Point-of-View: Cusnai Bronztan

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  "Okay, so I don't know most of your names, and I don't really care, but for the sake of convenience, I suppose I might as well learn them," Remarked Shiro, looking around, "So go ahead and tell me your names, I don't need your full names or an introduction, just your given name."

  "You know, if you aren't going to take this seriously, we can just call it off," I retorted with a frown.

  "Oh, on the contrary, I am taking this very seriously……excluding the Demons, you all are among the fifteen or so strongest fighters in the Rustlands, assuming that the rankings are accurate……which is far from ideal, since you're all so pitifully weak. Our enemies are insanely powerful, we may have plenty of quantity, but our quality is lacking……my own survival chances are better if you lot become even a little more competent, so I'll take this seriously to some extent," He stated bluntly, "Now, go ahead, I don't have all day!"

  Each of the seven of us then took turns telling him our names, though it didn't seem like he was paying attention. Why are we even doing this? Will he really give us some useful, constructive training?

  "That's all of us," I said after we finished giving him our names.

  "Alright, what are you waiting for? Like I said before……all of you, come at me at the same time," He remarked with a bored look on his face.

  "Aren't you going to transform?" Inquired Zave Inreck, one of my fellow former Bronztan S-Ranks, and ranked only below me back then.

  He was in his early-twenties, had cat-like yellowish green eyes, short black hair that had red stripes in it, as well a tail with a matching fur pattern……his Anima is a tiger, and he uses Water Magic. He can't use long-range attacks with any significant intensity, so he instead uses his Water Magic to form water armor around his entire body as well as water claws around his hands and feet.

  "Huh? And why would I need to against the likes of you?" Scoffed Shiro cockily.

  Strangely enough, his taunts didn't seem fully genuine……is he trying to provoke us to see how we respond to manipulative opponents in a real fight? Or am I just overthinking it?

  "Alright, everyone, let's give him what he wants and attack together," I spoke up, stepping forward as I drew out my twin short-spears.

  "Sounds good to me, let's do this," Agreed Minise Mefvis, cracking her knuckles with a smirk.

  Another former S-Rank from Bronztan, she's not the type to back down from a challenge……she was in her earlyish mid-twenties, with blonde hair tied in a ponytail with blue streaks in her bangs, golden eyes and was on the shortish side.

  She wore a dark brown lightly-armored leather top and black leather armored trousers……except that she'd torn the sleeves off the top and had ripped off most of the trouser legs into really short shorts. She prefers to fight barefoot, and has chains wrapped around her forearms. She uses Fire Magic and her Anima is a salamander.

  The others who were here besides these two and myself are Niski Torfa, Oreg Dinwiy, Marti Touw, and Lonfi Nemowd. The former two are pretty inexperienced and their power levels are closer to A-Rank than S-Rank, if I'm being blunt. The latter two were both mid-level S-Ranks back in Bronztan.

  "Alright, fine, if none of you want to attack first, then I'll get the ball rolling!" Snapped Shiro impatiently, before zipping towards us.

  As he closed in on Oreg, he sprang back in alarm and fired out an arrow at Shiro from the crossbow attached to his right arm, which Shiro evaded easily and countered with a swift knee to his midsection, eliciting a gasp of pain from him as he collapsed onto his knees, writhing in pain. Wow, down in one hit……that's not very encouraging.

  Niski then sprang up behind Shiro silently and drove her blade towards the back of his head, which he responded just in time and moved out of the way, the blade nicking the side of his face, before he spun around to face her. She swiftly sprang back and fired out a lightning blast at him from her mouth, which he narrowly dodged and responded by pointing his right palm at her midsection.

  In the next instant, she was sent flying back as a powerful force struck her torso before she could evade, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from her……but right before it struck her and sent her flying back, the moment he pointed his palm at her, she flicked her wrist and flung her rapier at him, aimed perfectly at his neck.

  But before it could strike him, he quickly raised his left hand, bone extending out from it and deflecting the thrown sword away, as it landed on the ground and skidded away, right as Lonfi and Marti sprang up on either side of him.

  Lonfi formed water whips from her shoulder blades and slammed them towards him, which he evaded by teleporting a few meters up into the air, as Marti drew out her twin swords, before running lightning through them and flinging them up at him with a rapid spin, which he knocked away by swiftly pointing his hands outwards, and as the two spinning swords began to converge in on him, they suddenly got deflected away as they got in the line of his palms.

