Chapter 33: Napha

  Nitaan smiled amidst the cheers and admiration from the officers around him.

  "Alright, the fun's over, you scum! Remember your new friend well. This kid's name is Nitaan, and his companion is Kiita!" Colonel Lalanta shouted loudly.

  Hundreds of field unit officers responded in unison with resounding shouts.

  "You can all disperse and continue your training now. Core officers stay first so I can assign him to your unit." As Colonel Lalanta ordered the dispersal, Nitaan interrupted.

  "May I also take a combat test?" Nitaan smiled mischievously, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

  Nitaan thought about it. Although he wanted to conceal

  Some of his power, as the Colonel said, he had to put in some effort to gain respect from these guys.

  Besides, if he could fight, he could ask for a raise! He wanted to fight anyway. His main goal was to comprehend his Words of Power and become Engraver. The more opportunities to fight, the better.

  When everyone heard Nitaan's words, the cheers erupted once again. Those who had dispersed began to gather again.

  They wouldn't miss out on such fun.

  "Haha haha! You're quite the brat! Come on! Napha, come out!" Colonel Lalanta laughed loudly before beckoning towards one of the Core officers. With a move of her hand, a tall man floated into the air before being dragged to the center of the arena.

  "This is Napha, Core officer's combat personnel. He's highly experienced and skilled. He'll be the one to test you."

  The man in front of them was burly, with a clean-cut, fair face. Nitaan estimated Napha to be in his late 30s.

  Napha smiled at Nitaan. He wasn't arrogant at all; even with someone much younger than him, he greeted Nitaan cheerfully.

  "Nitaan, right? That's amazing, being able to detect crime like that! Come join Unit 3 with me!" Napha grinned while showing his white teeth.

  "My name is Napha. I'm a 3-word Learner. My Words of Power are 'Strength Enhancement,' 'Speed ??Enhancement,' and 'Regeneration'." Napha said, patting his chest.

  Nitaan raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing Napha's detailed explanation.

  "Don't worry, I'm not going easy on you. It's just that my abilities are extremely basic, and everyone in the City Guard unit already knows it. Keeping it a secret won't change anything. Besides, the more basic a Word of Power is, the harder it is to deal with. Even if you knew, nothing would change." Napha said confidently.

  Nitaan nodded slightly. Knowing such a basic ability wouldn't help him much in his planning, but it did allow him to assess that Napha was an expert in close-quarters combat.

  "I'm Nitaan, and this is Kiita. Please be gentle with us." Nitaan greeted politely, assuming a fighting stance: fists clenched, left foot forward, right foot back, and right hand raised in a guard.

  "Stop dawdling! Begin!" Colonel Lalanta roared.

  At the sound of her voice, Napha's body was instantly enveloped in a combination of soft light and gray light. Napha's already well-proportioned tall figure suddenly appeared even more muscular.

  ‘Strength Enhancement’ and ‘Speed ??Enhancement’!

  Napha lunged towards Nitaan without hesitation. He swung his heavy fist full force to Nitaan’s face. Kiita instantly leaped to the side, disappearing from Napha's sight.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Nitaan, having already braced himself, decreased his weight and nimbly dodged the punch by moving to the side.

  Once out of range, Nitaan regained his footing and swung a kick upwards towards Napha's face. Napha, being highly experienced in combat against humans, only slightly tilted his head to avoid the blow.

  The kick was more powerful than Napha expected. Although he dodged, the pressure caused him to lose his balance slightly.

  Kiita suddenly reappeared and immediately struck with his claws. Napha reacted quickly, raising his strong arm to block Kiita's claws.

  Just as Napha was about to regain his balance, Nitaan appeared again with even greater speed, delivering a straight punch to Napha's face.

  Napha countered with an upward punch to Nitaan's arm. Nitaan's pupils narrowed, and he suddenly opened his fist into a palm. A tremendous repulsion force slammed into Napha's face, sending his strong body reeling backward.

  Despite being suddenly pushed, Napha managed to flip his body onto the ground and immediately lunge forward to counterattack. He raised his leg and delivered a powerful kick, sending Nitaan's body flying. Kiita rushed in to intercept Nitaan's body and stop his flying mid-air. Nitaan's face contorted from the pain in his arm. His arm went completely numb from the impact.

  Despite his numb arm, Nitaan lunged forward alongside Kiita to stop Napha's assault.

  Napha's face remained expressionless. He raised his arms to defend the kick, but inexplicably, his arms felt incredibly heavy. Unable to raise his arms to guard, Napha instinctively jumped back.

  Napha's body was instantly pulled back into range of the kick. Nitaan's leg struck Napha's face, causing his strong body to tilt from the force of the impact.

  Napha struggled to regain his balance, but his leg felt unbearably heavy. Gritting his teeth, Napha further enhances himself with Word of Power, strengthening his leg and managing to regain his footing just in time.

