Chapter 41: Ordinary Day

  "Nitaan, you've given up already? I haven't even warmed up yet!" Gion laughed gleefully, simultaneously swinging his wooden sword at Nitaan's body.

  Nitaan raised his right arm to block, then countered with a powerful punch, but his punch inexplicably missed Gion.

  "Nitaan! You already beat me! So you can't lose to Gion!" Napha shouted encouragingly.

  Gion didn't need to dodge. He swung his wooden sword upwards, aiming for Nitaan's exposed face. At that moment, Kiita suddenly appeared beside him and swung his gloved claws.

  Gion spun around and kicked Kiita in the torso, completely ignoring the claws. The claws that should have struck Gion barely missed him again.

  Gion swung his arm, raising his other hand to intercept Nitaan's punch, then jumped back to regain his balance.

  Nitaan frowned. Gion's Word of Power was truly versatile. Anything that attacked him miraculously slipped past him.

  Even a wooden dagger that Kiita threw at Gion missed. Gion caught the dagger that had slipped past him and accurately threw it back at Nitaan, forcing him to dodge hastily.

  "Ho ho! As expected of Gion. Such quick reflexes!" Tawan laughed.

  "Tch, that guy’s Word of Power is still as annoying as ever," Napha muttered angrily. He was one of those who faced this annoying tactic during their sparring sessions.

  "Nitaan's Word of Power is the improvised type. Once someone knows the trick behind it, it will be a lot harder to catch them off guard." Kasa nodded.

  "Really?" Leader Mei smiled.

  Nitaan, who had charged forward with Kiita, now drew a large shield to block Gion's sword. The clash echoed loudly.

  Nitaan wasn't weak. His slender appearance was only due to his preference for wearing a baggy cloak. However, when facing the real strength of Gion and Napha, he felt like he was fighting a war elephant barehanded.

  Gion, who appeared quite muscular, was only slightly stronger than average. Unlike Napha, who is significantly stronger than a normal Learner.

  Napha has a Word of Power that directly enhances his strength. Napha’s strength didn’t come from muscle strength but rather from spiritual energy.

  Nitaan managed to hold back by linking his feet to the ground. If the one he is facing is Napha, he would be sent flying from Napha’s monstrous strength.

  Kiita suddenly appeared once more. He opened his mouth, showing sharp fangs, ready to strike.

  Gion raised his sword to try to defend, but he was unable to. His wooden sword was held in place by something.

  Gion's sword was linked to Nitaan's giant shield! And Nitaan himself was also linked to the ground!

  Gion had no choice. He doesn’t have enough time or strength to yank it off Nitaan. He could only release his grip on the sword, allowing the sharp fangs to reach and slip past him.

  He grabbed Kiita with both hands, trying to throw him against Nitaan's shield behind him, hoping to make them collide.

  The swordsman of City Guard unit is still strong even without a sword!

  Kiita thrashed violently, hoping to throw Gion off balance before getting thrown. Gion, worthy of his status as a Core officer of the City Guard unit, reacted on time and released his grip on Kiita.

  But Gion's hands were linked to Kiita's body!

  "Enough with that trick!" Gion fumed.

  Gion was still undeterred. Even as he tumbled down to the ground with Kiita’s violent thrash, he managed to flip Kiita's body under him, using him as a cushion.

  Nitaan lunged forward at this moment, throwing daggers with both hands while charging in.

  Gion used his power to make Nitaan's daggers slide past him again, but a twist occurred. One of the daggers spun back towards him just as Nitaan reached attack range. Before he could even react, he could hear the sound of a knife slicing through the air from behind him.

  Gion's pupils narrowed, his entire body instantly shrinking to the size of a three-year-old child, narrowly dodging the attack.

  Gion whistled, his small body dodging Nitaan's punch, quickly expanding back to its normal size and punching Nitaan away again with a normal-sized fist.

  He rushed to grab his wooden sword, but the shout from Leader Mei stopped him.