  Suddenly, something struck him from behind……a flaming chain. As he turned his gaze towards Minise with a frown, I quickly ran lightning through one of my spears and flung it up at him like a javelin, which he noticed just in time and teleported back down towards the ground to evade it, right as Zave sprang up behind him, his entire body wrapped in an armor of water.

  He slashed at Shiro with a fierce roar, but right before he could strike, Shiro began glowing red and suddenly split into two, evading the slash, before rejoining behind Zave and firing out a powerful wind blast from his mouth, striking Zave's back and sending him flying forward towards me, as I quickly leapt out of the way.

  "Hah, and you really wanted me to transform for this? This is just sad," Scoffed Shiro condescendingly, before zipping towards us again.

  It's not like he's so fast and strong that he's completely out of our league in this form, but……we can't fight as efficiently as we'd like to with seven against one……I've barely made a move at all during this sparring bout, and it's mainly because I've been overly conscious about accidently hitting one of the others.

  If it's a team of three or four, then I don't have much trouble keeping track of and coordinating my movements with the rest of my team, but with a team of seven, that becomes a lot, lot harder……I don't know about Niski and Oreg, but the former Bronztan Adventurers were definitely looking a lot more restrained than they usually were.

  Shiro then closed in on Marti, and before she could react, he fired out a ball of flames, enhanced by a powerful gust of wind from his mouth, before firing another wind blast at her to keep her head from getting scorched and sending her flying back, skidding along the ground painfully, as Lonfi sprang up behind him.

  He evaded as she swung her spiky metal club at him, ducking under the swing and planting his hands on the ground, before rising up feet first like a spring, his feet slamming onto her abdomen with immense force and knocking her away several meters in the direction of the walls, which she crashed onto with a loud slam, before falling onto the ground with a weak groan.

  Whenever he sees an opening, he puts all his strength into it, everyone he'd landed a solid blow on was currently struggling to get back onto their feet……which only left myself and Minise still standing. What do we……before I could think of a strategy as Shiro began to turn his attention towards me, Minise shot towards him at top speed, intense flames blazing around her arms.

  A slight look of amusement appeared on Shiro's face as she closed in on him, before swiftly putting his guard up as she unleashed a barrage of rapid, fiery punches at him, which he blocked and deflected with his hands, but……she was definitely starting to push him back a bit, a frown starting to appear and grow on his face.

  Suddenly, as she drove both fists towards him and he put his hands up, both of which had their skin and flesh completely burnt off, she swiftly opened her fists and grabbed his wrists, a look of surprise briefly appearing on his face, before he was suddenly sent flying up and forward through the air, as flames swirled around Minise's left leg and she slammed her knee onto his midsection with a devastating, scorching impact.

  She then quickly unraveled the chains around her forearms and whipped them up towards him, flames coating them. The chains struck his body and rapidly wrapped around him, before she swung her arms down with a fierce roar, slamming him onto the ground with an incredible amount of force, severe cracks appearing in the ground from the point of impact, as a heavy dust cloud rose up.

  Woah……that was an intense assault. Minise then tugged on her chains while sprinting forward at top speed, rapidly pulling Shiro in towards her……when suddenly, the chains wrapped around him shattered as a burst of red lightning burst out from him, a third eye appearing on his forehead and a red marking pattern appearing on his arms and face as he vanished after breaking free.

  Minise halted in alarm, and failed to react in time as he reappeared behind her, striking the back of her neck in a swift chop and knocking her out, as the third eye and red marking pattern disappeared……did he unleash his full power just for an instant, so quickly that all the transformation features didn't even have time to fully manifest?

  "Huh……that was actually not terrible, uh……whatever your name is. Everyone else sucked though," Remarked Shiro with a huff, as everyone began getting back on their feet, before he shifted his attention to me, "So, were you planning on just standing still the whole time, or what?"

  "No, I……seven on one is too complicated, we're used to fighting in smaller groups than that, so fighting with such a big group without practice isn't easy or-," I began to justify.

  "Tch, if it was easy, then it wouldn't be worthwhile training, would it?" He interrupted with a scoff, "Come on, try again……and this time, try not to suck."

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