  Napha ruthlessly swung his leg despite the weight. striking Kiita, who had appeared behind him. The giant dog was sent flying away. Blood gushed from the corner of his mouth.

  Napha's combat experience shone brightly. Even when at a disadvantage, he was able to counterattack.

  Napha's face, previously struck by the empowered kick, was now unscathed. Faint scrapes were healing at a visibly rapid pace.

  ‘Regeneration’!

  Napha seized the opportunity while Nitaan rushed to intercept Kiita, retreating to catch his breath and recover.

  Just as Napha was about to attack again, a large black shadow leaped at him from behind. Kiita, who had just been kicked away, reappeared behind him!

  ‘Chase’! Weight Reduction!

  The rush to intercept Kiita was just a feint!

  Kiita's long, sharp fangs prepared to sink into Napha's shoulder.

  Napha remained unfazed. He raised one arm to block Kiita's bite while his other arm struck Kiita’s stomach, sending him flying again. With his other leg, he spun and kicked Nitaan, who had joined the almost seamless attack.

  Napha is truly worthy of his Core officer position. The combat ability Napha displayed just now far surpassed that of the Prai and Fah as a vanguard.

  Nitaan and Kiita, who had been thrown back and forth, regrouped. Napha's arm, which was drenched in blood from Kiita's bite mark, began to heal.

  Nitaan frowned slightly. Napha was a truly balanced frontline fighter, focusing on enhancing physical abilities for close-quarters combat. He could also tank attacks to a certain extent using Word of Power ‘Regeneration’ and then counterattack.

  Nitaan could imagine that if Napha were fully armed, he would have lost.

  Nitaan was slightly irritated. It was his own idea to use only three Words of Power in front of a large crowd. He had already used Kiita's ‘Domain’, ‘Gravitational’, and ‘Chase’. He chose these 3 because it is easy to cover up. Kiita was already fast, some bursts of speed can be explained with an all-out dash.

  Especially since Nitaan is a Beast tamer. Being able to enhance his companion's abilities was very normal for Beast tamer. It could even be considered Kiita's own abilities. He was still weighing the pros and cons of using more Words of Power. If he chained all of them with Kiita, Napha wouldn't be his opponent. But in this sparring match, he didn't intend to reveal his full abilities.

  Napha smirked, looking at Nitaan and Kiita's faces. In truth, he was already satisfied. Scouts who could fight him head-on like this were rare. Frankly, Nitaan had passed the test without a doubt.

  But he is still having fun!!

  Colonel Lalanta saw Napha's expression and immediately guessed his thoughts. Colonel Lalanta didn't stop him or say anything, only a slight smile played on her lips.

  Nitaan lunged at Napha again. This time, both Nitaan and Kiita charged forward together, their eyes filled with determination.

  Napha smiled playfully and charged back, but one of his feet suddenly stuck firmly on the ground. His body instantly lost its balance.

  Napha quickly moved the loose leg forward to balance himself. Even when faced with an unusual situation, his fighting instinct and experience are still able to provide him with the most optimum answer!

  Nitaan's body appeared directly in front of Napha, his fist striking with full force. But Napha, already prepared, simply dodged by tilting his head and counter-punching.

  Nitaan dodged again with dexterity. Kiita, who was nearby, lunged and bit Napha again.

  "Same old tricks, it’s getting boring!" Napha laughed, preparing to punch Kiita. This time, he didn't even need to block the attack.

  Kiita swiftly dodged the punch as if he was already prepare, that was a feint from the start. Seeing this, Napha smiled slightly. The enhanced punch he had swung out then smoothly spun back to attack Nitaan, who had appeared beside him without him noticing.

  "Too easy, Nitaan. A two-time feint like that won't work on me!" Napha laughed heartily as his heavy punch landed squarely on Nitaan's stomach, making him cough.

  At that moment, Kiita reappeared, aiming for his neck again. Napha raised his other arm to counter, but it felt incredibly heavy. He immediately tried to use the same arm that had punched Nitaan to block instead.

  But Nitaan, who should have been sent flying, was instead stuck to his arm!

  ‘Link’!

  The moment he was punched, Nitaan linked Napha's fist to his stomach, instantly sealing the movement of that arm!

  Having no choice, Napha forced himself to raise his heavy arm with further enhancement, strengthening his resolve and using all his might to defend against Kiita.

  Before Kiita's sharp fangs could reach Napha, Nitaan kicked Napha's leg from his weird angle. Napha's leg, which was always strong and enhanced, was easily sent flying off the ground as if weightless. Napha helplessly tumbles onto the ground.

  Kiita appeared on top of Napha, his two feet pressing down on his chest, immobilizing him. Kiita’s sharp fangs were poised at his throat.

  "The duel is over!" Colonel Lalanta's booming voice rang out amidst the cheers of hundreds of soldiers.