Point-of-View: Arturo Lagusa

  During: After Infiltration Arc

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  "What are you waiting for……come at me," Remarked Valaque tauntingly.

  "Heh, I certainly don't need a second invitation," Grinned Rex, shooting towards Valaque with a look of excitement.

  He swung his claws at Valaque's face and swiped his right foot up at his abdomen, before being blown away by Valaque bursting out a blast of wind. He opened his wings to stabilize himself and flew up, rapidly swooping down with his hooked foot claws aimed at his shoulders.

  Valaque responded by forming a spiky shield of ice above himself. Rex managed to halt right before he crashed onto it. Valaque then fired a large fireball from his finger at the ice, vaporizing it and creating a massive blast of upward steam.

  Rex rapidly veered off to the left to narrowly avoid it, before flying down and rapidly twisting his body to whip his tail across at Valaque, who raised a chunk of the rooftop floor to block it, the tail smashing into the chunk and shattering it. Valaque then stunned him with a streak of lightning before blasting him away with a shot of wind, sending him crashing against the wall.

  "Woah, you can use all five Elemental Magic types? That's awesome!" Grinned Rex, standing up and brushing the dust off of himself.

  Not bad at all, this guy was strong……but he wasn't strong enough to take on Valaque. He didn't quite seem to comprehend that yet though. Also, why was Valaque revealing so many of his cards right from the on-set? It wasn't a very logical move, and……hm, based on his expression, I do not believe he's thinking along those lines, he's simply having fun with this.

  Rex attacked a few more times, but was unable to get any closer than he already had. He only attacked using his Anima's mutations, he had not used a single Elemental attack yet. Hm, is his Elemental Magic so weak that he does not have a single use for it in battle?

  "Enough, this is going nowhere," Sighed Valaque, having lost interest, "Why don't you challenge the weakest of us and, if you beat him, challenge the next weakest?"

  A sensible suggestion, although I do not think he is strong enough to beat any of us. That being said, he is definitely stronger than the average S-Ranked Adventurer, making him quite a valuable addition to our ranks.

  "What is your Elemental Magic type?" I inquired curiously.

  "Hm? Oh, it's Water Magic. But it's pretty useless, I can only form a small amount of water at a time, barely enough to even fill a glass. I can turn it into ice, but I can't control it if it's more than five inches away from my hand. The only real use for it I've found so far is that it works well as an instant ice maker for drinks," He sighed, forming a small ball of water in his palm before freezing it.

  It looked to be about the size of a tennis ball.

  "Hm, can you not shoot it out like bullets?"

  "Nah, I've tried, but it just slows down and turns back into water after a couple of meters."

  "What about forming ice claws on your fingertips, or ice needles for use in close range?" I suggested, after mulling it over for a bit.

  "Huh……hey, I think I could do that! Yeah, it works!" He exclaimed, as he extended the reach of his claws with ice, before adding with a sigh, "But I have real, dinosaur claws now, so ice claws are kinda pointless."

  "Not true, it increases your reach by a couple of inches, that can make a big difference in a close combat fight," I pointed out objectively.

  "Huh, guess you're right……well, I'm obviously not going to beat Snow White over here, so……wait, how are you guys ranked from strongest to weakest?"

  "H-hey, that was uncalled for!" Valaque exclaimed indignantly.

  "Oh, you should be careful, dude……the boss is like, super insecure about his hair," Grinned Kuua with a laugh.

  "Really? Why not just dye it then?" Asked Rex in surprise.

  "B-because……! Because I'm n-not insecure about something so petty, stop joking around, Kuua," Protested Valaque defensively, before clearing his throat and adding, "As for the rankings, just look at their numbered rings, the higher numbers are stronger."

  Not the smoothest change of subject, but it seemed to have worked. The relationship between Valaque and the members of the Retribution Tier was definitely a lot more casual now than it was when Valaque first took control of the Magic Research Group and created the Retribution Tier. The only one who still kept up the formalities at all times was Hacte, the rest of us were, as they say, pretty chill.

  "Ooh, your ring is the number one……I'll fight you then!" He challenged me confidently.

  "Er……I don't think you understand, a higher number means that the person is stronger."

  "Yeah, I know! If the boss is too strong for me, I'll try my hand against the strongest after him!"

  "Very well, but once again, I'm afraid you are outclassed," I informed him, as black sparks of lightning began crackling around me.

  "Maybe so, but where's the fun in playing it safe?" He replied with an excited grin.

  Emotion over logic, the type of person I hate dealing with the most.

  "Attack me whenever you feel like it then," I responded with a sigh.

  "Don't mind if I do!"

  He shot towards me and swung his left claws at my head, I activated my Lightning Boost skill at x2 and ducked under it before springing back as he kicked up at me with his right leg, the hooked claw slashing up. His limbs were incredibly flexible, and his agility is stunning……but his speed is inadequate. His eyes then lit up as he looked at the ground, before leaping towards me and unleashing a rapid flap of his wings, kicking up a dust cloud.

  I evaded a thrust of his claws at my throat, sprang over a low whip of his tail, and blocked a high kick by crossing my arms in front of my chest. Impressive, he fluidly moved from that low sweep with his tail to a high kick, the first move forced me to jump, and the second move was made while I was still in mid-air. Even with the Lightning Boost skill, I do not have the flexibility to dodge in this position. And worse……

  The moment his reptilian foot slammed against my block, he flexed the hooked claw inwards, digging it into my forearm about two inches. This is going to hurt……I gritted my teeth and kicked him away, which resulted in his claw ripping out of my skin, leaving a deep and painful gash.

