sinisterly at Jason.

"Heh, you brought this upon yourself so you better not complain!"

Hearing Shye\'s words, Jason narrowed his eyes.

\'Those skills of his do look rather unsettling. However, as long as I carefully corner him with the help of my skills and my still active Dark Bulwark, there\'s no way he could win against me in such a closed space…\'

After consoling himself to reinforce his confidence, Jason slowly marched forward, hoping to overwhelm Shye with sheer size and strength.

Only, he didn\'t expect how strong Shye was right now.

With a single wave of Shye\'s greatswords, Jason\'s gold-tier mid-grade relic shield was bent in the middle, causing the eyes of Jason and the onlookers, including Shirley, to almost pop out of their sockets.

"Hahahaha, thank you for cornering yourself for me, fat oaf." Shye mocked, once again ruthlessly battering Jason\'s shield with powerful slashes.

*CLANG!* *CLANG!* *CLANG!*

Finally, after around five full powered hits, Jason\'s shield gave in, utterly unusable as it was bent in half.

\'HOW?! HOW IS THIS TINY BASTARD STILL STRONGER THAN ME?!\'

Jason was out of options and all he could do was complain as Shye went in to beat him up half-dead.

Clouds of dust covered the tiny mana cube as Shye ruthlessly whacked the shit out of Jason, prompting the crowd to crane their necks in hopes of seeing what was going on inside the mana cube.

Unfortunately, they didn\'t see anything until the clouds of dust cleared, at least revealing a beaten-up Jason who had already reverted back to his original body size.

[Congratulations! You\'ve earned 9,950 points!]