  "Enough! The winner is Nitaan!" Leader Mei declared.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Gion, still dazed by Leader Mei's announcement, felt a sharp wooden dagger at his neck. The wooden dagger stopped in mid-air. Tawan's eyes glowed faintly as he looked at the dagger.

  Gion looked down and saw Kiita still lying motionless beneath him and tilted his head slightly as if he had just thrown something with his mouth.

  No freaking way… When would he have time to grab a knife from his pouch? I clearly stomped on his chest! Gion wondered.

  He suddenly remembered the moment Nitaan threw two short knives. When he made them slide past his body, one instantly spun back towards him.

  And the other one? It had just been swung at his neck by Kiita!

  Cheers erupted from the other unit members in Unit 3's small training yard.

  "Oh my! Gion, didn't you say I lost because I was careless?" Naphtha laughed gleefully.

  "At least I held my own longer than you!" Gion retorted angrily.

  "Damn it! You and Kiita are incredibly annoying. You pop in and out like ghosts, and your attack timing is perfect! Also, that tactic to switch being the main attacker is annoying as hell!" Gion grumbled.

  "How did you even train Kiita? Feint, Ambush, Charge—That dog got it all. Especially that last attack. When did you realize my power is only effective against attacks I perceive?"

  “When I threw 2 daggers at you,” Nitaan laughed.

  "You could have let that dagger slip past you like before, but you used another Word of Power to dodge it. That's how I guessed," Nitaan replied.

  "Okay, okay, it’s my loss." Gion sighed. "Especially to Kiita, he's incredibly skilled. Fighting against Beast tamers is really a headache."

  "Yup, Kiita is a fairly clever dog," Nitaan laughed.

  "Since I knew your tricks beforehand, I thought I was going to win," Gion grumbled.

  "It's all about imagination and adaptation." Leader Mei replied with a smile.

  "Since you've convinced yourself that Nitaan will primarily limit your legs, you're already at a disadvantage, even though your physical strength, speed, and reflexes are far superior to Nitaan and Kiita's."

  "Nitaan is a very suitable sparring partner for all of you. He's an exceptionally skilled user of Improvise-type Word of Power. Once you get used to his feints and surprise attacks, you'll be much better prepared against other equally skilled opponents in the future," Leader Mei advises directly to everyone.

  "Yes, sir!" Unit 3 responded.

  "Then it's my turn!" Napha grinned before entering the arena.

  "You've lost to him before, so let me go first!" Kasa shouted.

  The two argued over Nitaan, who stood dazedly in the middle of the arena with Kiita.

  Do I have no say in this? Nitaan sighed.

  For him, this was training as well. If he just used their Name Word of Power to enhance himself or Kiita, it would not even be a fight. But others didn't know about this yet, so he wanted to keep his card a secret. Besides, training and adapting to others’ Fate Scripter’s Word of Power was a good experience.

  Leader Mei suddenly sensed movement. She turned to look at the window. A bird had perched on the windowsill with a letter tied to its leg. She narrowed her eyes slightly before reaching out to untie the letter.

  "That's enough training for now. There's another job. At Warehouse Number 4, South District," Leader Mei announced.

  Everyone's eyes sharpened. They grabbed their belongings and headed out of the training ground.

  What a hectic day, Nitaan grumbled.

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  Napha landed a heavy punch to the face of a gleaming armored thug. The face contorted, his front teeth shattered, and the thug was instantly unconscious.

  Another loud crash echoed as a large, sharp blade of wind shattered the stone wall of the underground secret room. Kasa and Rain charged out of the debris.

  Behind them lay the unconscious bodies of over ten thugs, along with Gion carrying two elderly men.

  "We've captured the injured. They'll be sent to the medical unit immediately," Gion reported through the transmitting stone.

  "Kasa and Napha, we have secured the first and second floors," Napha signaled.

  After a moment, Tawan's voice also came from the transmitting stone.

  "Things are quite tough for me and Leader, but it should end soon," Tawan said. The sounds of battle and heavy clashes echoed in the background.

  "Do you need reinforcements?" Before he could finish, Napha felt an immense power radiating from the ground below.