  He then flew up with a triumphant and cocky smirk, before swooping down at me. Enough, I have let this fight drag on for long enough. Hm, but I should not kill him, he is strong and could prove to be quite an useful asset.

  I raised my arms towards him as he swooped down at me, lightning crackling in my fingertips. He showed no signs of slowing down……an impulsive fighter like Rion, strong but easy to predict. I waited till he was within five meters of me and……fired my lightning at him.

  There, that should stun him and……right before the lightning struck him, he folded his wings in front of himself, using them as a shield to block my attack, before he rapidly spun himself vertically with a violent twist. Tch, I dropped my guard! I began to spring back, but his tail whipped through the air and slammed onto my right shoulder, dislocating it, before his feet came swinging down towards my face, the hooked claws cocked.

  The left one grazed my collarbone and the right one grazed my jawline, as I just about managed to spring back and get some distance. How careless and sloppy of me, I cannot believe I really let my guard down like that……I underestimated him, something I despised doing. And worst of all, he was the second person that I'd underestimated within two days……

  Enough, I shall not hold back anymore. Lightning Boost……x5.

  I shot towards him before he had a chance to move, slamming my fist onto his abdomen and sending him flying back. I made sure to hold back my strength and avoid inflicting serious injury, I had a rough idea of how much force he could handle after watching him fight Valaque.

  Still, I was in a fair bit of pain, the gash in my forearm was bleeding profusely and I felt a bit faint and dizzy. I pushed my dislocated shoulder back into place with a pained grimace, before tearing my sleeve to tie around the wound and slow down the bleeding.

  "Hacte, go get me a healing spell," I requested through gritted teeth.

  He won't refuse me here, after all, I outrank him and Valaque was here, so if he refused to do what I asked, he'd be breaking the rules in front of our leader, whom he so blindly idolized. At least, that's probably how Hacte himself will see it, Valaque certainly couldn't care less whether or not he obeyed me.

  "You……very well, I shall be back," He replied, his displeasure obvious.

  That went even more smoothly than I……my thoughts were interrupted by a groan and the sound of rubble shifting.

  "Woah, what just happened……I thought I saw a blur in front of me, and then……BAM, I was on my back, and in a bit of pain. Holy crap, you're fast," Groaned Rex, dusting himself off as he stood up.

  He had a few scratches and minor bruises, but no major injuries. He is quite durable as well, I see. Yes, he will definitely be a useful asset.

  "Impressive, not many have been able to injure me so significantly," I remarked with a tone of surprise.

  He seemed to be the type to respond well to flattery, trying to command him by force would not be very productive. I must be careful not to overdo it, that last move he pulled proved that he isn't a fool, if he catches on that I am being disingenuous with my flattery, it will come off as patronizing.

  "I don't doubt it, that was some burst of speed, old dude," He remarked with a stretch of his arms.

  Er, 'old'? He himself appears to be in his mid, or maybe late, twenties. This body is about thirty-four, I doubt there is more than a decade between us……hm, but I was a bit older before I died in my previous world, so mentally, perhaps I really am old……this line of thinking is pointless and impractical, I should forget this.

  "You are undoubtedly strong, but……if I am being honest, I do not think that you stand a chance against any of the six of us. I may be number one, but honestly speaking, the power gap between the six of us is relatively narrow. And now that we have all seen what you are capable of, I doubt the others will go easy on you like I did, so taking them by surprise will be difficult. Therefore, I propose this……for now, accept the position of the seventh-ranked member of the Retribution Tier, train hard, and feel free to challenge any of us when you feel ready to do so," I suggested in an amicable tone.

  "I guess I could do that……," He replied skeptically, after pondering it for a bit.

  Not convinced yet, huh……

  "I know your magic is not going to improve, but you can train yourself with weapons, incorporate Spell Cards into your arsenal and……we also have guns."

  "W-wait, you're not pulling my leg or anything, right……y-you guys really have guns here?" He exclaimed, his eyes lighting up as he began drooling.

  "Yes, we do. Just pistols for now, but we are working on rifles as well, so."

  "Oh, fuck yeah! I was a total gun fanatic back in my old world……which kinda makes my death ironic, now that I think about it. Oh, uh……I was killed when I was in college, in a school shooting thing. I almost escaped the gunman, but got shot in the back," He sighed, wincing as he recalled the memory.

  Good, looks like he no longer planned on fighting.

  "Aw, at least fight me, I feel all pumped up after watching you fight!" Rion exclaimed with a grin, before adding with a teasing smirk, "Unless you're too chicken, dino boy?"

  "Ooh, is that a challenge? Heh, I certainly won't turn down that offer, bring it on!"……

  well, at least it doesn't seem like Rex will have any trouble fitting in.

  "It's too hot out here, I'm going back inside," Sighed Presde, rubbing his eyes and wiping off his sweaty forehead irritably before heading back downstairs into the castle.

  "Why's he so mad, it's not we were forcing him to stay up here," Remarked Kuua with a shrug.

  Hm……she had a good point. I think I'll be going too, it really is very hot today. I have no interest in watching this fight. I had a strong feeling that things were going to get quite hectic in the coming months, so I should enjoy the calm before the storm while I still can. Additionally, I need to figure out a way to deal with my old apprentice. As an enemy, he is far too powerful to be left alone……

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  Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism! Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.