  Napha leaped out of range hastily. A man with a face covered in scars and tattoos was sent flying through the heavy stone floor before crashing into the ceiling.

  The man's body was riddled with gaping wounds and numerous holes. His eyes darted blankly, a large spear embedded in his shoulder, pinning him to the ceiling.

  Amidst the dust and smoke, Leader Mei and Tawan leaped up from the hole in the ground.

  "My side is done," Leader Mei said, rotating her shoulders wearily, dragging up the bodies of two women carrying bows.

  Leader Mei tossed the two women onto the pile of large men who had fallen to the ground as her spear reappeared on her back.

  "Send these three to the medical unit. They were incredibly tough. I couldn't hold back," Leader Mei said angrily. Her body still lingered with a lot of wounds.

  "Nitaan, is everything alright outside?" Tawan asked through the transmitting stone.

  Nitaan's voice rang out, accompanied by Kiita's barking.

  "Everything's fine. Five people attempted to escape, but they've all been dealt with," Nitaan replied.

  "Okay, assemble now. Kasa, contact Field unit to finish the job," Leader Mei ordered.

  "At first we thought these guys were just a group of ordinary thugs led by a First word Engraver, but we were wrong. They're incredibly tough. My spear could barely penetrate them," Leader Mei had a serious look on her face.

  "That's true. I had to aim for their heads just to knock them out. Attacking their bodies caused almost no damage," Napha added.

  "Maybe it's because of this." Gion, who had followed behind, tore open the shirt of one of the thugs. Inside was an amulet hanging around his neck.

  "Enchanted artifact? There’s no way these petty thugs could possibly afford an Enchanted artifact for every weaklings." Kasa wondered.

  "It's not just that." Nitaan suddenly tore open the shirt of the large man who was the leader.

  A black pendant appeared. The power emanating from it was clearly far stronger than the previous one. Inside, a single, illegible character was visible.

  "Ho, this isn't just an Enchanted artifact," Tawan frowned.

  Leader Mei walked over and picked up the pendant, examining it closely. Her expression turned serious, and the atmosphere changed completely as the pendant emitted a certain energy before beginning to disintegrate into dust.

  The other pendants on the subordinates' bodies also began to dissolve rapidly one by one.

  "Self-dissolving? It must be the work of a highly skilled Craftsman to add such an ability," Kasa frowned.

  “A bunch of Enchanted Artifacts and one Engraved artifacts, all in the hands of a small thug group?” Tawan murmured.

  These artifacts are clearly for combat. No one believes that these thugs bought all of these with their own savings.

  Leader Mei said nothing, only lowering her head to look at the dust in her hands, her expression even more tense than when she fought the First word Engraver thug leader earlier.

  "Do you know that pendant?" Napha asked, noticing Leader Mei's troubled expression.

  "I don't know about the pendant. As for the power within… maybe a hunch.”

  "But the concealed power is quite strong, so I'm not really sure," Leader Mei said in a low voice.

  "A hunch?" Kasa frowned.

  "This form of enhancement isn't like the Word of Power ‘Armor’, ‘Scale’, ‘Defense’, ‘Shield’, or anything like that. It's more like direct muscle strengthening, but primarily focusing on defense. It's like concentrating only on the outermost layer of muscle," Leader Mei explained.

  "What about it? Word of Power is infinite. It's normal to see forms we've never seen before," Gion said.

  "No, I'm worried because I've seen this kind of power before."

  Everyone fell silent, their gazes fixed on Leader Mei.

  "It's very similar to the Word of Power 'Muscle Strength'" Leader Mei said.

  A sudden silence fell, the atmosphere becoming inexplicably heavy. Nitaan didn’t understand the implied meaning, so he remained silent. Waiting for an answer from his comrades through conversation.

  "‘Muscle Strength’, the signature Word of Power of the Kodchasan Family," Tawan said in a hoarse voice.

  Everyone's expression was grim. They were already used to a small thug group having a mastermind behind them, but not a mastermind being one of the four Great Families.

  Especially the Great families that they had just found related evidence at the scene of the previous incident.

  What an insanely hectic day, Nitaan sighed.